Haven: A Trial of Blood and Steel Book Four (48 page)

“Magnificent,” he pronounced. He placed the globe in a safe belt pouch and turned his attention to the dress. Serrin women did not wear dresses any more than serrin men did. Those robes were called
ki'jo
, to be worn indoors and at leisure by serrin of either sex. But this was clearly a dress, as human women wore, and tailored to a woman's shape. Why would serrin make such a thing?

“For the Jahndis,” he guessed, lifting the dress across an arm. The fabric felt like silk, yet it was interwoven with golden thread, and in no simple pattern either. These patterns were like flowers, curling and intricate, gold lines through rose-red fabric. “This is also impossible,” he said with wonder. “How do they make such arts? Even in Tracato I have not seen the likes of this. It must be worth a fortune. I am surprised the Lenays have not taken them.”

“The men of Northern Lenayin are not here for loot. They fight for the holy cause, and will regard such objects as cursed.”

“So the serrin have abandoned their town, but left such objects as these for us to find.” Alfriedo gazed across the lake. “Do they seek to make peace?”

“I think they merely wish to be remembered,” Zulmaher said sombrely.

Alfriedo gazed up at his mentor. He gave him the dress to examine, and leaned upon the railing. Below, the water was thick with lilies.

“Do you believe the serrin are evil?” he asked the general.

“No,” said Zulmaher. “But I did not believe the Elissians were evil, and I made war upon them all the same. It was necessary, for Rhodaan. As this is necessary, for the same.”

“I have read on many of the things that were suggested to me by Kessligh Cronenverdt, since we met.”

“I would not place too much store by the word of Kessligh Cronenverdt,” Zulmaher said warily.

“He challenged me to consider my position. A brave man does not shirk a challenge. And I should not like a Lenay warrior of his station to think me a coward.”

“My lord is no coward.”

“No,” Alfriedo agreed. “He said that Rhodaan's rulers have not always been wise and just. The serrin have many books and records that do suggest so, and that much of what my mother taught me of the history of my illustrious family is not true.”

“The Family Renine has always ruled fairly.”

“Always?” Alfriedo frowned up at Zulmaher. “Always is a long time.”

“And Saalshen's councils of the past two centuries have been scarcely more just.”

“A different matter,” said Alfriedo. “Kessligh told me that men losing an argument always change the subject.” Zulmaher was displeased. “My family has not always ruled wisely, this is plain. Brave men, and wise men who aspire to leadership, must be prepared to separate their personal desires from their quest for truth. The two are not the same, he said.”

“It is very difficult,” Zulmaher said acerbically, “to argue against both you
and
Kessligh Cronenverdt, particularly when he is not here.”

“Oh, I think he is,” Alfriedo replied with a faint smile. He pointed beyond the lake, to the west. “Just down the valley, in fact. We'll meet him shortly, and regret it.”

Alfriedo and Zulmaher returned to where armoured riders waited, holding their horses, mounted, and rejoined the road. They made greater speed through the rest of Tormae, and emerged into the beginnings of the Dhemerhill Valley. There awaited the Holy Army of Rhodaan, as it was now called. They had needed to call it something, as the only army Rhodaan had known in the past two centuries had been the Rhodaani Steel, and they fought now on the other side.

All the men were mounted, and stood in ranks as Alfriedo, Zulmaher, and their accompanying lords approached. These were the great families of Tracato and Rhodaan, now restored to nobility by the Regent's victory. Their banners flew high against the green of the valley walls, and to a man they sat proudly in the saddle. Most had dreamed of this day since they were old enough to understand the tales their parents told them, of god-given entitlements unfairly stolen, and of destinies to be fulfilled. Alfriedo shared their joy and pride in part, for it was his own, born in him as it was in them from the moment he was old enough to understand his mother's stories. And yet the cost had been immense. He did miss the serrin libraries of Tracato. And in light of what he had lately been challenged to read, he rather missed the serrin themselves.

