Deep in thought, Bal-eeb stroked his curly, coal-black beard. His mind raced beyond this morning’s proceedings, to plans and plots laid months, even years, earlier. His mother once instructed him, Make fear and gold your friends and Ba’al will grant all the desires of your heart. Like his mother, he knew what he wanted and did what was necessary to take it. Events put in motion by his role in this morning’s trading ceremony, might eventually place him on the Throne of Gold, as King of Hur-Ar. Today, he also took an important step in slipping from beneath his mother’s long shadow.
Ashtoreth...common folk only spoke her name as a curse symbolizing seduction and betrayal. In court it dripped from noble lips, gushing with false reverence and adoration, knowing her spies lurked everywhere. Most in the city simply called her “The Snake”.
She confided to Bal-eeb her fondness for the title.
Ashtoreth insinuated herself into the House of the Second Prince of Hur-ar as a lowly Sammujad consort, accompanied by her bastard son on the edge of manhood. She quickly bewitched the prince and, in only a few months, cunningly eliminated her rivals one-by-one to claim the role of First Wife. Ashtoreth and her son banished or slew the children of the deposed First Wife, leaving Bal-eeb to inherit the prince’s fortune. After the prince’s mysterious death, Ashtoreth reigned as the Court’s most ruthless and feared noble.
In spite of her reputation for cruelty, Ashtoreth’s beauty and sexual prowess fueled a fierce competition among Hur-ar’s nobles to share her bed. Some say she was Ba’al’s own concubine, summoned from hell by a rogue temple priest. If hell was a Sammujad village razed to the ground by Scythian raiders, then Bal-eeb would agree. He knew what truly motivated his mother, death and hunger.
Now only Hecktar, First Prince and Captain of the Palace Guard, stood between Ashtoreth’s son and the throne. Ashtoreth arranged every step of his career, including his posting as Captain of the Wall. Bal-eeb vowed to supplant Hecktar by his own hand, without The Snake’s gold or influence. The Lion carefully laid his own plans, which didn’t include The Snake.
The King grew weary of holing up in the city, waiting for traders to bring the world’s wealth to his doorstep. Unchallenged on the vast steppe, the Scythians grew more powerful and arrogant with each spring. The filthy horsemen demanded greater tribute to permit caravans to pass unmolested to Hur-ar. Only the mystique of the Narim and their Black Fortress kept the raiders at bay. However, this state of affairs was about to change.
Three successive Hur kings built a magnificent army, one possessing bows and horses every bit as powerful as Scythia’s. The Hur legions would strike swiftly on winter’s eve as the horsemen settled in their winter camps. They would torch the horsemen’s winter food stocks, driving the haughty barbarians to starvation. With spring, the well fed and rested Hur army need only clean up the mess. With their western flank secure, the Hur armies would sweep from the edge of the northern Icelands, to the Great Sea, to the mountainous southwest. Booty and slaves would flood into the city. Then they would turn south, where the eastern shore of the Great Sea met the mighty Adyghe Mountains. These were the lands of the Thrax, who held the treacherous southern passes. Beyond the Thrax lay Havilah, where traders spoke of abundant gold, summoned from the ground not by Narim, but by men. Havilah, the ultimate prize, could not be seized without first liquidating the Scythian horde.
As the procession began to take their appointed places, he peered over his shoulder at the city far below. Torches twinkled across rooftops and in the streets. Bal-eeb thought of Hecktar asleep in the palace, blissfully unaware a delegation stood before the Black Gates this morning.
A thousand pardons, Norrufi would shrug to Hecktar before the sun set this day. I’m sure all the required notifications were made. If the Captain of the Palace Guard cannot carry out his required duties, then the Captain of the Wall is obligated to escort the King’s trade delegation.
“Bureaucrats!” Bal-eeb chuckled. “Deadlier than assassins.”
He studied the city far below, from the city wall to the base of Cliff Road, a thousand feet immediately below him.
So few of these soft city dwellers have ever ventured beyond the wall.
Bal-eeb secretly ventured far and wide to lay his plans, plots neither his mother, the Commander or the King knew of.
Bal-eeb knew Scythia stretched farther west than anyone in Hur-ar imagined, even the King. The horsemen could summon tens of thousands of kinsmen and roll over Hur’s legions. If they ever lost their superstitious fear of the Black Fortress, they could take Hur-ar itself.
But only Bal-eeb knew the horsemen’s weakness. Now his influence, his gold, his schemes would ensure his appointment as the campaign’s second-in-command, next only to the Commander himself. The Lion, not the Snake, would eliminate Hecktar and seize the throne on his own terms.
