‘Forgive me, highness,’ he said, looking left and right at us all at the table. ‘I have a message for King Pacorus of Dura.’
All eyes were now upon me as Orodes pointed to me.
‘You had better give it to him, then.’
The man walked over and bowed his head to me, keeping his eyes down as he extended his right hand and proffered the rolled parchment that had a wax seal. I stood and took it, going to break the seal but then stopping when I recognised that it bore the lion of Gordyene. What nonsense was this?
‘Is there something wrong, Pacorus?’ asked a now slightly concerned Orodes. My father also wore a look of curiosity. As I broke the seal I looked up and saw that all eyes in the hall were now upon me and all chatter had stopped. I unrolled the parchment and read the words, re-reading them as the significance of what they revealed dawned on me.
‘This cannot be,’ I said.
I read the words on the parchment again as Orodes and my father rose to their feet, followed by everyone else at the top table.
‘The gods are with you, Pacorus. Your faith has been rewarded.’
Still clutching the letter in my hand I left the dais and walked to stand before Orodes and Axsen, both of whom were wearing perplexed expressions. I knelt before them.
‘The gods have blessed your marriage, my friends, for they have sent me word that Gordyene is Parthian once more.’
I rose and smiled at them, then handed Orodes the letter. My father looked at my mother and then Gafarn, who raised an eyebrow at him.
‘What is this?’ asked my father.
‘This,’ I answered, pointing at the parchment that Orodes now handed to Axsen, ‘is a letter sent from Vanadzor, the capital of Gordyene.’
‘I know where it is,’ he replied.
‘But what you do not know, father, is that Surena now occupies the city and indeed the whole kingdom.’
‘Surena has liberated Gordyene?’ Orodes may have read the words but still dared not believe them.
‘It is true, my friend,’ I said, ‘I recognise the seal on the letter. There was no way Surena could have used it unless he had possession of the palace in Vanadzor.’
My mother smiled at me and then hugged my father, then began to cry. She and King Balas had been very close and his death had upset her deeply, compounded by the subsequent conquest of his kingdom by the Romans and their handing it over to the Armenians. Atrax was similarly delighted as it meant that his kingdom would no longer be subjected to Armenian raids. He held his wife’s face in his hands and kissed her on the lips, which somewhat mortified her. Around us a general hubbub arose as the news was conveyed to each table. Mardonius came up to me and bowed his head.
‘Hail to you, majesty, for making this possible.’
‘Yes, Pacorus,’ said Axsen, ‘hail to you for returning the Kingdom of Gordyene to the Parthian Empire.’
Orodes held his arms aloft and the commotion died away. He raised his drinking vessel.
‘To King Pacorus, liberator of Gordyene.’
The guests raised their cups and toasted me, then began banging their hands on the tables and shouting ‘Pacorus, Pacorus’, as they acclaimed me. I turned and raised my hands to them, allowing myself a moment to bask in the glory. Then I composed myself and remembered that I had done nothing. This was Surena’s victory. I raised my hands again to still to noise.
‘I thank you for your kindness but this triumph does not belong to me but to another and it would be unjust of me to steal his glory.’
But they would have none of it and began chanting my name once more as I retook my seat.
‘This is Surena’s victory,’ I shouted to Orodes above the din.
‘They have not heard of him but they have heard of you, Pacorus,’ he said. ‘What will you do now?’
‘I do not understand?’
He smiled. ‘Surena has freed Gordyene but he is still under your command. Will you take the kingdom for yourself as Balas left no heirs to inherit his throne?’
It was a question that my father also wanted an answer to when he requested my presence in his quarters the day after the feast.
He was in a frosty mood as Gallia and I sat down with him and my mother, Gafarn and Diana. As slaves fussed around and cleared away the breakfast they had all enjoyed in the small garden, Diana’s young son, Pacorus, played with young Spartacus, waving his small wooden sword at the elder boy and screaming with delight at the top of his voice. My father shouted at him to be quiet, earning him a rebuke from Diana and a scowl from Gafarn. My mother played the role of diplomat and asked the steward who attended Hatra’s royal party to take the boys to see the animals in the palace zoo. Diana warned the boys not to put their hands near the cages and told the steward not to allow any harm to come to them.
