by Pedro Urvi
Silver Eagle nodded solemnly several times.
“I see the Swift Deer of the Second County,” the Great Chief went on, and one by one, all the other Great Chiefs of each county introduced themselves. When they had finished, Silver Eagle thanked them all for being there on that day, for they were all aware that this Council meant high treason, and if the Gods or their Enforcers ever found out, they would all die.
“Here today are represented the more than two thousand tribes which make up our great nation. We have been trying to call this council of tribes for years, without success. The Proxies, those traitors who serve the Regent and the Enforcers of the Gods, have always prevented us. But today we have managed to meet behind their backs, so as to reach an agreement. All of us want the same thing. All of us want freedom. We have been prisoners of the Gods for a thousand years. The moment has come for us to unite and rise as one.”
“You’re the one who’s been trying to get us to meet,” said Chief Brown Fox of the Red Coyotes of the First County. “We don’t all agree with your vision.”
Gray Raven of the Wild Buffalos of the Second County and more than half the Chiefs agreed amid muttering.
Silver Eagle nodded several times. “I know. And this is why this meeting is so important. You, the great Chiefs of the Six Counties, are here today. We represent the entire People of the Steppes. Tonight we must leave our differences aside. We must talk and reach an agreement.”
Crazy Cougar of the Sixth County pointed an accusing finger at Gray Raven. “I’ve no intention of agreeing with that viper.”
“Who are you calling a viper, you stinking rat?”
Both Chiefs reached for their knives and made to lunge at each other. At once the Chiefs of both their allies and enemies began to get to their feet.
“Stop! Everyone stop!” Silver Eagle ordered.
“I’ll tear your eyes out!” Crazy Cougar said.
“You’ve no guts, you coward!”
They were all on their feet now, hands on knives. If a single one unsheathed their weapons, there would be blood in the tent.
Silver Eagle rose to his feet and pointed at them. “Whoever sheds blood will have his throat slit!” he threatened them. “Warriors!” he called. Immediately a dozen warriors armed with spears came into the tent. Among them was Lone Wolf. “Nobody will shed blood in my tent! All of you, sit down!”
The Chiefs looked at one another, then at the warriors, and finally sat down again. Kyra exhaled. It had been a close call.
“The next one who feels like wielding a weapon will do so against my champion,” Silver Eagle said. He nodded toward Lone Wolf. “I can assure you it will be a spectacle worth watching. And a very short one.”
The chiefs eyed the warrior and quickly looked away. Nobody would dare confront him.
“That’s better. We’ll solve our arguments as always, with fights between our warriors.”
Kyra stepped in at this point. “You should all fight the Regent and the Enforcers of the Gods, not your brothers.”
“Who are you to speak, woman?” Brown Fox said.
“Listen to what my guest has to say. I assure you that it will change your way of thinking,” Silver Eagle said.
“No woman will make me change my point of view, much less one so pale she seems to come from the spirit world.”
There was a growing murmur. The Chiefs wanted the woman to shut up.
But Kyra was not going to cower. She had never done it before and had no intention of starting now, no matter how hostile the atmosphere might be.
“I’m Kyra of the Senoca, and I’ve seen the face of the Gods.”
The murmur stopped. They all looked at Kyra and were silent.
“I come from a Boundary like this one, one where my people rose against the Gods and gained their freedom.”
“That’s impossible,” said Gray Raven.
“It is possible, and that’s why I’m here. I’ve come to help you gain your freedom.”
She told them what had happened in the Senoca Boundary, in detail, including her captivity in the Eternal City. She told them of the Gods, of their world. All of them listened to her words transfixed, as though she were telling them some incredible fable.
“I don’t believe a single word of this,” Brown Fox suddenly interrupted.
“Let her go on speaking,” said Crazy Cougar. “I want to know more.”
And to Kyra’s surprise, the murmuring was no longer against her, but for her to go on. And so she did, telling them about the rebellion and how they had brought down the Regent. When she finished, the Chiefs burst into cries and wild gestures. The tent became a chaos of overlapping conversations, each louder than the other. Silver Eagle waited a while until the chiefs had unburdened themselves of their views, then finally restored order.
