The leaders met at Koru in the Borderlands, where the houses were full of building work and everyone had to step past piles of ancient masonry and newly split wood. Peter’s craftsmen busied themselves on the far edge of the settlement while the important persons and their soldiers occupied the military quarters on the high ground where the stream ran into the village from the hills above.

While Luke was examining the quality of the buildings away from the camp Hartor took the chance to catch up with him.

“It catches my breath to see he is copying the design of my simple cabin in the mountains.”

“You and your simple lives. You know ways to do things that put the whole world to shame. It’s a good example to copy. But these are only temporary structures. Look at the wood, it is fresh cut. Over time it’ll shrink and the wind will blow through. Peter tells me he has great stores of wood drying out and when they have been left a year he will rebuild each house one by one carefully learning from everything he has done. I believe he also intends to rebuild the camp into a replica of The Castle but perhaps that is not for Rah to know just yet.”

“You are learning politics, Luke. And how do you expect the talks to come?”

Luke detected that the older man wanted to say something which had sensitivity. “I think we will install a new Council of Elders and everyone really wants to go back to the settlement of the Mountain Wars. Pretend that nothing really ever happened.”

“That would be possible, but there is a factor you are not considering. What will be your brother’s role?”

“I don’t know. Why would ...? He was only a soldier.”

“Wolf is under capture, when you ask him he will say Marcos was one of his soldiers. Marcos will say, I was just in the Hinderith, my wife lives there. He will say, Athelea needed new order and he was helping the troops. And yet he comes here as the representative of his forces. Looking for a command. He is dark, Luke. He will say many things. Don’t believe any of them.”

“Are you telling me off for sparing his life?”

“Luke. Why do you think Rah’s soldiers were aiming to kill the two of you?”

“That is just Rah. It’s a mad place.”

Hartor looked at Luke.

“Don’t you think? Do you think I should have killed him? I received a message from the gods.”

“The mind plays tricks, Luke.”

“What about Uncle? Sending my grandfather into exile.”

“Oh Luke. You are quite right, the man you called Uncle was your grandfather’s brother. But who lived out his life in Tranthrith and who was sent in exile?”

Luke had to think about that for a moment. “So are you saying we confine Marcos to Athelea and start the seasons all over again?”

“Won’t work, Luke. The people of Athelea don’t like him. I have my spies out and so should you. The Hinderith follow him but there is danger, it is a hidden part of the country. I am sure he has been building villages all along the coast, breeding horses and seeking out metal. The people have been taxed and their animals and goods taken over the mountains. We will have to give him something, but you could have saved us all a danger.”

Luke walked on, still looking at the buildings and the work in progress but not really taking it all in. He realised Hartor had taken him round in a circle and they were climbing uphill towards the camp again.

Peter was standing at the entrance to the buildings, talking to Commander South. He looked up as the two of them approached.

“Barah’s arrived, We can start proceedings when we’re all settled. Maybe at midday. Commander Mamat will start. As he was in charge of reserves and supplies his troops were in a good position to observe the day.”

“Is that Barah over there?” Luke had observed a tall man with grey hair accompanied by two soldiers in Castle Guard uniform.

“Yes that’s him. Have you not seen him before?”

“No. Only heard descriptions. Not so sure I want to meet him.”

“He’ll be no danger to you here. You think everyone is out to kill you.”

“And they’re not?”

“Well, like I say, not here. This is the most protected place you can be.”

“Still I want soldiers when I introduce myself. Though of course he will know perfectly well who I am.”

The commanders of the various sides took their place in a building set out as a large open hall. There was no furniture and all stood. As Peter had said it was Mamat who gave the first description of the events from a couple of days earlier.

“Troops of the northern mountains sustained ninety-four deaths and another thirth-seven injured.” Luke was surprised. Normally the proportions would be the other way round.

“The commander of their troops was captured and is held in Athelea as captive. His representative is here.” Luke looked across at Marcos who ignored him.

“Troops of the alliance suffered ten deaths and ninety injuries most of whom have been sent back to the homeland for treatment. One commander has been injured and was taken to the mountain stronghold. The day was for the alliance and there will be no further fighting.”

The mood in the hall was of relief that things had been settled so quickly. There were some speeches by the commanders then Barah took order.

“Call to centre Marcos of Cano.”

Luke watched his brother move to the middle of the room, confident in himself but trying as well as he could a show of submission.