I smiled at the boys as they were led away by the steward and two male palace slaves dressed in purple tunics and black belts. Other slaves offered Gallia and me fruit juice after we had kissed my mother and Diana and sat on plush couches arranged near the ornamental pond filled with large goldfish.
I smiled at my father. ‘This is all very pleasant.’
‘You intend to claim Gordyene for yourself?’ he asked, his eyes boring into me.
‘Straight and to the point,’ I answered.
‘Father is in no mood for idle chatter,’ remarked Gafarn as my father brushed away a slave proffering juice in a jug.
‘I can see that,’ I said.
‘You have not answered my question,’ pressed my father.
I sighed half-heartedly. ‘I have not given the matter much thought. Surena is a good man. He will hold the kingdom until I have decided what is to be done with it.’
My father clenched the sides of his couch, his knuckles turning white.
‘Who is this man, this Surena?’
Gallia’s answer served only to increase his agitation. ‘A simple boy from the great marshlands that lie south of the city of Uruk. Pacorus found him and brought him back to Dura. He was his squire.’
My father rose from his couch and began pacing – always a bad sign.
‘A squire? A squire is in charge of Gordyene?’
‘Calm yourself, father,’ I said. ‘This squire has risen to become the commander of Dura’s horse archers, and has, since I sent him to Gordyene last year, apparently managed to defeat the Armenians and expel them from Balas’ old kingdom.’
‘Not bad for a squire,’ agreed Gafarn. ‘He’s not related to that sorceress of yours, is he?’
My mother shook her head at Gafarn but my father did not see the amusing side of the matter.
‘The Armenians will not take kindly to this.’
‘Indeed,’ I agreed.
My father stopped pacing and looked at me. ‘Is this what it is about, to provoke the Armenians so you can have the battle that you were denied last year?’
I too now rose to my feet. ‘No, father. It is about returning the Kingdom of Gordyene to the Parthian Empire where it belongs.’
‘Behind the Armenians stand the Romans, Pacorus,’ said Gafarn, suddenly looking serious.
‘And Hatra lies next to Gordyene,’ added my father.
‘If the Armenians, or the Romans for that matter,’ I replied, ‘attempt to retake Gordyene then they will at the very least be preoccupied with a campaign against Vanadzor. Hatra will not be high on their list of priorities.’
My father was not convinced. ‘It will be if they decided to march from Zeugma across the north of my kingdom to get at Gordyene instead of via Armenia.’
‘In which case, father, I will attack Syria in retaliation.’
Gallia looked at me with surprise for it was the first time that I had given any intimation of aggression against Syria. But Surena had changed everything by freeing Gordyene. No longer would the Armenians be able to launch raids against Hatra or Media using it as a base, and nor would the Romans be able to use it as a base from which to make further inroads into the empire. Better than that, Go
rdyene itself might be used as a base to attack Armenia should the need arise, and of course my father did not know that I was arming the Jews in Judea who would rise against the Romans in the coming months. Rome would have more than enough to occupy itself with in the near future.
‘Have you forgotten about Mithridates?’ asked my father.
I have to confess that in all the excitement I had. ‘Of course not,’ I replied. ‘What of him?’
‘He may have been thwarted in his plans to destroy his enemies, but he is still king of kings and will be seeking revenge next year.’
I smiled. ‘The liberation of Gordyene will allow us to settle affairs with Mithridates without you having to worry about your northern border.’
‘And the Romans?’ asked Gafarn.
‘The Romans are preoccupied with their own internal affairs,’ I answered. ‘We do not need to worry about them.’
‘You seem very certain of all this, Pacorus,’ mused my mother.
‘The Romans above all respect strength,’ I answered, ‘if they respect anything at all. Evicting the Armenians from Gordyene will send a clear message to Rome that Parthia is not weak but strong.’
