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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Drama / Human Interest
- Subject: Fantasy / Dreams / Wishes
- Published: 03/23/2022
Inbul's Daughter
Born 1970, M, from Georgia, United States.jpeg)
Master Inbul, one of Elhrub’s greatest sages and philosophers, was giving an open lecture at the Great Agora. This was intriguing in that he normally spoke only at the agora on the grounds of his ‘bibliotheca,’ as he calls it. He was to speak on his principles of leadership, and, as being a student of such masters, I intended to be in attendance.
When I arrived at the Great Agora, several sages and students such as myself were already present. I was fortunate enough to find a seat near enough that I could see and hear Master Inbul without being distracted by some of the other masters, who would often comment amongst themselves.
Prior to Master Inbul’s arrival, I noticed Master Vrageo near the front discussing something with some of his peers. He seemed agitated at one of the other masters, of whom I could not see, as he kept pointing at them. I presumed this master was probably Nerian or Torat (or at least what they considered a sage), as a few other groups of sages and students seemed to discuss their presence as well.
The various attendees quieted down and took their seats once Mater Inbul approached the agora, and no sooner had he welcomed everyone and thanked us for coming than Master Vrageo interrupted.
“Master Inbul, I am, as I’m sure everyone in attendance here is, eager to hear you speak. Before you begin, though, there is one matter that has to be addressed. That woman, who sits as if she were a master, must be removed.”
A woman? That was the source of the discussion amongst the others? From my vantage point, I could not confirm this, but the vague outline of their form suggested that Master Vrageo was correct.
“Removed? For what reason?” Inbul responded. “Is not the Great Agora open to all?”
Undeterred, Vrageo said, “It is. But this lecture is a discussion amongst learned men and students. It is currently no place for a woman, especially one who presumes to be a master sage.”
“She presumes nothing. Loqinn is my student and here at my invitation. As my guest, she may sit among the masters.”
This answer seemed to infuriate Vrageo. “You must have gone mad. Your affinity for the Timerialians, attempting to teach women to think and reason, and now this. I demand that she leave at once.”
“No,” Inbul said in a calm voice. “However, if you wish to prove that Loqinn is not fit to be a student, and therefore not worthy to be my guest, then debate her.”
Vrageo said with a sneer, “It will be my pleasure to once and for all end this frivolous notion that we can teach a woman to think and reason.” This response brought murmurs from several who shared Vrageo’s view that women could not think like men.
I was not so sure. At an inn I sometimes frequent for meals, there is a serving maid I have had the pleasure of talking with on several occasions. This maid, Dietes, seems to possess a greater intellect than normally attributed to women. I paid more attention to the debate because of this.
Inbul’s guest, Loqinn, and Master Vrageo, both approached Inbul. I could now see her clearly, and I found Loqinn was a very plain-looking woman, though younger than the two masters, it was hard to estimate her age. If pressed, I would say she was about 40 at the very least. It was clear that she was nervous, standing in front of all these influential thinkers.
“Master Inbul, what subject would you like me to lecture your student on?” Vrageo said, mocking Master Inbul.
I saw a slight smile come across Inbul’s lips, much like a cat playing with its prey. “Simply what is it like to carry a child?”
This enraged Vrageo. “What do you mean, ‘carry a child?’ What nonsense is this?”
Calmly Inbul clarified, “Simply just that. What is it like to carry a child until its birth?”
I do not know if Master Inbul premeditated or just hatched this, but it was quite brilliant. He had played Master Vrageo into a subject that he should be at a clear disadvantage of.
It visibly changed Loqinn. She no longer showed any nervousness. She had an air of confidence about her. Much like a true, elderly sage has when asked a simple question on a subject they have studied their entire life.
“Very well then,” began Vrageo. “To carry a child to birth does not differ from having a water skin placed on one’s abdomen. Over the course of eight months, one adds the equivalent of two stones of water to the skin. Then, at the appropriate time, that water is expelled from the body, partly as the child. There is no great discussion to be had on these facts.”
