Purdue had heard about the importance of bows and arrows to the Mongolian conquest. “They could fire them from horseback with ease, aye. No one else in Asia at the time could compete with that. That's a nice find.”
It really was a decent find, but it was hardly anything to look so enthusiastic about achieving. There had to be more relics. Based on Riley’s gaze with baited breath, there definitely was.
“It just got me thinking about the Mongols and especially about Genghis Khan. He's one of the most influential and important figures in history, but...no one knows where the hell he was buried.”
That was true. There were all kinds of theories about the burial site's location, but none of them had been proven true. Those theories alone were fascinating to learn, and Purdue had read all about them on a rainy Sunday afternoon years ago. Many of those hypotheses came rushing back to him.
According to legends, Genghis Khan had requested to be buried in an unmarked grave. Historical accounts revealed that tens of thousands of people attended his funeral. However, to avoid anyone knowing where he was buried, Genghis Khan's army then massacred the people who attended the funeral. His army was then killed by Khan's escorts. The guards took Genghis Khan's body to its final resting place that had been built by slaves. The guards murdered the slaves who constructed the tomb; and then, in a final act to conceal the location, the last remaining people to know the truth committed suicide. It had been a vicious chain of death to help conceal the tomb, leaving no one left alive who knew anything about its exact location.
There was far more speculation about it, too. Some claimed a river had been diverted to flow right over where he was buried, making his resting place impossible to reach. Others argued that horses trampled all over the ground he was buried in and then trees had been planted to cover it. Purdue could understand wanting your grave to be unmarked but going through all of those measures seemed little excessive—but a world conqueror and his forces probably didn't care about excess.
Some guessed that he was buried somewhere in Mongolia, and that he might even be buried somewhere near his birthplace in the Khentii Aimag, but those were just speculations. There was a Genghis Khan Mausoleum that had been constructed, but it was nothing more than a temple to memorialize him. There was no physical body entombed there.
Then there was the Ikh Khorig, called the Great Taboo, in Mongolia that many believed and recognized as the conqueror’s burial site. For centuries it was guarded and trespassing was punishable by death. That certainly made it seem like a suspicious possibility. However, it had been opened up during the last thirty years, and archaeologists were allowed to examine the area. They hadn't found anything that even hinted that it was his real resting place.
Purdue had sometimes thought about looking for the tomb himself, but there was just so little to actually utilize. All of those stories and legends were severely lacking in any real evidence, any concrete clues that he could latch onto to facilitate his search.
Now Riley was barking up that same tree, and he was going to have to break it to her that the tomb of Genghis Khan wasn't exactly going to be easy to find. He loved her optimism and her enthusiasm, but it was highly unlikely that they’d obtain enough information to find the tomb or the remains of such an iconic leader.
“There were markings on the bow,” she said abruptly, like she could see that he was about to discourage her. “Old scribe that I didn't recognize. When Elijah looked it over, he couldn't fully translate it, but the word tomb was definitely on there.”
That was interesting, but Purdue really didn't want her to get too excited about so little.
“There are all kinds of stories...” Purdue said. “And people have been looking for a very, very long time...”
Before he could disappoint her, Riley boldly interrupted: “But have we ever looked? Has the Order of the Black Sun ever actually tried to find it ourselves?”
Purdue didn't know the answer to that. The Black Sun had gone on all kinds of missions in search of things that could help them spread their influence in the world. It was possible, but he somewhat doubted that they’d care about the tomb of an old conqueror like Genghis Khan. They only would have looked if there was something there that they could benefit from exuming. A long lost skeleton probably hadn't been very valuable to the old order.
Still, the question greatly piqued his interest and stopped him from completely shutting her down altogether.
“I'll look into it,” Purdue said. There may not be any sort of holy weapons or anything like that at the burial site, but the remains of a man as legendary as Genghis Khan were extremely valuable in their own right. Finding a long lost tomb like that could be just the caliber of a major expedition that they needed to truly unite this new Order of the Black Sun together.
