The Emperor and the Temple Ch. 21

The Emperor had much to think about as his army surrounded the City of The Goddess on that day - the ninth day of the owl in the fifteenth year of the Republic, as the Chronicle of The Temple records it. His march from the south had been rapid, encountering little resistance until the final few leagues, where enemy archers lined the road on both sides, striking from behind cover and escaping along planned routes into the ever-thickening forest. Three score men of the Lions and Hawks were lost in this way and were buried by the roadside as the column marched on. And then one daybreak, just south of a place named Besan, as the army was preparing to break camp, a distant but mighty rumble shook the peaceful morning air. Later, as the column continued its northward march, the source of the explosion was discovered. Enemies, retreating before them, had destroyed the bridge across a great gorge, and they had done so using black powder! Rumours of such advances within the City had already reached the Emperor's ears, but now there could be no doubt, and his mood became ever darker.

The bulk of the army was able to cross the gorge, little hampered by the loss of the bridge. But it soon became clear that the whale cannon - large artillery pieces intended to destroy city walls - must find another route. The Emperor sent them west to seek a crossing, with the Lion Legion as their escort. And then, with daughter Kailyn at his side, he marched his army to the City.

"A magnificent sight!" said the great general Hashmin to the Emperor as they finally viewed the City from the southern plain. "I am surprised such barbarians could have built it!"

"It is ancient, Hashmin," replied the Emperor. "The men that built this place are long departed from this world."

His daughter had joined the Eagles on the army's west wing and now he watched as they chased a straggling group of enemy horsemen to the City's gates.

"Perhaps those are the men who destroyed the bridge," said Hashmin.

"No. These warriors came from the north," replied the Emperor. "No matter. But Kailyn, what does she do there? She rides alone to the gate to make the challenge!"

"She is brave, like her father. But she puts herself at risk, Emperor,"

"I shall have words," he replied. "But she is much changed these past moons. Her lust for battle rivals even yours, Hashmin."

"It is not a surprise to me, Emperor. I know you well and, if you remember, I knew her mother."

Hashmin's words might, in normal times, have caused the Emperor to lose himself in thoughts of the past, but now he concentrated on the City before him, noting its thick walls and stout towers.

"How much food do we have, Hashmin?"

"Almost none."

"What of the hunting parties that we send to the forests?"

"Sometimes they return with nothing, sometimes they do not return. Some boats arrive from Karthig with meagre supplies. And now I am told that ships return all the way to Ephirum to fetch grain."

"Madness! They will be gone for months! An interesting reversal, is it not, Hashmin? How many cities have we starved into submission these past summers? And yet we now find ourselves hungry outside the walls of this one, while those inside must have so much food that it will likely rot. Curses on Osta! I hope Artur will make his road to death a long one!"

"The whale cannon will be here within days, Emperor."

"We shall not wait, Hashmin. The city's walls may be thick but they are not high. The Hawks will attack tomorrow at first light. Have them prepare!"

****

Much has been written of that first day of battle at the walls of the City of The Goddess. And while it is often said that history is told only by the victors, accounts provided by Priestess Shallie in the Chronicle of The Temple and by the great General Hashmin in his diaries of that era, are largely in agreement.

At dawn, the Hawks emerged from the treeline to the west of the City; the full legion of almost four thousand men, lightly armed but running quickly across the plain and carrying between them hundreds of long ladders crafted within the woods during the preceding night. Upon the walls of the City there appeared a line of defenders, but they were small in number, positioned perhaps only at intervals of ten paces. Each of them, observed through spy-glasses by Hashmin and the Emperor, held a tube of metal - perhaps bronze or brass - in his arms. The Hawks, believing the objects to be primitive hand cannon, and encouraged by the sparsity of defenders, shouted battle cries as they quickly reached the walls and began to scale them. It is doubtful any of the Emperor's men understood that out of sight, behind each defender on the wall, forty of his comrades manned pumps. And when jets of liquid doused the Hawks on the ladders - sticky, pungent, unfamiliar - few of them would have understood the danger, and most continued to climb, urging those ahead of them upwards. But when pilot lights were lit above them, it is known that many on the ladders certainly realised their peril, and some were seen to jump from great heights in their panic. But by now the turf below them was also becoming saturated by the liquid and, just as the first Hawks were close to the top of the City walls, a command was screamed out above and the legion of the Hawks was engulfed in Hell.

