Soleri

by Michael Johnston

  The chanting grew louder as the traitors gathered their nerve and made their final push. “Gallach!” they hollered over and over as their gray-haired leader raised a silver sword and beat his chest. Who is he? Kepi thought. Some minor lord, some half-blood trying to wring power from my husband’s throne?

  Seeing the traitors advance, the king’s warlords chanted Dagrun’s name, their soldiers leveled their blades and set their shields in a ring. The turncoats pressed in around them, slaves and servants leaping over one another, eager for blood, for revenge, for a chance to strike at the false king’s soldiers. The yelling and the clinking of blades, the roar of the battle was all around her. Kepi fought from within the ring, thrusting her sword between her soldiers’ shields, doing her best to hold back the rebels, but already she knew what was coming next. The circle would not hold. When the first soldier fell, the traitors would pierce the ring. They would come for her first. She was the one they wanted. So she waited for their attack, pacing in a tight circle, balancing on her toes, ready for the fight. Get it over with, she thought. This waiting is worse than dying.

  The first strike came from behind Kepi. The soldier fell to his knees. The circle broke. Something ragged cut her skin, a blade cleaved her leather bracer. This is it. The rebels were all around her. She waited for the final blow, but it did not come.

  Instead, a piercing shriek rattled the very room in which she stood. All eyes bent toward the ceiling. The cry came again and Kepi recognized it. She had heard it in the Cragwood and on her journey to Rifka, in the yard outside her chamber and on the post wall of the caer. It was the kite. Through the Wind’s Eye, she watched it wheel amid the distant treetops, through the cool and the damp. It soared through the great Eye and circled the Kiteperch. Smaller birds followed behind it. One after another, the birds of the Gray Wood flooded through the Eye. They filled the air with the furious beating of wings, with terrible shrieks. Amid the ruckus, a soldier halted his blade, midstrike while another let down his shield. A slave froze in place, his dagger trembling before a soldier’s brow. The servant girls put down their knives and the stable boys their pitchforks. One by one, then two at a time, both sides stopped what they were doing and watched in awe as the kite circled the room, as the birds of the Gray Wood flew through the Wind’s Eye.

  The sound they made was the voice of the ancient forest. It was the voice of Llyr. The kite cried out to the people of Feren, saying halt, stay your hand, stop.

  And they did stop.

  The soldiers and slaves threw down their weapons. The cooks and the physicians, the scullery girls and manservants, dropped whatever they held. All of them gawked as the Kiteperch shivered and swayed, as the birds of the forest alighted upon its limbs.

  The slaves and servants reversed their attack, retreating across the chamber, leaving Kepi all alone. She stood in a clearing and held out her arm, as she had done before, in the yard—when Dagrun was still king. You came to my aid again, she thought, her eyes on the kite. You’ve been following me since that night in the Cragwood.

  The kite cried out as it caught hold of her leather-covered wrist. It stretched its wings once, gave another cry, and settled on her arm. Kepi touched its head. Why did you not come to me earlier? Already, Kepi knew the answer.

  It was Dagrun, the false king. The kite would not come if the false king sat on the throne. The king of the Ferens had not suffered the Waking Rite, but she had. She had fought for her life in the Cragwood—she’d been fighting for it for years.

  Kepi stumbled to the center of the Chathair and stood in the shadow of the great Kiteperch. The tree shivered, its limbs alive with movement. Birds streamed through the Wind’s Eye, one after another they landed upon the branches of the Kiteperch, the hall echoing with their grisly cries. The people of Feren had revolted because Dagrun was not a Kitelord, and he had not suffered the Waking Rite. Dagrun had given them cause to rebel, and they had done it. But the kite had returned to Rifka. It had come to the queen. The great gray-winged beast cawed, but not to Kepi: The kite sang to the crowd, its eyes black and baleful. It made a sound that shook the earth beneath her feet and made the Kiteperch tremble. It spoke with the voice of Llyr, crying in a language that spoke to the people’s deepest memories, to their instincts and the minds of their ancestors. It bellowed, and its cry made those closest to her kneel.

  All around Kepi the people stooped to their hands and knees. First the slaves bowed, then the servants of the house, the men and women who tended the great caer. Then the soldiers fell to one knee, one after another up the ranks, until only the warlords of Feren were left standing on one side of the Chathair, while Gallach stood alone on the other.

