Red World Trilogy

by V. A. Jeffrey

  "Stop crying."

  "It is just that your family hates me and I only try to do my best to make you happy but your mother will not let me. If only we could just go away and be alone, Hasor." The tears flowed freely and Hasor was becoming uncomfortable.

  "Come inside and we will talk." She went to the doors that led from his bedroom into the garden.

  "Betal loves you dearly Kaisha. It is just-" He began a violent coughing fit again. Kaisha gave him the vial. It contained among the ingredients honey with crushed raw garlic and ginger. He smelled it but refused it, to her disappointment.

  "My love your lips and face seem very dry. You need water. Perhaps water with sea salt. You lost so much water last time with the flux."

  "Do not worry. I will recover. The last episode was far worse than this one." He frowned, looking at her face. "I am sorry Kaisha. I feel as if a demon comes over me. I just need to get away from here. We both need to get away. You are right, Kaisha. We should be alone."

  "Egium, you said. I would love Egium. We should go soon. Just you and I."

  "We will go and we will see all the beauty and excitement there is to see. I hear it is a wonderful place. You must see it, Kaisha." He touched her face. "I will never do it again." Kaisha did not know whether to believe him or not. What she knew she needed was to be able to wrest control over the household from his mother and elder sister. He was the key for that control. Anger and fear flooded her mind, overwhelming her and tears came to her eyes. He embraced her.

  "After Betal's wedding, a month from now, we go on our trip and then I will deal with my mother and sister. Perhaps put them in their own house, away from the main house." Kaisha's heart soared at hearing this but those women were barnacles. More was needed. It suddenly came to her.

  "Hasor. While we are in Egium, perhaps we could look for another husband for Yisal. She should get married again."

  "Yisal? She is a bit old-"

  "Not too old to get married. She still has her blood. There are some years left before she cannot have children. We should find a husband for her. You have the means to give her a very large dowry and since she is older, her bride price need not be very high. Egium, I am sure, is full of eligible noblemen."

  "Perhaps. I will look into it." If they could marry off Betal, why not Yisal? Then she would only have Lady Ketmal to deal with. He kissed her and she stiffened slightly, thinking of Betal. Betal was in love with another boy and planned to marry him and run away with him at some point - of this Kaisha was certain. If he hurried the marriage Kaisha suspected the girl would flee at any moment. If she did and she and the boy were found, there would be grave trouble for them both. Kaisha suddenly felt guilty for trying to scheme her way to Lady of the House of Hazad while Betal would be forced to marry a lecherous old nobleman who already had three wives and several concubines. Kaisha had been lucky in that she was the first, and so far, the only wife of Hasor. Betal would not be so fortunate, and if she entered a house full of feuding, scheming wives and concubines. . .May God help the poor child!

  If the family of the boy could not pay the bride price Hasor would inevitably demand for stealing his sister, betrothed to another man, he would have them both put to death. Her mind was in turmoil. She now had a chance to rid herself of at least one of her tormentors but in doing so she would contribute to Betal's misery. It was highly unlikely that Hasor would make such a long journey before the wedding. No matter how she justified it, forced marriage was never ideal. Betal had not even been given a group from whom she could select out a favorite. Yet, this old man could simply select her like a gardener plucked a bloom from a garden. Betal was going to be carted off like a donkey to another man's house. Kaisha was given the privilege of ultimate choice and though she'd made a foolish one, it was still hers to make.

  Later that night she'd finally made up her mind. She dreaded it, but it was the better decision and she hoped she could pull it off. Hasor was sleeping, fitfully. She got up and gazed at the moons which were now high in the sky. Their light illuminated the bedroom. A shaft of light fell over her husband's sword, a great, curved and graceful arc of metal lying over the bedpost. One of the leukos peacocks in the courtyard, which only came out at night, gave its distinctive, melodious call. Kaisha would have to find some way to help the girl and her lover spirit themselves away. How, she had no idea. If Anet were here, she would know what to do. She could think of something. But she was not Anet.