The Captain of the Wall gazed into the darkness beyond the city, beyond the steppe.
The Great Sea and its endless marshes...that is the key to defeating Scythia.
Bal-eeb turned and climbed the short distance remaining to the top. There, he took his place and prepared for the trading ceremony.
The slaves deposited the Norrufi’s litter softly on the crushed stone before the Black Gate. The wagons rolled between the columns of warriors and halted behind the litter. The entourage split into two halves; free men behind the warriors’ right flank, slaves behind the left. The delegation crowded forward on the narrow ledge, avoiding the drop off by several paces.
With the help of his body slave, Norrufi sat up with a huff. Doughy fat spilled over his golden girdle as he adjusted his waist wrap and straightened his tall, conical cap. Despite the cool morning, sweat trickled down his bare chest. It took all of Bal-eeb’s guile to mask his disgust.
Breathing heavily, Noruffi waddled up to the massive iron bell, suspended from a heavy kupar frame and secured to the gate with iron spikes. Offerings left by the city’s poor; withering bundles of prairie flowers, clay jars of honey, and candles littered the black stained gravel before the Black Gate.
Noruffi took his place next to the bell’s rope and peered into the crowd with narrow, pig-like eyes as if looking for someone. A tall, painfully thin man, with an axe-like face pushed through the line of warriors. Bal-eeb bowed slightly as Shellbaz, High Priest of Ba’al, passed by. A bejeweled golden jar in his bony clutches, he stank of sour wine. Beardless, like all of his order, the priest’s black kaffiya and open chested robes fluttered behind him. To Bal-eeb, he resembled an emaciated crow.
The Order of Ba’al despised the Narim, constantly seeking to turn the city against the Masters of the Black Fortress. Only the Hur-po’s love of the yellow metal spared the mysterious immortals the Black Dragon’s wrath. However, during the last king’s reign the Priests managed to inject themselves into trading ceremony.
Bal-eeb didn’t believe in Ba’al, though his mother did. Bal-eeb believed only in power, gold and himself. However, that didn’t stop him from courting the influential High Priest’s favor, going so far as mandating his warriors wear the Black Dragon amulet.
Wearing a look of disgust, Shellbaz kicked several of the offerings aside and, in doing so, almost fell over. Steadying himself, he took his place beside the bell, opposite Noruffi. He held the jar high over his head and, with a slurred voice, shouted to the crowd, “Let the power of the god of this world, master of earthly princes and mortal thrones, sanctify these proceedings!”
He tipped the jar and let the crimson fluid pour onto the gravel. Shellbaz’s hung-over, bloodshot eyes came alive, a hungry, sexual, grin flashing at the sight of blood. Norrufi stepped back to avoid being splattered. The priest tucked the empty jar back into his robes and nodded to Noruffi. From another fold he produced a bottle of wine and staggered back into the crowd.
Sludgy and full of clots, the blood seeped away from the gate. The Supreme Royal Trader covered his mouth and tried not to gag.
With the exception of the intercession of the priests, the trading cer
emony remained unchanged since the Narim sealed themselves behind the Black Gate generations ago. The Supreme Royal Trader would ring the iron bell, and a few moments later, a brass bell answered from within. The outer gate would open, and the teamsters would wheel the wagons into a central holding area. After that, the Supreme Royal Trader rang the outer bell again, and the outer gates closed. A groan would rise beyond the wall as the inner gates opened. The delegation always listened intently as someone, or something, unloaded the wagons. After several minutes, the groan returned and the inner bell rang again. In short order, the outer gates reopened and the goods would be replaced with gold ore and clay tablets bearing magical markings. The markings held the Narim’s wishes for the next trade delegation and could only be interpreted by guild scribes.
Norrufi grasped the gray, fraying rope and swung the bell, beginning the ceremony in earnest. Under Norrufi’s soft, pudgy hands, it issued a single, dull clunk.
A child could ring the bell louder, Bal-eeb thought, but knew it didn’t matter. The Narim always heard.
As he waited for the answer to the call for trade, Bal-eeb’s mind drifted to a woman with olive skin and almond eyes uncannily like his mother’s. She possessed ambition every bit as naked and ruthless as Ashtoreth’s. He could not say he loved this woman, though he’d never loved a woman. She did hold a certain raw allure the pampered creatures in court lacked. This woman held a more important allure than her body. She held the key to defeating the Scythians.
