“Good to have you back, Firstblade,” he said.
“We are back, friend. All the way back. Can you believe this fate? I am Firstblade again,” I replied. “Bring horses for everyone and the best meat you can find,” I shouted at the Rods. Then I turned to Karat, the First of the Archers who was watching all this in silence. He had heard Malan’s plan before, and he had to follow my orders. “Are you riding with me, Karat, or will you join the other half of the Archers with Sani?” I asked.
“I must be at Drakontail,” said Karat. “That man, Sani, was never much of an Archer.”
“That’s brave of you,” I said. “Here is what you must do. By dawn, you’ll gather and send at the southern end of this camp the eighty Packs that will ride with me.”
“Warhammer,” said the Reghen.
“What?”
“This camp is called Warhammer,” he said.
“This camp is called: ‘we’re out of here by dawn, and we’ll never see it again.’ Listen, all. Once we’re done here, you run like the wind to bring tidings to the Archer Packs,” I said, facing Irhan, the First Tracker. We have three days of riding, three nights of rest. We must rest, the horses must rest. The first of us will enter the caves on the third afternoon. The last ones, long after midnight. At the fourth dawn, we’ll be out of the White Doe caves, ride down the narrow gorge and hide in the woodland. Once we’re all there, we attack the legions. They should be in the vale of Lenos in front of us. Five thousand steps to our right—”
“Two leagues,” interrupted the Reghen, addressing Irhan and Karat.
I knew from Baagh what a league was, and the Reghen had adopted the measures and the written language of the Crossers it seemed.
“You waste my time, Reghen. I am too old to start speaking othertriber words. Two…leagues to our right is where Sani should be, on the fourth morning,” I said. “He must start his assault earlier than us, soon after dawn.”
“He must,” said Irhan. “The Crossers must commit the catapults and the war machines in Sani’s direction. I’ve seen those monsters, once they are set it is hard to move them around. But this plan scares me. Too many things have to happen at exactly the right time.”
“We’ll have sundials to make sure we both have the same measure of time.”
“When the Sun is half-high. I need no sundial to tell me that. When the sun is half-high we unleash the eighty Packs on them,” I said. “No oxen carts come with us if we are to make speed. No refills of quivers, no supplies. Each one of your men carries all the arrows he can. In any quiver he has. There is no roasting of meat, no fire in the Forest when we rest at night. Porridge, dried meat if you have it. Water. A man will have only what he carries. No slaves, no women.”
Except for my women who will be with Sani at Drakontail.
“We leave now to prepare, Da-Ren,” said Karat.
“I had forty men with me before you ambushed us: about twenty of mine and twenty Dasal. They know the Forest better than anyone. They’ll wear the black dogskins and a red cloth band on their head, so you recognize them. You follow those men as if they were born to lead you. They say “right” your horses swerve right, they say “left,” you go left. They say “piss,” you piss, “sleep,” you sleep. We have five thousand horsemen. Riding by two that’s how long, Reghen?”
“Four leagues!”
“Four fucking leagues of riders in the Forest. If everyone starts going his own way, we won’t be out of there in ten days. We have two days in the wood. The first day we ride south in the valley, day two and three in the Forest. You understand?”
“I do.”
“Yes,” said Irhan.
“Yes, Firstblade.”
“If we’re late, early, betrayed, whatever, the Tribe is doomed,” I said. “Do you understand?”
They didn’t answer again.
Most of the men jumped on their horses and rode fast to carry their orders. I had to say the last few words in private.
I put my arm around Leke’s shoulder and took him a few steps away from the others.
“Leke, you don’t have to come,” I whispered close to his ear.
“What are you saying, Firstblade?”
“I fear this is our Final Battle.”
“And you think I can go on living, knowing that I abandoned you before the Final Battle?”
“You don’t understand,” I said and looked around carefully to make sure that the Reghen couldn’t hear our words. “I don’t want us to win this battle. I am going there to save Zeria and Aneria.”
