The Warrior's Tale Part 19

'What was worse,' he went on grimly, 'was these peasant-rulers had sycophants of the worst sort, yea-sayers who kept those poor fools from realizing their stupidity. Early on, when the people had first begun their revolt, the lowest cla.s.s of the n.o.bility, the barons, those who'd never done anything to help Konya except sit on their estates and exploit all who came near them, saw the straws in the wind, and cast their lot with the usurpers. These petty lordlings were held up by the rulers of Konya as proof positive they didn't desire to turn all mankind into a swarm of ants. So, of course, these n.o.blemen and women danced constant attendance to their real rulers.

'I gather,' Gamelan said, 'that about this time your Shark Islands must have come into conflict with the Konyans.'

'Just so,' The Sarzana nodded excitedly. 'When they realized there was another way to live, a way in which each man freely paid the debt owed to his superior, and his better gave even more of himself... why, a great expedition had to be mounted to extirpate this heresy from Konya.

'Also,' The Sarzana went on, and this comment was the second that seemed inwardly intended, 'I have learned a ruler's task is easier if the ma.s.ses always have an external enemy to arouse their anger.

'They sent out a great fleet, with orders to lay waste to our lands. Perhaps the old regime might have mounted an expedition successfully. But not this new rabble. It took them months to raise and half-train an army, find ships and educate their merchant captains to be naval officers, and then longer still to victual and outfit the men. All this took great time - time they no longer had. Because something had happened to me. One day, and if I were telling anything other than the raw truth it would have been a day of thundering and lightning, I... I understood. understood. I do not know how else to put it. Gamelan?' I do not know how else to put it. Gamelan?'

'I do do know what you mean,' the Evocator said. 'It's not unknown for a particularly gifted sorcerer to suddenly be enlightened, and see the elements of his craft open before him.' know what you mean,' the Evocator said. 'It's not unknown for a particularly gifted sorcerer to suddenly be enlightened, and see the elements of his craft open before him.'

'Just so,' The Sarzana said excitedly. 'This part of my life I do not discuss with others, and it is a relief to find that I am not alone. Because once I held this power, I knew I must not confide in any magician who could become dangerous to me. I could feel my enemies - the enemies of my people - building their strength. But my own strength was growing fast. I felt at times the very spirit of my islanders, and those who'd chosen me as their ruler, giving me power.'

The Sarzana stopped and poured his gla.s.s full. He drained it, set it down, and smiled, his mind in the past.

'When their fleet arrived off the Island of the Shark, it was met with a great storm. A storm my powers had helped raise. There were two hundred or more ships that sailed to the islands. But the rocks and the tides and the winds took them and scattered them and sank them! When the winds died, and the sun came out once more, then we put out in our small ships against their great galleys with many-rowed oars. My men swarmed against their ships like barracuda striking a sunfish. And then it was over, and the men of the Island of the Shark held the day. Now we were the strongest force in all of the Konyan lands. We knew what we had to do. We could not discard the sword and return to our nets and our lands - the mob would try once more, never satisfied until they dragged us down.

'So we a.s.sembled our own battle fleet, but it didn't come just from our archipelago. There were others in Konya who loathed this new order, and saw it could bring nothing but doom to all mankind. There were nearly a thousand ships that a.s.sembled off Isolde. We expected a great battle - but there was none to be fought. The rabble had broken. Some fled, some recanted, some chose death by their own hand rather than see order return to the world.

'They carried me from the docks where my flagship had arch.o.r.ed straight into the Palace of the Monarchs, where I was crowned by the trembling hand of one of the survivors of the great family that had once ruled. That was nearly thirty years ago.'

The Sarzana sat silent, his eyes hooded, recalling that long-ago triumph. None of us broke the silence.

Then, he said: 'At first, things went well. No one seemed displeased at seeing mob rule discarded. I punished as little as I could, wanting peace with no one having blood to revenge. I tried to rule mercifully, and that sp.a.w.ned my downfall.'

