by Lazlo Ferran
Eventually we fought our way of out of the mountains and back to the Palace, where I gathered as many men as I could and finally defeated the invaders.
At first I sought out your mother but the village had been sacked and she had gone. I remember sitting on a soft mound of fresh spring grass, under the white-tipped mountains, feeling a great emptiness inside and yes, my eyes were seeing real beauty, all around.
I returned to the Palace and tried to put her from my mind. It was three years later when I first received a letter from her, telling me that she had a little girl and that the child was mine. She didn’t say she wanted anything from me but wrote only to tell me, from time to time, of the child’s life.
I heard about her quick intelligence, like her mother’s and her readiness to entertain herself with the simplest of distractions. In the fifth year since our meeting, I had bad news.
Another invasion had occurred, almost identical in nature to the first. Although we had heavily fortified the border of my realm, the invaders had cunningly built crude canoes in the mountains and rode the white water of one of the streams straight though our defenses. I immediately sent a troop of fifty of the Palace guard to accompany the whole village to safer ground.
Only one guard survived long enough to reach a farm where word was sent to me. All the villagers and guards had been slaughtered in an ambush.
I grieved terribly for that day and through the night but sometime before dawn, I must have slipped into a state of semi-consciousness and a light appeared to me. It had no shape but a voice seemed to tell me not to lose hope. I tossed and turned for perhaps only five minutes before dressing and making an excuse to my wife. Before leaving alone on my favourite horse, with three of the best in tow, as changes. I rode flat out until my horse, foaming and panting, had to be left at the last place I was certain was till in loyal hands.
I was on the last horse, at the end of its strength, when, on the third day, I reached the village that the dying guard had reached. There was much agitation in the air and the village elders had instructed the men to man barricades at the ends of the streets. At first they didn’t believe who I was. “The King, alone!” After seeing the Seal Ring and hearing me speak for a while, they became more convinced.
“I need men to ride with me to the scene of the massacre. Who knows the place?”
An elder stepped forward. “I will show you how to get there but I doubt if any will accompany you”
He looked at the men who either looked down or smiled in shame at their reluctance to follow me.
The old man drew a crude map for me and so I left alone, on a fresh horse on the one-hour ride.
When I arrived, I was horrified at the sight. Crows and wolves had started their grim banquet long before and tugged-apart pieces of bodies lay strewn about. After much desperate searching I found the remains of Nariza, the little girl’s mother. I wept as I held the stiff body to me and after that I dug a grave. I buried as many others as I could before the sun sank below the northern brow of the mountain, I could sense danger all around.
One curious piece of information particularly disturbed me. Before he died the Guard had told the villagers that his attackers had not been tribesmen from the north, as before, but had been men, perhaps outlaws, from our own lands. I thought it very unlikely that they were outlaws as there were less than one hundred of them, at his estimate and the Guards were well trained. It would take more than one hundred outlaws to wipe them out. No, they had been soldiers, perhaps deserters. I could not help wondering if somebody somewhere in the aristocracy, perhaps in the Palace, had learned that I had an heiress.
I was about to leave and sat for some minutes listing intently for some tine sign of life. Perhaps a survivor might have crawled away earlier. I had risked a few shouts to attract attention but no one had answered. I was in a half dreaming state when I thought, perhaps I had heard something. I listened even more intently, straining to hear it again. There are so many sounds in the forest, on the very edge of silence. If you listen hard enough, you can always hear perhaps fifty of one hundred sounds. Discerning them however takes skill. I could not be sure if I was hearing them or not. If it was there, it was something like child crying but it could be the sound of the wind, or a bird or a wildcat.
I stood up and started circling the scene of devastation, stopping every few seconds to listen. On one one side of the camp, the impression was definitely stronger so I headed in this direction. At first the sound became less loud and I even lost if for a while. Then, suddenly I heard it, definite at last. I tried cautiously in that direction. I must have gone perhaps half a verst before I knew it was a child. There would be a wail, then a sniffle, then perhaps silence for a minute and then another wail. The child was moving.
