by Rosie Scott
Talib bowed toward his king, before hurrying from the room.
“Will we need to be trained on the hyenas?” I asked him. “I have never ridden one.”
“No. They are trained as horses and are ridden much the same,” the king replied. I didn't tell him that I had never ridden a horse, either, because it would not phase him in his urgency. Regardless, I would learn. I hoped it would not take very long.
“You would like us to leave tomorrow?” I asked.
“Yes. First thing in the morning. Use today to give directions to the students you would promote to teachers. And Kai,” he added, before looking over each of my friends. “And all your Seran Renegades...thank you. Thank you, and be careful.”
Eighteen
The hyena's large head watched me curiously, before it bared its teeth, just to chuckle, its whoops escaping its chest in waves of enthusiasm. I had yet to see one of the mounts up close, so now that I was being introduced to the animal I was to ride, I figured I should get well acquainted. Its head was thicker in both height and width than the horses of Chairel's armies, and its face was a weird mix of both feline and canine, with thick, wide felt ears, and sharp teeth meant for tearing and crushing.
The hyenas of the stables came in an array of spots, stripes, and various camouflaging patterns, all in shades of browns, blacks, grays, and creams. Their fur was thick and flowing, tufting outward from the tops of necks in wild manes. As I watched the stable hand teach me how to put tack on the creature, it also watched me, its black and brown eyes betraying intelligence and energy.
“This,” said the stable hand, holding up a thick leather and fur strap with buckles on both sides, “is a breast strap. Horses can go without them, but you must use them on hyenas.”
“What is it used for?” I asked, eyeing the odd object. A third strap hung from its center. The hyena turned its head, sniffing at the strap with a passing curiosity.
“It attaches to the saddle. Here,” the man said, pointing to thick steel rings on either side of the saddle, “and here.” He pointed underneath the saddle, to the girth strap. “A hyena's back slopes downward from its shoulder blades—or withers.” He set his hand upon the bone that pointed upward just before the saddle. “If you don't use the breast strap, you will fall right off the creature as the saddle slips backward down its torso with any speed.”
“That's why the saddle has this support,” I deduced, touching the back end of the saddle, where extra thick padding sat between the hyena's back and the seat. “So the rider can sit up straight, even with the slope.”
“Precisely.” The stable hand passed the breast strap to me, and I slowly went about putting the tack on the animal, clipping each strap to different parts of the saddle to secure it.
“Tell me...does this animal have a name?” I questioned, standing up from my work.
The man laughed. “No, my lady. It is an animal. We do not name our animals.”
“We will fix that,” I told the creature, lifting a hand up to let it sniff me. It did so, and even though the tips of its fangs showed from between its darkened lips, I did not pull away. “Is it male or female?”
“This one is male,” he replied.
I glanced down the length of the animal, where its fur boasted a beautiful pattern of various shaped black spots. I tried to think of a name which meant spotted, when the hyena bared its teeth again, and laughed, forcing its voice through its sharp teeth in quick bursts.
“All right, then. I'll name you Snickers, because that's what you do.” I patted the animal on the head. The stable hand shook his head, as if I were crazy.
“My, my, aren't we creative?” I heard Nyx call over from the next stall, getting situated with her own beast.
We slowly came to the end of our time with the stable hands, each of us being taught how to put on the mount's equipment and how hyenas differed as mounts from horses. We were told that while some horses would get excited and others would be fearful, hyenas almost always were raring to go to battle. The hyenas would bite and tear at flesh automatically, because it is how they thrived, and were known to fight their riders for control if they were too into a moment. The bridles of the animals differed from horses, because they had no bit; because hyenas ate prey during their battles, the Naharans did not want to keep their mouths obstructed with equipment.
I was told the Naharan Army was trained in handling the hyenas, and we needn't worry about caring for them during the trip. The few of us in our group who had ridden mounts before hadn't in quite some time, so we would focus on riding and learning how to fight while mounted and leave the details to the army.
We led our hyenas out of the stables and to the sands beyond, where the soldiers we were taking with us awaited, some already sitting tall above their mounts, their chosen weapons at their sides. Some spoke amongst themselves, keeping their hyenas still by throwing an arm through the reins. Many of them looked up as we approached, and many appeared awed by my presence. Thankfully, the army was better at maintaining distance from me than the general public of T'ahal, who had often gotten into scuffles with one another trying to catch a glimpse of me or touch me as I walked past.
The stable hand who had taught me how to saddle Snickers also helped to teach me how to mount the animal. Nearby, my friends were being guided by the others. Theron was already sitting atop his hyena, having been the only one of us who had ever spent much time on a mount. It was his first time on a hyena, but many of the details were the same, and he appeared confident and comfortable on top of the animal.
“Now, if the animal turns to sniff at you, it is all normal,” the stable hand said, pulling out the left stirrup to allow me to slip a boot into it. “It is curious about its rider. Your emotion will affect it.” Watching my hesitation, he added, “You want to hop with some force to be able to pull yourself up. Keep ahold on both ends of the saddle to help you.”
I nodded. “All right.” Glancing slyly toward Cerin, I teased, “I'm not used to mounting things this tall.”