An unexpected western breeze caressed his face. He could almost feel the Great Sea’s sultry air and her lithe, sun washed body pressed against his in the tall marsh grass.
Patience, my little Marsh Snake. I will return soon enough.
The breeze shifted again, dry and cold, snapping him back to the moment.
Something is wrong.
The inner bell did not answer. The outer gates remained closed.
Norrufi wiped the sweat from his brow and smiled weakly. “Perhaps the Narim are still asleep.” He snatched the rope and yanked with all his considerable bulk. The bell clanged twice, slightly louder this time.
But the inner bell remained silent. The sun shone fully over the mountains. By now the carts should have been in the holding area between the gates.
The Supreme Trader laughed nervously as the warriors began to fidget. The delegates looked at one another, sensing the situation beginning to deteriorate.
No! This can’t be happening.
Bal-eeb marched up to the bell.
“Your Excellency, perhaps you are correct, and the Narim slumber. May I assist you?”
The fat man wiped the sweat from his face. “Well...ah,...”
Bal-eeb didn’t wait for a response. He grasped the rope with both fists and pulled with all his might. The kupar mounts creaked, and the bell rang so loudly everyone on the cliff covered their ears. It echoed for several seconds off the surrounding mountains before silence returned to the cliff.
The Captain of the Wall and the Supreme Royal Trader stood side-by-side, as the brass bell remained mute.
The Narim never fail to answer a call to trade. Never.
The Hur-po would have been less shocked if the sun had failed to rise.
Bal-eeb stepped back and glared up at the Black Gate towering above. The inner bell remained stubbornly mute. A knot formed in his gut as Bal-eeb sensed his plans slipping away.
Singular laughter arose behind the delegation’s pale faces. Everyone turned to look at Shellbaz, who stood with his back to the delegation. He held a bottle of wine in one hand, his penis in the other and pissed over the side of the cliff, laughing gleefully as his urine rained down over the City of Gold.
Glossary of Terms & Characters
ai-halah: (eye-HAL-ah) Means “the reed and the wood”, traditional Lo music. Ai is female vocals, halah is male vocals. Sung without instrumental accompaniment.
Adyghe (ad-YAH-gay) Mountains: Meaning unknown. Eastern edge of the known world, home of the Hur-po and the Narim. Never seen by the Lo.
a-g`an: (AYE—gha-ahn) Lo word meaning ‘of the steppe’ or ‘enemy’.
Aizarg: (AYE-zarg) Means “good father.” Sco-lo-ti of the Crane Clan and Uros of the Lo Nation, husband of Atamoda, father to Bat-tor and Kol-ok.
Alaya: (ah-LAH-ya) Means “her mother’s joy.” Wife to Levidi.
arun-ki: (ah-ROON-ki) Means “village upon the womb,” a stilted village built off-shore in shallow lagoons.
Aryans: (AYE-rans) One of the three nomadic tribes of the g’an. Almost wiped out by the Scythians, exist now only at the edges of the steppe.
Atamoda: (At-ah-MOH-dah) Means “father’s and mother’s hope.” Patesi-li of the Crane Clan, wife of Aizarg, mother to Ba-tor and Kol-ok.
Atta: (AT-ah) Means “old father.” Levidi’s grandfather, oldest man in the Crane Clan.
Ba’al: (BAH-awl) A sinister deity called The Black Dragon, worshipped by cult in Hur-ar.
Bal-eeb: (BAHL-eeb) Means (Hur) “sword of Ba’al.” Second Prince of Hur-ar, Captain of the City Gate. Son of Ashtoreth.
Ba-lok: (BAY-lok) Means “hand that protects his people.” Sco-lo-ti of the Minnow Clan, Second to Aizarg, husband to Kus-ge, son of Aie-lok, grandson of Setenay.
Bat-or: (BAHT-or) Means “eye of this people” or “beloved.” Toddler and youngest son of Aizarg and Atamoda, brother to Kol-ok.
Bla-la-te: (blah-LAH-tay) Means “his mother is always watching.” Xva’s uncle and sco-lo-ti of the Trout Clan.
Carp Clan: Lo village of which Okta rules as the sco-lo-ti, the chieftain.
Crane Clan: Lo village of which Aizarg rules as the sco-lo-ti, the chieftain.
Council of Boats: A gathering of the more than one Lo village or perhaps the entire Lo nation, usually a festive event.
Ezra: (ezz-RAH) Meaning unknown. Sarah’s brother. Thief and gang leader of pack of feral children in the slums of Hur-ar.
