“Well, get on,” Mango Karthal said. “What are you waiting for?”
He took a deep breath and was about to cross when a feeling of unease stopped him.
“What’s wrong?” Slippery Slued asked. “We’ve made it, right?”
“We did,” Quiet Surata said.
“What are you waiting for? Why don’t you cross?” Krom asked.
“Something is off,” Ahiram said.
“What?”
“Hey boss,” Huska the Fat hollered, for he was last in line. “What happens if you get out of here first?”
Ahiram inhaled sharply. “That’s it! That’s what was bugging me.” He looked at the candelabrum closely. “This strange object opened the way for us. But if I exit with it, the path might snap shut and you’d all be stuck.”
“Great catch, Huska!” Quiet Surata shouted.
“So as you step out,” suggested Sweet Gondolaz, “hand over the candelabrum to Quiet Surata, and then when she’s about to step out, she’ll hand it over to Slippery Slued. We’ll keep passing it on as we leave until Huska is out.”
“That’s worth a try,” Ahiram said. “Alright Slippery Slued, grab the candelabrum with me.”
The thief grabbed the object with Ahiram. The Silent set one foot outside the trap and released his hold on the candelabrum. Slippery Slued slumped abruptly and howled in pain.
“My shoulder,” he said, “I’ve dislocated my shoulder. How are you carrying this thing? It heavier than a whale.”
Ahiram remembered how he had carried the heavy cart containing the candelabrum when Shamal could not. That’s true, he thought. No one can carry the candelabrum but me. “Change of plan. You’ll all come to me and I’ll throw you over the line.”
“Eh?” Sweet Gondolaz protested. “I refuse.”
“Move it,” countered Krom the Hunter. “We need to get out of here.”
With one practiced movement and a muffled moan, Slippery Slued socketed his shoulder back in place. “Do it,” he said, extending his arms.
Ahiram bent his knees and locked hands with Slippery Slued, who climbed on Ahiram’s legs, then on his shoulders. Standing on Ahiram’s shoulders, Slued turned to look at Quiet Surata. “Here goes a lively thief,” he said. He chuckled, straightened his posture, and looked at the sky to avoid her gaze. “Quiet Surata,” he continued softly, “If we don’t see each other on the other side, I want you to know that I love you. I’ve always wanted to tell you but somehow never found the right moment. So there. I love you. Sorry, Krom.” He jumped, and vanished from view.
Quiet Surata stepped where Slippery Slued had stood and climbed on the Silent’s shoulders.
“What an idiot,” she said. “He really chooses his moments. If he’s still alive, I’m going to kill him.” She jumped and vanished from view. One by one, the players followed suit until Huska and Ahiram were the two left inside the trap.
“Boss, I’m not climbing on da shoulders. We need another way.”
A moment later, Huska the Fat crossed the invisible barrier with Ahiram standing on his shoulders and joined the others at the finish line.
“That weird trap is shielding us from the partisans,” Mango said, “but if we don’t cross the finish line quickly, they’ll find a way to kill us.”
“Shall we, then?”
In a synchronized step, they crossed the finish line. Elated, they looked at one another, all winners and no losers. The thunderous applause of a friendly crowd greeted them. Huska responded with a boisterous laugh, and they joined the spectators in cheering one another, even though the reality of their victory had not yet set in. Loud shouts erupted. The onlookers were now calling their names, not as targets of a brutal mob, but as improbable heroes of an improbable race. The applause intensified until it turned into a standing ovation.
“We did it!” Sweet Gondolaz yelled over the din.
“Unbelievable,” Krom cried out. “Simply unbelievable!”
“What a nightmare that was,” Surata said, “and we made it all alive.”
With the exception of Bow, who looked exhausted, Ahiram’s companions threw him in the air with jubilation. They repeated the gesture several times before finally setting the Silent back down on the ground. They had crossed all three obstacles and had survived. A sense of elation, relief, and wonder seized them. They accomplished what should have been impossible, by all accounts. The crowd in the arena cheered and applauded again, giving them a second standing ovation.
“Let’s go,” Slued urged. “The farther we go from this place, the better.”
As they made their way to the arena’s center, the applause rose in crescendo and reached an apex as the crowd fully realized the extent of their feat.
