The Animas Valley
Update Five: Decay of the Heart
Izad was sitting in one of the numerous plazas in the ‘Great market of the King’ in Sedaya. It was quite a wonderful place, quite busy with traders, would be traders, and those just snooping around for useful information. There certainly was lots of that. But even more important than great gossip was Bela. Bela was a young, lovely, energetic and talented girl he had picked up in Opulenth a few years back. A rich lord was unloading her at a bargain price to anyone who could pay in gold. With all the trouble there, the lord was hedging his bets and getting ready for a quick departure should it be necessary. Bela thought she was about 15, born of a household slave and her lord’s insatiable curiosity about women’s bodies, or so her mother told her. She was raised in a rich house and was familiar with how such places were run. Officially she had been an acrobat among the entertainers kept on site to perform as needed, but she knew much more than she let on. Bela had been a great purchase and Izad liked having her around, even if he wouldn’t admit it. Over the five years that he had owned her, he had taught Bela many of his tricks and together they made a great act and rarely went without food or shelter. Bela was inquisitive and whenever she had the chance, she asked him about the places he had been and the people he had met, but not at the moment. Izad was in conversation with a merchant named Musad who had recently been up both branches of the Animas to the lands of the Hinsa Hinga and the Asran. Bela appeared to be only interested in her juggling and paying the men no mind, but Izad knew she watched and listened intently. They would talk later.
The trader told of the collapse of the Asran central authority and with it the scattering of the warlords to their own towns and villages. Unless a new power arose soon, the whole nation would descend into chaos and thievery. He had done little useful business there except to sell all the bows he had bought in Hinsa Hinga. They were quite popular all along the river and fetched him a good price. Before he headed south, he would make another trip north to buy more. The war was between the Asran and the Sedaya was pretty much over and the western border of Ranai Basai’s domain was now a bit further west. Ranai Basai had taken the lull in the conflict to further improve the docks as well as the temple and its surroundings.
The Hinsa Hinga were a strange people. They were quite obsessed with stories of strange beasts that men would ride, and on the backs of these beasts they would storm across the world and subjugate all. Of course there were no such beasts and the Hinsa Hinga were mostly a backwater people of low culture and little to offer, except of course, their bows. And these they made in great numbers and sold freely to any who asked. And he had seen one of their giant war weapons, a ballista. It was a weapon of true terror. It fired arrows as large as a man, and sent the arrows with such force, that they would travel the distance a man could walk in half an hour, before they struck home. Now if he could get his hands on a few of those, he would be a rich merchant in no time. Alas they were not for sale and strangers were not allowed to inspect the great machines. Before he left, the traders told one last tale of the Hinsa Hinga. Being in the right place at the right time had gotten him invited to wedding between a well-born young lady named Sedyzia and a traveler from, of all places, Kana. It was quite weird, but a great party in the end. A cute hand maiden of a man of some importance, called Jorque, had given him a token of her affection in the form of a finely woven and embroidered purple scarf. “Perhaps Izad would care to buy it for his young lady friend?” Of course he would and while Bela scrambled to chase a dropped ball, the exchange was made without her knowledge.
As soon as they were alone, Bela demanded to see the scarf and tried to search Izad’s pockets to find it. He quickly passed it from hand to hand and then held it high out of her reach as she struggled to get it. After she jumped on his back and started to stand on his shoulders, he relented and gave it to her. It was very nice and the embroidery seemed to tell a story. As they talked she continued to study the scarf. “That man we saw yesterday came by twice while Musad was here, and then followed him as he left. He met with another man briefly over by that column; he is still there pretending to sell tea from Kana. Shall we see which of us he follows?” Izad thought about their situation and had a plan. Bela would go buy some tea and dicker over the price; Izad would then take their take from the day and head off in a different direction. They would meet for dinner after dark. As Bela talked on to the tea trader, Izad packed up and left, and then in a frenzy, realizing he had been duped, the tea merchant glared at Bela and abandoned his goods and took off after Izad. She had a great laugh. Their dinner that night was private affair without prying eyes or ears. Afterwards, as they were wont to do, they would perform and tell stories of wonder and amazement to a beguiled audience. They traded roles, juggling balls, and passing the hat as they reminisced publically about their recent travels.
They told mysterious tales of Annwfyn or bear people who lived just down river from the Great Marketplace, but was all but unknown among the people of this city. They talked of the secret caves and forest traps and evil ceremonies performed on nights of the double full moons. They confirmed when asked, that the youngest of children, those that could hardly walk were taught fight and defend their dark forest to their death. And yes the bear people could move as silent as the night through their woodland home and strike without warning any who ventured there. “Were they really twice as tall as normal men?” Truthfully, Bela replied they were not, but they did have huge claws on both their hands and feet and would rip your guts out with a single slash.
