by Evan Winter
Chinedu chuckled. "Sleeping in? Sun ain't even up yet." He buckled on his sword belt. "I'm... off."
"I'll be along in a moment," Tau told him, looking around the room filled with sleeping men. Hadith, Uduak, and Yaw were already gone. Tau rushed to catch up, trying to sort out what parts of the night had been normal nightmares and what parts were the nightmares he'd lived through. He touched his jaw and cheek. They were there and they were whole, though memory of the attack made the skin tingle.
Tau snatched up his practice swords, belt, and gambeson, which did smell like dung. He'd have to rush through the early practice, make an excuse, and wash it again. He'd have to go through the afternoon without it.
Tau strode for the barracks door, spotting the demon a breath before it could take him. With no time to yell a warning, he threw himself to the floor and rolled back to his feet, swords drawn, facing the shadows and nothing more.
"Cek! What're you done?" asked Mavuto, still half asleep and sitting up. "Tau?"
"...Nothing," Tau told his lanky sword-brother. The demon was gone. It had never been. "It's nothing."
"What's that smell?"
"What? Go back to sleep, Mavuto."
The man grumbled, laid down, and pulled his rough blanket over his head. Tau left and went straight to the bath houses. Practice would have to wait until he'd scrubbed his body and gambeson. He also needed a quarter span to center himself. He'd thought he'd seen a demon in the barracks.
The rest of the day fell in line with Tau's routine. He trained hard, sparred well, ate supper at twilight, and went back to the yards alone. He was shaking when he went, because what he meant to do scared him. He wasn't ashamed to admit that and, as the night deepened, he saw things beyond the yard, in the grasslands, crawling things, things with too many arms and legs. The hairs on his arms raised and his skin went rough, like on those Harvest nights when the air ran cool.
He cautioned himself not to overdo it. He thought to go back to bed to get proper rest. Isihogo would be there for him on the next night, or the one after that, if he needed two days to recover. Tau wanted to believe his rationalizations more than anything, because the only other thing he could think to do was to sit at the far edge of the practice yard, furthest from the protective walls of the Isikolo, where the grasslands began. The only other thing he could think to do was to sit there, slow his breathing, close his eyes, and allow his soul to slip from the world of his birth and into the world of death.
The demons came. Tau fought. They slaughtered him. Back in Uhmlaba he threw up his dinner and crouched in the grasses, heaving until he believed his seeds would come out his mouth. Throat burning from bile, he stood and took a step towards the barracks, but the night was young and would remain that way. Time was different in Isihogo.
Whimpering and cursing himself for a coward, Tau sat in the grass, a step away from his spew. He let his soul fly to the prison Ananthi had wrought for Ukufa and his thralls, tasting blood. In his nervousness he'd bitten through his lip.
They came. He drew swords and battled them until a misstep allowed a demon to slice his leg off, below the knee. He dropped to the ground and that was it. They had him and he was brutalized.
He went back. A pack of them found him and, losing his nerve, Tau dropped his swords, and fled. They ran him down. The fastest of them ending Tau's flight when it caught and tore the tendons in his calf with its hand-length claws. He went down and they had him. He begged and he pled. Mercy, he said, Goddess' mercy. If they or she heard, it made no difference. He was eviscerated.
He went back. Only one found him. It was a war between them, like the stories old men told children around blistering fires meant to keep the darkness at bay.
The demon had two arms and walked on two legs. It behaved like a human and this Tau understood. This he could fight. They roared at each other and fought bitterly, two demigods, their battle holding the fate of creation in its balance. Then the demon caught Tau across the throat, slicing him from ear to ear.
He collapsed, gulping for air and tasting copper. The demon stood over him, eyes glowing red as it watched his lifeblood pump through the trench it had carved in his neck.
Tau's head lolled. He was dying. It hurt. It hurt so much and it hurt every time. The skin around the wound burned and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, desperate to keep him alive. Just let me die, he thought.
He rolled his eyes to the demon's face. It had tusks and where its nose should be there was a slitted hole. Tau couldn't speak but tried to goad it, tried to make it put him out of his misery. It made no move, letting him suffer, watching him bleed to death.
