Nothing to Hold You Down
They came back as unobtrusively as they left, my Ai-Naidar, though I am conscious of their solicitude as I attempt to recover and figure out some kind of workable schedule for the new few weeks. Still, I have time to puzzle over the latest of enigmas.
"I need to translate this word," I say. "I'm not finding anything."
It's Shame who glances at what I'm working on, then steps away to rest one shoulder against the door frame. "You could say the noble or regal caste, if you wished."
I shake my head. "That's not the same. That's a group of individuals. It's too personal."
"Then use Kherishdar," he suggests.
"That's the name of your empire," I say. "It's too specific."
He lifts a brow, hands folded over his chest. His tail twitches near the hem of his full pants, black hair against black silk. "I admit to a lack of understanding, aunerai. You wanted a word for those who... adjudicate? Reign? But you reject the caste names for those who do so. You do not want the name for empire, either. What exactly do you seek?"
I look at the word on the page. How do I explain the concept of a huge and impersonal abstraction to people who are ruled so personally? Everyone knows the name of their lord or lady, who sees them every year to mark them, who judges their disputes and assigns them their duties.... and their emperor has been with them since the founding. It's a whole different ball game when "The Man" is literal.
"I don't think you understand what I seek," I say, pen resting near the word: Government. "God knows how I'm going to explain it to anyone else."
Stardancer Home.
![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
haikujaguar) wrote,