  The gray bird cried again. It gave a loud call and then another, a string of raucous, babbling sounds that bounded through the Chathair, each cry breaking upon the walls before splitting into an even more dense chorus of echoes. The smaller birds echoed the larger, they shrieked and squawked, the cries building. They sang the Dawn Chorus, the hymn of the kite, the song that heralded the dawning of a new rule, and Kepi sang it with them. She howled till her lungs were raw.

  Then she said, “Quiet.” And the birds ceased their crying.

  At her foot, the warlords bowed, and in a hushed silence Gallach bent the knee and acknowledged Kepi, the Kitelord and queen of the Gray Wood.

  THE VOICE IN THE STONE

  The boy woke and pulled himself up, unsteady on his feet. There was dust on his face, sand gathering at the corners of his eyes. His head throbbed and his fingers were stiff.

  How long have I been here?

  There was a thick layer of dust on his clothes. In the place where he had rested, his silhouette was outlined in the dust.

  I must have been out for a long time.

  The boy stumbled forward, nearly colliding with one of the twelve obsidian statues. When he saw them, kneeling before him, arrayed in a circle, his memories flooded back to him.

  He recalled the black-sand beach, and the time he had spent at sea. He recalled his march to the Dromus, and the way the Gate of Coronal had rocked on its hinges. Along with a host of aged fishermen and young boys, he had traveled from Scargill, in the Stone Reefs of the Wyrre, to the mainland and the black-sand beaches of Sola. He’d eaten and drank and marched with the rest of the Scargill fishers, but he was not one of them. He was a priest, not a fisherman. He had only needed their ship, a means to reach Sola with his oilskin sack and the translated symbols it held. He had journeyed to Desouk and met the Mother Priestess. He recalled the grain silo and the curious map on the chamber ceiling. It had led them here, as he had somehow known it would, to the Shambles, to this very place. The throne room of the dead Soleri.

  I am Nollin Odine.

  The taste of Sarra’s poison still lingered on his tongue, burning when he swallowed. I died in this place. I drank poison and I died.

  But I am no longer dead.

  How? he wondered, his gaze settling on the twelve statues. Could it be? Could they have saved him? Noll had dedicated his life to the study of the Soleri. From his earliest memory, the old gods had fascinated him. Noll had felt a calling. He had given his life to the study of the Soleri and now he stood before them. The last pilgrim come to find the dead gods of Sola. It was said that Mithra’s true followers would share the sun’s fate, that they would rise again. Is that what happened? Did they give me life just as they once gave life to the desert?

  “I must know,” he said aloud, his voice echoing in the darkness.

  “Did you wake my still heart? Did you bring me back to life? Give me a sign. Let me know that you yet live, that your power is real. That you are more than just statues.”

  Something unseen stirred in the distance. Noll shivered. The soldiers who drank poison were all dead, their faces white, their bodies exhibiting the first signs of decay.

  Noll inched toward the ring of statues.

  For all his life he’d waited for this moment, he’d dreamed of meeting the gods.

 
; He quailed when a draft made the dust shift and the statues appear as if they were moving. He steeled himself and took a step forward. At the foot of Sekhem Den, he kneeled like a pilgrim and bowed his head.

  The great chamber was quiet.

  He put his ear to the stony head of Sekhem Den, but immediately recoiled.

  He kneeled alongside a second statue. Then he bowed before a third, listening until there could be no mistake.

  The twelve figures looked like nothing more than statues—cold, lifeless, inanimate things—but inside those black shells, the Soleri were screaming.

  GLOSSARY

  Adad, Enger: a Harkan general, commander of the outer legion.

  Ahti and Samia: Merit’s waiting women.

  amaranth: the sacred crop, raised in the highland Oasis of Desouk, and tended only by the Mithra cult, a gift from the gods themselves. The leaves of the plant form a thick paste that makes the dry soil of Solus fertile.

  amber: a type of ale, made from ground millet and emmer.

  Amber Throne: the throne of the Soleri emperor, located behind the Shroud Wall of the Empyreal Domain.

  Amunet, Pouri: former Mother Priestess of Desouk, Sarra’s predecessor, now deceased.

