by Ava D. Dohn
*
Treston had been busy from before sunrise. Training new officer hopefuls was always a demanding job, but the shortness of time available to bring so many online was taxing for everyone. Three to four hours sleep was a blessed rarity. The night before, he’d been allowed a wonderful five. When all his official business was finished, he had ridden out to see how well the training was proceeding. At the moment, he was sitting on his horse, inspecting war games of one group of trainees.
About forty men and women were practicing hand-to-hand combat, using long wooden poles with batten on the ends. Over the standard uniform, each combatant wore a straw-matted chest piece that covered him or her from neck to hips. The din of crashing rods was mixed with the grunts and occasional moans of weary soldiers as they fought for high ground near a steep little ravine. It was well past midday and these soldiers had received no food since before sunrise. That was having a telling effect.
Closely studying the moves and actions of his charges, a look of deep dissatisfaction grew on Treston’s face. Dismounting and walking over to the instructor, he motioned toward two of the combatants. The sergeant ordered them to leave off their sparring and present themselves to the colonel, on the double.
Treston paused, glowering at the man and woman as they neared. The man was nearly six feet tall and medium build. The woman stood about five and a half feet and still carried many of her soft features. She wasn’t ‘weathered in’ yet, as some would call the conditioning received from basic training.
The colonel placed his hands on his hips, shouting so all could hear, “What kind of silly ass dance do you call what you were doing?!” Looking at the man, he sharply reprimanded him. “You should have driven her skull in five minutes ago! What’s wrong?! Is she some favorite puppy of yours? That creature is your enemy! It wants to kill you! You are supposed to kill it first!”
Some of the trainees nearby stopped to see the ruckus. The drill instructor shouted, “What are you gawkin’ at?! Get back to your duties!”
Treston turned and mockingly addressed the woman. “What do we have here, some miserable excuse of a soldier who feels that a pretty smile will disarm her adversary?!” Leaning into her face, Treston screeched, “Why are you wasting my instructor’s time by even being here?! Why don’t you go home and knit some mittens for the real warriors?!”
The woman was stunned by Treston’s scathing rebuke. Tears grew in her eyes, but she did not falter. “Sir, I have joined to help in this cause! I will not go home!”
“Oh, you won’t, will you?!” The colonel’s voice seethed with contempt. “We will soon see about that!” He reached out and grabbed the other trainee’s stick. “Give me that truncheon!” then screamed at the woman, “Fight me or die!”
With that, Treston took a swing at the woman’s face. She blocked it, neatly stepping aside, evading his counterstrike. Again and again blows came and, again and again, the woman fended them off, yet they were taking a toll. Slowly she was giving ground, being driven back toward the ravine. A block to the head, then one to the side, again to the head, once more to the side - it was becoming a pattern now. Soon the woman was preparing for the next attack before Treston had moved his stave in that direction.
All the while the cadet was defending herself from his advances, Treston was hurling one verbal insult after another at her, from criticizing her appearance to ridiculing the day of her birth. The colonel did not sink to the foul depths that he often did in his former days in the Second Realm, but his words were as demeaning and biting as always. The more she backed away, the more he threatened, “You’re gonna die, little lady! I’m gonna smash that pretty skull of yours right in two! It’ll send a message to all the little piss-ants who want to join up, thinking they’re somethin’ special! Ya should a’ stayed home, ya little twitter bird! Stayed home an’ hid under your bed. I’ll teach ya not to be so stupid!”
They had worked their way to the edge of the precipice by this time. Then Treston opened up with his coup de main. The woman had become used to the rhythmic assault the colonel was practicing on her and she wasn’t prepared for his next move. He faked the strike for her head and, at the last instant, swung low, delivering a crushing blow to her mid calf. Pain shot up her frame, exploding with a blinding flash in her eyes. Before she could recover, he drove up with the other end of the club hard, into her groin. That hit knocked the wind from the woman. She doubled forward in agony. Another strike, this time to the face, picked her off her feet and hurled her backward, pitching her over the edge of the ravine.
Down the stony bank the cadet tumbled, head over heels, crashing and sliding to the dry gravel creek bed below. At first there was no movement from the dust-covered pile sprawled on the sun-baked stones. Then the woman began to move, finally pushing herself over, until lying spread-eagle in the draw. She lay there, moaning in pain, rolling her head from side to side, trying to regain her senses.
“Get up, you miserable little dung worm!” Treston screamed down at her. “Get up, or I’ll come down and finish the job!”
By now the attention of most of the other cadets was focused on the colonel and his hapless victim lying on the canyon floor. Some of the soldiers moved to assist her. “Leave her be,” Treston ordered, “or you’ll face the same fate!” He turned to the captain. “Who gave these people permission to take a break?!”
“No one, Sir!” The sergeant shouted back. “I’ll take care of it, Sir!” He then barked out commands for the others to get back to their practice.
