Jelaza Kazone
In which Delm Korval meets Emissary Twelve.
Way back when Edger was first introduced, there was a brief mention of the Ambassadorial Clans of the Clutch, whose members are shorter and svelter and speedier than the working clans such as Edger belongs to. It would appear that Emissary Twelve is an example.
The Emissary’s manners are, as Miri notes, extremely hasty by Clutch standards, which is to say that they’re about the speed that’s considered comfortable among the Clans of Men. I hadn’t thought about it until she mentioned it was an assigned designation, but part of that is that she’s been given a human-sized name for people to use.
If Sye Mon and Bon Vit were right about where the Department was sending its Old Tech war machines, that might be what the Emissary has come to warn Korval about. Or it might be something else entirely, as if they don’t have enough to worry about already.
So the Clutch ship manages to land without even “dimpling the tarmac.” But what about the fact of even sitting on the tarmac? It must not weigh nearly as much as I’d imagined if it can safely sit there for any length of time at all!
Also, isn’t it interesting that the Clutch sent an emissary to Korval (with a Liaden cultural background) who is called Emissary Twelve—not Eleven, not Thirteen?
Yes. Yes, it is.
Why is that interesting? Am I missing something about the number 12?
Twelve is a significant number to Liadens the way ten is to Terrans: Liadens say “a dozen years ago” instead of “a decade ago”, count to 144 instead of to 100 when they’re trying not to lose their temper, and so on.
Ahhhh. I completely forgot about that.