There had been many small bodies among the carnage and I had looked for the girl, not knowing he name, but knowing something of her appearance. I hadn’t found her. Suddenly, between two fir trees, I saw a golden haired girl, walking hesitantly towards a rock, where she sat down. I looked about for any danger. There was none so I walked up to her, calling out.
She spun around and was silent. It was you and you were so alone.
After only a little resistance you let me hold you close. I didn’t know if you were mine but I wanted to believe it.
“There is the scar?” she said
“Yes, the scar.”
After a pause and then a sigh, I told her I had to go. The campaign would have to be launched much earlier than planned and we would leave in the morning. I quickly told her the outline of what had happened over the previous few days and then left her to find Geb. As I was walking away she called after me “If you come to the Chamber tonight, I will be waiting for you.” She knew this was unlikely.
I caught Geb’s arm and led him out of the anti-chamber and down the Great Staircase.
“We will march tomorrow at dawn. I think we can only raise about six thousand men, not enough, but the rest will have to follow as they can. We must cut off the heads of the Cerberus at the base so they don’t multiply. You, Geb are coming with me. I need you.”
* * *
Chapter Three
A great cloud followed me, for miles behind, as I turned in the saddle and watched, for a moment. It was dust from the army, still in the plains that led to the desert dunes, where I now was.
Arstan, my favourite horse, whose name meant ‘Lion,’ slipped slightly on the sand before correcting his balance. He did not like sand and liked even less, the heat as it hit his head. I made a note to cover his head, as soon as we rested mid-morning, in about two hours’ time.
I was at the head of a great army, in a small advanced Guard, more because of my privilege, to escape any dust, than because of any tactical reason. Geb rode beside me along with three Generals, the only reliable ones left to me.
I had worked through the night, before departure, rushing from post to room and back to post in the Palace, organising as best I could the forces available. The main force of five thousand men had arrived at a garrison just outside the City while I had been with Meth. Word was sent to the men to assemble, ready for a desert march, to war, at dawn, 21 verst north of the City, at the cross-roads by the Temple of The Three Lakes.
Another five thousand men were being assembled, in garrisons far and wide across my Kingdom and word was sent to these, to follow as best they could. We would leave markers for them but I also sent secret messages to those I trusted giving them the name of the pass we were heading for so they could get there more quickly, if possible. Some of them, I knew would not be ready for several weeks of even a month so I held little hope of them joining the battle in time. Who knows though? They may arrive in time to wipe out the remaining enemy, if they were victorious. It was a chilling thought and I did not dwell on it.
I had raised another thousand men from the Palace Guard, in the following way. I had asked Geb to select the four best men of every ten and tell their troop Corporal to reassign the men to cover al
l Guard duties for a period of two months, at double pay. The rest were to assemble at the Palace Gates, one hour before dawn. I was hoping numbers, rather than skill would count against the enemy, by inspiring terror in them.
I trusted Geb now. At the inn, I had taken Moddei aside and asked him if he had received a little gift from me, at our last meeting. He smiled.
“The gold coin, you mean?”
I smiled back. “Good.”
At one point in the evening, I had disguised myself as an ordinary Palace Guard and visited one of their barracks. I sat with a tankard of ale and listened, in shadow, to their talk. They sounded confident but wary of this sudden order to move. There was an uneasiness, which would lead, eventually to indiscipline, if not checked. I spoke.
“I have heard, that the enemy is weak. That if we take them now, we will outnumber them greatly and that there is much gold and other bounty to be had for the victors. If we win, we will all be rich. For myself, I want to go now. It will be over quickly and then I can retire!”
After a short pause, several men spoke at once.
“Ha! Retirement. It is a fantastic dream! But a damn good one. Let’s drink to that!”
There was a big cheer and the sound of clanking tankards and men greedily drinking their ale.
“One other thing.” I said. After a pause, to get their silent attention, I went on. “Women!”
“Ahhhhh!” A loud moan went up.
“What do you mean,” said a man at the other end of the room.
“I have heard there are many beautiful women, for Korim’s men’s own pleasure. We can have them for ourselves!”
There was a growl from a man, near to me.
