by J J Moriarty
Hyzou let go. He turned and saw a flat-faced man rubbing his wrist.
“The wound must be compressed. I’m saving your life”, the flat-faced man said.
Hyzou struggled to make the words out over the loud buzzing in his ears.
“Can you hear me?”
Hyzou blinked. He looked down at his naked figure, at the long cuts that punctured the skin on his torso.
“Grrrrph”, Hyzou gurgled, trying his best to speak.
“Hush now. There’s no point in you trying to talk”, the flat faced man said, and he held a cloth against Hyzou’s torso.
“Pfffffar”, Hyzou said, the pain was enormous.
“Did you hear me?” The flat faced man said.
Hyzou fell silent, focused on breathing. It wasn’t so simple. His chest hurt. Every breath was agony.
His hands were throbbing. Hyzou looked down at them. They were a mess of leather and blood. He touched the wound and tried to remove one of the gloves.
“Stop that. Don’t touch them”, a large lady said, and she slapped Hyzou’s hands apart.
Hyzou looked around him, trying to understand what was happening. Everyone was speaking. Hyzou could barely hear them, the buzzing in his ears was too loud. So Hyzou just lay back on the pillows and held his hands in the air. The blood dripped from them, drop after warm drop. The air stung the cuts along Hyzou’s chest, but he felt a bit too tired to grimace his discomfort.
His mouth was dry, and Hyzou gave a raspy cough. It must have been understood, as a cup was pressed to his lips. Hyzou drank the beer that came from it. It lowered the buzzing in his head.
“More”, Hyzou rasped, managing his first word.
The flat-faced man handed a flask over to Hyzou. It hurt for him to grasp it, but Hyzou still tipped the top into his mouth and drank long. It was the finest beer he had had in his life.
His head began to clear.
“Where?” Hyzou asked. Then his voice faltered.
The flat-faced man smiled.
“The Sun Tower. We will be using the Pharaoh’s own bath.”
Hyzou groaned.
“The arrangement is not to your liking?” The man asked.
Hyzou coughed.
“I’m hurting”, Hyzou said.
“I’ll say”, a voice behind him said.
Hyzou leaned his head back to look at a girl Hyzou’s age.
“I’ve never seen anything like the way you fight”, she said.
Her face was split with admiration.
“My name is Burkhet”, she said.
Hyzou nodded. “Hyzou.”
“I know your name is Hyzou”, Burkhet laughed. “The whole city knows your name.”
“Oh”, Hyzou said.
She laughed again. Hyzou groaned some more.
A thud ran through Hyzou.
I must be on a litter. Hyzou thought.
The litter was gently placed upon the ground. Slaves appeared at the curtain. Not even bothering to ask, they lifted Hyzou’s stretcher from its resting place and carried him outside. Hyzou’s vision was blurry, but once he had settled, the watery view began to find some consistency again.
Above him was an artwork, telling some tale or other about the gods. Hyzou was lying on a bench made of cold stone; somewhere nearby water was running.
The large woman appeared before him, a knife in her hand.
“Wait, what are you doing with that?” Hyzou asked.
“I’m the Pharaoh’s surgeon, I’ll heal your wounds”, she said.
A song ran through Hyzou’s head, though he couldn’t remember where it came from.
I am the King’s surgeon, I chop and I change, I change and I chop.
“Go ahead”, Hyzou said.
Coughs racked his body once he spoke, and his eyes watered. Burkhet wiped Hyzou’s face.
“Relax”, the surgeon said.
Her knife cut what was left of his robes, and both she and Burkhet undressed him, taking off his loincloth and his boots. Each movement hurt, causing his muscles to spasm. Hyzou’s chest was on fire, his legs twisted, clawed and clubbed. He screamed his pain aloud.
“Shhhhhhhh”, the surgeon said.
She pushed Hyzou back onto the stone, then lifted each of his hands for examination. Using the knife and her fingers, she began to peel strips of leather off his bloody hands. All the while he was shaking. Finally, she seemed happy enough with her work, as she turned Hyzou’s hands in the dim indoor light.
