by J J Moriarty
“You two are siblings?” Hyzou asked.
“I know, we truly look nothing alike”, The Whisperer said.
“Nor do we act at all similarly”, Vo chimed in.
“But yes, we were both born as twins”, The Whisperer said.
“Twins?” Hyzou said.
Hyzou had never seen anyone who less looked like twins than these two.
“I’d like to learn a little more about you, boy”, The Whisperer said.
“He’s no boy, he’s come of age at least two years now. You’re fourteen aren’t you Hyzou?” Abe asked.
“Yes, sir”, Hyzou said.
“I told you not to call me sir”, Abe said.
“You can call me sir, my boy”, The Whisperer said.
“Yes sir”, Hyzou said.
Abe glared at The Whisperer.
“When you’re my age, everyone seems to be a boy”, The Whisperer said, shrugging.
The Whisperer and Vo didn’t look a day over twenty.
Hyzou ate the last spoonful of his snake soup. It was the greatest meal he had eaten in his life.
“Who was your father Hyzou?” Vo asked.
“Mak. He was a Noble in the court of King Imhotep”, Hyzou said, remembering what Kyrios Nuya had told him to say.
“And where was he from?” She asked.
“He was Piquean”, Hyzou said.
“Was he a sorcerer?” Vo asked.
Hyzou laughed at the image.
“No, or well, I never saw him using magic. Plus, he was a cripple”, Hyzou said, as if that settled the matter.
“So where did you get your powers? Your Qi is particularly radiant”, Vo said.
“You can see people’s Qi?” Hyzou asked.
“Yes, and yours burns with the orange of fire”, Vo said. “Where did it come from?”
“I don’t know. I never knew I had it until this morning when Abe told me about it in a weapon’s shed”, Hyzou said.
“How could you have been hidden for so long?” Vo asked.
It seemed more like a rhetorical question.
“Are you two Servants of Qi?” Hyzou asked.
Vo smiled wryly. “No. We’re not Servants.”
The Whisperer leaned forward. His stare had the ability to hold Hyzou’s eyes unmovably.
“The Servants seem to imagine that they have sole control over Qi, but everywhere are men who can use their Qi to interact with the world.”
“Is it rare? This ability?” Hyzou asked.
“Common as dirt. Though, I must admit, again, that you are a particularly radiant specie”, The Whisperer said. “You will need it to beat that beast.”
“How is that going to happen?” Hyzou asked.
Abe took a sup from his flask, then put it down on the floor next to himself.
“You’ve seen the Colossus Hyzou? You remember what it looked like?” Abe said.
Hyzou nodded.
“It’s big, and it’s quick. It’s very strong. If you go in with a khopesh and armour, you’ll be torn apart. There isn’t a human alive who could successfully defeat a Colossus in hand-to-hand combat”, Abe said.
“That sounds... encouraging”, Hyzou said.
“There is hope, and it is found in the very fact that you are smaller. If you train to become quicker, it will be a fair fight. You must evade him consistently, and his weight and size will begin to slow him down”, Abe said.
“But you said he was quick”, Hyzou said.
“He is. Very. But while most men aren’t quick enough to evade a Colossus, a trained Servant of Qi is. Balance and evasion will be your primary tools then. Until after an hour or two, after which you have tired him down. Then you will take up your weapon and can use it to kill the exhausted Colossus. It won’t be easy, but it can be done. Correct?” Abe said to the room.
Hyzou looked to Vo and The Whisperer. They were both nodding.
“This doesn’t sound easy”, Hyzou said.
“It’s not”, Abe said.
“How will I learn to do all those things?” Hyzou said. “I don’t know how to summon up my... Qi?” He said, trying to pronounce it correctly.
“Yes, it’s not so easy”, The Whisperer said. “It’s always been natural for me, so I cannot sympathise, but Abe here is an expert in struggling to produce sorcery.”
At this, Abe’s frown frowned.
