“Yeah no problem, have you learned anything interesting talking with the people today?” Alex asked.
“Flebitsi arrived to the city, after a very hard ride. They say Unbiter is mustering all citizens to the city to be armed. He said, there are rumors of entire villages laid to waste, when he crested the ridge riding north he looked back, no less then four villages were burning. Citizens are fleeing the realm in all directions. Its complete chaos over there.”
“It didn’t seem that bad when we left the area… was it?” Alex asked.
“Unbiter is ruthless and dumb. What other explanation do you need?” Alesti looked at Alex.
“It’s more important than ever that we are successful in our mission.” Alex replied.
“If you’re going to go kill Unbiter… I think I should be the one going with you.”
Moment’s later the king returned to Alex with a rolled up piece of thick paper.
“I truly do not think you will ever need this, but if it should help you then it was worth the effort.”
Alex unrolled it and read it as written in the local language. ( If it concerns you, this man Alex, has the full authority of the king, and you shall treat him as such.) There were two red spots on the paper, and the kings hand was bleeding.
“Why does your hand bleed?” Alex asked.
“It is a tradition to mark an official letter with one’s own blood, it seems an odd custom I know but it’s an ancient law to do such a thing.”
“Smart.” Alex said.
“Why is this smart, no one can tell if that blood is mine or a slaves.”
“My people have devices that could tell whose blood it is, I imagine that once in your history your people could do the same. Although, we moved to digital sources. Drawing blood does seem a bit archaic.” Alex said with a smile.
“It is a sad thing to know my people have degraded from space travel to dirt dwellers, help me restore my people, Alex.” The king reached out with his arm as Alex once did with him.
Alex accepted the hand and shook it. “We will help each other and save both of our peoples.”
Alesti approached the two of them. “I did not expect your realm to be as it is. I did not know you were a good king. I am glad to have met you, and I hope this is not the last time.” Alesti placed fingers to her forehead and the king mimicked the movement.
“It is a rare thing is have such a gift, Alex. A vow and from a princess. Be worthy of her sacrifice.” Hu Va said as he cocked his head to one side.
Alex stepped away from the king and made his way to the outside and headed for his juntard. As he stepped outside he nearly bumped into the executioner, who apparently did survive the demonstration, if just barely. Alex did a quick walk by of the damaged courtyard. The crater was not very deep, perhaps a foot of stone was remove from where the stone pillar once stood. Pieces of stone and wood were scattered in various directions from the complex to the outer wall of the courtyard.
“I am interested to know what the larger humani weapons in our armory are capable of?” Symboli asked.
Alex and Alesti were led to their refreshed Juntards and quickly mounted them. Alex checked to make sure Symboli was still well secured. Then they waited for their escort of seven men to arrive. The courtyard was beginning to swell with soldiers and Juntards going every which way, but they were standing still like the calm before the storm.
“May I speak with Symboli?” Alesti asked. Alex handed the headset over without thinking about it. Immediately they began conversing, and Alex didn’t pay much attention to what was being said. His eyes was focused on the crater in the courtyard and he still wondered what the man had done to deserve death.
His thoughts were interrupted when Deetur approached with six men, all were on Juntards that seemed well supplied.
“I thought seven men were to join me.”
Deetur looked around at his men and pretended to count. “I count seven.” He said with a smile and continued on and joined Alex on the path. “The king told me that the real battle is to come, and it will come from the sky many years from now and my peoples only hope to survive that battle was to ensure you survived. The King wanted a whole legion of men to go with you, but I told him we couldn’t sneak in with a legion of men. Instead, I offered to lead your escort and I put Letrick in my place to see to the defenses of our realm.”
“I thought you wanted the promotion?” Alex asked.
“Yes, defense is important, but any true commander knows you cannot win on defense alone. You must go on the offensive to win and for that I believe the best chance for my people is for you to survive.” Deetur looked away.
“Well, I am pleased you are coming.”
“As you should be!” Deetur smiled and turned his juntard as they began heading out of the city.
“Our Juntards are loaded down, we can’t ride hard until we get to Jebiets stream or the Juntrads might not survive, it’s a bit of distance from here. Once we reach the stream we can go hard until we hit the border, then we have to decide to go over the ridge as before or around it.”
The city was alive with activity as the men were all rounding up getting fitted with newly made armor and weapons of various sorts. Deetur noticed Alex intently watching those getting prepared.
“It was only within the last two generations we began to mine ore from the mountain.”
“I’m sure there are better areas around your planet beyond the bog and wastelands that have more abundant resources.” Alex said.
“No one has survived the journey to find out.” Alesti said from Alex’s other side.
* * *
It was night, after a casual ride for most of the day they found themselves in another village. This one was much larger than the first that they had spent the night in. As before, Alex and Alesti were sharing a room, but Alex found it hard to sleep as Alesti kept asking questions to him and Symboli.
“Symboli told me a little about Amanda today. How close were you two?”
