by J J Moriarty
“Why do you care about Yoboan territory?” Safia said.
“I can’t just give away parts of a country I don’t control, it’s…” Hyzou began.
Safia shrieked with laughter.
“You LIAR”, Safia said.
The shout woke up the twins, who began to bawl.
“Liar. How?” Hyzou said. “I told you everything.”
“No, you haven’t. And I know the real reason you won’t agree to that deal, and so does everyone in that room”, Safia said.
“Enlighten me, then”, Hyzou said.
“Because you can’t fathom the thought of giving Drascia up. Because Drascia is next, isn’t it?” Safia said.
“What’re you talking about?” Hyzou said.
“Drascia is the next place you’ll conquer. If they don’t agree to your deal, you’ll invade Drascia after you’ve crushed Lamybla. You’ll have a very good justification for the attack, something about the border being unsafe. By then, it’ll be your duty to invade Drascia”, Safia said.
“Fuck you”, Hyzou said.
“Just miles north of here are piles and piles of bodies that died at your hand. How many more sons and daughters will have to die before you realise what you really are? Because I look at you, and all I see is Pharaoh Ganymedes”, Safia said.
Hyzou hit her. He punched her, straight in the jaw. It knocked her to the ground.
The anger which had swollen in a wave throughout his body subsided just as quickly.
“Safia. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Hyzou began.
“Save it”, Safia said.
She got back to her feet. Her face was cut and had already began to swell and bleed.
“Safia wait”, Hyzou murmured.
“Your children are upset, and I’m going to help Cressa look after them” Safia said.
“Just, let’s not leave it like this”, Hyzou said.
“I’m pregnant, you know, but it’ll be the last child of yours I ever bear”, Safia said. “I hope your violence doesn’t mean I lose the baby.”
“I didn’t know”, Hyzou said.
“Get out of my sight”, Safia said.
Hyzou tried to think of something to say. He couldn’t. He just stood there, speechless.
“I didn’t think so. Now leave me”, Safia said.
Hyzou left, with only his guilt for company.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Hyzou entered his tent. The ground upon which it was set was sodden and as he walked along the cloth floor he heard the mud underneath squish with every step. He poured himself a cup of beer. Then he poured a second for his guest.
“How did you know I was here?” Iset asked.
“Were you trying to hide?” Hyzou asked.
“No, but you didn’t look over at me”, Iset said.
“Remember, the Qi lets us sense the Qis of others”, Hyzou said.
“I’ve got to get me one of these Qis then”, Iset said. “No one will sneak up on me ever.”
Hyzou handed her one of the cups, then began to drink from his own.
“You’re close”, Hyzou said. “You’re very close.”
“Do you think?” Iset asked.
“It’s only been three weeks of training”, Hyzou said.
“A month”, Iset said.
“Every time I forget just how painfully hot the summer is. Every time it shocks me”, Hyzou said.
“It sure is warm”, Iset said.
“You won’t be ready to fight though”, Hyzou said. “Is that why you came out here?”
“No, I came because I’d heard there was some delay, that the army had stalled just outside Aheb”, Iset said.
“I had to stall the forward march. The alliance has not been sealed”, Hyzou said.
“Do you think the Pharaoh knows?” Iset asked.
“You tell me”, Hyzou said.
“I’m not quite that quick at putting my old spy network back together again”, Iset said.
“No, I don’t think the Pharaoh knows that Drascia means to betray him. King Anchev will attack him the moment we announce our deal. The Pharaoh will counter, then we’ll launch our full assault to retake Aheb”, Hyzou said.
“You should do fine, shouldn’t you?” Iset said. “You’ve had so many great victories so far.”
Hyzou shook his head.
“This is different. Very different. We’re not fighting to our advantage. To retake the city, we’ll have to fight house-to-house”, Hyzou said.
“You have Servants”, Iset said.
“And the Pharaoh’s army will have traps. It’s not a sure thing at all, just like the last two battles”, Hyzou said.
“How many soldiers does the Pharaoh have left?” Iset said.
