Shanji. Part 2

Abaka raised his standard proudly, turned his stallion and moved out at a stately walk. The column traversed a hill to a ridge and followed it west, dropping into a valley lush with trees and brush along a shallow stream of clear water, up another switch-back trail to another ridge, and so on until mid-day, pausing at another stream to water the horses and eat cheese and bread without dismounting. Tengri-Khan warmed them, but the air was still cold, and only a few of the men, including Abaka, dared to remove shirt and jacket to expose their bronzed skin to the light.

They climbed another hill and the trees were suddenly gone. Ahead of them was a maize of barren hills creviced with deep canyons, the land a lace of earth, and out towards the distant horizon there was a flat expanse of sparkling green. Da pointed over her shoulder, and said, "That is the great sea, which goes on without end. Most of our people live along its sh.o.r.e, and it's always warm there."

"Why don't we live there, Da?"

"Our ordu remains close to the land of our beginning. We are the watchdogs for our people, and when the time is right, the lands which the Emperor has stolen from us will be ours again. It is our obligation to keep watch on the Emperor, and we are honored to do it."

Kati said nothing, but wondered why the job couldn't be shared with others so that everyone could be warm some of the time. In her young life, she could not remember a day without cold.

The trail broadened and became visible far ahead, snaking across the barren hills towards the sea, crisscrossing trails from north and south. And as they came down onto a narrow plateau, Kati began to hear a distant sound: rhythmic pounding, deep, the clash of metal on metal, a tone for an instant, then again. Abaka was suddenly excited. He raised his standard high, waved it, and suddenly three boys rushed by, the tails and manes of their mounts festooned with ribbons, goat-skin drums in the laps of the riders. The boys began pounding on the drums, and Kati's heart raced with the breaking of the land's silence. Behind them, the women trilled, and several more riders, boys nearing manhood, rushed by to take a place behind Abaka and his drummers. Kati sat rigid on Kaidu's back, clenching the reins in her tiny fists, her heart pounding with excitement.

"It's good we're arriving with the others," said Da. "Now we can ride in together. See, Kati, how we all come together? I think this will be a fine festival."

Lines of horses were coming along the trails from all directions, north, south, several from the direction of the sea, convergent upon a broad valley sloping northward to a deep canyon dimly lit even at midday. The sound of drums, horns, and clashing cymbals of yellow metal grew louder as they neared each other, each line of horses preceded by a mounted youth with fluttering standard in red, yellow and brown, swirls of color in various geometrical designs. Da pointed out the standards of the Merkitis, the Naimansa, Kereits, Dorvodt, a blur of other ordu names, people of the sea and broad terraces west of the mountains, north and south. The trilling of the women was now continuous, and the beat of the drums pounded in Kati's ears.

People were waving to each other, and shouting names, but Kati was distracted by a curious sight. From the end of each line of horses, two mounted women were breaking ranks and converging on a slope above the plateau. Goldani rode by to join them, then Ma was suddenly there at Kati's side, thrusting Baber at her to hold. "Hold him tight," she said. "He's tired and wiggly." And then she rode off to join the other women on the hill.

Baber was thrilled. "I ride Kaidu!" he cried, and grabbed at the reins. Kati let him hold the reins, but gripped his hands tightly so that he couldn't pull on them, and after awhile he quit complaining, and was content just to hold them.

"Where is Ma going?" asked Kati.

"She'll follow us later," said Da. "Don't worry, just hold your brother still."

Baber was bouncing on Kaidu's neck, and the great horse shook his head. Kati shushed her brother, gave him a shake, and he was quiet again, pouting.

Lines of horses were three abreast as they walked down the slopes and into gloom of the canyon, Da exchanging pleasantries with a man from the Dorvodt ordu, a man named Altan. He too had a daughter perched in front of him on a white, broad-shouldered stallion with grey spots on its flanks, a hairless tail wound with ribbons of red, yellow and brown. The little girl's name was Edi; she was Kati's age, but shy, turning to smile occasionally, but saying nothing. Like Kati, she wore the pendant of Tengri's Eye, but its color was burnt-orange, not yellow.

