But Aram was paying precious little attention to the general and gave him a passing nod of acknowledgement. His eyes were locked in reunion with those of his son, who had dismounted and removed his own gloves.
‘I…’ Aram faltered. ‘It would be unseemly to embrace an officer in front of his men.’
Cinna snorted with laughter. ‘However important Dev might be, they’re my men, not his.’
Dev shot the general an odd look, half-offended, half-grateful, then turned back to his father. ‘I always intended to come back. To visit. But that’s not how the empire works. Once you have a role to play you are always busy – always assigned. I have been all over the western world, but never once back home. I had…’ his voice cracked again. ‘I assumed you dead, Father. I mourned you quietly.’
‘The Inda do not die that easily,’ Aram replied. ‘And while it broke my heart when you left, fate has brought us together once more. It proves that I was right to do what I did, and that perhaps I was guided by the gods.’
Close by, General Cinna, who had been listening to the exchange, nodded seriously. ‘In the west we have similar notions of fate. My own father, who was a priest, urged me into the military. He believed I was destined to do something important, and saw the martial service as my path to that. Personally I am beginning to rethink the matter, since my career seems to have led me into a position where I am helping to destroy the world.’
‘Hence your meeting,’ Aram replied shrewdly.
Cinna nodded. ‘A meeting that will almost certainly see the emperor baying for my head, but men of conscience must do what they can, eh, Aram of Initpur? Dev?’ The general tapped his adjutant on the upper arm, and the young man turned in surprise. ‘I need your help, now more than ever, but what you have found here is more important than anything I can ever say to you. If you wish to remain with your father, I will have the records completed to give you a legitimate dismissal.’
Dev frowned at him, and turned that creased brow back and forth between father and commander. ‘No. I cannot. Perhaps when we have stopped the madness, General, but not until then.’ Turning back to his father apologetically, his voice trembled. ‘I am sorry, Father.’
Aram smiled. ‘Do not be. My son is a powerful man who is trying to save the world. What father could ask for more?’
They had reached the doorway now, and as they began to step inside, there was a call from the gate. More riders. Aram gestured for the man at the temple door to escort the general and Dev to the refectory and turned, hurrying back to the gate. His heart was pounding, and a strange sense of anticipation had settled upon him. Fate was at work here in spades. Fate had brought Dev to him and had reintroduced him to an imperial commander who had the good of the world at heart. There was so much fate at work here, in fact, that Aram could not fathom how to wrap his mind around it. It therefore came as little surprise when he ascended the gate platform and spied Jai closing on him. His eldest son, who had changed surprisingly little, was dressed in the uniform of a Jade Empire officer and riding beside another commander, followed by a small unit of impressive men in red and black with demonic face masks. The man beside Jai was tall and elegant – an impressive specimen.
And he was here to make peace. That much was clear. It was the whole reason for this meeting, and fate had decreed that such a meeting be held in this place, where Aram was privy to the matter. A frisson of energy ran across his skin. Fate was clearly all-encompassing.
‘General,’ he said loudly from his platform.
The small party of impressive soldiers and the two officers at their head reined in their horses before the open gate. The general turned a quizzical expression on Aram. ‘We are expected?’
‘General Cinna awaits you in the refectory,’ Aram replied without a trace of smugness. ‘As does your brother, Jai.’
The second man’s head shot round to face him, and his face underwent a variety of expressions before settling rather tentatively on disbelief.
‘Yes, Jai. Fate works in fascinating ways. It finds my sons coming back to me at a time of momentous change. Come. Your parley awaits, and I would speak with you once your duty is done.’
Aram motioned to the gate. It was odd, as though his mind had been programmed. As though he were simply speaking words that had been planted in his head. As he had looked down at Jai, impressive and resplendent in his uniform, he had not known what to say, and had expected to bluff and croak his way through. And yet he had dealt with the matter with impressive formality and detachment, as though fate could not risk letting him interfere and was speaking through him.