Ahead of the Rhodaanis massed Torovan cavalry. All who had come along the forest road were cavalry, as foot soldiers would have taken too long, and been exposed to serrin ambush at night camp in the forests. The Torovans gathered in their various provinces, none of which seemed to enjoy each other's company. Many Torovans had fought with the Army of Lenayin in the Battle of Shero Valley, and some Alfriedo had spoken with were resentful that the Lenays had used them more as a reserve, save for some heavy cavalry action on one flank. Others were exasperated that the Lenays, their previous allies, had divided against themselves, as though such an event were as predictable as dogs fighting over a bone.

Somewhere further ahead of the Torovans, lost amongst the trees, were a huge mass of Kazeri. No one understood the Kazeri. They had nomadic tribes, and many had grown up travelling grassy plains, and fighting other Kazeri tribes. Some now claimed the Verenthane faith, and the great Kazeri chiefs allied themselves with the Chansul of Meraine, to the disgust of the Regent's closer allies. Meraine had fought Larosa for as many centuries as humans could remember, and now the Meraini brought the Kazeri onside to strengthen their position. The Chansul of Meraine also claimed that Ilduur would not participate in the defence of Jahnd. Without Ilduur, Jahnd's defenders would be outnumbered by a ridiculous margin, and surely their defence would be very short indeed. Such a victory could be claimed as a great victory for the Chansul and Meraine, to the Regent's further displeasure. Some already spoke of a possible war to follow this one, as Balthaar asserted his dominance over the upstart Meraini Chansul.

But the Army of Northern Lenayin did not rate the Kazeri as warriors. The Army of Northern Lenayin, in truth, did not rate any who were not Lenay as warriors. King Koenyg now led the advance, far ahead up the valley, and warned that the outer defence of mounted serrin archers would be best faced by his horsemen alone. Many further back in the column grumbled, but few with any force. The northerners were not many, no more than six thousand. King Koenyg's self-opinion was vast, for a man whose primary force had abandoned him to humiliation. Few here would mind to see the
talmaad
cut him down to size a little.

Errollyn waited. He could hear the riders coming, a great, thundering wall of noise across the Dhemerhill Valley. Trees broke any line of sight across the valley fields, with trails and farmhouses making a patchwork unsuitable for any single, massed formation.

About him,
talmaad
steadied their horses and readied their bows. There were several hundred here, hidden behind trees on the lower slope of the northern valley slope. Behind more trees, several hundred strides ahead, were Enoran cavalry. Thus were Jahnd's cavalry forces dispersed across the eastern valley, divided into small groups, and hidden, at least initially. Further east, the Regent's advancing forces would have encountered the first such group, and been encouraged by their lack of numbers. That drew them into a pursuit, much favoured by
talmaad
cavalry. Smart commanders amongst the enemy cavalry would surely recognise the tactic, and perhaps prevent their forces from charging headlong into the obvious ambush. But could they stop their hot-blooded men in a roaring charge?

He could see
talmaad
now, racing down a road between fields. Others went cross-country, jumping fences and weaving through trees, slowing now to allow others to come by, and attackers to gain range. And here were the pursuers, galloping hard to catch up with the retreating serrin. As soon as they made range, serrin archers fired, straight backward. A horseman fell, then another.

But there were not many. Errollyn frowned, and peered through the trunks and leaves of their limited cover. Here were the others, a larger mass of cavalry, leather- and mail-clad riders on big horses. He recognised several of the banners, and realised why this ambush was not progressing as he'd hoped.

“Lenays!” he called to the
talmaad
about him, and felt rather than heard the intake of breath that followed his announcement. Cavalry of Northern Lenayin. Men in black with silver steel, Hadryn, Ranash, and Banneryd, mixed with the Verenthane nobility of other provinces who followed their noble king. These were not men who would fall for tricks. Likely they'd have tricks of their own.

