The Girl with No Name Ch. 27

"Do you think you could provide her with that transition?"

"I could. I'd spend the winter helping her prepare the notes you're planning to give her, so when she goes to the university those reports would already be prepared for publishing. She'd know the material, so that it would be hers as much as yours. I can do that for you... for both of you. Then, next summer she'll go to Sebérnekt Ris, and I will be proud to send her off with my recommendation and my blessing."

Danka separated the papers that she'd leave behind, the packages that would provide Isauria with the work she'd need to attend the university and enter Danubian society as an educated adult. She also took Isauria's slavery and emancipation certificates to hand over to the Priestess. She wanted to make sure the Danubian Church had, in its possession, proof Isauria was not a slave and hadn't been for a couple of years. Danka re-packed her bucket with her medicines, recipes, her two collaring certificates, her supply of salt, the brush and thread to keep her teeth clean, and the silver coin given to her by Tuko Orsktackt. There were other coins, but she'd leave those behind so Isauria could buy herself a nice dress before going to the university.

Isauria was not happy when she found out about Danka's plans to leave her behind. It took a full day for both Danka and the Priestess to reason with her, explaining that if she wanted to attend the university, she had to spend the next year getting ready and only the Priestess could help her prepare. Also, now that Isauria was about to become a ward of the Church, she would be much less likely to ever be re-enslaved, in spite of her dark hair and foreign appearance. The Priestess explained the need for Isauria to spend several months converting Danka's writings into real reports and that only through correctly-written works could either Danka or Isauria complete their obligations to "bear witness" to all the events they had witnessed over the past several years. When Isauria's determination to leave with Danka finally started to weaken, Danka took her to the Church garden.

"There is something else you need to know about me. I carry with me the Destroyer's curse. Everyone I've ever loved, even remotely, has had their soul separated from their body, and I had to bear witness to that separation. There is only one person I loved who ever escaped, and that is because she was lucky enough to be separated from me before my curse caught up with her. You have no idea how much it meant to me that she survived, that one person I loved, when all the others died. It was always my fear that you'd fall victim to my curse as well. Had that happened, I would have hated myself even more than I do now. Isauria, you have the chance to get away from me before it's too late. It would mean a lot to me to see that happen, to leave you behind and know that you will prosper and lead a Path in Life that serves the Creator, that you won't fall victim to whatever the Destroyer has planned for my future. If you love me as much as you say you do, if you care for me as much as I care for you, you won't put me through having to witness your soul separate from your body."

Danka put her head in her hands. Leaving Isauria turned out to be harder than she realized. The girl was both a daughter and a younger sister to her, but like all children, the time was coming when she'd have to pursue her own Path in Life. The Priestess would train and mentor her, just as she had mentored Danka eight years before, and then she'd be ready to travel to Sebérnekt Ris and hopefully be more successful as a student than Danka had been. Isauria was crying, but finally she agreed to stay behind and accept the life offered to her by the Priestess. She changed her merchant's outfit for a Church apprentice robe and knelt before her new mentor, accepting that her Path in Life had changed and that she was now officially under the jurisdiction of the local Old Believers' parish.

Besides transcribing Danka's notes and turning them into reports, Isauria was left with another task. Danka wrote two letters to the sisters-in-law she never met: informing them about her marriage to Ilmátarkt, the final months of his life, and the circumstances under which his soul separated from his body. Danka couldn't go into Starívktaki Móskt to deliver them in person, but Isauria, escorted by the Priestess, would deliver them the following week.

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As soon as she was convinced Isauria would not change her mind and try to follow her, Danka lost no time getting out of Gordnáckt Suyástenckt. She donated the mule to the Church and went out on foot as a penitent, wearing nothing but the same collar and same boots she had set out wearing when her journey began in 1750. She could have bought new boots, but instead chose to wear the ones her father had given her nearly a decade before. They had been repaired so many times that almost none of the leather was original They looked hideous with all the patches, and yet Danka had kept them, not understanding herself why.

