This time Shanna did the snickering. “I guess I see your point. Well, I won’t stick a thorn in you this time, but you’d just better watch yourself, young man!”
“Yes ma’am, I surely will, ma’am!” he replied and, releasing her hand, turned to offer her a courtly bow. By this time both of them were laughing together.
When he stood upright again and turned back to the Playing Field, instead of taking his hand, she assumed her now-familiar place on his right arm. He, of course, had no objection.
“You know, it really is a tragedy,” she said softly, “that those who should play don’t!”
Jason noted that her tone had grown serious once more. Still unsure of the exact consequences of playing, he thought it wiser to change the subject.
“You asked me to examine the Swimmer platform before we left. I think I saw what you wanted me to see. So tell me, why were those words carved into the boards of the planks? Or do you want me to guess this one also?”
“It’s too late to play that little game anymore. See how all the teams have shouldered their platforms and the champions are climbing up on top? The starting trumpets will sound at any moment now! Concerning the carved boards? As you probably would have guessed, those words are literally the truths that our group’s champion will stand on and defend. The Swimmers are not just defending a few common boards, but rather the right to have those planks (and their words) added to the Party’s Grand Platform that will be the end result of this competition.”
“All of the smaller platforms will be combined to make a bigger one?” he asked, for the first time beginning to realize the grave nature of these proceedings.
“That’s only partially true,” she corrected him. “Although the objective is a unified platform, many of the planks will be broken in the contest. Only those that survive to the end will be incorporated. It works this way: the smaller teams compete among themselves as the children did in the Straw Games, but instead of winning flags, the winners capture the losing team. By doing this the members of the defeated team strengthen the numbers of their supported victor. The champion then gets to decide which of the losers’ planks (if any) he or she wants to add to his own. The platform is modified accordingly. Then the newly strengthened team quickly regroups and attacks another target. This conquer-and-add process continues until only one combined platform remains. The surviving champion and his second are declared the winners for their team.”
With this revelation, a horrible thought captured Jason’s mind.
“Shanna,” he confided, “if what you have told me is true (and I have no reason to doubt you), then our team is in big trouble today!”
“What do you mean, Jason?” she demanded and he heard in her tone that his words had offended her. “The platform the Swimmers have put together this year is very strong. Everyone said so! You saw that for yourself!”
But he knew that his terrible thoughts amounted to much more than just suspicions. This was bard’s truth! “I do not mean to hurt your feelings by my words, but something has happened here today that already may have set the outcome of the Games against the Swimmers! Since our two encounters with Raven and his blackrobes earlier today, I have been trying to keep track of their activities while everyone else concentrated on building your platform.”
“What activities are you talking about? They put together a platform just like everyone else, didn’t they?” she asked, concern now filling her words. She turned to try to find the dragonmen on the Field.
“They did put together a platform, but only a very small one. Look over there. See the plain black flag?” he indicated the direction with his free hand. “From what I can tell it looks like what they have built is a lot more like a battering ram than a platform!”
“Where are all of the rest of them? Only the giant and a few handfuls of his men are still there. Where did the rest of them go?”
“That’s what I’m trying to tell you, Shanna. After the children played, the bulk of the blackrobes split off into small groups each carrying several planks with them. I couldn’t help noticing the boards they carried – they were so black that they looked like they had been burnt in a fire! Each of those blackrobe splinter groups then approached a different one of the sub-teams and, after a brief parlay, was accepted inside. As far as I can tell, every one of the non-Swimmer sub-teams now contains several dragonmen warriors and their planks! Look out there! Some of them have even promoted one of the blackrobes to be their champion!”
Shoshanna’s face had turned white with his words. With her eyes wide with fear she shouted, “It’s a conspiracy! We’ve got to warn our team before…”
But her words were drowned out by many scaline trumpets blaring from various points high around the canyon rim and the thundering shout that arose from the teams on the Field in response.
The First Games had begun.
Shanna turned away from the conflict to bury her head against his shoulder. He felt her shaking sobs as she clung to him. Helplessly he wrapped his arms around her. He could not comfort her with words, due to the overwhelming sound from the field, so his actions would have to do. He leaned his cheek into her soft black curls so that his ear rested against her head. He did not watch the events, concentrating instead on matters much closer at hand.
At last, Shoshanna lifted her head and looked up at him with tear-stained eyes. He felt like his heart would break seeing her so distressed.
Because they now stood so close he was able to hear when she confided, “Many of us had reflected on today’s events. All over Dragonsback, the Swimmers have gathered repeatedly to petition the Swimmer-Son to give us our request. We had hoped that the Gryphon would grant us a great victory this year, to His Glory.”
“Dear Shanna, you (or those who told you these things) are mistaken. The Gryphon does not need your Games to accomplish that end. You see, the truth is that our Master guards His own Glory. And He, above all his creatures, is best able to defend it! Nor can the actions of men make it more or less. Like a polished surface, we can only reflect what is already there. Throughout history the reflectors He has chosen to shine on have had little to do with the processes and plottings of men, but rather everything to do with the state of their hearts, the contents of their packs, and the fullness of their Gryphonskins! My own Gryphonskin is troubled today, not because of our probable defeat, but because of what it signifies about our immediate future!”