“Do you understand now that the spirits of the Steppes have sent us this woman to be our guide in our fight for freedom?”
“If what the stranger says is true, the Regent and the Enforcers are lying to us,” said Crazy Cougar.
“They are,” said Kyra. “Don’t you realize they make you fight among yourselves so that you don’t unite? So that you compete uselessly among yourselves instead of fighting the oppressors? Lone Wolf’s body is full of scars. He’s a great fighter. Tell me, warrior, how many of those scars are from the Guard, from the Enforcers? I’ll tell you: not one.”
Once again the comments and cries filled the tent. Some were in support of Kyra’s argument, others protesting against such daring.
“My people, the Senoca,” Kyra went on, “are a people of fisher-folk. My pale-skinned brothers don’t know how to fight. They’re not strong, proud warriors like the children of the Steppes.” Her gaze swept along the Chiefs’ faces. “Their skin isn’t red, like the blood the warriors shed in their fights to prove their honor and bravery. But even so, my people united, and confronted the oppressors. They fought with their hearts and gained freedom.”
Gray Raven got to his feet. “You’re a liar. A people of weak fisher-folk who don’t know how to fight could never defeat the Enforcers,” he cried.
“Lies and more lies,” said Brown Fox, getting up and spitting at Kyra’s feet.
Silver Eagle was about to intervene, but Kyra stopped him with her hand. She looked at the two Chiefs in front of her and smiled.
“All right then, if I’m a liar and a weak fisherwoman, no doubt the two great warrior Chiefs will have no trouble in defeating me.”
“You dare us?” Gray Raven said, completely stunned.
“I dare you.”
Brown Fox burst into guffaws of laughter. “You, a woman?”
“Me, a woman.”
“If Silver Eagle weren’t protecting you…”
“I don’t need his protection. Although I’m grateful for it.” She turned to the Chief. “Let them fight against me.”
“Are you sure? You don’t have to,” Silver Eagle said, trying to protect her.
“I am. And yes, I must.”
“All right, you have my permission.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Brown Fox hurled himself at Kyra, knife in hand. A moment later Gray Raven did the same. Kyra neither flinched nor made any attempt to defend herself. There was a crystalline flash, and she focused on the two attackers. Brown Fox reached her and crashed against the translucent protective sphere she had raised. He bounced back, fell on his back and dragged two other Chiefs down with him. Gray Raven stopped when he saw what had happened. He looked at Kyra, readied his knife, and with a whiplash movement of his arm sent it straight to the young woman’s heart. She concentrated on the flight of the knife and used her Power. She stretched her right arm forward, and the weapon stopped in mid-air. It hung there suspended. All the Chiefs were staring, their mouths hanging open.
“I believe this knife is yours,” Kyra said with perfect calm. She made it turn in the air and aimed it at Gray Raven with a twist of her wrist.
“Holy spirits!” cried Gray
Raven.
The knife moved toward him and stopped just two finger-breadths away from his right eye, then remained suspended in the air.
“Best if you don’t move,” Kyra told him.
Brown Fox rose and leapt on Kyra like a great cat. She stretched out her left arm and used the power. The Chief stopped, held in the air in mid-leap.
“Let me go, you bitch!” he yelled.
“As you wish,” said Kyra. With a movement of her arm she guided him above the fire so as to let him drop.
“Nooooo!” yelled Brown Fox as the flames reached him.
She lifted him again with another twist of her wrist and left him levitating above the fire, close enough to let him feel the heat of the flames.
All the Chiefs were watching in astonishment. Kyra was controlling two of the most aggressive and savage of the Chiefs as if they were puppets. With just a single movement of her arms, both of them would die.
“Crazy Cougar rose. “We believe you. You can let them go.”
Kyra nodded. With a twist of her hands, she dropped the knife and Brown Fox. The two Chiefs stepped back in awe and stared at her.