The canyon was devoid of vegetation, high walls of soft stone, orange and red, wide seams of black rock glistening wetly and giving off the odor of burning oil lamps. The walls closed in on them until they were walking in single-file, and ahead was an overhang forming an arch which blocked Tengri-Khan's light as they pa.s.sed under it, stone so close to their heads that Kati reached up to touch it and found her fingers stained orange.

The overhang went on for many paces, but ahead there was light again, and the sound of rushing water, a dull roar that echoed from the canyon walls. The drums had ceased to beat, all conversation halting as they went towards the light. Da's arms came around Kati and her brother; she heard him sigh, felt him relax, his chin on her head. "Now we come to Festival," he said softly.

They came out from beneath the overhang with a marvelous view of a suddenly wide canyon ending at a wall so high Kati looked nearly straight up to see its top. Water cascaded from the top of the wall into an emerald-green pool surrounded by fine sand, a few tumbled slabs of orange stone and a huge boulder at pool's edge, on top of which stood the oldest woman Kati had ever seen: a tall figure, her bronze face etched deep with age, dressed in a heavy, long robe of leather dyed in splotches of red, yellow and brown. The woman raised her arms in greeting, and the men ahead of Kati responded silently, raising their arms in unison. Da raised his arms also, murmuring, "We greet Manlee, the living presence of Mandughai, Kati. She is the leader of all our people, and has great powers, as you shall see."

The great beach of sand stretched hundreds of paces from them as they rode towards the pool, groups breaking off left and right under directions of a single man at water's edge, and it was then that Kati saw the standards marking the place for each ordu to locate on the sand. Before the pool, a pit had been dug and filled with logs and splintered wood. Abaka stopped near it, jamming his standard into the sand and dismounting there. Around them was a tumble of horses and people as everyone found their place, others still arriving, and more until the crowd was crushed together, horses jostling for position and whinnying nervously.

At that moment, the woman called Manlee looked up to the top of the waterfall at a man suddenly there. She waved an arm, and the man stepped back out of sight.

In an instant, the waterfall ceased to flow.

Hooves stomping sand, colliding bodies, a few m.u.f.fled curses, then all sound was gone-except for a dull roar like the exhalations of a sleeping giant from the mouth of a small canyon leading east from the beach and along the wall.

Manlee held out her arms from the summit of the great boulder, and her voice echoed from all around them. "All are here! Unload your horses, and take them past The Eye to the plateau for grazing, then return immediately for the procession of Mandughai! Your gerts are marked on the Festival fields! The rest of you remain silent, and take ease at the sound of Tengri's breath! We give him thanks for bringing us together again!"

Horses were unloaded and led away, Abaka taking charge of Kaidu and two others, including his own black. People placed their tents and belongings in piles, and sat on them silently, listening to the sound from the canyon mouth. Kati was awed. With the wave of her hand, Manlee had made the waterfall stop! Surely this was magic! Still, it seemed she was just an old woman, still standing on the boulder, smiling down at them.

All waited patiently, some dozing, and the crush was not so great now that the horses were gone, but the expanse of sand was solid with cl.u.s.ters of people and provisions, and Ma had still not arrived. Kati leaned against Da, Baber sound asleep in her lap. Her stomach growled. "When does Ma come?" she asked.

"Very soon," said Da, "and I think there will be a surprise for you then."

And there was, for when the boys came back from tethering the horses, two climbed the boulder to stand by Manlee, and they blew a long tone on bone horns, and all faces turned towards the narrow canyon through which they had come.

Twenty women rode sedately out of the canyon, colorful tapestries over the necks and rumps of their horses, long robes like Manlee's, pendants and huge earrings of bright metal sparkling as they came. In the hand of each woman, blade upright, was a long, curving sword, and across each back a short, recurved bow, and quiver full of arrows.

