Chapter 5: The Lartnéc Frybarar (LARTNEH FRYOOBARAR, Imperial Princess)

The Empire put a certain amount of trust in the loyalty of the nobility and gentry, as well as in the family ties between Abhs. But not too much trust — they did not have any illusions.

It was incumbent upon the Empress, who stood at the nucleus of the Empire's consolidation of power, to understand that it was the Empire's military power that safeguarded that consolidation. That was the Empire's founding principle.

As such, the occupier of the Scaimsorragh (SKEMSORAHZH, the Emperorship) had to have military experience, and, if possible, was to be a superlative military leader.

On the other hand, automatically making anyone who had taken hold of military authority the Emperor would inevitably lead to dizzying internal strife and power struggles. It would lead quickly to the collapse of the Empire.

Cilugragh (KEELOOGRAHZH, succession of the throne) in the Humankind Empire of Abh was hereditary, but they adopted a system that took into account the innate qualities of each of a number of possible successors.

The royalty comprised eight separate royal families. They were all the descendants of the siblings and children of the Scurlaiteriac (SKOORLETEHREEA, Founding Emperor), Ablïar Dunei, and they all shared the fizz (FEEZ, family name) "Ablïar."

The families with that cognomen were:

Lartïéc-Scïrh néïc-Lamrar (SKEERR NAY-LAHMRAR) — the royal family of Scirh;

Lartïéc-Ilicr néïc-Dusil (EELEEK NAY-DOOSEEL) — the royal family of Ilich (EELEESH);

Lartïéc-Lasiser néïc-Lamlyar (LAHSEESEHR NAY-LAMLYAR) — the royal family of Lasisec (LAHSEES);

Lartïéc-Üescor néïc-Duell (WESKOR NAY-DOOEL) — the royal family of Üesco;

Lartïéc-Barcœr néïc-Lamsar (BARKEHR NAY-LAHMSAR) — the royal family of Barce (BARKEH);

Lartïéc-Balgzeder néïc-Dubzel (BAHLGZEDEHR NEI DOOBZEL) — the royal family of Balgzédé;

Lartïéc-Syrgzœdér néïc-Duasecec (SYURGZEUDEHR NEI DOOASEK) — the royal family of Syrgœedéc; and

Lartïéc-Crybr néïc-Dublescec (KRYIB NEI-DOOBLESK) — the Cryb Kingdom.

These were the ga-lartïéc — the eight royal families.

Those born to these families bore the duty to take on slymecoth (SLYIMKOHTH, military service). They couldn't get by enlisting in departments with more behind-the-scenes work like the Quartermasters' or Gaïritec (GAEEREET, Army Medical) Departments. They had to enlist as starpilots in the Garér (GAHREHR, Flight Department).

With regard with to military service, imperials had only one special right, and it had to do with their enrollment in the Bhosecrac (VOHSKRA, Military Academy). According to Star Forces regulations, it took at least four and a half years to advance to a military college, but an exception was made for imperials. They were automatically enrolled after two and a half years, without regard to their competence level.

Thus appointed as a faictodaïc (FEKTOHDAEE, linewing starpilot), they would then ascend to the rank of rinhairh (REENYEHRR, rearguard starpilot) in a year's time, after which they would become a vanguard starpilot in a year and a half. Following that, they would enroll in the most difficult to enter of the all the military academies, the Dunei Star Forces Academy (Bhosecrac Duner).

Upon completion of half a year's education, they took on the rénh (RENYUH, court rank) of Deca-commander, with the ptorahedesomh (PTORA'HEHDEHSOHF, commander's insignia) to go with it.

This was the "special right" of the Imperial Household, but looking at it from another angle, they were being asked to shoulder responsibilities beyond their experience and ability, and they had no automatic right to a rank above Deca-commander. The rate of promotion after reaching that level was more or less the same as other military academy graduates'. Moreover, if they failed in a mission, they had to face punishment or dismissal with no more mercy than gentry or nobility could expect.

