by I H Laking
* * * *
When Qan awoke, he found himself staring not at a sea of blue, but at an ocean of stars. Blackness was all around him, and night had long fallen. He could sense that the pain in his chest wouldn’t allow him any rapid movement, and his arm was stinging from the impact of the bear’s paw earlier. Qan was also keenly aware of how cold it was – he hadn’t come prepared for the night, and in the Eastern Lands night came with a bitter chill, even in the warmer months.
Lifting himself up onto his elbows, Qan could see that all appeared to be still once more, and thankfully there was no sign of Morticus. A few metres away, the outline of the Greater Bear was lying lifeless in the moonlight. Slowly pulling himself up onto his feet, Qan tested his balance. He barely took a step before he realised that he wouldn’t be able to walk himself out of this situation. He gingerly stepped his way over to one of the fallen domes, away from the bear – he’d already seen it get up once too often, and didn’t feel at ease being close to its body, no matter how dead the beast was.
Qan sat down heavily and propped himself up against a slab of stone. How had this day gone so wrong? He couldn’t believe his luck. Whoever Morticus was, he appeared to have manipulated the day’s events to see… well, whatever it was that had happened. Qan wasn’t sure he understood anything about how he had defeated the bear the second time, except that it was a completely foreign experience that he had never learnt in all his lessons as a child. He thought about his training – how could they have missed such a vital skill? Something didn’t add up.
It wasn’t long before Qan’s strength began to fade as he sat pondering the day’s events, and with hunger setting in, he felt himself beginning to drift off to sleep. As he lay down again on the cold ground, Qan was sure he could hear voices in the distance. Sleep took him, and he dreamt of hordes of Great Bears descending on his village. A giant Morticus rode one of the bears, swinging his sharp sword as the creatures rampaged through the village. Qan, meanwhile, was trapped in his room, unable to get out for some reason. He tried to run at the walls, but nothing gave way. Suddenly, Morticus was standing in front of him, sword at the ready.
“Keep the ffaith.” He hissed, and swung his sword down into Qan’s eyes.
Qan awoke with a shout, and was immediately gripped by intense confusion. He was no longer stretched out under the stars, but was instead lying in a soft bed. His own bed. A thundering of footsteps came from outside in the corridor, and his father and brothers burst in, staffs waving over their heads.
“Who is it!?”
“What’s wrong!?”
“It’s Qan! He’s awake!” shouted his father.
What followed was a joyous reunion. After the initial attempts at hugging and back-slaps were attempted and discounted due to Qan’s now-bandaged chest, the men settled in to hear his story. Benn and Naji marvelled at Qan’s tale of finding the Greater Bear, and the mysterious Morticus. Their eyes grew wider as Qan explained how the bear had got up after being crushed and charged at him a second time. Qan tried to describe how he had managed to move the bear off him, but the brothers seemed convinced that it was simply the body reacting to an extreme threat in an unusual way. Qan’s father, however, remained quiet throughout the story, as was his nature – but Qan could see great concern in his eyes, as if his story stirred old memories and worried his father intensely.
Eventually, after pondering over the appearance of strange bears and mysterious men, Benn and Naji shared with Qan how they had finally started to search for him as the sun started to set. When they had arrived at the Great Eastern Temple of Light and found his horse tied up outside, they had hurriedly sped through the corridors searching for him, cursing their luck as they tripped over stones and mounds. When they did find him, he was barely breathing; it was only his father’s skill as a healer that had enabled Qan’s family to bring him home safely. Two days had passed since then, and Qan had not once woken or made a sound, until the shouting that had bought his father and brothers running.
Qan smiled at his brothers. Though they were warriors, their hearts were soft. His father even had a tear in his eye as the story was recounted. Eventually Benn decided it was best to let Qan and his father have some time alone. He and Naji departed the room, and Qan’s father cleared his throat.
“I cannot describe to you how it feels to come so close to losing your son.” He said, looking at Qan intensely. “You have survived an attack that would have killed almost any man in this village. I could not be more proud of you, but I can never forgive myself for letting you come so close to death – even in the name of The Ageing.”
Qan couldn’t believe his ears – he had never heard his father speak so plainly. The great worry of these past days appeared to have weighed him down, and now he was speaking from his heart.
