the dead eye---orthography modification

works/stories/the-dead-eye/text

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
-Káffashuerthal son of Iasmáshfa son of Tuérvali lay on the ground in
+Káffaśwerṯal son of Yasmáśfa son of Twérvali lay on the ground in
 front of the tea-house for half an hour before anyone found him, as
-it was the festival of Ótshimai[^1] and all were enjoying the kavvára-tea
+it was the festival of Ótśimay[^1] and all were enjoying the kavvára-tea
 traditional at that time. This was one of the Hígal frontier towns, near
 the shores of the great seas, and it was common for unruly sailors to
 pass idly through the town, stinking of uilímvie-wine and the smoke of
@@ -8,10 +8,10 @@ faraway lands; so when someone saw the body, the patriarch Sávv of the
 East shouted, "Curse the sailors! Let him be; as long as he is disorderly,
 let the Three Deaths taunt him in his stupor."
 
-[^1]: Ótshimai is the Hígal deity of the winds; his festival was traditionally associated with the drinking of _kavvára_ steeped in warmed vradmiór-milk, which was a mild stimulant, and various dances and traditional songs. It was a relatively minor festival, and not all celebrated it, choosing to work instead.
+[^1]: Ótśimay is the Hígal deity of the winds; his festival was traditionally associated with the drinking of _kavvára_ steeped in warmed vradmyór-milk, which was a mild stimulant, and various dances and traditional songs. It was a relatively minor festival, and not all celebrated it, choosing to work instead.
 
 Young orphan Náfa dashed out anyway and looked at the body, despite
-Sávv's brazen shouting. "It is Káffashuerthal!" she shouted, and all,
+Sávv's brazen shouting. "It is Káffaśwerṯal!" she shouted, and all,
 including the patriarch, ran out to see what was the matter. Náfa, with
 great effort, pushed him over and looked at his face.
 
@@ -22,20 +22,20 @@ an eye die and leave its owner behind?" But he saw that it was true; one
 of his eyes was a beautiful, bright green, but the other had faded to
 a sphere the color of wet stone, cloudy and empty.
 
-[^2]: Sávv is clearly a Malakéd immigrant of some kind, who was elected patriarch for a period of some years (as most Hígal towns do.) The tongue of the East is Malakéd, and the word _keweddjí_ actually refers to the shedded skin of native birds, and is roughly synonymous with a slightly more appropriate form of "bullshit."
+[^2]: Sávv is clearly a Malakéd immigrant of some kind, who was elected patriarch for a period of some years (as most Hígal towns do.) The tongue of the East is Malakéd, and the word _keweddjí_ actually refers to the shedded skin of native birds, and is a mild oath with a meaning roughly like "bullshit."
 
 The priestess of the town spoke some words in the Old Language and all
-bowed. Káffashuerthal began to stir, and the patriarch knelt by him and
+bowed. Káffaśwerṯal began to stir, and the patriarch knelt by him and
 spoke to him.
 
-"Káffashuerthal," Sávv asked, "where have you been? And what has happend
+"Káffaśwerṯal," Sávv asked, "where have you been? And what has happend
 to your eye?"
 
-Káffashuerthal blinked and turned to the patriarch. "Where have they
+Káffaśwerṯal blinked and turned to the patriarch. "Where have they
 gone? Where is the red-bearded man?" he grasped the shoulder of the
 patriarch, and fell back on the ground. The people brought him to Hermit
 Bezén on the edge of the town, who was (for all intents and purposes)
-the guardian of Náfa, as she was constantly there despite his 
+the guardian of Náfa, as she was constantly there despite his
 half-hearted attempts to convince her to live at the temple instead. She
 led the way with a purposeful march as his body was moved on a wooden
 cart to the courtyard and laid on a pile of dry grass under a tree.
@@ -45,9 +45,9 @@ polished wooden stick whose handle had been worn down from years of
 use. His head was uncovered. "Who is this man you have brought, little
 fly?"
 
-[^3]: A Heretic (_ashbuárku_) is, in modern Hígal, synonymous with 'atheist,' but at this point it would have referred to anyone who does not observe orthodox Nekhnévenal. Given Bezén's attitude later in the story, it is clear that he is not an atheist, but believes in some derivative, personal form of the Nekhnévenal religion.
+[^3]: A Heretic (_aśbwárku_) is, in modern Hígal, synonymous with 'atheist,' but at this point it would have referred to anyone who does not observe orthodox Nexnévenal. Given Bezén's attitude later in the story, it is clear that he is not an atheist, but believes in some derivative, personal form of the Nexnévenal religion.
 
