by J J Moriarty
“They’ll be easy to raise. I’ll make sure they’re as bloodthirsty as I can find”, Iset said.
“When you choose a leader, make him expendable”, Hyzou said.
“Why?” Iset asked.
“After I’ve won, he’ll kill a lot of people and garner a fearsome reputation in my empire. Then, when I execute him, everyone will believe me to be both benevolent and just. My empire will be forged in violence, but I’ll be seen as the bringer of peace”, Hyzou said.
“I’ll see it done”, Iset said.
Gemenfkon entered again.
“Your Majesty, the Divine Master has arrived”, Gemenfkon said.
“Summon the council. Let him in. Get us refreshments”, Hyzou said.
***
The entourage came first. Three men entered, carrying a heavy wooden carving of Bvontei. The carving was gilded, and the god’s eyes painted purple. After that there came guards, twenty of them, all dressed in flowing robes over their bronze armour. Each had a spear, on which the sun had been painted. Finally, the Divine Master entered the pavilion.
He had the red hair of a Drascian, but he’d cut it short, so that Hyzou could barely perceive it in the light.
Good idea, avoid showing the Yoboans you’re not one of them. Hyzou thought.
Vanev’s robes were long, and over his shoulders he had tied golden threads together.
Gemenfkon announced Hyzou, and a young aide announced Vanev.
“Divine Master”, Hyzou said.
But the Divine Master wasn’t looking at Hyzou. He was staring at Iset, who was maintaining a blank expression.
“I understand you and Iset have been introduced?” Hyzou asked.
Vanev broke away from the staring contest.
“We have, Your Majesty”, Vanev said.
“Does it bother you if she’s here?” Hyzou asked.
“No, sir”, Vanev said. “But it does surprise me. I’d heard she was operating at Pharaoh Ganymedes’ side.”
“I was. There’s no Pharaoh Ganymedes anymore”, Iset said.
“You’re making a career of betraying your masters. Emperor, I’d be wary of her, if I were you”, Vanev said.
He spoke Lamyblan, with a Yoboan lilt to his words.
“Can you speak Piquean?” Hyzou asked.
“No, sir, I can’t. I’m sorry. I only speak Lamyblan, Yoboan and Drascian. Do you speak a larger array than that?” Vanev asked.
“No”, Hyzou said. “Only Lamyblan, Piquean and Ancient Kheme.”
“Ancient Kheme? Where’s that spoken?” Vanev said.
“In Uqing”, Hyzou said.
“Interesting”, Vanev changed to Yoboan. “So you understand my Yoboan then?”
“With difficulty”, Hyzou said. “Stay with Lamyblan.”
Vanev bowed.
“As you wish”, Vanev said. “I brought an interpreter, in case you were particularly strict on the language requirements.”
“My government administers through Piquean, but once I’ve won this war I’ll have more subjects that speak Lamyblan than Piquean. I won’t be able to rule unless I’m flexible about such trivialities”, Hyzou said.
“The war. What I’m here to discuss. I suppose we’ve started then”, Vanev said.
“No, because my council isn’t here. Take a seat and take a drink. Are you hungry? We have food too”, Hyzou said.
“Beer is fine”, Vanev said.
“Very well then, take a cup of beer and a seat. My council won’t be long in coming here”, Hyzou said.
And they weren’t. Hyzou called them his council, but there were few enough left that hadn’t been sent to fulfil one duty or another within the war. Vorska was here, as his Vizier, and Iset was already here. Hyzou was delighted to see Safia turn up too, even if she didn’t sit beside him.
Once he had introduced everyone, Hyzou spoke.
“Finally, the war”, Hyzou said.
“The war”, Vanev said.
“You’ve come to make peace with me. Haven’t you?” Hyzou said.
“You and I have no real conflict. My religion serves the people of Yobo however, and they are at war with you. I was chosen to come negotiate, but peace is not mine to make. I am no ruler”, Vanev said.
Iset had explained Yobo’s complicated politics to him. The Divine Master held all the real power in the city, but he didn’t hold the nominal power, which belonged to a Council of Elders in the city. They were puppets whose power never went beyond the superficial, but the Divine Master would never publicly admit that.
