The Mountains Rise (23 page)

It took a minute to create enough velocity to begin causing them trouble
,
but he didn’t let up until the entire arena was filled with one enormous cyclone
of howling
air. A few minutes after that,
he felt them die.

Daniel
basked in the crowd’s cheering.
This is my life now,
he thought, no longer entirely dissatisfied.
The blood of my enemies and my music, that is all I have—and the occasional moment
with Amarah.
It was not the life he would have chosen, that life still haunted him in his dreams,
where he sometimes tended his father’s sheep and would often get a glimpse of green
eyes and red hair.

Thillmarius congratulated him
,
and Garlin was soon taking him back to his room.

“How many did you kill before you became a warden?” asked Daniel.

The warden frowned, “Almost fifty, Tyrion.”

Daniel had slain more than a hundred and fifty. At some point in his first year he
had begun marking his kills, scratching lines into one of the walls of his room, but
he couldn’t be sure how many had died before he started keeping track. The full tally
might be closer to two hundred now.
Thillmarius really does plan to keep this up until I fail.

“Surely they will run out of people for me to kill someday.” How many humans could
they have? Ellentrea was large, but Daniel had spent a considerable amount of time
trying to estimate how many arena matches occurred every week. He already knew that
they held matches on only one day, and that his matches had long ago been changed
to be the last of the day.
Always save the best till last.

By his very rough calculation
,
at least seventeen people died every week, eighteen now, if they planned to keep
putting him against three every time. Seventeen or eighteen was the most conservative
of his estimates, it might be higher. Since he wasn’t allowed to watch the other
matches he couldn’t be sure.
Even if it’s only seventeen a week, that’s almost a thousand people a year.

“How many people do you think they keep, Garlin?”

The other man looked at him oddly, “No one knows.”

“Guess for me,” said Daniel. “I know even less than you.”

Garlin had shown himself to be one of the more intelligent people
whom
Daniel had met since coming to Ellentrea, but he was still far from a deep thinker.
His upbringing in the pens had guaranteed that. “You will still let me hear it when
we get back to your room?”

By ‘it’ he meant the music.
Garlin was the closest thing Daniel had to a friend, other than Amarah, and yet he
still felt the need to ensure that Daniel would play for him. He didn’t know whether
to feel sorry for the other man’s untrusting nature or himself for inspiring so little
trust. Such was life in Ellentrea.

“I will play several songs for you Garlin, whether you give me good answers or not,”
he told the other man.

The warden nodded. “Ellentrea has many thousands of people in it, many like the woman
who
brings your food.”

“How many thousands?”

Garlin frowned, “I do not know, but more than twenty. Thillmarius takes a count each
year
,
and I overheard him discussing it with another of his people once. At that time
it was close to twenty-three.”

Daniel thought about it for a while before replying, “That isn’t enough, Garlin.
Even that many people can’t produce enough children to supply so many victims for
the arena.” He also suspected that the death rate of children in the pens might be
very high. Even if they bred their humans like rabbits the She’Har would not have
enough.

“Ellentrea is not the only camp providing warriors for the arena,” said Garlin. “There
are three others.”

“Three others?” Daniel was aghast. Even as large as the world Thillmarius had shown
him was, he had never considered the possibility that they might be keeping more than
one ‘city’ for their slaves.

“Baratrea, Sabortrea, and Garoltrea,” answered the warden succinctly. “Each is similar
in size to Ellentrea.”

The She’Har were keeping close to a hundred thousand humans as fodder for their entertainment.
I never thought there were so many people in the entire world,
thought Daniel. Not only was the world much larger than he had ever suspected, but
it held a hundred times the number of people he had ever suspected. Colne and Dereham
were a drop in the bucket by comparison.
And virtually all of humankind are slaves.
No wonder they called him a ‘wildling’, free humans were a true rarity.

Daniel let Garlin sit on his bed while he stood to play. From
the first note
,
he could see a change in the other man’s aura, even though he kept his face smooth.
By the time he had been playing for a minute
,
Garlin began to lose control of his facial features as well, his mouth rounding into
an ‘o’ of amazement.

“I-I have never…,” Garlin’s voice trailed off, as he struggled to find words.

Daniel smiled and began another, this one a song about long summer days. It was a
song his mother had sung to him as a boy
,
and he still knew the words. Closing his eyes
,
he focused on the music and tried to keep his rusty voice from missing the notes.
When he finished
,
he saw that Garlin was sitting with his face in his hands.

For a split second Daniel was reminded of a child, hiding his tears
,
and he wondered if Garlin had done the same as a boy in the pens, alone and afraid.
“Are you alright?” he asked.

The other man looked up, with red eyes and puffy lids, “Please, play it again.”