“You’re not someone normal. You’re a spirit, the spirit that walks two worlds,” Crazy Cougar said.
“The one who walks this world and the world of the Gods,” Silver Eagle said.
The rest of the Chiefs gave their approval amid murmurs.
Kyra turned to them. “The People of the Steppes are strong and noble, a people of fierce, courageous warriors. Will you join me in the rebellion? Will you rise with me against the oppressors, against the traitors who serve the Gods? Will you fight beside me to gain your freedom so that you can all roam the plains free and in peace?”
The Chiefs thought for a moment and nodded.
“We’ll follow you,” Crazy Cougar said.
“For our People’s freedom!” said Silver Eagle.
The Chiefs rose to their feet and brandished their knives.
“For the People of the Steppes!”
Chapter 3
Ikai woke up shivering. He could feel a cold and dampness which penetrated to his very bones. That feeling had not left him ever since he had first set foot in that Boundary. He shook himself under the bearskin cape, trying to stir some warmth into his body. He felt a little better, though not much. He put his head out of the opening in the canvas tent with its covering of pelts and contemplated the great forest with its dew-bathed tapestry of green. The smell of wet earth and ferns was so intense he felt he could almost chew it.
He crawled out of the tent, got to his feet and flexed his muscles. He had not slept well; a host of concerns were tormenting his mind. He wrapped the cape more closely around him in search of warmth. All over, thousands of tents, and all manner of improvised shelters of canvas and pelts, covered the forest, extending northwards. Inside them slept the brave men and women of the highlands, resting before the battle that was to come.
He went on as far as the edge of the forest, taking care as he went to make no noise to avoid waking anybody. They needed the rest. Soon they would have to fight, and they would need every last ounce of energy they could find. He looked out at the intense green of the great valley at his feet. At the far end, in the distance, was the capital. They had to take it, and it would not be an easy business. Not in the least. He heard a sound beside him and turned. It was Burdin.
“Don’t you ever rest?” Ikai asked him. In fact he had never seen the warrior take a single break. He was the first to rise before the sun peered above the horizon, after which he worked all day without pause, and was the last to retire at night.
Burdin puffed out his chest. “We are the People of the Highlands, we don’t need to rest.”
Ikai tilted his head and took a good look at him. Burdin was both hard and tough, and an exceptional fighter. There were days when Ikai had wondered whether that full pelt the warrior always wore might have some mystical powers which had possessed the warrior and granted him a supernatural prowess.
“I admire your strength, Burdin,” he acknowledged. “You inspire the men.”
“And I admire the way you use your head.”
Ikai could not help laughing. He had not expected such a direct reply.
“My thing is brute force. That’s how mother earth made me, me and some others of our people. What you have is truly special. Strength is not much use if there’s no level head to go with it. I’m not one for thinking too much, but that I know for sure.”
“To win, we need both of them.”
“Then it’s lucky that the three goddesses wanted our paths to cross.”
“There we’re agreed.”
The warrior pointed toward the city. “I’ve been out scouting. The Regent and his elite forces are hidden behind the capital walls. There aren’t many of them, but they’ve laid themselves out well to defend the walls. They’re not coming out, like you said they wouldn’t.”
“And the reinforcements from the county capitals?”
“There’s no trace of them. Those pigs will have disbanded, like the cowardly traitors they are, when they found out the armies from the capital had been defeated.”
“Don’t be so sure of that.”
Burdin scratched his head. “I can’t think how you always know what they’re going to do, it leaves me baffled.”
“Remember I’ve already been through this in my own Boundary. It’s like reliving a particularly bloody nightmare.”
“But with a happy ending.”
“Yes, we managed to free ourselves. But the cost was terribly high. Thousands of my people gave their lives. I don’t want that to happen here. I’m going to try to save as many lives as I can.”
“The goal is freedom,” Burdin said. He turned toward the forest and pointed to his people, who were beginning to get themselves ready. “Every single one of these here will give their life to reach it. They’ll die proudly. Don’t you worry about the casualties. My people are used to harshness, we’re born and we die in the Highlands, and suffering is in our blood.”
