The Burning Tower

by Colin Glassey

  Sir Ako’s armor also was cause for much comment; nothing that the Serice soldiers used matched his armor for toughness and weight. Sir Ako took off his armor after the demonstration, and the three Serice men examined the pieces, commenting on their light weight and resistance to cutting and slashing blows.

  As Sandun expected, Lord Vaina asked again to see his Piksie sword. Sandun brought Skathris out and then had Sir Ako hold one of the Serice swords out. Standing so Lord Vaina could clearly see what happened, he brought Copper Cutter down on the outstretched sword and cut it in half. This provoked a cry of astonishment from General Kun. Lord Vaina thoughtfully rubbed his chin and then asked to see both swords.

  “I have another sword from your arsenal that you can test yourself,” said Sandun. “It’s a shame to destroy weapons, but I asked Scribe Renieth for some old training blades.”

  Lord Vaina carefully inspected the cut sword, the Piksie sword, and the last of the test swords. Then he sat back and asked Sandun to do it once more. So again, Sir Ako held out the sword and again, Sandun’s Piksie sword cut through it with that same strange noise, unearthly and disconcerting.

  Lord Vaina stood up and smiled broadly. “To think I have lived to see such wonders as this! Oh, Uncle, you were right. Your stories came true. This gives me hope! Who is to say what is and is not possible?”

  Then they all went to the dining room and sat at the table for dinner. Most of the dishes were Serice, but the beef steaks were delicious, at least to the Keltens, and they all praised Farrel’s cooking, so he had to get up and bow, with a very red face. Lord Vaina and his generals ate the steaks with gusto, but Russu and Eun of Shila just ate a few bites for politeness’ sake. Russu said quietly to Sir Ako in Kelten: “Too much blood.”

  He said, “I’m happy to eat your piece,” which he did, to the amusement of the other men at the table.

  After the steak, Sandun got up and made a speech thanking Lord Vaina for his generosity and goodwill toward the expedition. While Sandun paused to fetch the box of glowing orbs, Olef excused herself and left the room. Sandun then presented his box to Lord Vaina, saying, “This is a gift from King Pandion, in the hope that friendship and trade will grow as never before. The world is changing; roads that were impossible are now possible again.”

  Lord Vaina opened the box and took out several of the glowing orbs. At his command, the servants took away most of the candles, and the room became dim. The orbs glowed with their strange green light. Gingerly he passed around several of the orbs to his generals.

  Sandun explained that these orbs had been made in Kelten and that these and other goods could be traded to Serica in exchange for quality goods of this land.

  “Light without fire, though not as bright,” Lord Vaina said thoughtfully. “And these keep glowing for years?”

  Sandun nodded.

  “I can think of several uses already. Do you have any idea how much my government spends on candles for the ceremonies? No, I’m sure you don’t. And lights for underground, when fire makes the air go bad and kills the miners? Or lights for boats at night on the river, which water cannot put out? Yes, these are things we would gladly trade for.”

  After the candles were returned to the table, Lord Vaina continued, “I’d like to have a thousand opmi, or ‘knights,’ like Sir Ako here. With Kelten armor and weapons, all our enemies would bow down to us. Serica would never need fear invasion from anyone again.”

  As he was drinking a toast to the men of Kelten, a messenger came in, out of breath. Based on his clothing, he was a young official from the palace. “Yes, what is so urgent that you interrupt my dinner?”

  The young man handed Lord Vaina a scroll and said, “My lord, the fleet from Vasvar has sailed past our southern defenses on the river Mur. It is a great fleet, my lord, and they burned the fort and have declared that they are here to take all this land. We are under attack!”

  Lord Vaina, his face impassive, studied the scroll. “So it comes to this. General Tuno makes good on his threats. I thought an attack was possible when we learned the Thrice-Blessed King had been executed and Two-Swords Tuno had taken over the government.”

  He paused for a while in thought. Then he spoke to the Keltens: “You are not from this land, and no one would deny your right to stay out of this fight. But Two-Swords Tuno is coming here with his fleet, perhaps within a week. I have no claim on your aid in this, my time of need, but I do ask. And further, I am willing to offer each of you a very sizable reward for helping me, for helping Tokolas defend itself.”

