The Habit of the Sorcerer

by J J Moriarty

  Hyzou stepped into the room.

  The Pharaoh saw him, smiled, and stood. Hyzou looked at the ground, only a Noble could make eye contact with the Pharaoh in public. For anyone else it was a crime punishable by crucifixion.

  Pharaoh Ganymedes began to applaud. All the attendees followed suit. The claps and cheers echoed around the hall. Hyzou walked slowly through the aisle to the head of the room, where he stood before the Pharaoh. Hyzou stared at his feet and bowed. He showed the Pharaoh the back of his neck.

  The outfit he had on, a ridiculous leather costume made to look like bronze armour, stifled Hyzou’s movements.

  “Arise Hyzou”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.

  The Pharaoh’s voice was as gravelly and terse as before. Hyzou arose.

  “Tonight, you feast with the finest among society. Some of our bravest have gone east to aid our ailing brothers in Yobo, yet those who remain will welcome you as the champion you are”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.

  Hyzou bowed, as applause broke out again. Hyzou stood, unsure what to do, where to go. The room was full, and added to his armour and the summer evening, the heat was oppressive.

  An arm slipped around his own, and he felt himself tugged away. Head down, Hyzou followed. He was led between tables to two empty chairs. Hyzou looked at she who was leading him.

  Hyzou was no poet, but he was certain that she was the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. Her short black hair, her painted face, the slits in her bejewelled robes that showed the soft skin beneath. Hyzou had seen nothing like her before.

  The scars on the back of her thighs told him that she was a slave, but they were much smaller than any of the grotesque abominations that coated Hyzou’s torso. Tiny scars, tailored so as not to crack the façade of her beauty. The sign of a woman bred from birth to be a woman of the flesh. Her teeth, well-rounded, and her fresh soul said she was still young, though perhaps a year older than Hyzou. Hyzou didn’t need the sense of smell his Qi provided to know that she bathed regularly and wore expensive perfumes. This was a court consort.

  Her face was a model of devotion to symmetricity, her black hair cascaded down from her scalp as if it were sculpted from the finest marble, and her high cheekbones were accentuated by a blemish free skin. Her right eye was painted, with red and black patterns emanating from the socket, while the left side of her face was pale. She was Kheme.

  Hyzou found it hard to believe that a woman could look like her. She stepped aside and allowed Hyzou to sit. Then she sat down beside him.

  Hyzou’s cup was filled with beer by a child slave, and before him was a small bowl was filled with small circles of different sorts of cheeses.

  “Is this your first feast?” The girl asked.

  “My third since the fight”, Hyzou said. “Though I’ve never known one this big. What’s your name?”

  “Oh, forgive me. I’m Ankhesenpepi.”

  “Shall I call you Pepi?” Hyzou asked.

  “Tonight, you can call me whatever you want”, she said.

  Her shoulder facing Hyzou was bare, and the sandy skin reflected the dulled light. Hyzou could look at little else.

  “I’ll call you Pepi,” Hyzou said.

  He took some of the harder cheeses into his mouth and began to chew.

  “And I’ll call you Hyzou?” Pepi asked.

  Hyzou nodded. He tried one of the softer cheeses.

  “I have been to quite a few of these, so if you have any questions just ask, I’ll be happy to help you”, Pepi said.

  “From one slave to another?” Hyzou asked.

  She laughed.

  “Sure. From one slave to another”, Pepi said.

  Hyzou emptied his cup, and it was quickly filled again by a slave.

  “Would you prefer that job?” Hyzou asked, pointing to one of the gelded men serving the food.

  “Sometimes”, Pepi said. “Would you?”

  “There seems to be less bodily harm in what they do, compared to me”, Hyzou said.

  “I saw your fight. You won’t be in danger in the Stadia. There are no more Colossus left. There’s nothing in Lamybla that can harm you anymore”, Pepi said. “All you will have to do is kill someone or something every week or two, and then the rest of the time you can live like a Kyrios.”

  “The same can be said for you. Don’t you enjoy the finest foods, the comfiest beds, the most expensive perfumes?” Hyzou asked. “If I don’t presume too much.”

  “That’s one way of describing my life”, Pepi said.

  Pepi drained her cup. Hyzou did the same and received his third. The first course was being brought out – a curry of egg, cheese, rice and salmon.