Garza, the race master, walked over, followed by a group of gamblers. His eyes were brimming with unadulterated hate. He threw the Entalorian Amulet on the ground. “Pick it up, slave,” he spat. “It’s yours. Now, get out, but don’t think this is over yet. We’re going to get our money back with your blood,” he snarled.
Ahiram bent over, picked up the pendant and dusted it off. “You’re free to try,” he said.
“I’m obligated to tell you that you’re all invited at the Royal Palace in a few weeks. Now get out. Leave!” he shouted. “Now!”
The crowd, unaware of the exchange, broke in sustained applause. Garza and his companions went back from where they came. Ahiram breathed deeply and looked up. The setting sun had turned thin clouds into crimson vessels, as if the Lords of Light were stooping once more from their high abodes on their fiery chariots. A glint caught his eyes, and he froze, mesmerized. Right above him, a cup of meyroon decked with emeralds floated gently in the air. Someone yanked his arm.
“Boss, come on, boss.”
Ahiram glanced at the short man next to him with a freckled face and hair color of sand. “Hey, Manassa, do you see it?”
“See what, boss?”
“There, up there, do you see it?”
Manassa squinted and looked up. “Did you see an owl? Owls are good omens. Was it an owl? Where is it?”
Ahiram sighed. As I suspected, he can’t see it, just as this entire crowd doesn’t seem to see it. It’s weird, why am I the only one, and what is this cup doing up there? Then it struck him. “It’s like the tile,” he whispered. “They can’t see it either. Is this goblet related to the Letters of Power?”
“What are you talking about, boss?” said Manassa. “You need to get out of here. All of you,” he added, addressing the team. “I’m Manassa, and I work for the boss. You all have to hide for a little while. A lot of people want you dead. Come on, let’s go now, before the partisans attack.”
Ahiram slapped Manassa on the back, his eyes still on the cup. I’ll be back, he thought. “Let’s go, Manassa, you’ve earned your keep.”
“You’ll be happy to know,” the former thief said, as he walked them briskly toward the closest exist, “that each of you earned two thousand and five hundred gold diegans.”
Ahiram’s companions hooted and jumped for joy. “You keep your promises, I see,” Mango Karthal said to Ahiram. He extended his hand. “I, for one, am proud to have met you, and you can call on me any time you want. I’ll be there for you.” They shook hands.
Ahiram smiled and followed Manassa. By winning, he had created more enemies. No doubt, the corrupt judge that condemned him to the race was one of them, and Ahiram was planning to pay him a nocturnal visit. He had provoked Sharr, the most powerful man across the sixty-two kingdoms. He knew he was heading into danger. He had Ibromaliöm to worry about. He did not know if Ashod had managed to break the curse that Foosh had warned him about. He thought about his sister, about his parents, the commander, and his friends back in Tanniin. The vision of the young girl jumping in the air came back to haunt him.
Ahiram smiled. A year and a half ago, I was saying my goodbyes in Tanniin, and here I am tonight. Alive. O Noraldeen, every life I save is like a shining light bringing me back to you. But tonigh
t, he thought, at least for tonight, I can celebrate. We can celebrate, truly celebrate surviving the race. He looked at his newly found friends and grinned.
“We’re going to celebrate tonight,” Quiet Surata announced.
“I’m da celebrating every day,” Huska the Fat replied, smiling wistfully. “After da race, every day is a gift. I’m good. I’m good.”
Later that night, the streets of Cordoban were filled with music, dancing, and singing. Alcohol ran freely to help many forget, if only for a night, the fortune they lost. Manassa led Ahiram and his companions to a secluded barn in the outskirts of Cordoban, where they feasted on a hearty meal, and after a lively evening during which Huska sang, they retired for the night.
“I’ll take the first watch,” Manassa said. No one objected. He stepped outside the barn, slid his hands in his pockets, sighed, and looked up. He wanted to thank the gods for his good fortune in meeting the Silent. “I wonder what the boss will do next,” he whispered. A shooting star, bright and brisk, streaked the silent night. “No matter,” he said with a deep sense of wonder. “This is a night to remember. A night I hope to tell my grand-children about one day. A night of dreams and legends.”
