by J J Moriarty
“Is she… Dead?” Hyzou asked.
Sparrow laughed.
“For more than fifty years”, Sparrow said.
“I’m sorry”, Hyzou said.
“Me too. I still think of things she would like, at times”, Sparrow said.
“That’s nice”, Hyzou said.
“I’d been thinking about them lately, my family. I had four sons and one daughter”, Sparrow said.
“Are they…” Hyzou began, though he didn’t know how to ask correctly.
“Only one is still alive. My third son. The oldest boy and my daughter both showed such potential with the Qi - and so they became Servants. My daughter joined the mercenary corps, as it was back then, and she died soon after being made a Servant. My son took a much simpler position and survived until the Anarchy. Hard to believe he’s been dead for twenty years”, Sparrow said.
“I’m so sorry”, Hyzou said.
Sparrow had always been so reticent to speak about himself while he trained Hyzou, so Hyzou found it a little strange that he was suddenly being so open.
“I made sure each of my three sons who weren’t gifted with the Qi had trades available to them. Two became carpenters, and my third son became a wheeler. I thought about him recently, because he made me think of you”, Sparrow said.
“Your son?” Hyzou asked.
“Yes, the only one who still survives. He was trained as a wheeler and wanted to stay in Uqing or go to a nearby city. Work in a shop, maybe open one himself someday. A long, long time ago, one of the biggest bronze merchants in Sira Su was stopped in Uqing to pick up some iron for a display of his. I spoke to him and he said he’d take my son on as a wheeler”, Sparrow said.
“Now this was quite an opportunity”, Sparrow continued. “Better than anything he could get in a city. Much better. But there was a problem see, my boy had gotten into his head that he’d never work with merchants, that he wanted a settled life. But this was an opportunity that would see him happy, do a few years of on the road repairs and he’d be able to take his pick of cities to settle in.”
“What did he do?” Hyzou asked.
“He did nothing. I did it for him. I told that merchant that my son would be there as his convoy left, ready to jump right in and work. Of course I had to speak to my son and convince him, and well, it wasn’t easy. But I knew it was best for him, it was what he needed to do. That’s the role of a wise man, I think, to act when they know what the best cause of action is”, Sparrow said.
Hyzou didn’t reply.
“My decision was right, though my son hated me for a while. He’s still alive, last I heard”, Sparrow said.
“Where is he now?” Hyzou asked.
“Raderwooed”, Sparrow said.
“Where?” Hyzou asked.
“It’s a city miles and miles to the south, deep in the rainforest. It’s too remote for anyone from our part of the world to have seen, except for some particularly ambitious merchants and members of the mercenary corps”, Sparrow said.
“I’ve never heard of it”, Hyzou said.
“It’s no crown city”, Sparrow said.
“How do you know he’s there?” Hyzou asked.
“A member of the mercenary corps three years ago now carried a tablet north written by my son. He’s still working, despite his age, and he told me all about his grandchildren and their life”, Sparrow said.
“That must be sad”, Hyzou said.
“Quite the opposite. It makes me so happy to know he’s living his life and has found a place in the world. But I digress, I was thinking about him a few days ago, and I realised that I needed to do the same thing with you”, Sparrow said.
“What do you mean?” Hyzou asked.
“Since you became a Servant you’ve told me, and anyone else who asks, that you want a career in the mercenary corps. That wouldn’t be advisable. You’re a talented fighter, everyone knows that. But you’re a phenomenal leader too, and so it will be good for you to assume a position of leadership”, Sparrow said.
“I’d get more out of being a mercenary”, Hyzou said.
“This isn’t about what’s good for you”, Sparrow said.
“What’s it about then?” Hyzou asked.
“It’s about Uqing. I’ve given my life in service to the Servants”, Sparrow said.
“As a mercenary I’d be fighting on behalf of Uqing for the rest of my life”, Hyzou said.