'How,' Corais wanted to know, 'can mercy ever be a base act?'

'Legate, that is hardly a question I'd expect of a warrior. Let me offer an example to clarify things. Would you fell an enemy, then turn your back on him if he still had a dagger at his belt5'

'Ah,' Corais said.

'Exactly. Some of those who'd sent that fleet out, or who conspired to murder the lords and ladies of the old regime I merely exiled to distant lands or even their own estates. Others, more culpable, I imprisoned for a fixed time. There were only a few who had to meet the most severe penalty. And what was the result? The exiles were able to plot beyond my eyes on their lands. Those I'd executed became martyrs. Those in prison wrote pa.s.sionate doc.u.ments to stir up another rebellion that were secretly pa.s.sed from hand to hand.'

'But all this,' Cholla Yi put in cynically, 'is no more than any strong man must face who seizes power, although I quite agree with you when you said you were too merciful. In my own land, when a man takes the throne, his first act is to slay his brothers and uncles, so there can be none of his blood to rise against him.'

All this was too much for me. 'Sarzana. With all respect, my own city has gone through great changes in the past few years. But there is no hidden conspiracy against the new Magistrates or those Evocators who now speak for the people - at least not one I'm aware of.'

'I suspect, Captain, you come from a more phlegmatic race,' The Sarzana said. 'You remember, I said that we Konyans are hot-blooded and quick to any extreme? People such as we can be ruled in only one way - and that is firmly. Konyans will not cry out against their rulers unless they see the laws enforced without an even hand. But I had an additional problem, one that became the hub of the conspiracy.'

'The n.o.bility you spoke of,' I guessed.

'Just so. At first, the barons could not sing my praises too loudly. But then, I found it necessary to examine their position, and realized they still held all too many of the unjust powers that had been the greatest evil of the old rulers, powers that went back for hundreds of years. Some collected rents on lands they'd never seen, others had entire islands or even the seas around them as their private fiefs. A slave was a slave, until the last generation, with no way to free himself.'

I flinched a little at that, since it was only recently that Orissa had righted that that great wrong herself, a doing of my brother, Amalric. great wrong herself, a doing of my brother, Amalric.

'Even more, some of them held writs that enabled them to circ.u.mvent common law, and imprison or otherwise punish anyone who offended them, with no recourse whatsoever. Great areas of land were held by them, and rack-rents charged, when most Konyans had but a tiny parcel of land to raise their crops. Perhaps I should have moved more slowly. But raw injustice brings rage to my heart, and a sword to my hand. I announced all of those baronial privileges would be examined, and a fresh wind of change would blow across the land.

'That was the spark. It fell on dry tinder because the G.o.ds had turned away from Konya. We had had several seasons of great storms, and then hot dry winds sweeping across our fertile lands. The schools of fish that were once so common seemed to find other seas to live in, and there was starvation for the first time in memory. The spark grew into flame. Some of the outlying islands rose against me, and I found it necessary to send out soldiers to suppress the risings. Unfortunately, the captains I chose were brutal men, men who thought the most profound peace was that of the graveyard. My advisors kept the tales of these misdeeds from me, so I thought all was well with my people and my crown.

'Finally, the darkest of sorcery was used. Somehow my enemies tapped into a greater power than mine. I do not know where it came from - whether it was a natural force, some demon-lord, or imported full-blown from a dark world, or what. But all that I turned my hand to, trying as best I could, failed. A screen was drawn between me and the future. No longer did I have any sense of what the morrow would bring.

'Then the revolt came. Men and women rose up in blind rage and panic. The mob ruled Konya yet again. But this time, there were cunning hands behind it. The barons guided this senseless rage against the one who loved them best. And they brought me down, me and those around me, those I'd brought up from many parts of Konya, and given power to because of their talents and their love of their fellow Konyans. It was the greatest destruction our poor shattered lands have ever seen.' Again there was a long silence.

