Edan dreams fitfully of the hamaaj, endlessly pursuing him through a wildly changing landscape of fire and water and sand. He knows, and does not know how he knows, that if it catches him, he will be forced to marry it.
He wakes in a cold sweat, minutes before dawn.
Edan can see in the pre-dawn light through his open window, that Skander is sitting outside, and there are a number of saddlebags on the ground beside him. It's possible that the household is awake and keeping silent on his behalf.
It's got to be the spices, Edan thinks groggily as he pushes himself to a sitting position. I haven't eaten that mix in a while. Yes, that must be it. He groans and stands, checks to make sure Kyauta and his kit are with him, and moves to the window.
"What time is it?" he calls down to Skander. "Has anyone gone ahead?"
Skander waves as he sees Edan. "It is the hour of the eagles, Master. And it is well that your enemies are not here already, for your forces are strung out between towns and temples and the street in front of this place." He looks back at the street. "Haytham has gone to the temple to keep them from all converging back here. He did not know if you wished to meet them in the house of the Merciful One or someplace more martial."
"So many?" A little of the color drains from Edan's face. "So soon? I assume he thought there were too many for the Dey's residence." He sighs. "I will be ready in a moment. We will ride to the temple, and then lead them to the Dey-evi." He looks back down to Skander. "If we wait too long, word will spread and the throng will be too numerous to leave. When we meet the others, go and see how many horses we will have. Look to see how more you can find if we are short. I know horses are scarce, but do what you can. I only found a dozen, I hope more were brought with the others. It is the horses that will determine how many go with us."
Skander squints up at Edan. "Any who ride will not be here for a week or more. Assuming they can find feed and stablage along the way. The impoverished lands in the cold north, some of them still ride. It's not a skill the youth of today even desire to learn."
The desert fighter pauses. "Some claim that the Merciful One showed us how to make our own conveyance so that we did not overburden his creations. I am not so sure. He did not teach us to make mechanical khlea.
"There are a dozen brothers now, but Haytham has sent the call out to three score and ten. The ones across the continent are not expected."
Edan relaxes a bit. "That's not unreasonable. We may not need extra horses after all," he says. "Give me just a moment." He gathers his things together, not expecting to come back, makes himself presentable enough to address a crowd, and then goes downstairs.
"Let us see who has answered the call," he says to Skander, and leads them both towards the temple.
A score and half again of the brethren are at the temple of the merciful one. All are men Edan rode with, although they are by no means all the men from those days.
Just being in the presence of the Sultan makes them stand taller.
They’re not as fit for fighting as when Edan left them, but they are as awe-struck as the people he left behind. It may be too many for Edan to charm, as he did the six in his room. Some would as leif be released from their vow.
It is good enough. "I know you. All of you. And you remember me. When I left to seek my father's homeland, you all stood on the brink of a new world, a new age. Freedom. Peace. You have made your dream a reality, and I rejoice with you."
He pauses. "I have been to the lands of my father and returned. There are worlds out there, worlds that none of you have seen. My father's father has passed on, and old enemies of his kingdom have risen to take advantage of it. I am my father's son, and I would take up my sword to defend the lands of my father and his brothers.
"I need men who would ride with me. Many of you, perhaps most of you, are content with this world you have made. But there are some of you I know who would see more. I need men who would ride with me again. Fight with me. Bleed with me. Rally to my cause, and I will show you worlds beyond your imagining. Help me defend my family's lands against those who would see them destroyed."
Six identical knives thrust up into the air in unison, along with a ragged yell, "the Sultan, the Sultan, the Sultan!". Following Edan's lieutenants, others are also waving weapons. Of the nearly two-score men who have answered the call, none seem to be unwilling to join with Edan and go wherever he will.
There may be other people in the temple, who were there to pray or study or meditate this morning. To them, this is a throwback to a less peaceful time in The Land of Peace. To Edan, this is what the temple of The Merciful One has often been.
"Let us move on to the House of the Dey of Longtides," Edan says to the group. "You can all decide for yourselves whether you want to leave from there. It will be a long time before you could return, so think carefully before you decide."
Edan leads a parade, or a march at least, through the city. People watch with interest, and in some cases with fear. Children and dogs follow after, interested in the excitement.
The House of Longtides is, remarkably, clean and open. Some of Haytham's household are there, and gardeners are ripping out the long-dead plants from the garden. It's not functional, but it's no longer abandoned-looking. The staff may not have slept.
Haytham nods as he sees this. As he is a magistrate of the town, it may be of his doing.
