Amazonia - A traitor revealed

Fear gripped me with its cold hand as Antonius turned Wysper's head towards me with a smile. "Great Khan, Amazonia wanted to embed herself with Prince Timur to get revenge on the Sasnayams, who originally wanted to use her against you as a Shadow Knight." What? That can't be true. I lied through my teeth to Timur about the plot.

Wysper's body turned forward again as Antonius said, "You see, there is an agent for the Sasnayam empire who schemed to have Az made into the Reaver Knight she became. Her Rune sword’s spirit would have been filled with such a burning hatred towards your people, that Az would have willingly embraced becoming a Shadow Knight, leading the legions of the dead towards your encampment."

"But I don't hate them," I said, keeping my face in a hard mask. "If anything, I've come to respect Prince Timur, and the Tartaros warriors as well."

"Because those are your normal feelings," Antonius had Wysper say. "You hate the Sasnayams because I do. You see," her body facing the Khan again, "originally, the spirit of the sword was supposed to be one of your outcasts, a Hajir-someone?"

"Hajirod?" Antonius nodded, and Khan Khingla snarled, "That viper! He was caught in an act of blasphemy against Tengri, and only the intervention of his father prevented me from having him executed by crushing his body with heavy stones. So I banished him instead."

"According to Lady Jhadra, his rage against you was a terrible thing. The Sasnayam agent gave Lady Jhadra a sizable amount of gold to present a plan to the emperor, in which a Rune sword would be crafted to strike at the Sasnayam empire, with Az becoming its Reaver Knight. Lord Paulus was to be the scapegoat, of course, with Az and her Chaldeans supposedly banished from our empire and finding their way here to Bukhara, where they would begin their campaign against the Sasnayams."

"Except the spirit of the sword would be Hajirod."

"Exactly. Upon reaching Bukhara, Hajirod would have turned Az against you, and she would have plotted to get your warriors to make a suicidal attempt on Muzen and the blood corn. Then Ghash-Kimil, who had a Gem of Return linked to his temple in Bukhara, would have turned Az into a Shadow Knight to lead the dead against you, and your people would have been forced to flee with the dead in pursuit."

"But the tables were turned on them instead."

"Because Lady Jhadra did not want the Sasnayams to succeed. Oh, she was more than happy to take their gold, but she had Hajirod killed in a similar manner to the way I died, and then she gave my corpse to the Direwolves of the arena, to tear apart so the agent would not become suspicious."

Khan Khingla frowned. "Why would this Sasnayam care whether you lived or died?"

Wysper's body shrugged. "Because the agent was actually a citizen of the empire, who wanted Lady Jhadra to change me into a girl so he could marry me and become part of the nobility."

"Hades' hairy eyeballs," I snarled as the truth smacked me across the face. "Eurax works for the Sasnayams?"

Glancing over her shoulder, Wysper's freckled face broke into Antonius' silly grin. "Is this not rich? Eurax, who has more money than old King Midas, betrays his empire to their enemy so he can gain even more." She turned back around. "Great Khan, Eurax is a man of depraved appetites, who slakes his lust upon children, and would destroy anyone, even a trusted friend, to amass more wealth and power."

"He sounds more like a monster than a man."

"You speak the truth, Great Khan. Fortunately, he also believes men and women are as greedy as he is, and judges them upon the golden scales of his heart. He thought a Daemo could be swayed by gold and nothing else."

Khan Khingla leaned back in his chair as an expression of contempt swept across his face. "Daemo find money a useful tool, yet their desires are always for other things. Tell me, what did she plan to use this gold for?"

"As I understood what she told me at the time, she planned to use it to build a temple for the cult of the Dragon Queen, and make Konstanopolis their permanent home-"

"What?" I recognized the dangerous edge to Titan's voice. "The Daemo are bringing their beliefs to our world?"

"And why not?” The Daemo named Sybil was dressed as a Bukharan like Wysper was, except a lot more daring. “Our queen is far more concerned about converting other Daemo to our cause than gaining human followers, yet anyone is welcome to join us. At least, we do not pretend she is a goddess."