  Kaisha glanced at her sleeping husband, wondering if this is what Betal's life was fated to be, if she did not escape. Or would it be even worse?

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  "There are no prophets, only wise man and tricksters."

  "Surely you jest!" Said Rapheth.

  "I do not jest, my friends."

  "So what do you mean by that? Everyone knows there are prophets! Prophecies are on everyone's lips because of the acts of the prophets. They have risen again."

  "Have they? Any man with enough tricks up his robe can be a prophet. Do not mistake what I am saying. What I am saying is this, these men are not fools or stupid as the Ainash would have one believe, but they use cunning and traditions dear to people to persuade them. A man can use such thing for good or for ill, if there are such things. Often it depends upon one's own point of view. These trickeries are not simple or unimportant but they are sublime in what they can accomplish. Look at the prophecies, so-called as people see them. Many are looking for a new king. They have been looking for a new king for quite some time and we have a new ruler. Granted, it is not a king but some say a new king is on the way once again. Before King Khalit, people had been keenly looking for a new king and used prophecies to see it. Prophecy is subtle and muddled for a reason. One can see whatever one wants in a prophecy. When a new king arises surely he will fit some if not most of the characteristics of prophecy." Said Injep.

  "I have not heard of it spoken like that before." Said Rapheth.

  "Well, it is not a bad thing to hear something different. In fact, I will bet you are never told anything different from the teachings of your holy book."

  "I would not say so. But it seems the holy book is all we need. This whole land at one time was once known as the people of the First Pillar. We wish to see it returned so."

  "Why?"

  "Because things were better back then."

  "Really? I think that history as it comes down comes to us is tinted in gold and joy, instead of what it was really like."

  "What was it really like? I have heard some say that under the Red Kings the land flourished like no other time."

  "I have heard this as well. But here is something I will bet you were not told about the wonderful Red Kings."

  "Such as?"

  "It was not simply because of the Red Kings that the kingdom prospered. There were other groups that actually led the progress to the great things. For instance, did you know that under the Star Guilds the greatest changes were made in the land? Like star maps? They had built machines, spyglasses of wondrous size that could peer into the very seat of the heavens themselves, stations that hung in the clouds between the firmaments to see them even better and from there they built their famous star maps."

  "But the constellations came before they existed, like Kesel and Kimah."

  "True, but they saw more. In fact, they saw what as called then the great web, a star system so huge, so vast that it looked like a web of which Chialis is but a fractional part. Did you know that?"

  "No. Only that great progress was made under the Red Kings."

  "It was a fight against the power of the kings that led to this discovery. The Red Kings were velvet tyrants, you know."

  "What do you mean?" The boy asked. Injep chuckled.

  "A velvet tyrant takes away your rights while giving you comforts. It is no wonder so many rose up against them."

  "But Assenna was destroyed. . . "

  "Ah, now my dear boy, never attribute to some higher force what is only the destruction of the
elemental powers of nature. There is much you need to learn."

  "This is new to me. I have never heard anyone say these things before." Rapheth felt flustered.

  "I am sure. Knowledge should be shared among the deserving. You will come to find that the hidden things, the hidden people have built the world we live in, young one. Come, follow me and see the great city of Rhuctium. You live here but you have not really lived here. Let me show you the greatness that exists around you."

