The Blood-stained Belt

by Brian H Jones

  I warned Sharma against occupying the Strip but he just clapped me on the shoulder and said, 'Ah, Jina, cautious as ever, eh!' The fact was that Sharma was only reflecting the popular mood when he began to seize territory from the Dornites and the Usserdites. After being restricted to the crowded highlands for generations, Keirineians reveled in the opportunity to settle in the fertile lands of the coastal plain and the Western River Strip. Also, expansionism was central to realising Sharma's vision of a Keirine that was entirely free of the threat of invasion. On a number of occasions, he said to me frankly, 'I don't mind fighting our enemies on the coastal plain, or in the Strip, or on the southern plains, or anywhere else, come to that as long as we keep Keirine itself secure. Never again do I want to see even one enemy footprint on Keirineian soil. Do you understand, Jina? Never again!'

  The latest trouble started when Keirineian settlers in the Strip caught two Usserdites red-handed in the act of stealing donkeys. Instead of handing the thieves over to the authorities, the settlers took the law into their own hands and hanged the thieves. From there, matters went downhill. The King of Usserd protested that, according to the terms of the treaty between Keirine and Usserd, the intruders should have been handed over to him for punishment. When he demanded compensation, Sharma replied that the offenders would be tried and their fines would be paid to Usserd. We sent a deputy commander and twenty men to arrest the offenders but a mob of settlers surrounded the soldiers, saying that they wouldn't let them go until the offenders were pardoned. The governor of the Strip rushed to Koraina for an urgent consultation with Sharma and eventually, in the normal bumbling way of politicians who take the nearest way in a complex crisis, the offenders were pardoned. Sharma sent a message to the King of Usserd to say that while Keirine appreciated its good relations with Usserd, it could not guarantee that it would be able to observe the treaty in future if there were further acts of bare-faced provocation.

  The next act in the drama came two weeks later when an Usserdite chief raided a village in the Strip, carrying off cattle and donkeys as compensation for the deaths of the two men. When Sharma demanded that the stolen livestock should be returned and that the chief should be punished, the King of Usserd refused, saying that he was also finding it difficult to observe the terms of the treaty in the face of bare-faced acts of provocation such as the hanging of the two men. Noting that the treaty had been concluded when the boundaries of Keirine did not extend beyond the Great River, the king also opined that he thought that it was time for Usserd and Keirine to negotiate a new treaty. He proposed that Keirine and Usserd should first discuss what he termed 'the difficult circumstances posed by Keirineian settlers who are improperly occupying Usserdite territory on the western bank of the river.'

  Sharma summoned me to see him and, after a short discussion of the issue, said bluntly 'The King of Usserd wants war and war is what he'll get.'

  I asked, 'Is that the only option?'

  Sharma's eyes were red and his voice was thick. It looked as if he was suffering from a hangover or recovering from a fever. He said irritably, 'We have no choice, man. They have provoked us beyond endurance.'

  'Perhaps one more diplomatic mission could –'

  Sharma banged one fist into another and shouted, 'No more talking! No more diplomacy! They'll have to learn that we are not to be trifled with – and they'll learn the hard way.'

  'Perhaps if we just recovered the livestock and burned a few villages –'

  'I tell you, Jina, no more shilly-shallying!' Sharma eyed me narrowly, pushed a finger at me, and asked, 'Isn't the army ready for a campaign? Is that what you’re afraid of?'

  'Of course it's ready.'

  'But not as ready as it should be, eh?'

  'What are you talking about?'

  'What have the troops been doing for the last five years? Maneuvers, border patrols, parades and sitting in their barracks, that's what! They're getting soft and complacent.' Sharma walked over to the wall map and then turned and said with finality, 'They need a proper campaign to get them up to the mark again and, by Zabrazal, that's what they're going to get.'

  I sighed inwardly and sat down to plan the campaign with Sharma.