“The Elders have sent you?” Hyzou asked.
“Iset has educated you in our ways?” Vanev asked.
“It is known that the Elders rule over Yobo”, Hyzou said.
“I’m here on behalf of them, and on behalf of the city as a whole”, Vanev said.
“And your people, your city, what do they want?” Hyzou said.
“Six years ago an agreement was made with the Pharaoh. The peace since the Anarchy had been shattered, and Yobo was plunged into civil war. We were facing the fall of the Elders, and the fall of the faith. Tyrants would rule in our place. The Pharaoh, he agreed to ensure security within our country”, Vanev said.
“And Yobo became his vassal”, Hyzou said.
Vanev’s face stiffened.
Clearly, he doesn’t like admitting the truth of his situation. Hyzou thought.
“Our cities became intertwined, yes”, Vanev said.
“And your civil war ended?” Hyzou asked.
“Peace reigned once more. Yes”, Vanev said.
“A good deal then?” Hyzou asked.
“The Elders were happy about it”, Vanev said. “But it seems to have gone. The Pharaoh is dead.”
“I know. I killed him”, Hyzou said.
“They speak of you as a crusader”, Vanev said.
“They speak of me as a madman”, Hyzou said.
“They say that too”, Vanev said.
“Only the nobility though. I hear the peasants are rather fond of me”, Hyzou said.
“I hadn’t heard”, Vanev said.
“They don’t think I’m mad. Do they? Have you asked many Yoboan peasants?” Hyzou asked. “Many Yoboan slaves?”
“No. They tend not to know much about politics”, Vanev said.
“Pharaoh Ganymedes forged an empire on his military might, cruelty, and intimidation. I’m not the Pharaoh”, Hyzou said.
Vanev smiled.
“I see now what you’re trying to say”, Vanev said.
“What’s that?” Hyzou said.
“The benevolent overlord. Ganymedes liked using that perception of himself too”, Vanev said.
“I’m not benevolent. No”, Hyzou said.
“Maybe traitors do love you, how am I to know?” Vanev said.
“Piqueans do”, Hyzou said. “The people of Piquea hated Pharaoh Ganymedes. I’ve killed the Pharaoh and liberated them from his hatred.”
“Congratulations”, Vanev said.
“Lamybla has fallen. It doesn’t have the men, the will or the supplies to fight on two fronts. It may take some time, but it’s over”, Hyzou said.
“You’re too confident, Emperor”, Vanev said.
“Do you foresee yourself propping Lamybla up? Enveloping your people in total war, enforcing starvation, just to keep Ganymedes’ daughter on the throne? You agreed to join Lamybla when Ganymedes was offering to protect you from all your enemies. Do you wish to extend that bond so that you become the one protecting Lamybla? And all the while you are nothing more than a vassal? A poor arrangement, may I say”, Hyzou said.
“I’m not the leader of Yobo, Your Majesty”, Vanev said.
Hyzou rolled his eyes. In response, much of Vanev’s entourage seemed to grow annoyed.
They see me as insolent. Hyzou thought.
“Sure. I forgot”, Hyzou said.
“You’re too overconfident, I fear, Emperor”, Vanev said.
“Of the fall of Lamybla?” Hyzou a
sked.
“Yes”, Vanev said.
Hyzou turned to his council.
“Eventually, will Lamybla fall to the invading Piquean forces? Despite their strength and the size of the country, isn’t it just a matter of time before the nation falls?” Hyzou said.
Everyone nodded and agreed with him. Even Safia.
“They believe it”, Hyzou said.
“Your advisors will say anything to flatter you”, Vanev said.
Hyzou smiled wryly this time.
“No, Vanev, they won’t. But even if they would, you know it’s true too. You just hope it will take time, maybe even years”, Hyzou said.
“Why do I want that?” Vanev said.
“May I be candid?” Hyzou asked.
“I think you already have”, Vanev said.
Hyzou’s council chuckled.
“You’re planning to go your own way, aren’t you?” Hyzou said.
“What?” Vanev said.
“Yobo. You want Yobo to become its own Kingdom, don’t you? You see this as your opportunity”, Hyzou said.