Reader, it is not my intention to dwell upon the details of what occurred before the walls that day, for the story that I tell is one of kings and priestesses and great adventures. But you should know that fully half of the Hawk legion was engulfed in the flames within seconds of the fires being started. And the remainder, those in the rear that had not yet reached the foot of a ladder, turned and fled when they realised that the nozzles held by their enemies were able to spread lines of flame at least fifty paces from the walls. And between those who were immediately engulfed and those who escaped, many stumbled or dragged themselves away from the walls, only to lie agonised and abandoned in the no-man's land between the City and the Emperor's army. A death by fire is no quick thing, and the screams of the Hawks still haunt those who were present that day. In the Temple the stench of the battle reached Shallie of The Library - the most gentle of Priestesses - and she screamed to the Goddess, cursing herself for ever having led the boy Fris to the books of the Ancients. Upon the walls, the men who had manned the pumps came to the battlements to see what they had wrought and at first there was a horrified silence. But then a cry rose up; "Archimedes! Archimedes!", and all joined in, so that the sound reached the Emperor's ears. He did not recognise the name they chanted, of course, although had his Helenes been there, and not at the walls of Casbur many leagues to the East, they might have recognised it from a time that was ancient even to the Ancients.

On the City walls, High Priestess Ashala gripped Taneric's arm in horror at the sight below and they watched as the surviving Hawks stopped, just out of range of the City's weapons, and turned once more to face the defenders. There, they made a show of dropping their swords and, raising their hands to show them empty, they tentatively began to step forward once more towards the walls.

"They want to come for their dead and dying," shouted a sergeant of the King's Guard to Tak. It is their way. But it is not our way. What say you Prince Taneric? Should we prime the pumps once more?"

"Let them be!" shouted Taneric, and the command was relayed around the walls as he waved an arm to the Hawks below, beckoning them onward.

"Oh Tak," said Ashala in distress, "We must help them!"

She turned to Hanja behind her.

"Hanja! Call out the priestesses! Have them bring what we need from the infirmary!"

"Ashala, don't!" shouted Tak, but Hanja was already running, her priestess robe pulled up around her thighs, and Tak doubted he could catch her even if he tried.

"Tak, do not interfere!" said Ashala. "For what is the point of victory if we lose the path of the Goddess?"

She turned from him, pushing away his arm as he tried to restrain her. Below them, the remaining Hawks had reached their stricken comrades and were tending to them, but they were ill equipped to do much, save offer comfort. Some took up the ladders that now lay charred before the walls and made them into makeshift stretchers to carry away the wounded. Others could be seen searching through the dead, seeking friends and comrades. And soon enough, the doors of the Temple were thrown open and the Priestesses came out into the City square in a line, perhaps two score of them, each carrying a basket filled with bandages and salves. Such a sight had rarely been seen, even in the City of The Goddess for, while it was common to come across a single Priestess going about her business in the markets, a procession like this had no precedent. Tak noted that there were less now than he remembered from his days as a slave of the Temple and he recalled the evening he had spent as Ashala's night boy, not long before he was taken away. After they tended a badly beaten boy in the infirmary, Ashala had become enraged and talked of throwing unworthy sisters onto the street. Perhaps, when later made High Priestess, she had been true to her word.

The people of the City parted and bowed their heads as the beautiful priestesses in white gowns passed through them. Eventually, they reached the West Gate where Ashala joined them and demanded that it be opened. Tak shouted down that it must remain closed but the men on the gate were City Guards, republicans, men of the Goddess, and they would not disobey a lady citizen, least of all the High Priestess of The Temple.