“Our future?” she asked, emphasizing the first word of her question.
“That, too, will be affected. I was speaking, however, much more about the future of the Swimmers of the Heartland.”
“What do you mean? How can you know about our future?”
“Sweet Shanna, I have seen no visions. I am not what men would call a prophet. What the Swimmer-Son has done is to call me to be a bard of the Gryphonsong. Like a Gryphonskin carries dew, I carry the Gryphon’s ancient sacred words to His people. Yet, the more I learn of those words and the ways of the One who sent them, the more clues I see about what must soon come to pass.”
“What clues are you talking about?” her tone did not match the harsh meaning of her words. If he had been noting such things, Jason would have heard the subtle change. Fascination had been replaced with deep and lasting respect.
“You say,” he continued, “that much reflecting was done by many people over a long period of time in preparation for the Games today. From what you told me, the chief request made during all that time was that the Gryphon’s glory would be seen and lifted up. Is that true?”
“Yes,” she answered tentatively, torn between what she had been previously taught and whatever it was that he would soon reveal. “Is there something wrong with that?”
“No, of course not! The Gryphon is always pleased when we call and He has promised to answer us one way or another whenever we ask. It’s just that we have to be very careful about what we ask, for He has set down some rules that cannot be violated.”
“Why do you
r words make me afraid?” she asked and tears again pooled in her eyes. “Although they sound like promises they feel like dark threats. Bard of the Heartland, are you about to announce our doom?”
“No Shanna, judgment and doom are under someone else’s control. Just cling to the words you have heard before; do not fear the future for it always remains under the Gryphon’s paw. That will be true no matter what the future holds. My concern is that Gryphon is about to give all of us the gift the Swimmers have asked for, only you and your people won’t recognize it when it gets unwrapped!”
“Jason ben-Timnon, will you please stop talking to me in riddles and tell me what you mean!”
He lowered his eyes bashfully and admitted, “I’m sorry, that’s the way Nathan instructs me all the time and I guess some of it rubbed off on me. I’ll try to get right to the point. You have asked the Gryphon to glorify Himself by lifting you up. That violates His rules. He says that the way up is down and the way down is up! He that would lead must be the servant of all.”
“Jason!” Shanna’s impatient voice interrupted him.
“No, please wait,” he told her. “I’m not still speaking in riddles. Granted, this principle is a paradox, nevertheless, it’s still true!”
“Well, I sure don’t understand it then!” she confessed and shrugged her shoulders helplessly.
He searched his memory for a way to explain what he meant. Then his eyes brightened as the Great Eagle invisibly filled him with the Gryphonsbreath. “Thank you, Master!” he exclaimed. Then in response to Shanna’s questioning look, he added, “The Gryphon has brought His song to my heart. These particular words were written by one of the First Followers of the Swimmer. The Gryphon used this particular songwriter to reveal more about His Son than any other person. After the Gryphon’s Son swam back to the Gryphonsland, this man was allowed to visit with Him there and then return to tell us about it in Gryphonsong. It was probably only a vision, but the lifting up he had been granted had some very strong consequences in his life. Listen to this song for the rule I mentioned.”
Then, near the edge of the Grand Playing Field, in the middle of the riotous noise of the First Games of the Heartland, a young man sang to the woman in his arms. To both of them it seemed as though they were the only two people on the whole Field:
“I saw the shadow of His glory
When He took me to the Gryphon’s Land!
There I looked upon the Swimmer,
Receiving Gryphonsong from His hand.
Because of this, to keep me humble,
(Not lifted by visions He let me see)
He sent a dragon as his herald,
With cruel thorns tormenting me.
Three times I pleaded with the Gryphon
(Once and twice and once again)
To take from me this sore affliction;
That He would spare me from this pain.
But then, at last, I heard this answer,
‘Sufficient for you is My grace,
For My power is made perfect
When you are at your weakest place!’
So, most gladly, Master, is my boasting
Of weaknesses and things I cannot do
So the Swimmer’s power can rest upon me,
Reflecting glory back to You!” 15
Jason saw the light dawn in Shanna’s eyes as he sang. First, in understanding, she brightened, then, as comprehension found a context, her eyes widened in alarm.
“Suffering and glory…” she started to say but then a great commotion out on the field cut short any further verbal response from her. They both turned to see the cause, but Shannah quickly turned away to hide her eyes against him once more.
Jason, however, could not turn away as the final phase of the great conspiracy played itself out in front of him. Because the edges of the canyon were higher than its center, he could actually look down and clearly see the dramatic events unfold.
Instead of fighting each other, most of the Right Bank teams had found a common unifying goal. They surrounded and attempted to crush by their sheer numbers a single platform trapped in their middle. From every side, the champions on those platforms attempted to strike at the lone man who stood amidst the crimson banners of his team. Valiantly he fought them all, whirling and turning, parrying and thrusting, using his bone-white sword with the skill of a master.