The woman began struggling to stand. “Faster, you rotten piece of raven meat!” Treston threatened. “Faster, or I’ll help you! And you won’t like that!”
The woman staggered to her feet and started the long crawl up the steep sides of the draw. As her hands clawed into the loose sand and gravel and her feet pushed ever upward, she puked up what little food remained in her system. She dare not stop for fear that the colonel would carry out his promise to kill her.
She eventually attained the ridge by crawling on her elbows and knees. There, exhausted, the woman flopped onto the ground. By now she looked a terrible sight, hair and face covered with filth, bleeding from several cuts and scrapes, cloths torn and helmet missing. There was a huge slash cut across her face where Treston had slammed it with the staff. Her right cheek was cut nearly to the bone and the eye above it was swollen near shut.
“Get up, you!” The commander shouted in her ear. “I haven’t given you permission to take a break! Get up or I’ll kick you back into the draw...and this time leave you for the vultures to eat!” He nudged her in the side with a boot.
Groaning in almost blinding pain, the woman slowly pushed herself up with her hands and, with much of a struggle, managed to stand in front of the colonel. He grinned. “Good! Very good! But your work isn’t finished…”
Treston then ordered the woman’s former sparring partner to get down on his hands and knees. Then he pressed the woman, “That man is wounded and the enemy is approaching. What are you going to do? If you leave him, there is no one who will afford him rescue. What are you going to do?”
Anger flashed in the woman’s eyes…no, almost hatred. Gasping for breath, she spit out, “I’ll get him, sir! I’ll bring him myself!”
She bent down and, with excruciating effort, managed to roll the man onto her back. Then, half-carrying and half-dragging her injured comrade, with exhausted grunts and muffled moans, the cadet began to stagger toward the road. The entire time, Treston did not let up with his humiliating remarks and verbal tirade.
Making it to the road, the woman started for the supply wagons, some half mile away. Treston watched as her breathing became shallow. Soon her nose began to bleed. In a little while, bloody foam and mucus flowed from her mouth. Another twenty feet and the woman just collapsed, face down in the dirt.
It was at that moment that Trisha’s entourage arrived. Chasi
leah watch in horror as the woman fell, but she obeyed her commander, saying nothing. Treston glanced up. He then ordered the man off and told him to hurry for water.
The colonel then got down on one knee and started to gently rub the woman’s back, leaning in close, softly offering words of encouragement. “There, my little one… there. It will be all right. You’re a brave soldier. I would be proud to have you as one of my lieutenants.”
The woman moved. She was conscious but groggy. Instantly, she understood why the colonel had done what he had. She offered a weak smile.
Treston said, “Now, my child, the heart is willing to move the world to save a fellow comrade, but the body has its limits. You must learn those limits if you are to survive on the field of glory.”
The fellow cadet had returned with some water. Treston called four others over to assist in carrying the woman to the medical tent. “Get her back to base quickly! See to it that this soldier is properly nursed and her needs are taken care of.”
The others carefully picked the woman up and gently carried her off to the supply wagons. Moments later, a canvas-covered truck was making a dust storm as it rumbled toward the base.
The colonel was now called over to the waiting party. Trisha sat her horse, expressionless as usual. She watched Chasileah’s face, the woman’s concern and horror little diminished. She then asked Treston, “Was that really so necessary?”
Treston’s eyes followed Trisha’s to Chasileah. Looking back at the commander, he addressed the question. “You have many women in the ranks, something I am not that familiar with. Yet I do understand the need and accept it. What a woman lacks in power over a man she must make up in cunning and skill. Her opponent on the field will not compensate her for the difference in strength and might. It is better for me to injure my sister here than to allow her ruin on the field of battle.”
Trisha looked back at Chasileah. What the colonel said was true, but oh, what a terrible way to teach the lesson!
Treston added, “That cadet is the best of all the lot I saw here, even of the men. When your hero can be taken down so quickly, you begin to see the strength of the enemy who is set against you. What that girl suffered through today may well save the lives of many of the people observing it.”
“Very well, then.” Trisha concluded. “Now to the business of the day.”
The field marshal dismounted and, following her lead, the remainder of her party did the same. She called Treston near and introduced him to a few members of the company. “This is General DinChizki. He will be leading the First Army in its coming adventures.” She then introduced Chasileah. “The major, whom I believe you’ve already met, is my chief staff commissary officer, and is also my liaison officer for the health and well-being of army personnel.”
Treston extended his hand as he made his salutation. As their eyes met, he could still see the hurt in Chasileah’s from the recent demonstration of the colonel’s methods of instruction.
In a tone of voice that still reflected her disapproval, Chasileah queried, “Tell me, Colonel, should I find myself in such a dilemma - I mean wounded on the field with the enemy approaching - would you abandon me to the wolves?”