“I understand, Da-Ren. But you, old fool, never seem to understand. We all go there to save someone worth saving.”
“Enough said. Go rest this last night. I’ll see you at dawn,” I said.
Leke rode away, and I went up to the Chief of the Rods who were guarding me.
“And now we go find my people. Then you can eat and rest,” I said to him.
It took us a while for the Rods to find where Zeria was held.
“She’s in there,” said the Rod, pointing to a carriage covered with black fabrics.
The oxen were not yoked, and it surprised me that the cart was far away from Sani’s side of the camp. I ran to her and jumped inside. Zeria screamed, terrified for a moment until she recognized me. We embraced each other silently.
“Beautiful dress,” I said, staring at the red-blue fabric that I had brought her from Antia.
“Are you in good spirits?” she replied. Her hands were freezing cold.
“No, I am petrified. Where is Aneria?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” she said, weeping. “They put the children separately, the first night they captured us.”
“It was my fault, I shouldn’t have gone north,” I said.
“No, they were too many, they knew. And I was the one who convinced you to stay in the forest. They would have come, sooner or later. It is done, Da-Ren.”
“How was Aneria when you last saw her? The sickness?”
“She was getting better. But this all past now. Forget Aneria, forget me. You have a purpose.”
“To lead them?”
“And you must fail. You know that, don’t you? You must be the man for all those jackals you lead. You must end this now, Da-Ren. This madman! I never saw such hatred, rage, and power in one man. Someone has to stop him. Be that One.”
“I am here to save you and Aneria; I have no other burden to bear.”
Zeria turned away, unlocking her hands from mine and facing the darkness outside the carriage.
“Oh, but you do have the greatest burden, my love. No matter what your sacrifice is or the price to pay. Malan must be stopped. He can’t be doing that forever. How many thousands like us have suffered under every moon? How many more? How many children? How many children in Lenos? Close your eyes. Picture Malan’s doom. Picture his triumph. See those children, Da-Ren. Do you see them? They play in the poppy fields of Lenos. One of them could have been yours. Ours. Do you see them?”
“And what is to happen to Aneria? You?”
“Have you seen my boy?” she asked.
“Veker is still alive. I saw him just before I came here. He’ll ride with me.”
“To war?”
“To war. As a free man. If he stays here, he is their prisoner.”
“He knows what must be done. He’ll avenge me. Don’t worry about me anymore. We’re lost, Da-Ren. If by a miracle you come out of this alive, try to save Aneria. Make sure that they don’t harm her. Promise me that. But it is too late for us. You will get a kiss. I will get one too.”
“Stop saying this.”
“We were too fortunate. We should never have had even one kiss. We should be dead that first evening when you saved me in the forest. You came back again from the ends of the world, to save me again. We lived in love. They didn’t. We had the oak, the quince, and the rowan.”
“I am not abandoning you.”
“If the time comes to die, die with purpose. Not like those dogs. T
hey’ll die in the White Doe. The bats will feast on their rotting flesh, and they’ll breathe out for the last time in the cold caves through lips unloved.”
“And you? No, I can’t. I will come for you.”
“Come, if you must, but only if you’ve done everything else. If you come to me with the blood of the children in your hands, don’t come at all. Because you’ll have wasted all we gave birth to.”
“The Dasal hate Lenos. Malan said we are free if we come out of this battle victorious. He said that men would marry women they choose.”
“Marry? Call me wife if you want. But I am not wearing a dress, with its hem in the blood of Lenos. You gave me a promise before you left for that campaign, Da-Ren: not to harm women and children. Did you keep that promise?”
“You know I didn’t.”
“Then you owe me. Redeem yourself, or the dead will haunt you to eternity. Keep the children away from the dogs.”
“They won’t harm her; I promise,” I said.
“Not only Aneria, my love. All the children. Even those of Lenos.”
The Rod put his head in the carriage and shouted.