  Something in Hyzou wanted to tell Pepi about the Pharaoh’s plans for him. Just to impress her. But he held his tongue. The Pharaoh wanted it to be a surprise, and no one gossiped quite like a court consort.

  “This looks good”, Hyzou said.

  “Everything here is”, Pepi replied. “Tell me, how did you end up a warrior?”

  “I was fished out from the ruins of Piquea by Kyrios Nuya and taken to the Stadia because of my noble birth”, Hyzou said.

  “Ah, Kyrios Nuya. Are you a friend?” Pepi said.

  Hyzou narrowed his eyes, wondering how he could speak diplomatically.

  “Not quite”, Hyzou said.

  “Well, don’t feel bad. He thinks he’s worth a lot more than he is. He has quite a fearsome reputation, but it’s only because he is the deputy of Kyrios Nerikare. They have both gone east to Yobo and aren’t here tonight”, Pepi said.

  “You know Kyrios Nerikare?” Hyzou said.

  Hyzou had heard of the man. The commander of Pharaoh Ganymedes’ armies.

  “Yes, he’s the man who burned your city to the ground. He and Kyrios Khafka, though I have never spent the night with Khafka. I doubt I would relish it either, he seems stronger than a bull. If his cock is at all proportional to the rest of him it would tear me apart”, Pepi said.

  “Charming. And is Kyrios Nerikare as frightening as his reputation deserves?” Hyzou asked.

  “Oh yes. Whenever I have spent the night with him, he has always been kind and courteous, but even then it’s easy to see that he has nothing of feeling behind his eyes. Except he’s never killed a Colossus, you’re the only one who’s done that. So maybe you’re more frightening than him?” Pepi said.

  “Frightening. Sure”, Hyzou said.

  “Yes, frightening. I’ve never seen anyone run away as well as you”, Pepi said.

  She burst out laughing. Hyzou rolled his eyes and tucked into his food.

  “How many Kyrios are there?” Hyzou asked after a time.

  “Twenty-seven Kyrios, thirteen Kyria. Though it is worth remembering that that includes both Fieldnobles and Courtnobles”, Pepi said.

  “What’s the difference between both titles?” Hyzou asked.

  “Don’t you use them in Piquea?” Pepi said.

  “Never”, Hyzou said.

  “Most everything in Piquea was stolen from Lamybla”, Pepi said.

  “Excuse me?” Hyzou said.

  “No need to be indignant. The Kheme used only to have two Crown Cities, Yobo and Lamybla. Three hundred years ago some Pharaoh or other sent men south to set up a watchtower on a hill that stood alone among a grand plain. It was a strong defensive structure. A bit too strong, from Lamybla’s perspective. That party that was sent south seceded and adopted the local dialect – and from that grew the city of Piquea. Did you say you were of noble birth? Perhaps you are descended from the same very settlers.”

  “No, I said that Kyrios Nuya said that I was of noble birth”, Hyzou said.

  Pepi laughed.

  “A peasant in a Noble’s clothing. The opposite of all the stories”, Pepi said.

  “I’d rather the peasant garb, if I am honest”, Hyzou said.

  “I thought sorcery runs in families?” Pepi asked.

  “My father was a crippled scribe, and my mother an illiterate daughter of a fisher
man, so I have no idea where the sorcery entered either of their lives”, Hyzou said.

  Pepi smiled, and they shared another cup of beer each. The meals came quick and strong. Mutton and crabcakes followed, beef, pork and snake each got a curry of their own. Mushrooms in goosefat and pickled wasps.

  All the while, Hyzou kept drinking, Pepi too. The lyre was brought in, and poets recited verses about the gods and the Pharaoh himself, but Hyzou didn’t cheer the flames and dancing. The dancers reminded him too much of himself.

  Finally, the tiger nuts were brought out, the small balls drenched in honey. The sweet. Hyzou ate five, Pepi only one. The feast was finished.

  Rows of half-naked men and women entered the room. Hyzou frowned and ground his teeth.

  He stood. Seeing he had gotten up, Pepi stood too. She staggered with her first step. Hyzou grabbed her before anyone could see anything.

