She turned her gaze back to Jesse, a bitter smile on her lips. “In the end, I couldn’t return them to the wild, and I couldn’t stop us from going to war either. But there is one thing that I can do. And it’s something only I can do.”
“What?”
“Expose the truth.”
Jesse frowned. “Expose the truth?”
Elin fixed her eyes on his and said quietly, “I can reveal the truth that the Royal Ancestor Jeh and my own ancestors sought to hide.”
Jesse blinked. “You mean the disaster that killed all the beasts and humans?”
“Yes. If that tale is true, I may actually cause such a disaster.” She looked straight at him. “But I’ve been searching this whole time for a way to prevent it. You’ve watched me train Leelan and the others to fly together, haven’t you?”
Jesse nodded.
“If what I’ve done is right, and I’m able to stay connected with Leelan and the others on the battlefield, I might be able to avert disaster.” Her voice trailed off huskily. If only she could make that dream come true, how much easier she would feel. If only she could close with her own hands the door she had opened when she was a girl and get through this crisis without hurting anyone, man or beast …
She closed her eyes for a moment as longing filled her chest. Slowly, she opened them again. “Yet no matter how hard I might try to foresee what will happen when a pack of Royal Beasts falls upon a thousand Toda, I just don’t know. What happens may exceed anything I could ever have imagined. So if a catastrophe does occur…”
She looked at her son, her face pale. “I will stand witness to what happens when Royal Beasts are used as weapons.”
Jesse’s eyes widened. Gazing into them, Elin said, “If we choose to use the Royal Beasts like this, despite knowing that a catastrophe may occur, then we must accept the consequences. Those who decided to wage this war, and I, who couldn’t stop it, we must bear responsibility for it.”
She paused, then drew a deep breath and whispered, “I want everyone to know this, Jesse. All of it.”
Jesse listened silently, frowning.
“The Royal Ancestor Jeh and the Ahlyo hid the true nature of Royal Beasts and Toda so that men, driven by greed, wouldn’t do something foolish. Like putting blinkers on a cart horse. My mother died to protect that secret.” Her voice trembled slightly. “But you know, Jesse, I think hiding the truth was a mistake. I think that people need to be aware of their actions and of the consequences. Regardless of what it is, I don’t think it’s right to hide knowledge. Even if humans are stupid. Even if they’re so foolish that they’ll use the knowledge they gain for the wrong purpose.”
She heard a door close outside. The guard was leaving to do his regular rounds. Listening to that familiar sound, Elin reached out her arm and gently clasped Jesse’s hand in her own. “I once told your father that if humans can’t maintain a balance except by killing one another, then let them. Even if it means they all perish. For a long time, I kept this cold, cruel thought in my mind. But I don’t think so anymore.”
She smiled faintly. “People will never stop killing one another. There will probably always be war. We’re separate. Although we have words to communicate, we can never adequately convey what we think and feel to one another. Yet humans will keep looking for a way through. That’s the kind of creature we are.”
Jesse listened silently as Elin continued.
“When people know, they think. Many different people, each with their own perspective and motive, will keep on thinking. When one dies, another will look for a new path to avoid extinction. That’s how the human herd has survived this long.
“But we can’t explore such questions if we’re ignorant. We need knowledge to think. It’s only when we have thought everything through to the end, when we’ve studied how we came to cause such a catastrophe, what stupidity drove us to it, why we behaved the way we did, that we can ever find a meaningful way to prevent it.
“And that’s why,” she said quietly, “I’ll never give up, Jesse. I will never choose death for myself. If what I’m doing causes a catastrophe, I’m going to fly into the midst of it to see if there’s a way through to the future. And I’ll do my best to tell everyone what I find out.”
She reached over and stroked his cheek. “Just watch me, Jesse.”
* * *
A bird chirped a high-pitched note. Shadows flitted across the evening sky as birds flew home to roost. The remnants of the sunset still lingered in the west, while the east was already sunk in blue darkness. “He’s late. What on earth can that boy be doing?” Esalu muttered, turning to look back toward the school with a frown.