“Without the Drascians, the Pharaoh will have sixty thousand men on the front lines. A lot of those are Yoboans too”, Hyzou said.
“And with the Drascians you’ll have sixty thousand men, won’t you?” Iset asked.
“Something like that. I’m surprised they accepted the offer. They’ve become the vassals of an Emperor with eighteen thousand soldiers and barely thirty square miles of territory”, Hyzou said.
“They have, but all due respect, Your Majesty, maybe you don’t understand how things are in Drascia. The land is dead, the Anarchy stripped a whole generation away and it hasn’t been replaced, not well, anyway. They were always in a precarious position, even back to the days when the Drascians were nothing more than another tribe. The land surrounding their city is horribly rocky, and they’ve been sustained only by their mines and their sheep. The Anarchy is what finished them off”, Iset said.
“Ugyek mentioned tribesmen”, Hyzou said.
“Yes. Drascia shares an eastern border with the seventeen tribes. They’re simple folk, but lately Drascia has struggled to man that border and it has become rather porous as a result. Much of eastern Drascia has been abandoned because of persistent raids from tribesmen”, Iset said.
“If they can’t keep tribesmen out, then they won’t be able to keep an invading army out”, Hyzou said.
“No, and whoever wins this war between you two will become the invading army”, Iset said.
“But why would he give up his Kingdom?” Hyzou asked.
“Because this King Anchev seems to care about himself above all else. If this works out for him, he’ll live a long and happy life, instead of being crucified by an invading army”, Iset said.
“It’ll be a while though, won’t it? Before we have the numbers again to invade another Crown City”, Hyzou said. “Surely he sees that?”
“Five years at most. The River Cities are full of children. Once they’re twelve they’ll be ready to fight for you”, Iset said.
“Maybe it was the right decision then, I don’t know”, Hyzou said.
“Always choose a side when neighbours are fighting one another, a King can always profit from such a decision”, Iset said.
“Do you think?” Hyzou asked.
“I know”, Iset said.
“How has owning your envy gone?” Hyzou asked.
“I’m working on it. I’m certain all I want is to leave this heat”, Iset said. “I never thought I’d be anywhere warmer than Yobo.”
“It’s ok, we’ll be moving northwards again soon, hopefully”, Hyzou said.
“Are you really that nervous about this battle?” Iset said.
“It’ll be a fight to the death over Aheb, who knows what could happen. I can’t plan or strategise because I don’t know how the Drascians will move. And I can’t know how the Drascians will move until they actually move. And once that happens I will have to move myself and challenge the Pharaoh from the front. I’ll be entering a battle I haven’t prepared for”, Hyzou said.
“Will the Drascians move as soon as you agree formally to an alliance?” Iset asked. “They’ll cause chaos.”
Hyzou nodded.
“The moment I formally agree, my men will have to start marching. We’ll have to engage them
without any prior planning”, Hyzou said.
“You’ll manage it. You underestimate your power”, Iset said.
“You’ve to return to Piquea though. Safia will still need to run if our loss is particularly brutal”, Hyzou said.
“You two aren’t getting along?” Iset said
“She means it this time”, Hyzou said.
“That’s sad”, Iset said.
“You can use the time to work on your network of spies”, Hyzou said.
“I will”, Iset said.
“Would like to train for the rest of the evening? Have you anything else planned?” Hyzou asked.
“Training works for me”, Iset said.
They trained together through the evening and into the night. It was past midnight when she left him alone to sleep and she headed back to Piquea.
The following morning, Hyzou awoke to learn that in the middle of the night Ugyek had arrived and was ready to make a formal acceptance. Hyzou had his council gather together at the edge of the camp and welcomed Ugyek.
“It’s good to see you again”, Hyzou said.
“And you too, Your Majesty”, Ugyek said. “I bring good news. King Anchev agrees to your terms and is happy to swear himself and his state as a vassal to the Emperor. It is conditional that you promise to marry his sister Sarolt.”
“I’ll marry Sarolt”, Hyzou said. “This I swear. May our love act to symbolise the bonds between our two nations.”