There was a long pause before Inbul spoke. “Is that all, Master Vrageo? Do you yield the Agora?”
“Yes.”
There were a number of whispers by those in attendance at this. I will admit that I thought Master Vrageo had made a good argument, though not one of his better speeches.
“Loqinn, you may now begin.”
Loqinn took a deep breath before starting. “Before I begin, I wish to thank publicly Master Inbul for asking me to attend as his guest. Also, I would like to thank Master Vrageo for entering into this debate with me. Finally, I thank all of you in attendance for listening to my argument.
“To a degree, what Master Vrageo has described is correct. To carry a child is something like a water skin being slowly filled. That is the limit to where he is correct.
“I know this because I have been a midwife, and I have had four children of my own. I say without a doubt each time was different. Some of my children were active in my womb, and I could feel them move and flail. Sometimes I thought they would grow up to be violent, as they would kick and punch so actively. My son, on the other hand, was docile and seldom moved.
“And while carrying them, my appetite changed. Some foods that were normal for me to eat had become bland and unappealing, while others I rarely care for now were what I sought to eat. In addition, there were the early days where I felt I could not keep any food down.
“Besides feeling my children move inside me and my change in appetite, my feet, ankles and wrists would swell. With my first child, my ankles were the size of melons, and feet had become so large that I could not wear shoes or sandals and thus went barefoot. My wrists had swollen so much, I had some difficulty doing simple tasks such as sewing.
“When I gave birth to my children, I experienced a pain like I never felt before or since. It is not the pain, such a bruise, or cut, or even a broken bone. What I endured was something far more. It was as if every fiber of my being was working to expel my children, to deliver them into this world. I do not believe a common laborer, if they were to work from sunup to sundown for a fortnight, would know the strain on the body as I did during my children’s birth.”
Subconsciously, I had leaned forward to pay more attention to Loqinn. She lacked the elegance of speech that many in attendance had, but she spoke with a passion. This passion she spoke with seemed to mesmerize many in the Agora as they sat nearly silent and motionless, listening to her.
“Much of what I have stated is already available to men such as you in the writings of physicians and is common knowledge to midwives,” she said. “There is one aspect of carrying a child and delivering them into the world that has not been mentioned yet. Everything I stated so far is meaningless compared to it. That is the bond between mother and child.
“It is something that I cannot properly explain and do true justice to, even though I have had 4 children. To do so would require a special person, a poet. A poet whose words elicit the strongest emotions in the readers as if they had actually felt what the poet had written. A poet who is also a mother, one who has born a child into this world.
“I am no poet, but I will try to explain to you to the best of my limited ability.
“Each time I learned I was pregnant, my feelings were in chaos. I was happy, elated, scared, and worried all at the same time. Elated in that I was going to be a mother or re-affirmed that I was a mother, for I saw this as a blessing. Scared and worried at the prospect of being a mother in terms of what if I was to not do good or fail at being a mother?
“During the months I carried my children, I grew to love them and there was nothing in all the hells I would not endure for them. They are my life and I will care for them for the rest of my life. The discomfort of carrying them and of their birth was but a pittance I would have paid to have them. So, when they finally came into this world, I wept with tears of joy.
“Save for my second child, my first son. He was stillborn and drew no breath in this world. At this, I cried tears of pain. In the months that followed, I was but a shadow, forced to exist for his sister. It was she, not my husband nor priest, which eventually led me out of darkness. I had born her into the world and I had to see her into womanhood.
“When I conceived her sister, it was my first daughter who gave me hope I would bring this next one into the world safely. She was the proof that I had done it once and the conviction I could do it again.”
Loqinn’s emotions were getting to her as she had started crying as she explained her emotions about having children. I do not believe these were tears of weakness, not after hearing how impassioned she was. These were tears of both pain and joy that no man could ever understand.
She paused long enough to wipe her eyes and recompose herself before concluding, “That, my assembled Masters, is what it is like to carry a child.”