“You’re a tough people, I know that.”
Burdin smiled, something he seldom did.
“So we are.” He turned back to look ahead, toward the distant capital.
“My people have suffered for over a thousand years. They deserve better than suffering and slavery. They deserve freedom. Lead us to victory, show us the way to follow, that’s all you need to worry about. My people will do the rest.”
Ikai sighed. “I’ll try. With all my heart, I promise.”
“I know the responsibility is enormous,” the warrior said, bowing his head. “Even I realize that, believe me. But you have me by your side. I’ll fight with you and protect you from those damned traitors.”
“Thanks, Burdin.”
The thousands of warriors camping in the forest were getting themselves ready: strong men and women, who knew how to wield spear, axe and sword. Unlike what had happened in the Senoca Boundary, in this one the rebels had spent years preparing for war by training their people so as to make them warriors before they rose up in arms.
“I still don’t understand how they had the courage to risk it… to learn to fight, for so long, under the threat of being captured and executed.”
“They’re tough, and brave. The Highlands don’t breed cowards.”
“How did you manage to do it without being found out by Hunters, Guards or Enforcers? Quite honestly I can’t understand it… I never thought it could be done… at least not in our Boundary. I ruled out that idea as impossible.”
“Ha! We owe that to Lurama. She planned it all. She’s a very special woman, a great leader, wise and very smart. Our first attempts at arming ourselves and learning to fight were disastrous. The Guards and Enforcers captured our men and killed them ruthlessly. Then came retribution. Even so, we tried several times, in different counties, but in the end they always found us and blood flowed. I almost died twice myself. Only by the grace of the Goddess Moon was I s
aved. After our last attempt, where the last leaders gave their lives, all seemed lost. For a long time there were no more trials, nobody dared. And it was then that Lurama arrived. She sought me out and explained what we were doing wrong and what we should do instead.”
“And she convinced you.”
“No, not at first. I’d already lost a lot of friends, and their families had suffered the consequences. I didn’t want to lose any more of them…I didn’t want more families to suffer… I didn’t think it was possible. They always found us, one way or another, and all our braves ended up dead.”
Ikai bowed his head. “And how did she convince you?”
“We’ll use what we are,” was what she told me.
Ikai was even more intrigued by this.
“Who are we?” she asked me. “The people of the Highlands,” I replied. And she said: “Exactly, that’s what we are and that’s what we’ll use against the enemy”.
Ikai thought for a moment. He began to understand the meaning of those words and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
“The lay of the land!”
“That’s it. I didn’t understand it at first, but she explained.” He drew his sword and pointed to the higher lands to the north, where they could make out mountains with their peaks in the clouds and steep, craggy terrain at their feet. “What we did was use our land against them. Most of our Boundary is made up of steep hills, mountains to the north and great forests with many rivers that flow down to the lowlands. All of those are our allies. Only the capital and the southern part are valleys with wide stretches of open land. The two southernmost counties, where we can’t hide, we use to get hold of weapons and supplies, the other four counties where the land is rough and difficult of access, we use to train our warriors. We go up to the highest and furthest forests to the north, and we train inside big caves in the heart of the mountains.”
“I see. The Guard would never go that far, it would be too costly. Not even the Enforcers would, without a definite reason.”
“That’s exactly what Lurama said. We had to be as cautious as possible and never give the Guard or the Enforcers any reason to come looking for us. It took a long time to organize it all, it was a slow, costly process. I often lost my patience.” He gave a snort. “But Lurama made me think about it and understand that it was the way to go. It took us years, long years… but gradually we did it. Every few months we had new litters of trained Wolf-Warriors, ready to fight. They grew up and went on training, becoming Bear-Warriors. After a few years we had enough Bears to start a revolt. What I’d always thought couldn’t be done was accomplished. Lurama made sure that no one raised suspicions, she even sacrificed those who had, so as to save the rest. Before they fell into the hands of the Guard, she gave the order to kill them.”