“My Lady,” Treston gave a single nod and dropped his hand to his side. “there are no favorites on the field of battle, as I believe you are already well aware of. I will do what must be done to make victory complete. The cost to the individual is of little value in comparison to the survival of the whole. All of us, as individuals, are expendable and none of us above death. When it comes and how it comes is not often in our charge. Nor can we always salvage the things that are precious to us.” He paused. “Major, to answer your question, I would even abandon myself if necessary, if it served for the betterment of the cause.”
Trisha interjected by offering the acquaintance of a few more of her officers and staff. Finally, a tall, dark-haired man stepped forward. Trisha turned toward him and then back to Treston, smiling. “Allow me to present to you your new commander, General PalaHar.”
Treston extended his hand, offering a friendly greeting. General PalaHar smiled, grasped his hand, giving it a hearty shake and addressed him. “It is my pleasure to make your personal acquaintance. Although I have studied your valor and leadership as a captain in one of your mighty legions, it has always been from afar. Now we are at opportunity to be joined in mutual cause. I do look forward to observing your abilities at closer proximity.”
Trisha interrupted, “General PalaHar is a personal steward of Lowenah. He has been her standard bearer for many centuries and was part of her honor guard at the last prisoner exchange. The Maker of All Things does not send him away without good reason. I believe this you have already guessed.”
Treston silently nodded.
“I thought as much.” Trisha acknowledged. “That being the case, I am also sure you are wondering why we have tracked you down to report the news that the general is your new commander.”
“Yes, please.” requested the colonel. “Would you be kind enough to divulge what reasons exist to place me in the company of such a highly distinguished officer of Lowenah’s court?”
Trisha laughed. “The answer, my friend, may both impress and trouble you, I’m sure. You see, there is a great need for your services in training a new cadet - one who will test your mettle and your will. Her training under your guiding hand will begin in two or three weeks. That’s when the first stage of her instruction will have been completed. I think you should be impressed at being considered so valuable.”
“I am, thank you. But one cadet?” Treston asked. “Is it truly necessary to assign me to only one trainee?”
“Yes!” Trisha exclaimed. “It has been for this very purpose, I have been informed, that you were delivered to the Realms Above, to help bring this child to maturity and assist her in fulfilling a destiny placed before her long ago. You, my friend, started her on the journey to this place, and so it shall be that you will help her finish it.”
A puzzled expression grew on Treston’s face. For several seconds he pondered what the field marshal was referring to. Suddenly, his face went ashen and a breath of surprise and despair escaped him. “Ishtar?”
Trisha gave a nod.
He cried, “My Lord, no! This cannot be! Please, this child?! How can I…? Why, I am not even fit to lace up her sandal. Please allow this request of yours to pass on to a more fitting and worthy candidate. Please permit your servant to decline this assignment.”
Trisha laughed again, slapping him on the shoulder. “Dear Colonel Treston, I will do no such thing! Even if I wished to, it is beyond my power to satisfy your request. May I recommend your taking the matter up with Lowenah next time you see her. It is from whom this order has originated. Now be a good officer, as I know you are, and carry out your directives.”
Treston saw no reason for argument. His greatest fear was being realized at last. How could he, the man who cast the child to death, the man responsible for her torture in the prison, the man who was accomplice to her murder…how could he even face her, let alone be her instructor? How would she even allow him in her presence? With a heavy heart, he asked, “Tell me please, my Lord, why me? Why not one of greater wisdom and valor? Why her murderer and not a friend?”
Trisha laughed again, grinning from ear to ear, asking, “Has our captain over thousands become morose over the feelings of one child?” She paused, studying his face. “I’m sorry to have made fun. Excuse me, please.”
Treston sadly nodded.
Trisha offered explanation. “My ears have not been privy to all the secrets of my Master’s house, but I do know this: You and the child are sharers in many things. Her ways and customs were your ways and customs. You and she are bonded in the blood by situation of her death. To you she will one day be able to draw close and, from you, eventually find comfort, because you will fully understand all the things done to her tha
t are still secrets to all save a few. The girl will fear your words more than she will others because she still carries the dread of your king from days of old, and you will still represent his power and authority to her. There is more to tell, but what I have said is sufficient for the moment.”
Treston decided there was nothing else for it. He trusted Lowenah, believing in her wisdom. Although his being delivered here still confounded him and gnawed at his mind as to just what she was thinking when she did so. Still, if it were the will of the Court to order his destiny thusly, he would accept such a judgment, his practiced, loyal obedience fating him to such a road. Resigning himself to that course, he let out a sigh and offered, “Here is your servant to do the will of my Lords.”
Trisha expressed her pleasure, showing a huge, toothy smile and again patting Treston on the arm. “Good! Good! I had told General PalaHar that the chains and extra guards would be unnecessary...”