The Great Agora was silent for a moment. Slowly, as if a spell was being lifted, Master Inbul rose from his seat among the attendees. I had not noticed he had sat down amongst them. As he approached Loqinn and Master Vrageo, Master Urius stood and applauded. Many other masters and attendees soon joined him. I could see from my vantage that Loqinn was both excited and humbled by this.
“I believe the winner of this debate is decided,” Inbul said. Before he could speak another word, Master Vrageo stormed out of the agora, followed by some of his colleagues and disciples.
After the applause quieted down some, someone from the crowd spoke, “Madam Loqinn, thank you for your insight into this.” This brought several confirmations from the masters.
“I am honored and humbled by your praise,” she said in reply with a slight bow.
“Madam Loqinn, how long have you been Master Inbul’s student?”
“I first heard Mater Inbul speak some six or seven years ago. Only in the last three have I become his student.”
Master Urius then asked, “Mistress Loqinn, I find your speech on bearing children quite stimulating. May I ask you to write a thesis on the matter?”
Often, sages expect students to write theses of their own, especially on a subject they had an insight into. But Urius’s use of the title ‘Mistress’ was quite intriguing. She was but a student, and here was a master calling her his equal.
“I am no master,” Loqinn began in response, “I am just a student whom Master Inbul has taken to teach. But time permitting, yes, I will write a thesis on this.”
“Mistress Loqinn, compared to myself and my peers, on the subject you have debated, you have proven yourself to be our better. So, in that regard, if nothing else, you are a master,” Urius clarified.
Questions from the Agora kept coming. Though most addressed Loqinn as ‘madam,’ there were a few addressed to ‘mistress.’ The questions ranged from why she became a student to what subjects she was interested in. There were even questions about her opinions and interpretations of various subjects.
When the first questions about her thoughts came, she was again plainly nervous. I could understand this as I was nervous the first time I stood before an agora and was questioned. She quickly shed this nervousness and began to relax. Since the questions didn’t seem to be abating, Master Inbul yielded the Agora to Loqinn by sitting with his peers, a smile of satisfaction on his face, like a proud father.
Inbul's Daughter(Patrick S. Smith)
Master Inbul, one of Elhrub’s greatest sages and philosophers, was giving an open lecture at the Great Agora. This was intriguing in that he normally spoke only at the agora on the grounds of his ‘bibliotheca,’ as he calls it. He was to speak on his principles of leadership, and, as being a student of such masters, I intended to be in attendance.
When I arrived at the Great Agora, several sages and students such as myself were already present. I was fortunate enough to find a seat near enough that I could see and hear Master Inbul without being distracted by some of the other masters, who would often comment amongst themselves.
Prior to Master Inbul’s arrival, I noticed Master Vrageo near the front discussing something with some of his peers. He seemed agitated at one of the other masters, of whom I could not see, as he kept pointing at them. I presumed this master was probably Nerian or Torat (or at least what they considered a sage), as a few other groups of sages and students seemed to discuss their presence as well.
The various attendees quieted down and took their seats once Mater Inbul approached the agora, and no sooner had he welcomed everyone and thanked us for coming than Master Vrageo interrupted.
“Master Inbul, I am, as I’m sure everyone in attendance here is, eager to hear you speak. Before you begin, though, there is one matter that has to be addressed. That woman, who sits as if she were a master, must be removed.”
A woman? That was the source of the discussion amongst the others? From my vantage point, I could not confirm this, but the vague outline of their form suggested that Master Vrageo was correct.
“Removed? For what reason?” Inbul responded. “Is not the Great Agora open to all?”
Undeterred, Vrageo said, “It is. But this lecture is a discussion amongst learned men and students. It is currently no place for a woman, especially one who presumes to be a master sage.”
“She presumes nothing. Loqinn is my student and here at my invitation. As my guest, she may sit among the masters.”
This answer seemed to infuriate Vrageo. “You must have gone mad. Your affinity for the Timerialians, attempting to teach women to think and reason, and now this. I demand that she leave at once.”