“I’ve been in Uqing for almost a century. Never, in all that time, has someone unified all the Kheme peoples under one banner. Until now. Ganymedes’ empire sits on our borders, and it doesn’t look like disintegrating anytime soon. Beyond the Pharaoh, there’s a taste of terror in the air. This world is changing, and the day may come very soon where Uqing needs a Protakyrios qualified to take them into war. Able to lead them to victory”, Sparrow said.
“You think that’s me?” Hyzou asked.
“In a century, I haven’t seen a Servant who can do what you can. In the older days, when the Servants were just beginning there were some who were supposed to be able to do what you can, but apart from those, you’re an anomaly. You must enter politics. There may come a day when Uqing needs a saviour; when Uqing needs an Imperator, you must be there”, Sparrow said.
“Have you already arranged this then?” Hyzou asked.
Sparrow nodded.
“What have you done?” Hyzou asked.
“You’re now a member of the diplomatic corps”, Sparrow said.
Hyzou sighed.
“Diplomacy”, Hyzou said.
“You have your first assignment. I’d leave as soon as you feel fit for the journey. Remember you’ll have a lot of time to rest in your chariot too”, Sparrow said.
“You move fast. What’s this assignment?” Hyzou said.
“You’re taking this very well”, Sparrow said.
“Better than your son?” Hyzou said.
Sparrow smiled.
“Better than he took his deployment, yes”, Sparrow said.
“It’s not like I have a choice”, Hyzou said. “I’ll do my duty.”
“I’m glad to hear it”, Sparrow said.
“You never mentioned where the assignment is?” Hyzou asked.
“You’ll be taking over the position Aliya vacated five years ago, it’s only ever been temporarily kept since then”, Sparrow said.
Hyzou’s head span.
The visions. Gardem and the Supreme Commander. Hyzou thought.
“Piquea”, Hyzou said.
Sparrow nodded.
“Yes, you’ll be the ambassador from Uqing to Piquea”, Sparrow said.
Hyzou didn’t know what to say.
“This was one thing I hadn’t planned for Hyzou, I didn’t know that that was where the Archai would see you put. But you speak the language, and it was the most senior position that was vacant at the moment”, Sparrow said.
“I haven’t seen it… Since”, Hyzou said.
“Since you lost everything. But you took vows, Hyzou, and they are important. Anything that happened before you became a Servant of Qi was forgotten when you took those vows, you, more than anyone else, must know that”, Sparrow said. “You serve Uqing, and Uqing alone.”
Much to his surprise, Hyzou was crying.
“It’s ok, you’ve got nothing to worry about. The past is dead, and I only fight the battles that Uqing mandates me to fight. I will do my duty, and serve Uqing and Uqing alone”, Hyzou said.
“I’m sorry Hyzou”, Sparrow said.
“Don’t be, it’s quite alright”, Hyzou said.
“Do you need any help in making arrangements to travel?” Sparrow asked.
Hyzou shook his head.
“It should be about fifty days right?” Hyzou asked.
“By a good chariot, yes”, Sparrow said.
“Well, may we speak again soon. I’ve completed one mission and I’ll complete another soon”, Hyzou said.
“I’m proud of you”, Sparrow said.
And the old man reached out his hand. He couldn’t touch Hyzou in the world of the ekstasis, but Hyzou appreciated the gesture regardless.
“Don’t forget Safia”, Hyzou said.
Sparrow nodded.
“She’ll be made a Servant tomorrow, in her absence, and when she arrives at Uqing she’ll be surprised by her new title”, Sparrow said.
Hyzou nodded.
“Thank you”, he said.
And he meant it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Hyzou stretched his leg out. He tried to hide his scream as a sequence of loud cracks sounded out in the air.
“Are you still in pain?”
It was the Alvan, the co-driver.
Hyzou nodded, tears forming in his eyes as he put his weight solely on the right leg and stretched it out.
“Do you want some beer?” Alvan asked.
Hyzou shook his head.
“Water”, Hyzou gasped.
Alvan rummaged through the bags and found a waterskin. He handed it over to Hyzou. Hyzou took several long gulps and handed it back.