Riley flashed a wide Cheshire grin. “So we're going to try and find the tomb then?”
She looked like an excited little girl who couldn't wait to play a game. Purdue didn't want to completely shatter all of her hopes and dreams.
“I'll give it some thought.”
And he already was giving it plenty of thought.
PURDUE STROLLED through the Black Sun compound's halls, passing by many of the order's members. Some greeted him with waves, nods, and good mornings. Others turned away, looking at him with narrow eyes and mumbled words under their breaths. He was used to the mixed reception at that point. He was just glad that he still had at least some supporters. Unfortunately, most of the actual dangerous individuals in the order now weren't part of his fan club.
He arrived at the massive metal doors that led to the deep vault. He hadn't tested them, but Purdue imagined that even a nuclear explosion wouldn't put a dent in those doors. The only way in was with the proper authentication. Purdue put his hand up to the screen as it scanned his palm. He’d only been created in the system for a little while but was thankful for it. Otherwise, he’d never be able to open those doors. After punching in a few more passcodes, the colossal entrance slowly started to pry apart, revealing an enormous room behind the doors.
Purdue walked into the chamber. Since taking over the Black Sun, he’d reorganized the deep vault a bit. Most of his collected relics were on display in fortified glass cases, just so he could look them over when he was in a nostalgic mood. They all contained so many fond memories of his previous adventures, prior to becoming the leader of this secret society. The rest of the artifacts were kept in a pit of well-organized storage, the actual deep vault.
As he walked past some of his favorite trinkets from his travels, he saw a glass cage that had a curtain draped all around it. That was where he’d imprisoned the Order of the Black Sun's previous leader, the psychotic Julian Corvus. That monster of a man had been accidentally given immortality and locking him away with all of the other rarities was the best protection Purdue could think of to be rid of Julian. Julian' immortality would keep him from starving or dehydrating in there. That stubborn heart of his would keep on ticking until the end of time. That man had taken everything from Purdue; trapping him a small little cage for eternity might have been cruel, but Purdue couldn't help feel that it wasn't quite cruel enough. Julian Corvus deserved everything that had come to him. Purdue hadn't spoken to Julian since Purdue first shut in him that cage, but Purdue hoped that lunatic was suffering.
Purdue spied a large table with all kinds of measuring tools and notebooks sprawled across it. Two people sat on the other side, looking over a few artifacts in front of them. They were hard at work studying the relics and preparing to store them safely away.
One of Purdue's closest friends and colleagues, Dr. Nina Gould, glanced up from her work and smiled at him as he approached. The two had been through a lot together and each suffered at the hands of the Order of the Black Sun. He knew that she was just as happy as he was to not have to worry about the order being a threat anymore. They’d taken one of the most dangerous organizations in the world and turned it into something admirable.
The man beside her
pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose but didn't look up at Purdue. He was far too focused on the barnacle encrusted cutlass in front of him. Elijah Dane wasn't a very sociable man but, as the Black Sun's curator, he didn't need to be. Elijah was more than content to just dust off and analyze old artifacts that were brought to him by his fellow members. The preservation and safety of the priceless items was his responsibility, and he took it extremely seriously.
“Hard at work, aye?”
“Clearly,” Elijah said dryly, still fixated on the old sword in his hand. Elijah probably didn't mean to come off as being so aloof; it was just his natural state of being. “I didn't expect to see you.”
Purdue held in the urge to tell him that he still hadn't technically seen him, since he hadn't looked up but stopped himself from being too snarky. Nina held in a laugh and looked like she knew exactly was Purdue was thinking. She’d been so much happier than Purdue was used to seeing.
“I hear Riley came to you this morning with a rather old bow,” Purdue mentioned.
“She did,” Elijah confirmed with very little interest. “Mongolian recurve bow. Thirteenth century. Quite aged but an impressive find.”
