Kingmaker

by Eric Zawadzki

CHAPTER 15

  He woke to a blaring horn and the movement of many sordenu. He looked up bleary-eyed in the dim light of dawn. Sordenu were dressing hastily and pouring out of the barracks. Someone shook the bunk.

  “Butu, get up,” Lujo said below him. Nolen and Phedam appeared, fully dressed.

  “I don’t see how you could’ve slept through that,” Phedam said.

  “What’s going on?” Butu asked, jumping down and rubbing his hand across the stubble on his head. He’d have to shave today. Looking up at the other recruits, he wondered if he would ever grow, too.

  “Camp inspection,” Blay said, appearing behind them. He nodded at Butu. “General Pater inspects the sordenu once a week. Get into uniform and come outside. Quickly.”

  Nolen grinned at Butu as he and Phedam followed Blay. Butu had his shirt on and pants up when Lujo finished and jogged after them. Glancing around the barracks, Butu saw he was the last one inside. He ran to the entrance, doing up his shirt as he left. He stepped into line with the other recruits to a stern nod from Blay.

  Sergeant Aeklan paced in front of the ranks, occasionally barking orders to stand straighter and otherwise finding flaws in each sordenu’s uniform or carriage. Butu heard other voices shouting, as well — sergeants in charge of smaller groups of sordenu.

  Aeklan must be more than just a regular sergeant, Butu realized. Maybe that’s why he trains new recruits.

  Butu risked a glance at the sordenu around him. The way they all stood in neat formations made it easier to guess their numbers than he had expected — three companies of about a hundred sordenu each, each divided into three platoons and subdivided into squads of eight or nine. The recruits and Blay stood alone, not a part of any company. Aeklan came by and shouted at each of them, then grumbled to Zhepal about equipping “this small herd of even smaller goats.”

  The officers rode in from the road, the way Butu had walked in a handful of days ago. General Pater al’Ahjea rode at the head, and not too far behind him, his grandson, Zhek.

  “Ah-TEN-shun!” Aeklan roared, and the already stiff army somehow stood up taller.

  Pater was his son’s girth if not his height, with his carefully trimmed beard completely white. He had ceded the position of kluntra to his son before Butu had been born, and now corrected his son from the side and ran the army with equal efficiency.

  The general and his companions rode down the line of sordenu. Pater’s eyes bored into Butu when he passed. Zhek also made eye contact, and then looked away — directly at Jani, Butu assumed. The kluntra’s son looked back at Butu with barely contained rage.

  What’s his problem? Butu thought. He can’t blame me for her decision!

  After a few minutes, the horses’ hooves picked up their pace and the officers appeared in front of the assembled army.

  Pater nodded to someone out of Butu’s sight, and then Aeklan shouted, “Recruits! Present! Single line! Hup, hup hup!”

  Nolen jumped nearly as high as Butu did, and Blay led their straggling line forward, in between the veteran sordenu and the officers. Aeklan shouted at them until their line was flawless. He turned and saluted to Pater, who had dismounted along with Zhek and the tall, lean man with the most stripes besides the general.

  “Sergeant Aeklan, are the recruits ready?” Pater asked. He could have been heard halfway to Jasper.

  “Ready and awaiting your instructions, sir!”

  “Very good, sergeant.” His gaze speared each of the young recruits in front of him one more time, and, staring at Blay, he said, “Lieutenant!”

  Zhek stepped forward. “Corporal Blay!”

  Blay saluted. “Yes, sir!”

  “You are hereby assigned to lead squad Tem-35!” Butu didn’t even know what it meant. “Your charges are Private Tirud! Recruits Jani! Butu! Nolen! Phedam! Retus! Lujo!”

  “Yes, sir!”

  I thought they’d assign us to different squads, Butu thought.

  “I see squad Tem-35 stands before me in its entirety, captain,” Pater said, dryly, to the other officer behind him.

  “Yes, sir,” the captain said.

  “Sergeant, you may dismiss the squad.”

  “Yes, sir!” Aeklan faced them, hollering for them to fall out and return to their company. Blay led them behind the middle company. Butu could see the faces of the other companies, feel their eyes on him.