Mrya, wife to Alvan, returned.
“We’re coming on a town soon enough, hopefully we can find some people there”, Mrya said.
She was a very tall woman, with broad shoulders and a humongous skull.
Mrya and Alvan were exactly the kind of driver that Hyzou needed. They were fast, skilled riders, and most importantly, they were discreet. No extensive crew of slaves and guards for them. No overseers and eight smaller chariots to screen the journey. Just a husband and wife in a large one-roomed carriage. There was straw on the wooden floor for Hyzou to sleep on, and slats of wood on the back where Hyzou could sit and watch the countryside go by.
And what a desolate sight the countryside made.
“I think the town will be empty”, Hyzou said.
“Do you? Why’s that?” Mrya asked.
“Something here is wrong, very wrong”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou’s nightmares had returned worse than ever before. He dreamt regularly again about the children and adults, starving by their ruined huts. He dreamt about legions of armed men loading grain onto carts, and he saw men and women, hung from trees in the desolate air. He dreamt about babies dead from starvation, their bodies left to rot where they fell. In his dreams he saw piles of the dead loaded onto carts. They were carried to larger piles, then set alight on a giant bonfire. The dead burning created a wall of flame that seemed to reach all the way up to the stars.
These visions haunted his nightmares every night.
Mrya and Alvan were alarmed at first. They woke him, telling Hyzou he had been turning and muttering in his sleep. As the journey continued though, they stopped waking him, and Hyzou was left in peace to sleep through a nightmare fuelled night.
Three days ago, they crossed into Piquea and found the countryside empty. During the three days of riding through the emptiness, Hyzou extended his Qi regularly to try and find life. In all that time they only passed eight or nine people, all hiding in their hovels as the cart passed.
The fields here were desolate. It was entering spring, so the tilling should have started, overturned soil being sown with seeds of this summer’s rice. Instead, the fields were overgrown, with gnarly weeds growing among weak grass.
When a field is left untended, loose rice plants left from last summer usually sit high and overgrown. But Hyzou saw nothing, not even the misused stems.
The fields were picked clean for anything edible.
The carriage rode through two villages, the kind where farmers lived together for security, especially here in the borderlands. There should have been children running in the streets, livestock about the place and women who were nursing, but Hyzou saw none of that.
There were dogs, small packs of them left over by the families of humans who were gone. They encountered two packs so far, and Hyzou had to use his Qi to convince them to back off, forcing his will on them and confusing them in the process.
“I hope we meet some people today, I need to buy some things”, Mrya said.
“Do you?” Hyzou asked. “We’re not short of anything necessary, are we?”
“No. No”, Mrya said. “We have everything we needed, but we’ve run out of perishables. I’d like some butter, and some bacon. I’d like to boil some water too.”
Hyzou nodded.
“There’s something strange going on. This land has never been lonely before. I wonder what’s going on?” Alvan asked.
Hyzou shrugged.
“I’ve seen this kind of thing before. Could have been a bad harvest last year, but more than likely was a sickness that went around. People are scared, think the locality is haunted and leave it, hoping to run away from the sickness”, Mrya said.
“Should we be worried?” Alvan asked.
Mrya shook her head.
“Whatever killed the locals is long gone”, Mrya said.
“I’m worried”, Alvan said.
Mrya shook her head against.
“No. Nothing to worry about yet. We needn’t worry unless the next town is empty, otherwise there’s no issue”, Mrya said.
Mrya cleaned up and loaded the carriage. Hyzou got on and settled on the slat on the back of the vehicle. He’d taken to meditating there, it was the best way to pass the time.
Though they had left the wilderness far behind, when Hyzou shut his eyes that’s exactly what he heard. There were birds singing loudly in the morning air to hunt for spring mates. When Hyzou extended his Qi, he sensed snakes, both tame and deadly, slithering through the grasses and empty untilled fields. Not far from the road there was a herd of deer, tearing leaves off bushes along the road, and stalking them was a solitary female leopard hoping for a meal.