  Lord Vaina’s appeal was far more than just words; he put his whole personality behind it. His large eyes turned to each of them individually. His expression was that of a proud man who has broken his usual self-confidence to acknowledge his need for them personally to help him.

  “As you know, Kunhalvar is a small province. I am trying my best to make this land peaceful and prosperous, but we are surrounded by enemies. What have we done to cause this attack by the army of Vasvar? Nothing! General Tuno could send his fleet north to attack the Kitran Empire, but he has instead chosen to attack us.” Lord Vaina sighed and wiped his hand across his forehead. “Most of my army is defending our eastern border against the Iron King. I will need every soldier to help defend this city. You mighty warriors from Kelten, you have no reason to help us, no reason to help me, but will you?”

  Sandun was convinced by Lord Vaina’s appeal.

  Sir Ako said, “I’m not one to flee a battle.”

  But the other men, who could not understand Lord Vaina’s words, were not convinced.

  Padan was dismissive. “He wants us to fight for him, but who is he to us? Some foreign prince.”

  Damar said, “I fight for my king, and I fight for my brothers.” The other scouts all said aye to that.

  Sandun now had a moment of clarity. He could convince them; he knew it. But should he? The expedition had accomplished its goal; they could leave Tokolas tomorrow and be back in Erimasran by midautumn. If they stayed and fought for Lord Vaina, some of them might be maimed, some might even die.

  In that instant, he knew he was not ready to go back. He was now someone who could make a difference. After a decade of reading old papers and writing reports, he was doing something important, and he was not going to give that up—not now, not yet.

  He spoke to the men: “Did we not just see the temple to Sho’Ash here, in this city? The only temple in all of Serica? Are we going to abandon it? Padan? Damar? Farrel?”

  The three men looked down at the table; Padan shook his head slowly. Sandun continued: “We have traveled three thousand miles to get here. Are we going to turn around and retrace the footsteps we planted on the ground not two weeks ago? Will it be said of us that Kelten soldiers ran away from a fight? Would King Pandion say to us that we did well in running away from Tokolas?”

  He could see the men nodding. He had them. “I say we stay and fight. I say pride demands that we stay and show the people of Serica that Keltens do not back down from a battle.”

  Sandun now stood up and drew his sword and held it up in the air, it glowed faintly in the dim light of the room.

  “The Lord of Kunhalvar has asked us to stay and fight for him. He has offered you money, but I say you shall receive more. Stay here and fight and you—each one of you—shall be knighted! Yes, when we come through this, we shall all be knights of Serica! When you go home, you will no longer simply be soldiers of Kelten; you will be knights. And should any man challenge you on it, he shall have to answer to me.”

  “And to me also,” said Sir Ako. “I’ll be proud to call each of you ‘brother.’”

  “A knighthood you say? Now that’s worth fighting for,” said Padan, and he stood up.

  The rest of the scouts, Farrel, Damar, Gloval, and Wiyat, pushed back their chairs, and each of them stood and raised their hands in salute.

  Lord
Vaina and his two generals looked on with approval. Even without translation, it was clear to them that the Keltens had decided to help. Sandun explained to Lord Vaina, “You are going to make them knights, or opmi as you call them.”

  “When? Now?”

  “No, but soon after the battle. It is an old tradition in Kelten that common soldiers can be made knights by a king if they act like heroes on the battlefield. This means a great deal to these men.”

  Lord Vaina slapped his forehead as though a blinding thought had suddenly struck him.

  “I can do that. And I can make more than your men opmi. I can make some of my soldiers opmi as well.”

  General Erdis and General Kun looked at each other and then back at Lord Vaina.

  “I said earlier I wished for a thousand knights, but I can make a thousand opmi out of my own soldiers. My city needs opmi: men who are proud of being warriors, men who think it is an honor to defend their country from invaders. My advisors will hate me for this, but I don’t care. This is a new world. We are now surrounded on all sides by enemies. If we are going to unify Serica, I must have not only great administrators but also great warriors.”

