no one was willing to say begone to his face. And a few were so bold as to wonder if they could make a good marriage with one of their daughters.
Fleeing these pressures, Iraj went everywhere with Safar. He accompanied him to the clay beds when Safar went to fetch new supplies for his father. Out of boredom he even helped Safar with his most common chores, suffering dirt on his hands and clothing, for instance, while cleaning up after the goats. In repayment, Safar was moved to show Iraj the place near the lake where they could spy on the girls bathing naked in a hidden cove.
The two boys became such a pair they eventually combined their wits at school to bedevil poor Gubadan and divert him from the lesson at hand.
One day that game took a turn Safar found to be most revealing.
Gubadan's subject of the day was once again the starry constellations. It was just after the midday meal and it was all the students could do to keep their eyes open in the overly warm little chamber.
'We can all see how the Lion Cub suckles at his mother's breast during the spring, Gubadan was saying. But in the winter the Cub must hide while the Hunter is lured away by the Lioness. So it follows that if you are born under the sign of the Cub you are affectionate by nature, but in the winter months you are timorous and hesitate to make decisions. Those of us with the Hunter as our major sign tend to be aggressive, fearless, but easily fooled by stealth when we encounter the Lioness.'
Bored, Safar raised his stylus for attention.
'Pardon, Master, he said after he was acknowledged. I'm having difficulty understanding.'
Gubadan's heavy brows furrowed about his odd-shaped nose. What is it, Safar? he asked suspiciously.
'Why do we call the Wolf Cub timorous when he hides? Safar said. Isn't this actually a sign of wisdom? The Cub has no defense if the Hunter finds him.'
Iraj broke in. Safar has a good question, Master, he said. I was also wondering about the Hunter. Why is he a fool to pursue the Lioness? She's in plain sight. I'd chase her myself and ignore the Cub. She'd make a much better skin to drape about my shoulders and stave off the cold.'
Gubadan thumped a fat volume on his lectern. The leather cover was etched with stars and planets.
'The answer to both of you, he said, is in this book. It was written by wise men many centuries ago. Stargazers have followed those laws for many years, predicting grand events as well as the future of great men.'
'These Stargazers, Safar asked. Are they never wrong?'
Gubadan harumphed. A sure sign Safar had found a weak spot. Well, he said, I can't honestly say there have never been errors. But they were due to faulty interpretation. Not by the laws themselves. All Stargazers are not equally blessed by the gods.'
'I suppose, Master, Iraj said, that some might even purposely make mistakes.'
Gubadan flushed in anger, gripping his beard. That would be sinful, he growled. Why would a Stargazer commit such a godless act?'
Safar quickly saw Iraj's course. For gold, he said. Men have been known to sin to possess it.'
'Not Stargazers, Gubadan said, horrified. They are holy men. Why, one might as well doubt the honesty of Dreamcatchers.'
'One might indeed, Master, Iraj said. If enough gold were offered, or bloody threats.'
'Master, Safar said, was not Alisarrian's grandsonKing Ogdenbetrayed by a Dreamcatcher?'
Gubadan brightened. The Conqueror Alisarrian was his favorite subject.
'You've made my point exactly, Safar, he said. King Ogden was born under the sign of the Hunter. And the Jester was his lesser sign as well so he was easily taken in by the rogues and charlatans of Zanzair. The demons were at the heart of the conspiracy, of course. Alisarrian, on the other hand, had the Demon Moon for his sign with the Comet ascending. So he was fierce and wise at the same time.'
He began pacing, excited by the diversion the boys had caused. Safar wasn't fool enough to mention Gubadan really hadn't made his point at all. There was no disputing a Dreamcatcher had played Ogden the fool. History said so. Which had been Safar's point.
'Who was this man, Alisarrian? Gubadan said. Was he a monster as his enemies claimed? A monster who bent us to his will with his mailed fists, or was Alisarrian a blessing from the gods who cut the curtain of ignorance with his sword? We were dim-witted savages when he blew over these mountains like the last storm of winter. But when the spring of his enlightenment came, what a lovely field of learning bloomed. What a mighty…'
Safar settled back to doze as Gubadan waxed eloquent on the Conqueror. He noticed, however, that Iraj hadn't follow suit. Instead he was intent on Gubadan's every word. Safar examined Iraj, then suddenly remembered the banner with the red moon and silver comet he'd seen in the visionthe Demon Moon with the Comet in ascension! As Gubadan had just reminded him, it was the sign of Alisarrian.
Then Safar heard his friend interrupt Gubadan with a question. Tell me, master, Iraj said, do you think a man as great as Alisarrian will ever rise again?'
The priest shook his head. Impossible, he said. The gods blessed him with more qualities than is ever likely to be repeated. Gubadan shrugged. There will be other conquerors, of course. Esmir has always been a divided house and it cries out for unification under one throne. There were conquerors before Alisarrian and others will follow. But they'll always rule under his great shadow.'
Safar noted Iraj seemed upset at this answer. But the youth shook it off and pressed on. May I ask you this, master? he said. Do you think any of those future conquerors will rule the demon lands as well? They were once part of Alisarrian's kingdom.'
'Empire, not kingdom, lad, Gubadan corrected. But to your question… once again I must answer with a negative. Only a human such as Alisarrian could rule the demons. To begin with, besides being a mighty warrior and leader, Alisarrian was a powerful wizard. Powerful as any demon sorcerer. As you know, few humans possess magical ability.'
Safar shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
'And this ability tends to be weak compared to that of the demons, Gubadan continued. The greatest human wizard I know of is Lord Umurhan who heads the university in Walaria. And powerful as he is, even Umurhan would admit he'd be hard pressed in a match with a demon wizard. Humans have always used superior numbers to defend themselves against the demons. Just as the demons have used their great magic to stave off humans.
'But Alisarrian was strong enough to break that stalemate and conqueror the demons. Why he didn't slay them all is in my opinion one of his great mysteries. He could have rid all Esmir of their foul presence, but he chose not to. For what reason, no one knows. His empire might have lasted to this day if he had done otherwise. It is the one area of his character that has disappointed me.'
For Gubadan to admit his hero had a flaw of any kind was a remarkable event. It so disturbed the old priest he quickly ended the diversion and to the groans of all the students, he returned to the boring lecture on the distant constellations.
A few days later Safar and Iraj were strolling by the ruins of the old fort, stopping to watch younger boys playing soldier on its last remaining wall.
Remembering the interest his friend had shown, Safar pointed to the fort, saying, Supposedly Alisarrian himself ordered this built when he came into our valley.'
Iraj shook his head. I don't think so, he said. Look at how poorly it's placed. He pointed at a hill a short distance away. If an enemy took that hill the fort would be within even a poor archer's bowshot. Alisarrian would never build such a thing. He was too good a general.'
Safar looked at the rising ground stretching out from the ruins with new eyes and saw how vulnerable any force gathered inside would be.
'It's more likely, Iraj continued, some fool tried to oppose Alisarrian from that fort. And was easily overwhelmed.'
'There are tales that say you're right, Safar admitted. Those same tales claim he made the whole valley his fortress, with strong guard posts in the passes and hidden caves where supplies and additional weapons were stored.'
Iraj looked at Safar, eyes glittering. Have you ever seen such things?'
Safar nodded, saying, Many times. While grazing my father's goats in the mountains. There's one place in particularvery high up where you can see a great distance. The boy shrugged. The grass is poor, but I like to go there and think.'
'Take me! Iraj urged. I must see this for myself.'