"We need to get the horses from the stables," Edan tells Haytham, "and get them ready." He turns to the crowd, then, and says, "I thank you for coming to this place for nothing more than the mention of my name. I have only so many horses, and we will find more as we travel. But here is the time and place to choose; if you would ride with me, come forward. If you would remain here, go, and know that I will love you none the less. We are all brothers."
Haytham relays the message to one of his servants, and the woman leaves the room.
The six captains walk directly across the room and stand with Edan. The rest of the group starts to move when a a voice calls out from the back. Deep and rusty, it sounds as if it has no desire to speak.
"My Sultan, if you take us all, then what will become of the holy places and right thinking of the great territory of the Merciful One, this land which we made into a Land of Peace? I have taken no responsibilities, but some of our brothers have families they will not want to have fall back to the old ways, and some are responsible for entire towns.
"I am free to follow you to any heaven or hell, but what becomes of this town without Haytham?"
Haytham looks uncomfortable, but not less determined.
"Each man has free choice," Edan says. "I would not deny that to any of you, including Haytham. It is the message that endures, not the man that utters it." He turns to Haytham. "You have someone, I hope, who works under you? Who would carry on if you were gone?"
Haytham is thin-lipped. "I do, Lord. My brother-in-law is an excellent scholar of Law and held court for me yesterday when you arrived. I once hoped he would not succeed me for a long time, but the call of the Merciful One comes when it will and not when a man will have it. I am content."
Skander speaks up. "We are not all assembled. Some have far to travel, even across the continent. Some fight the heathen peoples to the north of the sea of wine. You could leave word, my Sultan, for them, to keep and preserve the lands for your return, howe'er long it shall be."
"Leave them a sign or a token and a message and they will do their duty."
Edan nods. "I shall prepare such a message, and leave it here." He grins at his group of six. "And then there were thirty. Get everything organized, while I perform a bit of sorcery for the message. Also, if there are supplies to get us on our way that will not cause disruption, bring them. There will be no lack of this as we travel, but we have to be already traveling before I find them."
Haytham goes off to speak to someone, perhaps his brother-in-law. Edan's Amber heritage allows him to listen in. "Ibix, the Sultan leaves his last words to the faithful here, in this place. Make it a shrine to the Mighty One, and tell all how he chose this place to leave them with their final instructions. When he returns, no matter how long it may be, he will expect them to have been followed, to the letter."
"It shall be done, Haytham. And you will be missed." The two men embrace and Haytham returns to his fellow captains as they make preparations. They divide up the men into squadrons of six men. It seems to be going smoothly.
Once everyone is together, Edan helps to get them mounted or at least mobile; if there aren't thirty horses available, several of the riders will have to ride double until they get moving.
The first order of business is getting supplies and/or more horses; Edan will almost immediately begin shifting Shadow as they head out. A cache of supplies and weapons near an oasis sounds like the perfect solution, and that is what he will be aiming for before the ride starts in earnest. The overall plan is to test the abilities of these men and gather more on the way to Xanadu, but there's no point in stressing them until everyone is outfitted.
The shadows shift, the sands grow darker and coarser, the moon becomes reddish and shrinks in size, and the horses learn the rhythm of a long day's ride. The desert is still with you, but the nights are not as cold nor are the days as hot.
The scorpions, however have gotten larger. The men have taken to hunting them for practice.
Recruiting men on the way is on the order of support corps; there isn't need for many, considering the small number of initial troops, but it will serve as the beginning of the support corps and ortas: medical, logistics, food, hostlers, sappers, etc. As mercenaries, and this offer is for the other troops as well, an initial bonus followed by regular pay. Edan decides he carries enough funds to pay everyone, but does go through the symbolic gesture of receiving his own pay with the troops.
This initial group is company-sized, so that's what we'll call it. Ten companies would be an orta, or battalion. Each company would break down into five-man groups plus one support person, so tents would be organized that way. For the moment, the original six followers will be the sergeants for the rest. Edan is aiming to outfit each soldier with a quality horse, a single-shot long rifle (preferably bolt-action rather than a musket), and he will introduce them to the bayonet, which should be new to most of them. A short bow for backup, a short yatagan sword or axe, their own jambiyah. Ottoman Janissaries had something called an Abus gun, which was like a short howitzer; Edan will replace that with a horse-drawn mortar for the company. Whether he manages all that at the start, that's what he's aiming for.
