“Food is for you, Hayden of Midlandia.” She said in a slightly more pleasant Karn voice than that of her male counterparts.
“Then,” he said, pausing to organize his words so as not to offend, “shouldn’t you be leaving?”
“I am here for you. I stay here,” she said, as though it were the most normal thing in the world.
“Here for me?” Hayden repeated. “What do you mean, ‘here for me’?”
“Whatever you need, whatever you want,” she said, taking a small bite of dried meat, “I am here to tend to your every need.”
Hayden took another long drink of bryne. “The Karn sure know how to take care of a guest,” Hayden thought to himself. “Unless this is how they serve a last meal.”
“So, are you going to tell me your name,” Hayden asked, “Or do I get to name you too?”
“My name is Muzi,” she said. “But you can name me anything you want.”
“Muzi will do fine,” Hayden said.
cHAPTER 21
Hayden woke up the next morning to the sound of Karn coming into his bedroom. He sat up with a start, noticing that Muzi was still next to him in the bed.
“Time to review the warriors,” the Karn warrior grunted. “One hundred fine Karn at your request. Now you lead them. We will train with you, but we do not march in the winter. Wait until spring. Then we follow you.”
“We’ll see,” Hayden said. “Leave and let me get dressed. I will be down shortly.”
Hayden reluctantly got out of bed. This past night had been the best night’s sleep he’d had in many weeks. He wasn’t happy about leaving the warm bed, or his warm Karn lady to go down many flights of stairs to stand out in the cold and try to convince an army of Karn that he was going to lead them to victory. But he realized that it was his idea, now he had to follow through with it. He found his attire, but his leg was particularly stiff today.
“Muzi, help me,” he said to the woman lying face down on the bed. She too reluctantly got up, and walked naked to his side of the bed to help him put on his leather pants and boots. Muzi was not the prettiest woman he had ever seen, but for a Karn she seemed to have a charm to her.
“Why are you here with me?” Hayden asked.
“It is my duty to do what is asked of me,” Muzi said. “Council appoints me to you, so I am here.”
“But you are certainly one of the more beautiful Karn women,” Hayden said with a smile, “Surely you belong to someone else?”
“Muzi not beautiful. I am ugly, like you,” she said.
“I am only small part Karn. Not full Karn. Not even half Karn. I am only a servant here,” she said somberly.
“They make you a servant because you are not full Karn? That’s not right,” Hayden said as he finished cinching up his belt.
“It is the way of the Karn,” she said. “It is what I have always known. I am happy to be here with you,” she said.
“What would you like me to do when you gone?” she asked as he grabbed his crutch and began his shuffle over to the door.
Hayden thought about it for a moment.
“Clean this place up,” he said. “Yes, clean this place up.”
Then he made his way out the door and headed down the stairs.
“It’s going to be a long winter,” he thought to himself.
kDira saw to it that the patrols were kept up, knowing that the Karn could come from one of two places. Either they would come from the north, or from the south. As long as the Karn Keep in the Ocheebee Pass was never reconstructed and utilized, there would be no attacks directly from the west. With every new patrol, kDira and Agis insisted that the Ocheebee Pass be checked to ensure that there was no Karn activity in that area, and for the past several months there had been none. There would be no spanning of the Pass as long as the Blackhorn kept watch on it.
Fralek, accompanied by Shamaya and Lyren went back several times to explore the town they had discovered in their quest to get to Blackhorn. They learned from Guller than the town was most likely the ruins of an old city called Lexton. On their visits, they found more tomes and manuscripts. On one such visit they had to go back to Blackhorn and return with a cart to carry them all.
Elick and Geller found that many of the tomes had extremely useful information. Within them were detailed instructions on how to make bows and crossbows more efficient, and better tips on the arrows to better pierce the leather armor.
Elick took a great interest in several that showed how to make better armor of interlocked chains of metal, as well as ways of hand-to-hand combat. Whosoever was the curator of these tomes in the past certainly wanted to survive. Unfortunately, if they did survive, their knowledge did not live on with them. Maybe they forgot to read the tomes, and forgot to practice the skills that could let them succeed where others had failed. Maybe, they just didn’t have any breeders?
In one of the old manuscripts Guller found some writings about something called electricity, a magical power that could cause things to move and light rooms and streets without a flame. He vowed that it would be his mission to re-discover this great power and to harness its awesome potential. Always eager to contribute, young Noske volunteered his time to assist Guller in his studies and experiments.
Over the next few months, the winter got colder, and though the snow never really got very deep, it was very windy and kDira found it hard to stay warm enough. She was certainly not comfortable. She was informed that her child was not too far off, though a true measure of when a baby would come was not possible. The Princess Mothers, also getting very near the time of delivery, spent a lot of time with kDira, even spending the nights there. Several of the elders made it their job to see after the Queen and Princess Mothers, and did their best to keep the fires burning and the females comfortable.
Agis made a point of spending any free time helping kDira with anything she might need. Often what she needed was to be left alone, and Agis tried to be as understanding as he could. Not only was he an expectant father, but he was also concerned for kDira as another desperately needed breeder, the Queen Mother, as well as a close friend. This was not a normal situation for a Blackhorn male to be in. Rarely, if ever, did the male know for sure that he was ever a father. They may know that there was a possibility, but never a certainty.