  “Ankhesenpepi, how much have you had to drink? There’s no need to pretend to be drunk”, Hyzou asked.

  She groaned.

  “I’m not pretending. Like you’re good enough for that. No, I’m not supposed to get this drunk, I’ll get into trouble”, Pepi said.

  “Not if I have anything to do with it”, Hyzou said in a voice filled with false bravado.

  He placed his hand on her hips and held her close into him.

  “I have a grip tight enough to strangle a Colossus”, Hyzou said.

  “I’ve never heard that expression before”, She said.

  “Mainly because I just invented it. Now come on”, Hyzou said,

  They began to walk.

  Their arrangement may have been useful for the purposes of keeping Pepi standing, but it had the unfortunate side effect of binding them together at the waist, so with every step she took her figure and his constantly bumped into one another. Hyzou found himself getting considerably warmer with every step. She was shaped as if she had been carved from marble.

  Walking out, no one looked their way. Adults were too busy ordering that their children be taken to another chamber. The drama was being readied, all the players putting on their heavy masks.

  No one stopped them leaving the throne room.

  Stepping out into the warm evening air and being able to let go of Pepi seemed almost a kind of relief. Though there was a part of him that was disappointed. Very disappointed. Pepi was not afraid to notice.

  “Hyzou, you’re blushing”, Pepi said, then laid a finger upon his face. “Your face is so warm. Caught a fever?”

  “No”, Hyzou said. “It’s just warm outside. The height of summer.”

  “Is all of you this enamoured with me?” Pepi asked.

  She placed her hand between his legs.

  She began to laugh. “You have your own little Colossus down there.”

  Now Hyzou really did blush.

  “What a terrible phrase”, Hyzou said.

  Pepi frowned.

  “I’m a prostitute, not a poet”, she said.

  “Ok, new arrangement”, Hyzou said.

  Hyzou swept her up into his arms and began to carry her.

  “You’re like Andras after he cut down Lorikuy. A true warrior, come to save the woman in distress, and carrying her to safety”, Pepi said.

  “Didn’t they kill themselves after that?” Hyzou said.

  “I never understood that. How could Lorikuy be carved open and left to bleed and live? But Vishi and Andras died after one snakebite”, Pepi said. “Can the gods be killed or not?”

  “I never understood that bit myself either”, Hyzou said.

  Hyzou still felt some pain when he exerted himself to carry Pepi. His wounds from the Stadia would take a while longer to heal.

  Two streets away was the apartment Hyzou was staying in, now that he was the Pharaoh’s jewel.

  They were silent for a while. Once they had left the plaza, Pepi began to massage his ear.

  “Don’t you tire?” Pepi asked.

  “Yes. But much slower than you”, Hyzou said.

  “It’s such a beautiful evening”, Pepi said.

  And it was. The summer sun was turning purple as it began to dip below the horizon. Mosquitos danced on the evening air, and the streets were home to many, all men and women with their thousands of tales and millions of different purposes.

  “Have you ever thought of the future?” Hyzou asked.

  “The future?” Pepi said.

  “Yes. Once your beauty fades, and the same will happen to my skill, what then?” Hyzou asked.

  “I imagine that by then we will be dead”, Pepi said.

  “A sobering thought”, Hyzou said.

  “It will take more than thoughts to sober me up”, Pepi said.

  “Me too. Hold on, this is my building here”, Hyzou said.

  Hyzou carried her through the doorway. Just inside the door some children played with their fake swords, stabbing at each other with sticks and old bones. They stepped aside when Hyzou passed. They knew that Hyzou lived on one of the lowest floors. They had been taught by their parents never to get in the way of anyone who lived down there.

  Two dogs were resting upon the stairwell, and they began to salivate as Hyzou passed.

  “I forgot to bring any food with me”, Hyzou said.

  As if in response, the dog moaned.

  Hyzou’s door was on the second floor. It opened onto an apartment with two chambers, one which held his straw bed, the other that held everything else. He brought Pepi in with him to the bedchamber, then deposited her back onto her feet. Her clothes had crumpled during the journey, and when she straightened them out the silk fabrics clung to her figure. Hyzou’s face began to warm again.

  “Well, champion, now it’s time for you to claim your prize”, Pepi said.

  Her hand snaked out and ran through the stubble on Hyzou’s scalp. She grabbed his right hand and brought it towards her breast.