  “I have some bad news,” Pater announced. “Ku company will be late coming back from the Nukata. An army of Clanless attacked them just east of the Riphil River. Until ku company returns, all leave is suspended.”

  Low murmurs escaped from some of the sordenu, but the sergeants quickly silenced them. Pater continued.

  “This is only a temporary measure and should last a few weeks. Over the next few months, we will be creating two new sordenu companies in order to deal with this new Clanless threat. The kluntra is sending us fresh recruits from the towns, and the first of them will arrive in a few days. Companies dismissed.”

  The Clanless must be getting bold if Jusep is raising a larger army, Butu thought as the sordenu dispersed. I hope Mak is safe. He had never been close to Zaseby’s husband, but Mak had always treated Butu the same as he did the fosterlings in her care.

  “Tem-35,” Phedam mused as they walked toward the mess hall. “That’s the fifth squad of the third platoon of the fifth company. It didn’t even exist before.”

  Tirud smirked. “We’re all orphans, now.”

  “Most of us are orphans,” Butu said, and Nolen nodded.

  “The Ahjea have five companies of sordenu,” Phedam explained, “al’, el’, un’, ku, and tem, which is why the sordenu call the companies dad, brother, cousin, bastard and orphan. I wonder what they’ll call the new companies.”

  “But, orphan,” Lujo was clearly worried. “Sounds like we’re, um, unimportant.”

  “Of course not,” Blay said. Since the general had dismissed him, his grin had not left his face. The goatee danced in pride whenever he looked at one of his squadmembers. “All the companies are equal, but they have some specific roles. Dad stays in Gordney. Brother’s up in Pophir. They’re always ready to protect Jasper and the Ahjea’s interests. ‘Un, ku and tem patrol our territory in six-week marches. Ku was due back at the end of the week.”

  “And then who goes out?” Nolen asked.

  “We do.” Blay said with a conspiratorial wink. “Assuming you all finish weapons training in time.”

  Phedam looked confused. “Aren’t we a little new to be in tem company? I thought all new recruits were assigned to dad at least for the first couple years.”

  Blay shrugged. “Usually, yes, but not always. It will all make sense in a month or two, I promise.”

  “Who were the two riders next to the general?” Retus asked.

  “Captain Philbe el’Ahjea, the commander of tem company, and Lieutenant Zhek al’Ahjea, who’s in charge of our platoon.”

  Retus’s eyes widened. “The kluntra’s son?”

  Butu knew Zhek too well to feel awe, though he supposed it was something of an honor to be a sordenu under the heir’s direct command. Zhek is up to something involving us and especially Jani, and she knows it, too. He looked at Jani, who shook her head slightly.

  “A short lesson, then we’ll start our day,” Blay said. “You got your officers, right? Lieutenant then captain then general. Then you got your enlisted, sergeant, corporal and private, which you all will be when you get your swords. They don’t mix, understood?” He nodded as they agreed. “The officers do the strategy. The enlisted do the day-to-day stuff.”

  “And what do you do?” Nolen asked.

  “His job is to be our friend and rat us out if we screw up,” Tirud said.

  “He’s half right. I’m the voice of experience and the shining example you’re all supposed to imitate.” Blay said it jokingly, but then he sobered, staring hard at each of them in turn. “I’m here to help you — to teach you how to be sordenu. You’re gonna make a lot of mistakes
at the beginning, and I don’t mind suffering a bit for it. But remember. If any of you gets caught failing to live up to the example I’m supposed to create, the whole squad gets punished, including me. We don’t rat each other out. If someone is doing something that’ll get us all in trouble, the rest of us put a stop to it ourselves before anyone else finds out. In camp, foolishness gets us polishing duty. In the field, it gets us killed. The sergeants and officers don’t police the squad. The squad polices the squad.”

  They all nodded again, quietly. Butu shared a glance with Nolen.

  Who can we trust to practice with us?

  A throat cleared. They all turned to see Aeklan standing there, Zhepal at his shoulder.

  “Let’s go get your weapons, men.”