Word Usage Key is at the end. The brackets after a character eg CLAIRE (4nc) indicates Claire is a character who is 4 years old. nc indicates new character not encountered before.

29th of Towin Day 2

Eleanor had awoken on Castle wishing to scream. Instantly she knew it was the nightmare returning. An instant later she knew it wasn’t. She went, as advised, to the warmth of the fire helped by a couple of adolescents dresst(1) in clothes of a style she had never seen before. It wasn’t long before she had a somewhat rudimentary understanding of what had happened, and she didn’t know whether to be glad or not. She had left Earth, but everyone she loved was on Earth, and everyone she loved was dead. They had all died six months before in the earthquake that had collapsed the block of apartment flats they lived in, and she had often wished in the following months, when she awoke screaming in the night as she relived the earthquake in her barely intact mind, she had died with them.

One of her interviewers on her first day on Castle had been a young man called Bram. He had maekt(2) notes on what she said and telt her he thought someone called Gosellyn would wish to have spaech(3) with her.

Late in the afternoon of nextday,(4) as she had learnt to call tomorrow, Gosellyn had knocked on her chamber door and had telt her she was a healer. “A doctor I believe you would call me,” she had said. They’d had an extensive conversation of the earthquake and its subsequent effects on her, and Gosellyn had telt her, “Your feelings of guilt at having survivt(5) when your lovt(6) ones dien(7) are both irrational and at the same time entirely natural.”

Eleanor had asked, “You’re a psychiatrist aren’t you?”

“My sorrow, but I don’t know that word. I am a healer who specialises in helping folk who have been hurt. Some call me a behaviourist, though I do stitch the odd wound or two,” Gosellyn had replied smiling. “I am sure you realise by now how harsh a place Castle is, and how we oft have to surmount tragedy. I am also sure you don’t quite understand how quickly it is oft necessary for us to do this. Tell me what your reaction would be if I telt you you need to remarry and have a family? I am not being heartless, and I am not suggesting for a moment you do this in an attempt to replace your loes(8) lovt ones. I am saying this as a healer who knows that in order for you to survive you have to eventually move on and put the past where it belongs, in the past. You have to have a future, or you will die from a lack of will to live.”

Eleanor was shocked, but she was intelligent and could appreciate the fine distinctions Gosellyn was making. Too, she had long known she had to have a future, for there was no living in the past. “I can’t disagree with you. I appreciate what you are saying, but I have no idea how to go about it, or what kind of a man to look for.”

Gosellyn had smiled and said, “I have a man for you.” She explained of Woad’s past and of his refusal to have spaech with any of it. “I appreciate and respect he does not spaek(9) of it because it would braek(10) faith with Fuchsia. But he will have to spaek of it with someone eventually, and someone who has been hurt as badly as he would be a good choice. He’s a kind and a gentle man. I have no idea what you have in common beyond your hurts, but I am sure you could find something. I am also sure you haven’t telt me of some of the worst aspects of your pain, but you will need to tell someone in time, and Woad would be the ideal someone for you to have spaech with. I wish to arrange a meeting for the two of you. May I?”

Eleanor thought on Gosellyn’s proposition and eventually replied, “I shall meet him, but I may say no.”

“That’s all I ask, you meet him, and explore mutual possibilities. May I approach Woad with a view to arranging the meeting in the immediate future?”

Eleanor had replied she may, and after Gosellyn had gone her heart felt a little lighter than it had done for some time.

29th of Towin Day2

The rest of the afternoon passed more or less uneventfully for the Master at arms staff and the observers. However, there were some real surprises. The problems were caused by how the incomers saw themselfs,(11) and things they considered to be significant oft weren’t to the Folk. Oft they didn’t even understand what the incomers were spaeking(12) of. Worse still, many of the incomers possessed real skills and practised crafts that to them had no value at all. They were in their words, just a way of having fun or only a hobby. This meant oft craft Mistresses and Master had to be sent for to evaluate them, and that taekt(13) time. Yew eventually asked all the major crafts to have representatives on hand in the Master at arms offices, till such time as all the incomers had been evaluated at least once. After that, things went along a bit faster.

All the newfolk met with some craft Master or Mistress sometimes two but rarely more. All newfolk who were seen were craft placed, and a few already had personal understandings with members of the Folk. Most of the older adults who weren’t seeking a husband or wife were going to return nextday, to look at files with a view to choosing a family seeking grandparents. The younger adults were more difficult to place. They were adults by the Castle Way, but socially much younger because they hadn’t been Castle reared. There were more of them requiring family placements rather than agreäns(14) than would be considered normal by the Folk. However, by coöpting senior craft members from other crafts to supplement their own office the Master at arms staff managed to work their way through all of the newfolk whose files had been studied in the forenoon in time to finish and ready themselves for the various dinners going on prior to the dance in the Greathall.

