by Pedro Urvi
Ikai hugged Lurama and then Burdin. “Thank you, my friends. I’m truly grateful.”
“The People of the Highlands are with the Senoca,” Lurama assured him.
Ikai nodded, deeply gratified. He raised his eyes and searched for the Senoca, who were camped further down, near the houses above the New Shelter sea. They were getting ready to defend their homes.
Two scouts approached to report the latest news. Then they left at a run towards the northern forests.
“What’s the news?” Lurama asked.
“The Gods are on the move.”
She looked up at the sky. “Do we have time?”
“Yes. Our people are on their way. They’ll be here before sunset.”
“Good. Let’s get ready.”
With the evening sky beginning to give way to a full moon, Ikai went back into Idana’s tent. He looked enquiringly at the people caring for her. The eldest, sad-eyed, shook her head slowly. He understood. It was the end for Idana. He had to take a moment to ready himself. He was on the verge of tears, and there was such a lump in his throat that he could not swallow. He felt as if someone had pierced his chest with a spear. He took several deep breaths and managed to turn a little calmer. Bracing himself, he went across to his friend.
“Idana …”
The apothecary opened her eyes just a slit.
“They’re here. D’you want to see them?”
She opened her eyes fully and nodded. She was so weak she could not even speak. He gathered her up in his arms, surprised at how light she felt. They came out of the tent to an orange sky, with the full moon seeming to welcome them.
“Look, Idana, they’re here,” he said with the girl’s head leaning on his chest.
She looked out at the sea in the background. Seeing the houses of the New Shelter she smiled. Then she looked to her right and saw the Senoca, her beloved people. Those survivors who were still able to fight were lined up there, armed with bows and spears. There was determination in their pose; they would never yield. Beside them she saw a people she did not know. They were dressed in bearskins and looked like fierce warriors. There were thousands of them, lined up beside the Senoca.
“These are the People of the Highlands,” Ikai explained. “I asked them to come and help us, and they’ve come.”
She smiled and looked up at him with hope in her heart.
“They’re not all here, they’re still arriving, and they’ll keep coming all night and tomorrow. Thousands will come to help us.”
Then he pointed to the left, where Kyra had just arrived with the first forces of the People of the Steppes. She had brought thousands of warriors on their piebald horses.
“It’s Kyra!”
When the redhead saw them she jumped off her horse and ran to meet them. At the sight of Idana and her brother’s face, she realized what was happening. She glanced covertly at her brother, and he shook his head without letting Idana notice.
Kyra swallowed and took a deep breath.
“Hi there, Freckles, I’m back,” she said, trying hard to hold back her tears. She hugged her gently and kissed her forehead. “What d’you think of all the mounted warriors I’ve brought with me, huh?”
Idana’s eyes were wide with wonder. “Their skin’s red…”
“The People of the Steppes have red skins and learn to ride horses before they learn to walk.”
“Fascinating…”
“But you still haven’t seen the best,” Ikai said, and turned with her in his arms so that she could see Albana assembling the People of the Trees. Thousands of men with green skin in loincloths, armed with bows and knives, making a human forest on the grass of the plains.
She was open-mouthed. “It’s… it’s unbelievable…”
Kyra waved to Albana, and the brunette hurried to them. There was no need for anybody to tell her what was going on. When she saw Ikai and Kyra’s faces, and the state Idana was in, she knew at once.
“Hi there, Apothecary!” she said with a smile. “I hear you taught those stuck-up Gods a lesson, so now you’re not only a Hero of the Senoca, but a Hero to all Men.”
Idana smiled faintly.
“There’s talk of building a statue of you beside the Monolith,” Kyra put in, keeping up Albana’s joke.
The Apothecary smiled at her two friends and her eyes shone.
Still holding her firmly, Ikai nudged her gently with his shoulder, “And here they come: the survivors of the People of the West.”
Under the brightness of the full moon the five races of Men made up an immense human wall in front of the New Shelter. Thousands of men and women of the five peoples were waiting, their eyes on the four friends.
“There you have it,” Ikai said proudly. “All Men united as one, ready to face the Gods. Just as we said would happen in the council, that evening years ago.”
“I never…thought we’d do it…” Idana muttered.
“They’ve all come. Thousands of men and women. They’ve come to fight for freedom, for Men. We’ll win, Idana, I promise you. For them, for all of us, for you.”
She looked at each of them in turn. “Will you promise me that?”
“We promise,” they said.
Idana’s gaze passed over the five peoples of Men, and she smiled. A wide smile, full of hope.
“We’ll win,” she said, and sighed. Kyra and Albana embraced her. She closed her eyes and died.
Her eyes filled with tears, Kyra turned to the five peoples. She pressed her communication bracelet and announced:
“My friend Idana has died! A Hero! The Apothecary who faced the Gods and refused to give in, who fought against them! The woman who killed a God-Lord! She gave her life for our freedom! Remember her sacrifice, remember what she achieved, remember that she never surrendered her freedom!” Her voice seemed to come forth in five different languages at the same time, which amplified its strength. For a moment there was silence, and she did not know whether they had understood her. Even so, she cried out again at the top of her voice:
“For Idana! For freedom!”