“Well Hyzou, for us mere mortals, the use of Qi is something that must be learned and taught”, Abe said. “It is a skill, just like writing, or potting, or carpentry. Everyone has the Qi, but most never learn sorcery. Much as everyone has hands, but few are talented potters. Then, much like potters, some learn the basic constructions of moving the clay, but few learn to master the craft. Among the masters then, there are those who can sculpt the most magnificent masterpieces with their Qi, and their skills are truly priceless.”
“Who are these masters?” Hyzou asked.
“Most of them remain in Uqing. They are named the Archai, some three hundred of them. The man who trained me would be one. The Sparrow”, Abe said.
“Interesting”, Hyzou said, unsure of what else to say.
“First, I will teach you how to reach your Qi, then we shall focus almost solely upon your skills in combat. You will be surprised at how quickly it happens. How quickly you become competent.”
“When do we start?” Hyzou asked.
“Tomorrow morning, at first light. You had best get some sleep now, while you can”, Abe said. “Sleep will help your pain.”
“And we had better go too”, The Whisperer said.
“It was good to meet you, Hyzou of Nuyin”, Vo said.
“It was, and I hope you sleep well”, The Whisperer said.
“Aren’t you staying?” Hyzou asked.
“No, it has been a long time since I was in Lamybla. Vo and I have some exploring to do. We just felt that it was best to meet Abe while we had the chance”, The Whisperer said.
Both guests bowed. Hyzou stood and did the same. Abe just waved them out.
“Who are they?” Hyzou asked once he was sure they were alone. “They’re so strange.”
Abe looked to Hyzou.
“The shed’s in the garden, you’d best get to sleep”, Abe said.
Hyzou bowed and left Abe to the silence.
CHAPTER 11
“Come with me”, Abe said.
Hyzou tried to put on the loincloth beside his bed.
“Leave it, come with me”, Abe said.
Hyzou did so. He followed Abe out from the shed and into the garden. Several things were laid out on the clay just outside the shed.
“They’re for you”, Abe said.
“They’re mine?” Hyzou asked.
“Everything here. It’s yours”, Abe said.
With wonder, Hyzou walked through the clay, stepping between his new things. There was no fortune here, all were things he had either owned or had access to in his old life. But for a slave, they were all valuables.
“What are they for?” Hyzou said. “Will they help me train?”
Abe nodded.
“The clothes are obvious. Sandals, because no warrior should go barefoot. New loincloths, and new shirts. You will see the robes too. I got you two pairs of grey robes. They are just an imitation of the grey robes most Servants of Qi wear. The shape is different, but it’ll help with your atmosphere. You will feel like you are training to become a Servant”, Abe said.
“They’re perfect”, Hyzou said.
“I’m glad you like them. These items over here are for your hygiene”, Abe said, pointing over to the other side of the pile. “In Uqing, most Servants remove all the hair from both their face and their head. You’ll do the same.”
“Yes. Ok”, Hyzou said.
“You’ll wash regularly. Training is hard work and you’ll get dirty each day. Please do not allow the dirt to fester”, Abe said.
Hyzou nodded.
“And here is your training equipment”, Abe said.
&n
bsp; Hyzou looked down in wonder at the collection. There were khopesh, both bronze and wooden. There were two staffs, both were strong and thick. There was an array of ropes, a sling and a pile of tiny daggers.
“There is a lot more to being a Servant of Qi than just combat, but it’s all we can afford to do in the time between now and the Pharaoh’s birthday. You’ll be a warrior when we’re through”, Abe said.
Hyzou looked at everything.
“Thank you”, Hyzou said.
“There’s nothing to thank me for”, Abe said. “I want you to succeed.”
Hyzou smiled.
“How do we start?” Hyzou asked.
“We’ll not train in combat for some time yet. Such training would be useless if you could not summon, control, and use your Qi at will. That’ll be the first task. Teaching you to use your Qi”, Abe said.
“It sounds difficult”, Hyzou said.
“It is”, Abe said. “But there’s no place better to start than the beginning. Come here.”