My father retook his couch. ‘You still have not informed us what the status of Gordyene will be now that you, or should I say your commander, has conquered it.’
‘Gordyene will be under Duran control until I decide what its future shall be. In the meantime I shall visit Vanadzor to convey my gratitude to Surena for the great service he has done the empire.’
‘And I shall be coming with you,’ declared my father.
I stayed at Babylon for another two days, during which time I informed Orodes and Axsen of my intention to ride north. In contrast to my father they were both delighted that Gordyene was a kingdom of the empire once again, Axsen because Balas had been an old friend and ally of her father and Orodes because a Parthian Gordyene appealed to his sense of correctness concerning the status of kingdoms within the empire. Gordyene had been conquered by a foreign power and that had aggrieved him deeply. With the old molester of children Darius at Zeugma it had been different. He had become a client king of Rome in exchange for an uninterrupted supply of young girls and boys. I think Orodes was not alone in thinking that the empire was better off without such immoral individuals. Atrax was also delighted about Gordyene, not least because it meant that his kingdom would no longer be subjected to cross-border raids. He too decided to ride north with my father and me, though thankfully his wife stayed at Babylon. Gallia declared that she too would remain in the city. I think she wanted to be with Diana and Praxima for as long as possible, and she also had no interest in congratulating Surena. In all the years he had been with us she had never taken to him, tolerating him only because he was the husband of Viper.
‘I shall make him governor of the province,’ I told her on the morning of my departure.
She was unimpressed. ‘Someone of greater status should be the governor of a province. Someone like Domitus.’
‘Domitus would hate being away from Dura. In any case I need him with the army for the campaign against Mithridates.’
‘What about Kronos, then? He might like being nearer to Pontus, his homeland.’
I buckled my sword belt. ‘Gordyene is around four hundred miles from Pontus. Besides, I also need him to command the Exiles. You will just have to accept that Surena has exceeded all expectations. He deserves to rule the land that he has liberated.’
‘He will rule it in your name,’ she corrected me.
I picked up my helmet and inspected its white goose feather crest.
‘A governor should also have his wife beside him,’ I said casually.
She spun round. ‘Viper?’
‘Yes, they have been apart for far too long and now it is only right that she should travel with me to be at her husband’s side.’
Her eyes narrowed as she regarded me. Gallia protected her Amazons fiercely and resented any interference in their affairs. However, now Surena was going to be a governor Viper was going to be a governor’s wife and could no longer be part of the queen’s bodyguard.
‘She is not yours to command,’ she snapped.
‘She cannot remain in your bodyguard while her husband is a governor, or satrap, of a province of the empire. It is a high position that I am bestowing on him and, de facto, his wife,’ I shot back.
‘She should be consulted at least.’
I saw no reason why I, a king, should consult a mere girl in my queen’s bodyguard. But I could tell that Gallia’s temper was starting to arouse itself and as I had no desire to part from her on bad terms I agreed that Viper should be consulted. And so we walked to the throne room while Gallia summoned Viper from the palace barracks. We had to say our farewells to Orodes and Axsen anyway so I suppose it made sense to kill two birds with one stone, so to speak.
Orodes and Axsen were already sitting on their thrones upon the dais as a steady stream of people entered the throne room to begin the morning’s proceedings. Mardonius, dignified as ever, took his place to the right of the dais though Axsen ordered a chair to be brought for him to save his aged knees. My father, mother and Adeleh came to pay their respects and to bid the newlyweds farewell, as did Gafarn and Diana who would be travelling back to Hatra with my mother, my sister and their two boys. Next to appear were Nergal and Praxima and then Atrax and Aliyeh, the latter looking contemptuously upon the king and queen of Mesene. It was difficult for a former pampered princess of Hatra to accept that a woman who had been a slave could wear a crown like herself. I had to laugh at such a notion; crowns were nothing but pieces of metal. It was the swords and bows behind a crown that were more important.