  When Sharma said 'a proper campaign', he meant nothing less than sacking Fewerla, the capital city of Usserd. As I knew right from the beginning, it was easy enough to sit at Sharma's conference table and plan the campaign but it was a lot more difficult to make progress on the ground. It took us three months to fight our way as far as the walls of Fewerla and even when we got there we had to guard our rear against attacks by the irregular forces of the various chiefs whom we had defeated along the way. Usserd was a federation of tribal authorities that owed a loose allegiance to the king in Fewerla and each chief had his own armed forces. It was like fighting a many-headed, self-replicating snake – lop off one head and another would spit at you. Lop off that one and other heads would be resuscitating themselves, ready to strike again.

  While we settled down for the siege of Fewerla, I sent a message to Sharma, asking him to reconsider his order to sack the city. I had enough experience of sieges to know that they could be demoralising. Sitting around in camp made the men slack and dissolute. Then, if we attempted an assault and were thrown back, there would be muttered complaints about the injuries and deaths that were sustained without profit or gain. All in all, I didn't like sieges. I suggested to Sharma that we should settle with the King of Usserd according to terms favourable to us, by which we would more than recover the costs of our campaign as well as extract a large penalty.

  Sharma replied that he hadn't changed his mind. His resolve was as firm as ever – Fewerla should be sacked and the King of Usserd should be brought back to Keirine dead or alive. I also received a heavily sealed letter in which Sharma berated me for questioning his instructions that Fewerla should be captured and sacked and asked if I would like to be relieved of my command of the expedition. If not, then I should proceed immediately with an assault on the city. Finally, Sharma wrote that he explicitly ordered that Zaliek, as the most experienced of my commanders, should lead the first wave of assault.

  When I took Zaliek aside and told him about Sharma's instruction, he raised his eyebrows and said, 'During an assault, a commander's place is behind his men so that he can direct them properly.'

  I said irritably, 'I know that, but –'

  'But Sharma is the king and we disobey his instructions at our peril, eh?' Zaliek shrugged fatalistically and picked up his helmet. He said, 'If Sharma wants an immediate assault, I'd better get things organised.'

  'I'm sorry, Zaliek. It’s not --'

  'Sorry about what, General Jina?'

  'You know that this isn't the way that I would arrange matters.'

  Zaliek shrugged again. He turned to go, stopped, and said, 'This is a dangerous business. If anything happens to me, will you make sure that Shani gets the pension that is due to her?'

  ‘Don’t be so pessimistic.’

  ‘Will you see to it, if I don’t come back?’

  'I will. You know that.'

  Zaliek nodded with melancholy satisfaction and said, 'Oh, and perhaps you could use your influence to see that my son is admitted to the Academy of Philosophy. Remember, I don't want him to be a soldier. One of us in the family is enough.'

  I said brusquely, 'Get out of here, Zaliek. You're the great survivor. Go and do what you have to do and I'll have a cup of wine with you this evening when it's all over.'

  Zaliek nodded somberly and walked away, buckling his helmet as he went.

  We didn't have that cup of wine together because Zaliek was killed in the first wave of the assault. He fought his way up the ladder and led the way onto the walls where he was left in an isolated position when the defenders threw back the ladder. Watching the assault, I saw Zaliek fighting desperately on the battlements, his back to the wall. I rushed forward to take personal charge, trying to get a ladder onto the wall at the spot where Zaliek was defending himself. Ho
wever, even as the men struggled to raise the ladder, I knew that it was too late. When I looked up again, Zaliek had disappeared and all that we could see was a group of jeering defenders. Five minutes later, they threw his severed head over the wall. The eyes had been gouged out.

