The Beast Warrior

by Nahoko Uehashi

  Ialu had visited Imeelu twice before, and each time he was struck by the beauty of the white city, which seemed to float like a mirage on the slow, wide river. He guessed that the white walls of the buildings contained crushed quartz, because they sparkled in the sunlight.

  The thirty Toda stables scattered along the outer wall and the semicircular turrets that jutted out at regular intervals marred the city’s beauty like alien growths. The walkway on top of the thick wall surrounding the town was patrolled by Lyoza soldiers, whose numbers had recently been doubled.

  Ialu entered the dimly lit Toda stable with the rest of the Blue Armor unit and let his Toda slip into the Pond. “Ialu, come,” his commander, Oluku, said from behind. Ialu followed him to the door. There they quickly removed their tsuppa, thick leather leg guards, and handed them to a servant before exiting the stable.

  Grooms waited for the two men at the Bridge Gate, leading their horses, and held the stirrups for them to mount. The horses balked and rolled their eyes when they came close, perhaps frightened by the scent of Toda that clung to their bodies. Ialu swung himself into the saddle and gentled his horse immediately. Still struggling with his own mount, Oluku cast him a wry grin. “You must be a Se Zan after all. You look much more at home on a horse than on a Toda.” Ialu smiled.

  Once the commander had gotten his mount under control, they passed through the gate and into town. The main boulevard that ran through Imeelu from east to west was surprisingly broad and lined on both sides with stores that opened onto the street. But the normally bustling thoroughfare was quiet. Rumor of war had spread quicker than wildfire, and there were far fewer caravans than usual. The people passing along the streets showed great diversity in the shapes of their faces and the clothes they wore.

  When they reached a large building beside a temple that towered in the center of the town, the commander and Ialu dismounted and, handing the reins to grooms that came running up, climbed the broad stone stairs. Inside, their boots rang on the polished stone floor. With the sound echoing behind them, they strode toward a door guarded by soldiers.

  “I am Oluku, commander of the new Toda troop, and this is my second, Ialu,” Oluku announced. The guards saluted and opened the doors. Ialu followed Oluku into a large, high-ceilinged room.

  The windows were open, and sunshine poured in. Potted plants stood in each corner of the room, and red berries on their branches glistened in the light. In the center stood a large desk surrounded by a group of people. They all turned when the two men entered. Ialu’s eyes were drawn first to a tall musician.

  So that’s Rolan, he thought. He had heard a lot about him, but it was their first meeting. When Ialu introduced himself, he saw a look of surprise and recognition on Rolan’s face. Fatigue was also etched there, indicating the hardship he had been through, but his eyes held a clear light.

  Beside him stood an elderly woman, tall and slender, and beside her was a middle-aged man. The tattoos on their upper lips showed that they were pathfinders responsible for guiding the affairs of the city. That striking woman must be Kuriu, the one Elin told me about, Ialu thought. She was staring at him, and he bowed in acknowledgment. Her face lit up in a smile, and she inclined her head gracefully.

  The others on Kuriu’s side of the table were all people who wielded influence, while on the side nearest to Ialu were the governor-general, his deputy, and the general in charge of the entire Toda army in Imeelu. The latter now asked, “Did the regiment of new Toda all make it here without incident?”

  Oluku saluted sharply and said, “Yes, sir. They all arrived safely.”

  The general nodded and gestured for him and Ialu to approach. Standing beside him, Ialu saw that small wooden markers had been placed on the map.

  “The Lahza are now about here.” A red marker, which Ialu assumed represented the Lahza cavalry, had been placed on a spot about two days’ journey from Imeelu. “They’re moving very slowly, but we hear they’ve been plundering villages as they go, so I think we can assume they’ll continue at the same speed. Which means they won’t reach here until the day after tomorrow at the earliest.”

  Oluku nodded. “Are the Toda troops traveling along with them?” he asked.

  At this question, everyone in the room looked uncomfortable. The general cleared his throat. “That’s exactly the problem. So far, the Toda army is nowhere to be seen.”