Behind her, the guards stood quietly at the edge of the forest watching Elin and the Royal Beasts preparing to leave. Perched on the cliff top, the Beasts appeared unperturbed. They loomed beautiful and majestic like snowy peaks, their fur shining golden in the last rays of the sun that was disappearing below the rim of the mountains.
Gazing at their figures, Elin reflected that it was their beauty that had first captivated her and drawn her to this point in time. Even now, she vividly recalled the brilliant silver forms of the wild mother and cub she had seen with Joeun so long ago. She had longed to return Leelan and the others to the wild where they could mate and bear children, where they could rule the mountain valleys and be masters of their own lives, not tools of men. But in the end, she had failed.
In her mind, she spoke to the Beast that towered like a statue above her. What are you thinking right now, Leelan? she asked. They had taught each other their language and could now understand from the slightest gesture what the other was going to do. Yet she still didn’t know what went on in Leelan’s mind.
These creatures would now fly at her command and devour the enemy. If she ordered them to dive into the jaws of death, they would obey without protest. Yet even then, she would never know what they thought. How often she had wished that they weren’t so obedient. If only they were like cats, if only they would ignore her commands and live as they pleased, she would never have had to lead them to their deaths.
“Alu will be entering the more stable phase of her pregnancy soon, won’t she?” Esalu asked.
Elin turned to look at her and nodded. “Maybe it’s a good thing the order to fly came now,” she said.
“You mean we can at least save those two,” Esalu said with a shrug.
Elin gave a wry smile. “Yes. And besides, I doubt they could fly with this pack anymore.”
Esalu’s eyes widened slightly. “Really?”
“Yes. I tried bringing Alu and Ukalu close to Leelan and the others, but they all raised their hackles and began to growl.”
Watching Leelan groom her fur, Elin said, “If they formed their own separate pack and flew some distance apart, it would be possible, but to do that…”
“Someone other than you would have to lead them,” Esalu said, finishing her sentence. Elin nodded. “I see,” Esalu murmured, her eyes on Elin. “So you’ve come to another line. If you don’t cross it, you can keep others from being dragged into the conflict. What you’re really saying is that being summoned now means you can bear this burden alone.” There was a hard ring to her voice.
Elin gazed at her aging teacher. Her hair was much grayer now, and although her back was still straight, she seemed somehow smaller. Seeing Esalu’s thin lips tremble, Elin felt a deep emotion well up and spread through her chest. Stepping closer, Elin hugged her shyly. “Thank you,” she said.
Elin had never known her father’s face and had lost her mother when she was very young. Despite this, though, she’d been happy, because of the affection with which Joeun had raised her and the stern yet profound love with which Esalu had nurtured her.
Esalu squeezed Elin tightly, then pulled herself away. “Don’t say things like that,” she snapped in her typical fashion. “It’s bad luck!” Her face was wet with tears. “If you really want to thank me, come back. Come back and let me see you again.”
Elin nodded, brushing her tears away with the palms of her hands. At that moment, she heard a commotion behind her. Turning, she saw Jesse push through the guards and come running toward her, bearing a bundle in his arms.
“Mom!” Gasping for breath, he placed the bundle on the ground and began undoing the cloth that bound it. Various things started tumbling out. Jesse grabbed a large parcel wrapped in wax paper and handed it to her. “I asked the dorm mother to bake these for you. They just came out of the oven. Cookies rolled in red sugar. They’re still hot, but it’s cold up there, isn’t it? Eat them on your way. There’re some for Leelan and the others, too. Give them one each when you get to Lazalu. They taste good even when they’re cold. And this is a scarf. I’ve already warmed it with a hot water bottle, so put it around your neck before you fly.”
He shoved the scarf into his mother’s hands and then gazed up at her. “You don’t have to worry about Alu,” he said. “I’ll take good care of her. You said you weren’t able to return these ones to the wild, but you don’t know that yet. It might still be possible. When you get back, I’ll help you. Let’s find a way to free Alu and the others.” A fierce light burned in his eyes, and his mouth was firmly set.