The note of desperation in his voice tore at Daniel’s heart.
The wardens had never displayed the slightest sign of any gentler emotions. Laughter
at someone’s misfortune was the closest thing he had seen to
real emotion
in them
and it was a far cry from kindness or empathy
. Garlin had been the least cruel of the lot, but to see him in such a state brought
a lump to
Daniel’s
throat.

“I would be glad to,” he told him.

After a half an hour Garlin admitted that he needed to go, though he was obviously
loathe to do so. “If I come tomorrow, will you play for me again?”

“Tomorrow isn’t an arena day,” said Daniel, surprised.

“I am allowed to move as I please when they have no tasks for me,” said the warden.

Daniel was still hesitant, worried that strange visits might earn him
unwanted attention from the other wardens or the She’Har.

“
I will do you any favor, if you will allow me this,” added Garlin
,
and by the sound of his voice
,
Daniel knew that he meant it.

The other man’s eyes drifted downward meaningfully
,
and suddenly Daniel grew embarrassed. “What?” he sputtered, realizing that Garlin
was offering a service he had never considered, given the fact that they were both
men. Struggling to come up with an excuse that wouldn’t insult the other man
,
Daniel thought furiously. “I wouldn’t want to bring punishment upon you.”

“They only punish acts that can result in offspring,” said the other man with a grin.

Daniel had discovered this fact with Amarah already, but he had hoped that it wasn’t
common knowledge. “I will play for you, but I don’t require favors, Garlin,” answered
Daniel.

“Truly?” asked the other man. “Why would you do that?”

“Perhaps we can be friends,” said Daniel.

“But you don’t want favors?” Garlin seemed genuinely confused.

“Where I come from friends help one another, but not for sexual favors,” replied Daniel,
hoping he wouldn’t offend the other man.

The warden frowned, “That isn’t what ‘friend’ means here.”

Daniel had long ago realized that very little he was familiar with meant the same
thing among the emotionally stunted people of Ellentrea. “What name do you use then,
for two people who help each other?”

“Why are they helping each other?”

“Simply to be kind, because they like one another,” explained Daniel.

“Ah,” said Garlin. “That is very rare, but when it does happen, we call those people
‘fools’.”

Daniel sighed, “Let us be fools then.”

The warden seemed embarrassed at the notion. “If anyone discovers, I will tell them
that we are friends. They would think me insane otherwise.”

Daniel flushed red. It was probably the first time he had been genuinely embarrassed
since leaving home, but after a moment he let the subject drop. The rules and morals
among the people of Ellentrea were strange to him.

***

Amarah continued to linger after bringing his food, sometimes for music, and sometimes
for mutual amusement. The day after his conversation with Garlin, Daniel decided
to see if he could understand the people of Ellentrea better. More specifically
,
he wanted to
make sure he understood
her
motivations.

“Amarah,” he began, “I know you enjoy the music.”

She nodded.

“But the other things, the moments between the two of us…”

She gazed at him blankly.

“Are you just doing me favors so I will play music for you?”

She nodded, “Yes, but you have returned so many
that I am still in your debt.”

He had worried that she might be offended, as any woman from Colne would have been
if he had essentially implied that they were prostituting themselves. Amarah seemed
to think his question and the answer were perfectly
reasonable
. Daniel’s mood darkened as he realized
that
what he had thought was something special
,
seemed to be nothing more than a transaction to her.

Amarah wasn’t particularly bright, but she sensed the change in his mood. “Did I
say something wrong?”

Unable to conceal his hurt, Daniel replied, “I loved you, Amarah.”

She shook her head, misunderstanding him, “No, let me repay you. I will love you.”
She made her intention clear with her hands.

Daniel stopped her for a moment, “That isn’t what I truly want from you, Amarah.”

“But I am your friend,” she replied, a look of uncertainty on her face.

A woman tells me we’re friends while offering me sexual gratification.
A few years earlier he might have thought differently, but now the thought just made
him sad. “If I could no longer play music, if you owed me no debt—what then? Would
you still want to do this?” Daniel resisted using the word love, since it was quite
clear that it had no meaning in her vocabulary.

Amarah stared at him seriously. “You think strange things.
”

“I know I’m odd, from your perspective, but I want to know what you think,” said Daniel.

“I think… maybe,” she replied at last.

“Do you feel something for me, Amarah?” he asked with a pained expression.

She stood quickly, moving away as if suddenly uncomfortable. “Do not talk of this.
People die. You will die soon, or I will die.”

Amarah left, her posture tense and angry.
Daniel was unhappy with her response, but unsurprised.
Abuse her and she thinks it normal, but try to speak on matters of love
,
and you invoke her wrath. These people are mad.