A moment later thousands of voices shouted in unison, in five different languages:
“For Idana! For freedom!”
“Death to the Gods!” Kyra cried, raising her clenched fists to the sky.
“Death!” they all shouted in response, and raised their fists in the air.
They said farewell to Idana at dawn in a simple ceremony, following the Senoca tradition. They placed her in a small funerary boat and sent her to the arms of Mother Sea Oxatsi. The singing of the Senoca filled the harbor, bidding farewell to one of their own, to a hero.
At the end of the ceremony a commotion at the other end of the harbor reached them. Fearing the worst, they ran to see what it could be. From the far end of the harbor, a huge ship was approaching the quayside. It was a ship of the Gods! The scouts gave the alarm and the Senoca hastened to their posts in the fishermen’s huts so as to confront the threat. Ikai, Kyra and Albana armed themselves and hid behind one of the Senoca fishing boats.
The ship reached the pier and dropped anchor at ten paces. They tensed. Ikai poked his head out to see why the Gods were not disembarking. A message reached his mind.
You had better tell your people not to attack…
The voice sounded familiar to Ikai, but he could not place it.
You would not want this old witch of nature to be riddled with arrows by accident, would you?
“Aruma!”
Yes, your people know me by that name.
He emerged into the open and signaled to the houses. “Stop! They’re friends! Nobody attack!” Kyra and Albana came out too and sent messages to prevent the remaining troops from rushing to the harbor. It was some time before Aruma thought the situation was sufficiently under control. She came ashore in a small boat, accompanied by half a dozen Golden. All of them wore green and brown robes, under a hooded cloak of the same colors. In a forest they would pass completely unnoticed.
&nbs
p; When they set foot on the pier, there came a whispering murmur of concern and fear among the Senoca who were watching, bows in hands.
They do not like the Golden, Aruma said, spreading her arms wide to hug Ikai.
He returned the hug with affection, “And do you blame them?” he asked with an ironic smile.
Of course not, young tiger, she replied and turned to hug Albana and then Kyra.
And how is the young tigress? she asked Kyra with almost sisterly affection.
“Surely not as well as the great witch of nature,” she replied, and they both laughed like old friends.
“Have you heard anything from Adamis?” Kyra went on to ask.
Aruma nodded. He is well. She took her aside and in a low voice told her everything that was happening in the Eternal City. When she finished, Kyra’s face was deeply worried.
“Thank you for telling me,” she said, and turned to Ikai with a look that said we need to talk.
After the hugs, and seeing there was no danger, the Senoca relaxed. Ikai turned to them and reassured them, just in case.
“These Golden are friends, they are here to fight with us. No harm must come to them.”
Thank you. This old witch is grateful.
“And this ship?”
I bring reinforcements. The Children of Arutan have come with me.
“How many?” Kyra asked excitedly.
All those I could summon. Almost a hundred.
“Will they fight with us? Against their own?” Albana sounded doubtful.
Aruma nodded solemnly. This is our fight as well.
“And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Ikai said.
And I thank you in turn.
“Now then. We have a lot to discuss and plan, and very little time.”
Very well. But one thing more, my young lion…”
“Yes, Aruma? Whatever you need.”
I have brought you a gift. One of my “concoctions”.
Ikai stared at her in surprise. “A concoction?”
I have spent much time preparing for this day. she said. There was a touch of malice in her broad smile. About five hundred years. I always hoped that one day Men would rise against the Golden. My concoction will help you. You will need to bring carts down to the cargo ship (she pointed to a second, heavier, ship which was coming into the bay at that moment) and unload the barrels of the concoction. There are several hundred of them.
“As you say,” said Ikai. He did not understand why, but knowing the old witch’s eccentricities, he preferred not to know.
It was almost nightfall when the great meeting took place in the Council House, where the Senoca decided tribal matters. Ikai presided, with Kyra and Albana on his right, representing the Senoca. On his left was Aruma, representing the Children of Arutan. Around the great oak table were the leaders of the other four nations: Lurama and Burdin for the People of the Highlands, Lone Wolf and Swift Deer for the People of the Steppes, Ilia and Pilap for the People of the Trees, and Galdar for the People of the West.
“We don’t have very much time,” Ikai began, “so I’ll leave formalities aside. The Army of the Golden is on its way here. They’ll arrive tomorrow evening.” There were restless murmurings. “They’re coming to destroy us. You’ve already seen this, and you know it in your hearts.”
They have been ordered to give an exemplary punishment, Aruma said. The Five High Kings have ordered it so. That is what my people in Alantres have told me.
“They’ll have no mercy on us,” said Kyra.
“We’ll fight together, and we’ll win,” Ikai told them.
“What plans have you made?” Lurama asked. “Your ideas have always led us to victory.”
Ikai sighed deeply. “This time things are much more complicated.”
“We trust you,” Kyra said.
“And we follow Kyra,” Swift Deer added.
“We’ll fight all together, under Ikai’s leadership,” Albana said.