Fu Xi: (foo-HI or foo-ZI) Immortal demigod, son of goddess Nuwa, often called the God of Names, or the Wanderer.
Gar Clan: Also known as the Lost Arun-ki. Kus-ge, wife of Ba-lok, hailed from this arun-ki, once the farthest east of all Lo villages. Shortly after Kus-ge departed as Ba-lok’s new bride, the villagers vanished without a trace, the arun-ki burned to the water line.
g`an: (gh-AHN) Means “inner lands” or “steppe.” Place of enemies. Lo word for the open steppe bordering the marshes north of the Great Sea.
Ghalen: (GAY-lehn) Means “strong stomach” or “fortitude.” Younger brother of Masok, sco-lo-ti of the Turtle Clan.
Great Sea: Immense body of fresh water and home to the Lo people. Its northern shore is lined with vast expanses of reed beds, marshes and narrow coastal forests which give way to open steppe.
heli-dar: (hell-EYE-dar) Means “surrounded by death.” The gateway to the afterlife. The Lo believe it is far out to sea beyond the reach of any boat.
Hur-ar: (her-AR) Means (Hur origin) “City of the Yellow Metal,” located at the base of the Adyghe Mountains in a deep canyon overlooking the Hur River; also called Ghund-Ghund, The Place of Mazes, by the Scythians.
Hur-Po: (her-POWH) Means (Hur origin) “People of the Yellow Metal, those who inhabit Hur-Ar.
Hur River: River running north to south separating the Adyghe Mountains from the open g’an; spanned by the Kupar Bridge.
Ice Men: Savage race living in the far north lands.
Isp: Meaning “lady of the water.” Patesi-le selected to serve the Uros.
Kol-ok: (kawl-AWK) Meaning “protects his home.” Aizarg’s and Atamoda’s oldest boy, brother to Bat-or.
köy-lo-hely: (coy-ee-LOW-hell-ee) Meaning “the sacred place where the people gather”; a large wooden platform without a hut at the heart of the Lo community, usually a in the middle of a lagoon encircled by huts.
Kus-ge: (kuss-GEE) Means “leads with fist.” Ba-lok’s wife, hails from the mysterious Lost Arun-ki, the farthest Lo settlement to the east than vanished years earlier.
O
od-i: (OOWD-eye) Means (Sammujad origin) “works leather.” Member of the Crane Clan, husband of Ula, father to Su-gár.
Levidi: (lev-EE-dee) Means (Sammujad origin) “sheltered water.” Aizarg’s best friend, husband of Alaya.
li-ge: (lie-GHEE) Literal translation “spirit and heart.” Lo symbol meaning “balance” or “joining of flesh and spirit.”
Lo: (LOW) Means “the people” or “the family.” Can also mean “humble.” Nation of fishing tribes divided into different clans. They live along the Great Sea’s northern shore in stilted villages over the water.
Masok: (MAY-sock) Means “man who walks in front.” Sco-lo-ti of the Turtle Clan and Ghalen’s older brother.
Narim: (nah-RHEEM) Race of long-lived demigods who once walked the g’an, and now only exist in the Black Fortress in the mountains above Hur-ar. Called “Narts” by the Scythians.
Nushen: (NEW-shen) Village of Goddess, an ancient village that has served the goddess Nuwa for ages.
Nuwa: (NEW-ah) She is also called the Queen of the West and the Celestial Queen. A goddess who sired Fu Xi with a human man. She dwells in seclusion in her temple on Tortoise Mountain above the village of Nushen.
Minnow Clan: Lo village ruled by Ba-lok as sco-lo-ti.
Oeto-sy: (oy-TOW-see) The sky god or “father above” of the Lo pantheon. Husband of Psatina, father of Sethagasi.
Okta: (AWK-tah) Means “Blessed male.” Leader of the Carp Arun-ki. An older sco-lo-ti, but not yet an elder. Tall, lean and light complexioned like Aizarg, but older, nearing the age of an elder.
patesi-le: (pah-TEH-see-lee) Means “holy woman.” A lo shaman, always a woman and the wife of the sco-lo-ti.
Psatina: (sat-EEN-a) The Earth Mother, prime goddess of the Lo pantheon.
sco-lo-ti: (skoh-LOW-tee) Means “leader of the people”, village chieftain in peacetime.
sagar: (SAY-garr) Sammujad spears, heavier and longer, made to defend against Scythian horse warriors.
Black Sea Gods: Chronicles of Fu Xi Page 39