The Demon Horsemen (6 page)

K
ing Shadow adjusted his red jacket and the gold and silver medals jingling on his breast pockets, and settled into the plush black coach seat. Sitting opposite were His Eminence Seer Scripture and Seer Word. Shadow smiled at the Jarudhan holy men before nodding to the hordemaster in charge of his bodyguard. When the hordemaster had barked orders and the coach lurched into motion, Shadow removed his red cap and smoothed back his black hair.

‘So, gentlemen, how is Jarudha’s Paradise developing?’ he said.

Word glanced at Scripture before replying. ‘His Eminence is most impressed with your work, Your Highness. The city is already adopting a spiritual air, the people are quickly embracing the new laws, the temples are overflowing with converts, and businessmen have come to terms with the need for prayer three times a day.’

‘My soldiers are stretched,’ Shadow remarked, allowing his irritation to be heard. ‘Converting people to a new lifestyle is demanding on resources.’

‘I heard that your armies are swollen with young men,’ Scripture interjected.

‘Young men and boys who need training,’ Shadow countered. ‘Jarudha cannot be well served by soldiers lacking discipline.’

‘Discipline will come with patience,’ Scripture said, and retreated into the cowl of his blue cloak.

Shadow smiled wryly and transferred his attention to Word. ‘So, tell me about this new miracle.’

‘It has taken a long time,’ Word began, ‘but my colleagues have built an airbird that will outfly the Ranu dragon eggs.’

‘Using drivers,’ said Shadow.

‘Yes,’ Word confirmed. ‘The Ranu dragon egg relies on hot gases to stay airborne. What we have made is something that does not depend on the vagaries of wind and weather to fly.’

‘I look forward to seeing this,’ Shadow said.

He looked out of the coach window at the houses and shops of the Northern Quarter and settled into a silent reverie of his rise to power and where it would lead. The new realm was proving harder to manage than he had envisaged when he coveted his father’s throne. The Seers were as demanding of him as he’d anticipated, but his faith in Jarudha meant that he could endure what they required by way of service. The cleansing of Port of Joy had been hard; there were significant pockets of resistance to the new laws. The presence of the Ranu was an unexpected complication. The foreigners’ arrival, coinciding with his father’s death, had given him an initial advantage to overthrow his older brother, Prince Inheritor, his father’s proclaimed successor, but now the Ranu president and his ambassadors were looming as a threat to his own future. The Ranu empire extended over all of the known nations bordering the western ocean and news had recently been delivered to his court that the Ranu were invading the Kala nation to the south. How long
before they turned their eyes to the Kerwyn kingdom? He had to prepare for the inevitable clash by finding effective methods to assert his kingdom’s superiority. The Seers’ latest invention was a possible key to the future.

‘We wait for the wind to turn,’ the Seer explained. ‘If it comes from the west it will give the airbird better lift.’

‘How can you be sure it will fly?’ Shadow asked, studying the metal and wood contraption standing on the grassy slope.

‘Jarudha will determine that,’ the Seer replied.

‘Seer Creator has a great deal of faith,’ said Word.

‘And a great deal of ingenuity,’ Shadow remarked.

‘This has been a long time in the making,’ Creator explained, his enthusiasm tempered marginally by his piety. ‘My mentors and predecessors did an enormous amount of work in this field. It is written that “In Paradise the sons of men will fly like birds and run like the wind”, so we have long sought to bring the prophecies into being.’

Shadow strolled around the airbird, assessing its components. Long and thin, its red body was designed to carry a man lying flat on his stomach. It had a flat tail resembling the tail of a bird. ‘What are these wires connected to the tail?’ he asked.

‘A bird changes direction and stabilises itself with its tail. The wires are attached to the rider’s feet so he can adjust his position or turn like a bird,’ Creator explained.

Similar wires ran from the body out to the broad wings, which were layered with cloth like bird’s feathers, and on either side of where the rider would lie was a brass and steel object with long curved blades. It reminded Shadow of the oars used in a boat. ‘And these are the drivers?’ he asked.

‘Yes, Your Highness, with the windwheels attached.’

‘Won’t they dig into the ground when they spin?’

‘They would, if we were to use them while the airbird is on the ground,’ said Creator. ‘But the windwheels do not spin until the airbird is aloft.’

‘And when it comes down again?’

