by Duncan Lay
Asami forced a smile. Since promising to make amends for so many years of a loveless, empty marriage, Gaibun had been making a point of talking and listening each day — and she had to admit, it was pleasant. But, still, she felt caged. If only there was a way to gain freedom from Dokuzen’s strict society.
‘How is your teaching going?’ Gaibun asked.
She put aside thoughts of the impossible to turn back to the mundane.
No other scouts had survived, so Captain Edmund went forwards with the only three who had returned to see the barrier for himself. He was King Ward’s favourite but with that came responsibilities. Their report had given him an idea to get through this barrier but he had to be sure. He had honed his abilities in the king’s wars, fought for Ward across three countries. The king had given him riches, respect and power. He wanted to repay him with good news. He could not imagine a world without Ward in it.
‘Are these men all trustworthy, ready to die for king and country?’ he asked the scout sergeant.
Caelin glanced over his shoulder at Ruttyn and Harald and decided lying to an officer wasn’t really a crime.
‘Absolutely, sir,’ he said.
‘Good. I won’t sacrifice men for nothing but I have to have answers, understand?’
‘Of course, sir!’ Caelin agreed, mystified.
‘Stay close and don’t be afraid to give me an order, if it will keep me alive.’
Caelin nodded. ‘Very good, sir.’
They walked in silence for a turn of the hourglass before Caelin could restrain himself no longer.
‘Is it true about the king being sick, sir?’ he asked.
‘What did you hear?’ Edmund asked sharply.
‘Just camp gossip, sir. The boys are afraid what that will mean for us if he does not have long …’
‘Don’t worry about that, sergeant,’ Edmund snapped. ‘We have a job to do and we shall finish it. The king will have his final victory.’
‘Yes, sir.’ Caelin dropped back.
Edmund let him go. He wished he had kept Sergeant Broyle with him. The man was ideal for this sort of task. But he had gone north and, if the scouts were right, ridden into a Velsh trap. Edmund swore to himself that Broyle would be avenged somehow. But first things first — he had to deal with the elves.
‘Are we all gonna die, sarge?’ Harald asked.
‘I bloody hope not,’ Caelin muttered.
‘I don’t want to die. Not yet. I want to shag myself to death with a bed full of gorgeous women,’ Ruttyn declared.
Caelin looked at him.
‘Well, one would be nice,’ Ruttyn amended.
‘I need to get back to my wife and kids. Happily married for two years,’ Harald said, then sighed. ‘The last five have been absolute shit though.’
‘That jest’s so old it’s got hairs on it,’ Ruttyn complained.
‘Will you two keep it down? Captain Edmund there is one of the king’s favourites. If you’re not careful, we three will get sent out the front to walk right into the barrier.’
They continued in silence for another turn of the hourglass, until Caelin felt the hairs go up on the back of his neck and waved the men down. Edmund darted back to his side.
‘It’s all gone quiet,’ he said softly.
‘Aye, sir. That is the first sign. As if the birds and animals were warned away,’ Caelin whispered back. He had seen it once. That was more than enough for any man.
The squad kneeled patiently, swords in hands.
‘Send two men forwards,’ Edmund ordered.
‘Sir — it’s a death sentence for —’
‘That was not a question.’
Caelin only knew Ruttyn and Harald but could not bring himself to send them to their deaths. So he pointed at a pair of men, who gulped and then walked forwards cautiously, ready to spring back at the first sign of trouble.
They never had the chance.
Edmund watched dispassionately until the screaming stopped, while Caelin looked away and the rest of the men looked at the ground, hoping they would not be asked to follow.
‘That’s enough, sergeant. No more patrols. We shall report back to the king.’
‘No more, sir?’
‘That’s right. I have all the information I want and we have sacrificed all the men we need to.’
Shaking with relief, Caelin signalled and the squad left at a run.
‘I’ll be happy never to see this forest again,’ Ruttyn said with feeling.
‘What?’ Edmund asked sharply. ‘Oh, we shall be back, soldier. I know how to get through it now.’
