Bridge of Swords

by Duncan Lay

  ‘I need a horse if we are to make better time,’ he grunted as he pulled on his boots, smiling a little to find they had dried out from the fire while he slept.

  ‘I’ll get the headman. I need to speak to him anyway about Ward’s plan, so he can warn the rest of the village,’ Huw declared.

  As son of the clan leader, Sendatsu had been used to riding only the best horses. The scrawny nag that two silver pieces bought was apparently the finest riding beast in the village. As far as Sendatsu was concerned, it was good only for making glue.

  ‘Are you sure you have nothing else?’ he asked.

  ‘There’s a donkey somewhere — but it smells bad,’ the headman warned.

  As Sendatsu was trying to hold his breath anyway, standing next to a huge dung heap that did not seem to bother the headman, he had no interest in seeing something the man thought stank worse. He saddled the horse, reflecting gloomily that he would add old horse to the smell he felt sure was following him around. How could these Velsh not be affected by it?

  Meanwhile, Huw had even less luck with his warning.

  ‘Why would the Forlish come here? We have nothing for them!’

  ‘They want you to obey their king, to become part of the Forlish empire. You have to protect your village!’

  ‘How?’

  That simple question left Huw speechless and he had no more time to waste anyway.

  ‘Just keep an eye out,’ he insisted as they rode away.

  He caught Sendatsu looking at him and shrugged. ‘I don’t know what else to do. I’m hoping my father will have the answers.’

  Sendatsu nodded. That was what he was hoping as well.

  They plodded on through the day, taking only short breaks, whenever Sendatsu’s horse seemed to be struggling. If he could give it a full moon of rest and good food, it might just about be ready for a small child, he judged. Rhiannon was more than happy to exchange horses with him but, even so, he reckoned it would be doing well to make it through the day without collapsing.

  Rhiannon still had a hundred questions and he had no ready excuse for stopping them either. Her open adoration was beginning to get on his nerves as well. No matter how hard he tried to tell her that Dokuzen was not like her childhood dreams, she did not listen. To her, Dokuzen was a place of wonder — and nothing he said would change that.

  Her earlier shyness and tongue-tied excitement only showed occasionally; if he looked at her, or his leg brushed against hers, it was too much. As it was she felt giddy, heady with her dreams coming to life.

  She was painting a picture in her mind of Dokuzen, of the way it looked, the way the elves lived there, everything. In desperation, Sendatsu turned to Huw, who had been riding silently, lost in his worry and fear for his father. The bard looked as though he was about to vomit and Sendatsu thought talking about something else might help him — as well as give Sendatsu some hints of what the bard’s father knew.

  ‘So what did your father say was the reason for the elves leaving?’ Sendatsu asked.

  ‘My father never really spoke about that. But I heard it was because the elves could not compete against the brutality and the aggression of the humans. There were so many of us, always so hungry for land, for conquest — the elves shut themselves away to protect themselves.’

  Sendatsu sighed. ‘But even a huge human army could not defeat an army of elves, with their magic and their bows.’

  ‘The cost in lives — on both sides — would have been huge. The elves made the choice to protect both sides,’ Huw explained. ‘What were you told?’

  ‘Exactly the same thing,’ Sendatsu admitted. ‘But now I don’t believe it. Are you sure you have not heard anything about humans doing magic? Or worshipping Aroaril?’

  ‘Humans can’t do magic. It is the preserve of the elves,’ Rhiannon said with a smile.

  ‘But how do you know that?’

  ‘Everyone knows that.’ Rhiannon shrugged.

  Sendatsu bit his lip. The bard’s father better have something more useful than this.

  As for Huw, the anxiety eating him up from the inside was too great to ignore. ‘Tell me, is there any way you can discover whether my father is all right?’

  ‘And how can I do that?’ Sendatsu asked sarcastically.

  ‘Well, magic of course!’ Huw said, surprised.

  Sendatsu groaned. ‘You really don’t understand magic, do you?’