'They should have killed me,' The Sarzana said finally, 'but they were too cruel for that. In secrecy, they sentenced me to death. Even the barons knew most Konyans still held the truth within them, and would quickly remember I was their salvation, not downfall. They sentenced me to die, but in the delight and savouring of their cruelty, they said they would carry out the sentence at a time of their choosing.'

'What of that curse you mentioned?'

'I was secretly told the soldiers a.s.signed to me had been promised a great counterspell would be laid over them when my death was ordered. Also, if many hands held the sword, there was no way the death-demons could determine who the actual a.s.sa.s.sin was. Besides, great amounts of gold and rich estates were promised. I have noticed rewards such as those make men forget about the distant G.o.ds and their threats,' The Sarzana said cynically.

'What did the people of this island, Tristan, think, when you were exiled here?' I wanted to know. 'And ... what happened to them?'

'At first,' he said, 'they didn't know what to think, since they'd been removed from the blood-bath on Isolde. They were pleased at all the new building that was required. Oddly enough, this palace was already half-built. It had been ordered by an eccentric lord, who retired from the world with great riches. But the mansion was but half-finished when he fell off a cliff, while shouting poetry to the G.o.ds in a drunken ecstasy. Since the barons who now ruled Konya had ordered my exile to be luxurious until the moment of death, there was a great deal of further gold spent here, in addition to completing this estate. Also, those great warships moored in the harbour kept off slavers or pirates.

'The villagers welcomed the soldiers at first. They had money, and new stories and songs, and the island women were tired of their old swains. That brought the first troubles. The garrison's officers should have stepped in, but they did not, most of them having already commenced their own tawdry affairs. I didn't know what to do, but knew I would not pace my cage, no matter how silken they made it, until they sent in the slaughterer with his maul.

'Fortunately, my Talent was returning. I sensed that whatever had blocked my sight was gone, where I knew not, although I was still handicapped by the long months without my powers.' Gamelan winced at this last. 'I needed allies. And constant use of my Art would restore it to its former strength.'

'The animals,' I said.

'Yes. Untouched by man's evil in their souls, but always and for ever man's victim. I cast general spells of benevolence. When the soldiers held one of their hunts, I sent a knowledge-spell with it, so all the creatures of the island knew what evil their enemy, man, was doing to them.'

'And the beast-men?'

'Those are mine own. Are not they fabulous creatures?'

'It takes a mighty spell to create life itself,' Gamelan said. 'There are those who call it a Dark Work.'

'When one is fighting for one's life, and for the lives of one's people, there is no place for moral judgments. Let those who write the history books make them, from the peaceful libraries the b.l.o.o.d.y-handed ruler has created. I hold no truck with those who constantly second-guess from some lofty position, what the man who is down in the arena must do in the blood and heat of the moment.'

I, too, felt about to argue the point, and then thought better of it. Why, in the name of whatever G.o.d ruled the mouth of fools, were we sitting debating morality in the middle of this man's realm, small though it was? It was hardly politic, nor did what this man had done in the past matter now. Perhaps he had ruled more harshly than I would have, if anyone were stupid enough to offer me a crown and I imbecile enough to accept it. But I felt, felt, with every sense, The Sarzana had intended the best for the Konyans, and been betrayed unjustly. As that thought came, along with it came warmth, that I had just gained a great truth - those who wear the crown must not be judged with us commoners. with every sense, The Sarzana had intended the best for the Konyans, and been betrayed unjustly. As that thought came, along with it came warmth, that I had just gained a great truth - those who wear the crown must not be judged with us commoners.

'These creatures,' The Sarzana said, 'who are better friends than any of the b.u.t.ter-tongued fools who danced attendance on me at court, came from many places. I used the... there is no word for it in Konyan nor Orissan nor any speech I know ... souls would be the approximation if they had been men, but they were but the spiritual presence of animals, killed at sea or on land. I gave them new flesh, and animated them, with powers and strengths they'd never known before. They know it, too, and their grat.i.tude never ceases. One day, when or should I say if I can flee this island, I will set them free, and they will be the rulers of this land, ruling more mercifully than man ever could, keeping common cause with the other creatures on the land and sea.

