by J J Moriarty
“Why did you do it?” Safia said.
“I ran because otherwise…” Hyzou began.
“No. Not that”, Safia said.
“What then?” Hyzou asked.
But Safia had fallen silent.
“Safia, what is it?” Hyzou asked.
“The killings. Why did you kill all those people? You weren’t ordered to”, Safia said.
Hyzou looked at Safia, saw that she wasn’t looking back at him. Instead she was staring straight ahead, chewing on the third finger of her hand.
“You didn’t see Piquea. They were starving, thousands of people dying”, Hyzou said.
Safia didn’t respond.
“But it’s worse than that. The Supreme Commander of Piquea, he was a madman. He was rounding Piqueans up and having them executed. I mean thousands at a time. The famine wasn’t real either, there was more than enough to feed everyone in Piquea, only the Supreme Commander was taking it all to feed the Pharaoh’s armies”, Hyzou said.
Safia was still frowning.
“What has that got to do with you though?” Safia asked.
“It’s my home”, Hyzou said.
“This is your home”, Safia said.
“It is, but it’s not really. There were people dying in their thousands because they were Piquean. I’m Piquean, I couldn’t just stand by and watch it happen. You, of all people, I thought, would have understood why I did what I did”, Hyzou said.
Safia nodded.
“We’d already broken the vows, hadn’t we? When you kidnapped Marrea, we broke those vows”, Safia said.
Hyzou nodded.
“They don’t mean much, do they?” Safia said.
“I couldn’t let them be the reason I did nothing. I had to do something”, Hyzou said.
“I got your tablet. It arrived three days ago”, Safia said.
“I paid for a skilled courier”, Hyzou said.
“I was so worried about you, so worried that something had happened to you. Then I heard the news from Piquea and worried you’d gone mad. But you haven’t, have you?” Safia said.
They’d reached Sparrow’s house. Hyzou leaned over and opened the heavy wooden door.
“Marrea, we need to go inside!” Safia said.
Marrea appeared from around the back of the house. At her side was a small boy with black hair.
“I’m playing with Htup”, Marrea said.
“Ok, don’t stray far”, Safia said.
Marrea ran back down the alley she had come from. Hyzou held the door open for Safia and then closed it once she’d entered the house.
“Where’s Sparrow?” Safia asked.
“He had duties to fulfil with other Archaiers, he’ll be back in a few hours”, Hyzou said.
Safia took a seat on a stool.
“Can I get you some milk?” Hyzou asked.
“Sure”, Safia said.
Hyzou walked over to the counter, where a large flask stood. Hyzou found two cups and poured. He gave one to Safia, then sat on the stool by hers.
She was staring at him. The house was silent. Hyzou felt his heart quickening; he was more nervous now than he was when speaking before the Archai.
“Persimmon came to see me”, Hyzou said.
“I know. Your tablet said so”, Safia said.
She was still just in front of him, staring right at him.
“Did you marry him?” Hyzou asked.
Safia shook her head.
“Why?” Hyzou whispered, as if afraid she might actually answer.
“I fell for someone else”, Safia said.
“Did you?” Hyzou said.
“I don’t like falling in love”, Safia said.
“Most people enjoy it”, Hyzou said.
“I always worry so much”, Safia said. “When I fall for someone new.”
“Do you? Worry about what?” Hyzou asked.
“I worry that they’ll abandon me. You don’t know how much it hurts. I can’t let it happen again. I need to be so sure”, Safia said.
“Sure of what?” Hyzou said.
“Sure that they’ll never leave me. That it’s forever”, Safia said.
“It’s forever”, Hyzou said. “I promise. I’ll never leave you.”
Safia leaned forward, and Hyzou placed his forefinger underneath her chin. Amidst the cold, her lips had become chapped. Still, Hyzou placed them against his own. Hyzou felt her breaths, taken through her nose, on his cheek. It was warm and delicate, like the soft brush of a gloved hand. Her forehead was rested against his, and Hyzou breathed in through his nose too, breathing in everything she smelled of.