Hyzou followed Abe to the edge of the clay, where two stools sat in the dirt.
“Sit down”, Abe said.
Hyzou did so. Abe sat down too. The old Servant desperately needed a haircut, and probably a bath too. His hair was waxy and white, his body creaked when he moved. For the first time, Hyzou realised that Abe didn’t have any fingernails.
Did somebody pull them out? Hyzou thought.
He shivered.
“What do you know about sorcery?” Abe asked.
Hyzou ran his hand through his hair.
“You can lift things into the air?” Hyzou asked.
“The Qi cannot be used to manipulate objects as your average street charlatan would claim. There have been stories of individuals of immense power finding that very light objects may shake or float around them, but these are entirely involuntary. This is a power that cannot be controlled, and is probably a myth anyway”, Abe said.
“Then sorcerers aren’t half as powerful as I thought”, Hyzou said.
“That’s because you misunderstand power”, Abe said.
“What can the Qi do then?” Hyzou asked.
“What we call the Qi would be better described as two separate phenomena. The first part of Qi, is the Qi as a sense. Qi is an important part of how we understand the world around us. Humans have six senses – touch, taste, sight, sound, hearing and Qi. The Qi is the strongest of the six. Does that make sense?” Abe asked.
“Kind of”, Hyzou said.
“Hyzou, describe how you understood the world while you were fighting those two slaves you killed”, Abe said.
“They would have killed me if I hadn’t acted”, Hyzou said.
“I never said otherwise, did I? There’s no need to be defensive”, Abe said.
Hyzou glared.
“Describe how you understood the world”, Abe said.
“It was orange. Everything was orange”, Hyzou said.
“Could you see?” Abe asked.
“Yes, and no”, Hyzou said. “I don’t know how to explain it. I could see everything, but not like I would see it normally.”
Abe paused for several seconds.
“Do you know how bats travel, Hyzou?” Abe asked.
“With wings?” Hyzou said.
“I should have been a bit more specific”, Abe laughed. “How do they navigate?”
“Navigate? The same way as I do?” Hyzou said.
“You have seen a bat on the wing, seen how quick and agile they are?” Abe asked.
“Yes”, Hyzou said.
“Would it surprise you then to learn that bats are blind?” Abe said.
“Blind? Sir? It couldn’t be”, Hyzou said.
“Yes. It is so”, Abe said.
“Do they have the Qi too?” Hyzou asked.
“No”, Abe said, laughing. “They shout at objects, and when the noise returns to them they can map out the shapes surrounding them.”
“That’s a lie”, Hyzou said.
“It’s not, but it’s also not my point. I am saying that Qi operates in a similar way. The Qi provides you a map of your surroundings and then shows it to you”, Abe said.
“Lighter and darker oranges”, Hyzou said.
“Exactly. And Qi does the same thing to every other sense. It takes over them and uses them much better than you ever could alone. That’s why you could stab that slave so clinically. You haven’t been trained to kill, but still found his thigh because you could see him in front of you. See him properly, that is”, Abe said.
“It does that to every other sense too?” Hyzou asked.
“Yes”, Abe said.
“So… Taste. How can it replace taste?” Hyzou asked.
“Much as it replaces sight. You will not taste when you engage with food through your Qi. You will, however, be able to tell what it is you need with regards sustenance. You will sense any poisons, and after a time you will even be able to figure out the ingredients of a meal”, Abe said. “Describe the old King of Piquea.”
“King Imhotep? He was balding, quite large”, Hyzou said.
“Large?” Abe asked. “You mean fat, I assume.”
“They’re the same”, Hyzou said.
“The Protakyrios is the leader of the Servants of Qi. There are always two, elected every three years. I have seen many of them. Never has one been fat, in the way most Royalty and Nobles are”, Abe said.
“Really?” Hyzou said. “Why?”