They climbed their way through the ranks of the Flight Department as linewing starpilots, and once they finally reached the rank of Rüé-spenec (ROOEH-SPEHN, Imperial Admiral), they received special imperial appointment to the rank of Glaharérr Rüé-byrer (Imperial Fleet Commander-in-Chief). In peacetime, it was a title that didn't hold command over a single soldier apart from a handful of headquarters personnel, but it was once a prominent post that the Emperor customarily held onto, and succeeding to it meant becoming next in line for the throne, or the Cilugiac (KEEROOGEEA, Crown Prince[ss])

When the new Imperial Fleet Commander-in-Chief was decided, it was standard practice for members of the imperial family either older than them or less than 20 years younger than them to ask to be transferred to reserve duty. Even before that point, many imperial family members who had given up on becoming Emperor proceeded to leave the military, and then either succeeded to a lartragh (LARTRAHZH, king/queenship) or else simply lived as an imperial with a noble rank for a single generation.

Each generation of imperial-family descendants possessed a sapainec (SAHPEHN, surname-title), "Baus (BOHS)," that indicated they had inherited the family traditions of the Imperial Household. Yet their social standing was that of a noble. When one became a noble, they could no longer retain the surname "Ablïar."

The Imperial Fleet Commander-in-Chief almost always ended up waiting for the appearance of a new Imperial Admiral as the next imperial in line to the throne. He or she acceded to the imperial throne when someone who could take over his or her own position emerged. At that juncture, the Emperor or Empress would suddenly abdicate.

For the long-lived Abh, it was not rare for a former Emperor to enjoy 100 more years after stepping down from the scaimsorh (SKEMSOHRR, throne). But the Empire did not allow them to rest on their laurels. Former Emperors were automatically appointed to the Luzœc Fanigalacr (LOOZEH FAHNEEGAHLAHK, Council of Abdicant Emperors), while larth (kings/queens) were chosen for it by mutual election, thereby receiving the honorary title of nisoth (NEESOHTH, "Their Eminence").

It was this Council of Abdicant Emperors that was responsible for the promotion and inquiry of starpilots that were imperials. It was said those hearings were tougher than the ones military organizations conducted for ordinary starpilots. The descendants of the eight royal families were forced to get past those hearings, as they were given 40 years to compete over the scaimsorh rœnr (SKEMSOHRR REN, jade throne).

While he waited for the Apprentice Starpilot to appear, Jinto used his compuwatch to run a search of rüé-lalasac (ROOEH-LAHLAHSAH, imperials of distinguishment), and discovered that Ablïar Néïc-Dubreuscr, Bœrh Parhynr (BEHRR PARRHYUHN, Viscountess of Parhynh) was the lartnéc casna (LARTNEH KAHSNAH, first princess).

Walking a step behind her, Jinto felt truly restless. The confusion that had dogged him for six years had reached a crescendo.

Previously, it had been more like an insect that buzzed annoyingly around him. Jinto had had ample chance to grow accustomed to it, and sometimes he even felt fine with it, appreciated it. However, it was as though he'd caught wind somewhere that the insect was furnished with a stinger, and boy had it begun to sting.

He had, of course, expected to bump into an imperial at some point. He himself was technically a noble, and he figured it was great that that qualified him to gain the favor of imperials. He'd assumed his first encounter with them would be at some social gathering like a ball or a dinner party. And he'd assumed they'd properly introduce themselves as such.

What had transpired instead was a veritable sneak attack.

His supposed conviction that all people are born equal was apparently shakier than he thought, given that it flew out the window the second he found himself near someone who was so close, by blood, to the ruler of an Empire that presided over 900 billion bisarh (BEESARR, subjects). His past and future aside, Jinto, at that moment, was an Abh noble, totally immersed in the Empire's class system.

When he recalled how the Captain had taken a polite attitude with him, the legitimate heir of an upstart noble, his fears that his behavior in the docking vessel had been glib only worsened.

How was he going to smooth things over? Jinto stared wildly around.

Contrary to Jinto's expectations, the warship's interior wasn't no-frills impersonal; there were paintings along the hallway walls of the patrol ship. Not only that, but they were full of windblown grassy fields, and skies of drifting white clouds. He thought they might have given him at least some peace of mind, but they had absolutely no effect.