'But again I've turned from my story. I could feel the moment coming when a ship would slip into harbour, carrying orders for my death. It seemed like the villagers also felt something, because when I was allowed to go down the great stone steps, I heard mutterings against the soldiers, and the fishermen went out of their way to show me small kindnesses. It touched me to my depths, as it has always touched me when those who are under the iron boot do what they can to preserve their humanity. And it reminded me of my own village, so many miles and years gone.

'One day, a courier did did arrive. I braced for the moment of death, but nothing happened. Life seemed to continue as before, except now I was forbidden to visit the village. One night, I was roughly seized, and held in a locked chamber under this mansion, guarded by a full squad of soldiers. This was the end, I thought. But the sun rose the next day, and I yet lived, and I was set free. Now I could go wherever I wished on the island - because the villagers were gone!' arrive. I braced for the moment of death, but nothing happened. Life seemed to continue as before, except now I was forbidden to visit the village. One night, I was roughly seized, and held in a locked chamber under this mansion, guarded by a full squad of soldiers. This was the end, I thought. But the sun rose the next day, and I yet lived, and I was set free. Now I could go wherever I wished on the island - because the villagers were gone!'

'How?' That was Corais.

'At nightfall, the soldiers commanded them to collect at the waterfront. They were ordered into their boats, taking nothing with them. Their crowded boats were taken under tow by warships. This I discovered from discreet questioning of the soldiers. It took divination to learn the rest. The boats were towed well out to sea, out of sight of land. The soldiers had been ordered there must be no witnesses to my coming death, and they gladly obeyed this order, feeling perhaps the doom that pursues king-slayers might be fooled. The villagers' boats were rammed by warships, and the poor floundering men, women and children let drown or made sport of by archers and spearmen. Not one soul was allowed to survive.

'I knew then my life's cord was measured in fingerspans. I was desperate. I thought long, and then realized blood is a lever in magic, a great weapon. The villagers - I thought of them as my my villagers -would not have died in vain. I cast the first of my great spells. It swept in that night, like a sudden winter storm. The soldiers knew nothing, felt nothing. But my animals, my friends and servitors, felt the weight of all the generations they'd been prey to men. And that compact with the G.o.ds that frights animals when they see man was broken. They were given free rein to revenge themselves. villagers -would not have died in vain. I cast the first of my great spells. It swept in that night, like a sudden winter storm. The soldiers knew nothing, felt nothing. But my animals, my friends and servitors, felt the weight of all the generations they'd been prey to men. And that compact with the G.o.ds that frights animals when they see man was broken. They were given free rein to revenge themselves.

'They did just that, in one long night of gore. I must say, I listened to the screams with satisfaction. My spell required my beasts to show no more mercy to the soldiers than they gave the fishermen. Some died easily, in their sleep, some fought back and were butchered, some tried to flee to the ships and were drowned by the seals or my dolphins. By dawn, I was the only human on Tristan.

'I ordered the bodies brought to the end of the plateau, beyond this mansion, and tossed over the cliff, to be carried away by the strong currents. Then, and it was a savage ch.o.r.e, my servants and I went from ship to ship in the harbour, cutting free the moorings, setting full sail so the ship sped out beyond the headlands, to sail and sail with no hand at the helm through desolate seas until the sea gra.s.ses and monsters took it down into the depths. Then the next ship, and the next, until the outer harbour was as bare as the inner one had been after the villagers were killed.'

The Sarzana stopped. None of us said anything. This tale of blood and murder was as ghastly as any I'd ever heard. Indeed, the Konyans were a hard race, from rulers to ruled.

Then he said: 'I left the barracks and the corpses inside alone, deliberately, as a warning to anyone who arrived intending harm.'

