“You will have to find the right person who can afford you, my dear. There are more poverty-stricken aristocratic youths in this city than anywhere else in the world, I am sure.” Joannina turned to Talon. “Times are hard of late, Talon. Many of the great landowners are reduced to poverty because of the predations of the Seljuks. But you do not want to about hear that.” She looked uncomfortable.
“Who is Manuel?’ Talon asked to change the subject.
“Have you not met the emperor yet?” Joannina asked, her eyes swiveling towards Alexios in surprise. “I thought you said that he was here as an emissary, Alex?”
“Yes, he is an emissary, but no, Mother, he hasn’t yet met Manuel. You know how long it takes for an emissary of any kind to obtain an audience with the emperor, even,” he gave Talon an apologetic look, “one from the Knights Templar. It can take weeks sometimes. The Templars are here on business for the king. King Baldwin to you, little sister. Tuck that away in your head and see if you can remember his name.”
Theodora was slouched in her chair over her plate, her spoon in the air, contemplating without enthusiasm some stewed apple that had been placed in front of her. There was a bored expression on her face.
“He is not an important king, is he? I mean, not like, say, Manuel? So why should I want to know all about him?” she said disparagingly.
Talon nearly choked on his wine as he suppressed a laugh. Alexios sent Talon an embarrassed grin and shrugged, his hands palm up. “Ignore her. I do not know where I found this family of mine,” he said.
“I am sorry. I did not know you were referring to the emperor. I did not know you knew him so well,” Talon said with surprise in his voice.
“Of course we know him. We are related to the emperor through his aunt Anna, who was also a Komnenos,” Theodora said with a sniff.
To change the subject again Talon asked, “There is a huge palace on the large hill to the east of this one. What is it called?”
“Do you mean the structure on the hill nearby?” Alexios asked. Theodora smirked.
“Yes, I think so. It looked deserted.”
“That,” Theodora said imperiously, “is the Nymphaeum of this fair city.”
“And what does that name mean?” Talon asked reasonably.
Theodora gave her brother a wicked grin. “It is where the sacred Nymphs live.”
Talon looked surprised. “Nymphs are…?”
“They are creatures of the ancient gods,” Alexios said hurriedly with a glare at his sister.
“They are na…ked women who belong to the gods,” Theodora said, drawing out the word and looking at Talon from under her brows.
Joannina, with a frown of disapproval at her daughter, said, “You were going to tell us a little of your experiences in the Arab and the Persian countries, Talon.”
Talon shot her a thankful glance and began to tell them of Egypt and some of his experiences in that country, then he talked about Persia, leaving out the fact that he had been trained there as an assassin.
His audience was silent for the most part, only prompting him for more information from time to time. Even Theodora was drawn into the discussion and her attitude began to thaw. Her expression was rapt when he described the hospitals of the Arab world known as Bimaristans.
“We too have hospitals, Talon,” Theodora spoke up. “They must be just as good as those of the Arabs, are they not, Mama?”
“I believe so, my child, but we do not interact with them as much as we used to, so we do not know.” She turned to Talon. “It is a sad thing to say, but the perpetual wars in these parts make it difficult to learn from other people and their ways. There could be much learned from others, and perhaps we could teach them something too.”
Talon looked at her with surprise. The Christians he had met up to this point, either in Palestine or even Languedoc, had been very ignorant of the sciences in the East and displayed no interest in learning from the peoples of these regions. He was being made to reevaluate his opinions of the people of Byzantium yet again.
“Theodora goes to the Palace of Magnaura, one of those halls within the Great Palace complex, which is also called the Pandidakterion, Talon,” Alexios interjected. “I went there when I was studying Law and Philosophy.”
“I am studying medicine!” Theodora said with pride.
“I applaud your interest, My Lady. I would very much like to visit this place some time,” Talon said seriously.
“We will take you. I am sure that there will be time to show you all of the city and show off our churches and places of high learning,” Joannina told him.
They were soon deep into a discussion of the various merits of some medical procedures for fevers and the herbs required for their treatment that Joannina knew very well. Theodora piped up and informed him somewhat pompously that in Constantinople the doctors even understood much about the eye. She winked her left eye for effect and said, “They know how to remove the milk from the inside of an eye so that a person can see again. Do your Arabs and Persians know about that?” She said it as though she doubted it very much. Talon himself was unsure, but he concluded they might because he had learned while in Egypt that the huge Bimaristan in Cairo had a section devoted to the eyes.
“I really cannot say, My Lady,” he said politely. “But there have been some extremely well respected physicians in their world. Avicenna for instance, he was a genius and helped invent much that is used today. There are many others who devote their lives to medicine. My…uncle was a physician and I believe he was greatly respected while he lived. There is a very famous Persian physician, Seyed Esmail Jorjani, who has written a huge volume on medicine and it is used in the Bimaristans of Cairo. It is just as an important a work as those of Avicenna.”
“We have studied some of Avicenna’s work! Mama, he knows of these things! You may call me Theo,” she said, her tone patronizing. “I will one day be a physician too.”
