by J J Moriarty
Hyzou’s troops rushed in beneath the gate. A vanguard of Servants went forth, moving at pace and spreading as quickly as they could. The council had planned to create a safe zone just inside the gate which would be guarded by Servants. This would be the base from which they’d attack the rest of the city.
The Servants in the vanguard quickly improvised defensive structures throughout the streets, pulling buildings and carts and gates down and onto the ground. These would be defended and held while the rest of the army flooded into Lamybla, over the course of fifteen minutes.
The attack on the eastern side of the city faded and the Lamyblans soon realised they had fallen victim to a feint. Men rushed to the westernmost suburb of Lamybla to try and defend the city. Thirty minutes after Hyzou’s army had first set foot in the city, the fighting began. The Lamyblans were outnumbered, suffered from a lack of leadership and were untrained. But they were desperate and brave, and they put up a serious fight. Each step was paid for with blood, and Hyzou’s advance was slow.
The militia were making their last stand, and the fight took hours. Dawn came, and the sun rose. As people woke throughout the city to face the new day, word spread that the Piqueans were already in the city. Thousands fled the western parts of the city during the night and the morning, and confusion was rife. Many tried to flee, but the Piquean council had left fifteen thousand men besieging the city, and there was no escape. Even the Nobles took their corrective action. Each got their household guard to barricade them into their mansions, and Queen Tyti retreated into the Sun Tower. The city was left to itself.
Finally, as midday approached, the crossover point was reached. More Lamyblan soldiers were killed than could be replaced by the militia, and the line was broken. Pockets of resistance remained, and they fought bravely, but it didn’t matter. There were just too many Piquean soldiers to resist.
The invaders were made up of several different populations. The most disciplined and detached were the Servants of Qi. They were happy for victory, but otherwise they just wanted to take Lamybla as efficiently and quickly as possible.
The other members of Hyzou of Nuyin’s coalition were not so calm.
Less than two years ago, Lamyblan forces under the command of Kyrios Nerikare had invaded Drascia. The Drascian soldiers in Hyzou’s army had fought in those battles and suffered crushing losses against the Lamyblans. The Lamyblans had been brutal and had ransacked Drascian villages and towns when they advanced. Those men were looking for revenge.
Yobo had spent six years in festering anger acting as a vassal to Pharaoh Ganymedes. That vassalage had been preceded by a brutal civil war in which Lamyblan troops had meddled and instigated horrific atrocities. The Yoboan troops were happy to see Lamyblans suffer.
Most vengeful of all were the core of Hyzou’s army. Under the control of Phatmose, they were all Piquean. All of them had seen family members and neighbours die and be enslaved by the Lamyblan invaders. Most of them had lived in the depth of the wilderness for five years, barely surviving, waiting for the arrival of Hyzou. During those long dark nights they’d sustained themselves dreaming of felling Lamybla. They’d seen the Supreme Commander try and exterminate the Piqueans and seen thousands of children die from starvation. Famine, and pestilence and death. All of it caused by the Lamyblans.
Each one of them saw, in each Lamyblan man woman and child, their enemy. They took their revenge with brutality.
No one could control them, they flew into a rage and sacked the city. They weren’t even that interested in securing the wealth available, they just wanted to see the wrong done back again to the Lamyblans. Chaos ensued, and Lamyblans were murdered in their thousands as afternoon passed into evening.
The Nobles remained in their mansions and the Sun Tower, still certain that there was no way any of this would affect them. While the canals filled with bodies, they just made sure to lock their doors another time.
The Nobles of Lamybla learned though. First came Lamyblans. Ordinary people, they ran to the mansions and to the Sun Tower seeking some security. The household guards turned them away, using weapons when necessary.
Then, the others started to come.
They were soldiers, wearing thin, black scarves over their face. They moved around in squads of fourteen, often three or four squads attacking every mansion. The mansions were well defended, but they weren’t military buildings, and once the guards were dealt with they fell with ease.