‘The rider turns them off as he is about to land. They are balanced and keyed into place by the drivers so they are horizontal when not spinning.’

‘Clever,’ said Shadow, although he didn’t really understand the concept of the machine he was staring at. He appraised the ropes running from the frame to the four horses waiting patiently fifty paces down the slope. Creator said that the horses would provide sufficient speed to lift the airbird into the air, after which the rider would release the ropes by a lever and switch on the mechanical drivers. The drivers would carry the airbird after that. In Shadow’s opinion, only a Jarudhan fanatic could have enough faith to ride the airbird. He loved flying in his old airbird—what people now called dragon eggs, using the Ranu term—but he saw only madness in this new variation.

‘Your Highness,’ Word said, ‘please join us in the viewing pavilion. I feel the wind shifting.’

Shadow acquiesced and, surrounded by his royal retinue of servants and guards, followed the blue-robed Seers to a blue pavilion set at the crest of the hill above the launching area. His attention was drawn to three figures in white standing to the pavilion’s left. ‘Who invited the Ranu?’ he asked.

Seer Word glanced at the three men and said, ‘They invited themselves, Your Highness.’

‘I think it would be prudent if we did not share our secrets,’ Shadow suggested.

‘That is good advice, Your Highness,’ Word agreed, ‘but unfortunately the Ranu have collaborated with us
on aspects of the airbird’s construction. The drivers, for example, are Ranu inventions. We lacked the expertise to construct such a light mechanism. They also advised us on how to shape the windwheels for better effect.’

‘And now they will benefit from our risk,’ Shadow argued.

‘It could not be helped, Your Highness,’ Word said apologetically as they entered the pavilion to join Scripture.

Seated with Word and Scripture, Shadow watched the proceedings unfold as the westerly wind strengthened, but he remained conscious of the irritating Ranu presence outside the pavilion. Protocol demanded that he should invite the ambassadors to sit with him to watch the event, but he wanted to make it obvious that their attendance was under sufferance.

An acolyte, wrapped in his yellow robe and attended by other acolytes, emerged from a small tent nearby and headed towards the airbird. Seer Creator spoke to him briefly then led him to the airbird where he directed the strapping of the acolyte into position.

‘The acolyte’s name is Hope. He has been selected for election to the Seers, and if he is able to fulfil Jarudha’s promise of flight this morning then he will be installed immediately,’ Word explained.

‘And if he fails?’ Shadow asked.

‘Then Jarudha has spoken,’ Word replied.

The attendants busied themselves around the airbird, then formed two lines bordering the take-off path. Seer Creator inspected the machine and made some small adjustments as the wind gathered momentum. He squatted beside Hope and gave him final instructions, then stood aside and waved to the two acolytes tending the horses. The acolytes mounted the outer animals, took up tension on the guide ropes attached to the airbird and awaited the next signal. Creator held up his
hand and several tense moments passed. Then his hand dropped and the acolytes spurred their horses into action. The ropes wrenched the airbird forward and it trundled noisily and awkwardly down the rough slope, its wings and body shaking violently as the horses accelerated.

Word began a prayer, but Shadow stayed focussed on the unfolding drama. The horses were galloping at full tilt now, levelling out onto the plain, heading towards the rocks and cliffs, and the airbird showed every possibility of rattling apart as it sped down the slope on its hopelessly inadequate wheels. The acolyte rider was probably praying with greater ferocity than Word, Shadow thought. The airbird reached the base of the slope without any sign of taking to the air and Shadow was surprised at how disappointed he felt. He’d doubted the machine would actually fly, especially once he’d inspected it, but had subconsciously hoped for a miracle.

Then, to his astonishment, the airbird leapt off the ground. Like a kite, its nose rose and it climbed rapidly. The guide ropes dropped away. There was a popping noise as the drivers ignited, then a rapid clattering as the windwheels started spinning. The airbird’s nose dipped until the machine levelled out and it headed out to sea, wobbling erratically.

‘It is a miracle!’ Word cried, grabbing Shadow’s arm in his rapture. ‘A Blessing!’

The awe of the acolytes and Shadow’s soldiers melted into realisation, and they cheered wildly, their voices carrying to the pavilion in the steady breeze.

