I replied, ‘Why not? I told you that I would always wear it.’
Sharma chuckled and replied, 'It was the proper gift. Already you look like a soldier.’
CHAPTER FIVE: GOOD THINGS COME TO THOSE WHO WAIT
A commander named Zaliek was in charge of our squad during our three months of basic training. With his half-severed right ear, scarred forearms, and face with the contours and colour of a weathered granite boulder, he looked like a brigand or a desperado. There was plenty of speculation about Zaliek – for instance, one rumour had it that that he was a Dornite renegade, while another had it that he was of royal descent from one of the kingdoms somewhere far to the west of the Great River. Many years later, not long before I sent him to his death, I did learn the truth about Zaliek's background and it turned out that these rumours weren’t far off the mark. It was also said that Zaliek fled from the Dornites when it was discovered that he was having an affair with a senior official’s wife. Sometimes the rumour was supplemented by the view that he refused to have an affair with the woman, which made life even more dangerous for him than if he did have an affair. I never found out whether or not there was any truth in these rumours.
No matter how many rumours were doing the rounds, Zaliek kept his past to himself and his relationship with the members of the squad was strictly professional. At our first meeting, he scowled at us and growled, ‘I’m Commander Zaliek. That’s all you need to know. I don’t ask who you are and I don’t want to know. You could be murderers, faggots, or mommy’s boys, or all three together – it’s all one to me. You’re here for only two reasons. The first is to learn to protect yourselves so that you don’t get killed. The second is to learn how to kill an enemy ---- barehanded or with weapons, it doesn’t matter how. Never mind tactics and strategy – you can learn those things later, if you survive.’
Basic training was tough. We tumbled out of our tents at daybreak, ate a quick breakfast of salted mutton and corn bread, and spent two hours doing squad drill. Then we learned unarmed combat and, after the mid-day meal, we practised armed combat. By late afternoon we were exhausted. After the evening meal – more mutton and bread, tarted up with gravy and a few vegetables --- we had to clean our weapons and equipment by lamplight. When that was done, we collapsed into bed only to stumble out at dawn to repeat the same grinding routine.
Zaliek was fanatical about fitness. He made us run and, when we were ready to drop, he made us run some more. He made us carry boulders up the stony hillsides that surrounded the camp and he made us carry each other across the marshy ground at the end of the valley. He taught us how to run with shields and spears strapped to our backs, holding our swords to our chests. Then, when we thought we had done something to perfection, Zaliek made us do it again.
In spite of his size, Zaliek was fit and agile. He did whatever we did and he did it better. He would growl at us, ‘You think you’re getting good, hey? Well, you’re still so soft that the Dornites will have you for breakfast. When you can beat me you might have a chance against the Dornites – but until then, forget it!’
During basic training, we cursed Zaliek with every panting breath. However, when Sharma and I ran from the Dornites at Gandonda, remembering to carry our shields and weapons --- and finding that we were fit enough to carry them --- we were thankful for Zaliek’s training. We were just as thankful when we had the stamina to return and harass the enemy a few hours later.
After about six weeks of training, Zaliek took us on a long run. We carried only our swords, strapped across our backs. After two hours we reached the highest point of the range of hills that now marked the easternmost limits of Keirine. During one of their recent pushes into Keirine, the Dornites had captured the foothills that lay between the hills and the coastal plain and from our vantage point we could see the smoke rising from some of their new settlements.
Panting, we sat down on the slope and reached for our water bottles. Zaliek shouted, ‘Three mouthfuls each! That’s all!’
‘But, commander –‘
‘I said three mouthfuls and that’s all you’ll have! Do you think you’ll get more when you’re fighting a battle?’ There was some grumbling but no one disobeyed the command. While we were drinking and regaining our breath, Zaliek paced in front of the squad and then planted himself squarely before us and roared, ‘Ha! Do you think you’re ready to go into battle?’
A few members of the squad muttered, ‘We’re ready.’
‘What did you say?’
‘We’re ready, commander!’
‘Ready? You think you’re ready? You think you’re ready to take on that lot down there?’ Zaliek gestured towards the smoke rising from the foothills below. ‘You think you’ll stand steady when the Dornite cavalry comes at you not to mention their chariots? You think you won’t turn tail when the Dornite infantry comes at you in closed ranks? You think that, eh?’