29th of Towin Day2

Immediately prior to the eve meal, there was a meeting of senior personnel, where the problems of evaluating the incomers were discussed. Present were those who had chaired or observed the meetings as well as many senior craft Mistresses and Master, some of who hadn’t been in the meetings.

Yew was summarising the days findings with a view to making nextday’s interviews easier. “Nextday we need to be much more precise with our questions. We need to ask the incomers what can they do rather than just accept a label that we don’t understand. Focus on what they refer to as their hobbies and interests. Yes, we’ll still miss things, but once we’ve them all placet(15) we then have time to manage aught we’ve misst.”(16) He let this sink in for a few seconds and continued, “We need fuller explanations of the things we don’t understand. Here’s a list of initially misunderstandt(17) crafters some of whom we only managt(18) to appreciate their skills at the last minute thisday.(19) There could be many more we have misst.” He looked at a piece of paper.

“We findt(20) a historical reënactmenter, which is an entertainer of sorts, but in her pursuit of that she became both a skillt(21) fletcher and a bowyer,
“A moonshiner, which is an illegal craft which carries heavy punishment, but he’s an experiencet(22) stillman. What kind of a place is it where you’re not allowt(23) to make brandy?”
This last caused a ripple of laughter berount(24) the chamber. Yew continued,
“A woman who says she maekt wooden tableware for a hobby, a skillt treener,(25)
“A woman who makes warm clothing fabric in a way we are unfamiliar with again just as a hobby, a new seamstress craft to be callt(26) felting.

“A man who built his own house who can glue beams and joists of almost any size for any application from smaller timbers, using calculations we have no concept of. He callt them,” Yew looked as his notes again, “engineert(27) structural timber members or sometimes glulams.(28) We bethink us they are the same, and the ingeniators(29) and builders wish to have deep spaech with him concerning some of the Keep’s larger roof timbers that have a want of replacement betimes.
“A slaughterman, his craft was killing meat beasts, but we can be grateful on behalf of the kitchens he can butcher large beasts and fish,

“A dozen or more folk who refert(30) to themselfs as gardeners, allotmenteers(31) and farmers, but they’re growers of vegetables, fruits and herbs. Some were also animal husbanders.
“A not too bright young woman, whose grandfather had a holding, sayt(32) at the last minute she can manage geese. “Can you believe it? She likes them and says they like her? She had a pet gander!
“A deeyewire,(33) who makes lime and something he calls cement, which is what we call hardset,(34)
“A woman who breedd(35) and keept(36) milch goats of the highest quality and thought naught of it,
“Another deeyewire, this one maekt bricks and tiles,

“Three young men, they callt themselves poachers, who were embarrasst(37) to admit they were ratters and coney catchers. They breedd and keept ferrets and small dogs for ratting and big, fast ones they callt lurchers for coursing coneys and hares. They were embarrasst because the craft wasn’t allowt,
“A man who craftet(38) with metal as a hobby, but he’s a lorimer and a cutler,
“A woman who says she say she messt(39) with clay for a hobby, but she’s a skillt potter,
“Another deeyewire who thatcht(40) using straw, reeds, bracken, heather and things we’ve never hearet(41) of just to have fun,

“An older woman who does what she calls over stitchery and embroidery, again just for a hobby. She’s a decorative seamstress of the highest quality,
“Yet another deeyewire, this one makes ladders. He spake of things callt rounders and stail engines, hand tools that make the rungs round quickly and taper their ends without having to use a lathe,
“Two housewifes(42) who maekt what they callt bacon and ham, which are different cuts of saltt(43) gris.(44) They also preservt(45) other meats, fish and vegetables with salt, brine and smoke,
“Another housewife, this one makes soap,

“A woman who can extract stuff as sweet as honey out of honey beets which can be uest(46) for preserving fruits and other food stuffs,
“A man who was some kind of guardian says he makes musical instruments as a hobby, he’s a highly skillt luthier,(47)

“And finally we hearet of an incidental comment by a woman who admittet(48) she knoewn(49) little of it, but she had seen Lovage’s face and bethinkt(50) her the fevers was something she callt smallpox. She sayt cowpox something or other had eradicatet(51) it where she came from. Needless to say, the healers are going to be having deep spaech with her. Two incomer crafts we have to explore in detail are housewifes and deeyewires. They both seem to cover a whole range of valuable skills and knowledge that newfolk consider of little or no worth, and oft we have little or no knowledge of.

Yew sighed and taekt a breath, “And so it goes on. We must all do our best at this, but it’s not easy I know. We must make sure we record all these incomer crafts and hobbies for the archives with as full an explanation as we can for future Folk. Can any bethink herself of aught else to say before we go and shower and then have a bit of fun at last?” He waited a few seconds and said, “Good. Now let’s enjoy ourselfs(52) for a few hours because we’re doing it all over again nextday. I’ll see you at dinner and the dance.” The meeting braekt(53) up, and a much happier group of Folk than at this time lastday(54) went to ready themselves for dinner.

