Stara moved inside. She stared at the scenes depicted. Painted people carved stones from cave walls. The stones were brightly coloured and lines radiated from them. One man, always dressed in white, appeared in several of the scenes. He tended to the gemstones as they grew, before they were cut, and they were given to him afterwards. He also gave them out to others. In all depictions he wore a single blue stone on a chain around his chest, radiating lines.
On another wall a man tied with ropes was presented to this white-dressed man. He was bound to a rectangle marked the same way as the slab in the big cave. The white-dressed man then held the blue stone against his chest. In the next scene the victim was dragged away, clearly dead, and the white man radiated power.
“I was right about the human sacrifice,” Shadiya murmured.
Beneath all the scenes were lines of markings. Some sort of ancient writing. Do they explain what is going on? Stara wondered. Clearly these gemstones have magical properties. Like the stones the Duna make. I wonder... would the Duna be able to read this? She would have to have some phrases copied and taken to them.
Moving out of the room, Stara returned to her pack and her abandoned meal. She watched the women return one by one, all looking awed and giving the slab a sober second look. She listened to their chatter and thought about all they had discovered.
The valley needed a lot of work before it would be habitable, and even more before the women could live here, entirely self-sufficient. But they had wealth now, in the form of the gemstones. From what she could tell from the paintings, the stones needed special tending as they grew to become magical. Those on the walls now could be sold by the Traitors without any risk of putting anything dangerous in the hands of the Kyralians or Sachakans.
She paused. Already I’m thinking of Sachakans as people other than us. We are going to become a new people. Perhaps a small people, like the Duna, but not as primitive. Will we still call ourselves the Traitors?
She nodded to herself. Yes. We should. We must not forget why we came here. Not because of the war, but because as women we were invisible, undervalued and powerless. Sachakan society put us in a place little better than a slave’s. Now we have found a new place, where we make the decisions, where nobody is a slave and all work for the good of everyone. I doubt it’s going to be easy, or that we won’t make mistakes, or perhaps even fail in the end. It’ll probably take more than a lifetime. But this is more exciting than running father’s trade. It isn’t just an escape for me, Vora, Nachira and my friends. If it works, it’ll help many, many women in the years to come.
And that’s something I’m willing to dedicate a lifetime to.
Hanara ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He could feel dirt and sweat, and the wiriness of grey hairs. The pack he carried was heavy and made his joints ache. His breath came in gasps.
The man ahead of him stopped and looked back. The crazed, hard look on Lord Narvelan’s face softened.
“Take your time, old friend,” he said. “We’re both not as young as we used to be.”
Only thirty or so, Hanara thought. But like many slaves he had aged faster than free men. Except I haven’t been a slave for ten years. I’ve been a servant. Not that there’s been much difference.
He could have left Narvelan and sought work in another household, but who would have given it to him? Who would want the Betrayer’s slave? Nobody. No, he was stuck with Lord Narvelan. The Crazy Emperor, as the palace servants called him. Crazy, but clever.
Narvelan had all but ruled Sachaka for most of the past decade. Though he was supposed to come to a consensus with two other magicians for all decisions, nearly all the Kyralians who had taken the roles of co-rulers hadn’t been smart or determined enough to oppose Narvelan. Lord Dakon had prevailed for a while, until he was assassinated, his body drained of energy but not a cut or scratch on him. Only Lord Bolvin, who had taken up the role most recently, had ever managed to successfully stand up to the Crazy Emperor.
When Narvelan’s plan to remove the children of Sachakan magicians and have them raised by Kyralian families was thwarted by Bolvin, Hanara’s master had become angry and paranoid. He’d refused to attend meetings for three months, only coming back when decisions began to be made in his absence.
Things had gone downhill from there, with fighting between the magicians and appeals sent to the king. Finally, a week ago, a message had arrived from the king “retiring” Narvelan from his position. A day later, Narvelan had ordered Hanara to pack for a journey. They would be travelling on foot.