“That's the one,” Purdue verified with a wink, but that wink never reached Elijah's distracted gaze. “Might I see it?”
“You may not,” Elijah firmly declined and was still looking over the cutlass in front of him. “Not until you have at least washed your hands thoroughly. And put some gloves--”
“Oh please,” Nina muttered with a hard roll of her eyes. She reached around behind the table and pulled out the old bow, placing it in front of her and presenting it to Purdue. “This is it.”
Purdue looked over the wooden recurve bow curiously. It was smaller than most bows but it made sense given it was meant to be used effectively on horseback. It didn't need to be tall as its wielder like a longbow, ready to unleash an arrow from a great distance. It just needed to be maneuverable and easy to fire from atop a mount. With bows like that, Genghis Khan and the Mongols had completely decimated their enemies.
It was worn and withered like Purdue expected; and as he ran his index finger along the length of it, he found the engraved markings that Riley had mentioned.
“Riley told me about the writing on this bow. She mentioned you found something that might mean tomb.”
“I did,” Elijah admitted with a hint of pride. “But it'll take much more observation before I can know for certain.”
“Well, that got Riley talking about the tomb of Genghis Khan.”
That was enough to finally catch Elijah's attention. His eyes flicked upward and he peered at Purdue curiously. With his index finger, he straightened his glasses and shook his head.
“No one has ever found it.”
“I'm well aware,” Purdue proclaimed with a slight laugh. “But you should have heard Riley. She was very enthusiastic about the possible connection. She was asking all kinds of questions, and that got me wondering...has the Order of the Black Sun ever tried looking for Genghis Khan's tomb before?”
Elijah's brow furrowed. “I'm not entirely certain. There have been no such expeditions since I've been here...but relatively speaking, I haven't exactly been around for very long...”
“So if they had, it would have been before you were recruited?”
“Before I was taken prisoner and convinced to work for them, you mean,” Elijah stated uncomfortably. Elijah hadn't exactly been offered a job. He'd been the Black Sun's captive until he decided that curating artifacts for them would be a better experience than rotting in a cell. “But yes, it would have been before me.”
“Is there a chance that there would be any sort of record of that? Of any attempts to find it before?”
“I can't say for certain, but I can try my hand at some of the archives.” Elijah didn't look pleased about the distraction but pointed to the shelves of books and paperwork lining the vault room. “Perhaps there will be something there?”
“Would you?” Purdue knew the answer already. After all, he was the leader of the order and there were perks to being in charge. If you needed something to get done, then you could subtly make sure it happened.
Elijah shifted the glasses on his face again and gave a curt nod. “Sure.”
Purdue picked up the bow and stepped away. “I'm going to take this back to my office, so I can give it a look with a new set of eyes.”
Elijah didn't look at all comfortable with that. He liked knowing that the relics they collected were safe and that meant safe in the bowels of the deep vault. Purdue cared just as much about protecting their artifacts, but he merely wanted a chance to examine the old bow on his own. Purdue had spent a long time curating his own discoveries. He was more than capable of researching it further on his own.
“I'll bring it right back,” Purdue said with a crooked smile. “And in one piece. It hadn't even been stored in the vault yet, aye? Just one extra step before it's under lock and key.”
Elijah bit his lip and looked ready to start throwing punches but he refrained and gave a stiff nod again. He couldn't exactly deny the Order of the Black Sun's leader. And even if he disagreed with him, Purdue was a much better boss than Julian Corvus had been. Purdue could get on Elijah’s nerves, but Purdue wouldn't put a bullet in Elijah’s head if he failed him.
Purdue took the old bow and started walking back toward the entrance of the vault. Nina caught up and strode beside him, shaking her head. “You didn't have to throw your weight around that much you know. Elijah is good at what he does.”
“I know he is,” Purdue said. “But you can't trust anyone's eyes more than your own, aye?”
“And what exactly are you hoping to see with those eyes?”
“Something interesting, I hope.”