The attackers, however, used a seemingly endless stream of thorns against him.
If they could not reach him personally, they threw their thorns at his back like darts. As Jason watched, the constant barrage of the combined attack began to take its toll. The defender stumbled to one knee but then recovered and righted himself. It also became apparent that those under the besieged platform were being attacked as well by the carriers of the other platforms, for it kept lurching in one direction or the other under this invisible assault. Jason did not imagine this underhanded work could be legal, but being unfamiliar with the Games, withheld judgment.
Suddenly, one of the attacking champions fell under the Swimmer’s hand and the defeated man’s platform gave way beneath him. As if on queue, a narrow lane through the attackers opened up on that side of the mob – the side closest to Jason. The Swimmer champion leaned over to shout instructions to his supporters and their platform lumbered slowly in that direction and the freedom it offered.
Then from his left, Jason saw rapid movement. Mindful of Shanna’s presence, he managed to stifle the exclamation of dismay that came unbidden to his lips.
Having held themselves in reserve for that exact moment, Raven and his small band of dragonmen ran around the edge of the mob at full speed. They flew into the opening provided for them and drove their battering ram straight down the passage toward the unsuspecting Swimmers. Raven the giant added his considerable strength to the last position on the ram. Although he looked tall enough to have been riding on that narrow platform, his swiftly running feet were firmly connecting with the ground.
That riderless, black-wooden weapon they carried clearly broke all the rules of the competition. In spite of that, it definitely met with the approval of the other champions for they all cheered as the inevitable drew near. Too late, the Swimmer champion shouted for his team to halt. The fact that the crimson flag team had built up speed added to the crash that followed.
The crack of that impact sounded so loud that Shanna jumped in his arms and would have instantly turned to see its cause. Jason, however, refused to let her turn, instead holding her firmly against his chest. She struggled for only an instant then submitted to his discretion.
In that instant, the Swimmers’ platform had been split in two. Somehow their champion had remained upright, straddling the tottering pieces like a boat riding over rough waves.
Had not Raven been there, he might have still endured a while longer, but the giant obviously had other ideas. Not content with just impacting and breaking the Swimmers’ handiwork, he continued to drive his men and their blackened beams through the center of the crack they had made. Trampling dazed supporters under their feet, the treacherous blackrobes raised the front of their weapon higher as they ran.
The Swimmer champion stood his ground even as the gulf beneath his feet forcibly widened and his enemy approached. Then, their weapon raised higher into the air, the front of the advancing battering ram struck the man squarely in the chest. They hit him so hard that he flew backward onto the next platform where its unwilling champion broke his fall with his own body and both of them tumbled to the ground off the far side.
The defeated Swimmers fell back to either side like wheat stalks before a charging bull. The forward momentum of the battering ram spent itself in the destruction of the second (now riderless) platform.
A great cheer rose from all the other teams as they learned from their respective champions that their common goal had been accomplished. A mad scramble ensued to claim the boards and people of the two non-Swimmer teams that had fallen. Its purpose fulfilled, Raven had his men throw down the
blackened ram like a spent thorn. It fell into the gulf it had created through the Swimmer team.
Dazed and in some cases injured, the Followers of the Gryphon were allowed to lie where they had fallen in two heaps of splintered wood and humanity. None of the other teams did a thing to help them. No one attempted to recruit new members from their fallen ranks. That which remained whole of their planks they avoided as though they were contaminated with pestilence.
The other teams now had to defend themselves against their former allies. Now that their serious work had been accomplished, they all could return to the fun of playing the Games.
~ ~ ~
“Thank ye’, son, for helping t’ prepare us for the conflict today,” said old Gideon from where he lay on the battlefield. The First Games were over. Silently and lovingly Sara bandaged her husband’s wounds. In the competition, he had been standing on the leading edge of the platform directly in the dragonmen’s path. Among other trophies of the conflict, Jason’s adoptive father now wore a splint (fashioned from broken planks) on his right leg.
“But you were defeated and injured, father. How did my words help?”
“As you said, our times an’ our sufferings are under the Gryphon’s paw. ‘E always chooses what’s best, even iffen we cannot see it at the time. Some of us had forgotten this. By yer words, ye’ woke us up t’ that truth just in time. It became the armor we wore into battle today. Because of it (though we may appear beaten) none of us were defeated, for we carry His victory within us! It may well be that in the coming days things will grow worse and worse for the Swimmers of Dragonsback. Who knows but that ye’ll ‘ave t’ raise that sword of yours in call-to-arms yet another time.”
“I’m not a champion. I can’t lead our people,” protested his son.
“Aye, an’ I think we’ve all had enough of champions an of Games too fer that matter! No, the Gryphon mus’ have another way in mind. We Swimmers’ve been actin’ like we had scaline ‘tween our ears! We tol’ the Gryphon how good it’d be if He let us win the Games. Since our will clearly wasn’t His, we’d better get started findin’ out what is! Maybe there’s room in there fer some of your bard’s truth!”
The Dragon's Back Trilogy Page 48