  Amunet, Sarra: the Mother Priestess of the Desouk, ceremonial wife of Mithra-Sol and high priestess of the Mithra cult.

  Antechamber: the seat of office of the First Ray of the Sun.

  Anu, Ined: the Protector at the time of the War of the Four, the man who drove the Harkans out of Solus, the first to call himself the Ray of the Sun.

  Anu, Suten: the Ray of the Sun, the sole representative of Emperor Tolemy V, the living god.

  Asar: an island in the Wyrre, birthplace of the Mother Priestess.

  Asni, Garia: a lector and priest of the Mithra cult.

  Ata’Sol: located beneath the Temple of Mithra at Solus, home of the Mithra cult in the capital of Sola.

  Atourin: sister of Arko, married to a Rachin lord.

  Atum: home of Mithra-Sol, from the time before the making of the world.

  badgir: a wind catcher, used to cool Harkana homes.

  Barca, Haren: a former captain of the Outer Guard of Sola, now a rebel and a traitor.

  Barsip: a Harkan city, located near the Feren Rift valley.

  Basin of Amen: the low desert flatland that separates Harkana from Sola.

  Battered Wall: a section of Harwen’s fortifications, damaged during the War of the Four and preserved as a war memorial.

  Blackrock: a Harkan city, south of Harwen.

  Blackthorn Chathair: an ancient ironwood stool, the throne of Feren, also refers to the room in which the stool is housed.

  Book of the Last Day of the Year: one of several holy texts used by the Mithra cult, the tome that contains the prayers read during the Devouring.

  Caer Rifka: the Feren citadel and high seat of power, located in the city of Rifka, home to the Blackthorn Chathair.

  calash: a desert carriage favored by Harkan lords.

  Catal: a desert stronghold, the ancient seat of Feren power.

  Chaldaan: the Rachin code of honor.

  Children’s War: the second revolt, led by Arko’s father, Koren, when he refused to send Arko to the Priory.

  Chime Gate: the gate at Caer Rifka, made from suspended wooden logs.

  Coin: a common board game.

  crescent: a coin carved from the ancient currency of the Soleri Middle Kingdom, resembles a crescent moon, the common currency of the Soleri Empire.

  Dalla: Kepi’s servant in Caer Rifka.

  Dasche, Sirin: a Harkan commander, Sarra’s escort in the Shambles.

  Dawn Chorus: the singing of birds before dawn; in Feren, the hymn of the kite, sung in the Blackthorn Chathair for the crowning of the Kitelord.

  Dawn Crier, the: the acolyte who sings the “Song of Changes” each day, at the Temple of Mithra at Desouk.

  Den: in the time of the Children’s War, the surname of the emperors of the Soleri.

  Den, Sekhem: last in the line of Den, former emperor of the Soleri during the War of the Four, two hundred years ago.

  Denna hills: the highlands, south of Solus, home to the Desouk priesthood and the amaranth fields.

  Desouk: in the Denna hills, the city of priests and scholars, home to the Mithra cult and the Repository at Desouk.

  Devouring: the high festival, the solemn rite of the Soleri, the time each year when the moon eclipses the sun, when Mithra-Sol blesses the emperor and his servants.

  Dromus: built during the Middle Kingdom, a circular wall running astride the border of the kingdom of Sola, separating Sola from the lower kingdoms.

  Eilina: sister of Arko, married to a Rachin lord.

  Elba: an amber house in Blackrock.

  eld: a many-horned, four-legged species, similar in appearance to a deer, but larger, and some say a god.

  Elden Hunt: Harkana’s sacred rite, the right of kings; every Harkan king since Ulfer has taken the eld horns and fashioned a sword from them.

  Empyreal Domain: guarded by the Shroud Wall, the precinct of the Soleri; only the First Ray of the Sun may pass in and out of this sacred ward.

  Eye of the Sun: the gem worn by the First Ray of the Sun, a signifier of his power and position.

  Fahran, Adin: the son and only heir of Barrin Fahran, the former king of Feren, a friend of Ren.

  Fahran, Barrin: Barrin the Black, the Worm King of the Gray Wood, the former king of Feren, father of Adin, deposed by Dagrun Finner, now deceased.

  Fahran, Dalach: during the Children’s War, the king of the Ferens.

  Femin, Khai: an acolyte of the Mithra cult, from the Wyrre.

