Fic: Greetings
Jun. 4th, 2013 07:00 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_roseTitle: Greetings
Fandom: Original
'Verse/Series: Kat (High Queen)
Pairing/Characters: General Series
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 465
Prompt: For the thirty days of flash fiction (remember this meme?!) 17) Write a scene with a character in a foreign land, unable to speak the local language
Summary: Cal gets the chance to prove his worth as a linguist
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply.
Index Page for this series: DW/ LJ
Cal greeted the king eloquently, or so it seemed to Kat. The language was called Iath, though this literally meant 'tongue' referring to the language of the place. It was considered wrong to call it Cambrian, and was usually referred to by the long winded 'tongue of Cambri'. Of course Cambri was what outsiders, particularly the Citadel's inhabitants, called the kingdom. The inhabitants called their home Rhaeadrau in reference to the waterfalls of which they were rightfully proud.
The language was unique to this kingdom and few outsiders had much familiarity with it. Cal's mother had taught it to him, perhaps to keep some connection with her homeland, and Elias, who prided himself on knowing most of the used and many of the dead languages, had tutored both his protégés, Cal and Tamsin alike. They were the only four people in the Citadel to know Iath with any fluency.
Kat found it only mildly unnerving to not understand a word of what was being said. She rather thought it irked Honor more, on both a personal level, and professional one in terms of worrying if what was being said might cause diplomatic issues.
The king nodded cheerfully and responded with a few words that sounded encouraging. Clearly Cal was doing something right. Then Cal bowed, and began a long speech. "Yn fy ngalluogi i gyflwyno i chi Ei Mawrhydi y Frenhines Fawr, Gloriana Katerina Mallika Mairenne –"
Kat blinked. Was Cal going to recite all twenty five of her names? She could barely remember them all, in the right order, herself!
To her surprise he did, and then added, in Iath, what had to be a roll call of her various titles. Some of them, anyway. If he tried for all of them, they'd be here until midnight.
Cal finally stopped for breath and bowed. The king nodded and met Kat's gaze. She smiled and he bowed. Kat inclined her head in acknowledgement. The King addressed her briefly in her his own tongue and gestured. A finely dressed woman brought forth a silver tray with two glasses of water on it. The king took one glass and the woman offered the other to Cal. He sipped at it, nodded, and handed it to Kat.
Kat waited for the king to raise his glass and make a toast of some description. Then they both drained their glasses. So this was the famous Dwr Rhaedrau. It was nice, slightly chilly, and crisp. It was also merely water. Nonetheless she smiled broadly as she relinquished the glass to the serving woman and the king beamed back.
"Let me welcome you in your tongue, now, Majesty," the king said. Honor gave an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. It seemed they'd negotiated the unfamiliar ritual without causing a diplomatic incident.
Notes: Online Welsh translators gave me Cal's introduction which should roughly mean "Allow me to introduce Her Majesty, the High Queen," although I used the Welsh word for Great rather than High to ensure the correct sense.
Obviously there will be lead up to, and follows on from this, which may necessitate some amendments to this piece. I'm still pinning down details.
Fandom: Original
'Verse/Series: Kat (High Queen)
Pairing/Characters: General Series
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 465
Prompt: For the thirty days of flash fiction (remember this meme?!) 17) Write a scene with a character in a foreign land, unable to speak the local language
Summary: Cal gets the chance to prove his worth as a linguist
Content Notes: No standard warnings apply.
Index Page for this series: DW/ LJ
Cal greeted the king eloquently, or so it seemed to Kat. The language was called Iath, though this literally meant 'tongue' referring to the language of the place. It was considered wrong to call it Cambrian, and was usually referred to by the long winded 'tongue of Cambri'. Of course Cambri was what outsiders, particularly the Citadel's inhabitants, called the kingdom. The inhabitants called their home Rhaeadrau in reference to the waterfalls of which they were rightfully proud.
The language was unique to this kingdom and few outsiders had much familiarity with it. Cal's mother had taught it to him, perhaps to keep some connection with her homeland, and Elias, who prided himself on knowing most of the used and many of the dead languages, had tutored both his protégés, Cal and Tamsin alike. They were the only four people in the Citadel to know Iath with any fluency.
Kat found it only mildly unnerving to not understand a word of what was being said. She rather thought it irked Honor more, on both a personal level, and professional one in terms of worrying if what was being said might cause diplomatic issues.
The king nodded cheerfully and responded with a few words that sounded encouraging. Clearly Cal was doing something right. Then Cal bowed, and began a long speech. "Yn fy ngalluogi i gyflwyno i chi Ei Mawrhydi y Frenhines Fawr, Gloriana Katerina Mallika Mairenne –"
Kat blinked. Was Cal going to recite all twenty five of her names? She could barely remember them all, in the right order, herself!
To her surprise he did, and then added, in Iath, what had to be a roll call of her various titles. Some of them, anyway. If he tried for all of them, they'd be here until midnight.
Cal finally stopped for breath and bowed. The king nodded and met Kat's gaze. She smiled and he bowed. Kat inclined her head in acknowledgement. The King addressed her briefly in her his own tongue and gestured. A finely dressed woman brought forth a silver tray with two glasses of water on it. The king took one glass and the woman offered the other to Cal. He sipped at it, nodded, and handed it to Kat.
Kat waited for the king to raise his glass and make a toast of some description. Then they both drained their glasses. So this was the famous Dwr Rhaedrau. It was nice, slightly chilly, and crisp. It was also merely water. Nonetheless she smiled broadly as she relinquished the glass to the serving woman and the king beamed back.
"Let me welcome you in your tongue, now, Majesty," the king said. Honor gave an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. It seemed they'd negotiated the unfamiliar ritual without causing a diplomatic incident.
Notes: Online Welsh translators gave me Cal's introduction which should roughly mean "Allow me to introduce Her Majesty, the High Queen," although I used the Welsh word for Great rather than High to ensure the correct sense.
Obviously there will be lead up to, and follows on from this, which may necessitate some amendments to this piece. I'm still pinning down details.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 05:22 pm (UTC)Makes me want to write again ... but I have to write way too much for my work, and so I hardly have time to write fiction then.
no subject
Date: 2013-06-04 05:43 pm (UTC)