“In the mountains, there lives a beast called the wolverine. It lives in the highest reaches of the mountains, where there is snow and little sustenance. So, when he gets the chance to eat a meal, he consumes all he can physically swallow. Man is like this too. Nobles and Royalty have no limit to food that they can consume, and they take advantage of that, much like the wolverine. So, they get fat. However, when one allows one’s taste to be dictated to by the Qi, one only eats what is necessary for sustenance. There are no fat Servants”, Abe said.
Abe continued. “By the same measure, a Servant who is stranded on an island will be able to find nutrition in the most obscure places, as his Qi will tell him what to eat to survive. For example, did you know that there is a moss that grows in the great lakes that, on the moss alone, a human could survive for years? A Servant found that out once after being shipwrecked.”
“Noise. The Qi understands noise, although indeed one of its major weaknesses is its inability to understand language. You may have noted that when it consumed you, all you could do was register sounds. Your Qi will tell you whether the tone of another person is angry, happy, excited. But what he says, that won’t be understandable. The hearing of a Servant is much improved on that of an ordinary human, but still, most Servants don’t accentuate their hearing with Qi when other humans are around. Language is too important”, Abe said.
“Touch?” Hyzou asked.
“Tell me, when you were in your orange haze, did you feel pain?” Abe asked.
Hyzou frowned, trying to think.
“No, and yes. I wasn’t sore, but I could tell that there were problems within my body when they were there”, Hyzou said.
“Exactly. Now this is the most dangerous power for young Servants, or those who are in suffering. It is not normal for a human to be able to ignore his pain. It is many the Servant who has lost himself to that alternate universe, where pain doesn’t exist among the Qi. Ignoring the warnings their Qi gives them, they live all hours of the day in complete bliss”, Abe said.
“Why is that a bad thing?” Hyzou asked.
Abe was quick. He reached out and pinched Hyzou’s arm.
“Yeow, why did you do that?” Hyzou asked, leaping away.
“See how you recoiled there. That is the benefit of pain. It is the only real effective map of the world”, Abe said. “Pain places us within the universe. When a Servant retreats deep into his Qi, he will only receive such pain as a warning, without the actual stimulus to pull away. This is a danger, as too long in such a painless state and a
Servant begins to ignore such warnings. He no longer checks for cuts and whether they fester. He never notices if he’s being burned, or whether in his absentminded thought he is chewing his lips to a pulp. There have been cases even where Servants haven’t noticed that they are being suffocated.”
“That’s scary”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou looked at Abe’s fingers, no nail where there should be, just shrivelled skin.
“Abe, you told me you were tortured once. How can a Servant be tortured if he cannot feel pain?”
“Because Qi is not infinite. It is tied to the body that manipulates and uses it. If I were to beat you within a foot of your life, you would find it very difficult to maintain your Qi. Once pain steals your Qi, you cannot get it back. It’s broken. And though the Qi may prevent physical pain, it does nothing to protect against tortures of the spirit”, Abe asked.
“Tortures of the spirit?” Hyzou asked.
“I assume that, given your last few weeks I don’t have to explain tortures of the spirit. Despite the physical advancements that Qi gives us, madness is still a pit that a Servant can descend into. All too often it happens”, Abe said.
“How did they break you?” Hyzou asked.
“Perhaps someday I shall tell you all about it, but not today. When an individual’s Qi is overpowered by outside forces like that…” Abe stopped, and seemed to think. “When pain and madness are so effective as to strip a Servant of his Qi, that Servant will never regain his powers. And that, Hyzou of Nuyin, is why you see me in such a sorry state. My Qi was stripped form me and it will never return.”
“It was pleasant, when I dreamt in orange. I didn’t feel my suffering”, Hyzou said.
“The ability to turn off pain is perhaps a Servant’s greatest advantage, but it is also one of our greatest weaknesses. The human mind is weak. Remember that, and you will have an advantage over any opponent. Only the strongest of people truly understand their weaknesses”, Abe said.
“Everything went slower”, Hyzou said. “Can Qi slow time?”
Abe smiled.
“No, it can’t. And everything didn’t go slower, though I know that’s what you think. That’s just how you perceived the Qi’s second effect”, Abe said.