  General Erdis said, “Opmi…it has a good sound to it. Opmi have come to Kunhalvar from Kelten, and now we can have opmi of our own. It’s like the secret tradition of the opmi has been brought here, and now it can spread. This idea of yours, Jori, is so crazy it might work. But what is an opmi, though really? Is it a rank? A special league of soldiers? How is Opmi Ako different from me?”

  “Details!” Lord Vaina said. “I’ll figure it out later. Right now, we have an invasion to defeat.” He stood up; his eyes were alight. He went to each of the Kelten men and shook their hands.

  To Sandun he said, “This has been quite a day. I thank you, and I’ll send word soon. Since your opmi are staying to fight, I’ll need your advice on how best to use them. Till we meet again.”

  With that, the Lord of Kunhalvar and his followers and guards left the embassy.

  Part Eight

  The Burning Tower

  Later that evening, Sir Ako invited Sandun to the library and shut the door.

  “Very convincing speech you gave. What happens when we get home and we have to tell the king that he has eight more knights? I have not the authority to dub my men knights, nor do you.”

  Sandun had been thinking about that very question ever since Lord Vaina had enthusiastically agreed to his idea. “Riddle me this, Sir Ako. If Padan went south to Jibur and did something extraordinary, like saving King Alforsa’s life in a battle, Alforsa might well knight him, yes?”

  “Yes, he might.” A thoughtful expression crossed Sir Ako’s face. “Oh, I see where you are heading. My men wouldn’t be knights of Kelten. They would be knights of Tokolas or Kunhalvar who happened to be Keltens.”

  “Just so, and to continue my little dream play, what happens if Padan comes back home to Agnefeld from his Jibur adventure? Is he still a knight? Would he be allowed to call himself a knight?”

  “It’s a little odd, but I think he would.” Sir Ako dredged into his memory of knights. “I think he would be a Kelten man with the title Knight of Jibur. But he would not be a Kelten knight.”

  “Just so. If this works out, we all return as Knights of Serica.” Sandun leaned toward the fire and warmed his hands. He mused, “If we come back to Kelten with a caravan of Serice goods and a Serice ambassador with us, I wager King Pandion will dub us all knights of Kelten, and you will be made a baron.”

  Sir Ako smiled. “That’s a big if you have there, but I’ll play along. If the king gives me a barony, I will perforce have enough land to support several knights. A baron with ten knights is not uncommon.” Sir Ako grinned. “I can imagine it now. That area around Nukivanu will become important as a gateway to Serica. The land is presently unorganized, just the free peoples of Erimasran and their wandering villages. Suppose the king gives me that land as a new barony; I will need knights to help defend it. Yes, this could all work out. Are you sure you want to be a knight of Erimasran? It will be a very different life from the running the Archives, my friend.”

  Sandun said hurriedly, “I’ll worry about that when the time comes, not now.”

  “We are riding the eagle, aren’t we? We may fall to ruin on the rocks or reach the peak of Mount Shioni. Right now, the view is good, but there are thunderstorms up ahead. Good night, Sir Sandun.”

  The next morning, Sandun found Valo Peli sitting at the table, drinking some of the superb tea that the Lord of Kunhalvar had sent to them. He looked thoughtful and sad.

  “You didn’t make your offer to Lord Vaina yesterday,” said Sandun.

  “They already know who I am. Or rather, who I was.” Valo Peli stopped and said nothing for moment.

  “Go on.”

  “General Erdis and I were talking as your men were demonstrating their skills. Unexpectedly he said to me, ‘You were in command at the battle of Batasek seven years ago?’ I could not deny it, as I was prepared to admit all later, after dinner. He then continued, ‘Know this. One of the Red Sword leaders who died in that battle was the father of Lord Vaina’s first wife, the Lady Osmo. She has not forgotten her father’s death, and you are not forgiven.” Valo Peli finished his cup of tea and sighed. “I am not forgiven.” His words were like a stone dropped into a deep well. He turned to face Sandun. “Since I cannot serve the Lord of Kunhalvar openly, I now offer you my services as an advisor until you wish to release me. By tradition, I should have stayed at home and waited for someone to come and ask me for my aid. But these are untraditional times.”

