The Chronicles of Hvad Ch. 07

Well before dawn, we had finished stacking the bodies. On our side, Priit and Shant were dead, and three other fighters with them - one a woman. Four more were wounded, none of them seriously.

It was a complete, staggering triumph. I hadn't yet figured out all of the implications. Manahir's power was broken - perhaps for good, if Borna could exploit his victory. He was busy doing exactly that.

- "Nanaidh. Dirayr. I want all of their weapons packed onto the spare horses." he ordered. "Hravar: Search every one of the prisoners - even the wounded. Lovro: Find me a leader among them. Ljudevit: Have you counted?"

- "Twenty-two dead, including Maigon. His brother Gojsla was among them. That's all three of Manahir's grandsons. Thirty or so wounded. Fifty-five prisoners, all told." I reported.

- "Is that all of them?" he asked.

Shit. I hadn't thought of that. "I'll count the horses." I said.

The result of my count was not to my liking.

"Eighty-five." I told Borna. "A few look like packhorses, but I can't be sure."

- "So some of them escaped. On foot." he said. "Doesn't matter, for now. Get our people ready to move. We're taking all of the horses."

- "We're leaving?" I asked.

- "I want to be at Manahir's steading before he has a chance to learn what happened here." said Borna. "We can end this - once and for all."

Lovro found a disconsolate young man named Modri. He had long, braided hair, and a cleft chin. Modri was Gojsla's Hand, but his Lord had been killed. He was probably blaming himself - as I would have done, in his place.

- "Modri," said Borna, "this feud between Manahir's family and mine must end. I have no wish to kill prisoners. If I ask you for your word - that you will not fight against me again - would you give it?"

Modri could not meet his eyes. "Lord ... I cannot. I am sworn to Manahir."

- "I know that." said Borna. "But if he was dead ... and his son Aham with him ... would you still fight against me?"

This time, Modri looked up.

- "They still live, Lord."

- "Modri, I intend to ride at dawn. I will take every single horse with me. My people and I are going to Manahir's steading, and we are going to kill the old man and his son."

"They arranged the deaths of my father and my brother - you know this. I've sworn vengeance, and I will have it. What I'm asking is this: will you continue to fight me once they're dead? Must we be enemies forever?"

I loved Borna like the brother I never had. He was my Lord, and my friend. But I had never seen him like this - so commanding, so ... Lordly. Modri obviously felt it, too. Still, he shook his head.

- "I am sworn to Manahir, Lord."

Borna reached out, and put his hand on Modri's shoulder. "What if I asked you for an oath not to fight against me for seven days?"

The former Hand thought it over, his brows knitted.

- "I could do that, Lord."

- "Thank you, Modri." said Borna. "Then I will offer every one of your companions the same bargain. With one condition."

"If they've already given their parole once, I won't accept it a second time."

- "That's fair, Lord." said Modri.

- "Then I will leave you tools. Will you see to burying our dead, Modri? Both sides?"

- "I can do that."

- "Afterwards, I suggest that you walk north. You will come to our steading before the day is out. They will feed you. In a week's time, I will be back to release you from your oath - if not before."

Modri agreed. When he had gone, Borna turned to Lovro and me.

"Do you think he'll keep his word?"

- "Did you see his face?" asked Lovro. "He will."

- "He's a Hand." I said.

- "Of course he will." said Imants, the guslar. I hadn't even noticed that he was with us.

- "Ljudevit." said Borna. "Find me two captains. We'll take them with us."

- "Captains? You don't want them causing trouble once we've gone?"

- "That too. But I want them with us, so that Manahir and Aham will believe me when I tell them that Maigon is dead. I want them to surrender, rather than fight." he said.

Borna asked every single one of the prisoners for an oath. It took time - especially when we found four of them who had been captured before. One was Juris. On the 'Polite' horse raid - when we first encountered red-headed Aare - we had caught Juris for the second time. Though he had already sworn an oath not to take up arms against Borna again, Juris argued that guarding horses for his Ban did not constitute 'fighting'.

We let him go, then. But not this time. We hanged all four oath breakers.

And just after dawn, we were ready to go.

It took us almost two full days to reach Manahir's steading. We were herding all of the captured horses, for one thing; and for another, we had not slept the night before. But if any of Maigon's men had escaped capture, they could not possibly have made the journey on foot without us overtaking them.