Dates in the manuscript follow the American convention of month, day, year. For instance, Tébêt 7, 1197. The majority of the kingdoms used the Babylonian Calendar instituted by the Temple of Baal. A year was three hundred and sixty days in length, subdivided into twelve lunar months of thirty days each. A month had four weeks of seven days named after the seven abodes of the gods the Babylonian magi had seen. The first day of the week was Sin. Tébêt was the tenth month of the year. When adjusted to our solar calendar, Tébêt 7, 1197 fell on Sunday, August 10, 1181, of the Age of the Temple.
Most names have been transliterated from the Common Tongue of the Age of the Temple into English. There are marked differences in pronunciations, indicated below. Two of these bear further explanations. As a rule, the Common Tongue places the emphasis on the last syllable. For instance, an English reader will stress the first ‘A’ in the name A-hi-ram, but in the Common Tongue, the stress is on the last syllable, “am,” a-hee-RAM.
Nouns in the Common Tongue are gendered. A month is masculine, a mountain is feminine, the moon is feminine, and the sun is masculine, etc. I have occulted these differences in the English to avoid unnecessary distractions except in dwarfish speech and in proper names.
The gender of a name in the Common Tongue is embedded in the last syllable and I have striven to preserve this in English, particularly with names whose last syllable contains “ii,” “ee,” “uu” and “oo.” A double “e” and a double “i” are both pronounced like the double ee in words such as sheet or meet. The double “e” is used in feminine names as in Noraldeen and Layaleen, whereas the “ii” is used in masculine names as in “Tanniin” and “Jamiir.”
Both “uu” and “oo” should be pronounced as in moon, the former in masculine names, such as Urkuun and Aramuun, and the latter in feminine names, such as Foosh and meyroon.
The double “aa” is an exception. The Common Tongue uses it to represent both feminine and masculine names. I have chosen, somewhat arbitrarily, to reserve the “aa” for masculine names, such as Arfaad, and used the accented “â,” for feminine names such as Silbarâd. There is no difference in pronunciation between the double “a” and the accented “a.”
In certain names of Empyrean, Togofalkian, or Zemorian origins, the “i,” “o,” or “y” modify the pronunciation of a preceding vowel. In those cases, I have represented these letters with an umlaut because the phonetic transliteration is too unwieldy. For instance, the name of the Empyrean Empress Gaëla Meïr Pen would have been approximately written as “Gahyela Mehyeer Pen.”
a
In the table of pronunciation and the glossary, whenever an “a” is pronounced “ah” as in “apple,” it will be spelled ă. When it is pronounced as “James” or “May,” it will be written ā. For instance, the name Arfaad will be phonetically notated as Ărfăăd.
aa, â
Pronounced as a stressed “aah.”
ai
Pronounced as in “bray” or “fray.”
an
Unless otherwise indicated, “an” in the middle of a proper name is pronounced as in “ant,” or the French word “enfant,” and not as in “Anna” or “Anne.”
e
In almost all cases, it is pronounced as in the French article “le” or as the “u” in “burger.”
ë
Appears after a vowel only. Pronounced “yeh” as in “yellow” where the “y” is stressed.
ei
Pronounced as in “vein” or “main.”
g
Pronounced in all cases as in “group.”
gh
No English equivalent. The best we can do is to pronounce it as in the word “ghoul.”
h
The “h” is always soft as in “hello.”
i
Pronounced as in “he” or “she” and not as in the personal pronoun “I.”
ï
Appears after a vowel only. Pronounced as “yee” where the y is stressed.
ii
Stressed “ee” sound.
j
Pronounced as the “s” in “treasure” and not as in “just.” In what follows, we use “ĵ” to remind the reader of this alternate pronunciation.
kh
No equivalent in English. It is a harder version of the “gh” in “ghoul.”
ö
Appears after a vowel only. Pronounced as “yoh” where the y is stressed.
on
Pronounced as in “monsoon” or “monsieur.”
oo
Pronounced as in “cool” or “pool.” (Appears in feminine names.)
u
Pronounced as in “pure.”
uu
Pronounced as the “oo” in “moon” or “soon.” (Appears in masculine names.)
Adorant [Ah-do-rant] A special order of priestesses of the Temple of Baal whose voices can drive man to madness, despair, or slavery and become puppets in the hands of the priestesses.
