The Brightest Shadow, page 12
"Neither do I, not even how large or dangerous they are. Kolanin won't give much information about it because he's concerned about information leaking. Based on what happened today, he might be right."
Eraes finally looked up and shook her head, her braids shifting with the movement. "Not necessarily. This shipment is meant for someone called Koreinan Aryabaus. Bundlin was just supposed to be a convenient transfer point, not the destination. They might have gotten the information from Aryabaus or his subordinates."
"The plan was to take you and the shipment there after you'd had time to rest from the trip," Slaten said. "I don't know if this will force things to move faster."
"I hope so. This was going to be bad enough without the possibility of getting attacked."
Slaten glanced at Tani and she could only shrug, so he kept speaking for them. "Can you tell us why exactly you're here? Did you volunteer, or was it...?"
"Oh, I was forced." Eraes gave a curt laugh. "Somebody had to be sacrificed and I was the lowest ranked person. I'd never... I mean, what's in Breilin?"
Tani coughed. "We are."
For a moment Eraes glanced at her in irritation, but then her eyes softened. "I... apologize. This entire year has been difficult for me. And what you... your intervention was very well executed. Without you, many lives would have been lost and this trip would have been pointless."
"What exactly is in those crates?"
"I probably shouldn't say." Eraes took a deep breath, then returned to a state of calm. "If security has been compromised, then I should let Kolanin and Aryabaus decide who should have more information. Now, I'm not at all hungry, but if you have a place to rest..."
Tani smiled and gestured for her to follow and they headed back into Bundlin. Only as they entered the street did it occur to her to check on the airship's progress. But when she looked it was already gone, having flown away in ignorance of everything below.
Chapter 7
-
"A notable aside is that Deathspawn blood appears to be poisonous to humans, as revealed by transfusion techniques developed by the Order of the Green Palm. Deathspawn given human blood only occasionally perish, whereas humans given enough Deathspawn blood inevitably sicken and die within hours. Similar experiments have been done with Deathspawn food, suggesting their nature is poison, through and through."
- excerpt from On the Deathspawn, written by Haneval, First Scholar to the King of South Corah
-
Since she had crossed most of it west to east, Tani had thought she understood the size of the Chorhan Expanse. Now, as she scouted ahead of the wagon in what felt like the thousandth pale yellow grassland, she realized how much the nature of her trip had limited what she saw. Running on her own, she was free to take a direct route and go as quickly as she could.
Now... Tani looked back toward the wagons being slowly pulled by the aurochs, barely moving on the horizon. Compared to her, they were painfully slow, and they needed to take routes that followed the roads. In addition, the amount of time they needed to spend moving from waypoint to waypoint and feeding the aurochs couldn't be compared to her stops for food and water, much as those delays had frustrated her at the time.
Over a month into their trip, Tani had completely exhausted her tolerance for exploration, at least so long as they were exploring more grasslands. She felt as though they should have gone far enough to reach Nol or East Corah, but according to the map the borders remained far off.
Keep Aryabaus was only one more day away, though. That was one of the only things keeping her running.
"Do you think this is far enough?" Slaten ran up alongside her, speaking fairly easily despite their speed. Tani scanned the horizon again, then nodded.
"Yes, let's head back. If there's anyone out there, they won't arrive until tonight."
They turned together and began sprinting back, spending the rest of their reserves since they'd be able to rest once they got to camp. The fact that scouting was actually somewhat enjoyable was one of the other things that made their journey tolerable.
Given how much time she had spent running, it was no surprise that she'd improved. Contemplating Slaten's method of running and discussing sein at the end of the day while they rubbed their sore legs, she'd come to understand more about herself. While the difference wasn't dramatic, she enjoyed running a little faster and further than before.
Slaten's incorporation of Rhen running techniques was more like wholesale copying, but she didn't begrudge him it. She'd gotten the sense that he'd been separated from those who should have been teaching him for some time. Though he still wasn't talkative, he seemed more open than before.
But for now, the day's run was over and so they returned to camp. By the time they reached the circling wagons, the sun was crimson on the horizon, casting everything in an unusual light. It was a gorgeous sunset, one sight that still hadn't lost its beauty no matter how many times she'd seen it.
Significantly less beautiful was returning to camp, where the aurochs relieved themselves beside the road, many of the guards began to drink, and everyone smelled foul. They had encountered a few sources of water earlier, but this long stretch made it difficult to stay clean. Even with the humans sitting separated from the mansthein group, it wasn't a pleasant smell.
Their relative isolation made the trip more difficult. Though Tani could not say she had made friends with many mansthein, they would at least provide variety of conversation. But this group wanted to stay separate and didn't contain many mansthein she recognized. The Catai with them was Rhuvab, who actively glowered whenever he had to speak to them.
Eraes sat in the back of a wagon, miserably chewing on some of the hard rations they had with them. If Tani had difficulty adjusting to Coran food, Eraes seemed to have it twice as bad. When she saw them, however, she looked up and smiled.
"You're back. No trouble ahead?"
Tani shook her head. "Not within a day's run."
"Then get over here and distract me from these inexecrable bricks posing as food."