-"This is Káffashuerthal, the grocer," Náfa said, "and he has a dead
+"This is Káffaśwerṯal, the grocer," Náfa said, "and he has a dead
 eye. He fell down outside of the tea-house and asked for the
 red-bearded man."
 
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ walked back with the patriarch to have more tea.
 
 It was several days until the people in the town heard again of the
 man with the dead eye; Náfa ran into town from the hermit's hut, 
-telling them all of Káffashuerthal and that he walks once again.
+telling them all of Káffaśwerṯal and that he walks once again.
 
 "For a day, he would not move, and only stirred on occasion, to ask
 where the red-bearded man had gone. But the next day, he sat up
@@ -89,19 +89,19 @@ get a dead eye?"
 "Bezén made me leave," Náfa said, "and I did not hear all of it. But
 I heard him say that he was in the woods on his way to Suráv to buy
 medicine when he was stopped by a red-bearded man who was trying to
-find the Diufázza[^6]. When Káffashuerthal said that word, Bezén made
+find the Diufázza[^6]. When Káffaśwerṯal said that word, Bezén made
 me leave."
 
 [^6]: This word resembles the Vérdash word _juhfáshah_, which means 'unclean.'
 
 The people were confused, as they had not heard that word before;
 but Sávv the patriarch nodded and climbed the hill outside of the
-town to speak with the Heretic and Káffashuerthal. Náfa ran behind
+town to speak with the Heretic and Káffaśwerṯal. Náfa ran behind
 him, but even her running could not keep up with the long, swift
 strides of the old white-bearded man.
 
-"Náfa told me of Káffashuerthal's story, or what she heard of it,"
-Sávv said once he had been welcomed in to the courtyard. Káffashuerthal
+"Náfa told me of Káffaśwerṯal's story, or what she heard of it,"
+Sávv said once he had been welcomed in to the courtyard. Káffaśwerṯal
 was sitting in the shade, and he clasped an older walking-stick in
 his hand, but he no longer appeared ill, and color had returned to
 his face. His eye was still a dull gray. 
@@ -113,13 +113,13 @@ mashing grains into a pulp for flatbreads.
 "I have heard that name," Sávv said with a slow, measured cadence. "I
 have never heard good said of it."[^7]
 
-[^7]: Traditional Nekhnévenal myths do not mention a Diufázza anywhere. It is most likely an interpolation by the author.
+[^7]: Traditional Nexnévenal myths do not mention a Diufázza anywhere. It is most likely an interpolation by the author.
 
-"There is no good in it," Bezén said, and nodded to Káffashuerthal, who
+"There is no good in it," Bezén said, and nodded to Káffaśwerṯal, who
 began to speak quietly, after Náfa had been sent to the village to
 buy fruits.
 
-"I had not heard it before I saw the red-bearded man," Káffashuerthal
+"I had not heard it before I saw the red-bearded man," Káffaśwerṯal
 said. "He and I found an inn on the way to Suráv and stayed, and he
 asked me what I knew about it. I told him—truthfully—that I did not
 know what it was, and he told me that he was a man of many evil things.
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ the next moment. Both circled him for a time, and then they leapt at
 him—both, even the sickly one—and he recoiled, and then opened his
 eyes to find them both gone."
 
-Káffashuerthal began to cough, and Bezén and Sávv brought him in to
+Káffaśwerṯal began to cough, and Bezén and Sávv brought him in to
 the Heretic's house and sat him down on a bedroll and waved scented
 bags near him, and his coughing began to cease. He continued.
 
@@ -219,15 +219,15 @@ had seen death."
 They were silent for a long time. Sávv spoke again. "Is your eye now
 open?"
 
-"No," Káffashuerthal said. "I do not believe I can open it again and
+"No," Káffaśwerṯal said. "I do not believe I can open it again and
 remain here, for it would shape my spirit in such a way that I could
 not remain with my body and mind intact. I shall attempt to keep my eye
 closed for as long as I can. I have seen death once; perhaps I can
 avoid seeing it until it cannot be put off."
 
-Sávv and Bezén shared tea with Káffashuerthal for a bit and spoke only
+Sávv and Bezén shared tea with Káffaśwerṯal for a bit and spoke only
 of pleasant, idle things, and then Sávv returned to the village to
-help Náfa bring things back. Káffashuerthal regained his strength
+help Náfa bring things back. Káffaśwerṯal regained his strength
 gradually and began to return to the grocery, working slowly and
 methodically carrying goods and no longer taking the trips they used
 to ask of him.