Now the reply was less certain: ‘Yes, commander.’
Arms folded, Zaliek surveyed us sadly. He shook his head and growled, ‘You lot are pathetic. Do you hear me – pathetic! Oh, you’re brave enough – I don’t doubt that. You’re brave enough to die in your ignorance. You’re brave enough to die with a Dornite sword or lance through you. I don’t doubt that either. But do you think that bravery is enough, eh? Do you think it’s enough?’ There was more muttering. Zaliek roared, ‘Well, what do you say? Is it enough, eh? Speak up!’
‘No, commander!’
‘I said speak up!’
We roared back at him, ‘No, commander!’
‘No – what isn't enough?’
We roared, ‘Bravery is not enough, commander!’
‘Good! Very good! At least you’ve learned something. Now, tell me the first thing that I taught you.’
‘We have to know how to defend ourselves, commander.’
‘Right! And the second thing is --?’
We roared, ‘We have to know how to kill our enemies, commander.’
Zaliek regarded us half sceptically and half approvingly. Then he roared, ‘Huh! When you do those two things better than your enemy, and when you add bravery, then maybe you’ve got what you need to defeat the Dornites.’ Zaliek dropped his sword and cried, ‘Let’s see what you’ve learned.’ He bared his arms and roared, ‘Who’ll take me on, eh? Man to man, unarmed combat – who’ll take me on, eh?’
We shifted uneasily and exchanged furtive glances while Zaliek paced in front of us, grinning and flexing his arms. After a while, Sharma got to his feet and called out, ‘I’ll take you on, commander!’
‘Ha! Sharma, eh? You fancy yourself? Come on, then, let’s see what you can do.’ Zaliek bent forward in a wrestler’s stance, arms wide, balancing on the balls of his feet, taunting Sharma, inviting him to approach.
As Sharma stood up, something twirled, Sharma’s hand flicked, and there was a swishing noise. Zaliek shouted in pain and straightened, clutching his shoulder. Sharma dashed at Zaliek, kicked his feet out from under him, and pinned him to the ground, face down. Zaliek turned his face to one side and growled, ‘All right, you win. Let me go.’
Sharma released Zaliek, who got up and dusted himself off. Still rubbing his shoulder, Zaliek said, ‘A sling, eh? You call that unarmed combat?’
The squad was deathly silent while we waited for Zaliek to descend on Sharma in a storm of wrath.
Sharma replied steadily, ‘No, commander. But it helped me to defeat you. That’s what’s important.’
Zaliek squinted at Sharma narrowly. Suddenly he lunged forward, grasping. Sharma avoided him, springing to one side. Then he leaned forward, legs braced, with his hands in front of him. The yellow flecks in his eyes gleamed and his left eyelid twitched. I knew the signs. Sharma was coiled for action – and he was enjoying the challenge.
Zaliek straightened, gave his shoulder a rub, and said, ‘A sling, eh? Ha! But you're right -- what does it matter, if you defeat your opponent? We’re soldiers, not professional wrestlers.’ He roared at the squad, �
�Did he defeat me?’
‘Yes, commander!’
‘Yes, that’s right, he did. He used unfair, underhand tactics, didn’t he?’
‘Yes commander!’ The reply was hesitant.
Zaliek scowled and rubbed his shoulder again. He bellowed, ‘Maybe you learned a lesson today! Don’t attack your enemy in the way he expects. Attack him in a way he doesn’t expect. You got that?’
‘Yes, commander!’
‘Good! Remember it and it might save your life.’ Zaliek turned to Sharma and asked, ‘Where did you learn to use a sling?’
‘In Osicedi, commander.’
‘Osicedi, eh? Ever killed a man with it?’ Sharma glanced at me warily while Zaliek growled, ‘I asked you – ever killed a man with it?’
‘Yes, commander.’
Zaliek eyed Sharma narrowly and asked, ‘Ever killed three men with it?’
Sharma shot a glance at me again and then replied, ‘Not exactly, commander.’
‘Not exactly, eh? Well, let me guess – you knocked some of them down with your sling and your mate finished them off with a spear. Is that what happened?’
Sharma licked his lips, gave me a sidelong glance, and then muttered, ‘Yes, commander.’
‘And was your mate by any chance called Jina?’