Personally, Tani had always found it easiest to consume unpleasant food as quickly as possible, so she ate hers quickly. Eraes dragged it out into an ordeal, while Slaten seemed to be able to turn off his sense of taste and just methodically eat anything that was set in front of him.
Before Tani had finished, Eraes pulled out the Yenith board, one of the only personal possessions she'd brought with her from Teralanth. The game seemed somewhat interesting, but Tani didn't feel that it was for her. While Slaten set up his pieces, Tani instead pulled the broken wagon wheel from the back of the wagon and set it up properly.
They began to play and Tani began to throw. Her first knife passed between the spokes of the wheel, but it nearly struck her target. After she was warmed up, she'd try to throw them two at a time. She had the hand position down, but the exact technique was difficult.
"It's surprising how close things are to peaceful here." Eraes moved a piece, but she obviously wasn't focused on the game. Tani listened to her talk while throwing and collecting her knives. "There's instability, yes, but you'll find that even in lands with no mansthein. Kolanin seems to have the right idea."
Slaten had been puzzling over his position, but looked up at that. "How does what you've seen compare to the rest of the world? I had the impression things were more stable elsewhere."
"Well, keep in mind that most of what I know is second hand. We hear more stories in Teralanth, but that doesn't mean they're all accurate. Having said that... most of the time I hear about peace, it's when both sides have fought to a standstill. Or the human side negotiated a favorable surrender. But here, it seems like the situation is gaining stability without either of those conditions."
Throwing her knives again, Tani reflected on that. Usually Eraes displayed a bit of condescension to their region, so it was remarkable for her to evaluate them positively. But perhaps they really were on the forefront of something. If she succeeded in bringing the texts back and making peace with the Yevee, would she play a small part in history?
It seemed too grand for her, too presumptuous. Tani focused on throwing.
"Of course, that might be because the area is too disorganized to offer a united resistance. In terms of real nations, there's only East, West, and South Corah, and they seem more interested in fighting each other than in resisting the mansthein."
"But they had to bring in Aryabaus," Slaten said. "If they were having such an easy time of it, they wouldn't need these new armies."
Left unsaid was that they wouldn't need whatever Eraes had brought with her. While picking up her knives, Tani lingered near the wagon to defend the honor of the Rhen. "Have you heard anything about the Rhen Confederation of Tribes? If they met and agreed to fight the mansthein, they could field an army larger than any in the Chorhan Expanse."
"An army of united tribes? That might work." Eraes tapped her chin thoughtfully. "But it would depend on who was leading the mansthein. Most of their commanders are mediocre, but if you got the wrong Zeitai... it'd be over."
Both of them looked at her and Eraes blinked back.
"You haven't heard of Zeitai? You're supposed to have two on the continent... but I guess they do like to keep their secrets."
"No, we haven't heard of them," Tani said. "But I feel certain you'll tell us."
Eraes shot her a slightly apologetic - but not humble - grin. "I can tell you that it's a position, but it's hard to pin down details. It's not exactly a rank, because it stands outside their normal chain of command. Yet many of the Zeitai have their own forces, and they can command soldiers. Many mansthein talk about them almost like they're gods, so they seem to break the normal rules."
Slaten shifted forward, forgetting about the Yenith game entirely, eyes focused. "How many of these Zeitai are there?"
"Hard to say, but less than ten. The only one I can tell you about with any certainty is Zeitai Xetsu. He is definitely the true leader of mansthein forces on my continent, and thousands of people live or die based on his whims."
The thought of so many dying in a conflict so far away troubled Tani. She finished collecting her knives and threw them to relieve stress while Eraes kept talking.
"He's left Salenkh alone, except for some concessions. In Teralanth he challenged the king to single combat, killed him, then retreated after that. Now it seems like he's trying to burn Baelen to the ground. From his actions he seems mad, but those who actually met him believe he has some greater purpose. All they can agree on is that he's terrifyingly strong."
Three knives in a row struck their targets exactly. They didn't make Tani feel any better.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to ramble." Eraes rubbed her eyes with her knuckles, letting down her mask somewhat. "These are names that mean nothing to you. I just... I was planning to help with the defense of Teralanth, and they threw me away. No offense to your home, but I don't even need to be here. I was just a convenient sacrifice."
"What exactly is your role?" Tani asked. Eraes perked up slightly, which for her meant a serious expression.
"Tactician. I don't know if the role exists here, but it becomes necessary when you gather armies with enough trained warriors within them."
"Ah." Slaten stared morosely down at the board. "That makes me feel somewhat better about how I'm losing."
Eraes smiled and knocked over another one of his pieces, rendering it dead. "I was just glad to find someone willing to learn Yenith. And you're not that bad."
"I don't think I'm very good at this. I don't suppose you've ever played Shiil? I played that enough as a child that I might be more of a challenge for you."
"Sorry, haven't heard of it. I'd learn, but I'm guessing we don't have the pieces?"
Slaten shook his head and the two of them talked about games further. Tani stayed close by, enjoying the conversation as a buzz in the back of her mind while she focused on throwing. She wished she could distract herself with strategy games.