  ‘Surely you just use it to see across huge distances …’

  Sendatsu shook his head irritably. ‘The way to see across long distances is to use birds and animals. I can command a bird to go and look for something — but unless I know exactly what that is, the bird won’t tell us what we want to know. And I don’t know how far Patcham is. I could lose control of the bird, or it could fly over the village and not be able to see your father, if your father is inside … I am not very good at magic and it would probably go wrong.’

  ‘No!’ Rhiannon gasped. ‘But magic is part of your life!’

  ‘A very small part. There are elves who could do that but I am not one of them. Then the energy it would cost me might be too much for me to keep riding. Magic is sometimes more trouble than it is worth, especially if you have little talent for it.’

  He looked around and saw them both gaping at him. It was obvious they did not believe his words and thought he had some ulterior motive for not using magic. It took him back to those Patcham women in the woods.

  ‘Why can’t you humans accept that not every elf is magical?’

  Huw shook his head. ‘No doubt you have your reasons. I thought you might give me some peace of mind.’

  Sendatsu bit his tongue, restraining himself from giving Huw a piece of his mind instead.

  Huw spurred his horse on ahead, leaving Sendatsu and Rhiannon to ride behind at the speed of the wheezing horse.

  ‘Is magic really that difficult?’ Rhiannon asked wistfully. As a child she had often pretended she could do magic. She sometimes imagined things moved or changed at her bidding but, of course, that was impossible and it must have been her imagination.

  ‘Perhaps one day you will find out,’ Sendatsu grunted.

  All three were delighted when they finally came within sight of Patcham, late that afternoon.

  The village still stood, and Huw breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw the familiar wood and thatch homes. But something seemed wrong. Normally there was plenty of bustle and activity, men and children out tending herds, working on fences or on homes. But the village seemed quieter, as if in mourning, and solemn black smoke hung over the huts.

  No one came to meet them either — and that was the strangest thing. The arrival of three people on horses would normally be enough to have half the village — and all the children — rushing over to see what was going on. Instead, doors were dragged shut and women with fearful faces hurried children inside. Barking dogs followed the newcomers, although quickly learned to stay away from Sendatsu’s bowstave, which he used to clear a path.

  ‘What is going on?’ Huw shouted in frustration, as yet more people hid.

  ‘They have been attacked, and fear us,’ Sendatsu said harshly.

  ‘It is me! Huw! Son of Earwen! I have returned from my trip with friends!’ Huw stood in his stirrups and yelled at the top of his bard-trained voice. ‘There is nothing to fear!’

  A few cautious faces peered out, and Huw waved at them.

  Finally a man strode out, a long spear held nervously.

  ‘Glyn! It is me, Huw!’ Huw called, scrambling down from the horse and hurrying to meet him.

  Glyn stared at him for a long moment but did not smile in return.

  ‘Huw. Welcome back,’ he said dully. ‘Who is with you?’

  ‘My friends, Rhiannon of Hamtun and Sendatsu of Dokuzen. They have journeyed with me to bring a warning about raiders sent from King Ward of Forland.’

  ‘Then you are too late,’ Glyn said.

  ‘We know that,’ Huw admitted. ‘But still, w
hy does everyone hide?’

  ‘Someone said they recognised the other one — Sendatsu — from the raid.’ Glyn jerked his head at Sendatsu.

  ‘You are mistaken. I have never been here — although I freed the women taken from your village by the raiders. Raiders who I killed,’ Sendatsu said harshly. ‘And if you thought we were raiders, why do you cower in your homes? There’re only three of us — there are dozens of men here!’

  ‘How dare you!’ Glyn thundered, and Sendatsu smiled coldly.

  ‘Better,’ he said. ‘More of that might have saved lives when the raiders came.’

  ‘Peace!’ Huw cried. ‘Glyn — please forgive my friend. We shall go to my father’s house now but …’

  Huw trailed off as Glyn’s face went grey and a terrible fear gripped his heart. He could barely breathe.

  ‘Glyn, tell me,’ he managed to croak.

  ‘Your father met the raiders. He told them to leave — and they cut him down …’

  Huw reached out and grabbed Glyn’s tunic.

