Tuyo

by Neumeier, Rachel

  I laughed, caught myself and bowed in apology, then knelt and bowed again. Then I straightened and looked at my father. Soro turned back to my father as well, and waited.

  My father considered Soro. Then he said to Hokino, “We have not yet determined whether this kind of tuyo belongs permanently to the man to whom he was given. Perhaps that will be decided soon, or perhaps not.”

  Hokino nodded. “Whatever your decision on the matter, and whenever you come to it, I will accept it.”

  “Yes.” My father looked at Hokino for another moment. Then he said, “I am sorry to hear of the death of your elder son.”

  “Yes,” said Hokino. He sat down.

  My father said to Soro inKera, “I no longer remember our quarrel.”

  Soro answered, “If we quarreled, I have forgotten it.” Both of them sat down.

  Our king let a pause draw out long enough to turn the moment. Then he asked, “Does anyone else have anything to say?” No one moved. “So,” he said. “Let the sorcerer approach.”

  Now Aras rose to his feet. He probably saw what he should do in my mind, or perhaps in everyone’s mind, because he walked forward and knelt a little way in front of our king. He bowed his head.

  Our king studied him for a moment. Then he glanced at me and said “Let Ryo inGara approach.”

  I was only a little surprised. I stood up, went forward, and knelt. Koro inKarano told me, “Stay here, in front. You need not stand to speak. Do not abuse the privilege.” Then he looked around. “Anyone may speak,” the king said. “Tell me the things I should know.”

  There was a little silence. Then Siwa inKera stood up. She said, “When we were walking within the Lau formation, the sorcerer came into my mind. I saw him walking beside me, though he was not really there. He said to me, ‘If you would run, watch the western line. Soon the Lau in that part of the formation will see a white tiger where you are walking. When the line breaks, take your chance.’ In a little time, the line broke as he said it would. We ran then, and fought them, and got away.”

  Our king nodded. He asked, “How many inKera women died?”

  Siwa answered, “Eight women died then and two have died of their wounds since. Three children died then and one has died of his wounds since. Twenty women and seven escaped into the forest, but one may yet die. Seventeen children escaped. Four women with young children had already been released because of something Ryo inGara said to the sorcerer who was our enemy. That was good, because breaking through that line while carrying a young child would have been much harder. Enough of our women and children live that inKera should recover from what was done to us.” She sat down.

  Royova inVotaro stood up. He said to Aras, “The captive warriors did not escape when the women escaped. Your enemy prevented you from making the Lau see a second tiger?”

  Aras answered, “As you have realized, warleader, I had other reasons to leave those warriors where they were. I knew my people were coming, and I knew they would need help to break the Lau formation. I knew it would be dangerous for those warriors, but I chose to leave them where they might be most useful in the battle.”

  Hokino inKera rose immediately, not waiting for Royova to sit down. He said, “We were walking there. I saw the sorcerer walking beside me. He said, ‘Given too early, a blow strikes your enemy’s shield and turns aside. A blow struck at the right moment is deadly. If you will trust me, I will tell you when to strike.’ After that sometimes he was there again. Each time he said, ‘Wait, this is not the time.’ Finally I said, ‘You need not tell me every heartbeat to wait. Only tell me when to strike.’ Then I did not see him again until he was there, calling to me that the moment had come.” He paused. Then he said, “He chose correctly. That was the right moment.” He looked at Aras. “The Lau fought very badly, especially at first. That was sorcery?”

  “They had forgotten you were there,” Aras said softly.

  Hokino nodded. He went on. “Then he said to me, ‘Down, down, flat to the ground, cover your head.’ I remembered myself crouching low, a horse leaping over me. I remembered this even though I was still on my feet and the horses had not yet come. I did as he said, and the other Lau broke through the line. Two horses jumped over me. I took a hoof to the hip. The bruise will pain me for many days, but the blow did not break the bone.”

  Other men among the gathering were nodding. One and then another stood up and said, yes, he too had seen a horse leaping over him and heard the sorcerer urge him down.