'That doesn't seem like much,' Cholla Yi said. 'You must've known the barons would send more a.s.sa.s.sins.'

'I knew they would, and they did. But they ran into my second great spell. This is one of confusion. It's a simple one, correct, Evocator?'

'It is,' Gamelan said. 'But to conceal an entire island requires great power.'

'Oh, I hardly went to that amount of trouble,' The Sarzana said, a note of pride in his voice. 'All that was needed was a slight miasma at four or five days' distance from the island. Enough for a navigator to doubt his charts or astrolabe, a captain to have suspicions about his underlings, and so forth. That was enough to guarantee I'd never be found unless I wanted. Besides, why would anyone want that hard to discover what happened? That tale of doom for anyone who murdered me lingers on, and who would chance the wrath of the G.o.ds if they did not have to?'

The Sarzana rose, stretched, and went from couch to couch, ceremoniously refilling our gla.s.ses. None of us had drunk heavily, so taken were we by his saga.

'It is late,' he said. 'Or, it is early, and you have much to do to make your ships seaworthy. Perhaps we should find our beds.'

We stood and lifted our drinks in a strange sort of toast. We then started out of the room. I stopped. A thought had taken me, and I had the boldness to ask: 'Sarzana? You said you could see a bit into the future. What, then, lies ahead for you? Will you spend the rest of your days here alone?'

'Prognostication comes hard when one is trying to use it for one's own good,' he said. 'So it is with me. I know what I think I see, but perhaps it is just a wish: I see myself returning to Konya. I know that if I land anywhere the people will remember me. Time enough has pa.s.sed, and the barons' evil has grown, so there would be a great and final rising. Perhaps I'm foolish, and just a dreamer, but I still hope that my native islands will find true peace again, a peace that shall linger until time itself has a stop. And I know how to bring this to them. But, as I said, perhaps it is just an illusion, a happy mirage.'

'Why didn't you use one of the ships, crewed by your animal friends to return to Konya?' asked Corais, ever the practical one. 'You said you came from a seafaring family.'

'I said the power that blurred my powers is gone, but there still seems to be some remnant, or perhaps I'm still ensorcelled by a conjuration laid on me when I was first dethroned. I can't think of sailing without my mind falling into confusion. A mental version of the common fumble-finger spell, I suspect. No. I must be saved from my exile by someone else, someone who is willing to trust my words and believe he shall be rewarded gready when I return to power.'

Corais went to her quarters in the mansion, and the three of us went down the steps. There was a soft moon out, and we could see clearly. I waited until Cholla Yi had gone on to where the sailors of his gig drowsed on the beach, then asked Gamelan what he felt.

'He is a king,' the Evocator said. 'And kings don't have the same views I do. I think he intends well, that he truly wishes the best for his people. I didn't sense any waves of hatred for them, which he might well have felt after they overthrew him. I also perceived, behind his words, a truth that these barons are more savage than The Sarzana or even those b.l.o.o.d.y-handed captains he spoke of. But these are only feelings, with no facts or magic behind them. If my powers would return, even a bit of them, I would know better. What did you perceive?'

'No more than you did,' I said. 'In fact, less. There was nothing about the barons that came to me. But, yes, The Sarzana does appear to intend benevolence.' I smiled. 'If it's possible any any king is of that nature.' king is of that nature.'

Gamelan chuckled and turned to face the small cottage I'd a.s.signed to him. He walked towards it as if sighted, and I marvelled how quickly we can learn to overcome frailty if we are strong enough. At the door, he turned back.

'It was ... interesting,' he said, 'to speak to another Evocator, one with Talent nearly equal to mine. Or, rather, what mine were. Meaning no disrespect to your own Talent, Rali. But it felt, when he referred to our common art, almost as if I were back at the palace in Orissa, sharing trade secrets with another.' He sighed. 'It seems to me,' he said, 'what we must do is ride with the current, much as we have done. Perhaps The Sarzana can give us aid to set our course home. He a great sorcerer. Perhaps he might choose to help us, although it's easy to tell what debt we would be incurring. Certainly he hinted strongly enough at the end of his tale. And just possibly the reward would be worth the price.'