"What's the matter, Jinto?" Lafier's face appeared beside the hovering fluff of painterly dandelions. "You haven't said a word. And why are you walking behind me?"

"Fïac Rüé-nér (FEEA ROOEH-NEHR, Your Highness the Imperial Princess), I...," Jinto began, with utmost deference.

Instantly, Lafier stopped in her tracks and turned around. The look she shot him gave him goosebumps.

She had shot him glares during their time on the docking vessel, too. However, now he could see they'd been half in jest, like a dog play-biting.

This is the face she pulls when she's really pissed...

Her face, beautifully constructed, was tinged with unmistakable anger, black fire blazing in her ebony eyes. But, belying that fire, the words that escaped her lips were as bitter-cold as the vacuum of space.

"I am not a Rüé-nér, an imperial princess. I am a Lartnér princess. Daughter of a king, not of the Empress herself. The Empress is my grandmother. My father is a mere larth king.

"Forgive me, Fïac Lartnér." He bowed his head with all cordiality, but on the inside Jinto stewed: Did she really have to get so angry over something as silly as getting her title wrong?

Lafier turned away in a huff and started stomping off from him. Jinto chased after her in a panic.

Lafier had more to say. "If you insist on fixating so much on my relation to Her Majesty, I am a Rüé-baugenér (ROOEH-BOHGNEHR, granddaughter of the Empress), but that's not an official title, and I seldom use it anyway. In fact, I myself was shocked when I discovered that I was the granddaughter of an Empress. And most importantly, 'Fïac Rüé-baugenér' just sounds weird! 'Granddaughter of the Empress'?"

"Sure, I can see tha — er, I mean, certainly, Fïac," Jinto concurred diffidently.

"When I was born, I inherited the fief and title of Viscountess of Parhynh from Her Majesty the Empress through my father, who is my legal guardian. That's why I'm sometimes called 'Fïac Bœrh Parhynr.' Though here, for whatever reason, people usually refer to me as 'Apprentice Starpilot Ablïar,'" Lafier rattled on.

Unable to butt in, Jinto could only keep on walking in blank amazement.

"I thought I told you — you will call me 'Lafier'!"

Jinto could be bone-headed at times, but even he now grasped the real reason Lafier was so upset. He changed his tone on a dime. "Okay, got it, my bad. You're 'Lafier' to your friends, then."

"Not even to my friends." Lafier's tone was as curt as ever. "The only ones who address me without my title are my father, Larth Crybr Fïac Dubeusec, my grandmother, Her Majesty the Empress, my aunt, Countess Gemfaz Fïac Lamryunar of the Countdom of Lamryun. Them, and the fanigac (FAHNEEGAH, retired emperors) that I'm directly descended from. That's about it. My friends call me either Fïac Lartnér or just Fïac, while my relatives all seem to have taken to calling me Fïac Lafier."

"Then why...?" He spontaneously froze in his steps. He, a mere heir to a countdom, had, unbenknownst to him, obtained an incredible privilege. And here he'd been, actively trying to discard it. "You want me to call you 'Lafier'... even though we've only barely met?"

"It was the first time anyone ever asked me my name." Lafiel also stopped walking, but she kept facing ahead.

"Being the granddaughter of the Empress means everyone already knows my name and appearance. I'm famous, apparently. People call me 'Fïac Lartnér' without my ever getting to introduce myself. So even people I'm quite close to end up calling me Fïac. It's been like that all my life. I didn't pay it all that much mind, but at the academy, I felt the tiniest — the tiniest — bit jealous when everyone was dropping titles when calling each other's names. That jealousy only grew worse when I realized that my peers were always unable to 'loosen up' when I was around."

"I, I'm sorry..." Jinto was appalled at the enormity of the offense he'd committed. He'd inadvertently slapped away the hand she'd extended in good will, and dealt a blow to her heart.

"Do not apologize." As coldly as ever, she stated "You have done nothing wrong. While 'Fïac Rüé-nér' is definitely mistaken, you meant nothing by it. I wasn't brought up to endure rude monikers, but I will accept any proper name. So be at ease, Lonh-Ïarlucec Dreur — you may now call me 'Fïac Lartnér' or 'Fïac Bœrh Parhynr.'"