‘Oh good.’ Ruttyn pasted on a smile until Edmund was past, then nudged Harald. ‘Remind me to find a latrine that needs digging that day,’ he said.
‘I might join you boys in that,’ Caelin muttered.
‘Well, we can’t get any more into the shit than we are now,’ Harald said.
5
Most of the Elfarans wanted to stay with the dragons, for they had sworn an oath to these magical creatures and loved their service. But twelve Elfarans, the fathers of each of the twelve clans, walked away.
Sendatsu’s song
The Council Chambers of Dokuzen were packed, with Council Guards holding back another large crowd in the streets outside. More Council Guards were keeping the peace inside; a strange mood had gripped the people, not unlike panic, and the Council wanted none of that to spill into the dignified chamber.
Gaibun, as one of the captains of the Border Patrol, had been ordered to report.
‘The humans are testing the barrier in a way they have not done in three hundred years,’ he told the hushed chamber. ‘The barrier is holding but they are probing it in several different locations, all along the border to the south.’
‘But none can get through? The barrier is defeating their efforts?’ Daichi pressed.
‘Yes, lord.’
‘We need to hear from the leader of the Magic-weavers —’ Daichi began, only for Jaken to leap to his feet.
‘What we need to do is muster the clans, go south and teach these gaijin a lesson they will never forget, so they stay away for another three hundred years!’
His words were met with a thunderous round of applause and cheering, led by elves from clan Tadayoshi that Jaken had scattered around the chamber, while his supporters around the table of clan leaders also tapped the table or clapped their hands.
‘We shall hear from the leader of the Magic-weavers,’ Daichi repeated. ‘For as much as the barrier stands between the humans and Dokuzen, it also prevents us from “teaching them a lesson”, as clan Tadayoshi says.’
His comments received a much greater response from around the table, where the clan leaders loyal to him applauded and even cheered — but the calls from the ordinary people were muted.
Jaken watched the anger twist across Daichi’s face with satisfaction.
Sumiko stepped forwards from where she sat off to the side.
‘The barrier is weaker than it once was. There is no doubt it is decaying,’ she said strongly. ‘It holds — for now. We have a few more years at best, unless the Council acts as I suggested. There are too many gaijin for us to hope to hold them back forever with the bows and swords that clan Tadayoshi thinks are the answer. Our only hope is magic. It is the one thing we have that the humans do not. For too long has the use of magic been dismissed and despised. Put your trust in the Magic-weavers and we shall be safe.’
The crowd began to discuss that when Daichi surged to his feet. ‘Enough!’ he roared.
Sumiko bowed swiftly and backed away.
Jaken examined the Elder Elf with a smile. Daichi’s face had whitened, while those of his followers showed their anxiety. Jaken and now Sumiko had seized control of this meeting and used it to present their opinions to the people. The debate would become less about the safety of Dokuzen and more about whether clan Tadayoshi or the Magic-weavers had the answers.
‘We have heard two important things today,’ Dai
chi announced. ‘The humans are testing our barrier but it is still strong, still more than enough to resist them. We shall return in two days to hear how we may preserve the barrier and turn back the humans.’
The Council Guard began hustling people out of the chamber. Jaken stayed seated for a little while, watching his opponents closely. They had given themselves two days to find an answer — he had no doubt it would be the wrong one. Better still, it was enough time for his call to destroy the gaijin to spread like wildfire through Dokuzen. By then he would be ready to reveal his true plans. He had led Daichi on a merry dance but now it was time for the music to stop.
Sendatsu and Huw pushed the pace hard, the big Forlish horses able to go swiftly and overtake anyone else they saw on the road. Meanwhile, Rhiannon used every opportunity to work on her magic. She called down birds from the trees, animals out of the bushes and even made insects dance in the air around her.
Sendatsu and Huw noticed her smiles and said nothing, relieved at the way she was more like her old self.
It made the journey far easier than the day before, although it was late in the day when they reached the woody hills where Sendatsu thought he remembered finding the church.