Talon was astonished by this pronouncement.
“Did you ever get into one of those harems?” she asked, changing the subject so abruptly that Talon stared and then grinned.
“No, that would have been difficult, as they are well guarded.”
“I think it is terrible that they lock their women up like that,” she said.
He smiled and replied, “You appear to be very well informed. How is it that you know so much?”
She looked at him scornfully. “You think that because I am fourteen I should not know anything?” Theodora asked, contemptuously waving her spoon. The stewed fruit was untouched in front of her and a nervous servant was hovering about ready to rescue the food.
“Both boys and girls go to schools in all the towns across the empire,” Alexios informed Talon.
Talon was impressed. “In the country of the Franks where I spent a little time, a girl of your age would not know anything of what we have talked about this evening. I for one have found our discussion of great interest,” he said, addressing Theodora with elaborate respect.
He left that night thinking hard about the kind of people he had just met.
*****
Later that evening, Alexios, a his mother and sister were seated in the loggia overlooking the Venetian quarter. To the east of that darkened area was the Genoese quarter, full of lights and muted noise. Out at sea the occasional glimmer of a lantern could be seen belonging to a ship braving the darkness, but otherwise the evening was quiet and the distant sea as calm as a pond. Even the crickets were stilled, although now geckos ran along the walls in and out of the lamplight chasing moths, and the croaking of the frogs in the pond down in the gardens had begun to fill the night with song.
“What did you think of our Frank, Mother?” Alexios asked.
“He moves like a cat, a large dangerous cat. But I still like him, although there is something in those green eyes that frightens me.”
“Yes, I saw something of Talon on the ship coming here from Acre. The Franks are a rough crowd, very rude, hard peop
le. Sometimes they would practice with sticks to stay in form while on the journey. But none of them could even touch him when they played, he is so fast. He could beat them all including the largest of them, a man called Claude. I was going to try my luck, but Sir Guy, his senior, dissuaded me and said it would be a humiliation and he would not have that.” Alexios’s smile was rueful. “Sir Guy once mentioned that he did not know anyone as dangerous as that man, although on the surface he appears gentle. I think Sir Talon is more than he appears to be; but I have come to like him, and more than that, I think I trust him too.”
“Why would you trust a Frank, brother?” Theodora asked skeptically.
“Because he is not like the others, not at all. What did you think of him, little sister?”
“I think that had you not shown him how to use a fork he would have used his fingers and thought that perfectly normal. But…I suppose…Oh, how would I know anyway?” she demanded and abruptly got up and stalked out. If her brother had been watching, as her mother was, he would have noticed a certain flush to the girl’s cheeks.
“Is he really one of those Templars, Alexios? I have heard strange things about them.”
“He tells me that he is only an associate, but Sir Guy gives him all the respect of a full knight.”
“I think you should invite our Frank to stay, Alexios. He could learn good manners and seems willing. We can all go to the Hippodrome next week. I hear there is to be a grudge race. Your friend will be running for the Blues.”
“I shall, Mother, but what about Father?”
“Oh, do not worry about that. I shall talk to him.”
*****
Talon made his way back up the now silent street deep in thought. He followed the servant carrying the torch as they crossed the almost deserted Mese. Most of the shops that had been open during the day were closed and shuttered, but food stalls were still busy and the smoke from cooking fires drifted through the night air, and evening crowds moved about.
Talon observed that the south side of the city was far from asleep. It was almost as if another type of person was abroad at night: these people mingled with one another in the darkness amid loud conversations, laughter and curses. As Talon and the servant descended the hill towards the harbor, heading for the inn where he was staying, and he noticed that the crowd along the street became noisier and more raucous as they progressed. To his surprise there were women on the street who simply mingled in the crowd, sometimes they were alone, sometimes in pairs. He was tired and this evening had given him much to think of, so he ignored the drunks lurching about near the entrances of the many inns and ladies of the night with their whispered invitations.
________
THEY took their stand where the appointed judges
Had cast their lots and ranged the rival cars.
Rang out the brazen trump! Away they bound,
Cheer the hot steeds and shake the slackened reins;
As with a body the large space is filled
With the huge clangor of the rattling cars.
High whirl aloft the dust-clouds; blent together,
Each presses each and the lash rings; and loud
Snort the wild steeds, and from their fiery breath,
Along their manes and down the circling wheels
Scatter the flaking foam.
Sophocles
Chapter 6
The Chariot Race
Two days later Talon was at breakfast t with Sir Guy, the two monks, and the sergeant when the landlord came hurrying over and told him someone was at the gate with a message.
Talon looked at Sir Guy in surprise but rose and went with the man to where he encountered Joseph.
“Good morning, Sir. I am bid to tell you that my master and his family will be going to the Hippodrome tomorrow. There will be chariot races and they would like to host you and your party there in the afternoon. The emperor has commanded their presence at the races and wishes that your delegation be present with them. Please meet them perhaps two hours after noon. The Master Alexios will meet you at the forum of Constantine. From there we will guide you to the Hippodrome. The emperor will be present, so you should dress appropriately,” Joseph said diffidently.