Then he said goodnight and went inside.

It was only an hour or so before dawn when we parted. I thought that if I tried to sleep, in all likelihood I'd just toss and turn, thinking of The Sarzana's tale, and a single hour's nap would do no more than turn me into a growling lioness at my duties. Besides, it was better I walk off the dying fumes of the evening's wine.

I walked to the waterfront and along the beach. I returned the salute of two sentries, but didn't bother them with idle chat. The night was as calm and mild as a summer's evening. I waded into the blood-warm water and kicked at the surf, seeing it spray in the moonlight, which made me giggle as if I were still a child. That feeling of happiness that had come upon me off the island still hung on. All I could wish for was ... and I shut off the thought before it could complete.

I went all the way down to where the creek mouth entered the water and saw one of the ship's boats landed there. I thought I'd sit down on a thwart and wait for the sun to come up. But the romantic spot was taken. Dica and Ismet lay asleep on a cloak, naked in each other's arms. The sight made me feel glad and sad at the same time.

I heard footsteps and turned. It was Polillo, evidently taking, as was her frequent custom, the last watch before dawn.

We looked at each other and the two women sleeping in the sand. Neither of us said anything, but I knew what she remembered and thought.

I bent and pulled the cloak up over the two. A small smile touched Dica's lips, but she didn't stir. Then I walked away back down the beach. Alone!

Fourteen.

South To Konya THE NEXT DAY we set to. By the G.o.ds, it was wearisome. By the time we were done and our galleys rode at anchor looking as if they'd just been launched with the blood of the sacrifices fresh on their prows, any of us who'd dreamed of buying a small boat to play with in our twilight years had discarded the notion. Amalric always had little use for ships, except as a necessary way to move his goods from one port to the next, but my feelings became stronger: I wished I could become the Greatest of Evocators, and pave the d.a.m.ned seas so no one save those who were demented, and I include we set to. By the G.o.ds, it was wearisome. By the time we were done and our galleys rode at anchor looking as if they'd just been launched with the blood of the sacrifices fresh on their prows, any of us who'd dreamed of buying a small boat to play with in our twilight years had discarded the notion. Amalric always had little use for ships, except as a necessary way to move his goods from one port to the next, but my feelings became stronger: I wished I could become the Greatest of Evocators, and pave the d.a.m.ned seas so no one save those who were demented, and I include all all sailors in that lot, would need water for any purpose other than bathing. sailors in that lot, would need water for any purpose other than bathing.

It might seem I'm railing on, and I suppose I am. But let me tell you just what we had to do to make just one galley seaworthy once more.

First the ship would be stripped of anything removable, so it rode high in the water, and then it was rowed close insh.o.r.e, until it grounded on a rock-free bottom. Then it would be dragged further into sh.o.r.e and when the tide fell, heavy logs, padded at the end, kept the ship from rolling onto its side.

Next we started sc.r.a.ping the hull free of the barnacles and seaweed. In the process we sc.r.a.ped enough skin off our hides to make belts for an army. Then all those sh.e.l.lfish we sc.r.a.ped off died and began to rot. By midday our brave warship smelled like a dockside latrine. This task, I'd been told by Klisura, required no shipwright's ability beyond having a large neck and small helmet, so the Guard would be perfectly suitable. I growled, then saw he was attempting a joke, and regained my good humour. That lasted until I realized I'd have to set the proper example for my women and be the first to wade out and begin scouring away.

'I thought,' Sergeant Ismet said, from where she laboured a few yards away, 'we were going to be n.o.ble huntresses and all that, instead of scullery wenches to these tubs.'

'Pleasure,' I managed, 'comes after business.'