“No,” Inbul said in a calm voice. “However, if you wish to prove that Loqinn is not fit to be a student, and therefore not worthy to be my guest, then debate her.”
Vrageo said with a sneer, “It will be my pleasure to once and for all end this frivolous notion that we can teach a woman to think and reason.” This response brought murmurs from several who shared Vrageo’s view that women could not think like men.
I was not so sure. At an inn I sometimes frequent for meals, there is a serving maid I have had the pleasure of talking with on several occasions. This maid, Dietes, seems to possess a greater intellect than normally attributed to women. I paid more attention to the debate because of this.
Inbul’s guest, Loqinn, and Master Vrageo, both approached Inbul. I could now see her clearly, and I found Loqinn was a very plain-looking woman, though younger than the two masters, it was hard to estimate her age. If pressed, I would say she was about 40 at the very least. It was clear that she was nervous, standing in front of all these influential thinkers.
“Master Inbul, what subject would you like me to lecture your student on?” Vrageo said, mocking Master Inbul.
I saw a slight smile come across Inbul’s lips, much like a cat playing with its prey. “Simply what is it like to carry a child?”
This enraged Vrageo. “What do you mean, ‘carry a child?’ What nonsense is this?”
Calmly Inbul clarified, “Simply just that. What is it like to carry a child until its birth?”
I do not know if Master Inbul premeditated or just hatched this, but it was quite brilliant. He had played Master Vrageo into a subject that he should be at a clear disadvantage of.
It visibly changed Loqinn. She no longer showed any nervousness. She had an air of confidence about her. Much like a true, elderly sage has when asked a simple question on a subject they have studied their entire life.
“Very well then,” began Vrageo. “To carry a child to birth does not differ from having a water skin placed on one’s abdomen. Over the course of eight months, one adds the equivalent of two stones of water to the skin. Then, at the appropriate time, that water is expelled from the body, partly as the child. There is no great discussion to be had on these facts.”
There was a long pause before Inbul spoke. “Is that all, Master Vrageo? Do you yield the Agora?”
“Yes.”
There were a number of whispers by those in attendance at this. I will admit that I thought Master Vrageo had made a good argument, though not one of his better speeches.
“Loqinn, you may now begin.”
Loqinn took a deep breath before starting. “Before I begin, I wish to thank publicly Master Inbul for asking me to attend as his guest. Also, I would like to thank Master Vrageo for entering into this debate with me. Finally, I thank all of you in attendance for listening to my argument.
“To a degree, what Master Vrageo has described is correct. To carry a child is something like a water skin being slowly filled. That is the limit to where he is correct.
“I know this because I have been a midwife, and I have had four children of my own. I say without a doubt each time was different. Some of my children were active in my womb, and I could feel them move and flail. Sometimes I thought they would grow up to be violent, as they would kick and punch so actively. My son, on the other hand, was docile and seldom moved.
“And while carrying them, my appetite changed. Some foods that were normal for me to eat had become bland and unappealing, while others I rarely care for now were what I sought to eat. In addition, there were the early days where I felt I could not keep any food down.
“Besides feeling my children move inside me and my change in appetite, my feet, ankles and wrists would swell. With my first child, my ankles were the size of melons, and feet had become so large that I could not wear shoes or sandals and thus went barefoot. My wrists had swollen so much, I had some difficulty doing simple tasks such as sewing.
“When I gave birth to my children, I experienced a pain like I never felt before or since. It is not the pain, such a bruise, or cut, or even a broken bone. What I endured was something far more. It was as if every fiber of my being was working to expel my children, to deliver them into this world. I do not believe a common laborer, if they were to work from sunup to sundown for a fortnight, would know the strain on the body as I did during my children’s birth.”
Subconsciously, I had leaned forward to pay more attention to Loqinn. She lacked the elegance of speech that many in attendance had, but she spoke with a passion. This passion she spoke with seemed to mesmerize many in the Agora as they sat nearly silent and motionless, listening to her.