The Nobility still didn’t seem to understand what was happening, as their household guards were cut down. They thought that these were ordinary soldiers, here to loot their buildings for wealth. Rather than try and run, they tried to hide their gold.
The soldiers wearing black scarves methodically went through each of the mansions and slaughtered everybody inside. Men, women, children, slaves and pets. All were dead and left in a pile on the ground floor.
The bloody day ended and passed into a darker night, and finally no street in the city was free from the violence. Fires were set, and thousands of buildings were burned to the ground. What wasn’t destroyed was stolen, with troops looting whatever they could carry.
In the dark, only the Sun Tower was left. Hyzou knew even a hundred men could hold it for months if they did so correctly. There weren’t a hundred men inside. There were only forty royal guards.
Tsy and two hundred other Servants from what had once been the mercenary corps, leaped across the gaping moat and climbed the several hundred metres until they could find a window they could enter through. They moved through the convoluted structure of what had once been Ganymedes’ home and destroyed the last Ganymedes’ legacy.
Lamybla had fallen. The war was over.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Hyzou stared down through the slit in the wall. There were five such slits in the walls of Ganymedes’ old bedroom, tiny crevices barely noticeable to the outside eye. They gave a perfect view of Lamybla, they’d been built to do that.
All night, Hyzou paced. Slit-to-slit, slit-to-slit.
He watched the sun come up over a desolate city and a land scorched by war. Every view, to the north, the south, the east, the west; showed Hyzou only human suffering. Discipline had been returned to his men, and many of the worst offenders had been crucified, but that was little consolation to the dead children, and those who were carrying such horrific wounds.
I’ve been here before. Hyzou thought.
The Lamybla that lay before him was his Piquea, the last memory he had as a child. The fires, the dead, the suffering. It was all the same.
“How long have you been awake?” Safia said.
“I can’t sleep”, Hyzou said. “I’ve been thinking. Then I met with Iset.”
“What did she want? I didn’t notice you were awake”, Safia said.
“I was quiet. And nothing, she just sensed I was awake, and came to speak about some plans for tonight”, Hyzou said.
“For the meal?” Safia said.
“Not the meal. The abdication after it”, Hyzou said.
Safia got out of bed and walked over to him. She kissed his shoulder and put her arms around him.
“What would you like to do today? They’ve stripped the Sun Tower, but there’s still a lot to do here”, Safia said.
“They’re using it all to rebuild Piquea. Taking the slaves and bronze and wood and stone south and they’ll rebuild Piquea”, Hyzou said.
“Are you sad you won’t get to see it? The Piquea you saved?” Safia asked.
Hyzou shook his head.
“So what do you want to do?” Safia asked.
“I want to go for a walk”, Hyzou said.
Safia sighed and let go of him.
“And why do you want to do that?” Safia asked.
“To see everything”, Hyzou said.
Safia sighed again.
“Hyzou, what’s wrong with you?” Safia asked.
“Look at all the dead”, Hyzou murmured.
“Listen to me. Listen”, Sa
fia said.
“What?” Hyzou asked.
“The war is over. This is it. No more”, Safia said.
No, it’s not. Hyzou thought. The killing hasn’t stopped by a long way.
“You’re right”, Hyzou said.
“I hate when you get like this”, Safia said.
“Like what?” Hyzou murmured.
“When you shut me out. When you just tell me what you think I want to hear. I love you Hyzou, tell me what’s bothering you. You were so happy at the thought of us abdicating, and all that happiness has dried up somehow”, Safia said.
“It’s just the war”, Hyzou said. “It’s difficult. Do you understand?”
“What about the war?” Safia asked.
Hyzou shrugged.
“Tell me”, Safia said.
“I don’t know”, Hyzou said.
“Fine, do what you want. But I’m not walking around this city looking for the ugliest sight possible just to put me in an awful mood. Yesterday was horrible”, Safia said.
“Thanks. I’m glad to hear I’m such awful company”, Hyzou said.
“Fuck you. Stop trying to make us fight so you don’t have to tell me what’s going on”, Safia said.