"No, it's okay, I'll just call you 'Lafier'..."

"Don't get the wrong idea. It's not as though I really wanted you to call me 'Lafier.'

I just thought it would be questionable to introduce myself with my title attached."

Maybe she isn't suited to becoming Empress; she's a terrible liar.

Jinto shook off that thought and pled anew. "Please, I'd really like to just call you 'Lafier.'"

Lafier finally turned back to face him, and stared intently.

"Don't strain yourself, Lonh."

"I'm not. I swear..."

"Then I don't even mind if you call me 'Fïac Rüé-baugenér.'" Jinto let out a gasp. He'd wounded her so much that she'd rather he called her the name she'd said sounded "weird."

"What do I need to do to make it up to you!?"

Lafier just kept wordlessly staring at Jinto for a while. Then, at last, her cheeks twitched. The indignant princess started chuckling, as though she couldn't hold it in any longer.

Jinto was relieved — it seemed their friendship had been mended.

"You really had no idea I was an Ablïar?" asked Lafier, after stifling the urge to laugh.

"Nope. None whatsoever."

"Even with these ears of mine?" Lafier scooped up her hair. They were pointy — the same ears as Fleet Commander Ablïar, the man who had invaded the Hyde star system.

"This is the üaritec (WAHREET, unique family feature) of my lineage, the nüic ablïarser (NOOEE AHBREEARSAR, ears of Ablïar)."

"They were hidden inside your hair."

"I see... My ears are small for an Ablïar's." Judging by the tone of her voice, she'd occasionally felt insecure about them.

"Besides," Jinto continued, "even if I had seen them, I don't know that I would have cottoned on anyway. I'm not an Abh by birth, so I'm not used to giving family features much thought."

"Oh, so that's how it is," Lafier nodded, moved.

"Yep, that's how it is." Jinto resumed walking.

Üaritec or "family features" were like the trademark physical characteristics of individual lines. They varied from the shape of body parts like the nose or ears, to the color of the eyes or hair. Where it manifested depended on the family. Whether they were gentry or nobles, the Abh obsessively saw to it that all descendants of a given family shared that one distinct physical feature. Naturally, they engraved it into their very genes.

Needless to say, Ablïar ears were the most highly respected family feature. But Jinto had altogether forgotten about family features until just that moment.

Lafier walked with him shoulder-to-shoulder. "You really are an amusing one."

"Cut it out, would ya?" Jinto shrugged. "So, I wanted to ask you about your experiences..."

"My experiences?"

"At the academy. You said nobody could relax when you were around?" Lafier urged him to continue with her eyes. "I've got my fair share of memories, too, let me tell you," he said with a sheepish smile. "Though yours are probably on a whole different level."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know if you know... I was the only noble at my school."

"Ahh..."

Because they all aimed to work under Abhs, the students of the Abh Linguistic and Cultural Institute were far removed from any anti-Abh sentiment. On the contrary, the majority intended to find success as imperial citizens, earn appointment as gentry if being nobility was unattainable, and make their descendants into Abhs.

To those students, the presence of a boy who had a noble rank lined up for him despite being a Lander was hard to stomach. He was the target of ridicule on the least pretext, and of vicious bullying wherever teachers weren't looking. That said, there were also those who confused him with their abject servility.

No one knew how to deal with a noble.

"And I can't blame them, either — it's not like I had any idea, either."

"In that case, you had a rougher time than me. The trainee pupils knew full well how they're supposed to behave around an imperial. I simply didn't like how they were supposed to behave around an imperial. I was treated with the proper cordiality and was paid all respects. And yet..." Lafier's eyes turned reproachful. "If I had been you, I wouldn't have let them bully me."

"I'm a pacifist, Lafier," he said with a shrug.

"Neither pacificism nor militarism have anything to do with it, surely."

"Look, there were way more people than I could fight. There was animosity towards me even from the faculty."

"I see..."

"Don't worry, I learned how to get by quickly enough."

"What did you have to do?" she asked, curious.

"I hid my rank."

"You can hide your rank?" Lafier looked puzzled.