I had never seen the place before. Borna had been twice, as a child, with his father.

- "It's big." he said. "Twice the size of our steading. And wealthy. The lands around are more fertile, and the pastures are more lush. You'll see."

- "Will we be able to take it?" asked Lovro. "What if they fight?"

- "You'll see, LongArm." replied Borna.

Imants just chuckled. "Lovro LongArm." he said. "I like it. You have the mind of a poet, Lord Borna."

The guslar had already seen Manahir's steading, too, but he wouldn't tell us anything about it, either. "You'll see." he said.

I got the joke when we finally saw the place. It was huge. It's one thing to hear a steading described as 'twice the size' of your own. It's another thing to see it for yourself.

Manahir would have needed every one of his hundred men to defend the wall. Even then, I think that a determined opponent would have had little trouble getting in. There were two entrances, and both gates were open. The palisade wall was not particularly high. Even at a distance, I could see three or four spots where a grown man could effect an entry. In one place, I could probably have ridden through on horseback.

Borna chose boldness. We rode straight into Manahir's steading, through the wide-open gate. There were only fifty of us prepared to fight, but with almost 150 horses, we must have seemed like an irresistible force.

The guards at the gate melted away. People watched us from doorways, and windows, as we filled the main street. They seemed awed, or curious, rather than hostile.

We halted before reaching Manahir's great hall. Borna dismounted. Then he turned, and called a score of names - including mine, of course. Lovro, Dirayr, Hravar, and Nanaidh were called first. Borna chose a few of the younger men as well, including Aare.

With our two prisoners, we advanced towards the great hall on foot.

There were perhaps a dozen warriors gathered before the doors, which were closed behind them. But these men did not seem very resolute. Borna halted us, and then stepped another two paces ahead.

- "Who leads here?" he called.

No one answered, for a moment. Then a black-bearded warrior spoke up.

- "I suppose I do." he said.

- "Do you know who I am?"

- "Yes, Lord."

- "Maigon is defeated, and dead. So is his brother. All but five of their men were killed, or captured." said Borna. Black-beard could see two men he knew, standing next to me. Both were nodding as Borna spoke, confirming that what he said was true.

"We spared the prisoners." Borna continued. "They swore an oath not to fight against me. My vengeance is not directed against men who serve their lords honourably."

He paused, then, and made eye contact with the men confronting him.

"Now I have captured this steading."

This was the black-bearded warrior's moment, if he wanted to contest our occupation, or deny what he had just heard. Again, though, no one spoke.

"My quarrel is not with you. Where are Manahir and Aham?"

- "Inside, Lord. But they have barred the door."

Borna waved his arm.

I swear - that's all he did. Imants was there, too, and he saw the same thing. Borna gestured with his arm, and Manahir's warriors stepped aside.

- "Will you swear not to fight against me?"

Within a few moments, Borna had their oaths - and their weapons.

We produced some axes. Lovro and Hravar began to chop at the doors of the great hall. It was solidly built, but it had been constructed to impress viewers - not for defence. When Hravar tired, Dirayr took his place. Finally, they hacked one of the doors to splinters.

Nanaidh and I went first.

I wasn't prepared for what we found. A dozen servants were cowering at the back of the hall. They were terrified. It took some time before they could explain to us what had happened.

Everyone else was dead.

Manahir sat, slumped over, in his great chair. He was a distinguished old gentleman, with half a head of silvery-white hair, and a scraggly beard. He looked almost peaceful, as if he was sleeping. His wrists had been slashed, so that he bled to death. There was a pool of blood beneath and around him, but it wasn't all his.

His son Aham, and his son's wife, sat in chairs beside him. Their throats had been cut.

The Ban's Hand, and his son's, had killed their masters, at Manahir's order. Then they had taken their own lives.

But before that last step, in one final act of spite, they had slit the throats of Borna's sisters.

***

People clung together, that night. Perhaps it was the release of emotions, because we had finally won. After all of the deaths, all of the hardships we had endured, and the moments when everything had seemed hopeless ... it was the sweetness of victory, and we could feel it.

Yet we were in our former enemy's steading, surrounded by people for whom our triumph could only seem like a defeat. In time, I hoped, they would come to respect Borna, and to appreciate what he had to offer them. For now, though, they waited, and watched. They certainly weren't about to join us in celebration.

