Red World Trilogy

by V. A. Jeffrey

  "I do not wish to further damage your conscious than I already have. Let us put a shroud between us on this matter Demos." She said softly. Demos tugged at his clothes. This was far more complicated than he had ever imagined. But what had he expected?

  "So be it, my lady. It is your house and I am out of place for demanding or asking about your business. I just do not want to see innocents killed in all this."

  "They will be killed anyway because to seek freedom is wrong in Egi if you are a slave." She set her waterpipe down. "Pray to your god, Demos. He will help us if you pray to Him. He may not listen to me but He will listen to you."

  "He will help those who work along with His purposes, my lady. Not their own. Besides, how do you know He would not listen to you?" She smiled at this and said nothing.

  "Come, sit and have tea with me. I know this was disturbing but think of what might have happened if I had not defended my house. What would have happened to you?" He obeyed and took up a stone cup of floral tea. It calmed him. Senetta reached behind her and pulled a long golden rope chime, the house bells. It signaled that she had something to say to all of her household when the sun rose.

  The next day she stationed herself, having been carried by two of her guards upon a small sedan chair into the middle of the house, the grand room, and they stationed her in the middle of the floor with all those who lived there either sitting around her or watching from the perimeter of the room. Some twittered with surprise and eagerness. Others feigned boredom but Demos could tell all were eager to know what was about to happen. The lady of the house rarely held court. But she did this day.

  "The reason I have called you here is for this. I am sure you know or are aware of what transpires here. This is a haven for runaway slaves." She left out the incident that left them with bodies beneath the house, thankfully. "Things are changing. Some of you may want your freedom. You may want to leave this place and be free to live as free men and women. Hybron is changing its king and Egi is changing its firmament. One day slaves will have rights under the law."

  "Yes!" Some of them said.

  "One day slaves will no longer be slaves in Egi. They will be free men and women. No longer at the mercy of others."

  "Yes!" This time they all shouted.

  "One day we will be free! Jusawa!"

  "Jusawa!" The crowd roared.

  Chapter Twenty

  External Good and Evil do not spring from the same source. They are different from their Internal counterparts in that the two Internal sides lie in every man. But the External forces are distinct and are like winds that buffet and push upon one from the outside. Each man must work out which one he will follow and strive for it as if up the Holy Mountain, and he must strive against the strong winds. 'Strive' is the very element of the matter. That determines which side is fed and which side is starved.

  - The Book of Nagilla

  For two months they traveled the plains and watched the snow grow steep until it was finally winter. Snow fell at times in furious flurries and at other times lightly, always blotting out the sky. It was a new and alien experience for the southerners and at times Rapheth felt a panicked delirium growing in his soul.

  "Aich! Will we ever see sky and sun again?" He cried out one day.

  "The sky is falling in and comes down to touch the ground," said Rhajit.

  "If it keeps like this there will be no sky left!" Said Shukala. Parso laughed gently.

  "It will be here."

  They were given thick furs to wear, oiled well to weather the bitter cold.

  Ephron now kept a great distance between himself and the other southerners, to Rapheth's growing anger. It did not go unnoticed.

  The Dyrlander mercenaries were split. Half were interested in following Rapheth in his quest to retake the Hybronian throne while the others seemed to be more interested in what Ephron would do once they reached that land.

  "You have to talk sense into him Rapheth. And soon." Said Parso.

  "I have tried. He will not listen and becomes belligerent. But I will keep trying."

  One night Halin approached Rapheth's tent. He brought star wine from Icyt as a gift.

  "Wine?" He offered.

  "Certainly!" Said Rapheth. He was studying one of the star maps by candle light. The flame sputtered against the wailing winds as Halin opened and shut the heavy hangings to the tent doorway.

  "It will warm the body and the soul." Halin poured a small tin cup for himself and one for Rapheth. He extended the second cup to Rapheth who drank it down thirstily.

  "I must find a way to get more of this. It is delicious!"

