#arcanium

Aali already had a hunch about that. The Glassdancers were people of different roots. The ones who had given Aali her dinner last night were Fedorion and looked a lot like herself. Auberika seemed to be of Emeri descent, with her sharp eyes and wide forehead. As for Chotye, his thick lips, big nose, and name made Aali think he was Mirabitya, but when questioned, he merely cocked his head and redirected the subject.

Chotye explained how the Glassdancers start their training early. They would dance as one normally did: on top of comfortable ground, with shoes on. The lessons got harder as one earned mastery.

Of the history of the dance, Chotye shrugged.

"Dunno if anyone actually knows the whole deal an' all. My nurturer says the first Glassdancers were a disgraced concubine an' her attendants. Tis why the Grand Guardian must always be a woman."

"And where how did a disgraced concubine think about using broken glass as her platform?"

"Somethin' 'bout goin' back to the palace an' that, some bold act of rebellion or so. I don't believe it myself, since we got coupl' of other versions. One says it's a test of lover's fidelity. Anotha's a parent tryin' ta get their children back from a tricksta' demigod. Then, there's the young-in's fav'rite: a mermaid arose from the sea an' danced in joy o'er the sand, which is, y'know, supposed to be crushed glass. It's silly, don't ya think?"

Aali didn't think the same, but she did agree that the mermaid tale was the most fanciful of all the stories.

One week passed by in a blink of an eye. As a businesswoman, information was valuable to Aali, but experiencing things for oneself was even better.

She asked Chotye to be introduced to the other Glassdancers, but he declined. She requested to meet with their best dancer for the costume she would create; to that, he promised nothing, but he showed up the next morning with Lalalire.

And to Lalalire, Aali made small talk while taking measurements, until she could ask, "How did you learn to dance on glass? I can't imagine you people practicing your routine on broken shards everyday."

Chotye could not stop his companion from howling with laughter and correcting Aali. "Of course, not! We practice on solid ground first! It's easier to do actual glassdancing if you knew the steps by heart. I'm already used to it, but it still hurts and we get blisters all the time."

Prepared, Aali produces a small jar of ointment from her bag. "If it helps, I got this balm from Damasqus Network. It's both healing and soothing, perfect for shallow wounds."

Chotye grimaced as he watched it all go down, but Aali had trapped them both. She made a deal with Lalalire her ointment for being taught the dance moves. Aali reasoned that she needed to understand their dance more so she could create a proper costume that did not hinder their movements, and so Lalalire agreed.

The next few days, Aali stood next to nomads way younger than her, children no older than 12 or so. Their teacher was one of the Fedorion natives, so Aali was more than welcome to stay around.

The dance was far simpler than Aali imagined. She was not graceful, but she understood the routine, and with enough practice, she could memorize the steps. The challenge lied in the way one placed their bare foot on ground. Many times she lifted a leg and skipped about, and if done on sharp material such as glass…

It seemed that the steps were designed to deliberately hurt the dancer's feet.

"I dunno," said her teacher, "But we do close our eyes while dancing. It helps with concentration. It hurts from time to time; it really does. But I've been dancing for so long. I even have thick callouses now."

"Do you let the children dance on broken glass?"

"We let the older ones dance on crushed glass. Those can't really hurt you, but if you're inexperienced, it can wound you. For example, we don't want to stand on our toes, because our nails aren't protected. It's so painful when glass cuts through nails."

As her teacher pointed to a toe with a missing nail, Aali wondered if she could fashion something for protecting the dancers' toes.

After meeting with the Glassdancers, Aali would return to her shop and continue business as usual. Her assistants noticed her fatigue and her increasing mistakes over the next few days, and one at point, they prevented her from meeting with the nomads. Even so, Aali escaped from them to join the Glassdancers, just in time for lunch, where Chotye and the others started talking about their lovers.

The conversation reminded Aali of her mother. So, she whispered to Chotye, "If a Glassdancer wants to marry, what happens?"

"They hafta quit. We give former members proper send-offs if they ask ta leave nicely."

"Are they allowed to tell their new families about the Glassdancers?"

"Whaddya think?"

Chotye didn't seem willing to talk more about it, so Aali changed topics. "Are any of you biological parents to the kids here?"

"Yep, but it's rare. Weon really turn away anyone who shows up with child, but weon allow marriage, period." His words were unusually sharp, but the facts aligned with how he described the 'birth' of a Glassdancer. "Whyddya ask?"

"I was thinking of my mother, is all."

"You sure? You ain't thinkin' of a lover, are ya?"

Aali's brows furrowed, but she smiled.

"Bein" a Glassdancer is 'bout freedom. Marriage ties ya down; is bad for travellin' an' stuff. Get yaself knocked out; also not good for travellin'. Health reasons, ya know."

"But you guys have lovers."

"Flings, not lovers."

"Isn't it cruel to have flings all over the place?"

"It's why ya tell them it's temporary."

Aali never got the tale from her father, but in her mind, it went something like this: Adoli met Erzad in the Dunes as the Glassdancers came by. They had a fling, except Erzad never told Adoli that this was supposed to be temporary. However, he charmed her with a promise of a good future, so she decided to part ways with the Glassdancers, marry Adoli, and birth Aali.

Satisfied with the fancy story she created for herself, Aali quieted to listen in to the group.

Then, a young Glassdancer came running to his elders, proclaiming, "Big trouble! Big trouble!" Asked, he explained, "The Queen of Prisma wants to see us perform for her at the end of the month!"

The nomads gasped and awed and doubted. It was certainly an odd request for someone like Queen Charity to make, but if they agreed to it, Aali could benefit from the situation. Auberika showed herself, called the other guardians to discuss, and made her decision:

"We will indulge Her Majesty."

Aali smirked. Fate had granted her an extra two weeks with the Glassdancers.

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