Esalu cleared her throat and rapped Jesse lightly on the top of his head. He looked up at her in surprise. “I’ll give you credit for your good intentions,” she said with a scowl, “but only students in the upper level are permitted to take care of the Royal Beasts. Remember that, young man. You aren’t anywhere near old enough for me to leave Alu in your care.”
Jesse looked put out, but Esalu fixed him with a beady glare. She brought her hand up to Elin’s eye level. “If you want to help your mother, work hard until you at least measure up this high. There are no shortcuts in studying. You’ll never understand all your mother has learned these many years unless you knuckle down and study. Once you’ve mastered all your subjects, then you’ll start to grasp what she has written. That’s the nature of science and learning, so do your best, Jesse.”
Although Jesse looked at her with a puzzled frown, in the end he nodded reluctantly. Seeing his expression, Elin burst out laughing. A leaden pain had weighed on her heart, but now she felt warmth radiate to every corner of her body.
She pulled him close. “Thank you, Jesse,” she murmured. “Please watch out for Alu.” Holding him tightly, she tried to imprint on her being the warmth and even the scent of him. In her heart, she whispered, I’ll give you a new future. I promise.
She gritted her teeth. She didn’t want to show him any tears right now. She released him slowly, as though peeling away her longing to stay, and bowed deeply to Esalu. “Please take care of Jesse,” she said.
Then she turned to the guards standing at the edge of the forest and bowed her head low. They looked at her as if surprised and saluted.
Tying the bundle that Jesse had given her onto the riding harness, Elin settled herself on Leelan’s back. The wind caressed her hair. With the two fingers remaining on her left hand, she grasped the worn and battered harp that was attached with a long rope to the saddle. With her right hand, she plucked a string. It reverberated sharply. Instantly, the Royal Beasts raised their heads and, spreading their wings, leaped into the air.
Jesse and Esalu stood staring after them until they vanished into the sky, where distant stars were beginning to twinkle.
NINE
MADNESS
1
TO AMASULU
When Elin reached the Lazalu Sanctuary, she had asked a servant to deliver her message to Seimiya while she tended to the Royal Beasts. Seimiya read it while waiting for Elin to arrive. The window of her room was slightly open, and the chill night air drifted through. The scent of the outdoors mingled with the aroma of freshly brewed tea.
When a maidservant finally ushered Elin into the room, Seimiya stood up from her chair. “I’m glad to see you arrived safely.”
Elin dropped to one knee and bowed formally. Seimiya acknowledged her greeting and gestured toward a desk in the center of the room. A large map was spread across it. Seimiya’s eyes were on the map as she walked toward Elin, when suddenly she raised her face. “You smell lovely,” she said.
“I do?”
“Yes, sweet and somehow delicious.”
“Oh.” Elin blushed. “My son gave me some baked sweets for the journey, and I just ate them.”
At this, Seimiya’s face relaxed into a smile. Turning once again to the map, however, her expression grew serious. She had already communicated with Elin in writing and so plunged straight into the subject of concern. “The palace is here,” she said placing a finger on the map. “This is Amasulu, and here are the caravan cities.” She moved her finger to each city as she said its name.
Imeelu was closest to Amasulu on the grassland highway that led straight from the eastern plains through Imeelu to Amasulu. Hoza was situated above the plains on the northern highway that skirted the edge of a mountain range, while Kasholu was situated south of the plains on the desert highway that passed through the drylands and branched off toward the kingdom of Tolah. Ulamu, which had been taken by the Lahza, as well as Ikishili and Togulamu, were located much farther east near the city of Hajan, which was once the capital of the Hajan kingdom.
“Ikishili is on a road leading to the northern highway, while Togulamu is on one leading to the desert highway,” said Seimiya, “and Ulamu is on the grassland highway that passes through the plains.”
The terrain through which the grassland highway passed was quite hilly in places, and although there were several small post towns scattered along the route, the only large settlements were Ulamu, followed by Imeelu and then Amasulu.