Hyzou tried to speak, but he couldn’t find the words.
“I thought I’d lost you. I thought I’d lost everything. Then we decided to abdicate, and you came back to me. Don’t go down that hole again, whatever poison you’re wallowing in now”, Safia said.
“I’m not in poison”, Hyzou said.
“What’s wrong?” Safia said.
“The death out there, doesn’t it bother you?” Hyzou asked.
“It does, I don’t know why you think it doesn’t. You’ve punished those who committed the crimes”, Safia said. “It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t start this war, you just answered the call when Piquea needed a hero.”
“It won’t stop”, Hyzou said. “The death.”
“War’s a part of life”, Safia said. “You know that better than anyone.”
“Maybe there’s a way to stop it”, Hyzou said.
“What do you mean?” Safia said.
“War. If you could fight a war that would guarantee peace for a century, would you do it?” Hyzou asked.
“What a strange question”, Safia said. “I suppose I would. Sounds a reasonable cause, if it existed.”
“If it existed”, Hyzou agreed.
“That’s all that’s bothering you?” Safia said.
Hyzou nodded.
“Good. Because I can’t lose you again. It would kill me”, Safia said.
“It won’t happen”, Hyzou said.
“You promised you’d never abandon me”, Safia said.
“And I never will”, Hyzou said.
“Please, don’t”, Safia said.
Hyzou walked over to her and kissed her.
“I never will”, Hyzou said.
She hugged him and held on tight for a minute or so. Finally, she let go. Hyzou began to dress.
“I’m going for my walk”, Hyzou said. “You want to stay in the Sun Tower?”
Safia nodded.
“Preferably”, she said.
“Then I’ll see you tonight”, Hyzou said.
She waved him off.
Ganymedes’ old bedroom was near the top of the Sun Tower, and so Hyzou had to walk down the whole height of the tower to reach the ground.
His guards let him across the large moat. They went as if to walk along with him, but Hyzou waved them away.
Hyzou walked through the maze and reached the Royal Court, where Ganymedes had spent many years ruling.
All his efforts, they’re no more than dust now. Where is his legacy? Where are his people? Where is his family? Hyzou thought.
They were nowhere. All of them were dead. Anyone with any connection to the Pharaoh had been murdered by Hyzou’s scarved men. The only one surviving was Hyzou’s nephew, Orman. Iset’s son was Pharaoh Ganymedes’ grandson, but Orman belonged to the House of Nuyin, not the line of Pharaohs. No, Ganymedes was dead to the world and Hyzou was the one who had obliterated him.
Hyzou walked the whole day long. He was dressed simply, and those in his army knew him, but to the Lamyblans he was just another foreign invader. Hyzou followed the canals around the city, shimmied along the city’s narrow alleyways, and passed beneath its expensive arches. Memories came alive with each step. He returned to the slave market he was sold in, he walked by the Stadia, which had been left unharmed by the sack, then he walked to the street he knew best.
He’d lived here, once upon a time. A long building designed for animals, with high walls around its garden. The gate had rusted since he’d last been here, and it let out a painful squeal as Hyzou opened it. He sensed many people’s souls inside, but he didn’t recognise any of them. Hyzou opened the heavy door.
The downstairs of the house was full, and all the occupants were children. They looked right up at Hyzou and scurried away in fear. All of them were starving. Hyzou looked around, saw the scratch marks along the ground and one of the walls which had collapsed recently. The house was bare.
Hyzou wished he had food with him, but he had left the Sun Tower empty handed.
“Abe?” Hyzou asked.
The kids looked at him, frightened, but one of the eldest walked forward. It could have been a girl, or it could have been a boy, Hyzou had no way of knowing. The long unwashed hair and the filthy clothes could have belonged to either gender.
“What do you want?” The child said, speaking Lamyblan.
“I’m looking for Abe”, Hyzou said.
“What is Abe?” The child asked.
“Abe is an old man. He wears grey robes, he used to live here”, Hyzou said.