Shadow watched the airbird battle to stay on a steady path, slowly diminishing in size. He wondered if the rider could turn the machine. Almost in answer to his thought, the airbird tipped to the left, losing height as it swept in a long arc to the south towards Port of
Joy. The men’s cheering faded as the machine vanished below the cliff. The sudden silence seeped into Shadow’s heart, whispering to his earlier disappointment. He stepped out of the pavilion, straining to hear anything that might give cause for hope. He glanced at the Ranu ambassadors who were staring west.
What are they thinking?
he wondered. Then a voice yelled and, as he looked west, cheering erupted again. The airbird rose above the cliff, wobbling and dipping perilously, and the stuttering of its twin drivers was carried to the watchers on the breeze.

The sudden appearance and noise startled the horses and they bolted from their handlers, but Shadow felt only elation at the chaos and laughed. The little craft drifted lower as it approached the landing area, until it was barely high enough for the windwheels to avoid scuffing the earth, and then the drivers were cut, the windwheels snapped into the horizontal and the airbird glided to the ground. As its landing wheels touched, the machine slewed sideways, spun and flipped over, crumpling into a mess of broken wood, tangled wires and metal.

‘Jarudha be merciful!’ Word muttered as he rose from his chair.

Acolytes and soldiers sprinted towards the airbird, but before they reached it, Hope scrambled from the wreckage and held up his hands to show that he was unhurt. ‘Jarudha be praised!’ Word cried.

‘Praised indeed,’ said Shadow, pleased that he’d witnessed the creation of a means to discourage Ranu avarice and aggression.

A
loft in his dragon egg, A Ahmud Ki observed the battle unfolding across the desert. The Kalan army had taken the high ground along a ridge of bare hills to the north-east, intent on pushing the Ranu invaders back towards the port of Mayed. His scouts and spies estimated the Kalan army at more than seven hundred thousand, a mixture of trained soldiers and tribal warriors banded together under a common banner to fight the Ranu. The size of their army was the Kalans’ only advantage against the fifty thousand-strong Ranu invasion force, but technology tilted the balance heavily in favour of the Ranu and A Ahmud Ki was quietly confident the conflict would not last a full day.

The battlefield was also a testing ground for two new inventions: a motorised carriage with a multi-barrelled peacemaker mounted on the front, protected by a metal shield; and a squad of flying soldiers, each man suspended by his own tiny dragon egg. The flying soldiers could hover above the enemy lines, out of bow and spear shot, dropping bombs or firing at their targets. Their effect was more demoralising rather than seriously damaging, but a broken-spirited enemy was much easier to rout.

After Kala fell, he would turn his attention to Ma-Tareshka and then to Jaru, systematically dominating the southern continent before marching into the northern lands. His ambassadors had established footholds in every nation of the eastern continents, via trading routes that had been opened for decades—centuries, in some cases—and his plan to bring the entire world under the rule of the Ranu people was unfolding inexorably.

He smiled at the prospect of being the president of all nations. A thousand years ago he had aspired to become the most powerful being in existence—a Dragonlord—only to have his ambitions thwarted by another Dragonlord. For a thousand years he had languished in a magical prison, mocked by the concept of immortality actually meaning his imprisonment in a hellish eternity. Then fate had brought Meg and his release, only for him to discover that the power he had craved had all but vanished from the face of the world. The Dragonlords, the Elvenaar and the Aelendyell, the old kings and the dragons, were long dead. In their place were inventors, politicians and a strange practice called democracy. He had tried to retrieve his power by returning to Se’Treya, only to narrowly avoid death by escaping through an old unused portal. That portal had taken him into the modern Ranu Ka Shehaala nation, where he had learned, mastered and applied a wholly new set of powers—political, military, technological. Exotically handsome because of his Aelendyell heritage, uncommonly versed in the ancient history and language of the Ranu culture because he had lived in and studied it a thousand years previously, charismatic in voice and presence, accustomed to power, intelligent and a rapid learner, A Ahmud Ki rose through the political ranks in Ranu Ka Shehaala almost unimpeded to become its president. Convincing the Ranu people to pursue his long-harboured dream to rule the world, he led them on
conquest after conquest through the western continents, bringing to his adopted nation great glory and the promise of long-standing peace as each country, unable to defend itself against the might of Ranu technology, submitted to Ranu law. The new magic of invention had supplanted the old Kis as a source of ultimate power, and he embraced it as enthusiastically as he had once embraced the old magic.

