Mapping the Bitrani Territory

To Lilfluff’s Prompt: this is set in the immediate post-war era in my Reiassan setting. The Calenyena have, after centuries of war, finally conquered the Bitrani. 

And now they need to deal with that conquered land.


“What did I do to offend the gods, the engineers, and the Empress?”  Tetatelai Mapmaker grumbled at her goat, her partner, and the world in general.  “Whose boots did I piss in, whose tent did I stumble against, what city did I misspell?”

“You know,” Openpennait Sword-bearer raised his aristocratic eyebrows at her.  “Some people would take this as an honor.  You are in charge of adding new territories to the Empress’ maps.  That’s an impressive duty.”

“It’s a sweaty duty, too,” Tetlai countered.  She plucked at her tunic in demonstration, showing the way the silk was sticking to her.  “What do the Bitrani even wear down here?”

“There’s a reason that we go to war in the cold season and the rainy season,” Openait agreed.  “I don’t know what they wear, although sometimes the answer is ‘surprisingly little’.  You could take off a few layers, you know.  You’re not in Lannamer.”

“I know.  I just..”  She sighed at herself.  “I’m-”

“Making sure everyone knows you’re Calenyena, because of the hair.  It’s fine.  Look, the way you sit a goat, the way you draw a map, nobody would have any doubt.  Take off the vest and the over-jacket, or, better yet, take off the under-jacket.  Come on.  We’ve got a lot of land to cover, and it’s not going to map itself.”

“As you say, royal one.”  Tetlai stripped off her tops until she was bare except a breast-band, then replaced only the middle blue silk top with the sleeves to her elbows.  “Ah, that’s much  – oh.”  Twisting to look at Openait, she found herself looking straight at a Bitrani soldier. And he was staring straight back at her.

“Well done,” Openait quipped.  “You’ve found our native escort.”

5 thoughts on “Mapping the Bitrani Territory

  1. Hee hee. Since Openait raised no alarm and was expecting this (although maybe not all the details), this should not be a problem. I hope.

  2. Dear our surveyor: silk is remarkably warm even in its thinnest layer. You’re wearing four layers in a place well south of where you’re used to being. Shedding is clever! So’s figuring out what the natives wear. (See also: seersucker, which the Bitrani have likely either invented or adopted from elsewhere, and plant-fiber cloth, which generally isn’t as warm as animal-fiber cloth.)

    That said, if you’ve managed to shock the native guide, you may have another problem to hand. I suspect he’ll get over it, though: “very little” likely applies to both Bitrani men and women. That, or you’ve figured out a summon-Bitrani spell, which suggests you’ll have a different issue.

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