As they made their way through the city, Lucian studied the buildings. Something about how they were arranged was strange. He tried to imagine what the city would look like from above. Looking to the small houses, it finally struck him. This entire city was set up in a defensive nature. The small houses offered little comfort, but in case of an attack, no matter how unlikely that seemed, if they had to retreat from the walls, they would move to the small fortified homes. Row after row circled around the great keep, the last stand. They would retreat from each row of defense, all the way to the fortress if they had too. There they would fight to the death. There was no way of escape from the city if invaded. They would fight and defend their home, or die in the process. Lucian’s respect for these people was growing with each new revelation.
Tarriel led them through the village to the large fortress in the center. Their small escort had attracted a lot of attention and tripled in size. More warriors joined in as they passed by, mostly out of curiosity at their strange new guests. Small children weaved in and out of the mass of warriors and when they weren't waved away, or cautioned, they moved in close to Lucian and Eliath to gawk at them and giggle. Some of the braver children even dared to touch the two men and then run away screeching and laughing. Lucian smiled at them, making them laugh and shriek louder. He noticed a lot of boys from all different ages but there were no younger women, only very small girls. He stepped up his pace to get closer to Tarriel.
"Where are all your younger women? I do not see them among your ranks, and there aren't any in the village."
Tarriel did not look back to him, and kept to her long, brisk stride. "They are in training. From the sixth year of their life they begin to learn the ways of war from our elders, through scrolls, passed down from our ancestors. When they reach their tenth year, they begin their training in weapons, and learn hand to hand combat. When they complete their training, they may become a warrior of Culdora."
Lucian looked at Eliath. He showed no emotion over what they had just learned but Lucian was thunderstruck. "At what age do they complete their training?"
"Their training is finished when they complete the warrior rite of passage. It depends on the individual woman. Most do not complete the test until late in their twenty years, some in their thirty years."
Lucian missed a few steps and had to quicken his pace to catch up with Tarriel. "So these girls train their entire lives to become warriors. What about a family, a life, do they have a choice?"
Tarriel stopped so abruptly that Lucian almost ran into the back of her. She spun and locked him in with her steel gaze. He thought that lightning would streak from her eyes and cut him down right then.
"It is the greatest honor of all women to become a warrior of Culdora." She stepped closer to Lucian, so close that her nose almost touched his. Her eyes, emanating rage, were level with his, "Of course they have a choice. Our lives are not bound by rules of man."
Lucian realized he had struck a nerve. He looked around at the other women surrounding them. They all had the same deadly look in their eyes.
"I did not mean to offend you Tarriel. Your culture is simply different from my own. But it is your culture, and I will not judge you. I am only curious. Forgive my ignorance."
Her eyes narrowed and she stared at Lucian for a few moments without speaking. Finally she looked over to Eliath. "You are supposed to protect your friend, should you not also protect him from his forked tongue?"
Eliath gave her an even look. "I am his protector, not his master. I do not govern his words."
Her lips spread into a small smile. But it disappeared as she looked back to Lucian before starting out again toward the fortress.
Lucian felt horrible about how these girls were raised. But he thought better than speak his opinion. He was trying to think of what he could say to smooth out the situation when Eliath spoke up.
"My brother was telling me that you must be one of the greatest warriors among your people."
Tarriel slowed a bit, looking back at Lucian suspiciously. "Why would he say such a thing?"
Lucian had noticed that Tarriel looked younger than all the other women warriors he had seen, but he was so caught up in the defensive nature of the city that he hadn't put much thought into it before. He took the hint from Eliath and went with it, speaking as if it was as obvious as night and day.
"You said earlier that it was very rare for a young woman to complete the Right of Passage and become a warrior, yet you are very young. I believe that you are the youngest warrior we have seen among your people."
Tarriel picked up her pace again. "It is as you say. I was very young when I passed the test."
It was all she said, but Lucian could tell that her walk had more bounce now, and she held her chin higher. They had said the right thing. He looked over to Eliath and gave an appreciative nod. The two men shared a boyish grin.
As they came to the steps leading up to the fortress, Tarriel stopped and faced them. "You will be taken to a guarded room while the Elders are gathered, I have already sent for them." She seemed to think about it for a moment and then turned to one of the other warriors and spoke to her in their tongue. When she was done, the warrior ran off. "I have told my guards to treat you well. They have been instructed to give you water and food. However, if you try and escape, we will cut off your limbs one at a time," she stepped close to Lucian and looked down the length of him, "starting with your smallest one."
