Crysna DID take the older Steam Engines\u2019 advice. Yes, she had her accidents, but she learned from them and took steps not to repeat those mistakes again. She made friends with the Steam Engines and was Dulna\u2019s best friend on the Railway. Reb never understood it. \u201cWhy, in all the Realms,\u201d she grumbled, \u201care they becoming friends?! Crysna\u2019s CLEARLY a more efficient engine! She\u2019s stronger, faster, more maneuverable, and she doesn\u2019t produce as much crystal waste! Her type of engine\u2019s going to replace those steam engines you DEARLY love!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNon-Mechanica Steam Engines, yes,\u201d replied Rikuna, \u201cand there WILL be Mechanica Crystal Engines that will be so puffed up that they think themselves superior to Steam Engines, but they\u2019re gonna be dealt with.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy dear Rikuna, conflict between the old and the new is the DREADFUL name of survival. That is what kept my crew going.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt KEPT your crew going. These days, that needs to exist only among non-Sentina animals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you say so,\u201d grunted Reb, not fully believing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There was another person who took Reb\u2019s views to heart, Tophan\u2019s grandson, Charluth. For some odd reason, he took a dislike to Crysna. He was a known troublemaker. The reason for this was because he tried to haul freight cars that were going to be scrapped and tried using Henurya to pull them and add them to Jarnathu\u2019s train. Henurya tried to tell Charluth, but he wouldn\u2019t listen. When Jarnathu collected the cars already arranged and got through to Charluth, the young man became the laughingstock of the railway. Tophan didn’t like that his own grandson was disobedient and fired him for it. Ever since, he tried to cause trouble while his grandfather wasn\u2019t looking. His attempts failed in the past, but he had a feeling his new plan would work. One day, he spoke to the railway workers at the shunting yards. When he approached them, the workers started laughing at him. \u201cHey, look!\u201d said a Centaur woman. \u201cIt\u2019s the driver that can\u2019t tell old freight cars from new!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s sing him his favorite song!\u201d called an Elf man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOne! Two! One, two, three, four!\u201d counted a Slime man. The song echoed through the yard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCharluth is no help at all!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Thinks he\u2019s very clever!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Says that he\u2019s the greatest of us!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s the best joke ever!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n When he tries to haul freight cars<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ready to be cut up<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just stand aside and watch him flop<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The goofy little Charluth!<\/em>\u201d Everyone laughed and laughed. Their laughter died when they realized Charluth was laughing with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see you\u2019re still a merry band!\u201d he said. \u201cThat joke will NEVER get old. I laughed and laughed when I heard it! Crysna told me one about Dulna! I\u2019ll whisper it!\u201d He leaned in and imparted a secret.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026No, you\u2019re lying!\u201d accused the Centaur woman. \u201cCrysna would never say something so crass!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2026Oh,\u201d Charluth looked pained. \u201cYou mean\u2026you DON\u2019T find it funny?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo!\u201d said the Elf man. \u201cAnd she\u2019s right, Crysna\u2019s too much of a good worker to say something like that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh dear,\u201d gulped Charluth. \u201cThat explains why she whispered it to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou mean\u2026she told you this?!\u201d asked the Slime man. \u201cThat can\u2019t be true! \u2026Can it?\u201d Doubt invaded the workers\u2019 minds and Charluth grinned as he left them to discuss whether it was true or not. His plan was running like clockwork. Unbeknownst to him, however, Gornula was nearby, giving Arsha and her group a tour of the yards. They heard everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat did I tell you, my BELOVED darling?\u201d Reb said to Rikuna. \u201cOld against new.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot on this railway!\u201d snarled Gornula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gornula met her fellow big engines at the sheds and told them about what she and Arsha and her group overheard. \u201cIt\u2019s unimaginable!\u201d she fumed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnthinkable!\u201d agreed Jarnathu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnbelievable!\u201d confirmed Henurya. \u201cWe have to stop his nonsense!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd we gotta tell Crysna about this!\u201d suggested Jarnathu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, here she is!\u201d called Crysna as she parked herself on the turntable. \u201cWhat can I do for you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cCrysna, a known troublemaker is spreading rumors about you that you said something rather insulting to the railway workers,\u201d explained Henurya.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?!\u201d protested Crysna. \u201cWhy would I do that?! They\u2019re just as important as us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe figured those rumors are unfounded,\u201d said Jarnathu. \u201cBut we need to get the villain caught.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, I\u2019m open to suggestions,\u201d offered Crysna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While they were talking, Melgem saw the whole thing. He told Reb what he saw and stunned his wife. Rikuna, on the other hand, had a triumphant smirk on her face. \u201cTold ya!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut that can\u2019t be true!\u201d protested Reb. \u201cThat is not normal behavior!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cReb, why are you so adamant that it\u2019s a Dog-Eat-Dog world here?!\u201d snapped Rikuna. Reb sighed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause that\u2019s how the Rojam family survived,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe strongest of the children survived while the others were absorbed into other families. We ALL had to fight to make sure we carried the family legacy. It was rare for someone like my mother to give birth to just one child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cForgive me for saying this,\u201d remarked Rikuna, \u201cbut that doesn\u2019t sound like a mother to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen tell me, what DOES it sound like?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOld Orc training.\u201d Reb snarled at that remark. \u201cWhat you\u2019re telling me is that your family saw how the Orcs raised their young back in the Savage and First Ages and thought that was the best way to ensure the survival of the Rojam family. But the Orcs abandoned that kind of thinking for a reason. It was actually killing the race as a whole, keeping them stuck in a nomadic existence and forever making them jealous of races that settled areas. Once they abandoned the nomadic existence, they became stronger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, so the Forsorna Family is jealous of Civilized people?\u201d snarked Reb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, they DID say they want a place to settle. Right now, the Realmgate people are trying to-\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was being facetious!\u201d interrupted Reb. \u201cAre you telling me the Forsornas ARE looking for a place to settle?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAn entire Realm they can call their own, if you can believe it,\u201d confirmed Rikuna.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSo, what, wandering the Realms weakens a person?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTell me, don\u2019t you have a place you call home? A certain STRONGHOLD?\u201d Reb was stunned at Rikuna\u2019s counterargument. \u201cI thought so. And you fought to get it back. By the Rojam Family\u2019s logic, you ARE weak. But you don\u2019t feel weak, do you? Reb, I\u2019d suggest you examine yourself for a little bit and THEN decide what to do.\u201d Reb couldn\u2019t come up with anything to say in response.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Crysna DID take the older Steam Engines\u2019 advice. Yes, she had her accidents, but she learned from them and took steps not to repeat those mistakes again. She made friends with the Steam Engines and was Dulna\u2019s best friend on the Railway. Reb never understood it. \u201cWhy, in all the Realms,\u201d she grumbled, \u201care they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3952,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[97,239],"tags":[482],"class_list":["post-5479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-three-realms","category-the-three-realms-book-6-the-eternal-age-of-unity","tag-fantasy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5479"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5480,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5479\/revisions\/5480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/samueljvinton.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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