It took him longer than he expected to discover the old Velsh church once more. He had stumbled across it easily enough in the dark — but then the lights had drawn him in. In the daylight it was much harder. Rain had washed away any traces of his earlier passage and only his years of tracking lessons enabled him to find it again.
‘No wonder this place has stayed hidden,’ Rhiannon muttered, as they doubled back for what seemed like the tenth time.
But finally Sendatsu led them to it, threading his way through the hillocks. The two bandits he had killed and left there had been reduced to bones by the denizens of the forest but the old church remained as it was when he first saw it. They searched the church carefully, finding no more books, but, to Huw, it seemed as if the church itself was the real discovery.
‘We cannot build in stone like this these days. The skills to build something this big with stone have been lost,’ Huw whispered, running his hands over the stone wall.
‘Because elves stole the knowledge from us,’ Rhiannon said coldly. ‘Do you remember that man we spoke to in Rheged, who said there had been a massacre, all the smartest humans brought together and killed?’
‘I remember,’ Huw said quietly.
Sendatsu held his tongue. Back then, Rhiannon had been the first to protest that elves would never do such a thing.
‘This church was hidden for a reason. I am right, am I not? It is Velsh work, not elven work. We have been inside the latter many times over the last couple of moons,’ Huw mused.
‘But if that is right and there were many humans killed, why is there not more evidence of it? What about the bodies? Where are they?’ Sendatsu asked.
Rhiannon snorted. ‘The answer is all around us. Do you think these hillocks are natural?’
Huw and Sendatsu inspected their surroundings doubtfully.
‘How can we prove that? Even if it is true, there are centuries of earth on them.’
‘Well, I think I can use the trees that grow on them, expand their roots to crack open a hillock so we can see for ourselves,’ Rhiannon said cautiously.
‘That sounds difficult, and dangerous,’ Huw warned.
But Sendatsu merely looked at Rhiannon. He had watched her display an effortless mastery over the magic during the day — although she had been eating far more than usual as well. There was some danger in this, of course — but the chance of finding something important was worth it, he judged.
‘Eat something first, then try it,’ he suggested.
‘Surely it’s too dangerous! I thought you said she should not try anything too big until she had been trained properly in Dokuzen?’ Huw protested.
Sendatsu kept his face still. Huw’s words would surely wipe away any doubts she had. She would do this now and nothing would stop her. Her power was increasing, and with it her strength. He wished she had not suffered so much to gain this power but he also wondered at what she would become as she grew into the magic.
‘I’ll begin in a moment,’ she said determinedly, chewing on an oatcake. ‘And I warn you, Huw ap Earwen, to say not another word!’
That was guaranteed to make Huw shut up, so they watched her eat, then she followed Sendatsu over to the nearest hillock.
‘Try the biggest tree. Its roots will run deepest,’ Sendatsu said.
Rhiannon picked out the one he meant and took a deep breath.
‘Calm your mind. Concentrate on what you want to do.’
She reached into the magic and then pushed at the tree, forcing its roots to grow even larger, ripping apart the front of the hillock as it did so, earth crumbling away in huge chunks. Sendatsu could see the sweat pouring off her face and her breath was coming hard and fast, as if she had just run a race, but she would not stop. She forced the roots through the soil, gouging channels through the hillock, splitting it in a dozen places and toppling other trees as it did so.
‘You’ve done it!’ Sendatsu exclaimed.
She released the magic and staggered a little.
‘Quick, eat something.’ Sendatsu pushed an apple and honey at her and she crammed the food into her mouth, ravenous.
‘Skies above, look at that!’ Huw exclaimed.
He had wandered forwards to inspect the wreckage of the hillock. A skeletal arm pointed out of one of the largest cracks in the ground and beyond that were far more. A jumble of bones and skulls seemed to ooze out of the inside of the hillock, like some obscene, macabre pie.
Sendatsu stared into the grave, feeling sick.
‘Elves did this. They did this to us! We had magic and they wanted to keep it all for themselves and so they killed my people,’ Huw said fiercely.