Tau went two more times that night but could manage no more and stumbled back to the barracks. As best he could discern he'd been out in the practice yards for less than two spans. He had to do better, he thought. He was wasting too much time between deaths. He could fight many more battles if, after he died, he went straight back in.
The next night Tau went back and fought more often than the night before. He began keeping a count of each evening's battles. He forced more out of each night and his work was not done until he'd bested his previous number. He told no one what he did, but the Scale noticed.
BORDERS
"Yaw, Chinedu, Hadith, you'll spar Tau," Jayyed ordered. It was early afternoon and the Scale was in the practice yards.
"Give us Uduak," Hadith said.
"There's three of you. Get on."
"Three against Tau, we'll take Uduak." Hadith said.
"Uduak, stay where you are," Jayyed said. "Fight!"
Hadith sucked his teeth, pulled his sword, and waved Yaw and Chinedu forward. The two men did as they were bid, but were slow about it.
Tau waited until they were three strides out of sword range to attack. He feinted at Yaw with his weak side and caught him on the temple with the strong. Yaw crumpled, his helmet tumbling across the yard. Chinedu swung hard, but Tau's weak-side sword caught the blow and, with the pommel of his other blade, he smacked Chinedu in the back, near his spine. Chinedu fell, cursing, and Tau was already chasing a backpedalling Hadith. Tau disarmed him, tripped him, and stood over him, sword point grazing Hadith's throat stone.
"Mercy," Hadith grumbled.
Tau stepped back. It had gone better this time. His sword-brothers had not taken on the faces of demons. That had been happening more often of late. He thought to take time away from Isihogo, to settle his mind, but brushed the unworthy idea away. It was his cowardice speaking.
"Uduak," Jayyed said, "Join Hadith, Yaw, and Chinedu. Try not to embarrass yourselves."
Uduak stood beside Hadith, who had regained his feet. Yaw picked up his helmet, shook the dust from it, stretched his neck, and returned it to his head. Chinedu coughed.
"Fight!" Jayyed yelled.
Hadith went down first, Chinedu was next, Tau knocked Yaw unconscious, unintentionally, and then there was Uduak. He was big and he was a demon, horns on his head. Tau had to blink away the vision as they crossed blades. It happened fast. Thrust, swing, block, riposte, move, strike, strike, strike, and Uduak was down.
The big man eyed Tau. "Mercy."
Tau sheathed his swords and stepped back. The rest of the Scale was watching.
"Impossible," muttered Anan.
Jayyed did not speak. Tau could feel the older man's eyes on him though. They held a question he would not ask and one Tau would not have answered. Their relationship had been strained since they'd fought.
"A circuit around the yards. Go!" Jayyed told the Scale and, with some groaning, the men began to run. Tau went with the rest but saw Anan sidle over to Jayyed, speaking to him privately. Tau was running near Hadith and Uduak.
"I know you work hard, very hard," said Hadith, "but how are you doing this?"
"Demon," said Uduak, the word making Tau stumble.
Hadith noticed. "Tau is a demon?"
"Inside," Uduak answered.
"That makes no sense," said Hadith. "But, I'll be hap
py to see you try some of your newfound Gift on the Indlovu. If we win the next skirmish, we qualify for the Queen's Melee."
"Another circuit!" Anan told them, receiving more groans.
"This is it. Everything!" Themba said, running up. "An Ihashe Scale hasn't placed in the Queen's Melee since before our fathers squirted us into our mothers."
"Too much," grumbled Uduak.
"He's not wrong. We can make history," said Hadith.
"We will," Tau said.
"One more time round," Anan called, this time to audible curses. The Aqondise glared at everyone and Tau sprinted ahead of Hadith, Uduak, and Themba. He was done talking. The next skirmish was ten days out. He would have to train harder, he thought, blinking away the demon he saw standing in the shadow of the Isikolo's closest wall.
The days that followed blurred. Tau woke, he fought, he ate, he fought, he slept, he fought, he ate, he fought, he died, he died, he died. He'd never been talkative but spoke less. He stopped shaving, growing stubble on his face and head, like a Maimed or, worse, a hedeni. His bathing habits slipped until Chinedu complained and Jayyed's five dragged him to the baths. Tau thought that memory real, the bath, though he couldn't swear to it.