Each rider will be fully responsible for everything in his kit, and that goes especially for the horse and rifle. Edan knows his skill with the horse, and he's looking to impart that on the company. That means the training will be brutal. He expects the first few days to be something of a shock, but Edan will train alongside them the entire way. They will eventually learn (or remember) how to shoot and fight from horseback, how to handle nearly any terrain a horse can navigate, and how to properly care for their mount. This is the most vital skill they can learn, so it gets the most work.
At rest, he tells them of Amber, of Xanadu, of many of the worlds he's seen. He tells them some about Family. He tells them of the Gheneshi and the Klybesians, whom they will face. He tells them of the Order of the Lamp, and the organization he wants to build. He tells them of the larger Chaosi war that took place during their own war with the hamaaj.
All in all, it's less men than he wanted to start, but it is a beginning. Quality over quantity, after all, and it's not bad for a tenday's work.
The crew trains and organizes and learns as Edan lays out the regimen. They do not spend much time talking about the past, either before or after his Sultanate and departure. They seem happier with guns than with bows.
The new recruits do not worship The Merciful One. How does Edan want to deal with that? Also, how does he want to deal with religious life for his core corps?
Edan's take on this is that the Order of the Lamp was created as a secular organization, and it will remain so. Each man is responsible for the state of his own soul, and he makes it clear from the start that he will not officially censure anyone's practicing religion.
Privately, he will observe that the majority of the force follows the Merciful One and the Way of Peace, and that the close-knit day-to-day exposure of the infidels will bring about new converts with time and patience. He will privately share this observation with those who aren't farsighted enough to see the same. He also makes it clear that they are going to Xanadu, where the Faithful are certainly not a majority, but those who have settled there are tolerated.
While those who pray with him take the message back, there does seem to be at least something of a division. It is not actively affecting training or morale, but there are clearly two kinds of brothers.
Decisions have to be made, and you have to live with the consequences. The alternative would be worse. Edan resolves to keep an eye on it and intervene if anything escalates.
Xanadu is easily reachable via the coast, or Edan could prolong the ride. What is his intention?
That depends on how much time remains. It's been three or four days since he rode to the Land of Peace, and there was a tenday before they would have to be back in Xanadu. If there is time remaining, he will continue with the drills and slowly move up the coast until they reach the City of Muses.
There is time, and time can be manipulated to some degree. Edan has his men [OOC: are any of Edan's brothers actually sisters?] as drilled as he can get them in a ten-day when they arrive. His scouts return to him as they ride up the coast. They've spotted a city, flying the Red Unicorn banner from the castle above the lagoon. They may not have been spotted yet, but they will be soon. The city obviously lives by the sea, and the troop will be visible where they are.
There's a significant river crossing to be made before they can ride to the city. The men wish to know how he wishes to accomplish it. They propose building rafts, but have little local knowledge.
[ooc: Considering Edan's drawn from desert tribes where the women fight as fiercely as the men, I had assumed there were going to be sisters. He certainly won't turn them away, but I don't know how many would have answered the call.]
[OOC: Let it be so. And let's retroactively make Skander a woman.]
Edan tries to remember if there's a detour from this direction. He does remember being poled across when he's come to Xanadu by himself, and is a little disheartened he didn't remember that for this trip. "There should be rafts built already to handle traffic from this direction," he tells them. "I may have to send word ahead."
This plan is thus:
1. ride to where there's a natural ford, if he remembers one.
Edan remembers the river running into a tropical forest. It is not well-mapped.
2. send word ahead to have rafts ready for them, if they ride to a predetermined point.
He could arrange for Michelle to do so, but how would he send the message?
3. go ahead and give the order to build rafts, if there's no other option.
If he gives the order, they will do so...
Skander looks at the water. "Sending to the city for rafts is an excellent idea, Master. Unless you would like to evaluate how we would overcome this obstacle if we were on campaign and not heading into a friendly city.
"I do not think we are a large enough army to build bridges for ourselves, but we could build a boat and tow a line across, then cross when the tide was balancing the flow of the river."
Edan sighs. He sighs because he remembers the headache he had on Le Soliel, and that was farther out than here. "There is another way, and it's faster," he tells Skander. "Get everyone dismounted to lead their horses and in single file. I am guessing what I do will last an hour or so, plenty of time, but be ready to follow me across."
When the company is arranged to his satisfaction, he commands Kyauta to go ahead and warn Michelle of their arrival.
Kyauta departs with alacrity.
Then, with Aramsham's reins in hand, he draws heat from the brackish water to create a wide path of ice.
The brothers and sisters of the order are suitably impressed, and ride quickly across the ice bridge. Some have literally never seen ice, and need to have it explained to them. They call it anti-steam.