Even if she had smiled just a little after what she said, Lucian still wouldn’t have been able to take in a breath until she turned and stalked off. Their guards signaled for them to go up the stairs and led them to their room. To Lucian’s surprise, it was not a cell in a dungeon. He was sure that if not for their last statement to Tarriel, a cell is where they would be waiting. He looked around and realized they must be in some sort of archive. The walls of the room were lined with small cubbyholes that were filled with scrolls. Each cubby had a small, copper placard with Culdoran writing etched into it, a label to help them find the document they were looking for. Lucian looked at all the scrolls and thought to himself that it would take a person half a lifetime to read all of them. He pulled some of the scrolls out and unrolled them. They were all in Culdoran script. He couldn't read what it said, but he always enjoyed looking at the written word from other cultures. As with the language, Culdoran writings were very similar to Yavasuran. He thought he heard Eliath say something so he turned to answer him. He was studying one of the scrolls and his lips were moving as though he were reading it.
"Are you talking to yourself again brother?" Lucian asked loud enough, but Eliath didn't acknowledge him, so he moved in closer and rested his hand on his shoulder. "Eli, are you talking to yourself again?"
Eliath glanced up at him briefly and then looked back down to the scroll. "No, I am reading."
Lucian rocked back on his heels. "What do you mean you are reading? You’re reading that? But it is in Culdoran!"
Eliath looked at Lucian like he was confused. "Yes, it is. I know how to read Culdoran."
Lucian thought that maybe his friend was just joking with him, but that was not Eliath's way. He wondered if he was losing his mind. He wanted to grab Eliath and shake him.
"How can you read Culdoran?"
"I learned it."
"When did you learn it?” he asked in disbelief. “You must have been a very young age. I have not seen you study it."
"Yes, I was younger."
Lucian just stared at his mysterious friend. The man was constantly surprising him. He finally shook his head and accepted it, realizing he would get nothing else out of him. "What is it you’re reading?"
Eliath rolled the scroll back up and placed it back in the cubby he had taken it from. "The history of Culdora, it is very interesting. But I cannot find anything that dates back to the beginning of these people. There must be another room, or a vault. Maybe this is what they teach the girls, their history starting with the first elders chosen
, and the creation of their laws."
"But why wouldn't they want to teach their entire culture to the children?"
"Not all cultures are proud of their past. And even those that are proud still do not teach their children things that they believe are not fit to learn."
"But history is history, people should know of theirs, in its entirety. It is not something that should be kept secret or censured."
"I believe as you do my brother, but many nations do not. Culdora is dominated by females. The men seem content in their roles. Do you think it has always been like this? If not, what better way to keep the men content, than to teach them that Culdoran men have always been subservient to women?"
Lucian was starting to get frustrated at the thought. "But women and men are equal. Men only fight because they are stronger. Women should be protected so that they can raise and nurture our children. These women raise their own children as slaves. They say there is a choice but what choice is there, after being taught at such an early age that the greatest thing in life is to become a warrior and die for your people. They are being forced into this way of life!" Lucian was almost shouting now.
Eliath put his hands on Lucian’s shoulders to calm him down. "How much influence did growing up in the woods away from the village have on you, in your choice on becoming a hunter? Do you believe it is so different here than anywhere else in the world? You’re making a judgment on these people based on your perspective because of how you were raised. What if these people think that women everywhere else were raised as slaves, given no other choice in life, than to serve man as a wife, and a mother?"
Lucian was raking his fingers through his hair. "But the women in our village, and others like ours have a choice, they aren't made to be slaves to men."
"Yes, they are given a choice. But they are not taught the art of war, diplomacy, or how to fight. They are taught by their mothers, who were taught by their mothers as well, each generation, passing down the tradition of taking care of the home and their men. Why would they choose to do that which they know nothing about? You think the men of Culdora do not have a choice? Look around. They are content. They are not slaves. They have chosen to stay home, like their fathers before them, and take care of their household and their children."
Lucian nodded. "You have humbled me yet again my friend, how could I have expected the entire world to be exactly the same?" He rubbed his temples. A headache was forming.
Eliath saw the pain behind his eyes. "There is much yet for you to learn Lucian, but all that has happened is starting to wear at you. You must rest before the headaches take you.
Lucian focused to try and will the pain away. It lessened but still lingered. He needed to clear his head. So much had happened. The thought of his parents being murdered gave him clarity. It strengthened his resolve. He sat down at the table in the center of the room, calming himself.
“Who do you think attacked these people?” wondered Lucian. “They say that the assassins’ manner of dress was that of Yavasura, but there was no way someone from our village would have the skill to enter this fortress, make it through these warriors, and kill their leader. It is not possible.”
“Maybe the attack was made to appear as something else, made to look like Yavasura.” said Eliath.
Lucian was nodding in agreement. “That must be it. We heard that a warlord from the north is uniting all the tribes and is moving south. Maybe he sent these assassins. If the southern tribes began warring amongst themselves, then it will be all the easier for him to sweep down and destroy us!”
Lucian’s mind raced, the implications of it all started flooding his thoughts. “What if the murder of our parents was made to look the same? What if this man from Ganth was acting on orders from the warlord and not his own people? We must find out the truth.