Everyone stood up silently, and Kati's view was blocked. "Da!" she said, holding up her arms. Da smiled, hoisted her high over his head, and settled her down on his shoulders.

The procession neared her place by the pool, and suddenly Kati gasped in surprise, and fright. Some familiar faces, yes, yet horribly changed; now long, taut, cheekbones prominent, their partly open mouths displaying the curved teeth of a shizi. The eyes of all but one woman blazed red, the color of Tengri-Nayon, the color of wariness and alertness.

The lead rider was different. Her eyes were the color of the emerald pool.

"She is so beautiful," murmured Da.

The woman leading the procession was Ma.

CHAPTER TWO.

EMERALD EYES.

Manlee raised her arms at the top of the boulder, and shouted to the crowd before her.

"We are gathered in The Eye of Tengri-Nayon, and in the presence of the living Empress Mandughai, who watches over us! See that presence before you, and have faith in Her return. Tengri-Nayon comes nearer, and with it five thousand warriors such as you see before you.

"I have been told this in a dream, and have seen the emerald eyes of the Empress who will lead them in our liberation. She has heard the cries of Her people, and feels our pain. I have heard Her words in my mind, have seen the images of the Emperor's city in flames and a new beginning for the Tumatsin in the valleys taken from us.

"But you must believe. You must show your belief as you contemplate Tengri's Eye, and send forth a prayer to Mandughai for our liberation!"

The mounted women had reached the pool, turning their horses to face the crowd in a line along water's edge. Ma was in the center of the group, staring fixedly ahead like the rest of them. All eyes were on her, Kati realized. Everyone was looking at Ma! But Ma didn't seem to see them.

Kati was frightened, her little hands clenching at Da's hair. "She doesn't see me, Da. She doesn't know I'm here. What is wrong with her?"

"Be still," said Da, reaching up to take her hands in his. "Your mother has gone within herself to make her appearance, and it is a difficult thing to do. She will be as you know her soon enough. Now watch, and listen."

"Now erect your tents, and put your possessions inside," shouted Manlee. "Tonight's meal is already being prepared on the Festival fields, and the procession will continue in only a few moments."

The mounted women turned, and went towards the mouth of the narrow canyon from which the dull roaring sound came like a breath. Manlee descended from her boulder, and walked along with them, one hand on the bridle of Ma's horse. They stopped at the canyon's mouth, and waited while chaos erupted on the sands around the pool. Tents were thrown up without care or ceremony, possessions tossed carelessly inside. Da put Kati down, and she awakened Baber, who'd been sleeping on their folded tent throughout all the din. She held him as their tent went up, his head lolling on her shoulder, eyes still closed. She shook him twice, and finally he was awake, complaining about being hungry.

"Soon we eat, but first we have to walk. Here, take my hand."

Baber was too tired to refuse. He took her hand as they lined up close to the mounted women. Da did not take her hand, but walked right behind her. That was good, for she was responsible for her brother. Ma had told her so.

The trail up the canyon was rocky and steep, and there was a sharp odor like burning oil that seared her nostrils. Baber was fully awake now, stepping high over the larger rocks without complaint, and without her pulling him. A breeze down the canyon brought a sudden draft of hot air, then was gone. And the noise was getting louder, a growling rumble that seemed to come from all around them. The canyon walls were closing in, and suddenly Kati was frightened. She squeezed Baber's hand tightly, and moved slightly in front of him. Ahead, the mounted women had stopped, looking to the right and holding out their swords in a salute. When they moved on, Manlee stayed behind, and held out her arms to those who followed.

"Remember to offer a prayer when you pa.s.s by. Tengri must hear from your hearts that Empress Mandughai's return is the will of all Tumatsin, not just a few. Offer your prayer, then move on quickly. There are many of us."

Those ahead of Kati stopped by Manlee, turned to their right and bowed their heads, eyes closed. The roar was now deafening, the air swirling and hot. When she came up to Manlee, the woman smiled at her, and Kati saw that her eyes were light green. The woman gestured, and Kati followed her hand.