“Much of what I have stated is already available to men such as you in the writings of physicians and is common knowledge to midwives,” she said. “There is one aspect of carrying a child and delivering them into the world that has not been mentioned yet. Everything I stated so far is meaningless compared to it. That is the bond between mother and child.
“It is something that I cannot properly explain and do true justice to, even though I have had 4 children. To do so would require a special person, a poet. A poet whose words elicit the strongest emotions in the readers as if they had actually felt what the poet had written. A poet who is also a mother, one who has born a child into this world.
“I am no poet, but I will try to explain to you to the best of my limited ability.
“Each time I learned I was pregnant, my feelings were in chaos. I was happy, elated, scared, and worried all at the same time. Elated in that I was going to be a mother or re-affirmed that I was a mother, for I saw this as a blessing. Scared and worried at the prospect of being a mother in terms of what if I was to not do good or fail at being a mother?
“During the months I carried my children, I grew to love them and there was nothing in all the hells I would not endure for them. They are my life and I will care for them for the rest of my life. The discomfort of carrying them and of their birth was but a pittance I would have paid to have them. So, when they finally came into this world, I wept with tears of joy.
“Save for my second child, my first son. He was stillborn and drew no breath in this world. At this, I cried tears of pain. In the months that followed, I was but a shadow, forced to exist for his sister. It was she, not my husband nor priest, which eventually led me out of darkness. I had born her into the world and I had to see her into womanhood.
“When I conceived her sister, it was my first daughter who gave me hope I would bring this next one into the world safely. She was the proof that I had done it once and the conviction I could do it again.”
Loqinn’s emotions were getting to her as she had started crying as she explained her emotions about having children. I do not believe these were tears of weakness, not after hearing how impassioned she was. These were tears of both pain and joy that no man could ever understand.
She paused long enough to wipe her eyes and recompose herself before concluding, “That, my assembled Masters, is what it is like to carry a child.”
The Great Agora was silent for a moment. Slowly, as if a spell was being lifted, Master Inbul rose from his seat among the attendees. I had not noticed he had sat down amongst them. As he approached Loqinn and Master Vrageo, Master Urius stood and applauded. Many other masters and attendees soon joined him. I could see from my vantage that Loqinn was both excited and humbled by this.
“I believe the winner of this debate is decided,” Inbul said. Before he could speak another word, Master Vrageo stormed out of the agora, followed by some of his colleagues and disciples.
After the applause quieted down some, someone from the crowd spoke, “Madam Loqinn, thank you for your insight into this.” This brought several confirmations from the masters.
“I am honored and humbled by your praise,” she said in reply with a slight bow.
“Madam Loqinn, how long have you been Master Inbul’s student?”
“I first heard Mater Inbul speak some six or seven years ago. Only in the last three have I become his student.”
Master Urius then asked, “Mistress Loqinn, I find your speech on bearing children quite stimulating. May I ask you to write a thesis on the matter?”
Often, sages expect students to write theses of their own, especially on a subject they had an insight into. But Urius’s use of the title ‘Mistress’ was quite intriguing. She was but a student, and here was a master calling her his equal.
“I am no master,” Loqinn began in response, “I am just a student whom Master Inbul has taken to teach. But time permitting, yes, I will write a thesis on this.”
“Mistress Loqinn, compared to myself and my peers, on the subject you have debated, you have proven yourself to be our better. So, in that regard, if nothing else, you are a master,” Urius clarified.
Questions from the Agora kept coming. Though most addressed Loqinn as ‘madam,’ there were a few addressed to ‘mistress.’ The questions ranged from why she became a student to what subjects she was interested in. There were even questions about her opinions and interpretations of various subjects.
When the first questions about her thoughts came, she was again plainly nervous. I could understand this as I was nervous the first time I stood before an agora and was questioned. She quickly shed this nervousness and began to relax. Since the questions didn’t seem to be abating, Master Inbul yielded the Agora to Loqinn by sitting with his peers, a smile of satisfaction on his face, like a proud father.