  “Wait!” Hyzou said. “This godless armour, I’ll have to leave it in the other room.”

  She smiled at him.

  “Well hurry up”, she said, sitting down on the bed and crossing her legs.

  Hyzou walked into the other room.

  A vision overcame him.

  Hyzou, dressed entirely in black armour, at the Pharaoh’s right hand. Pepi, as his wife, was sitting by his side, her stomach inflated with Hyzou’s child. All the Kyrios and Kyria were bowing before him. Bowing before his mighty power. Because Hyzou recognised the look on all their faces, Kyrios Nuya among them. They were all mortally afraid.

  In the vision, the Pharaoh spoke.

  “The Drascians refuse to sue for peace, you say?” Pharaoh Ganymedes said. “They refuse the friendly servitude I offer?”

  “Yes, Your Majesty”, a voice said.

  “Kyrios Hyzou”, Pharaoh Ganymedes said.

  Hyzou looked at his Pharaoh and nodded.

  “They will learn why they should not resist your will”, Hyzou said.

  The vision ended.

  It’s your future with the Pharaoh’s. Hyzou thought. Marry Pepi and become the second most powerful man in Lamybla.

  Hands shaking, Hyzou began stripping himself of the weird ceremonial armour. He made sure to leave each piece in the corner; he’d be forced to pay for any damages.

  “You’re very eager to undress”, a voice behind him said. It wasn’t Pepi.

  Hyzou turned and looked upon Aliya. He had to bite his tongue to stop from screaming.

  “You frightened me, how didn’t I sense you coming?” Hyzou whispered.

  “I never got around to teaching you to hide from other users of the Qi. You have so much you need to learn yet”, Aliya said. “Are you busy?”

  “Maybe. No. What are you doing here?” Hyzou said.

  “I’m just checking up on you”, Aliya said.

  “I… I’ve been ok”, Hyzou asked.

  “Has the Pharaoh tried to get you to join his army yet?” Aliya asked.

  “He… How did you know he’d do that?” Hyzou said.


  “He’s planning to conquer Sira Su. He’d hardly leave you in a Stadia”, Aliya said.

  “What should I do?” Hyzou asked.

  “On that, I have no advice”, Aliya said.

  “You always have advice”, Hyzou said.

  “You’re drunk, so I’ll ignore that you just spoke back to me”, Aliya said.

  “Sorry, master”, Hyzou said.

  “I spoke to an old friend of yours”, Aliya said.

  “An old friend?” Hyzou asked.

  “I met with Paten”, Aliya said.

  Hyzou remembered the child he had spoken to before his fight.

  “Paten. She was in a bad place. I have to help her”, Hyzou said.

  Aliya smiled.

  “You already have”, Aliya said. “You defeated the Colossus.”

  “I don’t understand”, Hyzou said

  “You were a prisoner of war from Piquea, overcoming those most overwhelming of odds. Just like her. The tale has been told and retold throughout Lamybla and beyond. For Piquean slaves everywhere in this city you have become their deity. The symbol of the Piquea they once knew and hope one day to return to.”

  “They… They think that?” Hyzou said.

  “How many Piqueans are slaves in this city? I just hope that in all this you don’t forget who you are. I hope you don’t forget to do your duty”, Aliya said.

  “I can’t free them all, it’s not within my power”, Hyzou said.

  “No, and it is not your duty to. I don’t think any of them think that could happen”, Aliya said.

  “What do I do then?” Hyzou asked.

  “Tell me Hyzou, do you know that universal truth? The one that applies to all slaves everywhere?” Aliya said.

  “Always so cryptic”, Hyzou said.

  “Hyzou!” Aliya barked.

  “Sorry master. Well the universal truth is that slaves are already dead”, Hyzou said.

  “Are you dead?” Aliya asked.

  “Now? Yes”, Hyzou said. “I wanted to tell you something.”

  “What was that?” Aliya said. “Do dead men tell?”

  Hyzou smiled.

  “Where will you go?” Hyzou said.

  “I’ve booked a trip by carriage, it leaves in a week. I will return home”, Aliya said.

  “To Uqing?” Hyzou said.

  “To Uqing. To home. To die there”, Aliya said.