Just as Eliath started to speak, the door to the room swung open. Tarriel stood in the doorway, her thick mane of red hair seemed aglow from the torchlight behind her. “Come with me. The Elders are ready to see you now.”
Lucian and Eliath hurried after the beautiful warrior. It was not a far distance from the archive they had been put in to where the Elders waited. They entered the large room to be greeted by twelve scowling faces seated along one side of a long rectangular table. Two chairs were set up in front of the table. Lucian had the feeling that he was on trial. Maybe he was.
The two friends sat down on the chairs. Tarriel took up a position to the side of them. Lucian was surprised to see that out of the twelve elders, six of them were men. The woman in the center that was speaking to Tarriel was older but she seemed in very good shape. Lucian figured that she must have been a great warrior at one time also. She, along with the other elders, all wore a simple tunic over a sleeveless shirt. It was a brilliant greenish teal colored material. The collar hung down in a low circular cut. The edges of the outfit were all embroidered in rich gold symbols. None of the elders wore any jewelry.
However simple the dress was, it did not take away from the command authority that emanated from these twelve. Up until now, Lucian hadn’t thought he would have ever seen anyone who looked as intimidating as Tarriel.
The woman in the center finally spoke and Tarriel translated. “Elder Vanesht wishes to know why you have come to Culdora.”
Lucian figured that she probably already knew the answer to that, but he decided to go along with the line of questioning instead of causing trouble for himself and Eliath by being flippant.
“We have come only to pass through on our way to Ganth.”
Tarriel did not translate his words. The Elders must all know his language. He was embarrassed to be in a place that spoke his language, yet he could not understand theirs. The elder spoke again, choosing to stay in her own tongue.
“The High Elder asks why your people have attacked our village,” said Tarriel.
Lucian looked into the eyes of each Elder before speaking. “I do not believe it was Yavasura who sent the assassins. I believe that they were sent by a warlord from the north, as a means of bringing the southern tribes to war.”
The elders started whispering to each other, some seemed angered.
Lucian looked over to Eliath to see if he knew if what they were saying was good or bad. The look he gave back concerned Lucian. The woman Tarriel had called Vanesht, looked at him and spoke in Yavasuran.
“Why do you believe this?” she asked Lucian
“I think he plans to invade the southern kingdoms. He wishes to rule us all.”
The elders all started laughing, except for Vanesht, who studied Lucian’s eyes.
Lucian continued on. “I have heard that he has already conquered most of the northern tribes and I believe he plans to move on Vorea.” He could tell that his last statement made an impact. The elders stopped laughing and all stared at him. Vanesht spoke up.
“You will return to your village with our war party. If what you say about your people is true, you will be released. If not, you will be killed along with the rest of your tribe.”
Lucian stood up from his chair, confused at the response. “No, I must go to Ganth. My parents were murdered by a man from there, and I have to find out why. You can send your scouts back to Yavasura. One look at my village and you will know that the attack here could not have come from them.”
The guards at the back of the room moved toward Lucian as he stood. Tarriel stepped forward and with a short glance, they moved back.
Lucian stepped closer to the elder’s table, clasping his hands in front of him. “Please, my village is small, and they harbor no ill will toward Culdora. If anything, they fear you, and after seeing your city with my own eyes, I believe they should. You are a powerful people, please don’t destroy mine. And please, I beg you, don’t make me return home. I must go to Ganth.”
Vanesht looked at Lucian for a long moment. Her brow pinched together in a tight scowl. “What if the Ganthians were responsible for the murder of your parents? Don’t you think it foolish to tra
vel there alone? What if they kill you when you get there, how then will you avenge your parents?”
Lucian looked to the floor, he hadn’t put that much thought into it, and all he cared about was finding answers. “I don’t believe that all of Ganth would have played a part in the murder of my parents. They were an insignificant couple. They owned a small farm out in the woods away from everyone. It makes no sense, that’s why I have to go there, to shed light on this mystery. And this is not a quest for vengeance, but answers.”
Vanesht looked at Eliath. “What is your part in this?”
Eliath answered her in Culdoran, which seemed a pleasant surprise to the elders. Lucian had just found out that Eliath could read Culdoran. Hearing him speak it now, shocked him anew. Whatever Eliath had said to them, seemed to gain their respect.
The Elders talked amongst themselves for what seemed like forever. Finally Vanesht looked to Lucian and spoke.
“We believe what you have said, and will grant you passage through Culdora.”
Lucian felt his muscles relax. He was beginning to think he would snap in half from the tension.
“Tarriel believes you and your friend to be honorable men, and her word holds much standing among our people.”
Lucian gave Tarriel a thankful nod.
Vanesht continued on. “She, and the warriors of her choosing, will escort you to Ganth. We feel great sorrow for your parents, and wish to aid you in your quest.”
Revelations of Doom Page 10