Hyzou stayed like this for the morning, until he sensed something new. He stood, and not making a noise, climbed onto the side of the moving carriage. He shimmied along the wooden side, trying to stay out of the view of the watchers. Finally, he pulled himself to the front of the carriage, and jumped down beside Alvan who was sitting in the driver’s seat.
Alvan gasped and jumped in the air. The resulting shake of the reins made the horses speed up, and Alvan had to pull on them to slow them down again.
“Hyzou, you gave me a fright. I spilled my beer”, Alvan said.
“Mrya, come up here”, Hyzou said.
Mrya did so.
“Do you see the tall shala tree just ahead?” Hyzou asked.
“I do”, Alvan said.
“Stop the carriage once we’re at it. Stop it right there”, Hyzou said.
Alvan looked at Mrya, then nodded to Hyzou.
“Is there a reason though?” Alvan said.
“Don’t worry about that. Just stop there”, Hyzou said.
Mrya looked confused. Still, she nodded to Alvan.
They reached the shala tree, and Alvan pulled harshly on the reins. Just a small distance ahead, maybe fifty feet, there were a series of thick bushes along one side of the road.
Behind those bushes. Hyzou thought.
“Come out, we know you’re there”, Hyzou shouted.
There was a rustle, then a makeshift javelin flew out from among the bushes. It landed a good few feet short.
“Look, you can’t beat us, so come, don’t try it”, Hyzou said.
In response, a man sprung up from among the bushes, and threw another makeshift javelin towards them. This time, the throw was more accurate; much more accurate. As it was just inches from impaling Alvan, Hyzou caught it. He turned it and threw it back in return. It didn’t hit the would-be thief, instead it just grazed his skull, enough to force him backwards as if he had been punched.
“Don’t think I missed”, Hyzou shouted.
The man put up his hands.
“Sorry”, he said.
“Are you hungry?” Hyzou asked.
The man was clearly starved.
Confused, he nodded.
“We’d be happy to share a bowl of rice with you, if yo
u agree not to throw any more of those javelins at us”, Hyzou said.
A younger man, just a boy, leaped up from behind a bush.
“I’ll have some rice.”
He looked near death, angry shadows around his eyes heralding the great darkness.
“I don’t really want to feed them”, Mrya said. “They almost killed Alvan.”
“And I saved his life. What’s more, I’m paying you for the rice, so I’ll disperse it to whoever I please”, Hyzou said.
Mrya frowned but seemed to accept what he was saying.
“Maybe the two girls hiding behind the bush will poke their head out and join us too”, Hyzou said.
Mrya’s eyes widened along with the two men on the road.
“You’re a sorcerer”, she said.
Hyzou nodded.
“Now come, join us”, Hyzou said. “Mrya, prepare some rice. Our friends look like they need it.”
Grudgingly Mrya went to rummage through the bags at the back of the carriage. The two men and the two girls came out from behind the bushes and walked warily towards the carriage. Hyzou leaped down to the dusty road and walked over to them.
“I’m Hyzou”, Hyzou said.
The eldest extended his hand, and Hyzou grabbed his forearm.
“It’s good to be home”, Hyzou said.
“You’re Piquean?” He asked.
Hyzou nodded.
“I’ve been away for a while, but I’m Piquean yes. Five years and I haven’t seen home”, Hyzou said.
The two girls were only children, they were both jittery.
“How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” Hyzou asked.
“Two days”, the boy said. “Food’s been sparse so far.
“Well here’s some for you if you’d like”, Hyzou said.
Mrya came down from the carriage, carrying four bowls of rice. Hyzou took them and handed one to each of the four Piqueans. They gulped with the anxious pace of a starving man; it was an image that Hyzou recognised from darker days in his own past.
“Tell me. What’s happened here? Where are all the people?” Hyzou asked.
“Hunger”, the youngest girl said.
“There’s been a famine?” Hyzou asked.
He hoped not. He really hoped not. But to his dismay, the boy nodded.
“The fields? What’s wrong with the fields?” Hyzou asked.