“Our soldiers stationed in Ikishili and Togulamu haven’t reported seeing any Lahza troops. Nor have those in Hoza or Kasholu. We did hear, however, from soldiers in Tsualu over here.” Seimiya pointed to a small post town between Ulamu and Imeelu. “They said there’re about two thousand Lahza cavalry on the move.”
Two thousand. The number seemed so huge Elin couldn’t imagine the scale.
“The Lahza have been attacking both Ikishili on the northern highway and Togulamu on the desert highway quite frequently. They excel at surprise attacks, and the topography of those areas lends itself to such tactics.”
Seimiya stopped and bit her lip. “Shunan once showed me some soldiers who had been wounded in battle.” Elin noticed that she used her husband’s name rather than calling him by his title, the Aluhan. “One young man had lost an eye and another an arm at Hosalu Pass, near Ikishili.”
Seimiya’s words brought back a night long ago when Ialu had staggered into the Royal Beast stable, badly wounded, and Elin had hidden him. He’d told her that Shunan had brought some injured soldiers to show the Yojeh.
Seimiya stared blankly at the map as if she, too, were lost in memories of the past. Finally, she took a breath and said bluntly, “As you know, I’ve rejected Nozgula’s proposal to cede Ulamu, Ikishili, and Togulamu. Shunan and his advisors thought that Nozgula, having conquered Ulamu without losing any men, would try to take Ikishili and Togulamu next and establish a strong foothold in these three cities, rather than moving to attack us directly. I thought so, too. But it appears we were wrong.”
Seimiya traced her finger along the map from Ulamu to Tsualu and then to Imeelu. “As soon as he conquered Ulamu, he moved straight toward Imeelu. He’ll probably try to gain control over the highway that runs through the plains.”
She tapped her finger on the place where the word “Imeelu” was written on the map. “Imeelu is just four days by carriage and only two days by horse from Amasulu, our eastern border. If Imeelu falls, it will be a disaster.”
She raised her face and gazed at Elin. “We must protect Imeelu at all costs. Our largest Toda force is already stationed there, but we’ve ordered the new Toda troop to join them as well.” She paused for a moment. “Ialu must have reached there by now,” she concluded.
Elin nodded. Having w
orked so hard to build up the new Toda force, Ialu had been appointed second in command. Elin stared at the red spot on the plains that represented Imeelu and imagined Ialu astride a Toda riding into that foreign town, home of the intelligent and beautiful Kuriu, the woman she had met in Yohalu’s hall.
“Shunan has set up base in Amasulu territory,” Seimiya said calmly. “Tomorrow, I will leave the palace to go and join him.”
Elin stared at her in shock. “Your Majesty?”
Seimiya smiled. “If I ride out to join them, the nobles of my territory won’t be able to complain that they’ve been sent off to war.”
In her smile, Elin thought she caught a glimpse of Seimiya’s grandmother Halumiya, the previous Yojeh.
Seimiya pointed to Amasulu. “You’ve just arrived and haven’t had time to rest, yet I must ask you to lead the Royal Beasts to Amasulu tomorrow night. We’ve already prepared beacons along the road to guide your way.”
Elin nodded. “I understand,” she said. In her mind’s eye, she saw the great river that Yohalu had once shown her from the top of a hill. The Amasulu River, across which Shunan’s ancestor, Yaman Hasalu, had ridden the Toda given him by the Yojeh’s ancestor to stop the Hajan invasion; the place near which Yohalu’s ancestor, who came from a valley in the Afon Noah, had built the first Toda village.
Now she and Yohalu, descendants of the green-eyed ones, and the Yojeh, descendent of the golden-eyed ones, would converge on Amasulu, where their ancestors had first used Toda to fight for the kingdom. And to that same spot, Elin would take the Royal Beasts.
2
THE CARAVAN CITY IMEELU
Imeelu spread along the edge of the River Sahfa. It was surrounded by a high wall with only two entrances: the bridge gate, with a port where riverboats could dock, and the east gate, for merchants arriving via the highway through the eastern plains. Both gates were manned by Lyoza soldiers. When the bells rang the evening hour, the thick gates closed, and no one was allowed to leave or enter until the next morning.
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