Finally Viper appeared dressed in her mail shirt, leggings and boots. Her short-cropped hair and girlish face making her seem as though she had stolen her clothes from an adult. But she was no child and knew how to use the sword that hung from her hip. She bowed to Axsen, Orodes, Gallia and me and ignored everyone else.
‘We welcome you, Viper,’ said a smiling Axsen.
Viper smiled back. Axsen was a friend of Gallia’s, which made her a friend of every Amazon, and my wife’s warriors also liked Orodes who had fought by their side for many years.
‘Before I take my leave of your majesties,’ I said to Axsen and Orodes, ‘I have something to say to Viper.’
My father sighed irritably. He thought the idea of the Amazons complete nonsense and was also clearly impatient to be away. My mother froze him with a stare.
‘Of course,’ said Orodes politely, ‘we are all interested in the affairs of the Amazons.’
Aliyeh rolled her eyes but Atrax was most intrigued.
‘You will have heard,’ I said to Viper, ‘that Surena has liberated the kingdom of Gordyene.’
‘Yes, majesty,’ she replied with pride.
‘I intend to make your husband the governor of the kingdom, Viper.’
My father suddenly became very interested in what I was saying.
‘And I would like you to accompany me north so you can be a governor’s wife.’
Viper looked at Gallia who nodded.
‘Yes, majesty,’ beamed Viper.
‘This is most excellent,’ said Axsen as Viper hugged Gallia, Diana, and Praxima and then bowed to Axsen and Orodes before scampering away to prepare for the journey.
‘So Gordyene becomes a part of the Kingdom of Dura,’ said my father.
‘For the moment, father.’
‘Gordyene will need a king, Pacorus,’ said Orodes. ‘It was a self-governing kingdom and should be again.’
‘I quite agree, lord king,’ I replied. ‘But until a suitable candidate is found I think it is safe under Surena’s governorship.’
We left two hours later, a long column of my father’s bodyguard, Atrax’s two hundred horse archers and my own hundred horsemen. Thankfully my father’s bodyguard also rode as horse archers and left their camels and squires behind and so we covered around nearly thirty mile
s a day to arrive at Gordyene’s southern border, the Shahar Chay River, ten days after we had left Babylon. Messages had been sent ahead to announce our visit and thus at the frontier we were greeted by Silaces and a thousand horse archers. There was a stiff northerly breeze behind him that showed the banner of the four-pointed star, the flag of Elymais, to full effect and I thought I saw my father nod approvingly when he saw it.
We walked our horses across the shallow river and entered Gordyene, the land of tree-covered mountains, mountain steppes and lakes, and lush, deep valleys and fast-flowing rivers. The kingdom of great forests of beech, oak, pine and peach; home to bears, deer, wild bore and wildcats. Higher on the rocky slopes were mountain leopards and white panthers. It was also an ancient land where wheat had been first been cultivated twelve thousand years ago, and where Alexander of Macedon had discovered the apricot and had sent it back to Greece. And now it was Parthian once more.
Silaces’ men lined the far riverbank and he bowed his head to us as we exited the water.
‘Greetings, majesties.’
‘It is good to see you again, Silaces,’ I said to him.
‘And you, majesty. Surena waits for you at Vanadzor.’
The new governor would undoubtedly have met us at the border had he known that his wife was with us, though it took us only two more days to reach Vanadzor, the brooding city built in the valley of the Pambak River. When we arrived on the morning of the second day Surena was waiting for us. Rank upon rank of white-clad horse archers paraded in front of the city gates and he himself was mounted upon a magnificent grey horse with the lion banner fluttering behind him. Lion banners also hung from the walls and towers of the city, the battlements lined with spearmen and archers. I turned to Viper as we neared Surena and his officers.
‘Go to your husband, Viper.’
She whooped with delight and kicked her mount forward. Moments later the two embraced as the kings of Dura, Hatra and Media brought their horses to a halt before Surena. He had removed his helmet to kiss his wife and now he smiled at us all.
‘Hail, majesties, and welcome to the city of Vanadzor. The garrison awaits your inspection.’
Parthian Vengeance (The Parthian Chronicles) Page 52