Many hours later, Hyzou was lying beside her, tracing his finger over the line of a particularly long scar on her leg.
“Safia Min Daborah”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou thought she had been dozing, but her eyes snapped open, telling him she had been awake the whole time.
“Hyzou of Nuyin”, she said.
“How are you feeling?” Hyzou asked.
“Safe”, Safia said.
“Me too”, Hyzou said.
“I shouldn’t have done this. You might not even last the week. It’ll hurt so much”, Safia said. “If you’re executed.”
“I won’t die. If I lose the vote I’ll run away, back to Piquea to fight”, Hyzou said.
“And if you win the vote?” Safia asked.
“I’ll be going to Piquea too, but this time you’ll be coming with me, because I’ll be bringing an army”, Hyzou said.
“The Servants will ride?” Safia asked.
“For the first time in living memory”, Hyzou said.
“That’s exciting”, Safia said.
“There’s one other thing I’d like to do”, Hyzou said.
“Oh? What’s that?” Safia asked.
“Would you marry me Safia?” Hyzou asked.
Safia’s eyes widened.
“You can’t say that and then plan on leaving”, Safia said.
“I told you that I don’t leave. I promise you, we’ll be together until death parts us”, Hyzou said.
Safia placed her head again on his chest.
“I’d like that; I think”, Safia said.
“Me too”, Hyzou said.
“Will that make me the Queen of Piquea?” Safia asked.
“I suppose it would”, Hyzou said.
“I’ve never seen it”, Safia said.
“You’ll make an excellent ruler”, Hyzou said.
Safia snorted.
“I don’t even speak the language”, Safia said.
“It’s very like Lamyblan. You’ll be fine, Your Majesty”, Hyzou said.
Safia laughed.
“Wait”, Hyzou said.
“What?” Safia said.
“Get dressed, Sparrow’s coming”, Hyzou said.
They both leapt to their feet, and Hyzou managed to pull on his robes, but it didn’t help. Sparrow entered the house, then rushed into the bedroom where he and Safia were. He must have used his Qi to find Hyzou.
He was carrying a tablet, and out of breath from running.
“Four hundred and eight votes”, Sparrow shouted. “To one hundred and eighty-three.”
“Oh, no”, Hyzou said.
“You did it! You won! We won!” Sparrow bellowed.
“What? Four hundred people voted for us?” Hyzou said.
Sparrow handed the tablet over to Hyzou.
Congratulations to the Archai’s new leaders; Protakyrios Hetep and Protakyrios Hyzou.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Yan bowed low to the ground. The expression on her face was one of bitterness, but she seemed polite.
“Protakyrios, I have bad news”, Yan said.
“Archaier Yan, what is it?” Hyzou asked.
“Archaier Sudgata. He left, just recently. He asked me just before he left if I would join him. He’s taken a lot of Servants, but they’re only twenty miles away at the most. We can hunt them down”, Yan said.
Hyzou s
hook his head.
“No, we’ve delayed enough so far”, Hyzou said. “We ride, and the force left here is enough to defend Uqing, nothing more.”
Yan nodded.
“For your information, Sudgata has taken approximately twelve hundred Servants with him. Fourteen Archaiers have followed him”, Yan said.
“You were asked to join him?” Hyzou asked.
Yan nodded.
“I’m grateful you stayed”, Hyzou said.
“It’s my duty, Protakyrios”, Yan said.
“And you’re really fine with coming along?” Hyzou said.
“Yes, Protakyrios. Just because I don’t have experience in battle doesn’t mean I haven’t been trained to fight”, Yan said.
“I never… I never doubted that you could”, Hyzou began
“That’s quite alright Protakyrios. I know that everything you said was only politics. And you’re quite good at it too. What I said though, that was the truth”, Yan said.
“You think I have the makings of a tyrant?” Hyzou said.
Yan nodded.
“Though I do hope I’m wrong”, Yan said.
“You are wrong. I’m needed for this war, nothing more”, Hyzou said.