Skander wants to know if that is a spell that can be learned, or if they should only expect it to work when the Sultan so directs?
Once the riders are all gathered back together, he tells her, "I...don't know. It is one thing that we must find out. There are those with the talent, but I am told it is passed down through families. If such talent exists in our group, I will teach what I can."
She nods. It's unclear if she's disappointed or relieved.
Kyauta returns. "They prepare," he tells Edan.
[OOC: Where to? The center of the city, the king’s high-way, the outlying estates?]
That question has a complex and political answer -- Edan doesn't know what's going on in the city at the moment. Also, the upcoming competition is sort of a debutante ball for the Order of the Lamp, and it would merely detract from the Order's impact if they appeared earlier. Advance notice has been given; he leads the company to where construction should be going on at the outlying estates.
Edan and his troop arrive at the estate site and find that the work is well along. There are well-built corrals for horses, with large permanent stables under construction, with dwelling-places staked out but not currently being worked.
Michelle has the entire staff greet them as they ride up. The grooms help the Knights off their horses, and Edan quickly identifies the horsemasters who are giving them orders. They are also sizing up the horses. Michelle also has both medical staff and cooking staff at the ready. The medical staff goes back to the temporary housing when they see that no one is injured.
"Well met, Commander!," she says. Her voice caries quite well over the noise. "Do your riders require food?" While she is all business, she also has a smile and seems happy to see Edan.
"Food and rest," Edan says, dismounting. "I have given them a proper workout. Well met yourself, Michelle." He turns to the company and raises his voice. "This is Michelle, Seneschal of the Order of the Lamp. Mark her well! She holds the responsibility of this place, and here she speaks with my Voice."
Then he turns again and tells her, "Most of these horses, they are enchanted. The time will come that my Sorcery will wear off of them, and they will be less than they were. We will need horses. If none can be found, I will have to enchant them again. We have a few more weeks."
She nods. "I have the best I could buy from any stable not the King's already, and his majesty has granted you the signal favor of sending an expedition to his Brother King of Paris to purchase horses in that distant land. I do not know when your Cousin will return with them, but I believe the King was solving several of his problems at once. He has also loaned us a stablemaster to help us get started. I do not think he intends to stay, so we will need to find a master. If your troupe has one, that would be helpful.
"Otherwise the construction is underway as you outlined. The stables will be ready before the housing, but men can be housed elsewhere more easily than warhorses.
"And of course, there is considerable interest in town about what it is we are doing here. There are ambitious young men of the town, of high breeding and low, who are wondering if they can gain renound with a fighting force and advance themselves thusly. You may find social events full of them for the next while.
"Oh, and Lady Somners sends her love and asks you to keep your incipient army out of her forests without sending word to her." Michelle smiles. "There was a time when I would've been the one sending her messages instead of receiving them." She brushes her hair out of her eyes and continues. "I suggested that you two should discuss such things in person."
She seems to have covered the highlights of this operation and the city. Her staff seems to be taking care of anything that is needed, including feeding the brethren.
Edan smiles. "You are most competent. My sister rued your leaving, I am sure." He pauses a moment. "I have five men we picked up for support on the way, any of them might function as a temporary or permanent stable master. Rotate them under Random's master to see who has the knack for leading, and I will pick a replacement when he is ready to leave.
"Similarly, we will rotate the Sergeant-at-Arms position amongst the brothers and sisters. The lead ones first." He names the...five? "We will see who is best suited to take responsibility of the rifles while in Xanadu, even if they don't function here. Guns and ammunition are to be treated like money in a bank - under custody and tracked. Find a temporary place for an armory until the building is ready."
[ooc: I've got Haytham, Skander, Slim, Abd al-Malik, and Khulum, am I missing someone?]
[OOC: Don’t think so. I might’ve gotten confused when there were six knives, but now I realize that one was the original/for you.]
"I had hoped there would be local interest in the Order. We shall not turn them away." He thinks about that for a moment. "What we don't want is for the younger sons of ex-Amber nobility to wander in with heavy armor and a century-old family sword and expect privilege. This is a fighting force, and not yet a political one. I will draft the necessary information about the Order - the motto, who I am, what abilities we would prize, and so on. Information that you could spread through the social channels here. At least it would spread the word that the rewards and renown would be merit-based.
"And Family...I have several to speak to, and I think my sister would be the first. I owe her a conversation, in any case. Let us get things organized here, and then I will go to meet her, neh?"