I heard Nyx chuckle from behind me, and the necromancer glanced back toward me with a glimmer in his eye once he was sitting in his own saddle. “Yes, well, I'm not usually standing, am I?”
I laughed at his comment as I hefted myself up, throwing my right leg over the saddle, and kicking my boot into the second stirrup. The stable hand tried to ignore the previous comments, and made sure I had the reins in my hands. For a good twenty minutes, we were taught how to direct the animals, how to speed up and slow down, and how to control them if they decided they had better ideas of where to go. After making sure we had no further questions, the stable hands were free to leave, and left us with one hundred Naharan soldiers, all blinking at us expectantly.
It would be my first time leading an army. It was a small one, yes, but I had often fantasized about this. Though I was a studious child and took magical education very seriously while growing up in Sera, my favorite thing to read about when I wasn't studying had been battle tactics and warfare. There was something fascinating about the people of history who had taken a dire situation and, through some thoughtful strategy, had turned the tides of battle and had won fame and fortune due to the crispness of their minds. As a little girl, I often dreamed about what it might be like to lead an army of soldiers willing to follow me and risk their lives for a cause. I never imagined I would ever get to be in such a situation. Through hard work and the acquisition of power, here I was, responsible for over one hundred lives and the retrieval of a person of royalty.
My eyes scanned over the faces of those who were entrusting themselves to me. I would not allow any second guesses or doubts about my ability to lead to come through to them.
After I took a deep breath, I shouted to the army, “Who here would like to volunteer as a tracker?”
There were some murmurs, and finally, a man kicked his hyena forward a few steps, coming toward us with a raised hand. His skin was the darkest black, which contrasted sharply with his mostly cream a
nd white colored mount. There were creases running through the skin of his face which spoke of long, hard days in the Naharan sun, possibly visibly aging him further than his years. He was human, and appeared to be in his late forties.
“I will volunteer,” he offered.
“Your name and qualifications?” I asked.
“Druhv Baja,” he replied, bowing slightly. “I spent the first twenty years of my service to the king as a runner. I have been through this land many times, and am one of the few to have seen past the wall and into the beastlands.”
I nodded. “You will do. Come, and stay at the front of the pack with us.” I glanced to Theron. “This is Theron Boa, and he is our tracker from Sera. I would like you two to work together.”
Druhv kicked his hyena forward once again, this time to follow my directions and introduce himself to Theron. As he passed me, I looked out to the others.
“Our number one objective is to bring back Hasani Samara,” I announced. “As you probably know, he was sent on a mission to Jaalam a full moon ago, and has not returned. I need you all to continually keep on the look out for anything of his which may lead us to him. His weapons, his hyena, et cetera. We have received intel that his disappearance could have been caused by a beast. We need to stay sharp, keep our eyes open, and be prepared to slay this beast should the time come. I expect you all to fight for me and follow my directions as I am an extension of King Adar for this journey with his approval. I promise you, I will treat each of you as a friend and comrade. I want each of you to come home to T'ahal as safe as you are leaving it. I also promise to remain open to anything you wish to say, or suggest. It may go without saying at this point, but I am Kai Sera, and you will report to me until our return. These—” I turned to the others. Nyx, Cerin, Theron, Jakan, and Anto all watched me speak with an approval approaching pride on a few of their faces, which gave me even more confidence. “These are my friends in battle and otherwise. You may also approach them in confidence, or to relay things to me if I am not available.” Speaking toward my friends, I said, “Introduce yourselves.”
I stayed patient and quiet as they did so. Cerin informed the army that he, like me, was able to heal, so the soldiers could come to him for help. Theron informed them of his skills with alchemy and cooking, and offered to help in any way he could in such situations. Anto offered to fix and mend both weapons and armor if time allotted. While both Nyx and Jakan introduced themselves, neither had a skill which could benefit the others outside of battle, so their introductions were short.
“Are there any questions?” I asked the army, once the introductions were finished. One eager young soldier raised a hand, near the back of the crowd. I nodded toward him to hear what he had to ask.
“Is it true that you are a god?”
I exhaled evenly through my nostrils. “While it is true, it is irrelevant, and I would prefer it if this is the last we spoke of it. Regardless of our races, we will work together, and we will come back to T'ahal safely.”
After my answer, it didn't seem the soldiers had any more questions. It appeared that despite their restraint, they were just as religious as the others in T'ahal. For now, they looked upon me with awe and respect since I had confirmed my identity.
“All right, off we go! We have land to cover!” I pulled the reins to the side, and Snickers began to turn, thick felt ears flicking forward in anticipation. I urged him into a jog, and the others fell into place behind us.
Theron let his own hyena come to jog beside mine. The ranger grinned over at me as I attempted to get used to jerking around above a mount, the hyena's gait knocking the breath out of me every few paces. It would take some getting used to.
“One would think you do this all the time,” he mused, referring to my speech.
“Oh?” I replied, a smile of my own spreading over my lips.