  “That is how it happened,” Hokino said. “This sorcerer was correct to want us there, behind the Lau lines. The strategy was sound.” He paused for another moment to let his statement stand in the air. Then he sat down.

  “The strategy was probably sound,” Royova acknowledged, though with obvious reluctance. He also sat down.

  Soro inKera stood up. He considered Royova for the space of a long breath. Then he glanced at me. Finally he said, “The other sorcerer had put his leash into our minds, making us his dogs. We could not fight him, except a very little. But this sorcerer broke his hold on us. After that we could fight.” He looked at Aras, his expression bleak. He said, “You broke his leash in my mind by replacing it with your own. I felt you do it.”

  The whole gathering became absolutely still. I think all the people held their breaths. I know I did not breathe for that heartbeat.

  Aras admitted quietly, “Yes, it happened as you say.”

  A great many people all tried to speak at once, some of them leaping to their feet. Our king clapped his hands and shouted. He had to shout twice before there was quiet enough that he could be heard, and he had to shout a third time before everyone else stopped. He was furious, as any king would have been. As everyone realized this, a much deeper silence fell. He declared, “Everyone will sit. The next warrior who shouts over another man will be beaten. The next woman who raises her voice to be heard will be sent to tend the wounded. For forty breaths, no one will speak.”

  There was a long pause. At the end of forty breaths, the king demanded, “Who was the last man to sit?”

  One man got slowly to his feet. So did another. Then a third.

  My father stood up. He said, “The last man to sit was the man farthest to the west.” He sat down. So did two of the other men. The one farthest to the west came to the front and knelt to our king, bowing to the ground. Liyo inTerika stood up. He said, “This man belongs to inTerika. I ask to judge this man myself.”

  “I do not grant the privilege,” answered the king. “I will speak to you later.” He said to the man, “Go sit down.”

  The man stood up and went back to his place. I would not have wanted to be in that place for anything. I bowed to the ground to be sure, and when the king did not forbid me, I straightened and asked Aras, “Was there a different way to break the other sorcerer’s leash?”

  “No,” he answered. “Only a deeper tie can break one that is already there.” He had not looked up, and did not now, but knelt with his head bowed.

  “Did this sorcerer use his leash to make you fight the Lau?” I asked Hokino. “Did your people fight the Lau because they were forced to fight?”

  Hokino inKera stood up. He said, his tone dry, “No one had to force us to fight. We were very glad to fight.” He looked at his brother and then around at his warriors and everyone else. “Many times the other sorcerer tightened his leash. I also felt this sorcerer set his own leash in place as he broke the other, but I never felt his leash tighten. I do not know if the leash is still there. I do not feel it at all. If he could use his leash in the way the other sorcerer used his, he might have prevented my brother from speaking just now.” He sat down again.

  Soro considered Aras. “Did you not know what I meant to say? Could you have prevented me from speaking? Is your leash still in my mind?”

  “I knew,” Aras said. “And I cannot take out the tie once it is in place. But long ago I swore an oath before the gods not to use sorcery to cause any man to act or to refrain fro
m acting.”

  “You swore an oath,” Soro repeated. “Everyone knows Lau cannot be trusted to keep their oaths. Do you say you have never broken this oath? Do you declare that no necessity could make you do so?”

  “Pressed too hard, anyone will break an oath,” Aras answered, his voice steady. “If I had needed to break this oath to defeat Lorellan, I would have done it. But no such chance came. I have never broken this oath.”

  Soro raised his eyebrows, but he sat down.

  Koro nodded thoughtfully, which did not mean he believed Aras. He asked, “Have you put such a leash into the mind of anyone else here, or only the warriors who had been bound by the other sorcerer?”

  Aras drew a slow breath. He said, “I set a very deep tie into Ryo inGara’s mind. I wanted to be certain Lorellan could not make him into his slave, and I wanted to be sure I would be able to protect him, and find him no matter where he might be. I set a more shallow tie into the mind of every man who traveled with me from the west, so that I could protect them and find them.”

  Royova inVotaro stood up, scowling. “You did this to me?”