  God, the longer I live, the more I suspect that we are no more than insects that crawl across the face of the earth awaiting our turn to be crushed underfoot by a higher boot. In Zaliek's case, the higher boot was Sharma's and, as I found out later, the reason was Sharma's lust for Shani. Not long after we left on the expedition against Usserd, Sharma was relaxing on the rooftop terrace of his palace enjoying the usual draught of wine in the cool of the evening. The palace was the highest building in Koraina and Sharma had a good view of the surrounding rooftops. At the same time as Sharma was lolling about, enjoying his evening rest, Shani was taking a bath on the terrace on the roof of her house. Taking a bath on the roof? Whoever does that, especially when the terrace can be overlooked from nearby vantage points? Oh, I can picture the scene well enough – Shani luxuriating in the tub, keeping a weather eye on the roof of the palace while studiously pretending to be giving all her attention to the serious business of bathing. Once she knew that Sharma was up there, she would have frolicked innocently in the tub – a show of leg here, a breast there – while chatting and joking with her maid. Next, I can picture Shani stepping out of the tub, facing the palace and stretching luxuriantly, tousling her hair, while her maid toweled her back. After that, she would probably have turned slowly – pirouetted, more likely -- just to make sure that Sharma got a good look at what she was offering. Pha! I could go on but already I feel sick to my stomach – Zaliek and the rest of us risking our lives in dirt and discomfort, while Sharma and Shani were engaged in their tableau of lust – pha!

  It doesn't take a soothsayer to predict what happened next. That very night, Sharma took Shani to his bed and, finding her nubility to his liking, he bedded her on many nights after that. Before we reached the walls of Fewerla, Shani was pregnant. Shortly after that, her husband was dead and Sharma comforted the grieving widow by marrying her.

  What would I have done if I had known about the matter when I received Sharma's order that Zaliek should be placed in the front line of the assault? Would I have told Zaliek about what was going on behind his back? Would I have carried out my instructions or would I have disobeyed them? I've thought about the matter hundreds of times, if not more, and almost always I conclude that the result would have been the same. I would have obeyed orders – but, knowing what I did, I would have made absolutely sure that Zaliek would have been killed without leaving anything at all to chance. How would honest, gruff, plain Zaliek have lived with the betrayal and the shame and how much damage would he have done to himself and others if he had survived?

  When I heard about what had been going on between Sharma and Shani, I was so disgusted that at first I felt like going straight back to Koraina to confront Sharma. However, when I thought about the matter more coolly, I knew that I had a more immediate priority. I wanted to requite the death of Zaliek and slake the iron-cold hatred in my soul by dealing with the city of Fewerla. By Zabrazal, I would give Sharma what he wanted – the destruction of the city -- and then I would turn my back on him. He would have what he wanted but he would never again have me.

  That night, I dreamed about Shani. Lying on top of the bed, dressed seductively in a flimsy night-gown, she spread her arms to welcome me. Fired by lust, I went to her eagerly, entwining my body with hers and panting with desire as I ran my hands up and down the smooth skin of her back and pressed her breasts to my chest. She moaned and bit my shoulder in passion. I buried my face in her hair, inhaling its sweet scent, when I suddenly felt her body go rigid. I looked at her. She was staring at the ceiling in wide-eyed horror. I twisted around and looked up. There on the ceiling was an image of Zaliek's severed, eyeless head. I awoke with a cry of fear and disgust – but whether for Zaliek, Shani, or myself, I could not say.

  When we did finally subdue the city about a week later, I led the final assault. My message to the men was simple – no mercy to anyone except for the king, who was to be captured alive if possible. Once we got inside the city, there were scenes of carnage and destruction that made what happened at Asjolorm pale into insignificance. For me, the difference was that at Asjolorm I had felt pity and distaste after a few minutes of carnage. However, inside the walls of Fewerla I was filled with such rage that my sword and dagger could not find enough victims to satisfy their lust. Our assault was so ruthless that only one inhabitant of Fewerla escaped alive and that was the king, who was taken back to Koraina as planned.

  After we burned the city, I would even have razed the walls if we had had the time or the means. Then, before we left the scene, I ordered my commanders to go through their men's packs, searching for loot. Whatever they found was confiscated, either to be burned or to be thrown into a nearby tar-pit. There were protests not only from the men but also from the commanders. However, I remained adamant. I told them that Sharma had said that we should only bring the king back with us and that was exactly what we would do. Of course, that was wasn't exactly what Sharma had said – but, then, who besides the two of us knew what he had told me? My rage was now focused on Sharma. I would be happy to leave him with no booty and with a restless army.