“Aye. You speak with the confidence of one twice your age,” the ranger continued, his voice oozing of admiration. How far we had come since my initial hiring of him in Sera, back when he'd viewed me as little more than a spoiled royal heir. Here we were now, as good friends. Through the past weeks that Cerin and I had been teaching at T'ahal's growing school of magic, I had been unable to spend much time with my other companions. This trip to prove our loyalty to our alliance with King Adar would offer a welcome reprieve from that lonely monotony.
“I have the arrogance of the gods, Theron,” I finally jested, since the ranger was constantly reminding me to be mindful of that fact.
“That you do,” he replied, after a short laugh. “And somehow, you have managed to use that to your advantage without holding it over people's heads.”
The hyenas below us whooped and hollered with excitement, and our army soon began to quicken our pace, letting our mounts run through the desert sands in a stampede of laughter. At first, I held onto the horn of my saddle with some fear of a new experience, but it soon felt freeing and wonderful to be rushing through the beautiful lands of Nahara, with the low desert winds blowing my hair back behind me in a streak of red. I could see why King Adar utilized hyenas over horses, now; it was clear the animals lived for such excitement and yearned for a chase, and the heat didn't seem to phase them.
Over the course of the first day headed eastward, we maintained a quick pace along the river which cut through the desert from T'ahal. According to Druhv, we would follow the river until it ended, and then we would continue straight toward the distant view of the Dhahab Canyons, for we would eventually run into the lost city of Jaalam, which sat just north of them. Though the city had long been ruined by the sands, I was told it was still visible as a unique landmark, as the deserts along the southern half of Nahara were mostly flat, allowing any imperfection of the landscape to be noticeable from quite the distance.
I found myself longing for mounts to keep for my future journeys, as we covered more land in a day than I was used to covering on foot in the span of a fortnight. We set up camp the first night just at the end of the river, where the flowing waters that originated at the ocean a long travel away finally finished carving into the earth, and disappeared into the sands. Though our mounts were energized enough to go another hour or so, Druhv recommended we stop for the night, as the river was the last source of water for us until Jaalam.
Soldiers were in the midst of calming down for the night, preparing the camp, as my friends and I pitched our tents. I realized we were in the minority in that respect; the army did not prepare anything more than sleeping bags, and some of the soldiers simply balled up pieces of clothing to lie on. It was clear they were used to going to fight on the bare minimum, which I took as a bit of a good sign. I watched the soldiers go about their business, finding their ability to work together without my guidance fascinating. These were men and women who had done this before, and knew just what was expected of them and how to prepare for the days ahead. Soldiers filled up containers they had brought with water from the nearby river, and some bathed downstream to keep the filth of the day from merging with the drinking water.
Druhv brought a bundle of sticks out from a pack he held, and set them up in the sands nearby our tents. The sticks were much smaller than wood we would normally use for a campfire, but I supposed there were few options out in Nahara. Our volunteer tracker explained to Theron when questioned that the wood was grown in Nahara for army use, and that alchemists coated the twigs with what he called calcint. Calcint, as I soon found, was the blackish sludge I had once seen burning on the sconces of the wyvern's cave near Whispermere, over a year prior. Druhv explained that calcint was a balm created by alchemists to keep wood flammable even through intense moisture and longer periods of time, meaning the Naharan armies were able to keep their use of fire over extensive travels.
Theron promised he would learn the alchemy recipe for calcint once we returned to T'ahal, even as Druhv began to rub two sticks together to start the fire. I walked over, flame already crackling over a palm, and the Naharan native stopped what he was doing, a
nd sat back from the sticks. I directed the fire to the wood, and our campfire was lighting up the nearby sands moments later.
“It is...convenient to wield the elements,” Druhv commented, leaning back from the flame. We did not need it for heat, for the desert was plenty hot enough. Instead, the fire was mostly to keep our camp alight as the sun began to pull the covers of the earth over its head.
“It is,” I agreed, plopping down onto the sands nearby. I noticed a few soldiers were staring at me from nearby the river, where they were half-naked, either getting in or out of the river for bathing.
“You have some admirers,” Nyx commented, taking the moment of relaxation to pull off her thick leather boots, and wiggle her toes in the open air.
“Yeah, well, let's cut that short before it attempts to go anywhere,” Cerin said under his breath, finally coming over from our tent to sit beside me. A smile raised my lips, amused by his petty jealousy, even as he pulled me close to cuddle beside the fire. The necromancer leaned closer to me, brushing his full lips against my cheek.
“Ow!” Nyx grabbed at the side of her face, feigning pain. “A cavity! It burns! It burns!” After a few of us chuckled at her teasing, she looked toward the men at the river, waving a hand in the air. “Single and ready to mingle, boys!”
My face heated in embarrassment, and I lowered my head to laugh. “Nyx, for the love of the gods, I can't take you anywhere.”
Druhv finally spoke up, having been watching our antics. “You are unlike most generals that King Adar puts trust in,” he commented.
I laughed, raising my eyebrows to concur. “Yeah, I suppose I am. I promise that when it comes time for battle, we are all very serious.” I glanced to Nyx to elicit a response.
“Serious as a heart attack,” my best friend promised, smiling sweetly at the Naharan native.