“Grrmm. But we all know, his Holiness upstairs (he pointed at the ceiling) won’t let us have our way with women, taken in battle.”
“Rape!” shouted other men, near the back of the room.
“True.” I said. “But I have heard that this time, we can claim a woman and bring her back here.” I reasoned that since the women with Meth would probably have earned their retirement by this time, many of them may be looking for husbands. “Some of them as beautiful as the Princess, I have heard.”
“Have you seen her? She rarely comes out these days and then she is always veiled. Only the Stable Hand sees more of her!”
There was a large bellowing roar from the crowd and many men banged the table with their fists in appreciation at the joke.
“Yes. I have seen her. She is indeed beautiful. What is more, I have learned a secret about her. I will share this intimacy if somebody would care to buy me a drink.”
There was a clamoring for pints at the bar and I soon had six, lined up in front of me. Drinking one to the bottom, I waited, as the audience grew impatient
“Come on. Come on man. Is it something about that beautiful young body of hers?”
“Alright. Alright.” I leaned forward conspiratorially and looked from side to side, in a mock show of secrecy. Many of the men leaned forward. I wanted to laugh. It was so comical.
“I have heard the Princess has a mole on her right ... thigh.”
“Ahhh.” The audience sighed in appreciation and many of their eyes glazed over.
“How did you learn this?”
“Ah. Ah. Ah.” I wagged my finger at them. “I can’t give you my sources.”
After a few moments, their questions subsided and they went on drinking, their spirits raised much higher.
I was pleased. The mole was not on her right thigh but her left. Geb had not talked. I knew something like this would have been around the Palace within hours, if it was whispered.
Two hours before dawn, just before I joined Geb and the Generals for one last review of our plans, I visited my chamber, to say good bye to Shakira. I woke her and she looked sleepily up at me from the silk pillow.
“I must have drifted off. I couldn’t sleep earlier, wondering if you would come or not. But then eventually, I decided you wouldn’t and then I must have fallen asleep. Look!”
She lifted the sheets and I could see she had on a new, purple sheer nightdress. It was very beautiful and I could see her body through it, like a vision through a purple mist.
“I had it specially made for you.”
I leaned forward and kissed her tenderly on her lips. She returned the kiss, her lips soft and divining.
She was wondering whether I would move to more intimacy.
I cupped one of her breasts and felt the nipple harden slightly.
“I have heard you are getting very close to that Stable Hand.”
She swung her arms lazily behind her head, resting her hand elegantly against the wooden paneling on the headboard. Her nipple remained as hard, indicating that she felt no guilt.
“Oh. He is nothing. I am just biding my time. Waiting for you to visit me.”
I knew there was no time to make love to her now. In any case, it didn’t feel right.
“I must go. I will be thinking about you all the time.”
“All the time?” She opened her big brown eyes and fixed me with a mischievous smile. There was indeed a question hidden deep, insecurely within those depths.
“You are beautiful,” I said it as if re-stating a fact. Don’t let any of Bulya’s spies get any information out of you. Don’t trust anybody except our servants and the Deputy Captain of the Guard, and Bear, of course.
I swung round and left the room, not looking behind, but biting my lip.
I had asked Geb to put his most trusted Corporal in charge of the Guard but still I was worried for her. She was alone, in a nest of Vipers and Wolves. It was only her cunning and wit that reassured me.
As we had marched through the suburbs of the City, through the poorest districts, skinny kids dressed in strips of rags ran up to us, dodging in and out of the horses and camels, some with the Mothers screaming for them to come back. They were yelling but could hardly be heard over the sound of the marching army. Thousands thronged the sides of the rough streets, some leaning against the wattle or skin walls, some smoking pipes, eying us dubiously, others waving and shouting in encouragement. Most would have heard of the invasion to the north but few, if any would have expected the Army to move today.
Clouds of red dust had swirled around us as we marched, my Standard Bearers and Trumpeters ahead of me. Here the soil was a curious blend of grit and red clay, possibly from the rich deposits on the outside bend of an ancient river near here, long since dried up. After a short ride like this, we reached the Temple of the Three Lakes. Here we had dismounted and watered the horses and camels.