For the moment she wanted to rid herself of all the trappings from the previous eight years. She would carry no weapons, no clothing, and no money. She would start over, place her faith in the Creator, rely on the charity of the parishes along her way, and return to the capitol as a penitent. She still had her recipes, medicines, and supply of blue powder, but anything that couldn't fit in her bucket would not accompany her on the trip.

She walked naked along country roads in the heat of July, trying to avoid passing through towns where people would be likely to recognize her from her service with the Followers of the Ancients. Whenever possible she slept in isolated chapels or the houses of clergy members. She stayed a single night and moved on as soon as she had breakfast the following day. Along the way she stopped to take snacks from farms, but was careful to adhere to the protocol of taking only one piece of food from any place she stopped. Still, she traveled well-fed, eating breakfast and dinner with whoever hosted her for the night and munching on fruit and raw vegetables throughout the day as she walked.

In spite of choosing a route to minimize the chances of running into someone who'd remember her from her days with the Followers of the Ancients, she did pass through plenty of villages she had visited with Ermin, Káloyankt, or other companions from the Cult. She even saw people she had vaccinated but, because she was not wearing her Followers' dress, no one recognized her. To the locals she was just a wandering penitent, worth looking at because she was attractive, but otherwise not noteworthy.

As Danka traveled westward, she was able to clear her mind of a lot of the memories that had burdened her up to that point. During the trip she used her new identity Vesna Rogúskt and tried to remember not to refer to herself as Danka. She had no past and was nothing more than a uncovered traveler moving with the protection of the Church. She was not Follower Danka, nor Jadranka the student, nor Silvítya the concubine, nor Defender Danka the wife of Doctor Ilmátarkt. She had no responsibilities apart from trying to find out what happened to her former squad leader Oana. Perhaps Oana didn't even survive the evacuation from Aksheriri Ris and if that were true, then she didn't have any other concerns or responsibilities. But, if she didn't have any responsibilities, then her life really had no purpose. She pushed that thought aside. Better to enjoy the moment while it lasted, because she was sure that responsibility and duty would crowd into her life soon enough.

After spending July walking at a leisurely pace across the entire western valley, Danka finally arrived in the capitol on August 2. The area outside the walls had changed dramatically over the past four years. Instead of military encampments and rows of squalid refugee tents, the zone immediately outside the walls was covered with new, nicely-built houses and shops, which had been built from the huge piles of lumber, stone, and bricks that were stockpiled in anticipation of expanding the city wall. The buildings were much roomier than the cramped wooden structures of the old capital because there was plenty of space for the builders to spread out. Many of the newer structures had gardens or courtyards, and all of them had tile roofs because thatch was prohibited as a fire hazard. Danka realized that the capitol's inhabitants must have learned their lesson about fire, because the new houses were built from much less wood and flammable materials than the older structures that burned in 1755. Most of the old wall and its watchtowers were still standing, but they were barely visible behind all those new buildings.

Danka made her way towards an opening in the wall. An entire section between two watchtowers on the eastern side was missing, leaving a gap that was four blocks wide. She freely walked through and was greeted by a truly bizarre sight. The entire city was a huge construction zone, with the ground covered by the foundations of stately ministry buildings that were part of the Grand Duke's plans for a renovated capitol. The narrow winding streets of the old city were gone, replaced by straight boulevards. From her location Danka could see all the way to the opposite side of the old walled area, because in most places only the new buildings' foundations were in place. To the southwest she could see the hill containing the Grand Duke's castle and the military buildings at its base. To the northwest the Great Temple and a couple of ancient stone buildings loomed in the distance. A few older stone buildings, most notably the Christian cathedral and another Roman Christian church, remained standing. Straight ahead there was an old fortress-like garrison standing next to the cathedral that had survived the fire, which would become the future headquarters of a national police force.