“And you think that the order looked for Genghis Khan's tomb?”
“It's possible. They had their fingers dipped into just about everything: they had a long reach and no limitations or boundaries. Remember how many times those bastards would bump into us? It seemed like no matter where we went in the world, the Order of the Black Sun was there. So I don't see why they wouldn't have gone searching for the tomb. We'll just have to see.
The tomb of Genghis Khan could be the perfect opportunity to bring the new Order of the Black sun together. They needed a common goal that could unite the new recruits and the few remaining holdovers from the old Black Sun. Finding a burial site that people had been searching centuries for might be exactly what they needed.
“I'm sure we'll find it,” Nina commented.
Purdue looked down the hall at the waiting faces of so many of the other members of the Black Sun. Some loved and respected him. Others wanted him dead. But this was just part of the growing pains of change, and Genghis Khan's tomb might be exactly the right reprieve from those growing pains.
“I hope so.”
3
THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A WORLD CONQUEROR
Purdue locked his office door. One thing he missed about spending more time in his actual home was the solitude. He lamented the ability to admire his relics by himself, with no disturbances that would interrupt his train of thought. As a leader, plenty of people were waiting anxiously to ask him all kinds of questions. He didn't have any time to answer those right now. He needed to focus on the possibilities ahead and that meant learning as much as he could about the tomb—and more importantly, the famous figure whose remains remained undiscovered inside of that sepulcher .
Genghis Khan was a notorious name in history. He was famous for having a very humble start. Over the course of his life, however, he united the greatest land army the world had ever seen and used his forces to conquer an enormous chunk of the world. He crushed so many of the Chinese dynasties and conquered a large portion of Asia with relative ease. What he was most infamous for was his complete slaughter of the civilian populations of those places he conquered. His conquest was defined by the sheer amount of bloodletting that took place during his effo
rts. Despite the violence he committed, Genghis Khan was fondly remembered by history as a great leader and military mind.
Genghis Khan died in 1227 after defeating the Western Xia in China, and there was no concrete explanation for his death. There were all kinds of stories, but none of them had ever been accepted as the certain truth. Plus, based on h how difficult it was to keep any sort of records back then, they’d probably never know the real explanation. Some said he fell from his horse. Others insisted that he died during a hunting trip. Various historians alleged that he just got sick. And others said he fell during a great battle. Purdue hoped it was the latter. Someone as legendary of a warrior and military man as Genghis Khan deserved to fall during battle, not by any sort of other mundane mortal way.
After his death, the Mongol Empire pressed on and ended up conquering even more of the world and setting up vassal states to spread their influence throughout the world. From the view of the modern maps of the world, the Mongol Empire that was launched by Genghis Khan had eventually taken over modern day China, Korea, Central Asia, and many more parts of that section of the world. It was all thanks to Genghis Khan and his early efforts early in combining the Mongolian tribes into a united front. None would have been possible without him.
Purdue was never overly familiar with Genghis Khan's history, but he was practically downloading the information straight into his brain with the amount of reading he was doing. He knew the basics well enough, but all of the specifics made the Mongol Empire's first Great Khan even more impressive. The Order of the Black Sun's vast collection of old scrolls, parchments, and journals was astounding, and he was still getting used to it. It was handy to have first-hand accounts from centuries prior right at your fingertips to use as you wished. Purdue dove into so many old writings and turned to the writings of Marco Polo, who had visited Asia at the height of the Mongol Empire's reign. Genghis Khan was already dead at the time of Marco Polo's visit, but he did have interactions with one of Genghis Khan's grandsons, Kublai Khan. In turn, Polo wrote down the accounts he heard about Genghis Khan's death. According to what Purdue was reading now, Marco Polo heard that the first Great Khan had been killed by a poisoned arrow. According to the long dead Italian writer, Polo claimed that Genghis Khan was still revered in those decades after his death as his grandchildren divided up his empire to varying results.
The Tomb of Genghis Khan Page 2