He watched the general and his eldest son pass through the gate as though the whole day were somehow happening to someone else and he just an observer.
‘I must apologise,’ the general said as he passed through the gate and dismounted. ‘I do not wish to impose upon your hospitality. You seem to have found a safe niche far from the war, and I can only express regret for bringing reminders of it to you. Rest assured that I will keep this location from the strategists in our camp.’
Aram nodded. He had no doubt at all that the man was speaking the absolute truth. This was fate at work. They were truly in the hands of the gods now.
‘Father…’
Aram turned to his son. His heart felt as though it might burst. If only his beloved wife had lived to see what their boys had made of themselves.
‘Jai, it seems that the gods have gathered us together for a purpose. There will be time for us to talk, but that is after your master meets with General Cinna. I have had food and drink prepared. Come, Maja over there will show you to our other guests.’
The general noted the small gathering of impressive, well-ordered imperial troops in one corner of the open space, where they were being supplied with cold drinks, and he motioned to his own guard. ‘Masks off. In fact, helmets off. Dismount and find somewhere to wait. There will be no offence caused to your opposite numbers over there, nor to the inhabitants of this place, or the wall of hooks will await you upon our return.’
Aram watched them go, escorted to the refectory by one of the women who arranged the food. He stood for a long moment after his eldest son had entered the building, the young man’s face craning to see his father until he was out of sight. For a time Aram waited, rooted to the spot as though moving might disturb the delicate fabric of this living tapestry. Finally, he took a deep breath and followed on, Mani, Bajaan and Parmesh at his heel, each wearing uncertain expressions.
He could hear the exchanges of formal greeting in the room before he arrived, each general introduced by a son of Aram’s, each given his formal title with any honours bestowed, yet neither, Aram noted, mentioning their emperors, which seemed curious. As he entered the refectory, he noted with a wry smile the various refugees gathered close to the door, their ears cocked, listening to the future of the world being decided within. Wearing an almost paternal smile, Aram waved them away and entered with his three-man entourage, two of Mani’s best pugilists taking up a position outside to prevent further curious eavesdroppers.
The two generals were seated opposite one another, with their adjutants beside them. Everyone’s expression was carefully neutral, though the astonishment was still visible in the faces of both younger men. Jai and Dev had clearly become reacquainted in the time Aram had waited outside. Maja and two of her helpers were still producing food and serving it to the four men, who politely accepted what they were given, but did not overindulge.
‘None of us want this war,’ Cinna said, opening their discussion with a flat statement that as far as Aram was concerned seemed to make rather a strong assumption, yet Jiang nodded his agreement.
‘It gains little of value for the Jade Empire, overcommits your own army, and is poison to the Inda,’ the eastern general said.
‘And yet daily we send many hundreds of young men to the next world in the name of a bridge neither of us wants,’ Cinna said in unhappy tones.
‘Though we are at
something of an impasse,’ Jiang commented. ‘You are unable to withdraw and cede us the bridge, and I am unable to take my army back to our own borders.’
‘I presume the Jade Emperor is no more a man to change his mind than the blessed lunatic Bassianus?’
‘Precisely. My emperor, like yours, is divine. His word is higher than law. His decisions cannot be questioned. Were I to turn back east and lead my force across our border and out of Inda lands, the emperor would request my head upon receiving the news. And even then, the chances of me reaching said border with the army are infinitesimally small. My army was hand-picked by me, but inevitably there will be imperial spies among them, and probably assassins also. No one is entirely to be trusted in the Jade Empire – especially known renegades, and troublesome men like me. I would almost certainly be dead before I was out of sight of Jalnapur.’
‘I have a similar issue,’ Cinna sighed. ‘I have twice attempted to turn my emperor from this path. No man has argued with him thrice and lived. We are hopelessly and irrevocably committed, like yourselves. And Bassianus will similarly have men within my command, listening carefully, reporting and prepared to take action in his name.’