“On behalf of King Anchev, I want to accept your offer of peace and position of tribute”, Ugyek said.
“Is this transaction complete?” Hyzou said.
“Yes, sir”, Ugyek said. “And isn’t it a beautiful thing.”
“I’ll send a messenger to him then, telling Viceroy Anchev to attack the Pharaoh at once”, Hyzou said.
“I can see to it that the message arrives”, Ugyek said.
Hyzou ignored him and turned to Tsy.
“Let’s march. Now. We reach Aheb tomorrow”, Hyzou said.
“I’ll give the order”, Tsy said. “We could attack during the night tonight, if that would be more to your suiting?”
“Yes. It would. Do it”, Hyzou said.
“Yes, Your Majesty”, Tsy said.
He left.
“You’re all dismissed. I want to leave as soon as is possible”, Hyzou said.
Vorska, Yan and Phatmose all bowed to him and left.
It only took them two hours to disassemble the camp and get ready to march. The army set off under the blistering sun.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Behind him, Hyzou sensed a familiar presence. He turned and through the smoke he saw Safia, stood alone by what once was a stone well. She was looking at him.
“Safia”, Hyzou shouted, and he waved.
She walked away. Hyzou began to cough.
“It’s quite a stench, sir”, Vak said.
“It’s the smoke that’s bothering me”, Hyzou said.
“Really? It’s not that smoky”, Vak said. “Are you sure it’s not the rotten stench?”
Hyzou’s mind’s eye flashed back to years ago, when he had stood among a wrecked Piquea, with bodies and the dead stashed everywhere.
Hyzou looked around himself now. All around him soldiers were lying dead and wounded among the burned ruins of Aheb’s military encampment.
“Come on, let’s go. I want to see the damage done”, Hyzou said.
“Don’t you want to talk to your wife?” Vak said.
“She won’t talk to me”, Hyzou said.
“Oh, ok sir. I understand”, Vak said.
“Come on”, Hyzou said.
He stepped around the many dead and put some of the wounded out of their misery.
“I wonder what the numbers are. Dead, I mean”, Vak said.
“It seems pretty bad”, Hyzou said.
“Not like the Khemmis though”, Vak said. “Or the West Country.”
“No. This battle isn’t as bad as either of them. But there weren’t as many fighting”, Hyzou said. “And so many of our own have died.”
“We won’t know until the counters find them all”, Vak said.
Hyzou walked through the main street of Aheb. The town had been rebuilt, and rebuilt well, during the spring it was under the control of the Pharaoh and Kyrios Nerikare. Now, all the Pharaoh’s work was little more than dust. The rice sheds and their contents were gone up in smoke, the houses, beershops, brothels, Temples and barracks had transformed into ashen stumps.
Hyzou didn’t quite know who’d set the fire. Perhaps it was one of his own troops, perhaps it was one of the Drascians, or maybe it was a Lamyblan, panicking in the face of their invasion. It was no doubt that once the town fell, chaos descended amongst the enemy, and they found themselves with no easy route to escape.
Aheb was surrounded by three rows of trenches with defensive spikes, built by the Pharaoh during the Spring. The Pharaoh filled the trenches with men, and placed peltasts and slingers between each trench. The Pharaoh expected Hyzou to attempt to clear the trenches man by man, and only then gaining access to the city. Of course, that’s what he did. He told his Servants to attack that way, at night. They moved up quietly in the dark, knifing the scouts and managing to land in the trenches before they were noticed. Hyzou fought through the darkness, trying to clear the first ring.
Chaos was already present in Aheb, however. Viceroy Anchev didn’t attack the Pharaoh as soon as he got Hyzou’s order. Instead, he too waited until nightfall, and began to storm the interior of Aheb.
The fighting continued for most of the night, but towards the dawn, Hyzou was certain that his army was victorious. Hyzou sent word back to Piquea and to Sparrow in Uqing, then got some sleep outside of Aheb.
“A dead Servant”, Hyzou said.