“We must go. We’re late. Men are hungry.”
The men are hungry.
They hadn’t given me blades yet.
“A kiss,” said Zeria. A sparkling teardrop waited in the corner of her eye. “Make it count.”
I was peering out of the carriage, counting the guards.
“Maybe I could—”
“Maybe we could escape. But Aneria dies. All your comrades too,” she said.
She was right. A kiss. A prayer.
My lips upon yours. If death is to touch your lips or mine before we see each other again, remember: This is my soul that I breathe in you, I’ll be with you forever. I’ll never stop coming for you; I’ll find the gods of the sky, the demons in their caves and save you.
“The children, Da-Ren.”
“I promise,” I said as I took my eyes away from her.
And then I am gone.
O Goddess, bright beautiful
The darkness cries the sorrow’s song
Bring back Selene. I beg you.
And I will bring as sacrifice.What? What?
Remember the songprayers, Da-Ren.
I prayed once again; the words escaped my mouth of their own will. The starless sky wept a cold drizzle as we rode to Baagh’s carriage close by. Unlike Zeria, they kept the old man in chains.
“If you are a wizard of any skill it is about time to use it,” I said to him.
“It will take some great skill. And luck,” he said, smiling calmly. “But I can get myself out of these chains. Not now though, those guards here have offered to take me to Lenos in my own carriage. Had to oblige and accept the offer.”
“You long to see the battle?”
“That’s our destiny. I wish it could be avoided. But it would be naive to believe it ever could…”
“And then? You turn into a dove or a hawk and fly away to Hieros Island?”
“Remember, we hid the gold near that tree when we rode out of the harbor. If one of us makes it there, he takes the half. I hope to see you in Hieros, Da-Ren. Unless those you lead massacre the innocent at Lenos first. If that’s the path you choose, you won’t be very welcome at the Castlemonastery.”
“How did I get here, Baagh? What have I done?”
“You haven’t done anything yet, Da-Ren. Your story starts now. Everyone will remember you for what is to happen next. The past will be forgotten.”
“But what can I do now?”
“Everything. Free Zeria and escape. Or bring victory to your Tribe, hoping that Malan will reward you. Or bring doom to your Tribe. That may be a victory too.”
“How can I become a traitor? I wouldn’t even know how.”
“Someone will be betrayed no matter what you do. At least make sure you don’t betray your heart. That’s my one advice.”
“I never felt so hopeless. No matter what I do is wrong.”
“The monsters have gathered. I found the monsters I was searching for. Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked.
“Yes, I did.”
“Yes, God’s mercy is wondrous; to give you such happiness. You didn’t deserve the colors of the Forest after Varazam. But did you find your Reekaal?”
“There are no Reekaal, Baagh. Never were.”
“You’re wrong there. The Reekaal… The Reekaal are heading for Lenos. And you, Da-Ren will be first among them.”
“To save Zeria and Aneria. That’s all I care about.”
“You can try. I will try and save them, the girl at least. They’ve got you surrounded, but me, they’ll lose me soon.”
“If you do that for me, Baagh, I will be a slave to you for all eternity.”
“Be careful what you promise.”
“Go. Go and save them! Meet me in Hieros. Remember, you’re at the beginning, Da-Ren. Now we’ll see what monster you really are. Are you the first hound of the Devil? Are you a Drakon caring only to protect a blue-eyed princess? Or are you an avenging angel that will bring an end to evil? Or a martyr, who will sacrifice himself on the cross to defeat the Demon?”
“I wish I was just a common man. Like all the others.”
Baagh shook his head and sighed. Most of his face was hiding under the hood, as if he were shriveling, metamorphosing into a gray dove ready to take flight. He spoke his final words:
“You can’t be a common man. Never were. You were born too fortunate to be just that. Choose your story.”
XCI.
The Cloak of Death
Thirty-Second Spring. Four Days after the Poppy Flower Moon
The time for words is long gone.