Sharma gave me another glance and then said reluctantly, ‘Yes, commander.’
‘That same Jina as is sitting over there?’ Zaliek jabbed a finger at me.
‘Yes, commander.’
Zaliek folded his arms, scowled, and said, ‘Do you remember the first man who you killed?’
Sharma answered reluctantly, ‘Yes, commander.’
‘He was a big man with red hair and a thin face with pockmarks, not so?’ Sharma nodded in reply. Zaliek waved a finger under Sharma’s nose and demanded, ‘Well, speak up, man! I asked you a question.’
Sharma paused apprehensively before he said reluctantly, ‘Yes, commander, that is so.’
‘That’s right! Now I’ll tell you something that you don’t know – his name was Selek.’
‘I knew that, commander.’
Zaliek looked at Sharma curiously. Then he said, ‘Ah, yes, he wore a disc engraved with his name, didn’t he?’
‘Yes, commander.’
‘A disc given to him by someone called Janali, not so?’
‘I can’t remember, commander.’
'No? Well, perhaps you can tell me -- where is the disc now?'
Sharma bit his lip and glanced at me furtively before he said, 'Jina has it.'
'Ah! Jina, eh? Now, let me tell you that Janali was Selek's wife. What do you say to that, eh?’
Sharma straightened his shoulders and clenched his fists by his sides. He said firmly, ‘I’m sorry about that, commander. But he was a Dornite. He was an enemy. He should have left our sheep alone.’
Zaliek snapped his fingers under Sharma’s nose and growled, ‘And I’ll tell you something else that you don’t know – Selek was one of my best mates. What do you say to that, eh?’ With his gaze lowered and his head to one side, Sharma stood there awkwardly, saying nothing. Zaliek pushed his face close to Sharma’s and said, ‘And then a few nights later a Dornite raiding party attacked Osicedi – not so?’
Sharma replied in a subdued voice, ‘Yes, commander.’
‘They killed a few people, didn’t they?’
‘Yes.’
‘Who?’
‘They killed my brother, and –'
‘Your brother, eh? Well, what would you say if I told you that I was one of the men in the raiding party?’ Sharma raised his eyes and looked at Zaliek half in bewilderment and half in hostility. Zaliek hissed, ‘What would you do if I told you that I was the one who killed your brother?’
Sharma stiffened and looked Zaliek in the eye. He licked his lips, straightened his back, and then said quietly, ‘I would say, Thank you for telling me, commander.’
Zaliek stepped backwards and picked up his sword. He asked, ‘Do you want to settle it now?’
‘Settle what, commander?’
‘Do you want to take revenge for your brother’s death, here and now?’
‘No, commander.’
‘You don’t?’
‘No, commander, I don’t’
I grabbed my sword and scrambled to my feet, shouting, ‘I’ll do it!’
Zaliek raised his eyebrows and asked, ‘You’ll do what, Jina?’
‘I’ll take you on man to man, commander.’
‘Who asked you to, Jina?’
‘No one did. But --’
‘Then, damn it, sit down!’
Clutching my sword, I shouted, ‘I’m not afraid of you, commander.’
‘Sit down and shut up, damn you, or I’ll put you in the cells when we get back to camp.’
‘You killed Sharma’s brother. If he won’t, then –'
‘Damn you, Jina, sit down and shut up, or I’ll have you arrested right here and now.' Zaliek took a step towards me and growled, 'You hear me? Sit down and shut up!’
Discipline asserted itself and I sat down, trembling and sweating, still clutching my sword. Zaliek grunted and turned his attention back to Sharma. Balancing his sword in his hands, Zaliek asked evenly, ‘You don’t want to take revenge, eh? Why not?’
‘I’m training to fight against the enemy, commander. I’m not training to fight you or anyone else on my own side.’
Zaliek grinned in satisfaction. He turned to the squad and said, ‘Excellent! That’s an excellent answer. Remember it in future. Forget about revenge. Forget about resentment. They get in the way of clear thinking.’ He wagged his finger and bellowed, ‘Focus on the task! The enemy will give you more than enough to think about without having your mind full of diversions. Remember that – focus and clear thinking! You got that?’
‘Yes, commander!’
Zaliek pointed at me and roared, ‘You – Jina! Have you got it?’