Yan nodded and returned to her position. The mountainside was dotted with horses as far as the eye could see. Thirty thousand of them, to bring the sixteen thousand Servants of Qi into battle. Hyzou had arranged their camp here, in a spot where the snow had already melted away during the spring. The new grass was a perfect position to launch their attack.
Hyzou climbed and climbed, until he reached his own position in the Servant’s formation. He was at the very back of the army and would ride there until they made contact with an enemy. Hyzou patted his horse and fed him an onion. This horse was one of those that Eanno had given him and Safia.
“The ride of the Servants.”
Sparrow was sitting on a rock, sharpening some flint.
“There are a lot of them”, Hyzou said.
“The Pharaoh will have more”, Sparrow said.
“Forty, fifty thousand. You even said so yourself, a trained Servant is worth at least fifteen opponents”, Hyzou said.
“Do you imagine that victory in Piquea will be the end of it? Maybe you’ll win that battle, although I don’t think it a certainty. But then what? The Pharaoh will respond in kind, and he will be brutal. How many men can he raise in total, if he ends the invasion of Drascia?” Sparrow asked.
“One hundred and sixty thousand. One hundred and eighty thousand”, Hyzou said.
“You’re about to ride into a battle you haven’t prepared for. Every Servant you lose makes it more likely that Pharaoh Ganymedes will win”, Sparrow said.
“I can’t be conservative! Piquea will fall in just a few days”, Hyzou said.
“I backed you publicly on your decision to come to the aid of the Piqueans, but you know how I really feel about it. Now is the perfect time to attack Lamybla”, Sparrow said.
“You haven’t been to Lamybla in a long time Sparrow, you haven’t seen it. Even with the Servants, we couldn’t take it, not so quick that the Pharaoh couldn’t recall his army in that time”, Hyzou said.
“I just hope you don’t regret this charge to Piquea”, Sparrow said.
“I won’t”, Hyzou said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
“And you’re certain you want to leave me here?” Sparrow said.
“You agreed that that was the best choice”, Hyzou said.
“I know. But there’s no one in the army you’re leaving with who’ll challenge you like I will. Who knows you like I do”, Sparrow said.
“No. You need to be here to continue our claim to rule over Uqing. If you leave too then that creates a risk of a coup, also the Pharaoh is a lot less likely to attack us if he hears that you’re still here. For some reason people have this idea that you’re a great warrior”, Hyzou said.
“I miss the Anarchy sometimes”, Sparrow said.
“Because that was when you could bend your fingers far enough to hold a sword?” Hyzou asked.
“Careful Hyzou, someday you’ll be just like me. Although, given the rate you’ve been upsetting people, maybe you won’t make it to my age. You’ll be lucky to see thirty summers”, Sparrow said.
“We’ll see”, Hyzou said.
“Kings don’t have much of a life expectancy, Your Majesty”, Sparrow said.
“I’ll be sure to tell Pharaoh Ganymedes when I meet him”, Hyzou said.
“Fare thee well Protakyrios”, Sparrow said.
“Goodbye, master”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou walked over to the bulkier pack horse that was holding his things.
“They’re waiting for your command”, Safia said.
She was lying against a young stallion who would be serving as her second ride for when the horse Eanno had given her got tired.
“I think we owe you a debt, Safia. I didn’t know the stables had forty thousand horses available for use”, Hyzou said.
“We call it a stable but really it’s a valley”, Safia said. “And I haven’t been there long enough to actually have much of an impact.”
“I can give the call whenever you want.” A voice said.
It was Tsy, the Archaier who led the mercenary corps. He would be acting as Hyzou’s deputy in the battle. Tsy was a small man with dark skin, a Xuan. He was even smaller than Hyzou, if that was possible, but despite his height, Tsy was one of the most intimidating people Hyzou had ever seen. Tsy’s robes were tight around his muscular frame, he had a strong jaw and watchful eyes. He’d taken many injuries over his lifetime, and his face was criss-crossed by brutal scarring.