‘Yet something must be done,’ Jiang said, pausing to take a bite of a savoury cake proffered to him by Maja.
‘If I might impose?’ Aram said, slipping into a seat off to one side. Both men nodded as they nibbled on the food before them, and Aram tapped his chin. ‘It seems to me that the men leading the armies would rather not fight. If I know soldiers at all, then I think we can all assume that your men would rather not be fighting. The drain in resources from your homelands must be appalling, so your own people, east and west, would almost certainly rather you were not fighting. No court in the world ever speaks with one voice, so there will be men in the highest circles of power who would rather you were not fighting. And the Inda most certainly would rather you were not fighting. That leads to a rather stark conclusion. Your emperors are the only men who wish you to fight. No man, no matter how powerful or what authority he can claim, should be able to destroy a world against the will of his own people.’
‘You do not know Bassianus,’ Cinna replied darkly.
‘Or the Jade Emperor,’ Jiang added.
‘But I know that whatever they might claim, they are but mortal men. Wicked men should not be tolerated in positions of such power.’
There was an uncomfortable silence.
‘There have been attempts on the emperor’s life before,’ Cinna said finally. ‘They never end well. He is too closely protected.’
‘There are always plots against the Jade throne,’ Jiang said.
Aram shook his head. ‘But you are talking about the plots of power-hungry men or passionate individuals seeking to overthrow and replace a ruler. I am not talking about such a thing. I am talking about waking up the reason inside all men and gathering a whole empire against its master.’
Cinna frowned and waved a chicken leg absently at his opposite number. ‘He has a point. I do not know how things stand in the east, but the imperial court all hate and fear Bassianus. Perhaps not all, but certainly many of them. Perhaps there could be change if it were effected correctly. Dynasties have fallen before. Kiva Caerdin once deposed a mad emperor, and they say that history repeats itself.’
Jiang sucked on his teeth. ‘It is not so simple for the Jade throne. There is no court like you have in the west. Everything is hierarchical, but perhaps there is a way. I will have to think on the matter and see what I can come up with.’
‘But we are running out of time,’ Cinna said, frankly. This was clearly not something Dev had not been expecting his commander to say, as his worried face turned to Cinna, who waved him down. ‘Dev, it matters not if Jiang knows the truth. Perhaps it might even help us. General, the empire is in trouble. Bassianus has committed a huge force to help drive you from Jalnapur. They will arrive very soon, and once they do I will command the largest field army ever seen in the west. But in their absence, our borders will be pressured and will soon crumble. While I am facing you, our other neighbours will begin the process of devouring the empire.’
As Jiang’s brow rose in surprise, Cinna glanced at Dev, who nodded.
‘Also, we have become aware of something that concerns you equally. There is a new king in the northern mountains with a force of fanatics, praying to the sun as the only god, determined to bring their worship to the world. The more we weaken one another, the more we play into his hands.’
The Jade Empire’s general nodded slowly. ‘I had heard rumours of this Sizhad,’ he replied, ‘though we have less intelligence on him. Thank you. And for your candour. In return I must warn you that the Jade Emperor has also sent further forces west. Our own army stands to double in size, but the men coming with that force will intend to replace me, no matter what their initial orders were. I have been careful not to do anything foolhardy thus far, to preserve as many lives as possible. These men will have no such concern. If we are seriously looking at a way to remove the driving forces of this war, then my first concern will have to be dealing with my potential replacements. Given the size and loyalty of my army, they will not find me an easy proposition, mind.’
‘But you would be willing to consider the possibilities?’
Jiang nodded to his opposite number. ‘This insanity has gone on long enough. And if we are to move to end this, then we cannot lurk and skulk around as we do now. We must make a stand and be seen to be doing so for the correct reason. It was sensible to come here to meet, but if we are in agreement that we need to proceed in a uniform direction, then further discussions can now take place at Jalnapur.’