  ‘Tell me it’s not so!’ he whispered.

  ‘I am sorry …’

  But Huw did not hear any more. His world went black and his mind fled.

  10

  After I told the Magic-weavers my plan for the people to seal themselves away behind a magical barrier, until we were safe to walk these lands again, they swung into action. Initially I thought they were helping me, for they went out to the people and warned them of the humans, said they were hungry for land. They painted a picture of humans too numerous to count, all armed to the teeth, all wanting what we had. I did not see the harm in it — at first. Most of my people had only seen the Velsh. But the Magic-weavers travelled much further south, spent time among the other countries. For the likes of the Landish, Balians and Breconians, they were the only Elfarans they ever met. As they spread stories among my people, they also spread stories among the humans. They claimed we were elves, invented this nonsense about how we could see in the dark, hear like cats, were unbelievably strong yet wise and kind.

  They were supposed to be helping the humans, preparing them for when we would leave. Instead they were persuading the humans we were elves, not Elfarans. Worse, they were also hunting out humans with magical abilities, judging how much resistance the humans could put up.

  I did not hear about these stories until it was too late. I tried to tell the truth but the lies had spread too fast, taken root and grown beyond the original telling. The humans would not believe we were ordinary, and even my own people were convinced we were special.

  The Magic-weavers had worked quietly. And while I laboured fruitlessly to undo their lies, they began their plan to seize power and rule all.

  I discovered that before it was too late — but it was still the beginning of the end for me.

  Huw awoke to find himself lying in his old bed, in his old bedroom. Everything was the same, from the carefully repaired furniture to the carvings on the stone walls he had done as a child, to the scribbled sagas he had written on lambskins. For a long moment he luxuriated in the familiarity and the thought his father would come in, give him that crooked smile, sit on the side of his bed and ask him what had happened since he had left, say it was all right and tell him what to do.

  Then he remembered and had to stop himself leaning over the side of the bed and throwing up. With difficulty, he forced himself to his feet and opened the door. The main room was also exactly as he had left it; the thick beams holding up the thatch overhead, the heavy wooden furniture and the fire pit in the centre. Earwen’s house was one of the rare stone buildings, built by his father, Derwin, Huw’s grandfather. It was one of the oldest buildings in the village, for wooden huts lasted only one generation. It was small and simple, a main central chamber and two side rooms, one at either end. Rhiannon was seated at the table and Sendatsu was poking at the fire, trying to get heat under a pot.

  They both sprang up when they saw him.

  ‘We brought you here — Glyn showed us the way,’ Sendatsu said awkwardly.

  ‘Huw, I am so sorry.’ Rhiannon crossed to his side. ‘I know how you feel — we have both lost parents to Ward now …’

  That was too much for Huw and he burst into tears, all the fear and guilt of the past few days washing out of him in an unstoppable tide.

  Rhiannon held him and he clung to her, unable to do more than sob. It felt as though he was being punished for his sins.

  ‘It’s all my fault!’ was all he could get out.

  ‘Not at all. You did not swing the sword. It was nothing to do with you,’ Rhiannon told him.

  ‘But I stayed too long in Cridianton! I should have returned earlier, I could have warned them!’ he howled.

  Rhiannon felt her own tears start then.

  ‘Huw, I am so sorry,’ she sobbed, meaning every word of it.

  Sendatsu felt like crying also — from frustration and disappointment. This had been a wasted trip. Then he looked again at the two humans.

  ‘It is no comfort, I know, but I killed all the raiders,’ he said uncomfortably. ‘It probably means nothing to you now but at least your father’s killer paid for his crime.’

  Huw and Rhiannon did not react for a long time but slowly, slowly, Huw got himself back under control. Rhiannon, however, was inconsolable. ‘Huw, this is my fault.’ She tried to wipe her eyes. ‘It was me who made you stay. I was selfish, I wanted your company and your friendship. I did not want to lose those and so now your father is dead. You saved me from Ward, after he killed my father, and this is how I have repaid you …’

  Her legs seemed to have lost all their strength and Huw helped her into a chair. He took a seat himself before her words stopped him in his tracks. The memory of his lies to her, and the guilt he carried, rose out of his grief like a hill out of the morning mist.