I replied reluctantly, ‘Yes, commander.’
‘Good! Like I said, courage isn’t enough. It’s enough to get yourself killed but it’s not enough to defeat the enemy.’ Zaliek wagged his finger at me. Then he turned to Sharma and said, ‘In any case, it wasn’t me.’
‘Commander?’
‘I wasn’t anywhere near Osicedi when they attacked it. I’ve never been anywhere near Osicedi in my whole life. Sure, I knew Selek. He was a casual acquaintance and not a best mate. And I agree with you when you say that he should have left your sheep alone. That’s the closest that I ever came to having anything to do with the matter.’
Sharma replied calmly, ‘Thank you for telling me, commander.’
Zaliek jerked his thumb and said, ‘All right. Now you know. Get back to the ranks!’ He braced himself and bellowed, ‘Squad! Form up!’ We got to our feet, dusted ourselves, and swung our swords across our backs. Zaliek pointed to someone and asked brusquely, ‘You – what have you learned today?’
‘I learned to fight dirty, commander.’
‘Fight dirty? Is that all you learned? Ha! Any mangy street-dog knows how to fight dirty.’ He pointed to another member of the squad and roared, ‘You – what did you learn?’
‘I learned not to do what the enemy expects, commander.’
‘Yes. That’s better! And what else did you learn?’
‘I learned that we should keep our minds focused, commander.’
‘Yes. That’s good.’ Zaliek swung his sword across his back and shouted, ‘Right, you lot! Let’s get back to camp. Keep formation all the way. No stragglers! Understand?’
‘Yes, commander!’ We set off at a jogging pace and reached camp just before sunset.
The camp was next to the town of Koraina where Vaxili set up a temporary capital. Koraina was strategically situated close to the border between Upper and Lower Keirine, protected by hills while offering easy access to the open, rolling country to the south, which was the sector that the Dornites favoured for their incursions into Keirine. Before Vaxili and his court arri
ved, Koraina was just a quiet rural town about the size of Osicedi. Now it was a boom town with facilities and services expanding to provide for both the regular and irregular needs of the court and the army camp.
At Koraina regularly I attended devotions at the temple just in case Zabrazal still had his eye on me. I had felt that way ever since Sharma and I underwent the cleansing ceremony in Osicedi when I sensed an active, omnipresent intelligence that scrutinised me sceptically while chalking up pluses and minuses on the divine scoreboard. I didn’t want to provide a reason for more minuses to be chalked up.
At the time that I joined the army, I wasn’t sure whether the pluses or minuses predominated on my score sheet. I hadn’t done much wrong but, on the other hand I wasn’t sure that I had satisfied the priests’ demands of absolute devotion to Zabrazal either. I had given alms to the poor, performed the annual sacrifice, tried to be truthful, and stayed away from married women – actually, stayed away from women altogether, in deed if not in thought – so I should have toted up a host of pluses. But Zabrazal was unpredictable. The priests told us that Zabrazal could look into your thoughts and take offence at even the most fleeting hints of deviance or disloyalty. In fact, Zabrazal could get steamed up about a whole number of things that mere mortals wouldn’t think were worth a second thought. In short, I understood that dealing with Zabrazal was like walking through a swamp on a dark night knowing that there were hazards everywhere and wondering when, almost inevitably, you would blunder into the next muddy hole or even flounder despairingly in a patch of quicksand.
My regular visits to the temple had one definitely positive result and she was named Dana. Although I noticed her right away during my first visit to the temple, initially she meant nothing more to me than any other young woman who was attractive enough to be worth two or more glances. Then, one day, I happened to sit behind her. While the congregation was reciting the creed, she glanced at her companion from time to time. I became intrigued by the luminous secret that her eyes suggested. Like a shock going through my frame, it struck me that I wanted to meet her. In fact, I wanted to meet her so badly that the need was like a twisted knot in my stomach. But how? By Zabrazal, I felt gormless and helpless! Unlike Sharma, I didn’t have a way with women. I would sooner go on a day-long route march with a pack weighed down by rocks than approach a woman who took my fancy. The more I wanted to meet a woman, the more I would shrink into myself as if I thought that invisibility would do the job for me. However, even as I shrank with shyness, I cursed myself for being so damnably awkward and tongue-tied.
The Blood-stained Belt Page 5