She nods once, briefly, as he makes his points and gives directions. "I have runners who can take word to your family as needed. I have an appointment with the Lord Mayor for breakfast, if you have any needs of him before the ball.
"I've told the potential knights that you were the first and final arbiter of who joined the Order, and that it was a fighting force. There are still interested parties, some of whom look as if they can fight. I can go see about the weapons. Your sister... familiarized me with the care of firearms."
"Nothing yet with Ash. Before I go meet Paige, I want to help get the riders settled and find out where they're going. How long until the ball? Unless I use Sorcery, I am not prepared for it, and these clothes will send the wrong message."
Michelle nods. "The last problem I can solve with the magic of a tailor. Scarlett has clothes at the ready at her club, and we can get you looking the part in time for the ball, which is tomorrow night. Paige is, of course, invited to the ball, but you could speak with her before or after if you do not wish to discuss matters with her during the festivities."
A familiar man comes up and Michelle introduces him. "Stable master Donovan, graciously loaned to us from the King's own stables." He seems very confident and not at all shy around belted knights.
"Master Donovan," Edan says. "I am gratified that you were willing to assist us in getting started. I am sure Michelle has already seen to your needs, but it must be said; if there is anything I can do to assist, you have but to ask. Especially if you were thinking of a breeding and training program for future stock - it has long been an interest of mine."
Donovan bows, slowly. He's grinning. "When last we spoke, my Lord, I asked you if you intended to breed Aramsham, to continue the line of his sire Flameheart. You mentioned that you did, and I admit I took this assignment to work on that project." He looks at the corral. "There's much to do, and much improvement to be made. When your cousin Prince Garrett returns, he can tell you what other lines he thinks should be bred into this core stock." He grins, fondly. "He has opinions."
Edan smiles back. "Opinions are good. I'll need them. Please do not be too disappointed when these horses you see lose their quality."
Donovan nods. "I've seen the effect before, my Lord."
To his seneschal, [Edan] adds, "If Paige is coming to the ball, then that saves me a trip. I can wait, and there is much to do here. If for some reason she does not attend, I will go to her after."
Michelle tilts her head just a few degrees. "I expect that Lady Somners will be exactly sixteen and a half minutes late. She is extremely precise in her tardiness. The ball should be ideal. Perhaps even the dance floor if you wish a place that is both public and private."
Edan nods. "As long as dancing is involved, you know. I generally try to arrive on time, which is more boring."
She smiles. "More importantly, it is less likely to make you the center of all attention. You may wish to reconsider in this case, as you do want to be that center." She looks at the field, and gets a worried look on her face. "Excuse me, my lord. I need to attend to the cooks."
He calls over his lieutenants and introduces them. "As you can see, things are not finished," he tells them. "Let us get everyone organized and see where quarters have been set up. No, you will not have to strike camp here."
Khulum looks around. "Lovely weather. Hot and wet here. I like the climate although I wish it were less humid for the horses' sake. We can sleep under the stars if need be."
Edan calls a local messenger to him from the staff, or finds one if one is not immediately available, to pen a note to Random. In it, he details what the Dey of Longtides left as a message for them.
Of course, if there's not a local runner with the capability to deliver a message to the castle, Edan will need to go himself.
Donovan offers a rider, as he has to send to the castle's stables for some supplies anyway. If Edan needs anything in particular from the stables, he will arrange it.
Edan finds that acceptable. Unless Random wants to talk to him, the idea is to share a particularly important bit of information with someone who sits at the hub of the Family information network.
With that, his immediate agenda is done; if there is time, the next item would be preparing himself, and his riders, for the ball and the exhibition.
Donovan comments on the horses. He suggests that any fancy riding be done on Aramsham, as the others will not be impressive. He can provide well-trained horses, but not more than a handful, if Edan wishes to have his leadership ride in. He can also find someone to help drill the soldiers if there is to be formation marching.
Michelle can also find assistance if the any of the troops need to learn to dance, although she suggests that such lessons will need heavy chaperonage.
The officer of the Order want to know what is expected of them and the fighters, and what exactly they are doing in this place, other than being temped to desert...
That last prompts a smile from Edan. "We are going to train and gain recruits until our force is of a size to have a hope of taking on our targets. That will take a while, and in the meantime this," he indicates the area around them, "is the beginning. The Order of the Lamp, created with the blessing of the King of Xanadu and Amber, my father's brother, is being built from the ground up. Built as we want and need it. As Xanadu is already forming as a place of high learning and society, we shall need an event to introduce ourselves, which is being planned."
Reactions amongst the 5 officers are mixed. Khulum seems to wish they could get on with the killing, but Haytham seems to like high learning and society.