The Hawks stared in wonder as the priestesses emerged from the City, and for a moment it appeared that nothing moved on the plain before the walls. Many a stricken warrior lying in agony on the charred grass would later declare that he believed he must have passed on from his injuries and the vision before him was of angels coming to take him to heaven. But with little delay, the ladies of the Temple went to work, kneeling beside the poor injured souls, cleaning and cooling their burns with salves and applying bandages. Seeing what they were about, the surviving Hawks knelt beside them to help where they could, carrying their comrades back to the Emperor's camp once they had been treated. Others continued to search through the scene of the battle, calling out to the Priestesses 'Here is a man who might be saved!' or 'Madam! Madam! Please come! I have found my brother. He still lives!' And, although the language of the Hawks was not known to the women of the Goddess, the meanings of their shouts were clear enough and, as the afternoon hours passed, many men were saved. The white robes of the priestesses became pink with the gore of the wounded as Ashala, erstwhile Priestess of The Infirmary, went tirelessly from each of her sisters to the next, providing guidance and instruction.

Eventually, late in the day, when just a handful of living Hawks remained on the field, Ashala began to usher her sisters back into the City until only she remained outside, watching as the last injured man was carried away by his comrades. The High Priestess turned towards the City, but perhaps a dozen Hawk warriors stood between her and the west gate, and now they moved slowly but deliberately to block her path. Above them, on the walls, Tak watched in horror and the Temple boy Samon, appearing beside him, shouted, "Look, Prince Taneric! They mean to seize my Mistress!"

Samon ran and half leapt down the inner steps of the wall, making towards the west gate with Tak close on his heels. Outside, the nearest of the Hawks clutched at Ashala but, as he did so, he fell to his knees, taking the sleeve of her robe and pressing his lips to it. The High Priestess, with perfect calmness, blessed him in the name of the Goddess, her hands upon his head. More Hawks, seeing this, ran to kiss Ashala's robe and to receive her blessing, as Taneric and Samon watched impatiently from the partially open gate. Soon, a line formed and, with great patience, Ashala worked her way down it, accepting the kisses of the kneeling warriors and bestowing blessings on each. Finally, when she was within a few feet, Tak stepped through the gate and pushed the last remaining Hawk cruelly to the side. He grasped Ashala tightly to him, almost lifting her across the threshold of the City, as the gate was closed behind them.

****

Lowering her spyglass as the west gate of the City was closed, a scowling Kailyn turned to Hashmin and growled, "General, see that the men who kissed that witch are whipped!"

"What's this?" cried the Emperor, turning to his daughter in fury. "You dare to instruct the Great Hashmin? My daughter you may be, but remember your place! You are here for experience! You are here to learn from your betters! Why, it is you that should obey Hashmin! And such cruelty in your heart! Such petulance!"

"And what is it that I should learn, father?" she spat back. "How to lose half a legion in a single day with no benefit? And do not speak to me of cruelty! Why, just one summer ago did you not have the men of Teshka crucified along the road leading from their city?"

For a moment it seemed that the Emperor would surely strike Kailyn, but Hashmin stepped between them and spoke soothing words and his master eventually calmed, at least enough to hiss at his daughter, "Always there must be a purpose, Kailyn. I think of the good of the Empire in all my actions, but you are motivated only by spite. Now, go to your tent! Later, you will make your apologies to me, and to Hashmin, and I will decide if you are to stay here or return to Ephirum."

As Kailyn walked away, the Emperor turned again to his general.

"We had spies in this very city last summer, but they made no mention of black powder, or of weapons that can throw fire across the field of battle."

"Indeed, Emperor, something has changed here."

"It disquiets me, Hashmin."

He paused for a few moments and then continued, "This slave prince of theirs....Taneric....I would meet with him. Do you think it can be arranged?"

"I doubt he will see much advantage, Emperor. But perhaps he shares your curiosity. I will send an emissary to the City walls."

"Thank you Hashmin. We shall wait for the whale cannons to arrive before we again send warriors to the walls. And one more thing. Let it be known among the army that should any legion henceforth turn and flee from the enemy, it will be decimated."