Some
talmaad
level with their position were now waving to Errollyn from down in the valley, and pointing across to some near place that he could not see, along this valley wall. From hand gestures, he realised that Lenay cavalry were sweeping these lower slopes, to guard against precisely this sort of ambush. He directed his force into the trees, progressing far enough forward until he could see the Lenays coming ahead. Already the range was good, and he yelled for a charge.

Talmaad
burst from the trees and hurtled toward a Lenay force of several hundred. Trained as
talmaad
were not to waste arrows from range, they waited for a closer shot. The Lenays, in response, did an utterly un-Lenay-like thing, by turning to bolt.

They raced away down the slope, building that momentum on fleet horses. Several of Errollyn's
talmaad
got close enough for a good shot, but arrow range chasing after an enemy was not as good as when he was chasing after
you
, and most arrows fell short. And now the main columns of Lenays in the valleys below were getting close, and Errollyn knew that to continue the chase was to become cut off and pinned against this valley wall.

He signalled a turn, and they wheeled away from their prey, angling downslope across the riders below. Immediately the men they'd been chasing followed them and pursued, always holding just beyond the optimum range. Errollyn muttered as he steered his horse between outcrops of trees, then over a paddock fence. Lenays played lagand, and though he'd never seen a game, Sasha had described it to him often, and shown him some of her skills. Lagand was mobile strategy on horseback, and Lenays played it well.

Below, a mass of Lenay horsemen had galloped ahead of their main body and were sprinting now to cut Errollyn's force off. Errollyn angled his riders into a rough line astern, with still some height advantage over the men now racing parallel to him down in the valley. By holding this line, he dared them to come up to him, at a slow angle uphill, and give his archers targets. The Lenays declined, jumping now to cross new fields, splitting and pouring around a farmhouse and a small dam.

Suddenly there were
talmaad
in their rear, riders hidden behind the farmhouse chasing after them, loosing arrows into men's backs. Lenays fell, and others wheeled about to face the threat. The forward half of the Lenay line continued. Errollyn indicated with a yell, and charged downslope.

Seeing that line of
talmaad
coming downhill onto them, the Lenays turned away. And now the first group Errollyn had tried to ambush was charging across the slope onto
his
flank, as
talmaad
over that way broke and ran, firing back over their shoulders. Some Lenays fell, and then a
talmaad
too, though Errollyn could not see how that happened.

Now the Enoran cavalry broke from cover upslope, and came pouring down the hill. The near group of Lenays broke away and ran downslope, while those deeper in the valley raced back and around, hoping the Enorans would charge past them and expose their rear. Errollyn had to admire the coordination—even surprised, Lenay cavalry coordinated well to turn tables on their ambushers.

Errollyn let the Enorans come down past him, then yelled for a charge. He led his force across the Enorans' rear, blocking any pursuit, standing now in the stirrups to loose an arrow at the Lenays, who were also charging, knowing a head-on scenario to be a good option against
talmaad.
And it was, for Errollyn only got off two shots before Lenay and
talmaad
forces collided, and he drew his blade while steering with his bow hand, ducking and weaving between the big Lenay horsemen.

Their formation was fragmented, and most
talmaad
made it through, but with swords out for parrying,
talmaad
were unable to fire arrows at pointblank range. Errollyn got a good swing at a passing Lenay who swatted the blow calmly with his shield, ignoring him to focus on a serrin who barely ducked the swing.

And then they were clear, Errollyn sheathing his sword once more to draw another arrow, but already the Lenays were galloping at full speed out of range. He considered a high shot, but did not want to waste the arrow, and put it back in his quiver instead. Serrin formed up around him, and then the Enorans, moving back to make another line. The Lenays had exchanged blows with them, briefly, then pulled back and dared the Enorans to chase, straight toward the main Lenay force. The Enoran lieutenant had wisely pulled back instead, minus several of his number.