She turned and bowed towards the throne. "Great Khan, apologies for this outburst, but I know a good bit more about this plan of Lady Jhadra's, which I can finally share. You see, I am the head priestess for the cult of Ishtar, who has been friends with Jhadra for centuries, and both of them have contacts all over the civilized world. Including the Sasnayam capitol of Tesiphon."

Khan Khingla stroked his beard the same way Timur did. "I see. Are you saying that the Celestial Ishtar is still alive?"

Sybil nodded. "Alive and living in Bukhara, disguised as a human mage. My Lady has agents among all the Sasnayam temples, and when Lady Jhadra informed her of the plot against you, Ishtar uncovered the details. Chaac and Ix-Chel knew when Muzen would arrive in Bukhara with all the blood corn he had created, and had the Sasnayam agent-"

"Eurax," Antonius said.

The Daemo nodded. "Had Eurax time it so Amazonia would arrive with enough days remaining to set the plot in motion. Originally, the plan was to sneak the raiding party in during the last night of the festival, much like the Greeks used the Trojan Horse to sneak into the city of Troy, until Muzen unexpectedly baited his trap to catch young Greywolf. Having a Shadow-walker made the raid far easier to conceal, and gave the plotters a chance to kill the priesthood of Ghash-Kimil as a bonus."

"This part puzzles me," the Great Khan said. "Ghash-Kimil was essential for the plot to succeed."

Sybil inclined her head. "Ghash-Kimil was being double-crossed, Great Khan. The Celestial was waiting for a signal from his head priest in Bukhara before activating the Gem of Return, and when he finally received it, Ghash-Kimil would find the head priest of Chaac waiting with the corpses of the priests, and a sad tale of White Horde savagery."

Khan Khingla's eyes narrowed. "We would have been blamed for their deaths."

"Which would have enraged Ghash-Kimil so much that instead of just raising the dead from the charnel pits, they would have joined the fight. Meanwhile, at the main temple of Ghash-Kimil’s in Tesiphon, the priests of Chaac and Ix-Chel would have swooped in and uncovered the books of Necromantic lore and other documents, indicating that the temple of Yun-Kax knew Ghash-Kimil was practicing necromancy and did nothing to stop them."

The Daemo's expression turned sardonic. "They would have been shocked, shocked, over discovering such evil practices, and would have begun a crusade to raze the temples of Ghash-Kimil while throwing the temple of Yun-Kax into disgrace."

The Khan leaned back on his throne. "But now, my warriors and the Reaver Knight have smashed their plans into pieces, and I understand that all the priests and priestesses of Bukhara’s temples have either been enslaved, or slain."

"Allowing the worship of Inanna and her sister Ishtar to take their place. Great Khan, a unique opportunity lays before you. Both the head priest of Chaac and priestess of Ix-Chel were killed last night before getting a chance to warn their superiors, and all Ghash-Kimil knows is that something went wrong.

“To make matters worse for them, Muzen has returned to Tesiphon, knowing that the other temples have declared war upon him. The Sasnayam empire will be in disarray for some time, giving you the chance to fulfill your dream of turning your people from a collection of wandering tribes into a nation."

He frowned. "I fail to see how one leads to the other."

"Holy war against the Sasnayams." Antonius had Wysper spread her arms wide. "All the satrapies along the eastern border, from Bukhara to the southern sea, worshiped the sisters before the Sasnayams imposed their religion upon them, and the memories of their people are long.

“They remember how Yun-Kax fought Inanna along the tops of the pyramids here, in Bukhara's Temple District, and threw her down, tossing her body into the charnel pits like so much trash. Send riders bearing the news of Inanna's great victory, and a fire will be lit among the people that the Sasnayams will find hard to extinguish."

"Great Khan," Sybil said, "such a holy war can be used to gain everything you desire for your people. The lands east of Bukhara are fertile; seize them, and build your city while your Shadow Knight leads a host of the dead south. Plunder and raze the settlements of all who cling to the false gods, but spare those returning to the fold, and the satrapies of the Sasnayams will overthrow their masters out of self-preservation, if nothing else."

Khan Khingla was shaking his head. "I will not lead my people into a war they cannot win."

"They don't have to win it," War-leader Kula growled. "All we've got to do is cause enough chaos for the Sasnayams to sue for peace, and recognize that we own the few city-states we decide to keep."