“Wherever Albana goes,” said Ilia, “the People of the Trees will go with her.”
Men, together with the Children of Arutan, will face an army of Golden, Aruma said, with an ominous gesture. The balance is tilted very much in their favor. There was a murmur of disapproval at this. I do not set out to make enemies, but this old witch has lived more than a thousand years and although she never believed the day would come when Men would free themselves and rise against the Gods, she also does not believe it may be possible to defeat the Golden army… not without a brilliant plan, she concluded when the complaints turned louder. On the other hand, as I said, I never thought this day would arrive, and I was wrong. I might be mistaken and we might have a chance.
“One chance is all we need,” Kyra said. “We’ll take it and win.”
“The problem is the God-Lords,” Albana commented. “A God-Warrior can kill dozens of our people, but a God-Lord can exterminate thousands.”
“Very true,” Ikai agreed. “Although numbers are on our side by a hundred to one, they aren’t a determining factor in this battle, because an even greater one is the destructive power of the Gods.”
Let us come up with some strategies that will work,” Aruma said.
The group stayed in the Hall well into the night, proposing and studying options for the battle. They analyzed all the proposals and possible outcomes until they were forced to stop. Finally they went to bed. All except Ikai and Aruma.
Do not let disappointment get the better of you, Aruma said.
“I try not to, but I can’t find a way to avoid dying tomorrow.”
Do not give up. You have come very far. Freedom is at hand.
“Thank you, Aruma.”
I have one last idea to suggest, one I am sure you will take advantage of, and then I will leave.
Ikai felt a sudden disappointment. “You’re leaving?”
Yes. I am needed in Alantres. The situation there is critical.
“But we need you here! Your Power is enormous!”
But it is a Power which my own people need in the Eternal City.
“We won’t be able to win without you.”
Yes, you will, I am leaving my children with you, and my gift. Use them well. I know that you will do just that.
The old witch, Leader of the Children of Arutan, whispered something in his ear, then left.
He was left perplexed and desolate. “May Oxatsi take pity on our souls!”
Chapter 31
Stunned, Adamis watched the attack on the Fifth Ring from the doorway of the temple where he had been hiding.
“It is not possible, it cannot be happening,” he said to Sormacus.
There were explosions of Fire and Earth all along the inner side of the great ring. Shades of red and brown lit the whole area. The noise was deafening. Meanwhile the defenders of the House of Water were raising huge defensive walls of ice and water. Water was able to overcome the destructive power of Fire, but not that of Earth.
Sormacus’s shoulders sagged. He sighed heavily. “I am afraid it is. The Houses of Fire and Earth are attacking. It is war.”
Adamis was unable to take in what his eyes were seeing. “But how is it possible? The High Kings would never allow this madness. There has never been a war under their rule. They have always avoided it.”
“The rumors that have reached me are that the High Kings are no longer in control of certain Houses.”
“That is impossible!” And yet as he said this, he began to realize what was happening.
“Asu?”
“That is what my sources say.”
The sky above their heads darkened. Fierce flashes in red and brown appeared in a threatening sky. A hundred storms of fire and rock broke out, and death began to rain from the sky on to the city of Water.
Adamis was still staring at the destruction around him. “A regicide?”
“Worse than that, my reports say at least two: Fire and Earth.”
“Preposterous!” Adamis was trying to interpret
Sormacus’s information and the attack he was witnessing with his own eyes, but his brain refused to accept it. Finally he came to terms with it. “If that is true, and the Princes now rule their houses, then war, death and destruction await us.”
The defenders were raising hundreds of enormous domes of solid ice round the entire Ring to protect the citizens from storms and enemy attacks. The elemental walls and domes held off the battering, but they would not be able to do so indefinitely.
Sormacus half-closed his eyes. “I got that from my informants. I need more information, but the situation is now so chaotic that I doubt our people can get hold of any more. I fear Asu’s agents might be murdering them as we speak.”
Groups of God-Warriors of the House of Water were running to the docks and the areas under attack. They were followed by the Lords, who were surrounded by Custodians. While they went to battle, a multitude of Golden of the lower castes were fleeing from the front lines. There were explosions of fire and rock everywhere. The ground rose, the air burned and death reached the Golden of Water.
Adamis sighed. “I cannot believe Asu has gone as far as this. He has always been a lunatic, but a regicide? War between the Houses? It is unthinkable madness, even for him.”
Sormacus nodded. “This is what we feared would happen one day. Death and destruction as we have never known before. Our leaders had already predicted it. It is the beginning of the end of the Golden.”
A tremendous explosion brought down a building near them, and they were forced to run for cover.
The Golden of the House of Water directed colossal storms and missiles of ice at the attacking troops. Thousands of icy explosions froze the ships which were being used to launch some of the offensive.
“The House of Water is counter-attacking,” Adamis said.
“I do not think they can keep up their defense for long. Look…”
A thousand ships with sails of the Houses of Fire and Earth were approaching, ready to assault the Ring. At the same time, from the docks, hundreds of Lords were launching storms and missiles which destroyed the House of Water’s front lines of defense.