29th of Towin Day2

Crane had met Catherine as agreed and had telt her on the way to the Greathall he was a member of a large kine clan. He was himself a dairy herder he explained. He asked her of her previous craft, and she explained it was meaningless here, but she and Jim, her late husband, had always enjoyed being out in the fresh air. At the dinner they had spaken(55) of the countryside, she of where she had been and what she had seen, and he of the land he and his relatives uest in their crafting activities. She had said she would love to see it, and he had telt her he would like to take her, and added after her babe was birtht(56) of course. He had asked her what she planned for a craft, and she had replied she didn’t really know.

“My sister Strawberry is a dairy crafter who makes cream and butter from the clan’s milk output, and they’re always seeking apprentices and lærers.(57) If you are interestet,(58) I could arrange for you to meet her?”

Catherine was interested, and Crane telt her he would arrange the meeting nextday. They danced the slow and easy dances and sat out the rest spaeking of dairying and drank little, neither was uest to it, nor were they particularly fond of it, and what little they did drink was fruit juice. Eventually, they both came to discussing what had been on their minds since they first met, marriage.

Crane had telt her, “I am fourty-two(59) and seeking a wife. I am grateful for you helping Snipe when he needet(60) a mother. He has telt his sisters all of you by the bye. I have askt to go to the Master at arms meeting for the adoption of grandparents, but I should still like a wife, and not just a mother for the children. I should be honourt(61) if you would consider me for a husband.”

Catherine in her turn telt him, “I lost my husband not five lunes ago. I know I not only need to remarry for both myself and my child, but I wish to. I like you and I am considering your request. I am not being deliberately difficult with you, but I don’t want to make a decision now, I want a day or so to think on it. I was thinking of you as a potential husband this afternoon. I am almost sure I shall say yes, but I want some time to think on it. Can we meet tom…, nextday afternoon?”

Crane responded with a smile, “I appreciate you telling me you had been considering me in that way earlier, and I hope we shall reach agreement. Could we meet late in the afternoon, so I can go to the grandparent’s meeting and possibly have spaech with Strawberry for you before we meet?”

That was agreed, and they continued spaeking of Crane’s craft and what he knew of his sister’s. They left the dance before midnight, and Crane escorted her back to her chamber. Catherine brushed her lips across his as they said goodnight and said, “I look forward to seeing you nextday.”

Crane said, “As do I.”

Word Usage Key

1 Dresst, dressed.
2 Maekt, made.
3 Spaech, speech.
4 Nextday, tomorrow.
5 Survivt, survived.
6 Lovt, loved.
7 Dien, died.
8 Loes, lost.
9 Spaek, speak.
10 Braek, break.
11 Themselfs, themselves.
12 Spaeking, speaking.
13 Taekt, took.
14 Agreän(s), spouse(s) the person(s) one has marital agreement with.
15 Placet, placed.
16 Misst, missed.
17 Misunderstandt, misunderstood.
18 Managt, Managed.
19 Thisday, today.
20 Findt, found.
21 Skillt, skilled.
22 Experiencet, experienced.
23 Allowt, allowed.
24 Berount, around.
25 Treener, one who makes treen.
26 Callt, called.
27 Enginneert, not a Folk word but a Folk rendering of engineered.
28 Glulams, generic term for glued laminated structural wooden beams.
29 Ingeniators, origin of the term engineer (civil).
30 Refert, referred.
31 Allotmenteers, not a Folk word but a Folk rendering of allotmeteer, on who works an allotment [US community garden]
32 Sayt, said.
33 Deeyewire, Folk rendering of a DIYer, one who does DIY. Handiman, Do It Yourself.
34 Hardset, cement or a mortar or concrete make with cement.
35 Breedd. Bred.
36 Keept, kept.
37 Embarrasst, embarrassed.
38 Craftet, crfted.
39 Messt, messed.
40 Thatcht, thatched.
41 Hearet, heard.
42 Housewifes, housewives.
43 Saltt, salted, as in preserved.
44 Gris, the result of generations of wild swine crossing with domestic pigs from many incursions. They are now a feral pig of larger size and fecundity than their wild ancestors.
45 Preservt, preserved.
46 Uest, used.
47 Luthier, a musical instrument maker, strictly a stringed musical instrument maker.
48 Admittet, admitted.
49 Knoewn, knew
50 Bethinkt, thought.
51 Eradicatet, eradicated.
52 Ourselfs, ourselves.
53 Braekt, broke.
54 Lastday, yesterday.
55 Spaeken, spoken.
56 Birtht, born.
57 Lærers, adult apprentices, trainees.
58 Interestet, interested.
59 Fourty-two, forty-two.
60 Needet, needed.
61 Honourt, honoured.