The next day Amarah returned, but she said little. Daniel played a song for her
,
and she left. Garlin appeared that afternoon, but he had someone with him, another
warden.

The newcomer was, for Ellentrea, stunningly beautiful. Athletic, with a tall frame
and lithe build, she was smooth skinned and dark haired.

“Who is this?” asked Daniel, suspicious. Two years earlier he might have been embarrassed
as well, since he was naked
,
and both of them were clothed, but he had long since gotten past that.

“My name is Layla,” said the woman in a challenging tone. “Garlin tells me you make
a special noise.”

Daniel stared daggers at Garlin, “Can we talk for a moment?”

Seeming almost embarrassed, Garlin allowed him outside while Layla waited for them
within. “
I couldn’t help it,” he began immediately once they were alone.

“You promised to keep my secret.”

“Did you see her?” stated Garlin.

Is he referring to her looks?
“I thought you preferred to trade favors with men,” said Daniel
,
bewildered. He had just turned Garlin down the day before
,
and now the man appeared with a woman.
Maybe he’s trying to tempt me with her.

“Prefer? We rarely get such choices here,” answered Garlin. “She wants to hear your
music.”

“You’re hoping she’ll be your
friend
,” accused Daniel, suddenly beginning to understand.
He’s hoping to use me to get himself laid.

Garlin smiled, “With the music you make, she might be friends with both of us.”

Daniel gaped at him. Such things had never been mentioned, much less discussed openly
where he had grown up. “No, whatever happens between the two of you
,
I want nothing to do with it.”

Returning inside, Daniel moved to pick up his cittern, but Layla spoke to him first,
“You are Tyrion, the wildling.”

He glanced at her. The symmetry of her face was only slightly marred by the bend
in her nose. It had been broken at some point in the past, but then that was almost
the rule amongst the people of Ellentrea. It was rare to see someone with a perfect
nose. “That is what they have named me,” said Daniel.

“They say you have killed more than two hundred in the arena,” she questioned, wetting
her lips.

“More than that by now,” he told her. Before she could ask anything else
,
he began to play, already irritated with her attitude. She stopped then, her face
frozen as her ears struggled to understand what they were hearing.

Garlin chuckled at her astonishment and helped her to take a seat while Daniel played.

They listened for almost an hour before leaving. In truth they tried to do more,
and Daniel was forced to ask them to leave, not wishing
to witness their interchange.

***

Months passed and Daniel’s life settled into its new pattern. In the arena he never
faced fewer than three at a time now
,
and he was already looking ahead trying to figure out how he would handle four when
they eventually decided that three was no longer a challenge.

He was already aware that most of the human mages of Ellentrea were much weaker than
he was, in terms of overall strength. Left alone, he could kill any number of them
,
if he was given the opportunity to turn the interior of the arena into a windstorm.
The problem lay in defending himself long enough to do so. With two he could afford
to ignore them if he drew a circle. Three was enough to threaten him though, if he
didn’t keep a significant portion of his strength engaged in his defense. Four—that
might be the breaking point for him.

Garlin and his new friend, Layla, failed to keep their secret very well. With each
passing month
,
more wardens showed up to hear Daniel’s music.
The numbers of his visitors swelled
,
and by the time a year had passed
,
it got to the point
that
Daniel was forced to stand outside and play for a crowd of wardens every evening.

Many of them offered him ‘favors’ for a private song, but Daniel rejected their advances.
He had long since learned that since the people of Ellentrea had no possessions or
other means of barter
,
they used sex almost as a currency.

Those with some small amount of power, such as the wardens, frequently abused the
unnamed servants, people like Amarah, forcing them to provide favors for nothing.
They bartered only with other wardens, or people like Daniel, who
were
considered too dangerous to try and compel by threat. The unnamed, likewise bartered
amongst themselves and sometimes with those who had been chosen to fight in the arenas.

It was a system in which the only occasion for equal exchange was when people of similar
power were involved, and those at every level took advantage of those
who
were beneath them in the hierarchy.

The more Daniel learned
,
the more disillusioned he became, and despite
receiving
man
y offers
,
he refused them all, except for Amarah’s. H
e still had his weaknesses
,
and though she refused to admit to any feeling, he pretended that deep down she cared
for him somehow.
The people of Ellentrea were brutally honest, but Daniel needed the lies he told himself
to keep from going insane.
The self-deception of his relationship with Amarah was all that held him together.

At night his dreams continued to bother him, though less frequently now. He had been
a slave to the She’Har for over four years
,
and his life before seemed more distant than ever. Still he would wake sometimes,
alone in the dark, weeping as a vision of green eyes faded in his mind.