Alex opened his eyes again, then sat up in the bed. She was already sitting up against the wall. He had no real interest in answering her question.
“You’ve been talking to Symboli a lot about me. One might think that you’re interested in a courtship.” He resonded hoping to disuade her from continueing.
“Courtship?” Alesti whispered.
“Yeah a relationship, intimacy.”
Instead of an immediate response she remained quiet. Something made him think Symboli was talking in her ear.
“I thought you found me to be ugly.” Alex recalled her saying as much once before.
“I have become accustomed to your appearance.”
Alex smiled wide as he tried to wipe the sleep from his eyes. Alesti stared at him as if waiting for an answer to her original question. “I found Amanda to be beautiful, smart and she was stong. Never afraid of anything, decisive… tender. I’m not sure I really grieved her loss. I was just so busy trying to keep things together.” In a quieter voice he said. “A lot of people die around me. I never imagined that growing up.” Alex looked to her.
“Why didn’t you pick someone to be with before you came of age?” Alex asked trying to turn the tables on her.
“I… didn’t like my choices, I never really felt ready. I am not sure. But now….”
Alex and Alesti locked eyes for a moment.
Alex forced a sigh. “In the past, on your planet when men and woman were vowed to each other, like you are to me and they had an intimate relationship. How did they know it was real?”
“How could it not be real?” Alesti appeared perplexed.
“How does one know that the other is not just sticking around because they are afraid for their family or for their own life.” Alex asked with genuine curiosity.
“Your questioning the reason they stay and not the fact that they stay?” Alesti clarified.
“Yeeees.” Alex said not sure he translated that completely correct.
“Why does the rea
son matter, the end result is the same.” Alesti began pick at her bone crest with her fingers.
Alex’s mind raced as he considered the implications of her statement.
“How does your race view intimate relationships? Do they find one partner and stay with them for life, or multiple partners over time, or even at the same time. What does your society find acceptable?” He asked.
“That’s always up to them.”
“I don’t understand.” Alex said.
“If I had chosen a mate and one of us desired another mate we would talk about it. Perhaps we would accept a third perhaps we wouldn’t. Perhaps we accepted several mates for each of us.”
“What’s to stop someone from being a mate with the whole community?”
“Ahh, that wouldn’t happen. Each mate has a voice and all need to agree and desire the new incoming mate. If one does not desire or agree then it does not happen. So the more people you are joined to the less likely you are to join again.” Alesti found some clinging dirt on one of her crest spurs and began to remove it.
“And children… who are the parents?”
“All share the responsibility. Such is the responsibility of having multiple partners.” Alesti began to rub the dirt of her fingers.
“What if one wants to leave the relationship?”
“Why would one want to leave?” Alesti stopped to focus on Alex.
“Let’s say one changed and became evil and started harming the others.” Alex responded, alarmed that he would even have to explain it.
“That has never happened, I doubt it would. Rarely is exile accomplished. If the whole agrees to release one then that one is exiled from the group never to interact with any of them. It’s a public shame for the exiled, they will never join again. Symboli has told me that generally your people only have one mate and attempt to remain joined for life but you’re not always successful. That seems so weird.”
“Yeah, we are quite passionate and we tend to be protective and jealous with our… mates.”
“If you wished to be protective then you should have more mates, as a large group is better protected.” Alesti sounded as if that should be obvious.
“That’s… no…” Alex looked away and wondered what time it was. Then he laughed, knowing he had no idea how to measure time on this planet.
“Why is this funny?” Alesti asked.
“I was thinking of something else… but, you mentioned your father was the king, how many people was he mated with?
“Including himself, three.”
“So your Father, your mother, and…”
“And the first.”
“The first… The first what, male or female?”
“Tissst, but that doesn’t matter after the initial pair, it’s important you understand that. What matters if the third or fourth is male or female? They share in all things with the first pair, the joiners. The joiners are male and female always.”
“The first pair are the joiners and the first person to join the pair is called the first.” Alex reasoned out loud. “What if one is jealous or feels they aren’t getting time with one of the others.” Alex’s curiosity was in overdrive.
“That wouldn’t happen, the joiners wouldn’t allow the first to join them if that possibility existed. When one could not imagine life without the other two, and all three feel the same then a joining makes sense. So if they all equally cannot live without the other, how could jealousy exist?”
“Ok… and after the first’s joining those feelings don’t ever change.” Alex ran his hand through his hair.
“Why should they?” Alesti closed her eyes.
“I don’t know it just sounds complicated or too simplistic depending on how you think about it.”
“On the contrary, when you have say four equally devoted partners to each other, imagine how the burdens of the family are distributed evenly. Hardships are more easily suffered with greater numbers.” Alesti focused on Alex again.
“Ok… still it just seems like it couldn’t be sustainable… Ok what about… sexual pleasure.” Alex asked.
“Procreation!”
“Yeah, humans sometimes… pretend to procreate because of the physical ...stimulation.”
“Saoo… assssahh. I… We don’t do that.”