"I'm not as famous as you, Fïac Lartnér. Although..." Jinto shook his head. "I couldn't hide it at school. Whenever I tried to put on an innocent face and chat with freshies, some old-timer with a big mouth would be there to make sure they found out."

"So what did you do?"

"I went into town. In town, I made friends with territorial citizens who live without sparing the Empire a thought."

"Wow. You've experienced more hardship than I expected."

A pair of NCCs was about to pass by, but they stopped to give Jinto and Lafier a salute. Lafier saluted back, but didn't break her stride.

"Umm..." said Jinto in hushed tones. "What am I supposed to do when things like that happen? Saluting them back would be weird, right?"

"You can just give them a nod."

The NCCs had already passed by, so Jinto turned around and gave them a nod. Surprised, their hands flew back to the saluting position.

"Well, don't do that, that's just inconveniencing them," Lafier chided him softly.

"You're right." Jinto sighed inwardly.

It played out better the next time they crossed paths with some NCCs.

Finally, they arrived in front of a door illustrated with a sunflower bathing in rays of daylight.

"This is your cabin." Lafier pointed to the door.

Jinto studied it long and hard. "It's been nagging at me — What are these paintings all about? What does this image mean, exactly?"

"It's just decoration. It doesn't 'mean' anything," she said. "Even warships need some livening up. That's probably what they thought."

"But it's jarring, isn't it?" Jinto started whispering: "Aren't there more spaceship-y subjects for decoration?"

"Like?"

"Like stars or galaxies; you know."

"Who would paint such boring subjects?"

"I thought you guys loved the cosmos?" Jinto certainly didn't expect that response.

"We do. It's our home. But the stars are far too everyday to be in art. You can just look outside if you want to see the stars."

"I mean, yeah, that's true, but...

"Besides, paintings like these seem to help NCCs who come from terrestrial worlds mellow out."

"I see..." Jinto closely observed the sunflower. "But what do you people think about it? Abhs, I mean?"

"How many times are you going to make me say it? You are an—"

"Right, I'm an Abh, too," Jinto cut in. "But I'm not an Abh by birth. That's why I'm curious how Abhs feel when they look at natural plant life."

"I don't think it's any different from how surface peoples feel." Lafier cocked an eyebrow. "We too are descended from the selfsame glœc (GLEH, humanity) that arose from Earth."

"But you've never seen a real sunflower, right?"

"You have a distorted view of us, Jinto. I've seen sunflowers. There are botanical gardens in Lacmhacarh (LAHKFAHKARR), and my house has a flower garden of its own."

"All right." Jinto turned around and pointed at the wall behind her. "Then what about that?"

It was a prairie. Realistic knee-length grass filled the piece, and on that grass grazed elephants, horses, and other assorted animals. The scene was sparsely populated by trees, like pines and birches, and cherry blossom petals danced in the blue sky.

"I've never seen that, no," she replied.

"So what are your thoughts on it?"

"Why are you asking? What do you get out of it?" She looked dubious.

"Come on," he said. "Help me understand how native-born Abhs tick."

"Very well." Lafier nodded. "It looks dreamlike to me."

"Dreamlike, as in it doesn't exist in reality?"

"No." She tilted her head. "I know it does exist in reality. I understand that our origins lie in lands like these. I guess I would say it's like our founding myth."

"The forsaken homeland."

"Yes. But the céssath (KEHSAHTH, universe) is our home now. We are the one and only céssatudec (KEHSAHTOOD, people of the cosmos), and we're proud of that."

"Well, surface peoples are descended from interstellar travelers, too," Jinto was quick to point out.

"Yes, travelers. The ancestors of surface peoples simply zipped from one point of the universe to another. We live among the stars. That is a sizeable difference, don't you agree?"

"Maybe." Though in truth, Jinto didn't really know. What he did know was that there was something odd, something alien about the Abh. Whether that "something odd" had to do with their homeland apart from other humans wasn't clear.

"What do you think, Jinto?" "Is it as boring for you as when we look at the stars? Oh, and by 'we,' I mean native-born Abhs. Because you're also Abh."

I guess whenever she says that, she's being conscientious and thinking about me, in her own weird way. Maybe.