And beheld The Eye of Tengri.

A depression in the rock wall, an opening to a cave, shaped like an oval, blackness beyond, and from it issued the roar and a stream of hot air smelling of burning oil. She held her breath, felt Baber pressing up against her, and closed her eyes in the face of the hot breath from the cave. And as she stood that way, for only a moment, it seemed that thoughts came to her that were not her own, but from those around her. Surely they were in her mind only, for the roar was too loud for conversation.

Hear their prayers, great one, and send your Empress to deliver them from the Emperor's injustice. Their faith grows weak, and there are those who plot war without your aid. We have been alone for so long. Why have you abandoned us? I ask this, as well as the people. Have we not- Protect my children, and my wife, whose eyes mirror those of our Empress. Return to us this pa.s.s, and help us to reclaim our lands. We feel alone, and forgotten- I see a cave with a fire inside. Our prayers are unanswered for a thousand years. What kind of G.o.d are you?

People were pressing from behind, and they moved again. Kati opened her eyes, saw Da walking with his eyes still closed, his lips moving silently. Baber's eyes were as large as a cup, his tiny fingernails digging into her hand. The trail steepened, and then the horses ahead suddenly disappeared on flat ground at the top of the canyon. Kati hurried her steps, Baber running to keep up, and they came out onto a gra.s.sy plain stretching north, west and east.

It was the festival field, and Kati gasped in surprise and delight.

There were tents as far as she could see, huge things the size of a ger, but gaily colored and topped with golden awnings from which long ribbons fluttered in the breeze. The smell of meat cooking made her mouth water, and there was the odor of ayrog and honey as well. The tents surrounded a large, vacant area of gra.s.s bordered by ribboned rope strung between standards bearing the flags of the various ordus.

But the first thing she really saw were the ponies.

Seven were tethered at the near end of the big field. Kati looked at Da, and squealed, "I want to see the little horses!"

Da put a hand on her shoulder, and smiled. "In a little while. First, we must eat, and then I'll take you to the ponies. I think the little grey one with white spots is looking at you."

Kati couldn't find the grey pony, because Da took her hand and hurried her away towards the tents too fast.

They found the tent with their standard placed before it, and waited for a long time until everyone had filed onto the field and was settled. In the meantime, the mounted women had appeared again and Kati watched Ma lead them round and around the big, gra.s.sy area in a line, swords upright, eyes fixed ahead. Ma had changed again, and her face was no longer fierce, her eyes their normal brown. How could she do that?

Cooking pits had been dug beyond the tents, and they feasted on strips of lamb and beef, onions cooked whole, breads and barley cakes, and cheese. There was tea, and ayrog for the men, in great supply, and finally yijin, the sticky cakes made from spun honey. Kati ate five of them.

As Tengri-Khan dipped near the horizon, some of the men were a little drunk, and even Da was talking louder than usual. Ma had not eaten, was still with the mounted women, now lined up at the far end of the field near the ponies. And then the most wonderful thing happened. Manlee suddenly appeared on the field, and shouted loudly, "Fathers, bring your daughters!"

Da had just put Baber in the tent for a nap. Now he took her hand, and said, "Do you still want to see the ponies?"

"Oh, yes!"

They ducked under the rope bordering the field, and walked towards the little horses. Other fathers were coming with their daughters, one of them Edi, the little girl Kati had met on the trail. They all converged on the ponies, and there was laughter in the crowd around them.

Da led her straight to a grey with white spots, a thick, black mane and tail. Kati knew where to look, and saw it was a girl horse. She was bridled, but without saddle, and looked down at her with velvety, brown eyes when Kati stroked her nose.

"This one has been watching you," said Da; he lifted Kati up astride the animal, and placed the reins in her hands. Kati could barely restrain her joy. She was going to ride!"I will lead you around once," said Da, "and then you ride alone. Be gentle with her. She is a fine pony."