  The victory parade in Koraina, with the King of Usserd as showpiece, was the greatest that had been seen since the last Dornite city fell to our army. I led the procession, resplendent in my general's regalia, playing out my role to the last. When we stopped in front of the palace to be welcomed by Sharma, I saw that Shani was sitting at Sharma's right hand. She looked radiant. Well, why not? She had not only progressed from being a waitress in a tavern to being the favoured consort of a king but, more than that, she was cementing her position by carrying his child. Not surprisingly, the other two people on the dais weren't looking as happy. Roda was sitting on Sharma's left hand, trying to look gracious but not succeeding. On her left was Mecolo, who wasn't even trying to look as if she was enjoying the occasion. On the contrary – she looked sallow and sunken. Briefly, I remembered the young Mecolo who had danced before us when we returned from the first battle of Gandonda, bearing the head of Drunuk before us. I recalled what she had sung that day:

  Sharma of Osicedi, soldier of Keirine,

  On a lance he bears Drunuk high.

  Jina of Osicedi, comrade of Sharma,

  With his sword he laid Drunuk low.

  Well, today Mecolo wasn't singing and dancing and I wouldn't be Sharma's comrade for much longer. What about the severed head? For a moment I thought grimly that I should have paraded the head of Zaliek before the smug pair sitting on the dais. By Zabrazal, I would have done it, too, except that the head was a long way from Koraina, buried outside the walls of Fewerla under a memorial cairn that we raised to our dead comrade.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR: QUESTIONS

  Next day, I went to see Sharma to tell him that I was resigning my commission and leaving Keirine. While I was waiting, the door to the council chamber opened and someone stamped out. I recognised him as a priest named Isahile. When I greeted him, he gave me a look of half-recognition, muttered something churlish, and went on his way. Isahile was the nearest that there had been to a high priest since Izebol died about twenty years earlier. When the priests convened to elect a new high priest, Sharma told them that he thought it would be wiser if they waited for a few years to ensure that they made the right choice. They decided to go ahead anyway after issuing a statement that Zabrazal was lord over all of Keirine, the king included, and that the priests would not tolerate any attempt to interfere with their authority. Sharma reacted by detaining all of the senior members of the convocation on the grounds that they were usurping his authority. Since then, there had been no further attempts to appoint a high priest.

  After a few minutes, I was summoned into the chamber. Sharma embraced me in such a perfunctory manner that in spite
of my blade-cold anger I stood back and asked, 'What's wrong?'

  Sharma's left eyelid was flickering and the flecks in his eyes were glowing with anger. I could sense that he was quivering with passion even although his bearing was outwardly controlled. For the first time in a long while, I glimpsed the old cat-like Sharma, deceptively composed even as he readied himself to pounce. Sharma licked his lips and said in a steely voice, 'That man has just tried to provoke me!' I raised my eyebrows. Sharma continued, 'He says that our child will die within seven days of its birth.'

  'Why would he say that?'

  Sharma's lips curled in distaste. 'He says that it will be Zabrazal's way of punishing me for marrying Shani. What do you think of that, eh?'

  I had other things on my mind so I just shrugged and replied, 'It depends on whether or not you believe in soothsayers and predictions.'

  Sharma snarled, 'Well, I don't! But who is he, the meddling fool, to think that he can scare me with such a cock and bull story? What if Shani hears about it?'

  I shrugged again. I really didn't have any interest in the matter. I said, 'Look, Sharma, I didn't come here to discuss Isahile and his predictions.'

  That stopped Sharma. He took a step backwards, looked at me coldly, and asked, 'You don't think that a prediction about our unborn child is worth discussing?'

  'I didn't come here to discuss that.'

  'No? You have something more important on your mind?'

  'I do.'

  'Well, then, my dear Jina, don't let my affairs stand in your way – by no means. Let's hear about this supremely important matter that's pressing on your mind.'

  I steeled myself inwardly and then told Sharma what I thought about the fact that he had seduced another man's wife and then sent that man to his death to get rid of him. Pricked by the cold steel in my soul, I told him that he would be fortunate if the only retribution that came upon him was the death of his unborn child. Finally, I told him that I was resigning my commission immediately.