“You are leader of the invading troops?”

“No sir. I live in the Hinderith with my wife. I was captured by Wolf shortly after Luke left for Elenea. When they found Luke was not there they took me instead. Having taken our horses they needed someone who could handle them. Our two farmhands were useless. I was taken to a remote village and told I would be killed if I tried to escape. It was a year before I managed to get out of the mountains but the Lodge were so weak I just went back again. We built up a force and offered the Lodge our alliance. But they were stupid. Half of them wanted us and half tried to fight. We subdued them with barely a struggle and then found we had to rule the country ourselves to keep it out of Elenean hands. It was quite strong then. But Wolf went mad. After taming the mountain bandits he thought he could conquer Trantrith. He has a grudge against Hartor. But it was nonsense, the whole of Athelea is in the way. We built our forces up and hid them in the Hinderith. But whenever we sent anyone to Trantrith they simply disappeared. We couldn’t possibly have attacked Hartor, even with many more hundreds of men.”

“How many do you have?”

“About eight hundred fighting men.”

Barah was surprised to hear this. “How do you support eight hundred men?”

“Easy enough. Most are ex-bandits and farmers who live in their old strongholds. They support themselves by hunting and farming. We have set up small villages in the valleys and since the Lodge fell we get food from Athelea in return for military service. But we would not have been able to go into the next winter without making peace with Trantrith. Unfortunately it was Elenea who attacked us so we had no choice but to try and fight.

I am a capable soldier, trained by the Lodge of Athelea. When the country was poorly governed I served in the army that strengthened it. Wolf was its commander. I served him the way a soldier should.”

“And now you speak for him?”

“He is captive and at the mercy of the winners. I speak as an Athelean for the people of my country.”

Barah tried another angle. “How did your people come to their herd of horses?”

“The first horses were stolen from our farm near Cano about five years ago. We bred from them but some of the offspring are still quite immature. We gained two mares from the Forest who we tamed while they were still young. Then we followed a stallion who had been coming round each time our mares were in season. His herd provided the rest of our horses. Except mostly they’re scattered now.”

“We can do without horses in the Hinderith at the moment,” observed Barah drily. “It’ll be no bad thing if it takes two or three years before a troop can be formed again in that area.”

As Hartor had predicted Marcos had an answer for everything and by the time they broke for food Luke realised his brother was not going to be on trial but probably would come out of the affair with some form of command. Luke stayed close to Hartor as much as he could, not quite knowing where he would fit into the arrangements.

The food was served in a neighbouring building designed specially for the purpose. It had extravagant tables build of earth banks topped with wood. Not the split trunks used for building houses but wood so old and flat Luke knew it must have come from the ancient houses which had provided all the building stone. The food was served on valuable pottery plates and left out for all to collect under the eye of a woman from the village who made sure no one took more that their fair share.

“I don’t mind facing enemy spears and arrows,” said Hartor, “but I wouldn’t like to come up against her in battle.”

“I am sure she is on our side,” said Luke.

“I do hope so. You should see what she said to Igor when he spat an olive stone onto the floor.”

Luke laughed and looked sideways to Igor who was muching his way through a hunk of meat as if it was a whole goat. “Glad he’s on our side too.”

“We’re short of a ranger. Ever since Stefan died.”

“Oh? I wondered what happened to him.”

“Fell off the mountain when his horse tripped. Wouldn’t be surprised if he had made one enemy more than was many. Some who want to rule are not born into it.”

Luke pondered this, wondered how much Hartor knew and how much he had not bothered to investigate. “You have plenty more men.”

“I do, but a good one is hard to find. Give it time.”

The peace treaty was quickly put in place. There did not need to be agreement, Barah was in charge and Luke was sure he had already discussed the details with Hartor. Marcos was to take his remaining active troops, not many, back to the Hinderith where they would be settled under Athelean rule. A new Council of Elders was to be appointed for Athelea with the unspoken threat that the larger country would be there to take charge should it step out of line. The new town of Koru, where they were meeting, would continue to be enlarged with Peter in charge and would be renamed Treaty. It would form the new boundary of Elenea. Luke could not help thinking Rah and Barah had done very well from the situation.

Hartor called Luke over before leaving with Igor and the rest of his entourage.

“You’ll come straight to Trantrith when it’s finished. And your brother too. He hasn’t been there yet.”

Marcos was walking over. Luke was beginning to assume Hartor arranged everything with perfect precision.