Sendatsu turned to see tears running down the bard’s face.
‘All the times I sang of the wonder of the elves, about their glory and their kindness and how we weren’t worthy of them — and all the time they had done this.’ Huw sank to his knees.
Sendatsu felt helpless against the weight of history pressing against him. ‘I never knew any of this,’ he said awkwardly.
Huw surged to his feet and grabbed Sendatsu by the tunic, his eyes wet and gleaming. ‘You did this! Your people did this to us and then lied about it!’
Sendatsu saw the pain, knew Huw was thinking of how his mother had died in childbirth, how his father had almost worked himself to death and then been killed by the Forlish, how so many Velsh children died before they could walk — it was the elves’ fault. Sendatsu felt the guilt but was not ready to take responsibility.
‘I had nothing to do with this.’ Sendatsu used his greater strength to prise Huw’s hands away. ‘I was the one who brought you here, remember?’
Rhiannon had recovered her strength and wiped her eyes as she looked at what she had uncovered.
‘You need to keep eating,’ Sendatsu said.
‘I can’t. Not when what I am seeing makes me want to vomit,’ she said coldly. ‘Are all of these hillocks filled with the dead like this?’
‘I would think so.’ Sendatsu faced the bitter truth. ‘The elves must have used magic to cover it up.’
At first he wanted to drag his father and the rest of the Council back out here, show them what their ancestors had done and right this terrible wrong. And then he thought of his children. It was like cold water thrown into the face. Until he had them back, he could not do anything with this knowledge and, even then, he would have to be careful.
‘We have to tell the world, we have to make this known. The elves cannot get away with this,’ Rhiannon stated, looking at Sendatsu.
‘How many times do I have to tell you — we can’t speak like that!’ Sendatsu said.
‘Just like an elf to defend what happened here,’ Huw snarled.
‘I had nothing to do with it — and I have been risking my life to save yours
and the lives of other Velsh since I got here,’ Sendatsu pointed out heatedly. ‘How does it help if we let elves kill us and cover it up once more?’
‘True,’ Huw said. ‘But we can at least tell my people.’
Sendatsu sighed. ‘That’s not a good idea,’ he said slowly. ‘You were the one who announced you were going to make a formal alliance with the elves. Everyone thinks the elves can save the Velsh from the Forlish, and are overcome with excitement at the thought of Rhiannon having magic. How will they react when you tell them the elves are willing to kill any human with magic — and lied and betrayed humans three hundred years ago? And how will the elves react, if you whip the Velsh up against them?’
‘So you’re saying we should just forget about this? Cover it up, like the elves did?’ Rhiannon asked.
‘Of course not! We should never forget this!’ Sendatsu paused, breathing heavily. Whatever else happened, he was determined to see the truth come out. His children had to know the real history. But he had to get them back first. ‘This is not the time for it. I promise you the elves know nothing of this. We have a shared history that is built on lies. But exposing those lies will just wreck your chances of the elves helping your struggle against the Forlish.’
‘Some things are more important —’ Rhiannon began.
‘Exactly!’ Sendatsu nodded. ‘Huw, if you truly want to lead your people, then you have to make hard decisions. This is one of them.’
Huw looked again at the mounds of dead.
‘I can’t believe you are agreeing with him!’
‘Me either,’ Huw admitted.
‘You have no choice,’ Sendatsu told him.
‘We shall make this into a shrine again. We shall reclaim our history,’ Huw said fiercely, turning to Sendatsu. ‘And what of you? Will you tell the elves the truth?’
Sendatsu hesitated. He wanted to but knew full well the elves would not believe this. And, even if they did, many would probably agree with it. They thought magic was theirs alone and humans were inferior. Killing humans was not a crime. He could not stand seeing the expressions on Huw’s and Rhiannon’s faces. He looked away — and his gaze fell on another skeleton spilling out of the burial mound, one much smaller than the others. He stopped speaking and pushed past Huw and Rhiannon to investigate, dropping to one knee to look closer.