At dawn’s first light, the oxen carts, the slaves, the women, and the Witches take the road back to Sirol.
We are riding south ahead of them on that first day. I spread the rumor that we’re all going back to Sirol, and I hope the generals of the West have spies and trackers who follow our moves. If they believe we are retreating, we’ll surprise them. Sani leads half our warriors through the Drakontail, the new path on the north edge of the Forest. They have a much shorter distance to cover than us; they’ll be there on time. I don’t know if we will. All our othertriber allies followed him. Crossers of the Far East who abandoned their faith, hay-haired axemen of the North, barbarous warlords of the steppe. His faithful Guardians, young boys, painted like the monstrous Ssons. An odd alliance of mercenaries and believers who gathered from the four corners of the earth. He has Zeria with him. “All the women and children,” Malan said.
I gallop southbound, and five thousand Archers follow behind. We ride down the vale, parallel to the oak wood. Men born, raised, and trained just for this battle. Horses bred and fed for this day. Reghen who weaved tales since they were children to give us strength for this one day. Witches who kindled our dreams and our fantasies, promising the glory of Enaka. Believers of the Cross waiting for us at the vale of Lenos, catapults, and ballistas built only for this day. Everyone’s destiny, thousands of men and legends converging to the same battlefield. Everyone dreams of glory. No one will be ready for the bloodbath. No other battle ever was or ever will be like that one.
“We can ride faster,” says Leke, as the sun begins to descend under puffy clouds on the first day.
“No, slow down,” I say. “We won’t stop for the night. I want to enter the wood in the darkness, unseen.”
“Will we ride all night?”
“Yes, they must lose our count and our track, and then we can get some rest once we’re there. Tell everyone.”
“I fear, Firstblade.”
“Did the Witches get to you?”
“No, I fear this.” He points up to the sky; it has turned gray and cloudy. “Rain.”
“What do the Dasal say?”
“Rain is coming.”
“Pray that they are wrong. Get the fastest of the Dasal and some of your men and have them ride first to Whi
te Doe. They must be there before everyone else.”
“I’ve already done it.”
“Torches everywhere. They must light up the caves before we enter. It will speed things up a lot.”
“I know, Da-Ren. Did that already.”
“But how? You’ve never been to White Doe.”
“I heard you last night, and I asked the Dasal. I know what a cave is.”
“You’re good, Leke.”
We enter the Forest as the first night falls, our torches spread like liquid gold on an iron plate. We don’t stop; my men shout, wearing the wide red headbands that shine brightly under their torches. Only before dawn when most of the men are deep in the Forest do I let them rest. It is the coldest time. The fog spreads between the trees and covers the stiff bodies of the riders. The Ouna-Mas have not followed, and the men have to pray alone. There are so many of them that even the wolves have stayed away scared, but there is life among the trees. A hoot, a chirp.
In my dream, I am still galloping, and the earth rumbles behind me beaten by thousands of hooves. I see Elbia not Zeria riding next to me. I know it should be so, as I am approaching death.
“I am here, Da-Ren. I told you we'd ride the warhorses together,” she whispers through mulberry lips.
But it is neither Elbia’s nor Zeria’s memory that wakes me up. It is Enaka’s wrath. First comes the wind swirling through the spring leaves, then the raindrops. The pelting rain.
“We are doomed,” says Leke. “The redbuds are naked.”
I planted redbud trees across this hidden path we take, seven springs ago, when Aneria was born. There is a tall redbud on each crossroad to show me the way. The obvious route to follow is on one side of the tree, but there is a hidden path on the other side. My men know that they must never take the obvious path when they see the redbud; it leads nowhere. The redbuds are still young; it was only this spring that they blossomed with brilliant purple flowers, like fire beacons in the dense wood. I don’t know why Zeria calls them redbuds.
“Judas tree,” says Veker.
“What?”
“Baagh told me that the Crossers call this the Judas tree.”
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