Talon nodded assent and dismissed the man, then made his way back to the table. He sat down and addressed himself to the grilled sardines, which had been getting cold, before he told the others what had transpired. They contained their impatience with difficulty while he ate.
“We are invited to watch some chariot races tomorrow,” he stated between mouthfuls.
Sir Guy looked interested. “I have heard that can be quite the spectacle in this city,” he remarked. Then he followed up with the comment, “The story goes that the spectators are unruly and often riot over nothing more important than a winner or a loser.” He looked sideways at Brother Jonathan, keeping a straight face as he did so.
“Then I shall devote my time to prayers,” Jonathan stated with a pious look upwards and tore off a piece of the bread before dipping it in olive oil. He had grown very fond of the food in the inn, Talon noticed with wry amusement. Still, it allowed the rest of them to move around without his suffocating personage attaching itself to them all the time.
“I…I would like to see this spectacle,” Brother Martin volunteered hesitantly.
Jonathan glared at him. “It is not for us to watch the unruly masses behaving like sinners and animals, Brother. You shall stay with me and we will read the psalms.
“I am sure that God would not approve of your going either, Sir Guy,” he added pointedly. You should confess your sins for going when you come back.”
“How can it be a sin to accept a command that you cannot deny?” Claude asked. His tone was a shade belligerent. There was clearly no love lost here.
“These entire people are sinners and will be punished one day, you mark my words. This is a Sodom and Gomorrah.”
“I should have let him fall into the harbor the very first day we came to the ship,” Claude muttered in an aside to Max, who grit his teeth as he tried to suppress a chuckle.
“I am sure that it would be foolish to refuse an invitation from people as influential as the family Kalothesos, especially at this sensitive stage of our negotiations, Brother Jonathan. Indeed, Talon said that the emperor has commanded our attendance, so I am sure that God will understand the reasons for our wishing to stay in their good graces,” Sir Guy said in a placating manner. “Talon and I shall take the sergeants with us, for protection mind you, and you may pray for our safety. As I have never witnessed either a chariot race or a riot before, and there is the risk that we will see both, I shall need an escort. This is simply another facet of the people of Byzantium that we must endure. We must also dress our best, as we have been informed that the emperor himself will be there.”
Jonathan glared at him.
Talon looked at Max and could see his friend’s face was going red as he tried to contain his laughter. Claude put his hand across his mouth and scowled ferociously at the sparrows playing in the huge wisteria vine that cast a mantel of dark green leaves over the corner where they were seated.
*****
Talon and Sir Guy, dressed in their Templar uniforms and accompanied by Max and Claude, walked up the steep street to the Forum of Constantine where they were met by Alexios and his servant, Joseph. They wore cloaks this afternoon, as the sky was grey and there was the promise of rain. There was a cool, blustery wind blowing in from the north off the Bosporus. The vast forum was almost deserted at this time of day, as most of the loiterers had gone to the games. Talon noted that even the shop keepers were shutting up; was little business to be had when the chariot races were taking place. It was as if the huge Hippodrome had sucked the streets of the city clean of people.
Talon and Sir Guy walked around pieces of the statue of Constantine, which had formerly dominated the forum. Alexios joined them as they admired the fallen stonework. He wore a fine ankle length tunic with soft leather boot
s, his sword hung from a wide sash inlaid with gold and silver thread. His hair had been oiled and curled and his beard trimmed. He looked very much the aristocrat as he strode over to them and clasped hands with Sir Guy and Talon with a brief nod to the sergeants.
“How did it come to be in this condition?” Talon asked him, nodding to the huge pieces lying about.
“A great storm came through and it was blown over, about sixteen years ago. Now as you can see there is a cross for our Lord in its place.”
They all stared up at the newly built cross. Talon thought that restoring the original would have been a better choice. He looked to the east and the west where the massive monumental gates marked the entrance of the forum through which the Mese passed.
“I have never seen a road like this…anywhere,” he stated.
“This is the main great avenue of our city. To the east it is known as the Regia or Imperial Road, as the emperors of olden times used it for their victory parades. We will see the emperor come along here again before long,” Alex said with pride in his voice. “His life is full of ceremony. I could not endure it.”
“Does the Senator not accompany us?” Sir Guy inquired.
“My father was taken to the Hippodrome earlier, as the senators have to be seated before the emperor arrives,” Alex explained, “and my mother and sister went ahead to avoid the crush of the crowds.”
They walked east along the Regia which ran straight eastward, ending in the great square in front of the Hagia Sophia. Talon had by now walked it often and liked the wide spacious stone paved road with its plane trees and regular rows of columns on either side. Unlike the western side of the forum, where the merchants and shops were situated in between the columns, there were small palaces and villas along this section of the avenue, although they were well hidden behind dense rows of tall Cyprus trees and high walls.
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