“We should go. Archaier Tsy give the call”, Hyzou said.
Tsy picked up the gigantic horn. It was taller than Hyzou, and Tsy had to rest it on a rock to allow the end of it to face outwards. He blew.
The noise of a deafening, deep, throbbing sound spread throughout the mountainside. The very front of the line of Servants moved off, followed by those behind them and then those behind them. Ahead of he army, the scouts set off too on their diagonal zigzags that they’d keep up for the whole trip.
Hyzou mounted his horse. It was ten minutes before the riders just before him set off, and he himself then kicked the sides of his horse and rode down along the mountain.
The day was fine, and the slopes were with them, so by the end of the day they had reached the foothills that led to the mountain. It took until the end of the third day for them to leave the foothills behind. Though Piquea was nearly directly south of Uqing as the crow flies, the Gahis River stood between the two cities. So the Servants rode south-west to the best placed crossing.
Everyone was dressed in their grey robes, so they’d be easily identifiable as Servants. They made their way past villages, towns, and even two cities. No one attempted to interfere with them, they were too afraid of the grey. Of sorcery.
As they passed through cities, Hyzou knew that word was being sent to the Pharaoh that he had sixteen thousand Servants riding through his country. Tsy worried that, once that happened, the Pharaoh would barricade their crossing. But Hyzou knew he wouldn’t. To hold the river against the Servants would require a sizeable force, one which the Pharaoh couldn’t raise, seeing as he was already fighting two different wars on two different fronts.
Hyzou knew exactly what the Pharaoh would be doing while Hyzou led his men through the countryside. Ganymedes didn’t think that they were come to liberate Piquea. No, he thought that they’d come to attack Lamybla. Frightened, the Pharaoh would be preparing Lamybla for a siege, and calling back as many soldiers as he could.
Hyzou was correct. When his scouts reached the city of Per-Blei, which stood over the Crossing of Per-Blei, they found a city with only two hundred or so fighting men. The leader agreed to allow the Servants over the crossing if they agreed not to harm anyone living here.
So it was that, on the eleventh day of their journey, sixteen thousand Servants rod
e through the main street of Per-Blei and over its bridge to the other side of the Gahis River.
Hyzou was one of the last through, and by that time darkness had long fallen. Still, the streets were entirely deserted when he rode through, the main dirt road a muddy wreck after all the horses had been through. The locals had abandoned their homes during the crossing.
Once he was over the river, he slept the whole night through.
The next morning Tsy, Safia and Hyzou shared some breakfast.
“Lamybla is just a hundred miles west of here”, Tsy said. “Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind?”
Hyzou shook his head.
“Piquea is two hundred miles south of here. We’ll be there soon”, Hyzou said.
On the fourteenth day of their journey the monsoon began. The sky split and soaked Hyzou to the skin. Their vision was gone; Hyzou could barely see a hundred meters ahead without the rain distorting his vision.
The ground was thirsty after a long winter, and it soaked up all the water that fell, but Hyzou knew that wouldn’t last. In only a few days the ground would become muddy and impassable, before finally giving way to floods.
They drove on, and with each day of their journey it seemed to get hotter and hotter.
Finally, a scout returned on the sixteenth day of their journey.
“Protakyrios”, he said. “There’s a large enemy force not thirty miles ahead.”
“Thirty miles ahead? That must place them at Aheb”, Hyzou said.
“That’s right, Protakyrios”, the scout said.
“Do they know we’re here?” Hyzou asked.
“I don’t think so, Protakyrios. They only have the regular scouts, and no auxiliary force to screen for any attack behind them. They haven’t been warned”, the scout said.
Hyzou nodded.
“Good, return to your post”, Hyzou said.
The Servant bowed and left Hyzou and Tsy alone. Their horses were barely at a canter. Hyzou looked up at the sky.
“We could cover thirty miles today”, Hyzou said.
“Only if we push our riders hard, and even then, it would be midnight before we arrived at Aheb”, Tsy said.
“What’s the other option?” Hyzou said.