‘Agreed.’ Cinna smiled. ‘While our very presence has been a waking nightmare for the Inda, they are lucky, I suspect, that it was you and I who led these campaigns. And now we must do what we can to save them from our own. I shall return to my camp, identify those fanatically loyal to the divine lunatic and remove them before making an appeal to my officers. I shall then work up some plans with Dev here, to see what might be possible. It will take a week to travel north once more, but in a matter of days thereafter, I suggest we meet and consider the next stage.’
Jiang nodded. ‘I will perform a similar surgery on my own army. Jai here will liaise with…’ He smiled. ‘With his brother, I understand, to arrange a meeting in due course.’
Aram grinned and spread his arms wide. ‘No man should depart again upon the very day he arrived. Matters of such joyous import as this deserve to be marked as an occasion, and I will beg leave this evening to reacquaint myself with my boys. I shall have your soldiers brought in as well as the major representatives of our people. We shall dine upon the fruits gathered here.’
As the two general nodded, Aram once again marvelled at the power of fate.
The two most powerful generals in the world, the two long-lost sons of Aram, and their father, all in one deserted monastery in a forbidden land, where the future of the world was being decided.
Aram took a long drink of cold mango juice, and could not stop smiling.
Chapter 16
Father, I know that we shall meet again soon enough and hopefully under the best of circumstances, but it pains me to part again knowing how it happened the last time, and so I felt the need to leave you this note, just in case. I would have stayed. I dearly wished to stay. But we are about to change the world, and so I cannot.
Grandfather often spoke of the Inda defining their own destiny, while you have always professed to cleave to the notion of an unchangeable fate. Perhaps it is all the time I have spent in the empire, where philosophy attempts to fill the gaps between the logical and the divine, but I find myself believing in a curious combination of chance and the forging of our own path.
I am proud to be your son.
You, by your strength and your courage, have created something here that has never been seen in the history of the Inda. You have brought together men and women from different kingdoms and mana
ged to see them work together like one people. That alone gives me hope for the future. And despite your astounding achievement and the ancient strength of the Inda, and despite the fact that it is the two great empires who have brought such misery to the Inda, it is curious that now the future of the land lies in the hands of their two great generals.
I am proud to be Cinna’s adjutant.
Perhaps it is fate driving us, perhaps it is luck. Perhaps it is that we drive ourselves, but one thing is true regardless of that. As a boy, when I left Initpur, I saw only ruination ahead for the Inda. Less than a year ago, when we first espied the forces of the Jade Empire at Jalnapur, I felt certain we were witnessing the end for our people. Now, though, between two visionary generals, a tenacious rajah and the triumph of logic, I finally see hope for the Inda and for the world.
We will meet again soon, Father. And this time I will no longer run away.
Good luck in these strange lands where you have carved out a civilisation.
I am proud to be Inda.
Until I return,
Dev
They had finally passed the outer markers, which meant that they had less than a mile to go until they met the first pickets. Dev rode with a sense of achievement and hope, as did every man with them, even General Cinna, though the stocky commander also bore the permanently creased brow of a man with a problem to solve. The very idea of defying the emperor’s command and attempting to halt the madness had seemed like a wisp of smoke initially – tantalisingly present, yet intangible and impossible to grasp. Now, though, it felt like a real possibility. The simple knowledge that the enemy general was of a mind with them and sought the same goal was enough to make that ethereal notion solidify.
It would still be far from easy and the danger was unimaginable, since this path would bring them into conflict with their own empire, let alone the plethora of enemies that lay in wait. But even the possibility was something to grab and hold tight, for everything that had happened since they had crossed the Oxus and marched into Inda lands had gradually spiralled the world down into chaos and destruction, and, left unchecked, the only possible conclusion to all of this was mutual annihilation of the world’s great cultures and the imposition of an unforgiving sun god on them all.
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