Skander nods. "We serve at the pleasure of the Sultan, my Sultan. We may have to train some of the men in how to act in such a society. We will need your direction on how you wish us to be taken by your uncle's subjects. Are we fierce desert warriors, sophisticated men and women of learning, or do you have some other vision for how we are to be seen?" She seems undaunted by either prospect.
"We're going to be seen as raw barbarians no matter what front we put forth," Edan says. "I don't think our mercantile brethren who have preceded us have done much to change that view. But we can alter Xhandavian thinking. Remember Suleman and the early days of the empire in the tales? There were knights then, men and women who were soldiers but would also excel at some other field. Many other societies have their own version: the Hwarang, the Samurai, the poet-warrior. That is what I would encourage in the Order."
Khulum snorts. "Sadly, Haytham's expertise in the law of the land we are no longer in will not be much help."
Haytham looks up. "I am not the expert in the law that you were, brother. After all, I only know it from the judging side." This makes the others laugh.
Skander says "We'll try for mystery and romance for the time being. We'll have to dazzle them with our scholarship after we read up on it..."
Edan's smile grows wider. "It will get easier," he says. "Now, this ball. You remember what I told you about Paris, yes? They will be coming, and they were talking of a friendly competition afterward. We must dazzle them with our charm and impress them with our skill. The finest of our riders will need to prepare for demonstration riding, perhaps even a race." He pauses. "I think jousting would be beyond us."
Haytham frowns. "If we are to show off horsemanship and impress them, we may need more magics than we have going for us. I saw the look on that stable-master's face. He knows we are unpracticed.
Slim looks at the men. "I'd take my chances on impressing with swordplay or archery. We are amazing warriors, in that tale, not horsemen."
Skander nods. "I recall, my Sultan, the awe in the eyes of everyone who ever saw you dance."
Edan nods. "There are those here who are better," he says, "but it is a thing I will be doing at the ball. I can teach some of the basics to those who wish to learn, but there really isn't enough time. There will be a steep learning curve for everyone, and you had better let the company know. Once this...thing...is over, there will be more time to address training properly." He pauses. "Swordplay and archery, yes. I think we can shift a competition that direction. But are the tribesmen as unpracticed in this as they are at riding?"
Slim responds, slowly. "If there are rifles, we have those of the tribe who excel, my Sultan. Some who could even build a steam-cannon."
Abs-Al-Malik looks up. "Khulum and I have various well-honed acrobatic skills that would translate well into thrown knives and such. It is not particularly martial-looking, but it has applications in real warfare.
Khulum nods. "If such is appropriate, but I hope we are not here for mere minstrelsy. My Sultan, is it true that the infidel known as The Slave of God is here, and holds a position of trust in your Uncle's court? One of my men has that from a groom."
Skander and Haytham look up. Apparently, Abdallah is remembered by the tribe.
Edan blinks. "First...I do not know if rifles work here. Knowing my uncle, I would say they do not."
Slim looks disappointed.
"The Slave of God. Yes, I remember him. We traded words- and a few blows- when I first came to this place. I did not know he held a position in the government. Who is he?"
Thulium's wide face looks grim. "Call it a position at court, I suppose. They say he serves the royal prince as swords master."
That's met with a raised eyebrow. "It doesn't surprise me," Edan says. "He was very, very good with a sword. There are others - coastal dwellers, mainly - who were a-sail when the black rains came and ended up on these shores. The town has taken them in, and we will have to learn how to coexist with them." He suppresses a sigh. "I, too, was not happy to learn that they were here when I first arrived. I had to grow past my anger. It helped that there were bigger problems to deal with."
Slim nods. "A warm night upon fertile soil under the stars. We did not hope to live so well when we went to war with the city dwellers, and here it is just how things are. Between the sea, the rivers, and the forest, this is a lucky country. And I do not believe in luck."
Edan smiles, a little. "The luck is where the King of Xanadu found this place and made it his, if you want to call it that. And his father before him finding a land called Amber, in the same way. The Klybesians, I would say they are partly motivated by jealousy over the king's abilities. And the Moonriders, they are an old enemy of Oberon, Random's father."
Slim looks oddly at that story. "The Merciful One has provided your family with great gifts and also powerful enemies, My Sultan, but at least you were also provided with us to protect you."
Edan grins. "That's my luck, not Random's. I consider it superior." He looks around. "I will prepare for a dance, then. Ask around, find the skills of the riders under you, see if there are other things that can impress our hosts. I will be back and forth between now and tonight, if I am needed."