She then proceeded with his immediate orders. “In four weeks, the first of our cadets will have completed their primary training and will move on to whatever special fields they are assigned to. Once you have issued those orders to our new officers, you will leave for your next assignment. General PalaHar is preparing to leave tomorrow for Palace City, where you will join him. When you arrive, he will have already started Ishtar’s instruction. He will inform her of the history of your final years in the Second Realm. That should help ease some of the tension as the two of you get reacquainted.”
Treston thanked Trisha for her kindness.
The field marshal then concluded, “The general will have a strategy in place by the time you arrive. He and you are to work together in training Ishtar. It is necessary for the child to be ready to take command of troops shortly after we establish a bridgehead on MueoPoros.”
Trisha touched Treston’s lower arm. “Colonel, you have a way of getting right to the point. You waste few words when educating your students as to the arts of war. We trust you will continue to act in the same efficient manner with your new cadet.” She paused in thought. After a moment, she asked, “Is there anything I can do to provide assistance to you in this most important assignment?”
Treston carefully considered the request before answering. “Yes, there is one thing. I would like to have an able junior officer assist me in my duties, one who will also be able to easily gain Ishtar’s trust.”
Trisha smiled. “That’s an easy enough request. I suppose you have a person already in mind?”
“Yes, thank you, Commander.” Treston replied. “The woman cadet I parried with today would be an excellent candidate for my needs. If you would allow her to be assigned to me upon completion of her training here, it would be most kind.”
“Should we also dig her a grave in the Silent Tombs, or is it just her spirit you wish to destroy?” Chasileah caustically asked, the words escaping as she thought them.
The shocked expressions on the faces of her fellow officers reinforced her own realization that she had been out of line. She had disobeyed a direct order from her commanding officer, being told to remain silent. There was no excuse. A trusted officer needed to keep his or her feelings in check. She deserved reprimand, or even worse.
Treston’s eyes flashed with hurt and anger. He said nothing, only staring into Chasileah’s face. After a long silence, he turned to the field marshal and requested, “Permission to speak freely, Commander.” Trisha approved.
Looking at Chasileah, the colonel, controlling his voice in a mild retort, addressed the major’s cutting innuendos. “My life has been but a shadow of time in comparison to yours. All the while, it was glutted with violence, pain and strife. Many things I have done that moral men would decry and call offensive or shameful. A ‘heathen’, a ‘bully’, a ‘self-righteous, over-indulgent bastard’…these are but a few of the names you could rightfully call me.”
He raised his hand, extending his finger toward Chasileah. “But I have never allowed undue harm to come to the people in my charge! Never have I abandoned another soldier to the enemy unless I had no other recourse. I have put my life in front of the soul of even the lowliest of my servants. My men were taught how to fight in a manner so as to survive on the field where their only comrade was the sword and only defense the shield. I did not lift one man above another in choosing who was to live or die. One brother and two cousins fell at my side while I pulled a stranger to safety.”
Those words stung deep in Chasileah’s heart, as she recalled her own weakness on the field, passing up others to save Zadar.
The explosive rebuff continued. “I drive my lieutenants as I do myself. If one is to die, it is better to do so among friends and not in front of the enemy. If you do not push your charges to the limit when they are learning war, then they will often learn it on the field at much greater cost. I refuse to mourn the loss of a comrade because I failed him. If you do not like my way of training the souls of which I stand guard over, then find one who will pander to your wishes! Let their blood rest on your shoulders!”
Chasileah had nothing to say. She cast her eyes away, staring shamefully at the ground.
Trisha quickly spoke up. “Major, consider yourself reprimanded for disregarding a direct order. May this serve as a lesson for us all.” She then addressed Treston’s request. “I trust to your judgment, Colonel. If you desire that cadet to be your aide-de-camp, I find no trouble with it.”
The field marshal turned to the others. “There is much activity yet to accomplish before we may entertain an evening meal. Our business is finished here and time is wasting.” She mounted her horse and the others quickly followed her lead. In moments, her troop had disappeared into a cloud of thick dust.
Treston turned back to the remaining cadets. He wondered how to get them to engage each other in real combat. If he offered the winners a reward, each of them would try to lose. He pondered those things in his mind. Suddenly, he snapped his fingers and a smile grew on his face. He called the sergeant to assemble the recruits.
When all had gathered, the colonel went on to express his regrets. “I have been informed that there are only enough rations for half the company. It is my decision to provide that food to the weakest and weariest among you. I shall give you all opportunity to help me identify the deserving ones who will receive the repast. Pick up your weapons and drive the weak opponents over the precipice. Those who fall to your blows shall feast.”
It was with deep satisfaction that Treston watched as a great combat erupted along the edge of the draw. None would willingly surrender, but each one was determined to give to his or her starving opponent the limited refreshment. The draw gradually filled with bruised and bloodied warriors. And, to his surprise, many of the women cadets went hungry that day.