  He took Rapheth first to the school he taught at, the school of Theorems and Philosiphs. It sat on a hill overlooking part of the city and was mainly an open air building. It was a symmetrical square building with tall, wide columns with letters of different languages and theories carved into the stone. The walls on either side housed door-less class rooms. In the middle of the building stood the eternal flame of light and learning, a slim stand with a brazier burning with cedar wood. In the walls near the ceiling were bas reliefs of the architects and builder of the schools working and planning their blueprints and another relief carved of them bowing before the god of learning, wisdom and discernment who sat on a throne, Yukti and his consort Yiya the goddess of light and serenity who stood by his throne. These reliefs wound around all for corners of the building. Rapheth marveled at the wide, open spaces and simple beauty and uniformity of it. He was used to more narrow, dark labryinthine buildings and places but he wondered why Hybronians had taken to bringing in so many different gods and goddesses. It seemed so over complicated. Whatever Injep said, one god was enough for Rapheth. He did everything and was all things to all men who acknowledged Him, but he kept this to himself. He got the feeling that Injep and others of the highly educated saw him as a bumpkin or a lesser, more ignorant version of themselves, but they were pleasant enough to him. It was a privilege to be here, whatever others may have thought of him. As far as Injep's ideas, intriguing as they were, he wondered what Parso would say. He would ask.

  A tiny young fire bug came flying in, its abdomen glowing bright as a tiny sun, then shifted in color as it came to rest in the cool shade of the school's wide and tall open air halls. Its color shifted from orange to purple and then blue. He rarely saw them and when he did he was always fascinated by them when they dared to venture into the city from the high desert. Why did it come and what was it doing so far from the desert? Rapheth tried to touch it but as quickly as it had flown in, the tiny fire bug flew away out of reach. A light breeze blew in from where they stood, a view which looked out upon the city below and over the school's garden and grove. He took in the luscious scent of citrus from the orange and lemon trees.

  "Rhuctium truly is a rich place. Where else will you find so many tropical trees in such a place?'

  "All true. We are lucky here." Said Injep.

  "Some would say blessed."

  "A pleasant way to put it. See that building there? Do you see that building, the round one there with the deep, blue- roofed dome at its crown?"

  "Yes. It looks like a jewel box."

  "That is the Library of All Schools." It rose like a round, fat column and it was one of the tallest buildings in the city.

  "Blue stone. I've glimpsed this sometimes when I sit on the roof of my own house but it is usually at night. Now I can truly see the city. It is more beautiful than I have ever realized."

  "I know. The wealth it speaks to is great but greater still is the knowledge here. Hidden knowledge."

  "But how can you keep it without the Ainash finding out? I have heard that people once came here to study things that were forbidden and that the Ainash took these things away and destroyed them."

  "Ah, but they have not destroyed everything. Years ago under the Kushigyar when their power was at its mightiest, they went through every city and town, every scribal house, temple, government office and school and went through and scoured the land of things they deemed wrong but they did not get everything. And an idea, once let loose cannot die no matter how you try to get rid of it. It lives in the minds of the people. They did not get everything and now that their power has waned they cannot make such sweeping, destructive changes without royal edict. It may be the reason why you know so little about the world around you, Rapheth. Your temple priests keep knowledge out of your hands to keep you weak." Rapheth narrowed his eyes at this. He did not follow the Ainash nor did he listen to them. He merely went to the temple for formal prayers and to see others in the community, but did not say this aloud to Injep.

  Injep showed him the facades of the stately schools, School of Maths and Numbers, School of Architecture and there was the school of literature and Letters, a scribal school and one for music.

  "Plus there is a school for the arts as well, a new one. There is also another school, modeled off of the one in Egi."

  "What is it?"

  "The school of Alchemy."

  "But that is outlawed!"

  "It is. But they meet in secret Rapheth. Before you get yourself worked up remember that out of alchemy came great inventions, great things. Not all of alchemy is evil. It is like a sword or an ax. It can be used for good or ill but is not wrong in itself. Learning and alchemy is the very engine and basis for learning the secrets of the heavens. There is no purpose but the ever increasing knowledge of Man. And is that not a sort of divinity? There is no other true purpose in life but then, we all regress like animals without knowledge. Knowledge and the life here is the only purpose. Your Ainash have prepared you for so-called prophecies to control you and frighten you." Injep scolded gently.

  "But they do not believe them." He said. Injep gave him an odd look and Rapheth regretted the comment.