“I’m aligned to the Pharaoh”, Vanev said.
“Who is dead. Why have you come here then?” Hyzou asked.
“To negotiate in good faith with you”, Vanev said.
“You hope to win some concessions, don’t you?” Hyzou asked.
“I don’t understand”, Vanev said.
Hyzou sighed.
“Your army is in Lamyblan territory, you’ve spent resources on fighting this war, and so much of your politics is intertwined with Lamyblan politics. You want time to unwind everything”, Hyzou said. “Time to prepare for the inevitable conflict with me and my forces.”
“That’s not true!” Vanev said.
“Maybe it isn’t, maybe it isn’t. It really doesn’t matter in any case, it’s the reason why there will never be peace between us”, Hyzou said.
“So it will have to be war?” Vanev asked. “You brought me all the way here to promise that nothing would change.”
“No, something can change”, Hyzou said.
“What’s that?” Vanev said.
“Swear allegiance to me”, Hyzou said.
Vanev frowned.
“Anchev has already joined Drascia to my Empire. I mentioned the love your people will have for me because you must know, deep down, that there’s no way you can successfully win a war against me”, Hyzou said.
“I don’t want a war with you”, Vanev said.
Hyzou stood.
“Then why must we be enemies. I’ll return to peace. In return for a tribute every year, I won’t have anything to do with Yobo. You’ll raise me a certain number of troops every year, and aside from that, the Elders can rule your people as they wish”, Hyzou said.
Vanev frowned.
“Your men can join me in the field, ensuring we beat the Lamyblans. But they can keep whatever they loot. Once the Sun Tower is mine, all your men will be free to return home, unbothered by any of me and mine”, Hyzou said.
“We’d become your vassal”, Vanev said.
Hyzou sat again and nodded.
“You would, yes. You’d see Pharaoh Ganymedes replaced by me. But I am not the Pharaoh, as I said”, Hyzou said.
“You sure look like him”, Vanev said.
“You will become my Viceroy. Whatever you do in Yobo will be your choice”, Hyzou said. “Yoboans will be able to worship whatever gods they want, speak and work through Yoboan, and live as your own people. We can go to war but joining me is truly the best choice you could make.”
Vanev sighed.
“May I consult with my men?” Vanev asked.
Hyzou leaped from his chair.
“Of course. Of course, take your time. My council and I will go for a walk to the outside. When you’re done speaking, just notify Gemenfkon and he’ll come to get us”, Hyzou said. “We can continue negotiating then if you’d like.”
Vanev bowed his head, and Hyzou and his council left the pavilion. They walked slowly through the maze of tents that made up the military camp.
Iset stepped up beside him. The rest of the council were waiting for him to speak.
“I think he’ll accept my offer”, Hyzou said.
“I agree”, Vorska said.
“Iset?” Hyzou asked.
“I think so too”, Iset said. “You’re offering him more freedom than the Pharaoh did.”
They smiled. There was no need for excessive congratulations, they just walked together in silence, walked away from the tent but not too far. Once Vanev came to a decision Hyzou didn’t want to give him time to change his mind.
Hyzou tried to catch the eye of Safia, but she was looking at anything but Hyzou.
Hyzou whispered so lowly only Iset could hear.
“I’m only going to order this once, clench your fists if you hear me”, Hyzou said.
Iset clenched her fists.
“Do you think Vanev will agree?” Hyzou asked.
Iset clenched her fists.
“Good. I want you to wait, maybe two months after Vanev arrives in Yobo again. Everyone in Yobo will know that he agreed to my deal. That I now rule over Yobo”, Hyzou said. “Then I want him to be assassinated. Do you understand?”
Iset clenched her fists.
“Can you make that happen?” Hyzou asked.
Iset clenched her fists.
“I’ll then install Harkhuf as the Viceroy. I don’t trust Vanev”, Hyzou said.
Iset looked at him. Her eyes the deep green of a Kheme.
“We shouldn’t stray far”, she said out loud. “We should expect Vanev to be finished soon.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Tears nearly the size of Hetep’s eyes formed around his pupil, then ran down his cheeks. His cry was a loud wail of pain and anxiety. It came in waves, he’d scream then breathe, scream then breathe.