The child’s eyes lit up.
“Old man.”
“Yes, where is he?” Hyzou asked.
The child pointed upwards.
“Thank you”, Hyzou said.
He stepped, surefooted, over the bare floor. By the end of the stairs two toddlers sat, skinny and in pain. They looked so like Hetep it took all Hyzou’s will power not to pick them both up.
I didn’t know there were so many starving. Feeding them will win them over to the new regime. Hyzou thought.
He would send agents around with rice and jerky, his army did have food to spare.
Hyzou climbed the steps. There was a stench up here, comparable to a dead thing, or some predator’s lair. Hyzou stepped softly.
In the house’s attic, lying prone against the far wall, was the most pathetic excuse for a human Hyzou had ever seen. The man was old, with thick matted hair covering his face and shoulders. The man was emaciated, looking like one of the famine victims in Piquea. His skeleton stood out against folds of skin, and, despite it being summer, he was shivering and jerking in the corner. He hadn’t bathed in years, and his nails were longer than a panther’s claws.
It can’t be. I would have recognised his presence. Hyzou thought.
Then the old man looked up, and Hyzou stared into his eyes. Then Hyzou knew.
“Abe”, Hyzou said.
“Sfaaar”, the man said.
“Abe, what happened to you?” Hyzou asked.
“Hum pa… My hum pa”, Abe said.
“Do you remember me?” Hyzou asked.
Abe looked at him, but no recognition flickered through those eyes.
“How are you still alive? How can you feed yourself?” Hyzou asked.
The food. The court must still bring him his meal every day. Or they did, until I conquered the city. Hyzou thought.
That explained why the children downstairs were remaining. They thought food was still coming.
“You truly are lost, aren’t you?” Hyzou said.
Abe relaxed a little, when he realised Hyzou wasn’t a threat. Either that, or he became distracted. Hyzou’s old teacher seemed to be in severe pain.
“I want to pretend that somewhere in there, you can hear me. Somewhere in there you know I�
��m talking you”, Hyzou said.
Abe didn’t react.
“I hated you, you know. I hated you. I heard The Whisperer, in the garden, I heard him”, Hyzou said. “You were speaking to him, and you told him you were only training me up to see me die. You were raising me like a lamb to the slaughter, while pretending to be my friend to my face.”
“I hated you, and I wanted to kill you. I thought you a coward, a weakling. A traitor. But I think now I understand. We’re alike, aren’t we? I don’t know what tortures you underwent, but they were greater than I faced. Your mind was broken, your body was broken. Like me, you’ve been shaped by the scars inflicted by other men. I understand, and I don’t hate you anymore. I forgive you, Abe”, Hyzou said.
Abe began to moan. He was in serious pain.
“But we’re not alike in one way, and one way only. I’ll never give up. I didn’t let the Colossus beat me, and I won’t let anybody else do so either”, Hyzou said. “I will not retreat to the edge of the world, just as you did. I won’t watch the suffering around me grow, the children starve, I won’t turn my back to the pain, find a hut like this and wait for death.”
The moans continued.
“You taught me that. So perhaps, in your own way Abe, you taught me more than anyone else. Maybe history will remember you for it”, Hyzou said. “But for everything you did for me, I’m going to grant you peace.”
Hyzou reached down and placed his hands around Abe’s neck.
***
That evening, the Royal Court was done up in fabulous fashion. It was war time, and Hyzou wanted the hall to recognise that there were those that were still starving. He had told Gemenfkon that the decorations were to be suitably simple.
But this was a victory feast. And the six hundred or so captains, quartermasters, physicians, and various other war heroes were in no mood for being sombre. The beer was simple and tasted awful, but it didn’t stop them starting early, and being loud and drunk by the time Hyzou arrived. By design, he was one of the last to arrive, and he entered from the moat side of the Royal Court.
They stood to greet him. Once they had bowed they began to clap and cheer and whoop. Each one of the six hundred men and women in this room had fought for Hyzou in the war.