“Trantrith?”

“We’ll go there to work out the details.”

“So am I to be exiled? Just like the others?”

“There is no exile, Marcos. Only division of rule.” Hartor slapped his horse and rode away.

Luke had no time to reflect, he saw another horse coming in the opposite direction. He recognised the rider immediately.

“Commander. I had heard you were injured.”

“Arrow in the shoulder, my boy. Nearly did for me. That Ruth, Hartor’s daughter, she’s quite something. Had the head out with no mercy. She has metal tools for surgery. Cut right into the flesh. Was painful but did the trick, her and all her herbs. Getting better now.”

“So you’ll be back in service.”

“Maybe, maybe not. My arm is weak. Maybe time to retire and spend my time in the city, teaching young soldiers. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do.”

“I’ll certainly come and see you.”

“You certainly won’t. You’ll be here, Luke. You won’t be safe for a day in Elenea.”

“So I’m exiled too.”

“You’re a foreigner. You can’t be exiled. Just don’t go beyond the border. This town is as far as you can safely come.”

Luke looked to the east, to the great land he had lived in and served for the last few years. “What about Sarah?”

“She’ll be fine. She can carry on living in the house, your children will be looked after. Maybe one day things will change.”

There was just one item of business left, how to deal with the prisoner. Luke could understand how Hartor had wanted nothing to do with it.

“So take him back to Elenea,” he told the assembly after Barah had read out the crime.

“He will be taken to the western province where he will be dealt with as blood feud,” said Barah. Those in accordance say."

All except Luke and Marcos uttered their agreement. Barah looked at Luke.

“In accord,” said Luke.

Marcos said nothing.

“Then let him be taken prisoner from where he is to the town of Agor,” commanded Barah and the meeting finished.

*

The brothers were accompanied by Peter and just a couple of Elenean soldiers through the tortuous mountain route Luke had travelled two years earlier. Only Marcos was unaware of the shorter ways into the mountains. The fastness of the high peak was visible from a great distance, no shades of white for another month or more but even so standing majestically among its grey cousins. As they skirted its edge it became colder but this time they did not leave their horses, just descended with care and traversed below a great cliff.

Marcos pointed out a distant brownish face off ahead of them and to their left. “Luke, that’s where the bear and tiger fought each other in their last battle.”

“You don’t believe that stuff as well do you?”

“Well it must be. Look, the shape of the mountain is the same as in the song, a tilted triangle on top with just one shoulder. The bear tore off the other one, didn’t he?”

The horses made imperceptible progress against the huge backdrop, and each time a new vista opened Marcos scanned it eagerly, looking for further confirmation of the old legends.

“When we get there there’ll be a pond hanging half way up the hill. There’s a place like that in the Hinderith. I thought that was the place at first but it was just an uninhabited mountain.”

“Place for what?”

“You know.

A lake on a hill

Looking from the mountain peak

Ancient Arthur’s realm.”

“Arthur?”

“I think Hartor is a name. A title, passed from father to son.”

“And in the legends Arthur spends his time fighting wolves, yes?”

“Arthur’s father was Demios. Come on. All these years of soft living have affected your mind. Demios had a wife and Arthur was supposed to be their only son. But secretly he had another one with the godess of the Hinderith. The boy changed into dog form in the winter and spent his time in the mountains. So she is the mother of the mythical wolves. That makes Arthur and the wolves half-brothers. But they always fought each other. Each time they fight is a further step in the course of their struggle. When they have made the fortieth step one of them will emerge victorious, whatever exactly that means.”

“I’m glad there’s something you don’t claim to understand. It’s completely baffling to me. I think someone’s taken all the legends and mixed them for their own purposes. But this idea about the steps, I wonder if it’s to do with travelling around the world. Uncle did that, didn’t he?”

“Oh, Uncle. Yes. He was lucky. He went round the world all right, or at least enough of it to cause a bit of a surprise, but he didn’t really deserve a victory. I killed him, you know.”

“You? That must have been an act of some valour. The poor man could hardly stand.”

“No. I didn’t even touch him. When I told him I was fighting for Wolf against The Lodge he just dropped dead on the spot.”

“Poor guy. Everything he’d given his life for. He didn’t really win the Mountain Wars at all, did he. Just gained himself a small kingdom to see out his years.”