The Khan's face darkened like a storm cloud. "Do not tell me you approve of this madness."

Kula's tired eyes narrowed. "Great Khan, you know exactly how I feel about your idea of the People settling down. Regardless, I'm your war-leader, which means I'll do whatever it takes to make your idea become stone and steel, and I see this as the best chance we've got. You have an army that needs no rations, has no morale problems, and will march in any weather."

Breathe, Az, and think of a way out of this. "Great Khan, the army can't march forever without regular infusions of the black mana from your necromancers, and they can only get it from the dead, grey trees like the one inside the Ghash-Kimil temple."

"Az has a good point," Titan rumbled. "Moreover, without scouts and support troops, you will be going into battle blind. And before anyone asks," the edge returning to his voice, "I will leave your encampment forever should you embark upon such a war. Necromancy is like wine to the drunkard, and I have seen more than one proud nation destroy themselves using it."

"So what would you have us do," Timur snapped, "wait patiently for the next Sasnayam plot against us?"

"Prince Timur is right," Kula said. "The heart-eater priest told me straight up that their empire will never accept our kingdom upon their eastern border. I say we strike now and strike hard."

"No." The fear in my heart eased as Khan Khingla's glare swept across the tent. "What happened last night was an abomination, and the only reason I have forgiven any of you is because the Sasnayams brought this abomination upon themselves. Tengri himself abhors this blasphemy."

"Does the Great Khan now speak for Tengri?" The people around me went totally silent as Timur gave his father a hard look. "I would say Tengri has blessed us for our courage, both in standing against the heart-eaters, and for using what he has put in front of us to bring us victory."

Timur looked around the interior of the tent. "Titan the Ogri tells us that letting Lys use her talents in our service is like giving wine to a drunkard. Tell me, nobles and warriors of the People, have you ever known the Khan of khans or his sons to be anything except men of strong character?"

Around me, the men nodded and muttered agreement as Timur motioned in the direction of the city. "Last night, my little brother Avitohol stood beside me when the heart-eater soldiers counter-attacked, wielding an Artifact battle-axe and slaying several men much taller than he is."

"Everyone will be taller than he is," Kula said.

Laughter rippled through the room as Timur smiled. "Before he fell asleep, he told me his warrior name is going to be Attila, or 'Little Father'. Great Khan," Timur turning towards Khan Khingla, "if you truly want little Attila to become a king, and not the Khan of khans, then the time is now."

Khan Khingla was shaking his head again. "The people are not yet ready to accept such a monumental change in their lives. They need time to accept this decision, and Avitohol," the old man emphasizing his youngest son's name, "needs time for Titan to teach him how to rule wisely. I will not be rushed into this, and I will not be used by either Daemo sorceresses or Celestials wanting to be worshiped again."

Khan Khingla motioned towards someone behind me. "The merchant Porthos will be made Bukhara's petty king, subject to me and to my heir, its walls will be rebuilt, and you, Prince Timur, will reorganize its army. Emissaries will be sent to Tesiphon dictating our terms for peace, and in the spring, the People of the Eternal Sky will migrate east."

"Great Khan," the Daemo Sybil said, "the Sasnayams will never accept peace. Without your armies to protect us, Bukhara will fall, and then, Great Khan, the armies of the Sasnayams will march after you."

"Then I will summon troops from the other tribes of our Confederation, and the petty kingdoms of Indus who owe us fealty, if need be."

"This will take time," Kula said. "At the very least we need to send outriders into the satrapies to warn us against-"

"No one sets foot anywhere outside of the lands under Bukhara's control," the Khan snapped. "You have all heard my decision."

"To lead our people to their destruction," Timur almost snarled.

Khan Khingla's hands gripped the armrests, shaped like boar limbs, so hard that his knuckles turned white. "What would you have me do? If you sat in this chair, Timur, what would you do?" Bells of Hades, I can’t believe I’m seeing this. The Great Khan's becoming a frightened old man who’s desperately trying not to show it.

Timur drew himself up. "What would I do? Where do I begin? I would give up this idea of settling down and follow the wisdom of our ancestors, by spending the winter preparing our people for war in the spring."