Sylys Hayden was not enjoying the winter much better than the Blackhorn. He found training the Karn much more difficult than he planned, and as the weather got colder he found it more and more difficult to maintain control. Several of his warriors had to be replaced because of a breakdown in discipline.
Hayden found that though the Karn may be known for their fierceness in battle, they were less than enthusiastic to be uncomfortable at any time. Hayden felt his time was better spent working out his strategy to conquer the Blackhorn than to waste it working with overgrown babies whining about how cold it was outside.
Hayden sat at a table in his quarters in Karn Palace eating more spiced meat and drinking bryne, with Muzi nibbling a bit of bread and looking bored.
Muzi had managed to clean it up to a livable standard, and Hayden was pleased. Muzi stayed as his companion and servant through all of Hayden’s tirades about how the Karn were carrying on about how cold it was. He knew that if he could attack now the Blackhorn would never expect it. He knew that the Blackhorn would be ready in the spring when the Karn would finally be willing to make the journey, but by then it might be too late. Somehow, he needed to convince them to go sooner, when the snow was still on the ground, and the wind still had a chill to it.
kDira felt something that she’d never felt before. As she stood up, there was a warm sensation to her inner thighs, yet it was a sensation she wasn’t even sure was there. She looked down to see that she was standing in a puddle of water, and suddenly her feet and legs felt cold and wet.
“What’s happening?” she called to the Princess Mothers and the Elders. An elder came over and took a quick look, then insisted she go to lie on the bed.
“Her baby is comi
ng,” Nepra said. “This is how it starts.”
“I’m not ready,” kDira pleaded. “We must wait…”
“Your baby has other plans, now do as the elder says,” Princess Nepra said, “you must go to your bed. We must prepare for the birth of your child.”
The two elders helped her into her bed, while the Princess Mothers brought warm water and soft cloths to clean her wet legs with and prepare her for the inevitable.
The sound of kDira’s cries and moans could be heard from outside the hut. Agis, who was on his way to see his friend and leader, feared the worst and barged into the hut, sword drawn.
One of the elders stopped him.
“Our Queen is having her first child,” the elder said.
Agis stopped. He put his sword back into its sheath and stood there, looking towards the far room where he could see kDira through the door, lying on the bed, knees in the air.
Suddenly the room started to spin and Agis began to see black. The elder helped him to a chair just before his legs began to fail him. He wasn’t out long; he came back around to hear the kDira cry in pain and tortured sobs as she worked to get her baby free of her body. Agis tried to stand up, but then the room went dark again.
cHAPTER 22
“Hey, brave warrior,” Ari said. At some point from the time Agis blacked out again she had gotten word that her friend kDira was going to give birth. She rushed right over to be alongside her. Now she was trying to bring Agis back around.
“Agis, wake up,” she insisted, slapping him lightly on the cheek.
“What…?” he asked, confused.
“Come meet your child, Agis of Blackhorn, warrior extraordinaire,” she said, mocking him.
“Child? It’s here?” he said, standing up with a start. He paused a minute, making sure he was not going to faint again, then strode into the room, chest out, head high.
“kDira, are you okay?” he asked.
“I am fine,” she said with a smile. “Come, come meet your daughter.”
“My beautiful daughter,” he said, looking at the perfect little girl at kDira’s breast. He knelt beside the bed, almost eye level with kDira and the baby.
“What are you…? What did you…? What’s her name?” he asked.
“I named her Winter, after the season she was born,” she said.
“Winter is a beautiful name,” he said. “Winter. I bet she will be as strong as you.”
“And as brave as you,” she said laughing.
“You heard?” he asked, embarrassed.
“About you blacking out? Nooo, I didn’t hear anything.”
“It’s because I haven’t eaten today…” he said, trying to redeem himself.
“I am sure that’s what it was,” she said, laughing again.
“Winter is beautiful, like her mother,” he said.
The next two months went by quickly, and Winter was growing bigger every day. In that time, the two Princess Mothers also had their babies, both fine examples of male babies, healthy and strong, and growing every bit as fast as Winter. They were named Benithan and Cayban.
kDira loved this time, but the constant threat that Hayden and the Karn were waiting outside the gates to do her and her tribe harm could not be ignored. She remembered how the Karn had killed every child in the camp, even Abril’s and Nepra’s only children right before their eyes. She could not bear to see Winter end up with the same fate. She would rather die first.
Ari and kDira spent time teaching others the art of archery with the thought that more archers on the wall meant more dead Karn, and less living Karn trying to scale the walls. Agis, with the help of Elick, was busy learning the arts of self-defense from the tomes that had come from Lexton, and in learning them, teaching others. Some of the old arts showed how one could fight, and kill if necessary, without a weapon. Others showed how to attack with sticks, or swords in ways Agis had never considered before. The chill was lifting from the air, and they knew they were running out of time.
“We leave tomorrow,” Sylys Hayden said. “I will be lucky if these Karn bunglers don’t fall all over themselves in the heat of battle.”
