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Never had the priest seen the khahan in such a rage.
A rider charged through the ranks of the Kashik behind the khahan,
whipping his horse furiously. Leaping off his mount, the man sprawled
completely on the ground in front of the khahan, pressing his face into the dirt.
"A message from the second empress, Lord Yamun!"
The khahan whirled on the man, poised to strike. "Speak!" he shouted over
the rumble from the plain.
Without looking up, the messenger yelled his mistress's words. "The
second empress says the magic of the Shou has taken her wizards by
surprise. They are unable to do anything. She asks if the foreign priest might
know what causes the earth to heave. She humbly begs forgiveness for her
failure to "
"I'll hear her excuses later," the khahan snarled, turning away from the
man. The messenger sprang to his feet and backed away, groping for his
horse. One of the Kashik, sympathetic to the man's fears, quickly hustled the
courier out of Yamun's sight. The khahan looked toward the plain, seeing only
men and horses rushing through the clouds of dust.
"My horse!" Yamun demanded. A quiverbearer ran to fetch Yamun's white
mare. "Standard-bearer, we're going down there. Prepare to ride!" The guards
looked to each other, then hurriedly began to find their mounts and take their
positions around the khahan.
Without waiting for his guards to finish assembling, Yamun urged his horse
down the steep slope toward the plain. The guards plunged after him, their
mounts half-sliding toward the bottom.
Sechen, his tall, muscular body towering out of the saddle, drove his horse
savagely to keep up with the khahan. His master was riding blindly into a trap,
and the giant was determined to protect him. The pair reached the bottom of
the slope well ahead of the rest of the bodyguards.
Small knots of riders rode out of the swirling dust and galloped for the
safety of the ridge. Lone men and riderless horses fled in panic. Weapons,
shields, and armor were cast aside.
Yamun charged forward and then suddenly reined in his horse before the
first knot of routed men. "Form up! Make your stand here! I command you!"
The routed men skidded to a halt, brought short by the wild apparition of the
khahan that faced them. "Watch them," Yamun ordered Sechen as he
galloped off toward another fleeing group.
From atop the ridge, Koja watched the khahan rush from point to point,
working to halt the rout and organize a proper defense. The warlord was easy
to spot by his banner, white horse, and the swarm of black-robed guards who
followed him everywhere. His affect on the men was unmistakable as the
broken ranks slowly halted their flight and began to reform into ragged lines.
Finally, Yamun turned the task over to Sechen and climbed back up to his
command post. As he arrived, a group of guards still clustered in his wake,
Koja moved quietly to his side.
Looking very tired, Yamun sat on his stool. For a long time he said nothing,
only watched the battlefield. The dust was slowly settling, leaving a clearer
picture of the destruction. Across the front was a line of churned earth and
shattered rock. Most of the dead or dying lay there, crushed or trapped
beneath the fallen stone. On both sides of the wreckage there were still
pockets of fighting. A handful of Tuigan riders, the leaders of the foremost
rank, were trapped on the far side of the magical earthwork. There they
fought, though hopelessly outnumbered and surrounded.
In a few other places, the Shou soldiers had foolishly scrambled forward
over the broken ground, believing all the Tuigan were crushed. In pursuing the
fleeing horsemen, these small units were also trapped. Battles involving these
doomed Shou were brief.
Just when Koja became convinced the defeat had crushed the spirit out of
Yamun, the old warlord sat up, shaking off the air of gloom and desperation
that had settled upon him. "Find Goyuk, if he lives. I want to know what
happened," he commanded, his old energy gradually returning to him. As one
messenger left, he turned to another. "Tell Sechen to separate those who fled
from the rest of the men. He is to execute those who have no weapons. Of the
rest, every man must be beaten for seven blows and every tenth man for
twice times seven."
"There are thousands of men down there!" Koja said in astonishment.
"They shouldn't have run" Yamun answered grimly. He continued the
orders. "The wizards are to be whipped seven blows for their failure. And if
Bayalun argues, tell her she can either have them whipped or give me seven
to execute. It's her choice." The man nodded and left to deliver the khahan's
orders.
"Tell the yurtchis to bring the camp forward. We will be staying here." With
a wave, the khahan dismissed the remaining couriers. When they had
withdrawn an appropriate distance, Yamun turned to the priest.
"Now, anda, why did this happen?" The khahan's voice was hard and
measured.
"I do not know. What you saw, if I'm right, was the work of a powerful spirit
creature." The priest spoke softly, not wanting to commit himself without
knowing more.
"You're saying this . .. creature protects the Shou and won't let us attack
the Dragonwall?" Yamun asked incredulously, trying to understand the power
he had just seen. His rage and frustration were growing.
"Perhaps. I do not know." Koja looked toward the carnage on the plain.
"Can I defeat it, anda?"
"I do not know," Koja sighed. "I have never seen anything like this. I do not
know what to do." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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