And the horrible deaths of Borna's sisters, of two innocent little girls, overshadowed all.

So we did not celebrate with heavy drinking, or with dancing. We did not congregate in the great hall - not after what had happened there. Instead we made a bonfire outside it. The guslar was invited to play, but declined.

- "There will be time for that. But not tonight." he said.

There were some surprising pairings, that night. Lovro was so damn big, with those long arms and legs, that when he stood up and left the fire, everyone noticed. Especially when Nanaidh left with him. Those two made a lot of noise.

Dirayr found solace with Siret, and I was glad for both of them. She was far too pretty for him, and of course I would tell him so in the morning.

Hravar sat quietly, staring into the fire. No doubt he was thinking of his wife, who was back at our steading with his son.

I am no voyeur, no delver into other people's secrets. But Borna's back was mine to watch, so I followed when he slipped away from the fire with Tsoline, Kawehka's sister. I was his advisor, but not the keeper of his conscience. Kanni was not here, and she was not his wife, in any case.

Where Kanni was kind, and gentle, Tsoline was hard, and a killer. She was attractive - just very different from Kanni. Perhaps that was what appealed to Borna.

So I stood watch while they coupled. It wasn't the first time I had done this for Borna, and I doubted that it would be the last, either.

Aare saw me standing alone, and came over to join me. That attracted Imants' attention, so he strode across and made it a trio.

- "Not quite the victory celebration I was expecting." I said.

- "Because of Borna's sisters?" asked the guslar, softly.

- "I barely knew them." I said. "The age difference between them and us - Borna and me - was too great. But he always described them as 'sweet'. They were just ... little girls."

"I don't understand how Manahir could do that."

- "Some people care only about themselves. Nothing else matters." said Imants. He was staring off into the distance, evidently thinking of another place, or another time. "The suffering of others barely touches them, if at all."

"Others care only about one other person - a lover, their mother ... or a child. Or they hold affection only for an animal. A dog, or a horse."

- "Horses are nicer than people." said Aare. I grunted in agreement.

- "It was vile, what Manahir did." continued the guslar. "Petty, vindictive ... and utterly reprehensible. In the moment of his final defeat, that he chose to strike back at Borna in such a way ...."

- "Treachery, murder and rape. That's how they started." I said. "Isn't this just a natural progression?"

Imants turned to look at me. "Murder and rape are evil things. But the killing of children ... I don't know, now, how to compose a song about Borna's victory."

- "You can't leave it out." I said.

- "No." he agreed. "But my stomach turns every time I think of it."

- "It'll come to you." said Aare.

I left the two of them there. Both Imants and Aare were quick enough to understand that I wanted a moment alone.

We'd won. Borna had won.

It had cost the lives of our entire families - both his and mine - but he had his vengeance. The thing was done.

***

"What now?" asked Borna.

- "You have to become Ban." said Dirayr.

- "Don't be an ass." said Lovro.

- "Who are you calling an ass?" replied Dirayr, as he began to rise to his feet.

I pulled him back down. "Relax. He means Borna."

- "What I mean to say," laughed Borna, "is how do I go about becoming Ban?"

- "Call for a vote, obviously." said Hravar. "But here?"

- "It has to be here." said Nanaidh. "Our steading isn't big enough."

- "Sooner, or later?" That was Aare.

- "You need time to win over Manahir's warriors." suggested Dirayr. "Men like Modri, and that black-bearded fellow."

- "Don't want it to look rushed." added Lovro.

We discussed it for an hour. In the end, we decided on the last days of summer, over a month and a half away. People would still have time to get home before the harvest. No one could complain that they had not been given enough warning.

After that Borna assigned tasks. Hravar and Dirayr would travel to Asrava's steading, to spread the word, and speak to independent and uncommitted warriors - though there were fewer of those than ever before.

Lovro would remain here, with Aare to advise him. We discussed what to do with Manahir's steading, and his great hall in particular. No one would blame Borna if he did not want to occupy the building where his sisters had been murdered. But our steading was where his mother had been raped, and too many of our friends killed.

- "There's no great hall at Asrava's steading." said Hravar. We had burnt it all down.

- "Borna needs a great hall." said Nanaidh.

- "I don't want anything ... ostentatious." he said.