Hyzou bounced his son gently in his arms. It had little effect. Hetep still cried, stopping only to occasionally grab the leather straps on Hyzou’s armour.
Hyzou was distracted by the brutal canvass painted before him.
The carts were coming continuously, emptying their contents into the large pit, whose construction Hyzou had overseen. The corpses rolled down the side of the pit and landed with a soft splat below.
His own men had taken their knives to the dead, finding souvenirs where they could take them. Ears were the most popular, but teeth and fingers could do too. They dried them in the sun and kept them to take home.
Hyzou looked around, searching for something he could distract Hetep with.
I’ve been here before. Or at least nearby. Hyzou thought.
How long ago? Seven years, he had followed a similar path to the one he was taking now. In the back of a slave cart he had slowly passed along these miles and miles of bright green rice fields. His men had begun to call it the Victory Road, the slow passage north to Lamybla. Where in the Victory Road was he now, compared to then? Had Kyrios Nuya taken him onto his cart yet, was he sat on the wooden floor yet?
This town, now nothing more than rubble and dust, had been the first time Hyzou’s force had encountered resistance in over a week. Before that they’d rode through the country, taking hamlets and seizing slaves and loot with ease.
Finally, the four thousand or so strong army Hyzou was controlling came upon a town named Resyt. Resyt had grown rich from the Pharaoh’s peaceful reign. It sat on a trade route to Lamybla and the traffic saw it do well, not to mention the fertile soil surrounding the town that gave the local farmers a lot of rice to trade and grow rich off.
Hyzou could see the rice now, all of it rotting in fields where no hands were available to harvest it. He’d given Yan the job of extracting as much resources as she could from the land that was conquered, but she reckoned that at best, the most she would be able to recover of this year’s harvest was half. There would be hunger.
Resyt was an important town to the Lamyblans, its fall would be a large strategic loss to Queen
Tyti. So Kyrios Tumutu sent three hundred starving, exhausted troops to try and defend it against Hyzou’s advances. They joined a local militia of almost a thousand in trying to hold the town against him.
Half the militia were women, and none of them were soldiers. They didn’t have spears, but instead used scythes, hammers, hatchets and spikes. Of the men, most had seen less than ten summers, or more than fifty. They were a useless force, propped up by the Lamyblan troops.
Their bravery impressed Hyzou. Yesterday, he met them in battle, on the small cattle track into Resyt main. When they learned of the size of Hyzou’s force, the professional soldiers from Lamybla had all deserted and fled. Not the locals though. They stood strong and took what Hyzou had to throw at them for an hour before they eventually broke, their dead piling up among the tall grasses. There was no way they could beat Hyzou’s force of five thousand men, but Hyzou was happy with how efficiently his men handled the battle. They were as ruthless today as they had been in the first day of the war.
For the survivors on the other side, their day got worse when they learned just why the Lamyblan soldiers had fled. The three hundred men, supposed to be allies to the people of the town, returned and razed Resyt to the ground. They killed all the residents, nearly four thousand of them. They slaughtered all the animals and burned all the rice. Those were the orders from Lamybla. Queen Tyti had fallen back on her final defence, destroying Lamyblan land so Hyzou couldn’t enjoy it.
The body pit was finally full. Four thousand and something bodies, piled up among bark and bamboo. The soldiers set it alight. First the fire was stuttering, but then it began to roar into life. The flames spread and began to dance in the wind. They were a dark red, loud, and very smoky.
For Hetep, that did the trick. The Prince’s eyes lit up and he finally stopped crying. He turned his head within Hyzou’s arms and stared at the flames as they danced, crackling madly. Hetep had placed both his tiny hands on Hyzou’s chest so he could turn properly. Hyzou went with him and turned so Hetep could get a better view.
Hetep was fascinated. The colours and the sounds were nothing like anything he’d seen before in his short life. His eyes were wide, taking it all in. His legs were kicking crazily, and he grinned maniacally every time the fire let out a particularly loud crack.
Hyzou began to laugh along with his son. There was nothing as joyous as a happy baby.