“Father, you could never have known what was going to happen in the temple.” Qan responded.
“But I could have been more cautious. I could have come to look for you earlier. I could have –“
“Father” Qan interrupted, gingerly reaching out and placing his hand on his father’s shoulder. “You could have done many things, but to break The Ageing… that is not our way. Every lesson I ever learnt carried me through the battle I faced, and none of those lessons would have been learnt without you.”
Qan’s father nodded and a smile returned to his face. In an instant, the uncertainty and worry in his voice disappeared, and once again he was Ruhi-Kale Sahi, village elder and leader of his family. “Yes, and you did well, my son. When you are able to walk, we shall complete your Ageing. Your time as a boy is over, and so your life as a man now begins.” Suddenly Qan’s father laughed. It was a hearty laugh that signalled the release of his tension and pain. “This story will go down in our history – you are the first man ever to kill the same Greater Bear twice!” The big man shook with laughter.
And with that comment, Qan laughed too. Deep within himself he sensed the same joy that he had experienced in the heat of battle. He knew that he must ask about Morticus now, or risk never finding out more. The laughter subsided, and he drew upon his courage.
“Father, who was it that I met in the Temple?”
A shadow passed over Kale’s face. “I do not know.”
“Then why did you look so worried when I described him?” Qan quizzed.
“Because you described a man dressed in the style of the Assassin’s Guild.”
Qan immediately understood his father’s concern. The Assassin’s Guild. The Guild was a sworn brotherhood, known throughout the Empire for their ability to be little more than shadow and wind. Few had even seen a man dressed as an assassin and lived. Qan looked at his father. There was clearly more that he wanted to say.
“What else?” Qan prompted.
His father hesitated, looking down at the ground in front of him. Eventually he spoke.
“The name, Morticus… I have heard it before. Never more than a rumour, a suggestion of someone… someone with power greater than any we have seen in this village.”
Suddenly Qan’s father snapped his eyes up and looked directly at his son. It was as if in that moment, he had settled something in his heart.
“There is much that you must learn, and many challenges that you must face. Your path does not lie here, my son. You have confronted someone that men refuse to believe is real, and you have experienced something that many people refuse to believe exists.”
Qan’s father rose and walked over to the bedroom window, where he gazed out towards the east, and the distant mountain ranges that lay there. “Yes, your path lies beyond the mountains, where things are vastly different to this place.” He looked back at Qan. “Do you know why we say keep the faith?”
Qan nodded, but before he could answer, his father continued.
“Because we believe in a power that does not rise and fall with empires. It is greater than all of us, even men like Morticus.” He turned to look at the mountains once more. “You will train as a warrior,
but not here. Before you cross the mountains, you must travel to the Eastern Islands, where you will learn the deeper history of our people. You will study under the best teachers of our faith, and you will learn The Way.”
Qan was stunned. His whole life, all he had known was the grassy plains of the Eastern Empire. Now his whole future appeared to be changing rapidly. Just a few days earlier he had been a boy, riding his horse and hunting game. Now, he was hearing of a life different to any he had ever intended on living.
“When will I leave?” He asked quietly.
“Once you are appointed a man.” Qan’s father walked to the door, and turned to look back at his son. “This path will be difficult, make no mistake. But the time is coming when we must stand up to the rulers of this Empire. Morticus sought you out – and he will return to find you once more. I do not intend for you to be here when he comes.”
With those words, Qan’s father departed.
Qan reclined on his bed, staring at the ceiling. What was to become of him? So many unanswered questions swirled around his head. He lay still on his bed until darkness fell, and the sounds of the village quietened. Soon all he could hear was the sound of the wind gently blowing outside his bedroom window.
And the gentle pulse of a Mech standing guard in the street outside his window.
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A short note from the Author.
Thank you for reading this short story from the Empire. If you enjoyed it, please take a moment to leave me a review at your favourite retailer – they really help independent authors like myself. Or make my day by sharing this story with a friend so they can discover the magic of the Empire.
Thanks!
I H Laking
Find out more about the Empire in the Inspector Ambrose Stories:
What Went Wrong With Mrs Milliard’s Mech?
The Vanishing Villa
&
The Murder at Mansfield Manor