The Reinmaren Runestone

[Ibn Khaldun 7729]

𝅘𝅥𝅮𝅗𝅥𝅘𝅥𝅯𝅘𝅥𝅮

 

 

 

A wagon groaned beneath the weight and girth of a mined chunk of limestone. The wheels that creaked and croaked with each turn shuttered under the mass. Man and horse worked in unison to coax the wagon along and to its final destination in a small glen just outside of Minitz. Brandt Barclay, Brigodrenx hal'Cingedoz, Lawrence Lane, Markward Orinos, and Odoacer hal'Cingedoz accompanied the laborers with their wagon and helped in the strenuous exercise of tilting the slab of limestone upright and towering nearly level with the town's walls nearby. A carved notch towards the top of the runestone allowed a beam of light to lance across the faces of those gathered as they marveled at the results of their physical efforts.

 

The labor that came after for Odoacer was one of patience and precision rather than stoutness and strength. He used chisel and mallet to beat away at lettering from the Common language, the Reinmaren and the Cingedoz tongue known as Spraekjom. The chief inscription adorning the runestone read as follows:

 

"Gather, my people, and heed the words of your wise and pious Chieftain, Brandt of Reinmar. Listen well, my brothers, sons, nation, and relatives - you, Lords of Reinmar in the north, Freimarkic and Savoyard lords in the south, Hirdmen warriors, and all my people. Hearken my words and be still, for they are of great importance. I speak to you all, from the rising of the sun in the east, to the noon of the south, to the setting of the west, and to the midnight of the north. I say to you all, I have made the poor, rich. I have multiplied the few into many. Is there falsehood in my words? The force and strength of my people shall not waver, for they stand firm. As the leader of my province, I pray for their protection, and ask the mighty mountains for mercy and safekeeping. I have made you into more. I have brought prosperity to your land. If the Reinmaric Chieftain rules from the Minitz plains, there shall be no trouble in the country. I have gone on campaigns to the south, to the Atrus desert, almost reaching the sea. I have gone on pilgrimage to the north, to Reinmar, almost reaching the land of glaciers. I have gone to the Iron Gate and beyond, to see all the places from which the Reinmaric can be controlled. And it is from the Rivian plain that I have spoken to the outlanders of the south, who bring us gold, silver, alcohol, and treasures in abundance.

 

Their words may be sweet and their silks soft, but they are deceivers. They lure people from far-off lands with their honeyed words and silken temptations, and then make them addicted to their ways. They do not allow wise men or brave men to come near, and they corrupt one man, his family, and his clan. The outlanders have deceived the Reinmaren people, leading them to their deaths. They lied about giving bad silk from afar, and good silk if they came close. The unwise followed their words, went close, and perished. Hear this, O Reinmaren people - if you go to these places, you too will die! But if you stay in the land of Rivia, and send your caravans from there, you will be safe. If you remain in the Rivian plains, your line will live forever. O Reinmaric people, heed my words. In order to bring all of the Reinmaric folk together and guide our land, I have written these words on a eternal stone for all to see. The stonemasons of the Cingedoz were commissioned to carve my words, and they have written all that I have said. Read these inscriptions and learn from them, all of you from my Barclay descendants to the farmers. This memorial stone is a testament to my words. This plain is where you must live, O Reinmaren people. Be not deceived, for if you are, you will surely die. Heed these words, for they are the truth, written for all eternity."

[Privet 1840]

Brigodrenx, the travelling skald, inscribes a ballad upon the runestone.

"O' the Lord of Reinmar, gracious with his bounty,

the most merciful by far, to whom bleed his county,

lowborns enact foul deeds, sending their tribe to splinters,

enemies sowing bad seeds, not to survive coming winters,

prospering upon Rivian plain, for union they yearn,

the tribe of Reinmar remain, awaiting kins return."