“Ahh ok… So if we were physically intimate you would expect to receive child.”
“Of course.”
“And you wouldn’t be physically intimate just for the fun of it?” Alex frowned.
“It is enjoyable… But I sense it’s not the same with you though.”
“I see… It seems your joinings are more practical and less emotional.” Alex reasoned aloud.
“So it seems.”
Alex looked back out the window.
“Why does that make you sad?” Alesti asked.
“No.. it’s just there’s pleasure in sharing the emotions.”
“How can you share an emot-“ She stopped herself and Alex had to assume Symboli was doing a better job explaining then he was.
After a few moments she stood up and walked out of the room. Alex was interested, but sleep was encroaching his mind once again. She quickly returned with one of the tablets from Symboli’s tank. She began watching some vids on them at Symboli’s suggestion. Alex closed his eyes.
He opened his eyes again as whispers were growing into conversation nearby. There was light coming from the window, the sun was rising. Still tired, Alex focused his attention on the door.
“Ok see he is awake we must be going.” Deetur said from the open doorway.
“I’ll be right there.” Alex responded and Alesti shut the door, visibly disturbed.
“What’s his rush?” Alex asked.
“You sleep a lot, they are eager to leave.”
Alex was smoothing out the wrinkles on his outfit as he stood up.
“I can do this!” Alesti said with a huge grin on her face.
“I’m sorry, you can do what?” Alex asked rubbing sleep from his eyes.
Alesti looked at the datapad and back at Alex. “I can do this!” She said pointing to the data pad with her longest finger of three.
Alex grabbed the pad almost uninterested in what she was talking about. He looked at the first video of what appeared to have been viewed hundreds of times. It was of a man and woman who were rapidly taking the clothes off each other. The woman jumped up into the mans arm and they crashed into a bed together.
Alex stopped the video and glanced at Alesti. Who remained smiling. “Shall we try?”
“I think… Deetur is expecting us.”
Alex tied up his boots as questions rose to his mind. “Can I talk to Symboli?” Alesti silently handed Alex his headset.
“Good morning Alex -,”
“Don’t.” Alex said in English.
“Alesti was asking many questions about the subject while you slept, this was the fastest and most efficient way to educate her.”
Alex began closing the digital video windows, slowly at first and then rapidly. Videos of all kinds blurred past, some involving multiple people. Finally, Symboli closed all the windows automatically for Alex. He remained stunned, somewhere between understanding in a cultural education kind of way and very personal as this woman was obviously interested in him kind of way, and it was far too early in the morning to sort it all out.
“From what I have seen regarding Alesti’s body I think there’s a chance of successful interaction between human and Huvali.” Symboli said.
“I don’t really care.” Alex grunted in English, then his mind got stuck on the possibilities.
Alesti turned her back to Alex and walked out of the room.
“Her English has progressed well, there’s a good chance she took your last comment that you don’t care about her.”
“Damn it…”
“Alex, every question she asks, everything she tries to learn all has to do with making life easier for you or so she can become the best supporter she possibly can t
o you, only recently has she considered more intimate support.”
“The whole thing is weird… If she hadn’t made the vow she probably wouldn’t be nearly as interested.”
“As confusing as it is to you, Alesti would say –“
“Enough!… We’re about to enter a medieval war zone, I’ve got enough to deal with right now.”
Alex put on his jacket and walked into the hallway. Alesti stood impassively and didn’t make eye contact with him for the first time that Alex could remember.
“It seems you have upset her.” Symboli responded.
Alex took the headset off, folded it at the joints and put it in his jacket pocket. Deetur had his and Alesti’s juntard directly out front of the building. Becoming increasingly frustrated Alex walked to the back of the building which didn’t provide any privacy at all. Instead he faced the wall with his back to any possible prying eyes and peed into the quickly absorbing dirt in front of him. Then walked back to the other side where everyone waited on Juntards. Mounting his, they took off towards the south of the city.
Alex looked towards Alesti expecting to see a longing or maybe an upset face and was surprised to see her focused on a datapad. The other riders were distracted as they kept looking at her and the pad.
Alex put his headset back on to tell Symboli to stop communicating with Alesti.
“Alex do you know what she’s asking me right now? She’s asking for what kind of mate do you want so she can find her for you.”
“Why does she think I need a mate?” Alex said with a raised voice.
“I may have told her that you are alone and would most likely benefit from a capable mate.”
“Damn… goo. Just stop your interference on this topic, please.”
“Yes, sir.” Symboli responded.
It was a subtle but clever tactic that Symboli had employed. Alex thought about the last time he heard the word sir come from Symboli and he thought about home. About his friends and how he might not see them again. Before long he thought about the unstoppable enemy and the futility of it all.
They passed the village gates, Deetur squeezed the lobes of his juntard and it picked up a lot of speed. Everyone else followed suit as the nine of them zipped across the countryside heading south towards the heavily fortified villages against the border. Though still not as fast as they would have liked to have traveled.
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