  Oluku’s head jerked up. “Do you mean you’ve stopped receiving reports from our outposts?”

  “No. We’ve been getting messages by courier pigeon daily from our soldiers stationed along the highway. The Lahza cavalry are avoiding our Toda garrisons as they approach. Seems like they don’t want to lose any of their force before attacking Imeelu. As there’s been no combat yet, my guess is that these reports are accurate. Plus our scouts have been bringing news as well. But there’s been nothing to indicate the presence of a Toda army anywhere near the highway.”

  The general’s thick eyebrows came together in a frown, and he cast Rolan a quick glance. Rolan had remained silent throughout, but now his lips curved in a wry smile. “You all think I was deceived, don’t you? You think that Nozgula’s clever right-hand man, Ozkula, showed me what he wanted me to see, completely fooling me into believing I’d seen Lahza Toda Riders.”

  The governor-general spoke placatingly. “No one would blame you if that was true. Under those conditions, there was no way for you to check whether they had just left a few of our Toda alive and put Lahza soldiers on them for you to see.”

  Rolan shook his head slowly. “I may have chosen to become a musician, but I am still the adopted son of Yohalu Amasulu of the Black Armor. As such, I have seen many Toda at close quarters ever since I was a child. I am convinced that what I told you is true. Those were not our Toda. The color of their scales and their build were different, even if that difference was slight.”

  The general cleared his throat. “But the inside of the Toda stable was quite dark, wasn’t it?”

  Rolan turned to look at him. “Yes, it was. But there was the light of several torches to see by.”

  The governor-general raised his hand, silencing them. “Whatever the case, as I said earlier, our first priority is to decide how to defend ourselves against the two thousand Lahza cavalrymen headed toward us. At the same time, we must keep our minds open to the possibility that there is a Lahza Toda army. That will have to do for now.”

  After that, the governor-general and the general took the lead in discussing how to protect Imeelu. When they had reached a conclusion, Kuriu spoke up. Her tone was mild but firm. “My dear comrades from Lyoza, I and the people of Imeelu are sincerely grateful to you for protecting our city. For that very reason, I believe we should share with you the truth of our situation. May I have your permission to do so?”

  The governor-general nodded. “Of course, Lady Kuriu. Frank communication between us is crucial, particularly at such a time as this. Please tell us what you have to say.”

  “Thank you. I must regretfully inform you that it has become extremely difficult to gather goats.”

  Those assembled looked puzzled at first, but then understanding dawned on their faces. “You’re talking about feeding the Toda, aren’t you?” the governor-general said.

  “Yes. We sent notices to nomadic herders in this area requesting them to supply us with goats. But they consider their livestock precious property. Rumors that the Lahza are going to invade have spread quickly, and many nomads are heading deep into the mountains with their herds. Some of the craftier herders have come to us, guessing that their livestock will sell for a higher price. But they’re asking twice the normal rate. On top of that”—Kuriu flicked her eyes toward Ialu—“a fresh Toda regiment has arrived so we now have three times the number of Toda to feed.”

  The governor-general groaned. In times of war, the caravan cities were responsible for providing food for the Toda. Under these circumstances, however, this would clearly be an oppressive burden on the local people. Consi
dering what had happened at Ulamu, they needed to avoid turning the local people against them.

  “I understand,” the governor-general said. “We’ll consult about this immediately.”

  “Thank you,” Kuriu said with a gracious smile.

  3

  SUBTERRANEAN RIVER

  By the time the council of war ended, the sun was already tilting in the sky. Ialu was following Oluku to the door, when someone called out to them from behind. Turning, he saw Rolan approaching with his lakkalu slung over his back.

  “May I come with you?” he asked Oluku. “I’d like to see the new Toda breed.”

  Oluku, who was from Amasulu and served Rolan’s father, knew Rolan well. “Of course,” he answered casually, and Rolan fell into step beside them.