They nod and take his comment as a dismissal.
Only Slim lingers. "Master, I am troubled. May I question you?"
Edan nods. It wasn't as if he didn't expect that at some point. "Come, walk with me."
Slim nods and falls in step with the Sultan. "Master, I followed because I recalled my youth. I followed you then, because you and I both burned for justice and fair play, and to save those we could from the city people, who killed us with bombs and killed their own by forgetting to be mindful of the Merciful One.
"When you left, it was all... different. I might have been different before you left, but it always seemed the change happened with your departure. We still won, but that was because there was no one left to lose to. Each city did differently, but many just traded their old oligarchs for our brothers, and went about their way. Some may never have even tried to live by the laws of mindfulness. and the virtues of submission to the mercy of the one who created us all.
"All the time, the victories that were barely 'not-failures', the divisions amongst the faithful, all that... It disappeared when you spake, at Haytham's.
"I willed it to be as it was before. And I am mindful of the enemies of your father and his brother, of whom you spoke.
"But I look at the water here, and the city of lights so close by, and I feel urges--not to protect them, but to join them. To abandon my brethren and my oath to protect the city in order to help build the city.
"No option feels right, Master. I do not belong to the city, but I feel I am not the pure youth who rallied to your banner of yore, nor even the aging one who followed your lead out of the Da'ar es Salaam.
"I am not flesh, nor fowl. How can I follow the will of the Merciful One in a place like this, rich beyond all dreams of the Land of Peace, when his name is not even known? Doubts stir in me and I wish clarity. Is it possible to regain that, or is it a victim of my unfortunate increase in perspective?"
Slim walks along with Edan, letting his Master respond to that as he will.
Edan sighs. "I knew it was to be a question of faith, though I did not know what words would come. When I spoke of how difficult this task would be, I did not mean it to be a trial strictly of the body. This," he indicates the city, "this is only the beginning. When we came here from the Dar-es Salaam, when I didn't have your minds occupied with horsemanship, did you look at the world pass around you? Really look at it?"
Slim stops for a moment and tilts his head, then continues to walk. "It's a question, Master, to which the answer is almost always 'I did not'. I saw lands I had never seen before, and Plants and stars not visible in the Land of Peace, nor anywhere scholars from our shores have been, except those who tell of leaving it. I have never seen anything like the city below the waterfall, there. It is the first time I have felt the call of a place.
"Master, If this is the beginning, where does it lead? Will the people we will be at the end of this trail be worthy of the Mercy we have been taught to revere?"
"It is not an easy path, to hold your faith when all around you is different," Edan says. There is a taste of ashes in his mouth, thinking of how his own journey ended.
"The faith is within you, here," poking Slim in the chest. "I think it is as you said, that your change of perspective makes you lose sight of it. But you must keep it, for even our own world will change by the time you return. Keep the words and the ideas they describe. Hold it close within you, for you will have to teach others when you return. Who holds the faith will have to start at the beginning." His expression falls, then, and he adds, "Remember how things were. I have heard the talk. When I left, the afriti were the ex-angels who inhabited the land close to the Land of Peace, and the hamaaj were demons of Chaos who invaded from far away. I was hated and feared. Then the black rains came, and I left. The afriti and the hamaaj were equated together in the minds of men, and they've made me some kind of a saint. It will be changed even more when- if- you return.
"I am..." he stops. "There are billions of worlds out there, Slim. I am one of a blessed few who are able to travel through them, between them. I am heartened by the knowledge that our religion, or reflections thereof, are in many of them. But there are many more that are not. It may be that you are meant to carry the word to these places." Another pause. "Or perhaps not. It is a great burden to carry, and you may decide to lay down that burden in Xanadu. If you have the strength to carry the faith within these many lands of the infidel, I know you will be worthy of the Merciful One's rewards. And if you are not, who am I to judge you? It is a peace you will make between you and God. In this place, I will not interfere. It is a property of this land to draw the intelligent, the artistic, the motivated to itself. It is a clean, fresh place, ready to build upon. I can tell you, if you do decide to go native, there are ancient enemies that are ready to undo all the good works you might make. Be prepared to defend it before you build upon it."
"Nothing worth having is not also worth fighting for. I feel I do not know my own strength, nor my own weakness. The field is so much bigger than I can comprehend. What is a billion, in terms we can feel? It's like finding which grain of sand in the deep desert has your name engraved upon it. What are the billion billions required to put me in the world with you?