"I know, Da." Of course she knew what to do. Hadn't Da shown her that over the many hours on Kaidu?Da led the pony, and they circled the field past hundreds of smiling faces, but as they completed the circle Da walked away from her, and she saw that Ma and the other mounted women were walking their horses on the circle ahead of her. She felt the pony's muscles tense, and pressed with her knees. The pony trotted behind the women without hesitation and followed their pace.

Kati was not aware of how many times they circled the field that day. She only remembered that each time the women ahead of her increased their speed until finally they were in a full gallop, Kati leaning forward, her hands clutching the mane of the pony, the wind whipping at her face and hair.

The day could not be more wonderful.

And then suddenly it was.

When they finally stopped, Da came to lift her down, and said, "is she a good horse?"

"Oh, Da, she's wonderful!"

"And what would you name this horse if she was yours?"

"I would call her Sushua, Da, like the little flowers in the rocks."

"Then the name of your pony is Sushua. She is your animal, Kati, and you must care for her. Your

mother and I give her to you as your first horse."

"DA!" cried Kati. She jumped up and hugged her father hard, and around them there was laughter.

Ma and the other horsewomen had disappeared from the field. Da let Kati ride until dark, round and around the circle. Edi had named her pony Tani, and Kati learned the girl lived on a rocky shelf overlooking the great sea to the west. Her father was a fisherman, and Edi's favorite thing was collecting sh.e.l.ls on the sandy beaches along the coast.

By nightfall, the two girls had become fast friends.

Kati left Sushua tethered on the field, and reluctantly joined the procession back to the pool. She was tired, and all the food and riding had produced a knot in her stomach that wouldn't go away. And she wondered where Ma had gone. Da carried a sleeping Baber, and Kati followed without having her hand held, feeling very independent. The line moved quickly down the canyon and past Tengri's Eye, for it seemed everyone was tired. When she neared the place where Manlee again stood, Kati saw orange glow on the canyon walls, and Manlee's hair was brilliant, like a transparent crown of light.

Again the hot blast of air in her face, but she held her eyes open, for the cave maw was no longer black, but a bright orange. Reflected light, she suddenly realized, coming from a hot fire deep within the cave. She stared at the brilliant oval of the maw, and thought of her pendant. Her eyes felt dry, and she briefly closed them. In the darkness, it seemed there was a pair of emerald eyes, looking at her. Kati could still see them in her mind when she reached their camp by the pool.

A bonfire had been lit, and flames were leaping up to twice the height of a man. Ma came out of their tent, dressed in her normal leathers, and was hugged by Da. Kati hesitated to come closer, until Ma held out her arms to her and then she was being swept up in an embrace.

"Thank you for my horse, Ma. I love her," she murmured into her mother's neck.

"I was watching you," said Ma. "You ride very well. But tomorrow you will see some real riding from the boys and the men in Mandughai's cavalry charge. I must dress up again for that, for I play the part of Mandughai."

"Because you can make your eyes turn to green, like today?"

"Only Manlee and your mother can do that," said Da. "Our family is honored because of such a gift."

"It says that the blood of our Empress Mandughai has been pa.s.sed directly to our family, Kati," said Ma. "The blood of our ancestors is in all of us, but it is said that Mandughai herself left two sons behind when she returned to Tengri-Nayon. We have come from one of those sons, Kati. The blood of our Empress is in you, too."

Kati yawned. "I will have green eyes when I'm older?"

Ma smiled. "Perhaps you will. Are you sleepy?"

"Not too much. Can I watch the fire with you?"

"For a little while, and then you sleep. Tomorrow is a long and exciting day."

Da took Baber to the tent, and joined them near the bonfire pit. Many people were there, but few of them

were children. They sat staring at the flames, and conversation was in whispers. Kati nestled in Ma's lap and Da sat behind, his arms around both of them. It was wonderful. Da pointed out Tengri-Nayon directly above them, the brightest star in the sky, and very red. But very soon Kati's eyelids were heavy, and her head was nodding. Ma lifted her up and took her to the tent.