There was one cost. In gaining power in the mortal world, he had also acquired mortality. By his reckoning, he was nearing seventy. He had been thirty or more years of age in human terms when Mareg had sealed him in the green glyph for eternity. More than thirty years had passed since Meg had released him and returned him to Se’Treya. He was getting old, but was ageing well. His silver hair, kept short and trimmed ever since he had returned to the Andrak world, was now matched by a neat silvery goatee, but he was conscious of the colour fading steadily to the white that was the common badge of office of the Aelendyell Elders in the ancient world. For that reason, he liked the change. It added to his charismatic aura, giving him the physical authority of an elder statesman. His elegantly thin frame had become more portly around the stomach, but his erect carriage and lithe movement still conveyed a sense that he took care of his body. Only the lines around his eyes and mouth whispered his true age. When he looked into the mirror, the face that stared back was much older, and sometimes he didn’t recognise the image as himself.

He could not help regretting that he had exchanged eternal imprisonment for creeping mortality. The old Dragonlords had held so much power they were able to stop the ageing process and remain eternally young. He had lost that chance, but as the conquering Ranu president he had power beyond anything he had
achieved in his former life. Whatever he wanted was his for the taking—land, money, jewels, people. The time limit imposed on his life was his only challenge.

He felt a subtle change in the wind on his face and glanced at the Ranu dragoneers. The dragon egg’s captain, Ezal ka Nameer, smiled and said, ‘Nothing of concern, President. The winds are shifting to the north, but we’ll have calm weather and clear skies all day to watch the battle.’

A Ahmud Ki looked towards the Kalan ranks. Ranged along the left flank of the army were the cavalry, the riders mounted on strange beasts the Kala called midurns. Part-lizard, part-mammal, they were low-slung and wide-bodied four-legged creatures, large and strong enough to carry two men in a woven pannier, and their splayed webbed feet enabled them to travel efficiently across sand and soft earth. Almost as fast as a horse, more formidable in battle because their jaws could snap a man in half, the midurns had given the Kala military supremacy across their central region for several centuries. They were the Kalans’ tactical strike weapons—swift, terrifying and brutal. If left unchecked, the midurn cavalry could seriously dictate the battle’s outcome.

The Ranu generals, however, were primed to counteract the midurns’ impact.

A rumble like distant thunder drew A Ahmud Ki’s attention to his long-range giant peacemakers, which were positioned five thousand paces behind his main army. A long line of white cloud drifted south in the breeze, and within moments the midurn flank of the Kalan army erupted in explosive puffs. The thunder repeated and another string of explosions tore through the midurn ranks. The cavalry scattered to escape the bombardment.

To the north-west, an armada of dragon eggs drifted towards the Kalan line, riding high in the sky. The
dragon eggs would make a bombing pass along the middle and rear of the Kalan army, further demoralising the troops, and then the Ranu army would maintain a steady bombardment with the peacemaker artillery until the Kalan retreated, capitulated or chose to charge.

I hope they capitulate
, A Ahmud Ki thought. After the initial rush of power during his early years, when he had enjoyed the exhilaration that came with crushing his enemies, he had embarked on a policy of minimal battle and maximum negotiation to establish Ranu rule over other nations. He had discovered that the civilian population submitted more easily if the battle to conquer them swallowed up as few of their soldiers as possible. And the quicker a people were assimilated into the Ranu empire, the sooner A Ahmud Ki could direct his resources to the next conquest. He had mastered the art of appearing to be the popularly elected leader, while retaining his position through carefully manipulated periods of supreme command during wartime and as democratically appointed diplomat during the intervals of peace. He even allowed dissenters and opponents a degree of freedom of speech, while manipulating their impact on his empire for his own ends.

To A Ahmud Ki’s disappointment, the Kalan army began a determined march toward the Ranu line. They had nothing to combat the dragon eggs and their bombs or the long-range peacemakers, but still they chose to fight.
It will be a brutal and bloody battle
, he mused.
So be it
.

He gestured to the dragoneer, saying, ‘Return to headquarters. I’ve seen enough,’ and settled into his chair, knowing that the news later in the afternoon would be of a Ranu victory.

King Shadow settled on the throne, adjusted his red robe and waited for the Seers to draw up their chairs
before his dais. He knew Scripture hated sitting at the foot of the throne because it reminded him of the king’s authority, so it gave Shadow great pleasure to hold all important meetings in the old Shessian chamber. It was payback too, because whenever Scripture called a meeting it was always in the Jarudhan temple, as if he needed to remind Shadow who had brought him to the throne.