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Lillian Kazmierczak
04/04/2022What a fantastic story! I love that Master Inbul chose pregnancy and child birth...what aslyndog he was. That was a wonderfully written tribute to pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood.
Congratulations on short story star of the week!
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Patrick S. Smith
04/04/2022Ty.
For someone being as socially awkward as Inbul (he doesn't like being called master), he can be a cagey bugger. I still don't know if he planned everything ahead of time, or it was spur of the moment.
As for a tribute to pregnancy and such, I have to give credit to my wife and my sister-in-law who were the betas on this. They made sure I had my facts in order and it wouldn't be as successful as it has been without them.
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Shirley Smothers
04/04/2022Thank you for sharing. Women throughout the ages have been relagated to meanial tasks. But Women have come into their own enlightenment.
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Patrick S. Smith
04/04/2022Ty.
The nice thing about doing fiction (and in my case, fantasy), is you get to play the "what if" game.
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Wilbur Arron
04/04/2022I do have questions.This place of debate, is it an actural place within the Greek Poleis? I am not familiar with the term Great Agora. I have also never head of Greek Sages referred to as Master, that is a product of the Guild System of the Middles Ages. Now, no matter how bright, a woman would never be allowed in the Agora except on market days. That was Athenian law. I see the point you are trying to make, but from all the history I have read, this would never happen. I also agree with the comment JD made.
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Patrick S. Smith
04/05/2022Np.
I wanted a bit of a Greek/Macedonian feel to Elhrub, but I didn't choose the picture. And by your background, I can see where I may have led you down a rabbit hole.
I think had I mentioned that the Timerialians were elves, that would have helped give this more a fantasy feeling to you. Something I'll make a note for when I go to publish this in an anthology.
Again, thanks you for the feed back.
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Wilbur Arron
04/05/2022From the picture and the language, I mistook this to be more of a Greek or Greek Mythology story of which I have written three novels abouts. (The Forest of Allund, Laughing Gods, Demigod all on Kindle). I did not realize this was purely a fictional setting. Sorry
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Patrick S. Smith
04/04/2022Other than the concept of an agora, it has nothing to do with the Greek Poleis. Within Elhrub, there are a number of agoras that are used mainly for commerce. The Great Agora is a hold over from Elhrub days of a republic where men gathered to discus politics. After it fall, the Great Agora is typically used a trade center or public forum and is open to all. In some instanced, like in the story, it is closed everyone except sages.
As far as the use of the term "master sage," I'm using it here to denote more as a title of respect or renown. I have other writings in the world from a later time period where the term "master" would be more the equivalent of a doctoral degree or multiple master degrees.
But I appreciate the feedback. Gives me a little fat to chew as I flesh out the World of Olith more.
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JD
04/03/2022I liked the story, but I found myself wishing she had been given a much more challenging debate topic on which both males and females had equal footing. It is too obvious that a woman who has given birth would have an unfair advantage in a debate on the topic given. I would have liked her to beat the 'sage' on a topic he was more familiar with, to prove her intellectual equality. Nevertheless it was a good story and I was glad for the arrogant 'sage' to get put in his place. Thanks for sharing your stories on Storystar, Patrick. Happy short story STAR of the day! : )
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Patrick S. Smith
04/04/2022I had thought of finding another topic but went with childbearing for a number of reasons.
First off, it kept be out of the social and political upheavals going on in Elhrub at this time. It would have been too easy to get side tracked and never completing this.
Secondly, I wanted a topic that a woman, particularly a mother, could project confidence about. What better way than to have Loqinn, talk on a subject that she has first hand knowledge of to the "best and the brightest."
Finally, I wanted to do a beat down on one of Inbul's rivals. More specifically, I wanted to show to some degree how he became so highly thought of as a master sage.
I do plan on writing more stories about Inbul (actually have a novella in the works), Loqinn, and Elhrub in general.
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