“Bring me the lye”, she said.
Burkhet obeyed, bringing a large bowl to the surgeon. She scooped out the yellow gloop and rubbed it into Hyzou’s hands. He winced at the sting of the stuff. The surgeon nodded to somebody behind Hyzou, and then Hyzou felt a man place two firm hands on Hyzou’s shoulders. Somebody else was holding his legs.
The surgeon began to rub the lye into the cuts that lacerated his chest.
Hyzou moaned as the shock of pain washed over him. He retreated into his Qi, where his pain didn’t exist. The surgeon held a jar up in front of Hyzou, she seemed surprised that he hadn’t reacted to the pain of the cleaning.
“This powder will close your wounds. It will sting though, and leave a large scar where you have been healed. Better than the fester though”, The surgeon said. “Once the spirits get beneath your skin you are sure to die.”
“I know that power”, Hyzou gasped.
The surgeon picked up some linen cloths.
“These will be tied tightly around your chest and hands. They are waterproof. You can bathe once I’ve fixed the linen to your skin”, she said.
“Will I live?” Hyzou asked.
The surgeon frowned.
“Yes. Yes, of course.”
“Good”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou tried his best to distract himself through the long process. Her application of the powder stung just as Hyzou remembered from when Abe had applied it after his whipping. Hyzou grunted a lot, but by receding into his Qi he made it through the worst of it.
By the time she was beginning to tie the bandages, Hyzou was already feeling a little better. He looked around him.
Two handmaids and two geldings were filling a large pool with scalding water. In the corner, a gelded boy stood stock still carrying a plate covered in food.
“Can I have some?” Hyzou asked of the boy, trying to ignore the discomfort of the medical treatment he was receiving.
With wide eyes, the boy walked over then bowed, holding the plate above his head.
“What are they?” Hyzou asked of the room.
“Shrimp, silly”, Burkhet said.
“Oh. Do I just eat them?” Hyzou asked.
Burkhet laughed again, placed her hand upon Hyzou’s shoulder.
“Just take one and put it in your mouth”, Burkhet said.
Burkhet took one of the tiny creatures up and placed it gently on Hyzou’s tongue. Hyzou closed his mouth, and her finger lingered against his lips for a minute. Chewing, Hyzou found the creature cold and crunchy, but once he was certain that it was edible, it was enough for him. Hyzou grabbed whole handfuls and stuffed them into his mouth. A gelding brought over another cup of beer, which Hyzou gulped to help down the shrimp.
“Are you feeling better?” The surgeon asked.
Hyzou flashed her a thumbs-up between swallows. She was finished with the work.
“I’m glad. That bath is for you. We’ll leave you in the peace you desire. I’ve been one of the Pharaoh’s surgeons for almost ten years, and that is the first time I think I’ve ever seen His Majesty shocked. He spent years searching for a Colossus to add to his menagerie, and within months of finding one you’ve killed it”, the surgeon said.
“Do you think he’s angry?” Hyzou said.
“No”, the surgeon said, matter-of-factly.
Hyzou, unsure how to act, merely nodded. Everyone filed out, leaving him in the quiet room alone.
Hyzou got up and took tentative steps to the bath. It was smaller than the others in the room, o
ne of which looked like it could comfortably seat fifty people. Hyzou stepped into the scalding water, breaking the layer of spices and petals that covered the top. Breathing deeply, Hyzou slid into the water. He kept falling until he was completely underwater.
There he stayed, slowing his body down. He was alone, entirely alone, and it was awesome to experience. Hyzou would have to come up for air soon. As he had learned today, everybody must breathe. But for now, floating suspended in the scalding bath was the closest to eternal he could come.
He came back to the surface and took long deep breaths of the fresh air. Lying back, floating, laughter escaped Hyzou. It racked through his body, and sounds echoed around the room, the first musical laugh he had had in months. When it finally subsided he smiled, ready for sleep to take over him.
CHAPTER 28
“Wait here”, the guard said.