  “Yes, warleader. To everyone who traveled with me. What I did made it substantially more difficult for our enemy to take you for his thralls – his slaves.”

  Royova did not seem to find this a good enough reason. I could not imagine many of our people found it good enough. If I had not come to know Aras better, I would have felt the same. I could not think of anything to say.

  Then Rakasa inGeiro got to his feet. He spoke to Aras very seriously, with no trace of his ordinary easy humor. “During the battle, when the enslaved warriors attacked you, I knew you were in danger. I came as quickly as I could. So did my father. Was it this leash that drew us? Did you force me to come to you then?”

  From the way he asked that question, I thought he believed Aras would say no. I held my breath.

  “It was the tie,” Aras admitted. He refused to use the Ugaro word, only that other term. He went on at once. “But I did not force you to come. You chose to answer my need.”

  Many people hissed in disbelief, but Koro inKarano asked, “Who felt the tug of this sorcerer’s leash? If you felt it and you did not answer it, stand up. Everyone else, sit down.” He looked around at the men on their feet, which was most of those who had traveled with us, including Royova inVotaro. “Royova?” Koro asked.

  “I was busy elsewhere,” Royova answered. He had been glowering at Aras, but now he looked at our king. “I remember now I felt the sorcerer was in danger, but I was too much involved where I was.”

  Koro nodded. He looked around at the other men and chose one of them. “Sarivo inGara?”

  The man addressed answered, “I was fighting. I did not have time to go anywhere. I knew the sorcerer needed me and I wanted to help him, but I would have had to let the Lau come too hard against my companions.”

  “You may sit,” the king told him. “Davorya inGeiro?”

  A second warrior said, “I also knew he was in danger. I was needed where I was. I could not go.” He sat down, and one at a time the other warriors said much the same thing.

  When they had all spoken, I asked Aras, “If you had not been defended at that time, what would have happened?”

  He answered, “I do not know what might have happened later, but I would have missed the chance to signal the captive warriors to attack their captors. Then our enemy’s formation might have held against the warriors my king had sent to break it. But I can hardly imagine Hokino inKera would not have recognized the moment.”

  Hokino stood up. “I would have recognized it, but perhaps too late. We could not see the horses until they were nearly on us. Also, I would not have understood we had to fling ourselves down to let the horses go over us. Even if the line had broken, many more of my people would have died then. I am glad we had that warning.” He paused. Then he said, “I am ashamed some of the warriors who permitted themselves to be enslaved were inKera. I regret very much any harm that came of that.”

  My father stood up and said, “No fault attaches to the inKera warriors, nor to any other warrior who was made a slave. No fault attaches to inGara either, but I regret that inGara warriors did harm to those who were enslaved.”

  Soro inKera stood up and said curtly, “I lay all the harm that came to inKera entirely against the other sorcerer. No fault is laid against any other person.”

  Before Soro sat down, Geroka inYoraro got to his feet and said, “I agree with that. I do not consider that any inYoraro warrior is to blame for anything he did while enslaved, nor is any Ugaro at fault for harm that came to inYoraro warriors. I lay all the fault against the other sorcerer. I lay no fault against this sorcerer.” He looked at Royova and added, “Any other decision would be unjust.”

  Royova frowned, but he sat down without answering. Everyone sat down again except our king. No one else stood up immediately. Everyone was thinking about what had been said.

  Finally Koro said to Aras, “You say you have never tightened your leash. I find this difficult to credit. You have never made any man obey you? You have never tried to do so? How old were you when you swore you would not?”

  “I had thirteen summers then, o king.”

  For a long moment, he and Koro looked at each other. Our king said, “Ugaro boys that age sometimes swear oaths that are too strong for any man to keep. Our tales warn against that.”

  “Yes,” said Aras. “So do Lau tales. But I have kept this one. I will keep it still, whatever your decision.”

  “Can you see what I have decided?”

  “You are changing your mind very quickly, over and over. I think you are probably doing that deliberately to baffle my sorcery. If that is so, it is an effective technique, but it is not necessary for you to go to the trouble, o king. Whatever your decision, I will not defend myself by any use of sorcery.”