It wasn't that we were being taken advantage of - Cholla Yi had Klisura and the other shipmasters were driving the sailors even harder. Nor were we doing the worst job conceivable, which came after the ship's bottom was sufficiently clean. This job was for the fleet's various petty offenders, both the handful from my Guards-women who needed more severe punishment than a boot or backhand from her sergeant or a week jakes-cleaning, and the much greater number of sailors who'd fallen afoul of their masters-at-arms. All rotten ropes had been stripped off the ships and tossed in a great pile on the foresh.o.r.e, and the punishment parties were a.s.signed to pick the tarry ropes apart, strand by strand. These threads were then driven into the s.p.a.ce between the ship's planking, using a tool like a narrow chisel and a mallet. Since this served to reseal any leaks, even the laziest sailor worked with a will on this task, but to make sure, a particularly vicious master-at-arms with a knotted rope-end paced back and forth behind the workers. He was forbidden, however, to strike any of my women.

Polillo had explained it to him simply: 'Only the Guard touches the Guard.' The brute considered Polillo's muscles, looked into her icy eyes, and nodded understanding.

Once the hull was caulked, it was painted. The paint was a reeking mixture of tar, oil and some vegetable poisons from the island. The poison would hopefully help keep new barnacles and weed from clamping onto our hull for a while. Each one that did would slow the ship and make it more unwieldy to row and steer; plus it'd eventually eat through the planking. While all this was being done outside the ship, more was being done above us. All rotted wood was replaced -we were lucky and found a yard full of seasoned timber we could use. This included already-shaped tree trunks that replaced masts that had split or had rot in their core. The decking and timbers were oiled. We found enough rope in and around the village to replace our old rigging.

Also, the holds and cabins had to be fumigated. In an Orissan yard, I was told, an apprentice or journeyman Evocator would have cast a spell on the ship, so that all the rats, roaches and other vermin would have been blighted. But we had no such recourse, at least not at first. I determined, after a sailor nearly died from breathing the fumes from his sulphured torches, something must be done. With Gamelan's help we produced a spell that worked very well, thank you. It consisted of rat's blood, the remains of a few ship insects, the blossoms of a night-flower whose scent carried many yards, clay from the village's burying-ground and a few simple words in ancient Orissan. Soon the galleys were relatively pest-free.

Everything on the ship was carefully checked, replaced if possible or strengthened if not. Finally, the refit would be complete, and on the high tide the braces would be struck away, and the ship dragged back into deeper water, its anchors having been rowed out and all hands pushing handsomely on the capstan.

That was one ship. Then another was beached - and the task begun anew.

It was exhausting - but there were still some of us who had energy for other things, some for good, some not. I noted Dica spent most of her evenings in Sergeant Ismet's company, the two of them carrying light bedding off into the country beyond the village if they were not on duty. I heartily approved - pillow talk is one of the best ways to learn, and my flag sergeant had been the first shield-lover for more than one aspirant in the past. Somehow, Ismet also knew how to let her affairs come to an end painlessly, with neither discipline nor her young lovers' hearts being hurt.

Others began, renewed or continued affairs. I'd always thought being aboard ship would make one romantic. But not on a warship, and not when the most privacy obtainable is a few minutes in a canvas-cloaked jakes in the bows of a ship, or having the nearest hammock hung no closer than two feet.

Once again the old problem with the men roused itself. Regularly one or another of my Guardswomen would be importuned for her favours, some politely, some crudely, some demandingly, as if the sailor had certain rights given by the G.o.ds to sow all the furrows he could reach. I don't know why men seem to share a common fantasy-that a woman who chooses to find love among her own is deluded, and never has known a 'real lover'. It isn't just men with equipment grotesque enough to grace a stallion in rut. I've heard a pipsqueak clerk promise a great strapping corporal 'such a night of love that you'll forget all this foolishness'. Pah! Let those who think like that spend their time drilling soft sand with their never-to-besufficiently-lauded tools, since they seem to match love with post-hole-digging! It isn't just sailors who act like this - it was a constant problem in barracks in Orissa, every time certain young lords came a-wooing the Maranon Guard.