Muzi listened, but said nothing. She’d met the back of his hand more than once for offering her opinion when it was not asked for, so she just sat there, quietly nodding. But if she could say anything, it would be about the warriors being only as good as their leader.
“You will be coming with me, of course,” Hayden said.
“If you wish it, I will come with you,” Muzi said.
“You will tend to my needs, see that I get fed, tend to my wounds, if necessary,” he said, matter-of-factly.
“Yes, Sylys,” she replied.
“Let’s change that now. I think you should refer to me as your king,” he said, dripping with ego.
“Yes… my king,” she said, hesitantly.
kDira and Agis bedded down for the night, fire blazing in the hearth. The Princess Mothers had moved out with their babies into their own huts, the elders no longer needed unless called upon. kDira was falling into the swing of being a mother, her baby just a few feet away in a cradle that Agis had fashioned himself out of several of the indigenous woods that grew in the area.
Winter was a happy baby, and rarely cried. She was growing and thriving, and there was a light in her eyes. She seemed to look at the world as though she enjoyed every new sight and sound. kDira and Agis felt she would one day become the leader of the Blackhorn tribe.
Neither Agis, nor the Queen Mother had any idea that within a week the peace of their little village would be turned upside down.
Hayden awoke to find Muzi packing essentials into her backpack, and readying Hayden’s gear as well. Hayden was pleased that she took the initiative to be ready ahead of him waking up.
“Muzi, my girl, are we all packed and ready to go?” he called out cheerfully.
“Yes, my king,” she said.
“Good, fetch me a bite to eat and something to drink and I will be ready to go.”
She did as instructed and presented him some bread and bryne. He quickly consumed his breakfast, and picked up his crutch and headed to the door.
“Bring my things, girl,” he said, leaving the door open as he headed down the stairs. Muzi picked up everything with a struggle and followed, shutting the door behind her.
Below the warriors were gathering; their weapons and provisions were readied as Hayden hobbled out the door at the bottom level.
General Tutower, Hayden’s second in command, reported to Hayden as he approached.
“We are missing nine, Haydennnnn, do we get them?” he grunted in the Karn guttural way.
“No.” Hayden said firmly. “Find out who they are and when we return, have executed.”
“Yes, Haydennnnn,” the Karn affirmed.
“Okay, let’s move out!” he called out to the ranks. The General repeated the order and everyone gathered up their gear and supplies and began moving westward through Karn City. Several were pulling carts, and Hayden found a seat on one as his severed Achilles tendon rendered his travel ability useless. Muzi followed behind, carrying Hayden’s and her gear.
“My king, may I put this gear in the cart with you?” she begged.
“I do not wish to wear out my warriors,” he said, slyly. “Do you wish my warriors be tired when we get to the Blackhorn village?”
“No, my king,” she answered, sadly.
“Best keep up now, don’t want you left behind for the blackber to eat,” he said with a sneer.
Muzi said nothing, but struggled under her load and trudged onward.
Some of the carts had ladders, some had extra arrows, and some of the carts had food and drink. Hayden was already testing the bryne for purity and quality. “Only the best for his warriors,” he thought to himself.
As they reached the edge of the city towards the end of the day, they headed off the main path and went to the southwest. Their intended destination was the Karn Keep. By dusk the Karn army made camp
in a small open area covered in dirt and weeds, just inside the Valley of Death.
Muzi stood before her king, who was being helped from his cart. A Karn warrior brought him a rather small but ornate chair to sit on, and as he made himself comfortable, he looked Muzi up and down.
“Don’t just stand there, I need something to eat, Mule.”
Muzi, a bit shocked by being called a mule, didn’t question her king and dropped the packs and gear. Quickly, she opened one of the packs and began to rifle through it to fetch some spicy dried meat, and anther bota if Bryne.
“Now go find some wood for a fire. There has to be some around here somewhere,” Hayden ordered.
“Yes, my king,” Muzi said, still out of breath from the march from Karn City. She stood up on tired, shaky legs and went about searching for fire wood.
“General Tutower,” Hayden called out, “come here!”
General Tutower, a large muscular male figure, approached Hayden and stood tall before him. He had not yet removed his outer coat of brownber fur, nor his weapons or leather armor.
“Yes, Haydennnnn?” He growled, obviously tired and not much in the mood to take orders from an outsider.
“When we get to the Karn Keep,” Sylys began, “I want you and your warriors to begin erecting a ladder to get us up to the other side of the keep.”
“I understand,” he went on, “that the treacherous Blackhorn fell your magnificent keep and now there is no way across. We must erect scaffolding with the materials we brought, and we must do it in short time. Understand?”
“Yessss, Haydennnnn,” he growled once again.
“Now see that everyone gets rest, tomorrow we re-take the Karn Keep.”
“Yessss, Haydennnnn,” General Tutower repeated.
As the sun went down below the horizon, the temperature began to drop rapidly. Still in the later months of winter, the air still had a chill to it.
Muzi returned with an armload of small branches and twigs and hurriedly tried to light a fire. The harder she tried, the more frustrated she became, and Hayden watched with a wicked smile on his face.
The kDira's World Anthology Page 19