  ‘No, it is not your fault. I could have left when I wanted. I made my own decisions, I have to live with the consequences,’ he said hoarsely.

  The impact of those words struck him to his core. He had made several choices, any of which could have saved his father — or at least brought him back here, where he was sure he would have been able to save him. He had done everything his father had told him not to. He had sacrificed his beliefs, his father’s teachings, his sense of worth, even his own Velshness, in order to try to keep his dream alive. Then, after all that, he had thrown it away for Rhiannon, and lost his father into the bargain. It was a bitter price to pay and he could not see a way forwards. His father was not there to help him.

  Sendatsu watched the pair of humans sob and found it hard to control himself. He tried to busy himself by stirring the fire into life and setting water on to boil. He was feeling raw inside. What was his next move? Where should he go? The village of Patcham had no elven buildings, no hint that here rested a secret store of knowledge. Perhaps it was time to travel south, see what the other countries knew.

  With a last, vicious thrust at the fire, Sendatsu turned back to Huw and Rhiannon. Their grief at the death of their parents was hard to watch … he was not sure whether he would hurl himself on his father’s mercy or draw his sword when next he saw Jaken. And seeing them hold each other made him think of Mai and Cheijun. Would they be weeping now, thinking him dead? What had Jaken told them, what was Jaken doing with them, what poison was he dripping in their ears?

  ‘The oatmeal is nearly ready,’ he said, just so he could do something. He supposed he would stay the night and then leave in the morning.

  Rhiannon wiped her face on her sleeve.

  ‘We need to decide what to do next,’ she declared, sniffing slightly. ‘We have to make up for what happened here.’

  Huw wiped his own face clear. ‘How can we do that?’ he demanded. ‘We cannot turn back time. My father will still be dead …’ His face crumpled at the thought and he had to fight hard to control himself enough to finish the sentence. ‘There are some things you cannot repay.’

  Rhiannon shook her head.

&nbs
p; ‘We cannot bring back your father. But we can make his sacrifice mean something. We have the knowledge of Ward’s raiders coming. We can stop Ward’s plan, we can protect the rest of the Velsh.’

  ‘And how do we do that?’ Huw rubbed his face listlessly. The enormity of his grief was preventing him seeing anything ahead of him. Just a short while ago that future had seemed golden, now it was bleak and hollow.

  Rhiannon leaned forwards and cupped Huw’s face in her hands.

  ‘We have an elf with us. He can help us. He will be the hero your people need.’

  Together, they both turned to look at Sendatsu, who had been lost in his own thoughts and was a little slow to catch up.

  ‘What?’ Sendatsu asked.

  ‘You can help the Velsh people! You can save them from Ward!’ Huw said excitedly. ‘All you have to do is go back to Dokuzen and …’

  ‘No!’ Sendatsu almost screamed. It was what he wanted to do more than anything else in the world — and the one thing he could not do yet.

  ‘But surely, if you tell your leaders what is happening out here — I mean, the Velsh have lived at peace with the elves for centuries but if Ward takes us over, it cannot be long before his gaze turns to Dokuzen. He will have conquered everything else by then,’ Huw argued.

  Sendatsu shook his head. This trip was going from bad to worse. It was time to give these humans some truth. There was no point in being nice to them, for Huw’s father was dead and any promise of information gone with him.

  ‘The elves will not help. Not if their lives depended on it. The wars and the suffering of humans mean nothing to them. Asking them to come to your aid would be a waste of breath,’ he said forcefully. ‘The Velsh will have to help themselves if they are to fight Ward.’

  ‘That’s it!’ Rhiannon said.

  ‘What is?’ Huw and Sendatsu said.

  ‘You can teach the Velsh to protect themselves!’

  Sendatsu groaned. He had to nip this in the bud. ‘It took me years to learn the bow; nearly as long to handle a sword properly. I don’t have that time and you certainly don’t have that time …’