The refugees, 2nd draft

The Donin

Three months in, august 20th*

Ligh

The wall had been officially built of wood and we had built several houses and areas to work, sleep, eat, and train. Each leader was given a moderately large house built around the plane itself, the plane was used as a market, and had plenty of space having had been 20 feet across with 3 rows and a fist, business, and economy section. The stalls made in first class were the most expensive and sold weapons and armour. Businesses sold clothes and tools. Finally, economy sold food and everything else.

Our young were taught in the art of defence, but the traditional subjects were not forgotten. Akran, with inspiration and help from Aspira recently made a new weapon that they dubbed the Donin through some absurd process of random names.

Today they planned to try to promote it in the market that had sprung up. Aspira had been friendly with me, even helping in felling many trees that we needed and defending our group, she was annoying, cunning and had sharp wits. She once sliced a bird out of the sky with one dagger on a bet. The astonished builder had to give her his wine ration for the week which she used that very night, with the only two other people who were insane enough to drink as much as she did, who were Niki and Shiani, Charolette was supposed to watch them, but Charolette probably got distracted with something.

Aspira stumbled into my house that night, utterly confused and passed out in the armoury. I had to carry her to the couch and the next morning, to take care of her hangover.

She admitted that at the monastery where she trained, they did not allow alcohol, pleasure, or smoking in any way so she was absurdly addicted to wine for whatever reason. Shiani had had an obsession to Vodka and Niki would drink whatever was around.

The farmers had recently managed to get the grapes that someone had brought along to grow into grapevines, which now decorated the apple trees that they also grew. Wine and other strong spirits were rationed but one can still trade and share rations.

The next day she barely woke up and Gabriel had to give her unit their daily drills. We went to the council meeting where Akran was giving a speech on the days of the year. With help from mine and Niki's faction we had realised that the smallest and fastest moon of the two that orbited the planet would finish a rotation in about 50 days, so we named that a month. With some math and calculations and putting paint on windows we had also found that there were 12 months in a year, for a grand total of 608 days in a year, one month less than twice an earth day.

The days also lasted 40 hours, which at first would leave one tiered and confused throughout the day but we adjusted quickly, after enough time requiring 10 hours of sleep. Also, there was plenty of time in the night to rest so many of us got slowly used to darker light.

Anyway, Aspira gave me a diamond dagger as a token of thanks for helping her saying, "I have plenty more daggers and you need it more than me," she then walked off to Cordlen's house to inform them that she was unable to work, and that Gabriel would oversee her unit for the day.

Anyway, that was a while ago, today Akran had hired Aspira to use his weapon because she mastered any weapon she picked up, when I asked her why she said, "any assassin knows how to use most earthly weapons so we can figure out the stranger ones faster." They had paid Sureyors rations* to exclusive use of the weapon to place flyers all over the city and Cordlen endorsed the Donin the second they were allowed to use it.

Akran began by waiting for people to gather in the market then began saying, "For years today we have used weapons that are small and light to throw or used arrows that easily break but no more! We have invented a new weapon, one that can be used at range and at melee with lethal results either way. To present the use of this weapon, the Donin please welcome expert assassin Aspira!"

Muted applause followed and Aspira curtsied to the crowd, Aspira was more feared than respected in those early days. Then she drew two wickedly curved weapons that looked, for lack of better words, like weaponized protractors. She whirled around and threw one. It sliced right through the ballistic dummy that they had made with spoiled meat and halfway through the trunk of a mock tree that they had planted. The tree slowly collapsed right along with the dummy.

She then whirled around and lunged through the other dummy that they had set up and in 2 quick slices cut off its head in a blurred movement as if she had become a shadow. In battle she moved with ethereal grace, and it was hard for me to take my eyes off her. The entire crowd then gave them standing ovations and Aspira curtsied again before heading over to retrieve her weapon.

I saw a wicked gleam in Akran's eyes then and I knew why Aspira did that. Firstly, she would earn a reputation among the villagers as a fearsome, expert fighter, thus cementing the Army's role in government. Then there was also the lethality of those weapons, though daggers were small and precise the Donin were lethal and could seriously hurt anything, including the wolf. The wolf was another reason because with superstition and fear spreading this would ensure the Villagers that they were safe to live as they pleased.

It was at that same moment that I learned to fear the surveyors and I would keep that fear of Akran for the rest of my life which may have saved me a few times but that is for later.

Aspira walked over to me and said, "let's get out of here Ligh," we walked away and behind us there was an excited rush as quite a few people went to trade for their own Donin, Economy was going to be busy.

She laughed with a savage pleasure and said, "there's nothing better than a fight, the removal of doubt, the clear headedness, it's just me and the target, life and death in my hands." I smiled and said, "that would be like math, design and the completion of a project is for me, if I so choose I can 'accidentally' make a weak or damaged area that could kill certain people inside."

Aspira laughed again then said, "so you see, even a professional assassin, hired by all from the wealthy to the poor can relate to a young, but well reputed and genius architect." I smiled and said, "I am afraid that that is the only way that we are alike though why do you consider me a genius? I cannot compare to some of my classmates, I have never completed anything important..." at that moment she whirled around and placed a hand on my mouth standing so close so as to make me uncomfortable.

"You gave the design to the Akmat Tej the place where I was trained, you saw how we needed to live and I cannot thank you enough for what you did, I was only there for three years under the changes, but they truly were incredible. Ligh, you are a genius, and I am sorry that your life was cut short." She then kissed me on the lips and sauntered off to her house which I just now realized was a miniaturized version of the Akmat Tej.

I stood there for a second before heading out to attend the meeting of a few of the leaders on how to best expand the village.

*Rations are worth a lot, but no one exactly quantified the cost of them. Historians vary from 10 USD a ration to as much as 100 though the average is 20 USD.

Agriculture: Lenox,18

Water & irrigation: cordlen,12

Defence: Gabriel, 10

The army: Aspira, 11

Trade: Alizee, 9

Labour: Granger, 10

Health & human services: Alvaro, 5

Housing & urban development: Ligh, 12

Transportation: Niki, 10

Energy: Charolotte, 8

Surveyors: Akran, 20

Education: Kara, 4

133 employed

Author's notes: the chakrans that are the image of this chapter are as close as humans have gotten to the Donin.