81st Turn, Seventh Year, Spring Equinox

Introduction

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From the Journal of Aframos Longjourney, Pilgrim

With notes by Avos Torr, Scholar of Rheve Library

Spring Equinox, Seventh Year, 81st Turn

Spring has come, and it is time for all young conlins¹ to begin their quests. That includes me, and tomorrow I will learn what my task shall be. I will no longer be Aframos Tremiren. Tomorrow, I will get my taskname, the name by which I will be known for the rest of my life. I have been given this journal, which will detail my quest, and the steps I undertook to complete my quest. If I do well enough, it will be given to later conlins to study before they undertake their quests.

Will I be a crafter, like my first-father? A priest like my second-father? Or perhaps a dowser, like my mother. Ironsword, Soulward, Deepwell. Their tasknames. Their adult names. They are no longer identified simply by their clan, but by who they have become, and by the quests they undertook to take those names. What will mine be? What task will the elders give me? Will I be able to live up to the task?

I cannot help but think of my oldest brother, who failed his task. He was stripped of his taskname. He has no status in the clan. He can never hope to be more than a third husband, even if he can find a female who wants him. I fear that I may end up like him. More, with both of the oldest sons disgraced, my family may never recover face.

Still, the elders are fair. They will not give me an impossible task. I am not afraid to work hard. Whatever task they give me, I will finish. Or else I will die trying, and save my family the shame.²

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Footnotes

1. Conlin roughly translates to child, or hatchling, though perhaps "youngster" is a better word.

2. And that is our first entry in the journal, and our first look at Aframos. I only commented lightly on this entry, both because I found the content to be self-explanatory and because my expertise does not extend to the culture of the Baro nomads. I will explain the more puzzling terms, but for the most part, I will leave discussion of the nomads to other scholars. My business lies elsewhere in the text.