  Koro continued to look at him. “How will you defend yourself?”

  Aras answered deliberately, “No man needs to defend himself against the decisions of a just king. Whatever decision you make, Koro inKarano, I will accept it. But returning me to my king would be a gesture that I hope would please him.”

  “Ah.” Koro was smiling a little: a dangerous expression. He said, “If the summer king is pleased, then no doubt the winter lands may find calm within the borderlands, and all easy manner of trade.”

  Aras shook his head. “I think Soretes Aman Shavet will offer that and more, whatever decision you make, o king. He knows very well the trouble came because of Lau, not because of Ugaro. But if you decide it is just to show mercy to me, I think that would please him.”

  Koro raised his eyebrows. But finally he said in a clear, loud voice, “I will now hear the lords of the tribes.”

  Liyo inTerika stood up and said, “If the decision were mine, I would put this sorcerer to death. He is too dangerous to live. But if he goes back to the summer country, I will be satisfied.” He sat down.

  Geroka inYoraro rose to his feet. “It would be wrong to put him to death. I would be satisfied if he returned to the summer country.”

  Tyo inKatara stood up. “I would not put him to death, though I do not think it would be wrong to do it. I would be satisfied if he returned to the summer country.”

  Soro inKera rose. “If the decision is made to put him to death, I will step in front of the knife, o king. I do not care whether he goes back to the summer country or not, but,” with a bare smile, “he is obviously unsuited to the winter lands. He will go back to his own country.”

  Our king looked at him. “I would not wish to see you fall to my knife, Soro inKera.”

  “I would not wish that either,” agreed Soro, and sat down.

  Yavorda inGeiro got to his feet. “It would be wrong and dishonorable to put him to death. I would not put myself in front of your knife, o king, but I would be ashamed of us all. If he enters inGeiro territory, we will receive him as a friend.” He sat down.

  Our king nodded thoughtfully
and turned to my father. “You made your decision some days ago, Sinowa inGara. I believe Royova inVotaro warned you there might be an accounting for it, but I do not imagine you have changed your mind.”

  My father stood up. He said, “If the decision is made to put this sorcerer to death, I will declare that inGara is an enemy of inKarano. I will not relent until either inGara or inKarano is destroyed.” He did not sit down, but stayed on his feet, looking steadily at Koro inKarano.

  I felt I had been struck in the chest so hard I could not breathe. But when I looked at Aras, I saw that although his head was bowed, his mouth was not set in the way that meant he was upset. I relaxed.

  Koro inKarano said drily, “So. You are a hard man to rule, Sinowa, and I understand you are determined to get your own way. Do not sit. Stay where you are. Royova, I will hear your opinion.”

  Royova inVotaro stood up. He said, “I am seriously offended by some of this sorcerer’s actions, but I think he is probably a man who keeps his oaths—when he is not pressed too hard. If you choose to put him to death, I will take the task on myself. I will be quick so that neither fear nor pain force him to break his oath. However, if you decide to spare this sorcerer’s life, I would not say you were wrong. I will not press a quarrel if he stays out of my way.” He paused, shrugged, and sat down.

  Our king turned to Darra. “My daughter, I will hear your opinion.”

  Darra inKarano rose gracefully to her feet. She was very young to be asked for her opinion, but I was not surprised. Though this was a decision for warriors, it was too important a decision for men to make without asking women, and she was the oldest singer here. She said, “When the fengol came down, the Lau who should have died, died then. Those who lived were spared by the gods.” She paused. Then she added, “This is a decision for warriors. But war between honorable tribes is a disgrace. Honorable men should find a better path.” She sat down.

  Koro lifted his hands. He said in a clear voice, “The sorcerer’s life is in my hands. My decision is to return his life to him. It is his. Let no one raise hand or blade against him. I will take such an act as though the blow had been struck against me. He may return to his own country, or he may walk freely within the territory of any tribe that offers hospitality. He is forbidden to trespass within the lands of any tribe that denies him leave.”