Marcos was beside himself then they crested a long steep slope and the lake miraculously appeared to their left. He stood with his mouth open, taking in birds skimming the cold water, grassy rushes, rocks bordering the fringes, the mountain standing high above, the screen of trees far away at the base of the cliff. A cold wind rippled the surface.

“Luke, is their an entrance behind those trees?”

“For sure. There are houses here - that is where I stayed when we came here before. Haven’t been here for two years but it seems like coming home. There must be caves in the mountains because the horses weren’t stabled outside. This is where he kept Tec.”

“After he stole her from you. Where is she now?”

“In Kingston City. Rakir. We use her as our own personal horse. Only a very few people have one that actually belongs to them. Most people pay a price to someone who owns one, so they can use it for the day or for a particular job.”

“What do you mean, price? You mean the written barter they use at the inn?”

“Yes. It’s done differently in the eastern country. It’s an excellent system. I’ll teach you while we’re here.”

Luke and Marcos were installed in an empty house. No sooner had they settled down by beginnings of a fire than Hartor came in.

“Luke! I came as soon as I heard you were here. You must be Marcos. My pleasure to meet you at last. Glad to have you on our side now as well. Your father’s gone back to his farm, I would have had him here but he has work to do.” He grabbed Marcos roughly by the shoulders in the manner of the bandits as he rose from the seat. “But Luke, you have a more important visitor.”

He opened the door and Ruth walked in, one hand supporting an unsteady toddler.

“Hallo, Luke. I’ve brought little Samor to see you. Samor, this is your daddy.”

The half crawling boy looked curiously at all the people. When Luke approached him he watched warily and turned to his mother who picked him up and held him close. Luke realised both Hartor and Marcos were watching. It made him nervous. Marcos started to make an excuse to leave but Hartor intervened.

“Come over to my cabin, Marcos. I want to have a talk with you before discussions get under way.”

For the first time Luke realised they had all been speaking his own native language. Hartor and Ruth both had a command of Athelean almost matching Peter’s abilities.

The hut was divided into three. In the centre a large living room and kitchen contained a little furniture and some cooking equipment. They would be eating mostly in their own quarters but Ruth would have it all in order. There were window openings like the houses of the Old Ones which were draughty when the fire blazed so they were shuttered back at night, the orange flames casting eerie shadows across the walls. To one side a door led to a bedroom suitable for a single man, while the opposite wall had an entry to a family room with a double pallet and a cot.

Ruth and Samor settled themselves in with Luke, and when Marcos returned early in the evening she set the two of them to work helping to prepare dinner. With her child nestling heavily in her clothes to the front she went to fetch water from the lake while they were rubbing the large clods of earth off vegetables she had selected from the stores.

“Luke, how long have you known Ruth?” asked Marcos.

“Well I met her when I was here last time. That’s all. I’m as surprised as you are.”

“Hartor fixed you up?”

“Yes. Do you want him to do you a favour as well? Surely you already have someone in the Hinderith?”

“I have a wife, kind of, in the mountains. And I don’t quite like the idea of someone else choosing for me. I might not like her.”

“True. I guess I must have been lucky.”

“Anyway, what about Sarah?”

“Oh, er, well ...”

“You’ve just gone and abandoned her in Elenea?”

“I don’t really seem to have had much choice in the matter, do I?”

“I don’t suppose you do now. You’ve made sure of that.”

“Marcos.” Luke wiped his hands on his clothes and faced his brother. “I’ll never return to Rakir now. Life is dangerous there in a completely different way from here. And Sarah will never leave. The place suits her too well. What’s the good of having a wife you’ll never see again?”

Ruth entered the door with a pail of water and a huge bundle of sticks and log fragments balanced on top. Samor, released from his papoose, ran up as best he could and started pulling at the loose ends, creating a trails of debris all along the floor.

“Here, Samor.” Luke picked up the infant and placed him at the edge of the mess. “Now, pick up the sticks like this, one, tow, three, four, ...” Samor followed along behind, emitting a joyous peal each time he found a small fragment he could throw into the air. He giggled mightily when a thin dry stick broke in two.

“What are you doing now? Come on, let’s get all this into a pile.” Ruth gathered her son with one hand while picking up the loose sticks with the other. Then she put him down and went out to deal with the dinner.

“Luke, mind he doesn’t go too near the fire won’t you?”