He reached down and brushed his fingers against her cheek. It had taken her a while to go down. A spear pierced her forearm, and then her shoulder and finally her back. She had bled to death eventually. Her grey hair was matted and bloody.
“Did you know her?” Hyzou asked.
“No, sir”, Vak said.
“I wonder who she was, that she died for my cause”, Hyzou said.
“Her friends will mourn her, as will her family”, Vak said.
“Yes. They will. Come on, let’s keep moving”, Hyzou said.
He walked around some more, until he finally came upon a face he knew.
“Your Majesty”, Tsy said.
Tsy bowed.
“I’m glad you’re alive”, Hyzou said.
“And I’m glad you’re alive. You made it through the night, I see”, Tsy said.
“I did”, Hyzou said. “And I sent word of our victory both north and south.”
“Viceroy Anchev would like to see you, sir”, Tsy said.
“He survived too?” Hyzou asked. “I was looking around, and a lot of these casualties are Drascians.”
“Yes sir, they suffered a lot, but did a lot of damage too”, Tsy said. “And we suffered too. One whole phalanx is gone, and the trenches are littered with the bodies of Servants.”
“Take me to him”, Hyzou said.
“This way, sir”, Tsy said.
Hyzou followed Tsy. Tsy led Hyzou out the western exit of Aheb. They had to cross three trenches, and Hyzou and Tsy leaped over each one. Out here, there were a lot of Drascians milling about.
Tsy brought him further, out to where a large amount of Drascians were sat in a circle, probably a hundred of them.
“Should I have brought guards?” Hyzou asked.
“I think we can handle a few soldiers together, don’t you?” Tsy asked.
“Here’s hoping”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou walked to the circle, entering past two Drascian soldiers who fell silent.
“All hail Hyzou the First, Emperor of Nuyin”, Tsy said.
Silence fell. A few men got up among the crowd. Some of them even bowed.
“Do you speak Drascian?” Hyzou whispered.
“No�
��, Tsy whispered back. “But Anchev has interpreters.”
“How do we know they’re telling the truth?” Hyzou whispered.
“Hyzou of Nuyin.”
The voice came from behind Hyzou, just at the edge of the circle. Hyzou turned and faced the man who spoke. This man was old, with papery skin and a bent back.
“Who are you?” Hyzou said.
“The interpreter, Your Majesty”, the old man said.
The group of men stepped apart and revealed a Drascian about the same age as Hyzou. He was dressed in expensive robes, with an iron mail shirt beneath the get up. The man spoke, speaking with the guttural Drascian tongue. The interpreter translated.
“Your Majesty, my name is Anchev”, the interpreter said.
Hyzou was surprised to see that Anchev was still wearing a crown.
“A good victory last night. Congratulations”, Hyzou said.
The interpreter translated, then passed Anchev’s answer back to Hyzou.
“We’ve got something to show you. You’ll be very happy”, the interpreter said.
“Sounds good. But first, I’ve to do something”, Hyzou said.
Hyzou walked towards Anchev. The soldiers began to bunch around their leader, but Hyzou dipped his shoulder and stepped between them. He reached over and Anchev began to duck, but the Viceroy was too slow. Hyzou swiped the crown from Anchev’s head. Then he leaped back over the lunging soldiers who were trying to protect their former King. Hyzou landed beside Tsy.
“There’s only one Royal here”, Hyzou said.
The Drascians had begun to swarm to try and stop Hyzou, and they calmed when they saw that Hyzou wasn’t meaning any harm. Anchev turned red.
“Sorry”, Hyzou said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you. But that was the deal we had.”
Anchev stared at Hyzou with the kind of anger young men get when they’ve been embarrassed. For a second Hyzou thought he might do something stupid. Then Anchev bowed and said something to his interpreter.
“Sorry, Your Majesty, that was insensitive of me”, the interpreter said.
“Good. I’m glad. Now, you had something to show me?” Hyzou said.
“Right this way”, the interpreter said.
Anchev and his guards walked towards a small copse of trees nearby. Hyzou and Tsy followed.