"No, it's not boring. This isn't exactly an everyday scene on terrestrial worlds either, you know. Also, my home planet's ecosystem is different from other worlds'. This painting's ecosystem isn't so far removed from reality that it can be called fantastical, but I think it's really all over the place. To the eyes of a trained botanist, it would look fantastical — by the way, could you let me in? I don't know how to open the door."

"You're the one who sidetracked us with sunflowers," she pouted.

"But you've got to admit, it was interesting."

"Yes, I've never stared at a picture so intensely before." It seemed that at her core, she was the honest and unaffected type, this First Princess of the Kingdom of Cryb.

"Right then, open me up, if you please."

"You need but use your compuwatch. It's already registered to its signal."

"Ah, is that right?" Jinto touched the red stone to the side of the compuwatch's display. The door opened.

Jinto took a look around the room from its threshold. "Goodness me, what do we have here?"

"Are you dissatisfied?"

"Far from it. I didn't think it would be this pristine."

It wasn't all that big. The bed took up the entire depth of the room, while it was only around twice as wide. In the space that wasn't taken up by the bed, there was a table and chair. At the back, there was another, small door. But the most eye-catching thing in the room, without a doubt, was the gar-glac (GAR GLAH, coat-of-arms banner) hanging on the bed-side wall. The coat of the arms of the Countdom of Hyde.

A red rezwan had been embroidered on a green background. What was a rezwan? It didn't look so dissimilar to a bird, but it was a species of furry-fish that swum the seas of the planet Martinh. The specimens in the wild were, even accounting for the fact it was a fish, extremely dimwitted. And yet, it had an inexplicable stateliness to it.

"Your bags will have been put in there." She pointed to the storage shelves opposite the bed. "If you want to get clean, use that door."

Jinto opened the door at the back. Just as he thought, a lavatory and bathroom were furnished for him.

"This is awesome. What is this room? Is it for temporary passengers or something?"

"This is a patrol ship, Jinto. It's a standard room for a starpilot."

"I just hope I didn't take somebody's pad."

"Worry not. For warships of patrol ship-size, living quarters are planned out with extra space. You never know when non-officer passengers need to board, after all."

"Good." Jinto turned his attention to the banner on the wall. "Where'd that thing come from?"

"Ah, it must have been made aboard ship," she said nonchalantly.

"What, for me?"

"Who else would it be of any use for, besides you?"

It's not much use to me, either...

Jinto shrugged gently. He felt no affection for that hastily improvised coat of arms. It hadn't been long after the establishment of the count's household that he'd laid eyes on it for the first time, and so up until the day prior he'd utterly forgotten they'd even had a coat of arms.

Jinto patted around his bed to gauge its comfiness. It was soft enough to assure him he'd be sleeping just fine.

Jinto took a seat on his bed. "So, what do I do now?"

"Right." Lafier checked the time on her compuwatch. "It will be dinner time in two hours. You'll most likely be invited to the captain's table. When the time comes, I'll come pick you up, so be patient and wait here."

"You don't need to go out of your way for me; if you just call me on the telephone I'm sure I can get there on my own. You must have work to do, right?"

"That will be enough of that nonsense." Lafier's expression turned serious. "I've been tasked with being your guard tomorrow as well. I advise you not to amble around on your own until after tomorrow. Since the founding of the Star Forces, there have been countless new recruits and civilians who believed they could get around by reading the onboard guide maps, only to nearly turn into mummies in deserted storage decks."

"And you? Did you get lost, too?" Jinto needled.

"I don't appreciate untoward questions that open old wounds, Jinto," replied the Apprentice Starpilot.

"I see you've got some fun stories to share," Jinto smiled.

"Shut up, Jinto," Lafier shut him down. "Need anything else from me?"

"Nope. Thank you. I'm fine just killing time here, so I'll be good and wait for you."

"Then I'll see you in two hours."

"See you in two."

Lafier turned right around, and closed the door behind her.

Jinto decided to use this time for a warm shower. As he took off his shoes, he suddenly realized, with a start, how relaxed he was. All the nervousness he'd felt before boarding the patrol ship disappeared like a bad dream.