- "Osten-what?" asked Lovro.

- "Fancy." said Dirayr.

- "No." said Hravar. "Showy. Pretentious."

- "Either way," said Borna, "if I build a hall, it's just a target that enemies can destroy."

- "Which enemies?" asked Nanaidh. "They're all dead."

We argued for an hour. I had told Borna that inviting twenty people to a council would make it last four times as long, but he was adamant.

- "They fought for me, Ljudevit. They shed blood for me. They deserve to be heard."

- "How big will your council be once you're Ban?" I asked.

- "One thing at a time." he said.

***

Borna did everything right. He asked the people of Manahir's steading for food, but paid for it in good coin. He released Modri and every prisoner we'd taken at Ovlivada from their parole, and then returned their horses to them.

Given more time, I do believe that he would have won their support.

Some things just aren't meant to be, though.

Two days before the election was to be held, hundreds of people had begun to arrive at Manahir's steading. Warriors come to vote, traders and tinkers to sell their wares, farmers with produce, and herders with livestock. Many came out of sheer curiosity: the election of a Ban was a once in a lifetime event. Given Manahir's advanced age, there weren't many people left who had seen the last election.

There was no room for everyone inside the steading. Tents sprang up outside the walls, as well as temporary shelters of every kind. There were wagons and carts, two brewers, and at least a dozen people peddling moonshine - plum and apricot brandies, for the most part.

It had all the atmosphere of a fair, of a carnival. Lovro was in charge of keeping order outside the walls, and he had most of the young warriors, both male and female, to assist him. It was no easy task, though - he had his hands full.

Dirayr was busy with the horses, Hravar was looking after the food supply, while others were building a platform outside the steading.

As always, I followed Borna everywhere he went. So I was with him when we heard the cry go up from the south gate. "Horsemen!" The voice was young Aare's. He and two other men were on guard there.

- "Horsemen!" he cried again. There was an edge of panic in his voice. That was enough for Borna. We mounted up and went to investigate at once. It only took a few moments to get there. Lovro had also heard the shout, and came to investigate.

- "What is it?"

Aare pointed. "Over there!"

We all saw it. Horsemen. Not a dozen, or a score, but over a hundred. Closer to two hundred, perhaps.

- "Who the fuck is that?" swore Lovro.

- "They're not ours." said Borna. "Who has so many men? Yelsa?" he asked, naming the province to the south of us.

- "Yelsa and Adarion." said Imants. The guslar had traveled through both provinces, and knew more about them any of us.

- "Both?"

Just then Durra came galloping down from the great hall.

- "Horsemen!" she shouted. "Coming towards the north gate!"

There were cries of dismay and disbelief.

- "How many?" shouted Borna.

- "A hundred!" replied Durra. "Maybe more!"

- "Fuck." said Lovro.

We had perhaps fifty or sixty fighters here that Borna could rely on. There were many more who had been Manahir's men, or Asrava's - but would they stand with us?

There was no way to close the gates, and defend the steading. Too many people were outside it. If these riders wanted it, there could be a massacre. I could see it in his face, though - Borna was trying to think of a way to fight.

I grabbed his arm.

- "They're after you, Borna!" I said.

- "I can't run, Ljudevit. Not on the eve of the election."

- "There won't be an election, if you're dead." I insisted.

- "He's right, Borna." said Durra, coming to my aid. "You have to get out of here."

- "If they catch you, it's all over." added Lovro. "We have to go - now!"

It was hard for Borna - for all of us - to run. But there was no other option. We went through the wall, where there was a gap big enough for a horse.

Many of the traders and merchants had set up just there, to attract customers inside the steading, as well as outside. Their stalls, and their wagons and carts concealed us until we were well clear of the wall.

Then we galloped.

The horsemen to the north saw us, but it took some time before a large group detached itself from the main body, and came after us. They had no way of knowing for sure that Borna was with us - though they may have suspected it. In any case, they had been riding for a good part of the day, while our mounts were fresh.

We outdistanced them easily.

When we had crested a couple of ridges, and could no longer see them behind us, Borna slowed to a walk.

There were ten of us: Borna and I, Lovro, Hravar and Durra, Tsoline, Aare, Imants the guslar, and two youngsters.

- "There's no rallying point around here." I said. Any of our friends who escaped wouldn't know where to find us.