Ahiram [Ah-hee-raam] Son of Jabbar and Hayat from the town of Baher-Ghafé. A member of the Silent.
Alendiir [Ah-len-deer] Nickname Sondra gave to Ahiram. It means ‘blazing fire’.
Alkiniöm [Ah-l-kee-nee-yom] A famed minstrel who lived toward the end of the Troubled Peace, some fifteen hundred years before the birth of Ahiram.
Allelia [Ah-lle-lia] A female Silent and close friend of Sondra.
Alviad [Ah-l-vee-yad] A Silent and a close friend of Banimelek.
Amalein [Ah-mah-lein] Lantern of Hope; the name of a star.
Amalseer [Ah-mal-seer] Undying Hope; the name of a star.
Amaréya [Ah-ma-réya] Daughter of King Domin of Gordion, heiress to the throne, wife of Corintus and mother of Aquilina.
Amsheet [Ah-m-sheet] The city fortress of Tanniin guarding the northeastern boundary.
Andaxil [An-dah-xeel] The legendary cave of the southern dwarfish realm, where the greatest treasures of the seven southern tribes are buried. Lost during a major war. Cursed by Sureï.
Aquilina [Akey-lee-nah] Daughter of Corintus and Amaréya.
Aramuun [Ah-rah-moon] One of the highest peaks of the eastern Tangorian range in Tanniin. The Aramuun soars above nineteen thousand feet. Although ‘mountain’ is feminine in the Common Tongue, a ‘peak’ is actually masculine.
Arfaad [Ar-faad] Was a captain of the High Riders in the Temple of Baalbek. Promoted as oversee of Tirkalanzibar.
Ashod [Ash-od] Former High Priest of the Temple of Baal. Leader of the Black Robes.
Aylul [Eye-lool] The first name of the Empyrean Empress, Aylul Meïr Pen. Aylul can be translated as youthful fall, indicating someone who is young yet wise.
Baal Adiir [Baal Ah-deer] Highlights the power and omnipotence of Baal.
Baal Adonaï [Baal Ah-do-nigh] Baal, my lord.
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Baal Essaru [Baal Eh-ss-ah-ru] Baal, Lord of the Dead.
Baal Majaar [Baal Mah-jaar] Baal, Lord of the Plenty.
Baal Shamaïm [Baal sh-ah-may-ee-m] Baal, Lord of the Seas.
Baalat Jubeil [Baal-ah-t j-u-b-eil] Lady of Byblos. A deity worshiped in Finikia.
Baher-Ghafé [Bah-hair Gh-ah-ff-eh] Coastal village of Finikia. Ahiram’s birthplace.
Bahiya [Bah-hee-y-ah] High Priestess of the Temple of Baalbek. The name means ‘comely’ and ‘beautiful’.
Balid [Bah-leed] Carpet merchant. Husband of Foosh, friend of Kwadil. His name means ‘slow moving’.
Banimelek [Bah-nee-meh-leck] Silent. Friend of Ahiram. His name means ‘son of king’.
Bayrul [Bai-rule] Great judge of the Games of the Mines who established the modern rules regulating the Games when Ahiram participated.
Beit-Windiir [Bey-t when-deer] ‘The House of Windiir’. Southern coastal city of Tanniin.
Béghôm [Bay-Gom] Creature of the Arayat.
Bragafâr [Brah-gah-faar] Coastal city along the northwestern tip of the southern kingdom of Indolan. Famous for its strange frozen whale.
Byblos [Bee-bloss] Finikian coastal city. Closest port to Baher-Ghafé.
Cahloon [Ka-h-loon] Owner of the most expansive and permanent tent in Tirkalanzibar.
Chesbân [Ch-eh-s-ban] Second month of the year. Corresponds roughly to the month of May.
Corialynn [Cor-yah-leen] A female Silent.
Corintus [Co-rin-tus] A Solitary. Husband of Amaréya and father of Aquilina.
Eleeje [El-ee-ĵ] Hidden fountain of Silbarâd located inside Tessarah, the Unseen Tower. Reputed to heal and be a source of life.
The Wretched Race (Epic of Ahiram Book 3) Page 68