//------------------------------// // Much Ado About Xona // Story: Odrsjot // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// “I don’t mean to rock the boat much, but…” Eagle Eye looked across the windswept top deck of the Noble Jury. “...we’re going really, really, really slow now.” “That’s to be expected, Eagle,” Pilate said, squatting before a book that O.A.S.I.S. was scanning. “While the skystone is acting as a reserve, it is no longer our chief source of propulsion. This steam can only push us so hard.” “Well, I know that!” Eagle Eye nodded. “But still, could there be something we’re missing?” He gazed over the railing along the starboard side and watched as rolling plains oozed by slowly below. “Maybe if we tossed some of the spare scrap that we have over the edge, we could go faster.” “I don’t think speed is our most important trait at the moment,” the zebra replied. “Safety, however, is paramount.” “Heh… safety?” Eagle Eye smirked in his direction. “With nothing but Xonans and Ledomaritans waiting for us in the east? You’re expecting us to be safe?” “Hey!” Floydien’s voice barked from up ahead in the cockpit. “What’s with all the spit?! We’re headed after paint bucket or aren’t we?!” “Now you’ve gone and done it,” Pilate muttered, smirking as he flipped another page of the book he was reading. Eagle Eye sighed as Bellesmith trotted up. “Me and my big muzzle.” “Don’t be too hard on yourself, EE,” Belle said as she held some acorns up to her shoulder so that Simon--perched on her backside--could engage in a liberal meal. “When you’re concerned for your friends, you broadcast it in stereo. We all know this.” “I just can’t help but wonder what it is that they want with Rainbow Dash!” Eagle Eye said, his face sad. “I mean, the crazy cultists--sure. I kind of understood that. But the Xonans?” “I’m endeavoring to figure that out myself,” Pilate spoke out loud, flipping another page underneath O.A.S.I.S. “Hmm?” Belle turned about, all the while petting Simon’s bushy tail. “That’s a rather old book, beloved. What exactly are you pursuing?” “Hmmm…” Pilate’s metal brow flickered as he said, “It’s an old tome about past Xonan dynasties.” “Yeesh.” Eagle Eye winced. “Where the heck did you find it? Ledo doesn’t like ponies possessing books about Eastern culture.” “Mr. Floydien has a remarkable library in his navigation room. I’ve been meaning to read several of his possessions for the longest time, only…” “Heh, right. Got it.” Eagle Eye smirked with a nod. “A lot of crud has been interrupting ‘reading time.’” “I always knew you were well-versed in Xonan history, Pilate,” Bellesaid as Simon scurried off her shoulder with a shrill bark. “What new things could you possibly be learning?” “It’s more like a brand new analysis than fresh knowledge,” Pilate said. “For the past fifteen hundred years, there have been three chief factions to Xonan royalty, which makes up the highest and most valued caste. You see, ages ago, three tribes were associated with having had a ‘divine revelation’ which led to a reformation of the Xonan religious structure. Those directly related to the tribes were labeled as ‘First Born,’ and they adopted the holy language that had previously only been used by Xonan priests and priestesses. Since then, Xonan royalty has lorded over the warrior class--Second Born--and the laboring class--Third Born.” “But the First Born are divided into three groups?” Belle asked. “Families, beloved,” Pilate clarified. “The Cecilen Dynasty, the Jaatso Dynasty, and the Tania Dynasty. For centuries, the three families alternated possession of chief executive power. There was literally an order to it: Cecilen then Jaatso then Tania.” “So, once the king or queen who represented Cecilen passed away…” Belle spoke out loud. “The chief monarch of Jaatso would take over and rule over the course of his lifetime.” “But what about a ‘she?’” “Ah…” Pilate lifted his hoof. “Now there’s the rub. Apparently, Xonan politics is very… well… chauvinistic to say the least.” “How so?” “Well, let’s just say that Xona would never tolerate a mare like Nightshade gaining the sort of power that she did.” Pilate sighed and said, “Apparently--even in a high caste--Xonan females are forced into a subservient social role. This means that if a monarch was to be a mare, the torch would either be passed along to a male relative or the torch wouldn’t be passed whatsoever.” “Wait…” Belle blinked, then made a face. “You mean that one of the Dynasties would simply be skipped?” “Precisely. Seems as though the Xonans would rather die than have a Queen rule over a King.” “But wait a second…” Eagle Eye shuffled forward. “One of those three houses--’Tania,’ I believe it was--it sounded super familiar! Didn’t I hear that--” “Yes, there’s a Princess currently ruling over Xona,” Pilate said. “This is precisely what intrigues me. This ‘Princess Buch Tania Lasairfion’ has inherited her name from three separate monarchs in her dynasty’s class. This isn’t odd, though. What’s strange is the fact that her name traditionally denotes that she would have been born within this generation, which means she can’t be any younger than you or me or Bellesmith. And, as it stands, the Dynasty has already switched hooves during her lifetime.” “Meaning it passed from Jaatso to Cecilen?” Belle remarked. “Yes. Tania has been passed over because their chief monarch is currently female. But… obviously… she’s in power again.” Pilate tilted his head towards the other two. “So, something has happened in the Xonan infrastructure to somehow force Cecilen to skip back over Jaatso and give the torch to Tania once more.” “So not only is Xonan being ruled over by an unorthodox monarch, but she’s gotten her power in a very nontraditional way,” Belle said. “Precisely, beloved.” Belle ran a hoof over her short-short hairs, her face scrunched in thought. “That’s… somewhat disturbing.” “In what way?” Eagle Eye asked, blinking. “Well, EE, it means that there’s been some sort of rift in the power structure of Ledomare’s chief adversary,” Belle remarked. “It could explain their huge shift in battle strategies, what with these ‘chaos monsters’ they seem to be wielding.” “I would also suspect that their latest reformation may have something to do with it.” “Reformation?” Eagle Eye stammered. “Yes.” Pilate nodded. “The way in which they evidently refer to ‘Nagu’n’ as of late, it’s downright disturbing. I think we’re witnessing a fundamental change in the Xonan religion, and whatever it means to them it’s giving them undaunted righteous fury in their military pursuits.” “And what of their princess?” Eagle Eye asked with a shrug. “Is she the reason for all this change?” “I’m willing to believe so,” Pilate said as a gust of wind chilled all three of them. “She’s evidently brought something to the table, and whatever it is, it’s brought the Xonans into a new level of communion with their patron deity. I hate to say it, but I think this quite literally happened ‘overnight,’ and that doesn’t bode well.” “Why not?” “Because if an entire culture such as the Xonans’ can experience a dramatic change that quickly, then either you and I have been following the wrong religion--or Lasairfion’s reformation is completely and utterly self-manifested.” Belle squinted. “You mean…” “I believe the Xonans are all being led by a power-grabbing cultist,” Pilate said. “Whether she’s seeking social change or revolution, it’s unclear. But she seems to desire only two things: bloody chaos… and Rainbow Dash.”