He glanced at Antonius, staring out worshipfully at him from Wysper's eyes. "I would embrace this holy war against the Sasnayams, sending prophets all across their empire spreading word of Inanna's return from the Underworld, bringing with her the legions of the dead." He looked again at the old man. "I would spend the winter getting our warriors accustomed to the legions that would lead the attacks-"

"You cannot be serious!"

"Deadly serious, Great Khan. Before Amazonia dismissed them back to the black temple, I walked among her legion, accidentally bumping into one and almost knocking it over. Do you know what happened?"

Timur made a fist and smacked it lightly against his breastbone in a gesture of respect. "It did this. The dead that Cermet raised do not hunger for the flesh of men, as the old tales tell, but are more like the manikins Bukhara's mages use. Better, because unlike the manikins, the legion soldiers instinctively know friend from foe.

“Amazonia’s legion will absorb arrows from the Sasnayam archers, and frighten their spearmen into panicking, allowing our warriors to engage their superior troops, and our Warg-lancers to run down their cavalry." He balled his hand into a fist again and raised it over his head. "United, we will become the storm that drives the Sasnayam empire to its knees."

"You are mad," the khan hissed as Timur lowered his hand. "You would disgrace yourself, disgrace our people, replace the worship of Tengri with blaspheming gods-"

"Did I say a word about polluting our religion with theirs? Let the farmers have the religion of their ancestors; we have Tengri, lord of the open sky. We need no other. And since we are speaking of blasphemy, tell me this, oh Great Khan: how can the People of the Eternal Sky worship Tengri when the open sky is blocked by stone walls? Will you build Tengri marble temples to worship him, like the Etruscans do, or will you build great pyramids in imitation of the heart-eaters?"

The old man rose off his carved chair, shaking in his fury. "Since you love Bukhara so much, you are hereby banished to their side of the river, you and all your abominations, until I say otherwise. If any of you so much as step across the bridge, that person will be slain on sight. Am I making myself clear?"

Timur's face became a stony mask of controlled fury. "Perfectly. Do I have your leave to go?" The old man made a brusque wave of his hand and Timur turned and strode away, his two other Bloodguards following.

Well, that's that. Lys took her hand away from the hilt and I slammed the blade back into the sheathe, Wysper gasping as her face turned a bright shade of red. Then she scampered away, moving past me towards Greywolf. I rose to my feet as Lys stretched. "That went well," she said with a chuckle.

"Lys," the old man intoned, "you are banished as well." Lys stopped in mid-stretch as her eyes went wide.

In the blink of an eye she was on her feet facing him. "Great Khan, did I just hear you correctly? After everything I have done for you, I am to be banished, thrown away like a corpse dumped upon a midden heap?"

"I should never have accepted your service in the first place," he snapped. "Titan was right: necromancy is like wine to the drunkard, but a thirst can be tamed by banishing the wine cask from your tent. Take yourself out of my sight and never return."

"As you wish." There was a cold, cold, edge to her voice as her black jagged teeth glittered like Artifact daggers. "But know this, Khingla: your banishment means nothing to me. I go where I want, and will take service with whoever I want."

Timur halted near the tent flap and turned around. "Lys? I would be honored to have you join me, you and Karl both."

Lys' jagged smile became a grin. "I believe I hear my new lord calling me. By your leave." She gave him a mocking bow, then together, she and I turned around and headed towards Timur.

Karl bowed to the men he was translating for and headed that direction as well. "Karl the Outlander," the old man called out, "you are permanently banished as well if you leave."

Karl stopped next to Timur and shrugged. "Truth be told, I was getting tired of bathing in a steam tent anyway."

Timur clapped him on the shoulder as Lys and I reached Greywolf, who had his good arm around the girl's waist. Lys looked up at Wysper as the girl said, "Muzen once told us that having a Fae in your service was like riding a tiger into battle. You are king of the battlefield until you get knocked off and the tiger eats you."

Lys glanced over her shoulder. "Tempt me not." Greywolf and I exchanged a look, then Lys and I moved past them a moment before Lys leapt onto Karl's shoulder. "Prince Timur," she said in a frozen purr, "shall we discuss terms?"

"By all means." Together, we strode out of the stuffy tent into the cold, clear morning as behind us, the old man called out, “Everyone pack up and return to the encampment. I am shaking the dust of this place off my feet and never coming back.”