  Sandun replied, “Valo Peli, I welcome your offer for as long as you wish to remain with us. And I’m sorry about what happened.”

  “I did my duty as I saw it,” Valo Peli said very quietly. “I had the surviving rebel leaders executed as traitors to the Kitran Empire. I don’t know if Lady Osmo’s father was among them or if he died earlier in the battle. There were four of the leaders. Hard men, defiant to the end. One man said, ‘I die now, but when the Red Kingdom comes, you will die in shame while I will be remembered as a hero.’ I thought nothing of his words at the time but now, they bite at my heart like a snake.”

  Sandun went and told the others that Valo Peli had pledged to them and was now their advisor. Most of the scouts accepted the news with little comment. Wiyat was clearly pleased; he had become friends with Lathe, as they were nearly the same age and shared a youthful buoyancy in their personalities.

  Ashala was impressed with the news. “In Gipu, such a man would be greatly honored. Imagine a demelzo allied to one of the houses of Gipu.” She made a clicking sound with her tongue, a Gipu custom that indicated you were wishing for a very lucky event to take place.

  The next day, there was a strong feeling of tension in the air, and everyone in the household staff was on edge. By now, the rumor of the invasion by the Vasvar fleet had spread throughout the city. Hushed conversations could be heard in the kitchen. Outside, the city was on edge.

  The question that Sandun heard frequently was: Why? Why was Vasvar attacking? Weren’t the Kitran the common enemy of Vasvar and Kunhalvar?

  At the second bell after sunrise, Scribe Renieth arrived from the palace with a request that Sandun join the war council meeting scheduled for the fourth bell. Ashala read the note that Renieth gave to Sandun. “It says that Opmi Ako—I mean, Sir Ako—and Valo Peli are invited to attend if they find it convenient.”

  Sandun hurried over to find Sir Ako studying with Russu. Over the last week, he had been studying Serice intently while she learned Kelten from him.

  “I’ll come with you,” Sir Ako said. “Probably won’t understand one word in ten. You can explain it to me after.”

  Sandun then knocked on Valo Peli’s door. He was inside, reading an old book that he put down immediately. “What can I do for you, Master Sandun?” Valo Peli was slowl
y adjusting to his new role as advisor to the Kelten delegation.

  “Would you join Sir Ako and myself at a meeting of the Tokolas war council?”

  Valo Peli snorted. “So that is how Lord Vaina is playing this game! Have I become so predictable in my old age?” He paused while he considered the invitation. Sandun waited as patiently as he could.

  “Yes, I will come. Apparently, I must swallow what little pride I have left and attend their war meeting as a foreign advisor. Not much better than Basil’s hunting dog!”

  Sandun was surprised at the anger in Valo Peli’s voice, but he said nothing; he simply folded his arms and leaned against the wooden door frame.

  “I should explain myself,” said Valo Peli, clearly mastering his emotions. “The Lord of Kunhalvar appears to want my advice, but he and his advisors don’t want to pay any political cost for it. My name need never be mentioned in the records. Well, who do I have to blame but myself? I denied my name rather forcefully in Wheat Town, didn’t I?” Valo Peli stood up. “I’m ready to go. As a ‘barbarian advisor,’ I’m allowed to wear the customary dress of the people I represent. Perhaps I should dress like you Keltens, and then no one will recognize me, least of all the Lady Osmo.”

  “If you wish, you can wear one of Kagne’s shirts. He is about your size. I have a new leather jacket that you can have. It was made for me according to our style, as a gift from Lord Itor of Gipu. I prefer my old jacket, though. It fits me well, and the two of us have been down many a road together.”

  They set out on horseback for the palace. Valo Peli looked uncomfortable in his Kelten clothing and kept shrugging. “I suppose I, like the Lady Tuomi, shall have to learn more of your curious language. If only I were her age, such learning would be much easier.”