Danka looked around at the wall. To the south the Merchants Gate, through which she and Alexándrekt Buláshckt had escaped during the Great Fire, was still intact, although its wooden doors had never been replaced. To the north there were two other large gaps between watchtowers, openings through which new streets could pass. Danka noticed the cannons had been taken down and the towers were mostly unoccupied. It was clear the Grand Duke had completely dismissed the Old City Wall as being a useful part of Danúbikt Móskt's defenses, although he left the majority of it in place to demarcate the new government district.

It was much easier to move about Danúbikt Móskt than it had been three years earlier, in spite of all the construction. Danka's goal was the Great Temple of the Ancients, so she simply walked along a wide boulevard until she arrived at the western side of the city, then turned north and followed another wide street for two blocks until reaching her destination. The area near the Temple was much more "normal" than the rest of the capitol, because the old stone buildings around the Plaza of the Ancients remained standing and the rebuilding of some adjacent blocks to the north had proceeded faster than elsewhere. Near the Temple there were businesses offering services and food to its visitors.

Danka approached the Plaza of the Ancients and for the second time in her life looked at the front of the Great Temple. At least that hadn't changed. Five years had gone by since she stood in that spot, wearing the same penance collar and boots, and carrying the same bucket. However, during her second visit she had no illusions about the Danubian Church nor any desire to seek greatness for herself. Her purpose was very straightforward: to see if she could find out what happened to her fellow militia members and whether or not Defender Oana had survived the battle.

The crowd in the Plaza suddenly fell silent and was stepping to the sides of the plaza. She heard a series of very loud whistles and then the shout:

"Doc-doc Danube!"

The crowd roared its response and snapped to attention. Fortunately, Danka was paying attention and managed to slip behind some standing spectators and avoid drawing attention to herself. She knelt upright, her heart pounding. The Grand Duke was passing through the plaza. Four foot-soldiers preceded the nation's ruler, loudly whistling to announce their presence. The Grand Duke followed, along with four Royal Guards and two of his ministers, on horseback. The Royal entourage rode past the crowd, placing their fists against their chests to return the public's salute. Danka was scared out of her wits, wondering if bad fortune had followed her and the ruler would somehow notice her. She had enough time to imagine the Royal Guards returning her to the castle in chains to face the hard judgment of an imperious man who undoubtedly would think she betrayed him by escaping. Still, she couldn't resist the urge to peek through a gap of the people standing in front of her and catch a fleeting glimpse of her former Master. He seemed not to have changed at all, as he scanned the crowd for attractive young women. He was unaware that just three fathoms from his entourage his favorite former concubine was kneeling and shaking badly.

The crowd dissipated and resumed walking as soon as the Sovereign left the plaza. The Grand Duke and his men turned south before turning east to move along the same partially constructed boulevard through which Danka had entered. When she realized where they were going, she was sickened by that narrow miss. Had the Royal entourage passed that way while she was coming in, her naked body would have been visible from a distance and there was no way she would have been able to hide. Protocol dictated she would have had to kneel immediately and remain stationary until the Sovereign came up to her... and recognized her.

Danka knew her dead husband would have told her it was lack of caution and bad luck that made her fall into the hands of the Grand Duke in 1753, and that five years later she avoided falling into his hands because she moved out of the way in time and her luck was better. Danka's religious mind would never accept such a casual dismissal of the deities and their impact on her life. In 1753 the Ancients chose to punish her for her hubris, but in 1758 she interpreted her narrow escape as a sign she needed to proceed with her plan to enter the Temple and find out the fates of the surviving militia members. She also was curious to see the inside of the Temple building. Previously she only had a fleeting glimpse of the entrance while she struggled to remove and hide her fake Church penance collar, but this time there was no impatient Royal Guard waiting for her outside. Apart from having to remember to properly kneel whenever she was near a Clergy member, she could examine the Great Temple at her leisure. Meanwhile, she worked up the courage to select an approachable-looking Cleric and ask how she could find out what happened to the Defenders' militia.