He also saw visions with increasing frequency and worried he might be losing his mind. He couldn't give in to that thinking. It was an excuse to avoid Isihogo. It was fear and he would not let it rule him.
The time for the next skirmish came and went. The match was postponed as initiates from both the Citadel and Northern Ihashe Isikolo were sent to the Northern Mountains on patrol. It was beyond unusual to use initiates in active combat zones, but they were unusual times. The Xiddeen were attacking in frequency and force. It was all anyone could speak of during the evening meals. Tau let the conversations about the expanding war flow over him, the only salient detail being the postponed skirmish.
Still, he was not deaf and could not help but hear the constant chatter about the military's recent defeats. In The Wrist, almost five hundred men lost their lives to a Xiddeen assault. That was an entire Military Wing gone, and the hedeni had, in that single push, moved the front lines of the century and a half long war deep into territory traditionally held by the Omehi.
They had attempted to push further but General Tiwa, commanding officer of the Bisi Rage had split his force, sending two Military Dragons, almost three thousand men, to hold the line as he continued to fight in the Southern passes of The Wrist.
The gossip in the mess hall was that the Xiddeen were starving, that they had to push into the semi-arable lands of The Wrist or die. That did not sound right to Tau. He would have asked Jayyed about it, maybe, but Jayyed was not there.
The sword master had been called away by the Guardian Council. The rest of the Scale were proud of this. Their Umqondisi was needed by the highest military powers of the Omehi. Perhaps, the rumors went, the Guardian Council would reinstate him as one of its permanent advisors.
Tau did not know. These things meant nothing when pitted against his need to win the next skirmish. They marched to the Crags on the morrow and the fight would either qualify or disqualify Scale Jayyed from The Queen's Melee. Tau had to win.
BLOOD
Scale Jayyed had the highest ranking in both the Southern and Northern Isikolo and they were about to fight Isazi Osinachi's Indlovu. Scale Osinachi had done well all cycle but had taken a couple brutal losses to other Indlovu. The winner of this skirmish would enter the Queen's Melee by eliminating their opponent's chances to do the same.
Tau was lined up with the rest of his Scale on the edge of the desert battleground in the Crags. An Aqondise from the Northern Isikolo had the war horn to his lips. He blew it and the battle began. Tau ran with his Scale for the nearest dune large enough to offer cover. If they beat the Nobles they were in the Queen's Melee. The Queen's Melee was where he would face Kellan again.
Hadith, crouched beside him, swore as he peeked over the dune. "Char to ashes!"
"What?" asked Yaw.
"They have their Enervator near the centre of the battleground. She's standing on top of the tallest dune with four Indlovu. The rest of the Scale is hidden."
"Then we send men to take her out?" asked Yaw.
"Yes," drawled Hadith. "That's what they hope to force us to do."
"Well," said Themba, "we remove her or she blasts half of us out of the game when the fighting starts."
Tau ground a handful of the battleground's sand through his fingers. "Where is Oyibo?"
Themba shot Tau a look. "What?"
"This is no game," Tau said to him.
Hadith nodded. "We remember Oyibo, Tau. But, for now, we need to know where the rest of the Scale Osinachi are, before we do anything."
"No, we don't," Tau told Hadith. "Give me a team. We'll crawl around, get behind the Enervator and attack. If we hit hard enough, she'll have to waste her enervation on the six of us."
"Weren't you listening?" Themba said. "There's four Indlovu with her. She won't need to hit you with anything. The Indlovu will do the hitting."
Tau glared at Themba. "You think they'll stop me?"
"You think no one can?" Themba countered.
Hadith eyed Tau, clicking his tongue. "Right. Do it. Take Uduak, Yaw, Muvato, Duma, and Themba."
Themba started. "Why me?"
"Because I want to see you fight four Indlovu."
Themba grumbled, but scooted closer to Tau.
Hadith outlined the plan. "We hold until Tau's team launches the attack. If we stay hidden the Indlovu will do the same. When they see Tau's six men against four of theirs, they'll think the fight over before it begins. They won't reinforce and risk revealing their positions." Hadith spoke faster, becoming excited. "Tau, for this to work, we need the Enervator to hit your team. We can't attack until her powers are spent."