“You don’t have baby-guards up here, do you? In Elenea they use a big screen made of brambles. It stands far enough away from the fire that it won’t dry and burn and the baby can’t get past it without pricking himself.”

Ruth did not seem the slightest bit interested.

“I’ll make you one if you like. It’ll save you a lot of worry.” He stuck his head towards the cooking area where Ruth was commandeering Marcos to mash vegetables in an earthenware pot. “You’ve got a lot to look forward to when you become a father,” he told his brother.

Two representatives of the Elenean party eventually reached the mountain stronghold, tired from their long and difficult journey which they had made on foot. Two days were spent hunting around the fringes of the lake, talking with Hartor, and seeing all the sights normally shown to visitors. The closing conference was held in Hartor’s cabin on the afternoon of the third day.

Hartor sat at one end of his long table, furthest from the door. To his right was Igor. Luke sat at the far end, Marcos on his left. Between Marcos and Igor sat Thomas, who translated the proceedings into Athelean for Marcos. The Elenean representatives sat along the other side, their backs to the open windows. Peter took his position among them to translate into Elenean. Hartor, leading the meeting, gave no indication to the Eleneans of any knowledge of either of the two languages.

A boy brought in a pile of wooden boards. Luke had not seen wood so smooth except in the ancient houses but these were fresh and new and he was sure they must have been carved using metal tools of a type he had not come across. Each was about an arm in length and half as wide. They had been carved to show a map of Kipro and the new divisions of the island, with each ruler’s totem carved onto his region of influence. The deer of the Lodge still stood for Athelea, while Marcos was permitted a dog as the new sign for the Hinderith, with the deer symbol on top. Each military leader then inscribed his own personal symbol onto the free area below the map, using a flint hand-cutter, to confirm his assent. It was hard work, but eventually all had been inscribed by Hartor, Luke, Marcos and Commander Mamat who each kept one and the fifth was taken by Peter to deliver to Commander Tivoli for Rah.

There were only two additions to the peace settlement as previously proposed by Barah and Commander Mamat. Luke and Marcos were from that point on to pay allegiance to Hartor. As well as Athelea Luke was to have joint junrisdiction of the Borderlands with Rah’s forces. In addition it had been agreed that neither Luke nor Marcos would be allowed to travel south of the Elenean border, as marked out by watershed of the Cana and Elen.

“So what do I do?” asked Luke when he was safely the other side of the lake with Hartor. “I take it the Eleneans leave today and then it is all over.”

“It starts now, Luke. Tomorrow you go to Agor and reconstitute the Coucil of Elders. You will be on it. Morian will guide you. He should be here but he is not keen on travel.”

Luke had forgotten about the High Priest, faithfully trying to guide his country through its troubles.

“And Marcos?”

“He’ll be happy enough in the Hinderith for now. But you will need to keep an eye on him.”

“How do I do that?”

“Luke, I told you I need a ranger. Only some can do the job. Now it is more than just Trantrith but we have horses. The world is smaller. Did you notice the map of the Hinderith is misleading. The northern part where Rah keeps his forces is hardly shown.”

“Yes I did notice that. It was the same on the map I drew when I first came to the Borderlands. But I’ve seen the land and it juts right out into the sea for many leagues.”

“I know. I went there once before I was even a man. I was a guest but was only allowed in some parts. From the peaks you can see the Outland clearly. It so happened that it was a particularly clear morning and I could see far to the east, where there is more Outland, faint mountain peaks in the distance. I knew it was real because there were birds flying from that direction. There is so much more, Luke, waiting for us out there.”

“People, do you think?”

“Probably not. If there were they would be more advanced than us and would have learned a way to get here. No, it will be up to us to find out how to travel across water. We will get there, Luke, now you have made us all start thinking. We will not be primitive hill dwellers any more.”

“You are thinking of uniting our island? That has never been done.”

“First things first. Resolve the Athelean question. You will need all your skill to get people to like you but I believe you can build up trust. It has been in short supply.”

“And will I have men?”

“Enough to keep you safe. You will have free passage in the mountains here but it is still a secret land. You will find out when you see our villages. Elenea with its recent advances is strong enough to cause us worry. In Athelea you will have to establish your own rules. But importantly I need to know what is going on in the Hinderith. It is a source of threat now and it is growing. Marcos will use it as a seat of power.”

“Always comes back to the same thing. You still think I should have killed him. I won’t. I never would and never will.”

“We’ll see, Luke, in the good course of time.”