It turned out, she didn't even need a Priest or Priestess to answer her question. She went all the way to the back of the Temple and explored an ancient stone platform that contained a row of deep fire pits. Several naked penitents were cleaning out the ashes and stockpiling cave-charcoal for the next round of religious ceremonies. Danka recognized one of the men as a fellow militia member from the Defenders. He was older than most of his companions and had a resigned expression on his face. She hadn't known him well because he was with a squad of musketeers, but she remembered his name as Marksman Tanélickt. When she approached him and he recognized her, his expression changed from resignation to shock.

Tanélickt excused himself from his fellow penitents. He motioned Danka to kneel and wait for him so he could request permission from a Priest to take a break from his duties. When he returned, he had two charcoal circles drawn on his left shoulder to indicate he had requested and been granted consent to leave the main building. He motioned with his fingertips for Danka to stand up and follow him.

The former Defenders exited the back of the Temple and made their way to the forested shore of the East Danube River. They looked across the wide stretch of water and the distant steep cliffs on the other side. It was a very peaceful setting on a lazy hot August afternoon that gave the two survivors the opportunity to collect their thoughts. Finally Danka broke the silence and asked what happened during the evacuation from Aksheriri Ris. Before he responded, she added:

"As you can guess, I missed it. I missed the evacuation. I'll explain why in a few minutes."

Tanélickt spent the next hour giving Danka a detailed description of the evacuation and how he and his surviving companions managed to escape from the Kingdom of the Moon. In doing so gave his visitor more insight into the personalities of both the Grand Duke and Commander Sáupeckt. Although the Grand Duke provided material support to the Defenders, it turned out from the beginning he was very skeptical of the militia's chances of being able to capture and hold onto Sumy Ris. Suspecting the Defenders' operation was likely to end in disaster, he organized a column of Royal Guards who had trained to fight in open terrain, stationed them at the fort in Iyóshnyakt-Krepóckt, and waited to see what happened to the south. When he received the message that the Defenders had conquered Aksheriri Ris and were "waiting to assist the Royal Army in the glorious re-claiming of Sumy Ris for the Duchy", the Grand Duke fully understood the Defenders they were not ready to re-claim anything: they were cornered and needed to be rescued. The Sovereign personally led 4000 Danubian Royal Guards to extract the Defenders. He was correct about the need for a rescue, but the militia's condition was much more dire than he had anticipated. His scouts observed enough to give him a summary of the situation: the Defenders were mostly fighting against the Red Moon faction among the houses, while the Blue Moon faction occupied the area outside and was mostly fighting the Red Moon faction at the east gate to get in.

As his army approached Aksheriri Ris, the Grand Duke sent a messenger to the commander of the Blue Moon Army asking for a temporary truce, pointing out the Danubians' desire to extract their fighters and the Blue Moon Army's desire to seize control of the town were compatible. A truce would allow both the Danubian Royal Army and the Blue Moon Army to concentrate their efforts against the Lord of the Red Moon's men. The Blue Moon commander responded that he would agree to a truce as long as the Danubian Royal Army stayed to the north and did not send anyone into the city. The Blue Moon troops would concentrate their fighting on the east gate and not interfere with any Danubian militia fighters trying to get out through the north gate.

When the Royal Army secured the area between the north gate and the outer wall of the demolished Ottoman garrison, the surviving Defenders had about 40 minutes to flee through the two escape routes, while having to withdraw under fire. During those 40 minutes, 534 Defenders managed to escape and bring out the bodies of 97 fallen companions. The Lord of the Red Moon's Army tried as much as possible to prevent the break-out, but they were occupied with the advancing Blue Moon units and thus unable to stop any Danubian who made it past the open marketplace square. The Danubian Royal Army provided cover fire for the Defenders as they scrambled down the hill, but took shots themselves and lost a total of 43 men. The Grand Duke later pulled his Guards out of range of the city's cannons to re-group and to give a few extra minutes to any remaining militia members who might have missed the main break-out. Thirteen stragglers managed to join the Royal Army before it started moving northward. Tanélickt was one of those lucky stragglers, and he claimed that he owed his life to the militia's commander.