"I used to think that was 'purpose', but now I am not sure. Is there such a thing as purpose? How can I have one and the million billion other people of a billion other worlds not?"
He picks up a stone and throws it into the river, where it sinks. "That is what my troubling thoughts are like, Master."
So be it.
"Oh, I believe in purpose." Edan is silent for a long while after that, as he brings the power of Pattern before him and holds it in his mind like (in his case) a white, burning star. It amazes and humbles him how close the memory of that trial in Tir-na Nog'th remains: the terror, the herculean effort, the conflagration that was his body, the final triumph only to fall, totally exhausted, towards the sea. That trial awoke the power within him, and he brings that power of the Pattern to him fully before he speaks.
"A man is only responsible for his own life, or what he can ken," he says. "Your perspective is off. You are not the searcher; you are the grain of sand. You are here because I required you to be. I needed you, and I sifted through those billions of grains to bring you here, because I thought- I knew- you would be up to the task."
Edan waits a moment before he continues, to let it sink in how little of a choice his lieutenant had, to see how Slim reacts to the power of the Pattern around him. "I could have found another Slim, another grain of sand that just did whatever I said and came along. But I left you all free will; I prefer it to be that way. If you want to leave, that is how it will be. But I would ask that you learn what I have to teach you, first. When you do, you will make a much more informed decision. Perhaps your heart will join your head when you do."
Then he waits, pretty confident he knows what the next question will be.
"I shall try, my Sultan. What you say, that 'I am here because you required me to be', I do not quite understand. Are you telling me you are my creator, the Merciful One?"
"I am not the Merciful One," Edan is quick to say. "Let me explain it this way. You were looking for a return to the old days, the old ways. I was looking for something similar, riders of old who would be willing to ride with me again. You were looking for me. I was looking for you. I had the power to make that meeting happen."
Slim seems somewhat reassured, but he's not sure the differences matter practically. "I am still having trouble understanding, my Sultan. As a desert nomad has trouble understanding the ways of the court, or perhaps as a horse has trouble reading roadsigns. I feel I have been swept up into something far beyond my comprehension.
"I am, like a stallion, uneasy when unsure how to read safety or danger. Is it a thing we mortals can know? Who can we rely on to determine correct behavior, when everything is different?"
"I can answer questions," Edan says. "And Michelle, as she once served my sister and now serves me as seneschal, she would be an expert on how to act here. As for religion," he frowns. "I may have made an error. Perhaps it would have been wise to bring an imam with us. As things stand now, we would have to wait until I am close to our homeland again."
"You cannot do wrong, my Sultan. For if you were wrong, then we would be divided between those who believe you cannot be wrong and those who would listen to an imam over their Sultan. Divided we are nothing, and would be easy prey to your enemies. So do not speak of it. It is too terrible to contemplate.
"You are the Captain of this ship, and even if you are wrong, you need to be officially right."
"Well said." Edan smiles. "Though I do believe I've brought you to help be my conscience. If you feel something needs to be said to me, I want you to go ahead and say it."
Slim walks on, looking at the pastureland ahead of them and the creek that runs through it. "Our greatest challenge so far has been crossing a river, the greatest on our horizon is dancing impressively. My personal issue to wrestle with is overthinking things. I will keep your instruction in mind, my Sultan, for when more has happened."
"There is one more thing," Edan says. "Something of which I must make you aware. I listened to the riders, coming here. Things have changed at home since I left." He gives Slim a sideways glance. "When I am in a place, things do not change all that quickly. But when I leave, it does. Just as an example: perhaps you remember that I am part afrit, and so were my mother and siblings. Like the other creatures of the elements, the djinn, the dao, the marid, they came from a place close to our home. Then the hamaaj came, and though they were similar to the afrit, they were creatures of the black storm. You remember it, neh? They came from a place called the Courts of Chaos, not the City of Brass. Yet after I left, people equated the hamaaj with the afriti. It is not so. I wonder how many other things have changed, will change, while we are gone."
Slim nods. "You are a rock, my Sultan, and the river flows on when undammed. I am sure you will be displeased to hear that the more advanced thinkers in the North think that the Afriti were metaphorical, standing in for forces too powerful for men to control, and the Hamaaj are an aspect of the same, when the forces wear a destructive guise.
"This is not what... most people think, but fewer know it is untrue every day."
And Slim was right. Edan doesn't look happy. "We will just have to tackle that when we get to it. I don't really feel like adding 'metaphor' to my titles." He forces a smile. "I will prepare, then, and see you tomorrow."
"My Sultan," he says, bowing.
Last modified: 16 March 2016