Shadow dismissed the guards and waited until the thud of the closing double doors confirmed that the meeting was private and secure. He cleared his throat. ‘I will come to the point. I have received news from the Kalan ambassador that the Kalan kingdom has offered its allegiance to the Ranu president.’ He noted the horrified reaction of the Seers before he continued. ‘This is in force immediately. The Kalan army was slaughtered and the king has fled into hiding, probably north to Jaru.’

‘What provoked this invasion?’ Word asked.

‘The ambassador claims there was no provocation. King Ymja was most cordial in his dealings with the Ranu ambassadors and president.’

‘There is always provocation,’ Scripture muttered.

‘I suspect the only provocation was that Kala was not Ranu land,’ Shadow offered.

‘And what atrocities are the Ranu inflicting on the vanquished?’ Scripture asked.

Shadow folded his arms across his chest. ‘None, apparently.’

‘None?’ Word repeated.

‘The ambassador has informed me that the Ranu president has issued strict orders for his soldiers to treat all Kalan citizens with the same respect they would offer their own people. Kalan soldiers have been pardoned, even if they fought in the battle. Merchants have been told to continue business as usual.’

‘A takeover without changes?’

‘There are changes,’ Shadow said. ‘The Kalan state religion has been outlawed.’

‘It was always an abomination!’ Scripture snarled. ‘Jarudha has punished the faithless!’

‘Apparently, faith itself has not been outlawed,’ Shadow responded. ‘Under the Ranu laws, people may choose to follow whatever faith they wish. The Ranu allow religious freedom.’

‘Heresy!’ Scripture growled, getting to his feet. ‘There is one god and one faith! Religious freedom is a mockery of Jarudha’s law and
The Word
! The Ranu are empty vessels, grist for the fires of vengeance at the coming of the Demon Horsemen! They have condemned themselves and their minions to the hells!’

Shadow waited patiently for the tirade to end and for Scripture to resume his seat. The Seer glared at the king, as if daring him to order him to sit, before he returned to his place alongside his colleagues.

‘It seems we have a serious problem,’ Shadow said calmly. ‘Relations with the Ranu are a luxury we cannot afford to cultivate.’

‘The Ranu are not a threat to us,’ Word argued. ‘They have supported our transition from the old leadership to the new with its hope of establishing Jarudha’s Paradise.’

‘They gave us military aid to bring down Inheritor and his supporters,’ Law reminded them.

‘And we have profited from their ideas and inventions,’ Creator added. ‘The new airbirds would not have taken flight without their technology.’

‘Small gifts for a greater intention,’ said Shadow. ‘They have traded here for a long time and their ambassadors have acquired a house in the Northern Quarter to maintain a permanent embassy. They even asked my brother, before his unfortunate demise, to let
them establish a military presence here.’ He paused for effect before adding, ‘Do you see what is happening?’

‘We have given them no cause for conflict,’ Word argued.

Shadow leaned forward. ‘Will the Ranu also be embraced when Jarudha’s Paradise is established?’

‘The Demon Horsemen will cleanse them from the earth!’ Scripture declared.

Shadow nodded in the silence that followed Scripture’s statement. ‘They have cause,’ he said quietly. ‘We hold a power far greater than anything their inventors can create. We have true faith and we know that the Demon Horsemen will destroy anything created by man. No doubt their spies have told them this as well.’

‘They cannot stand in the path of Jarudha’s coming,’ Word said. ‘No one can do that.’

‘No. But these people will try and that makes them a danger. Just as they have consumed every other nation, sooner or later they will consume us.’

‘Jarudha will not let that happen,’ said Scripture vehemently, standing again. ‘We have seen the signs and we know we are in the Last Days. What is this Ranu empire but another desperate attempt by a worldly and godless king to rule over everyone? He will fall, as all others have fallen, in the face of Jarudha’s awesome might. It is written and so it will be!’

‘So it will be,’ the Seers chorused.

Shadow smiled softly as he made the holy circle before his face. ‘So it will be,’ he said. ‘But we must act as Jarudha’s servants in this matter and do as Jarudha would want us to do.’

Scripture stared up at the king, holding his gaze for a long time, before he said, ‘Then let us plan for these events as we have planned before.’