  "There is more. I will send you off with more before you leave us. Actually, I came because of the dispute between you and Ephron. I do not mean to meddle as it is none of my affair but only to warn you. As a young prince who is trying to win back his birthright, if you are what you say you are, you are in a very dangerous position. Kings are toppled and killed. Those mercenaries traveling with you, some of them seem to stay around him instead of flocking to you." Halin said. Rapheth sat the cup down and looked at him squarely.

  "Well, they are mercenaries. Anyway, I know this. Ephron is a childhood friend. If I can speak with him alone, I can talk some sense into him." Rapheth said. Halin shook his head, frowning.

  "He will not allow it. That is plain to me. He sits down with his men and they eat and they drink and then he calls down evil upon you. That is no friend. Look, I know it is hard to deal with an enemy who was once your closest friend. It is painful and you want to see what you once saw in him. But your situation is different, Rapheth. You will be a king someday. Power changes things. It changes men."

  "You mean me?"

  "It can. But it can change the men around you as well. They see you differently. And some who were once friends can become enemies." Rapheth shook his head.

  "No! I cannot think of him as an enemy. It is inconceivable!"

  "Listen. There are many accounts of royal houses going down in flames, tearing lands apart in civil warfare. Brothers, sisters and cousins against their own blood, over crowns and thrones. Blood will kill blood over such power. Why not a friend?" A great pain arose in his chest to hear these words.

  "I know it sounds foolish but I think I can reason with him. He just needs time," he insisted. Halin sighed.

  "Well, on the plains you have it, but it will run out. I went through a similar thing many years ago. It nearly cost me my life." Halin drank down his cup and lifted it to Rapheth.

  "Good night to you. May you sleep well," he said and he left, leaving Rapheth to his thoughts. He once again felt the sharp pangs in his chest, so painful he wanted to scream out. It burned like fire in him, creeping out toward his extremities. He fell to the ground, trying with all his strength not to scream out in terror and pain. It was the mark of the dragon. Time had dragged on and at times he had forgotten it but it always came roaring back. Finally it stopped, disappearing as suddenly as it had come. Thankfully, no one came in to see him sprawled on the floor. He waited until his heart stopped knocking in his ribs. When he was able to breathe easily he tore open his tunic and looked. A black sore had formed, oozing black and gray matter and broken veins. He ripped his garments further and put his hands on his head and wept. Then he rose and sat in his pallet in the corner and wrapped himself in his furs and blankets. He had made a promise he now grievously regretted and just wished for some answer, but there was only the candle flame in the darkness. If he did not fulfill his promise he feared he was going to die, the brand would kill him or worse, lead him into a gray life; the in-between way where he would never have his own mind and soul again. Heaven strike me down before that happens. And then there was the growing fear that he really would have to deal with Ephron in a way he did not want to. The candle sputtered and finally went out and then it was utterly dark.

  . . .

  Crossing the land bridge, a stretch of land filled with tall, tough blood grasses interspersed with corsi berry shrubs,
took four days. On a cold, sun-filled day they'd finally reached the land of Rurria.

  Rurria was a vassal khaganate to Ruthenia and was at the outermost border of the Near East. It was the oldest culture of all the Near Eastern lands and colloquially all these Near Eastern lands and peoples were known as the Rurriana.

  Rurria, like many of its neighbors, was dominated geographically by grassy plains or steppes. Though it was very cold and though this land was not as full of ice as the high plains, snows lingered here. Riding atop the great mammoth gave Rapheth a view of the vast world and the landscape seen in such a way he had never seen. Shukala had taken advantage of this as well and kept himself busy most days, surveying, watching, drawing and making notes of land features. The Ostrites traveled here for trade and this is what they intended this time. In fact, they had all been traveling the Iron Road. At times they saw great caravans of cream white camels of the Ephthalite merchants, the more numerous sandy colored southern desert camels and caravans of horses, mules and wagons carrying tin, iron, silver, ivory, whale bones and whale oil, furs and precious stones. The snow plains tribes were the only ones who could ride the mammoths or the yaryebu. Rapheth rode atop the god-elephanta, the Matriarch.