Far ahead, Narvelan had stopped. Hanara guessed his master had reached the top of the hill. He trudged on, forcing his aching legs to carry him up. When he finally reached the crest, Narvelan was sitting, cross-legged, on the stony ground.
“Put your pack down,” Narvelan said. “Have a drink. And some food.”
Obeying, Hanara watched his master gazing about. The hill lay at the end of the plains, where the endmost roots of the mountains rippled the ground. They had come more than half the distance to the border, but probably only half the journey time if the slower travel rates on the steep roads nearer the mountains were taken into account.
Are we going to Kyralia? Hanara wondered. Is Narvelan hoping to talk the king around? They weren’t headed for the pass, though. He looked at his master, but remained silent.
Narvelan glanced at him. “You’re wondering where we’re going,” he stated.
Hanara said nothing. He’d learned that asking questions was pointless when his master was in this mood. The man would hear the question he expected, not the one that Hanara voiced.
“Ten years,” Narvelan said. “Ten years I’ve worked, every day and most nights, to keep this country in Kyralian control. Ten years I’ve strived to keep our ancient enemy weak, to prevent an invasion happening again.”
He looked back towards Arvice, which was far beyond the horizon now. His eyes were afire with anger.
“I could have gone home, married and had a family. But then, would I have enjoyed the peace and safety that everyone else has because of me? Without my work here, Sachaka would have recovered, grown powerful, then attacked us again. No. I had to sacrifice a normal life so that others would have one.
“And did I get any thanks?” Narvelan stared at Hanara, then looked away. “No! Not once! And now they’re undoing everything I did! All my work, all my sacrifices, for nothing. They’re going to free the farm slaves. Let Sachakan magicians marry and breed more invaders. They’re going to let them come here,” he swept his arm out to indicate the area, “and start farming again. Letting this land grow wild was intended to reduce the food the Sachakans could grow, keeping their population small and manageable. It was to be an extra layer of protection between Kyralia and Sachaka. It was my great idea. My vision!”
Hanara looked down at the local farmhouses and fields. Though they were supposed to be abandoned, he could see signs of cultivation and occupation. Narvelan’s vision had only led to bandits and ichani taking up residence. We’re lucky we haven’t been attacked, he thought, then pushed the thought away. Narvelan was powerful. He’d had several servants as source slaves. He was strong enough to fight off ichani, who had only one or two slaves to take from.
“I don’t blame the king for retiring me,” Narvelan said, his voice laced with sadness and regret. Hanara looked at him in surprise. “I shouldn’t have stopped attending meetings. If I’d been reasonable, he’d have had no good reason to get rid of me.”
He frowned. “They made me angry because they wanted to undermine the plans I’d worked on for so long. I didn’t realise that there was a way to make them happen anyway. A faster way. I hadn’t thought of it yet. If I’d thought of it earlier... maybe they’d have agreed with me. If what I planned hadn’t been so difficult.”
Narvelan’s gaze was distant. He fell silent and stared towards Arvice for a long time. Brooding. Then abruptly his attention snapped back to his surroundings. He drew in a deep breath and sighed, then smiled and slowly turned to look at the plains, the hills, the mountains, and then the hill they were sitting on.
“This is a good place. I don’t know how far its power will reach, but how far it does will have to be good enough.” He looked at Hanara.
Hanara shrugged. Narvelan often said unfathomable things, especially when he was having one of these one- sided conversations. He watched as his master reached into his pack and dug around.
“Where is it? I know it’s here somewhere. Ah!”
He drew out his arm. His fist was clenched around something. Looking around, Narvelan fixed his gaze on a large, flat rock. It slid towards him, settling before his crossed legs. Then he picked up a smaller rock and hefted it, testing its weight.
“That should do the trick.”
He opened his fist and, with a musical clink, a bright, glittering object landed on the flat rock. Hanara felt his