“Yes, sir”, Hyzou said.
The guard ascended. The stairs he climbed were lined on either side by the Royal guards. They stood, one on every step. Tall spears, heavy bronze armour, blank faces.
Hyzou was dressed simply, just a robe and sandals. But his clothes were expensive, he would never have been able to afford the silk in his old life.
A voice came from the top of the stairs.
“Hyzou of Nuyin. Ascend,” it said.
Hyzou climbed. At the top was an open trapdoor, through which Hyzou could see the evening sky. In front of it was a line of guards, three men deep.
“I’m ready”, Hyzou said.
He wasn’t. He stepped through the gap made for him by the guards and walked onto the roof. He saw everything.
Hyzou felt vertigo crash over his body. He swayed, his stomach heaved, and his legs began to wobble.
“I wouldn’t feel ashamed. It’s the same reaction most people have”, a voice said.
Hyzou turned as quickly as his confused brain would allow him to. Hyzou saw him. The jewels glittering in the evening sun. The rich skin, the face resting so that it almost looked like a mask.
Hyzou bowed. He fell to his knees and allowed his forehead to touch the floor.
“Your Majesty”, Hyzou said.
“Arise, Hyzou of Nuyin”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
The Pharaoh’s voice was not at all like Hyzou had expected. Thick and gravelly, he sounded more like he had spent a life shouting prices at a market than ruling a city-state.
Hyzou stood and looked all around him.
From the ground, the Sun Tower had seemed giant. From here, it seemed divine. Hyzou could see for tens of miles in every direction. He could see north to the mountains, and south, west and east at the thousands of acres of farms and roads and merchants and towns.
“I have always felt that someone must come up here to understand just what a military advantage this view is”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
He was right.
“It’s terrifying”, Hyzou said, before he could stop himself.
“It is”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said. “Guards, leave us.”
“Your majesty, are you sure you...” A guard said.
“I will speak to Hyzou alone”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
The guard bowed. “We will wait downstairs.”
Pharaoh Ganymedes waited for them to leave before he spoke again. Hyzou couldn’t take his eyes off the view. It was intoxicating.
“Do you know how much I paid for the Colossus you killed?” Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
Hyzou breathed deeply. Realised the Pharaoh was talking to him.
“I’m sorry, Your Majesty”, Hyzou said.
“I saw it as an investment. It would pay for entertainment for the next fifty years. Long after I was gone, it would still be fighting”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“I didn’t know, Your Majesty”, Hyzou said.
“But I’m not angry”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“Aren’t you, Your Majesty?” Hyzou asked.
“I have gotten something altogether more frightening. A man who is stronger than a Colossus”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
Hyzou stayed silent.
“Why is a man more advantageous than a Colossus? Why would I want to own you, over a Colossus?” Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“Do I make better entertainment?” Hyzou said.
“Yes, you do. But that’s not the answer, Hyzou of Nuyin”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said. “Can a Colossus lead men into battle? Can it interrogate prisoners? Can it hunt down and find men in the countryside if they’re running from me?”
“No. No, a Colossus can’t do any of that”, Hyzou said.
“But you can”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“I can’t, sir”, Hyzou said.
“I will teach you. If you are willing”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“Willing, Your Majesty?” Hyzou asked.
“The Court came alive after your fight. Every Kyrios and Kyria wondering what I should do about you. Hyzou of Nuyin. Most think I’ll have you fight in the Stadia until you eventually die”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“If that is what Your Majesty wants, it’s what I’ll do”, Hyzou said.
“It’s not what I want. Imagine that. It would be such a waste of your unique abilities”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
Hyzou didn’t know how to reply to that.
“Where are you from?” Pharaoh Ganymedes asked. “Piquea, right?”
“Yes, Your Majesty, Piquea”, Hyzou said.
“You were taken after the sack?” Pharaoh Ganymedes asked.
“Yes, sir”, Hyzou said.
The Pharaoh sighed and rubbed his brow.