  Rurrians were well versed in theater and dance and other performing arts and had spread this to other cultures. Rurriana was originally settled by another people, the Regu, or Regurites who were later absorbed into the cultures of the Rurrians, Ruthenians, Tuvians, Ificthians, Zikites and other peoples. The whole of Ruthenia, the most powerful khaganate in the region was a collection of cities, small and great, and a collection of small khaganates that eventually coalesced into a large kingdom. In Ruthenia resided the great Khan who controlled the lesser khaganates. These were once ruled by the Kushigyars, the supreme shamen or religious leaders, with a council of kushimen in each city-state, which the Ainash later adopted as a way of governing in Hybron.

  They reached the Velkov River by nightfall. The major trading city Lannvok was just ahead. They would reach it by noon tomorrow. As they broke for camp they could see bright streaks and showers of lights in the sky over the city.

  "What are those?" Shukala asked, chewing on a blade of sweet grass.

  "The exploding lights. They came from the Far East originally," said Parso.

  "You mean like Qutan?"

  "Not Qutan but Yinzhi. They are beautiful."

  "Lights in the sky usually mean something. What do they mean?"

  "What do they mean? Well, in Yinzhi they are used to frighten away wicked spirits. They call them "exploding bamboo", or baozhu. They are also used in celebrations in many places, for happy occasions. I suppose. . .they mean happiness."

  "I wish we had them. How wonderful they look, popping and exploding in the air like that," said Shukala.

  "So do I," said Parso.

  "Perhaps you can buy some? When we get there!"

  "Oh, only certain people are allowed to use them. Alchemist guilds."

  "Puh!" Spat Shukala. "They get everything and deny the rest of us!" Baudolino laughed.

  "He is right."

  "Why Baudolino?" Cried Shukala indignantly.

  "They look beautiful, yes, but they can be dangerous for those who do not know what they are doing. They can burn down houses and take off limbs when used by the unlearned."

  "People can learn! They can be taught. You alchemists keep all the good things to yourselves! What good is all that knowledge and beauty when you don't share it?" Said Shukala.

  "Well. . ." Said Baudolino. Rapheth laughed.

  "Are you starting to see the good in alchemy, Shukala? Can I believe what my ears are telling me?" He teased.

  "It is not all evil. I can see that now. Really, you should be able to share such things with everyone." He turned to Rapheth. "I think you and Parso were right all along about that."

  "We alchemists are taught not to share our secrets but I see the wisdom in more people knowing these things. People who are kept in ignorance are easy to fool and easy to control," said Baudolino. "Still, it is a hard lesson to get rid of. Secrecy is ingrained in us when we first start our training."

  "And I understand that some secrecy is imperative. But men and even women from all strata of life should have the chance to learn if they are able. Right now, only a privileged few are allowed unless a master alchemist is benevolent enough to see talent or intelligence in a poor young urchin and willing to take him on. I will change that," said Rapheth.

  "Good!" Said Shukala. Then he started suddenly. "Speaking of sharing? Why did you give your sword to Halin? Was that what you meant by sharing knowledge too?"

  "I wasn't thinking of it right then. Mostly it was deep gratitude for what he and his kinsmen have done for us. Good people we have met in our travails have extended kindness and generosity to us, strangers in their land, at great cost to themselves. All along our journey we have survived not just on our own strength. For a long time I'd thought that I had not felt His presence, that He ceased to listen to my prayers. So I stopped praying. I listened to unwise counsel to rely upon myself but sometimes we ourselves are not enough. And I trust that Omun will make more swords once we can give him the tools and the men to do it. I have nothing to fear and I do not know why I feared before." Shukala gazed at him a long time and then he smiled.

