Ishta's manumission part 2

It was a beautiful ceremony, in the SFRIM chapel. So many people were gathered, all supporting Ishta and being happy about her bright future. 

Lord Pitoojee delivered a magnificent speech, a mix of rejoicing and warning. Indeed, life as a free person comes with responsabilities and duties that you have to set yourself. No longer are you told what to do, you have to figure out all that yourself...

Ishta's family was also there. I met young Arne, Ishta's half brother if I'm correct. He is interested in the ministry, and feels the calling. He is still young, so his calling will meet tests of faith, but I plan to support him. I'll give him a little job in the library. He can prepare himself for the seminary and study scripture in the quiet hours.

There was a nice surprise at the end of the ceremony, one that further propels Ishta towards her future. So many developments are happening all at once...

Ishta's manumission

Later today, Ishta's manumission ceremony will take place. I am quite curious to see how it will go. I confess that I don't quite remember from my theology studies how these ceremonies work... back in the days it was just some sort of footnote.

You see, when I was young, it was a time when not many slaves were set free. Manumissions were rare, and I can't remember ever attending any. This was in Heideran's days, but it was well before the Pax Amarria. That was published while I was secluded in the monastery. The same goes for empress Jamyl's decrees, these occurred while I was not in touch with worldly affairs.

I came back to a changed Empire. Yet I think it is a change for the better. Manumissions show to those that are still enslaved that there is hope and a real goal to work towards. Praise be to exemplary holders such as lord Pitoojee who guided Ishta from a very dark place towards the light.

Music 101

I have lived for sixty years in a monastery. There, one's duties are programmed for every waking moment. They are clear and consistent and unchanging. Everything is well ordered including how to address the other brothers. 

 

Now, out in the world, I find it very hard to adjust to the complexities of social interactions, and I find that many things have changed since Heideran's time. My social skills have atrophied. When I mentioned this to Arsia Elkin she answered "you'll make a fine capsuleer then." I'm not sure what she meant, but then again she turned her back on the Empire, so some degree of nonsense is to be expected.

Luckily, I found unexpected help in Ishta Maleto. She has proposed to acquaint me with contemporary music, so I would feel more at ease visiting the bar at Gottin's Lamp, or attending receptions.

 

Yesterday, I took her up on her offer. Alas! These lessons are hard on the soul. 

 

One of the "songs" consists of a man (calling himself "lamb of God") screaming in a voice distorted by pain. True, if he would not scream, he would not be heard above the background noise. Ishta assured me I was not listening to a record of a man being tortured. I'm not completely convinced. I think he's having sulfuric acid poured down his throat. Most of the second half of the song is taken up with the man screaming out "walk with me in hell" repeatedly as his vocal chords dissolve. This is apparently a Gallente thing.

 

The other songs were good. Or let's say, better. There was a song called "slow your roll", and Ishta explained to me what it meant. It's a call to stop using frentix before it's too late and you overdose. Oh and there was a Minmatar poet - I liked his song even though did not really sing but rhythmically recited his poem about standing up against those that want to pull him down. 

 

I in turn let her listen to choral music by the Polfaly polyphonic convent, but she was not particularly impressed I think.

Her songs all somehow help Ishta either to deal with her past, or to express her identity. They are full of energy, power and not just a little bit of anger. But I don't think I'll hear them soon at Gottin's lamp bar.

Arsia and Ishta

I had the pleasure of talking to many capsuleers over the last few days, but two of those encounters left a particularly strong impression. Neither of those two meetings was with another scholar! In both discussions young women with a great strength of character were my interlocutors. 

They not only share this inner strength, sadly they also share a history of hardship. But despite these similarities, one of them fell, whereas the other rose.

The fallen one is Arsia Elkin. She was for many years a loyal Amarrian capsuleer, a captain of the Praetoria. She exposed corruption amongst the militia working with the 24th Imperial Crusade. She decried war profiteering and was a whistleblower on agreements on the division of spoils between mercenaries of both sides of the war. And yet, these righteous actions were met with only lukewarm support from other Amarrian capsuleers, and with a lot of vitriol from detractors. In our discussion, she also fulminated about the meddling of House Sarum in the war, accusing the Sarumites of purposefully stoking the flames of an endless conflict.

This put a thick black veil of anger over Elkin's soul. She left the Empire and joined Electus Matari, a terrorist paramilitary group that was not involved in the corruption (the other large terror organisation, Ushra'Khan, appears to be involved). During our discussion she tried to taunt me like a child would, by mocking God and pretending she'd attack Him with a sword. And yet, I could also see shimmers of the light of kindness through her veil of anger. She has not closed herself fully to faith: she still listens to The Good Word, and talks to wandering Amarrian monks. And I am grateful she shared her thoughts on the Amarr capsuleer corporations, knowledgeable as a former insider and speaking frankly as an outsider.

The one who is rising is Ishta Maleto. She is a slave belonging to House Pitorjee, but she is given exceptional leeway in SFRIM. She can follow capsuleer training, and she is involved with  security tasks. Not only within the confines of the station, I guess. I suspect she went undercover as an employee of Native Freshfood corporation a while ago. To be granted this much responsibility and this much trust is exceptional. She must have completed a major part of the journey to God under Lord Esna Pitorjee's enlightened supervision.

She came to this high station from a dark past. Her previous Holder, now stricken from the book of records, was a blood bishop. He is still alive and sent an assassin after Maleto not long ago. The assassin gained access to the SFRIM offices, and was stopped and killed by Maleto herself. She does not have the looks of an amphetamine-pumped bouncer, but I bet she has the skills to kill me in an instant using only her pinky. Useful, of course, for undercover missions. Also, this assassination attempt explains the nervousness of security personnel around here.

I must conclude today's log with a caveat. As the past has taught me, first impressions can be misleading and one can never claim to truly know their discussion partners. All I can do is to try to sympathize and record without (too much) judgement what I think I learned.