Enough of that. Suffice it to say the would-be lovers were rejected in much the same manner as they proposed - some with a smile and a laugh, others with a well-driven blow to just below where their mother's cord was cut off and above where their souls seemed to live.

I allowed my women to be used as common labourers until half the galleys were completed, then stepped in and told Cholla Yi firmly his sailors and marines could finish the task. We had another job - to make sure the fleet would be well fed when we sailed on.

I remember clearly our first great hunt. I remember my women hallooing and rattling their spears against shields as the great boar snorted and broke out of the thicket... It pelted towards me, tusks gleaming dirty yellow in the late afternoon sunlight, blood glinting from the spear-wound in its shoulder. There were no other two-legs in the world but me, and for me nothing but those huge curved swords flashing as the boar squealed, put its head down for the charge, and ran onto the head of my spear. The shock sent me stumbling back, and I went to one knee, bracing the spear b.u.t.t on the ground as the animal ran itself up onto the spear and against the cross-bit halfway down the shaft. It roared its soul to the heavens, stumbled sideways, and fell before it knew it was dead.

My women broke their spearwall and ran towards me, shouting congratulations. For a moment, I paid no mind, but sent up a prayer thanking Maranonia, and begging her to treat the spirit of the animal kindly. It had led us a hard chase along the steep slopes on the far side of the island, turning often to charge and try to break through the tightening cordon. Brought to bay, it had fought hard and died bravely. Polillo was loud in the beast's praise, as were some of the other Guardswomen.

For them, hunting was the n.o.blest of pastimes, second only to war. For some of my women who came from the wilder provinces beyond Orissa, it was, in fact, a religious ceremony. For me, it was a task I enjoyed, since it was outside, it tested my muscles and ability to read the ground, and put food on my table that I myself had harvested. But there were other sports I enjoyed more - a cross-country paper chase, crag-climbing, or, without a weapon, tracking an animal to its lair to see her kits or just to watch how she pa.s.sed her time. When I hunted, I preferred to take my game as simply as possible, hopefully to stalk it without it being aware, and to grant the gift of death before fear came on it.

It was interesting to see, though, how others felt, and how their feelings affected the way they performed this necessary task of supplying the fleet with meat for salting and smoking. Polillo, as I said, thought hunting the finest sport known. For her, that meant the chase itself. She loved to hunt by herself, or with one or two equally agile Guardswomen. She would start game and then run it down, killing it with a short spear or, sometimes even with a hatchet, thrown with deadly accuracy on the run and then giving the final grace with her gutting knife.

Corais, on the other hand, said she found hunting not only too much like work, but boring. She hunted alone, and always always made a kill. Her method was simple, but difficult. She'd walk through an area two or three times before she armed herself, generally at first light and again at twilight. When she knew the habits of the animal she wished to take, she'd creep out and find a hide either in the middle of the night or at midday, when the animals slept. When her prey came to feed or water, Corais would strike. She preferred a short, heavy bow, and seldom needed but a single shaft to bring the animal down. made a kill. Her method was simple, but difficult. She'd walk through an area two or three times before she armed herself, generally at first light and again at twilight. When she knew the habits of the animal she wished to take, she'd creep out and find a hide either in the middle of the night or at midday, when the animals slept. When her prey came to feed or water, Corais would strike. She preferred a short, heavy bow, and seldom needed but a single shaft to bring the animal down.

To others, hunting was more social. Ismet dearly loved to organize a hunt, with beaters driving the prey towards positioned killers, a hunt she'd laid out on a sandtable, making sure each hunter understood exactly what she was or was not to do. Sometimes I thought the hunt itself, with its precise moves and strikes, not unlike a running-ball match, was an end for her, and the kill no more than a trophy to award a well-played match.