Instead, she focused on her technique. She had mostly mastered the physical side, throwing the knives without accidentally putting a spin on them. But to be able to impart significant sein to each one still seemed completely beyond her. She either failed both throws, put everything she had gathered into the first throw, or used far too much on the second. Without any sein guiding her knives, her range would be severely limited, rendering the throwing skill useless in actual combat.
Though she didn't make much progress, the training soothed her mind and eased the boredom. Tani was beginning to feel relaxed and even a little sleepy when one of the mansthein with them approached.
"You three, be careful tomorrow." It was one of the older warriors, with a scar-covered paunch that he scratched constantly. "The men we talked to earlier today say Aryabaus has everyone on edge. Strange stories spooking the men. We'll do the talking."
All three of them agreed, but the warning soured the evening. After all, they were still very near a war and all of them knew it. Tani had seen Deathspawn attack villages, Slaten had clearly fought them in the past, and it sounded like Eraes had survived even more violent experiences.
Hopefully once Tani finished her assignment, fewer people would have those experiences. She settled down underneath the wagon and tried to focus on what was in front of her. Maybe she couldn't bring peace to the world, but she would live a life she could be proud of.
That would have to be enough.
~ ~ ~
After so many days following the same routine, Slaten had trouble reminding himself not to scout too far ahead. They weren't certain if Aryabaus would send warriors out to meet them, but they didn't want humans to be the first to make contact. Given that this meeting was important for both Kolanin and Tani, Slaten hoped that he couldn't find any way to disrupt it.
The grasses ahead of them were broken by something dark that grew as they approached. At first he thought it might be Keep Aryabaus, but soon realized that it was only a set of unusually dark boulders. Though such mounds were nothing unusual, he became tenser the closer they drew.
When she spotted it, Tani frowned, then moved ahead to investigate. Slaten wanted to call out to her, filled with a sense of foreboding, yet nothing happened. Tani reached the stones and observed them, leaving him feeling foolish. Discarding the useless intuition, Slaten sped up to meet her alongside the dark mound.
"Slaten, have you ever seen stones like this before?"
"Once or twice." Though now that he looked at them carefully, he wasn't completely sure of that.
Most of the boulders breaking through the grasses were dark gray or brown, but these were pitch black. It didn't look exactly like any stone he knew, and when he ran a hand over the surface it was unusually smooth. Not smooth like weathered stone, smooth like steel. As he looked more closely, he began to pick out dark red veins marbled throughout the stone.
"Not much growing on these." When Tani spoke, he realized that she was right. The dark stones were partially overgrown by the grasslands, but though dirt had washed between the boulders, nothing grew there. The gaps in between would presumably collect water, but there was no sign that trees had ever grown between them as they usually did on such mounds.
"I don't think they're common to any specific area," Slaten said, "but I also haven't heard any real explanation. The elders said that the boulders were older than the grasslands, stones from a past age. Maybe these are from a different age yet."
"It could be. I wonder why some remain and others don't."
There was no answer to that, so he didn't give one. They stayed there, staring at the dark stones. Slaten had been planning to wait there until the wagons caught up to them, but at that moment realized that something wasn't quite right. He looked up, checking the horizon again.
Except he didn't need to look that far. Mansthein warriors rushed across the fields, driving toward the wagons.
"Should we...?" Tani had noticed too, now glancing back at him. Slaten shrugged.
"They wanted us to stay out of the way, so I suppose this is for the best."
"But I need to discuss the Yevee texts with them. We can't risk them taking the wagons and leaving."
Fortunately, one of the mansthein approached and gestured for them to come. As they returned to the wagons, Slaten noticed just how many hands shifted to weapons. Though he didn't see hatred in many eyes, he also didn't see respect. Koreinan Aryabaus's men did not seem like they would adjust well in a place like Bundlin - they were here to fight a war.
This band appeared to be composed mostly of soldiers, with either no sein training or so little that they didn't qualify as warriors. That meant they were less of a physical threat to him, but Slaten reminded himself that was irrelevant. His purpose was not to fight them, and these soldiers could still be a threat to their goals.
The group consistently spoke in Futhik, but he caught more of the words than usual. They were definitely being ordered to hurry. There was something about the area being dangerous, though he was uncertain what was meant there. Perhaps they had reason to be on edge.
Tani was shifting her weight and toying with the folded paper Kolanin had given her. Slaten got her attention and tilted his head toward the mansthein, but she shook her head.
"Is this the place to make a request?" Tani asked. "This group doesn't seem very friendly, maybe I should give the letter to Aryabaus."
"You might not get a chance. I'd do it now."
"Okay, but..."
Seeing her hesitation, Slaten swallowed his pride and approached one of the soldiers. His halting Futhik was shameful, but it got the man's attention. The mansthein soldier gave both of them an unpleasant look as he moved to walk beside them and switched to Coran.
"What do you want?"
"I have a humble request," Tani said. "I believe your forces may have captured some traditional Yevee texts recently. If you would ret-"
"This a Rhen thing? We have fought some of them lately, but that was the higher ranks, not us soldiers. It doesn't matter, request denied."