Tau waved his men to his side and began crawling toward the battlefield's center. He wanted the Scale to feel confident. He wanted his words to be bold. "Be ready. It'll happen fast."
"Always does," Tau heard Themba grumble.
It took a quarter-span to crawl to the battleground's center and the work was wearying. Still, they had arrived and were next to the dune on which the Enervator stood. Tau and his team slunk their way to the opposite side of the man-made knoll. The plan was to attack from the back, from the side closer to the Indlovu's starting point. The Indlovu wouldn't expect an attack from that angle and the surprise might gain them a few steps. It could mean the difference between getting to the Enervator or getting blasted.
Tau signaled his men to be ready. They'd round the last bend and charge the dune, engaging the Indlovu, and beating them, forcing the Enervator to hit them with her powers or surrender. Whatever she chose to do, it would keep her out of the skirmish for its most critical phase. Hadith and the rest of the Scale would attack and it would be fighters versus fighters, no Gifts. It was as even as a group of Lessers could make combat against Nobles. A simple plan, a good plan, and it burned to ash.
Tau crawled forward into three Indlovu, also on their stomachs, who looked as surprised as he was. They must have had a similar plan, initiate a small attack and force the other side's hand. Given how little progress they'd made in their crawl, they'd come up with the plan long after Hadith.
The Indlovu closest to Tau leapt to his feet. "Blood will show!" he yelled, pulling his sword free of its scabbard.
Tau did the same, thinking it strange that Nobles had their own war cry and that, even when the Omehi fought as one military, the Nobles still sought to make themselves more.
Blood will show. The words tumbled in Tau's mind as he spun his dual practice blades. The words were a promise to the enemy. More, he thought, it was a reminder to Lessers that Nobles were different, that the purity of their blood would reveal itself through their deeds as well as their Caste.
Blood will show? Blood, Tau wanted to say, will flow deep and heavy like a flooding river, but there was no time. His swords had crossed with the Indlovu's.<
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The Noble was taller and much thicker than Tau, which put him in line with a small demon. He, with his shining helm, ornate practice sword, and sand spattered shield, attacked hard, meaning to sweep Tau aside like a blade of grass in a breeze. Tau slipped past the man's crescent swing and brought both his swords against the Indlovu's helm. It sounded like a thunderclap and the Noble stiffened, falling.
Tau engaged the next Citadel warrior before the first had hit the sand. The second was cautious. As Tau came within range, he raised his shield. Tau's swung with both blades, his double-strike clanging on the circle of beaten metal. The Indlovu stabbed out below his shield, aiming to ram his dulled blade into Tau's gut. Expecting the move, Tau turned it away with his weak-side sword while swinging a lateral blow with the other, hard enough to break the Noble's leg. The Citadel fighter dropped with a yell and Tau launched himself at the third man, who turned and ran.
Tau gave chase.
"No!" shouted Uduak.
Blood will show. The words banged around in Tau's head as he ran down the Indlovu. Blood will show. Like dried sticks, he would break their pride on the blade of his sword, he would... Tau skidded to a halt. Including the running man, who had stopped running, eight Indlovu faced Tau. They had come around the dune and, by the time he'd seen them, it was too late.
Tau shot a look up the sandy hill. The Enervator and her four were gone. He looked behind. Uduak, Yaw, Themba, and Muvato were fighting three Indlovu.
Tau counted. Two down, three behind, eight in front. It meant five Indlovu, and the Enervator, were unaccounted for. They would go for Hadith. It had been Tau's job to stop her. He'd failed and she'd be free to unleash her Gift on the rest of his Scale.
Tau lowered his swords and heard laughter. It was the Indlovu that had run from him.
"We've heard of you, Common," he said. "We heard you played swords with Kellan Okar? How did that go?" He laughed again. "Probably better than this will."
The eight men closed in, the laughing Indlovu smirking and, just from the looks on their Noble faces, Tau knew the Goddess' mercy would mean nothing. Their war cry tossed around in his head, 'Blood will show.' The words held more than one meaning. Tau raised his swords, baring teeth, and told the eight Indlovu the truth. "I have come for you, and I bring Isihogo with me."