The Palace Guard rode immediately behind me, an unusual addition to the makeshift Army. There were five hundred of them, all dressed in white, with the Royal Crest in Blue, on their shields and tunics, their horses draped in yellow, with blue borders. At the Temple, they dismounted and packed away the bright tunics and horse-coats. They had all had to dig out their old war-armour, shields, boots and gloves. These were never used in the Palace but all the Guards were recruited from the Army. They always knew, that in the direst circumstances, they could be called on to march to war.
We had passed through some foothills, past a few small towns and then out into the desert.
As the King, I was also the Commander-in-Chief of the Army but until now, I had been thinking like a strategist. I began to think like a Commander.
I was at the head of eight battalions, each with one thousand men. It was all I could muster at short notice. All of the Battalions were divided in two, Cavalry and Infantry. Six of the Mounted units were horse and four were camel.
It was a pathetically small number of men, not even an Army. In the past, I had managed to raise an Army of thirty thousand men, all highly trained. Most of these were only half-trained. It would have to do though. I hoped that Korim’s men were not well trained and disciplined in the ways of war.
The previous night had been a very busy and tiring one. One of the other meetings I had was with a very angry Lord Bu
lya. Atim, for that was his childhood name and few would now remember it as he and I were two of the last of our generation of Noble warriors, had railed when I told him of my plan. I wanted him, with two battalions of camel, to ride across the desert to Geldem Ahmiz Pass and then down the north side of the Kada-Gur mountains to attack Korim from the north at the appointed hour. His eyes burned with something like hatred.
“That is suicide and you know it. I will not go. How can I send two thousand men to certain death?”
“You will go and you will succeed. We will win. You are the only general I have who is capable of this great victory.”
This was rubbish of course. I was just making an excuse but it was true that he was a capable general and, given the circumstances, I was sure he would succeed. He could not refuse the mission because he would have to strike now if he was in league with Korim and I did not think he was ready. I look deep into his eyes and knew that I was right. Perhaps he saw my suspicion because he looked away.
My final meeting was with my Quartermaster. He would normally travel with the Army, with his own company of craftsmen and cooks. Most of the craftsmen doubled as cooks and included armourers, carpenters, blacksmiths and milliners. They had one hundred camels and ten wagons, each drawn by either horses of buffaloes, depending on the terrain.
In this case, we would need to travel fast and could not take the wagons. Each camel would have to carry some of the extra equipment; spare shoes for the horses and metal plates to be fashioned into armour and extra water. Each of the soldiers would have to carry his own food and the Quartermaster’s men would simply take spices herbs and utensils, as necessary. I explained this to him and he ordered his men immediately to start tying up bundles of dried meat and fish, for each man, for thirty days, to be picked up in the morning. The final thing to think about was water. We always maintained a series of wells and small reservoirs, each 30 verst apart for a distance of 200 verst north, into this part of the desert. We would have to cross about 700 verst of desert to reach the mountains but this wasn’t too bad for us, as this part of the desert was not the most arid part and had few dunes. There were, in places wadies and some scrub and animals which we could kill for food. Normally, across desert, a horse could carry a soldier 100 verst each day – a man could walk perhaps 30 or forty – so I guessed we could make it to the mountains in seven days if we were only mounted troops. With Infantry it would take 14 days. I instructed the Quartermaster to send twenty of his men, with 40 camels and some equipment we had prepared, to the furthest well and, from there, to set up another five water stations, 30 verst apart for another five days marching into the desert. This should take us to with a couple of days of Korim’s camp. The camels had set off at about 3am. The Quartermaster and I had been experimenting for some years with a new method of provisioning water in the desert and now seemed the right time to try it. Each camel was carrying two large skins of water. The skins were clipped together into manageable sacks for the camels but would fold out into long tubes, about eight feet long. The camels also carried eight light planks and four end pieces. From these could quickly be constructed two water troughs which the water sacks would fit, two sacks to each. When all was ready and the horses about to drink, the sacks would be cut along the top carefully, to open the tops of the sacks. The use of camels in my Army, was crucial of course, as for such a short campaign, they would need little or no water.