  "Of course not. Why would they? They created them. Why do you think they control your holy book, Rapheth? Why do you think they determine what you can read and what you cannot read in it? Many books of the Aishanna have been taken away because they are dangerous."

  "Where can I find these books?"

  "In the library, which is where we are going. Come." He smiled. "You shall receive a true education now. " They descended the stairs and into the grove and through the park and then made their way down the street, past the long and colorful stalls of markets and shops and past the High Satrap's palace to the city square where the All Schools Library sat on the western side of it. Once reaching the library they ascended the wide steps and entered a different world.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  "Last night Namah, I had a jia-dream." Said the little girl. She waited nervously for the elder priestess's reaction. The priestess was astonished. That astonishment turned into a suspicious, fearful gaze that withered the child's insides. The woman softened her gaze a bit but fear continued to grow in her milky eyes.

  "What did you say, child?"

  "I had a jia-dream. A vision. That is why my nose bleeds sometimes in the morning. It happens right after a jia-dream. Is that not wonderful Namah? A real one!"

  "No, it is not."

  "But why not?"

  "Because a jia-dream has not come to the priestesses since the Great Age. You do not realize this but there are. . .difficulties. . .surrounding the matter of jia. It is secretly forbidden to have them, especially now with the serpent queen on the throne. Any prophecy is a threat to her power. Once upon an ancient time, one who had a jia-dream was revered above all her sisters, when there was true respect for the way of the vision among the people of Hec. Now, those who are marked at birth as of the jia are taken from the embrace of Hetar and thrown to Nimnet to devour, destroyed in infancy. If this is truth you speak, you have escaped destruction, Lia. Tell no one of this!"

  "But I do not understand. . ."

  "It is always about the preservation of religious unity, of a certain kind. True jia-dreams upset the order of things and the elders and Mothers and Grandmothers do not like change or threat of any kind anymore. They fear the serpent queen and her gods. Nimnet and Elyshe has eclipsed Hetar and her sisters in power. Visionaries are distrusted. No one may foretell anything apart from what the s
erpent queen wants to hear and what her gods desire and what her priestesses desire. That, more than anything else, they have in common with the accursed Ainash." Lia began to cry softly.

  "The sacred scrolls say that such a time was cause for much joy and celebration for it meant that the future could be seen clearly through the jia-dreams of a dream priestess." Said Lia. She sniffled and wiped her face. Namah looked around furtively and lowered her voice.

  "They, the Ainash and the worshipers of the moon goddesses have their traditions and their ceremonies and tall tabernacles of glittering jewels. Nothing has disturbed that for an age and they would keep it that way. Visions of the future disturb the order of things, disturbs the stability of order gained by corruption. No Lia, they do not want to know the future and neither do they want anyone else to know. According to the sacred scrolls we have reached the decadence of the last imperial cycle," She turned to Lia," but of course, you already know this, child. One needs no jia-dream to see that."

  "But the desert fathers and mothers of the Aishanna-La have been proclaiming the coming destruction of Jhis and the coming of the Red King again and no one stops them."

  "Be assured Lia, they are being sought and killed. The desert tribes are sundered for their ties to these desert ones. The prophet Ilim has been caught and he will be sacrificed on the feast day of Nimnet. And as for the prophetess, they call her the witch of Shima and she is being hunted. She will be found, Lia. She will not escape for proclaiming these prophecies for they are treason. It is treason to look for any ruler beyond the current one who sits on the throne, child. Even such comments as I have just made could cause someone to go to the queen and she would draw up and sign my death warrant. A true vision of the future would topple the entire artifice. I see now that such would only bring terrible chaos to the fragile order we have now, such the rottenness that it is. No, say nothing of this matter to anyone or Grandmother-priestess will order your death." Lia was stricken, as if all joy had been sucked from her little body. She lay down on her bed to prepare to go to sleep as Namah blew out the oil lamp and left the room, locking the door.