“No doubt you hate me”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“No, Your Majesty, I don’t hate you”, Hyzou said.
“Tell me the truth. No need to be polite”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said. “What do you think of me?”
The roof of the Sun Tower was very exposed with no gates or fences. Hyzou could easily push the Pharaoh off. It was a long fall to the ground. The Pharaoh would be dead before anyone knew anything, just a splatter of what once was a body on the cobblestones below.
“I hate you”, Hyzou said. “Your Majesty.”
“Should I fear for my life? That you would push me from this rooftop?” Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“I hadn’t thought about it, Your Majesty”, Hyzou lied.
“Yes, you have. You thought about it, but then you didn’t do it. And I know why”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
Hyzou didn’t respond.
“You would get the revenge you seek. But you would die. You are strong, but not strong enough to kill a hundred of my guards while you are so grievously wounded”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said. “Self-interest stays your hand. That’s what I like about you Hyzou, you want to survive. I can work with that.”
Hyzou stayed silent.
“Piquea was just the beginning. Within two weeks Yobo will have fallen to my troops”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
The shock must have shown on Hyzou’s face.
“Yes, Hyzou of Nuyin, I am the first man in history to unite all the Kheme tribes under the one leader”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“That’s most impressive, Your Majesty”, Hyzou said, despite himself.
“But it is not enough. Where does this leave me? My realm is surrounded on every side. CaSu to the west, Vymnym to the south, Drascia to the east, Uqing to the north. Everywhere, enemies, who are frightened of me and my power”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
“They’ll attack you, Your Majesty”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou didn’t need to know much about politics to know that this was the case.
“You’re right, but I’m not afraid. The Priests all whisper it, the stolen words of a broken prophecy. The time is here – the shattering of the world as we know it and the creation of a new order. Imagine it, the word sounds on the wind: Empire. Can you hear it? Empire. They have all seen it, a vast army led by a Leviathan who will unite all of Sira Su”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
Hyzou saw in his mind’s eye the night he had un
derwent the surgery, when he had been submerged into his own consciousness. There, in the oceans of his mind, was a leviathan guarding his Qi. He remembered the beach, the bodies and that beast out in the deep.
“Pharaoh Ganymedes. You’re the Leviathan”, Hyzou said.
“It is so. Now do you understand? Men like you, Hyzou, must make up part of my Nobility. For the battles of the future will be larger than ever seen before; and every army needs a general. That future is there for you, an army of tens of thousands, wealth beyond the dreams of the gods, and a line of sons and daughters that will last a thousand years. It is your manifest destiny Hyzou. Join me, and together we can become the sculptors that will shape the world”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.
Hyzou didn’t know what to say.
“I will give you even more”, Pharaoh Ganymedes continued. “The chance to raise apprentices of your own. You will become my right hand, Hyzou. The leader of an order of Sorcerers who serve only me as Emperor.”
“How?” Hyzou said, and he was surprised at how eager his voice sounded.
“Patience. Enjoy your feasts for the next few weeks. Fight once or twice more in the Stadia, show the people what you can do, they will fear you then, and tales of your powers will spread far and wide. Then, I will free you. You will begin to train as a general once that is done and take on apprentices of your own as a sorcerer.”
Hyzou remembered how his father had hid him for all those years. Trying to shield him from the Servants of Qi. Why would he do that if he hadn’t had good reason?
“You have, for so long, been a slave. Realise your strength. Recognise your right to control other men”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said. “This is the dream of every slave and commoner, the chance to hold real power. Might makes right, Hyzou, and you are mighty.”
Hyzou looked up at the Pharaoh and realised that he was only going to accept one answer. Hyzou bowed.
“Your Majesty”, Hyzou said. “I will serve.”
CHAPTER 29
The tall doors opened and a long hall filled with tables was revealed. At the tables sat the Kyrios and Kyria of Lamybla. Around them were slaves and guards and entertainers. At the head of the room was Pharaoh Ganymedes. He sat in a tall gilded chair, surrounded by a semi-circle of guards, a wife on either side of him.