The most popular tales were all about the southlands: Ereva, Kana, and Luallen who were at war and the Gasiriakora who were trying to rebuild what once had been the Ksiliotai Kingdom. Bela stepped in when things went soft and told firsthand tales of the dissolution of the Opulenth Kingdom as its leaders simply ignored both their unpopularity and increasing popularity of local rich noble who had the wherewithal to set up their own kingdoms. She played up the panic and fear and how the rich were be being taken down by mobs of rioting poor folks, even though it wasn’t that bad yet. And, Izad noticed, she was getting very good at knowing when to embellish and when to tell the straight truth. The real names she used added rich detail to her stories and she had tonight’s crowd flipping pennies into a cup for more. Opulenth was a mess and he fully expected it to dissolve over the next few years into plethora of small kingdoms each one trying to subdue the others. Apparently, money wasn’t enough to keep the rich in power.
Aurogos III ruled in Gasiriakora and with the help of his advisors and the influential Mesogisepos he had a plan to win back the kingdom. Internally he had set up the cult of the Are-Ahermis, the gods of war and trade. These were the twin aims of his reign and the cult would help focus the warlords on what was important. With his brother, Phereos, as the first high priest of the cult, cooperation was assured. If only the war was going beter. The Nakatai of the east were also expanding and consolidating the smaller kingdoms into their own nation. They had built a new capital near the Annfyn and were holding back trade from moving west, up the river, into his lands. Worse yet, his tin could not be traded down river without profits going to the Nakatai. Late in 328, Aurogos learned that Mesogisepos had died of a festering wound. Aurogos hoped the new border forts built by his old mentor would hold the Nakatai at bay until plans could be made to continue the war. Izad presented the rugged Gasiriakora as cultureless brigands wildly at war with anyone who came near. Of course, it was deliberate and made better stories, but he had friends among those peoples of the west and knew them to be shrewd traders and more gallant in their own way, as the more refined Ereva were.
Izad and Bela had actually been in Luallen when news of the war reached the throne room of Chief Lightblade. They had been there about a month and had been telling and retelling the wild and unbelievable story of how they had been invaded by Ereva and never knew it. But Izad assured Lightblade and his court that he had a friend who actually knew someone who had been in the attacking army that had tried and failed to cross the sea. The dark nights, the wretched sickness and total fear that held the whole Ereva army captive for days were the high points of the story. The salvation of Luallen was certainly the hand of their gods who would protect them come what may. Needless to say, when word of a new war came, Izad and Bela took a lower profile. Chief Lightblade seemed surprised and in a bit of panic at first but shouldered the crisis like a true king. As he learned, the Ereva army with allies from Kana marched into the newly acquired holdings on the mainland and simply took them. The few troops stationed there were overwhelmed by soldiers that were better armed, better armored, better trained and better led. Unlike the Luallen troops who merely stood in their battle line waiting to fight, the enemy had moved his men around the battlefield like pieces on a map and confused the commanders such that when the attack came, Luallen was soundly defeated. In the time it took him and the other couriers to reach the king, he was sure that the mainland would be lost. The sightings of many Ereva ships off shore implied that they would not be content with the mainland.
Lightblade was calm and then cleared the throne room of all except his advisors and the odd juggler who seemed to be knowledgeable about the kingdoms of the Animas Valley. Yes he knew Ereva well and had even met King Hiram. Yes he was a lordly king of great power and wealth and would be a determined enemy. No, he did not know how large an army Hiram had and yes, the Kanese army was equally formidable, etc. etc. While not ready for war, Lightblade was not totally unprepared. He had been improving his army and training it better. The troops near his capital had been issued better armor and he had the ability to call up substantial levies. He would lead the defense himself.
By the time Lightblade reached the front, it was on the beaches of Luallen’s NE island. Hardly pausing, Hiram flung his army across the channel against a more ready Luallen defense. The Chief quickly learned that to try to fight the Erevan troops on an open field was to court disaster and defeat. The innovative tactics and well disciplined troops routed his bands every time. He learned the hard way, but he did learn. He learned to use the Erevan fire arrow attack against their camps and ships; he learned to disperse his troops and use them to raid and retreat to reduce the effectiveness of Erevan tactics. He learned to survive and avoid total defeat. His goal was to make it both costly in men and supplies to keep an army on Luallen soil. As the winter of 323 settled in, peace was proposed.
Having departed Luallen soon after the war started, Izad did not know the final outcome, but assured his audience that it was most likely a bloody one.
He could relate other news of the south too though. A royal marriage of alliance had taken place between Kana and Ereva. Maria, daughter of Hiram’s second wife Avia had married the crown Prince of Kana, one Huzhi Zhang Ding. The glorious wedding had taken place on a most auspicious day for the young heir, the day of the summer double new moons. Of course, an auspicious day for one may not be auspicious for another. Red was the triumphant color of the day and all the guests were gaily attired and properly festive. By midnight most were drunk and still toasting the new bride and groom. In a last effort to clear his palace and pass out with a young concubine, the Shizhi Zhang Ming (the groom’s father and ruler of Kana) raised his cup one last time to the successful consummation of their marriage later that night and bid everyone good night. Halfway through his speech he fell forward into the waiting arms of a laughing lady of his court and was carried off to bed. By morning the Crown Prince and his bride had been redded and the Shizhi pronounced dead by his wife. At that the crowd roared with laughter and delight. They filled his purse with pennies and silver.