  “Allow me to introduce myself,” he said to Ialu. “I’m Rolan Amasulu.”

  “I’m Ialu. My wife has told me that she’s in your debt.” At this, Rolan’s eyes twinkled. “What?” Ialu asked.

  Rolan blushed. “My apologies. It’s just that I’ve heard so much about the swift-footed Ialu. I was expecting someone a little more imposing, not as quiet as you.”

  Ialu’s lips twitched in a wry smile, and Rolan smiled in return, looking a little embarrassed, perhaps realizing he’d been rather blunt. “They often say,” he added, “that man and wife resemble each other. There’s something about you that reminds me of Elin.”

  Ialu’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  “Yes, though I can’t quite put my finger on it.”

  They went down the steps to the plaza in front of the shrine. Rolan stopped and squinted up at the soaring temple. Great white pillars rose at the top of the broad staircase supporting the large roof. But it was the shape of the roof that drew the eye. Tiled with white slates embedded with blue and green polished stones, it was shaped like the prow of a ship. As he gazed at it, Ialu thought of the Shalamu people, who had built Imeelu. They had accumulated tremendous wealth doing trade on the great river. He remembered hearing that they had designed the city as a large ship and built the temple as a prayer for a safe voyage.

  The plaza was almost empty. On the wind, he heard a warbling so sweet and clear, he searched to see where it came from. Rolan pointed to the temple pillars. “There’s a bird cage attached to each one. What you just heard is the song of the rihan, a beautiful sky-blue bird. The god of this temple loves music, and many musicians come to donate instruments. My grandfather was a traveling musician who always came here on the festival day. And this is where he died.”

  The westering sun shone on the roof with a dazzling light. Shading his eyes with his hand, Rolan said, “I found him under that round pillar there. He was cut down. A tribe of Lahza warriors broke through the gate, and he got caught in the conflict. There were fires scattered all over the city that night. I was only nine and had run into the temple to escape. My father was protecting the city with the Black Armor unit when he rescued me.”

  He sighed and turned away from the temple. “That was more than twenty years ago.”

  They mounted their horses and proceeded along the main road, which was filled with foreign scents. Ialu’s thoughts drifted to the musician riding beside him, to the prosperous city over which foreign powers continued to fight for control, and to the many people who flocked to it. In some distant future, when the present became the past, would travelers passing through talk of the battle that took place here?

  * * *

  Entering the Toda stable where the new breed was kept, Rolan winced. “What’s wrong?” Ialu asked.

  “Can’t you hear it?” Rolan said, still grimacing.

  Ialu looked at him in surprise. “You mean you can hear something?”

  “Well, not ‘hear’ exactly. It’s more like a sensation in the middle of my forehead.” He rested his gaze on the Toda swimming in the pond. They swam round and round, perhaps unnerved by their new environment.

  “We’ve also experienced that sensation,” Ialu said, “although we don’t hear it as a sound. The Toda seem to emit something inaudible to our ears. Particularly when they’re agitated. It goes away when they calm down.”

  While he was speaking, the Toda’s pace began to slow. “Ah, you’re right,” Rolan whispered. He lowered his hands, which he had been pressing against his temples.

  The Toda swam to the edge of the pond and crawled up one after the other onto a shallowly submerged ledge. There they stretched out, with their stomachs and jaws still underwater, and closed their eyes. Looking at their exposed backs, Rolan’s expression sharpened. “Is that the color of the new breed?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  Rolan turned his gaze to Ialu and then Oluku. A fierce light gleamed in his eyes. “Their color, and their build as well, are very like the Toda the Lahza rode in Ulamu, although theirs were a little smaller.”

  Oluku’s brows shot up. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. And now that I think of it, I heard the same sound in that Pond. Or not so much a sound as a vibration that set my teeth on edge.”

  Ialu and Oluku looked at each other. “But that can’t be,” Oluku protested. “We only managed to develop these Toda recently through repeated trial and error. They couldn’t have developed such Toda with the skills shared by the Steward they abducted from Oohan village.”