  Feren: a woodland kingdom, north of Sola, ruled by Dagrun Finner, known for its plentiful resources, its blackthorn forest, its use of slave labor, and its large army.

  Feren Rift valley: a narrow defile, defines the southern border of Feren.

  Finner, Dagrun: the king of the Ferens, a merchant who purchased a mercenary army and took the Feren throne by force.

  First Ray of the Sun: the eyes and ears of the Soleri emperor, the only man permitted to pass through the Shroud Wall and into the Empyreal Domain.

  Frith, Roghan: Kepi’s first husband, a minor Feren lord, now deceased.

  Garah, Seth: Kepi’s lover, a servant of the Hark-Wadi family, born in the Barsip, in Harkana.

  Gate of Coronel: the southern gate of the Dromus, the sea gate, located along the southern coast of Sola, on the black-sand beach, three days’ ride from Solus.

  Golden Hall: built during the Middle Kingdom of the Soleri, the formal and public seat of Soleri power, the place where the First Ray of the Sun observes the Devouring each year.

  Gray Wood: the blackthorn forest of Feren.

  Hacal, Asher: the captain of the Harkan kingsguard.

  Hall of Histories: located beyond the Shadow Gate, along the path that leads to the Empyreal Domain, this corridor contains large-scale carvings depicting the history of the Soleri Empire.

  Harkan Cliff, the: a massive precipice, separates the Harkan kingdom from Rachis.

  Harkana: a desert kingdom, founded by Ulfer, ruled by the Hark-Wadi family.

  Hark-Wadi, Arko: the Bartered King, the king of Harkana, the only Harkan king to avoid serving time in the Priory.

  Hark-Wadi, Kepina: younger daughter of Arko, king of Harkana.

  Hark-Wadi, Koren: father of Arko, former king of Harkana and leader of the second revolt, the Children’s War, now deceased.

  Hark-Wadi, Merit: elder daughter of Arko, king of Harkana.

  Hark-Wadi, Ren: son of Arko, heir to the Harkan throne, a ransom in the Priory.

  Harwen: capital city of Harkana, seat of Harkan power, home to the Hornring and the Horned Throne of Harkana.

  hierophant: a priest of any faith who dedicates his life to the interpretation of sacred symbols.

  High Desert: west of Sola, an arid region occupied by nomadic tribes.

  Horned Throne: the Harkan seat of p
ower, located in the Hornring.

  Hornring: Harwen’s keep, home of the Hark-Wadi family and the Horned Throne of Harkana.

  Horu: brother of Mithra-Sol, god of death.

  Hykso: a nomadic High Desert tribe common to the southern regions of the High Desert, as well as the borderlands between Harkana and Sola.

  Jundi: the lowest soldiers of the Protector’s army.

  Kiltet: a service cult dedicated to the maintenance and protection of the grounds of the Empyreal Domain.

  kingsguard: the black shields of Harkana, the sworn soldiers of the Harkan king.

  kite: a large and gray-feathered bird, a sacred animal, worshipped in parts of Feren, the symbol of the Feren king’s divine right of rule.

  Kitelord: in Feren, a king or queen who has completed the Waking Rite, a divinely sanctioned ruler of the Gray Wood.

  Kiteperch: in the Blackthorn Chathair, the Feren seat of power, a monumental treelike sculpture.

  lector: a priest of any faith who dedicates his life to the public recitation of sacred texts.

  Llyr: the kitefaethir, the mud god, the lord of chains, the ancient god of Feren, god of the blackthorn and graythorn trees.

  lower kingdoms: the four kingdom that serve Sola: Harkan, Rachis, Feren, and the Wyrre.

  Middle Kingdom of the Soleri: the Amber Age, the Age of Marvels, the time when the Soleri built the miracles of Solus—the Dromus, the Golden Hall, the Cenotaph, and the Great Circus of Re.

  Mithra-Sol: the sun god, father of the Soleri.

  Mithra’s Door: a passage reserved for the Mother Priestess, used in the Middle and New Kingdoms, blocked after the War of the Four, this corridor connects the Ata’Sol to the Empyreal Domain.

  Mithra’s Fire: a literal trial by fire—if the accused live, they are innocent; if they die, they are found guilty by the sun god.