  "You speak right. We were borne along by Divine Purpose. Else we would all be dead by now," he said. Rapheth got up walked through the high grasses, his boots crunching through the thin layer of snow.

  "Be careful. We have not yet encountered the snake grass but we are close to the area. It can wind up your leg, drag you down and choke you," warned Shukala. "I once read that on a legend on one of my father's maps of the Near Eastern Lands."

  "I will not go far. And Rhajit lent me a machete," said Rapheth. He gazed at the two moons above. The first was nearly sinking below the horizon. They provided more than enough light to see by. The night was starkly clear. He wandered in a wide circle around the camp. He stopped upon hearing a deep rumbling sound. Rapheth looked around for the source.

  "Here, young one."

  "Who are you?" He was searching near the herd of yaryebu.

  "It is I, the Matriarch." He peered at the herd, searching until he saw one staring at him. The sound was coming from her.

  "You? You. You speak?"

  "Have you not heard that the great ones can speak to men, like of old times? I speak to those I find worth speaking to. Your name is Rapheth."

  "Yes."

  "What is your true name?"

  "Why do you ask it?"

  "You know my secret, which gives you power. I can talk and understand men. I put faith in you."

  "How do I know this is not some trick?"

  "You do not. But I know the brand you carry in secret which eats at you. I can smell it. I know the weight you have carried all this journey."

  "What weight?" His fear was growing. He hated to think of the foul ulcer that was growing.

  "Do not fear. I shall not harm you and have no wish to. But first, what is your name?" Rapheth did not answer for a long time, wondering if this was some deception. The beast waited patiently in silence.

  "My name to those who know me well is Rapheth. My name is Rapheth Khalit ka Dahlan, son of Khalit ka Dahlan. I was known by my father as Rafka."

  "Your father was so named and also named Khalit-Aisu. The Hand of God."

  "He was no Hand of God."

  "One may fulfill a prophecy through indirect means. I have seen it happen before." The yaryebu's large eyes seemed to shine in the night.

  "I have seen many strange and wondrous things. Why should this be any different? It is just that I thought your kind had died out." He said. She shook her head slowly.

  "Most of us have. I am the last of my kind, young one. But this is a strange and wondrous world. The strange and wonderful should be expected. Only those not attuned to the spiritual world do not believe in the strange and wonderful."

  "So I have not g
one mad then?" She rumbled a gentle laugh.

  "I am not that wise. I do not know much about madness other than those who see more and know more than the rest seem to touch madness. Perhaps you are mad. Why question it? But my reason for speaking is for the care of your royal person."

  "What do you mean?"

  "The acrimony between yourself and your friend. It is a sign of things to come, Rapheth son of Khalit." Rapheth grew quiet. He bowed his head slightly, looking away.

  "It is difficult to face such a thing but one day you may have to kill him."

  "What? What an outrage!"

  "It may be truth."

  "How can you say such an abominable thing?"

  "Because of what will happen if you do not. I was moved by One more powerful than all the gods to speak. Else I would have remained silent. You should have killed him already for his insolence. Right now and every step of the way he plots with the mercenaries against you. You are his friend perhaps, but he is no longer yours. He does not respect you. As a king you must command respect."

  "But is it not earned rather than demanded?"

  "I did not say demand but command. A different thing. Your qualities, who you are is what commands respect. A man who questions you is not necessarily dangerous. You may gain wisdom listening to such a man. But the man who constantly balks, disrespects you openly, murmurs against you and rebels against you is dangerous. He will carry off others against you and they will rise up and put you to death. You must command respect and expect it from those under you. You must defend your place in the world and your right as king - even against brothers and friends. Kings must do hard things." This echoed what Halin and Parso told him. His ears burned. He felt as if he were falling into an abyss. He sat down upon the grasses and looked up at the moons again.

  "I do not feel royal at all. I feel like the boy who grew up to love the small house in Rhuctium. Who loved his mother, father and friends and going to Morning and Night Prayer each day or reading and drinking tea."