  Rohan shook his head. “You’re right that if a Steward of Oohan had raised them, they would’ve been small and black, but the Toda I saw weren’t like that.”

  “In Lahza,” Ialu said quietly, “there were never any rules for raising Toda. If they took what they learned from the Steward and experimented with it freely, adding their own ideas, it wouldn’t be strange for them to end up with a similar type.”

  Oluku stared at Ialu in disbelief. If the Lahza had raised them in the way Ialu suggested, they could have bred a thousand by now. Oluku shifted his gaze to Rolan. “I can only pray that you were mistaken in what you saw,” he said.

  At that moment, a soldier named Tohlu entered the stable. Although he had been born and raised in Amasulu, his merchant mother was an Asheh like Rolan. Tohlu could speak Asheh and Shalamu fluently, which made him the troop’s prized interpreter. When he saw Ialu, a look of relief suffused his face. He bowed and said, “May I speak with you for a moment?”

  Ialu cocked an eyebrow at him. “Me? Of course, but why?”

  “It may not be that important, but still, I thought I should tell you.”

  Guessing that it would be hard for him to talk freely in front of the commander, Ialu led Tohlu to a corner of the stable.

  “As I said, it really may be nothing at all, but something’s been bothering me.”

  “Go ahead. Tell me,” Ialu urged him.

  “I was just talking with the men who bring food supplies for our troops when an Asheh shepherd happened to walk by. He complained that our soldiers were letting the Toda loose in the river and demanded that we stop.”

  Ialu frowned. “In the river? But we don’t do that, right?”

  “That’s right. I was going to brush him off, thinking he was just an idiot, but we’ve been told to maintain good relations with the locals. So instead, I asked him questions and listened to his story. He wasn’t talking about the Sahfa, but a different river, in the hills far to the north. He said his goats are afraid to go near that river because it reeks of Toda. He was quite upset that the goats wouldn’t drink the water.”

  An icy chill spread through Ialu’s chest. A river in the northern hills! He stared at the young man for a moment, then turned on his heel. “Come with me,” he said. Striding over to the commander and Rolan, he called out to them. “Pardon me for interrupting, but please follow me.”

  Oluku cast Ialu a puzzled look. “What’s going on?”

  “One of the nomadic herders said that the water in a river up in the northern hills smells of Toda.”

  “What!”

  “I’m going to check where that river is on the map. Please come.”

  Oluku nodded, an
d Rolan fell in behind. They left the stable and entered the fort. Some scouts were poring over a map. “Could you help me a moment?” Ialu asked.

  The scouts looked surprised to be addressed so suddenly by their superiors, but they quickly stepped aside so that Ialu and the others could see the map.

  “Tohlu,” Ialu said. “Show me the river the herder was talking about.”

  Tohlu frowned as his eyes swept the map. “Um, I think he called it Tsukalu.”

  “Tsukalu?” Rolan said. “That means ‘trout’ in the local language. In the Shalamu language it would be ‘tohkool.’” He pointed to a hill a little northwest, rather than due north. “Here it is,” he said. “That’s Tohkool River.”

  Ialu ran his eyes swiftly along the river to see where it led, then he raised his face and looked at his commander. “I think we may have fallen straight into the Lahza’s trap,” he said.

  Oluku paled. The river flowed through the hills to join a tributary of the Amasulu.

  “The cavalry advancing along the road through the plains may just be a feint,” said Ialu.

  Oluku groaned. “You think they’ve drawn the main Lyoza force to Imeelu while they swing around behind us to attack Amasulu directly?”

  The other soldiers in the room stared dumbly at the officers.

  “But that’s a lousy strategy,” Oluku protested. “Even if they have their own Toda troops, they’ve never been tested in battle. To attack Amasulu where the Aluhan’s army lies in wait? And without any cavalry or archers for backup? They’ll just lose their precious Toda army.”

  “They may be thinking in longer terms than that,” Rolan murmured.

  Oluku frowned. “What do you mean?”