When they had come close enough to hear the voices of their enemy, it was Fern who stopped them turning back. He gave a battle-cry and sent his aquar careering in a charge. As his voice rode away from them, fear was swept away by shame. They would not allow one of their own to die alone. Carnelian sat startled as he heard their shrieks sweep by on either side. With his heels, he held his aquar where it was and heard their voices thin as they sped away. He was almost unmanned imagining the mayhem lying there waiting for him. Fern's battle-cry sounded again and, cursing, Carnelian coaxed his beast to furious speed desperate to catch him up.
They huddled in the black heart of the night. A gash ached in Carnelian's forearm. A whimpering, wounded boy was trembling against his thigh. The darkness was filled with shaky breathing and moaning. Many must have been wounded. Some had been lost. Voices were whispering names insistently. Someone pushed in beside him. 'Carnie?'
'Fern,' he replied, dazed, glad to his core to have him near.
'Are you bleeding?'
Carnelian fumbled and grabbed his friend's trembling arm. The solid feel of it opened a way for his voice. The whirling.'
'It was my first battle too.'
'It's like the darkest dream. I felt the soft give of flesh, the screaming… Oh, dear mother, the screaming.'
They crushed into each other. A shadow loomed beside them.
'It will pass,' said Galewing in a strange remote voice. 'It's always hard to kill a man, even if he's your enemy.'
'Were we victorious?' a childish voice asked suddenly.
It was Galewing who answered: 'We were routed. They were ready for us. They were too many.'
'Even the Skyfather fought against us,' someone said, his tone incredulous, recalling the rain that had flung its needles at their faces.
'Are we safe now?' pleaded a boy.
Over Fern's shoulder Carnelian scanned the darkness for their enemy.
They'll begin their hunt for us with the morning light,' said Galewing.
'We must flee,' said Loskai.
'We can't.' It was Ravan. Too many of us are wounded. We've lost too many aquar. Even if some of us escaped, do you think they'd be enough to defend the Tribe against the revenge of the Bluedancing? We must wait here until dawn.'
Groans were the only answer.
'No, it's best we wait,' said Ravan, insistently. 'If we can get some sleep then at least we might be able to sell our lives dearly.'
They might spare us,' said Crowrane.
'Would you beg them for mercy? Would we have given any if our situations were reversed?'
Fern disengaged himself gently from Carnelian. They'll show mercy, Ravan. We're all Plainsmen. No tribe has ever destroyed another.'
'Go and tell that to the hearthkin of those we killed and maimed,' said Ravan. They'll show no mercy. We must make an end of it here. At least the sons and daughters of the Tribe might live. The Bluedancing might adopt them to swell their strength. The most we can do is to make sure our people don't remember us with shame.'
Sobbing broke out here and there. Carnelian despaired for Poppy. She had lost so much already. At that moment something like the moon came out from the clouds and, drifting towards them, resolved into a ghostly face.
The Master,' gasped several voices.
Carnelian saw it was Osidian who stood before them, personifying the darkness. He spoke.
'In my right hand I hold defeat: in my left, victory. Which will you have me open?'
As Ravan translated Osidian's words, even through his relief, Carnelian was overwhelmed by a sickening foreboding, for the Wise taught that the left was the hand of darkness.
THE BLUEDANCING
The most elegant system of domination is one in which the dominated are unaware of their state: they believe the world has always been and always will be as they know it; that the order under which they toil is as immutable, as unassailable as the sky.
War is a clumsy means of enforcing such dominion. Not only is it costly and wasteful of resources, but it is difficult to control and subject to catastrophic and unforeseeable changes of fortune.
Famine is a surer tool of statecraft, with the crucial proviso that it must be seen to arise naturally from the land. Hunger will keep not only the body, but the mind in chains.
At first light, Osidian led them to the edge of a lagoon. He spent time surveying the ground and eventually settled them on a ridge on the shore. After a brief conference with Carnelian, he rode out across the dried-up bed with the better half of the warband: he had chosen only the unwounded and, of those, predominantly the young. Ravan went as interpreter. Galewing had volunteered to go to represent the Elders. Krow had chosen to stay behind. That Osidian had not objected to this made Carnelian suspicious that the youth had been left as a spy. Standing on the shore with the rain flying in his face,
Carnelian watched the riders fade into the grey south among gentle hills that would soon become islands. He had been left with clear instructions, delivered by Osidian as if they were strangers. By using Quya, Osidian had ensured that only Carnelian could be aware of his plan. Carnelian had had to obey him. If he had refused to command the men left behind, Osidian had said he would abandon them all to the revenge of the Bluedancing.
Carnelian could feel his men staring at his back. He leaned close to Fern. 'Will you be my second?'
Fern grimaced. The Elders will like taking orders from me even less than from you.'
Carnelian yearned to rid himself of the burden of command. He forced himself to look round. The Ochre remaining were massed on the ridge, sunk into their saddle-chairs, miserable in the downpour, many wounded, all disheartened, every one of them older than him. Their eyes accused him.
Carnelian turned back. 'If that's how they feel, then they shouldn't have agreed to follow the Master in the first place.'
'What options did we have?' said Fern.
'Do you believe I'm less trapped than you?'
'Have you more experience of war than the veterans?'
'You know perfectly well I don't, though I'd question how much experience they have of fighting on foot.'
Fern had no answer to that. He smiled winningly. Things are as they are, Carnie, but you know you can count on me.'
Carnelian had them all dismount. The kneeling aquar were hobbled to ensure they could not wander away. He oversaw the removal of their saddle-chairs. The Plainsmen looked at him as if he were mad when he asked them to pile the chairs in a heap. Discontent turned to outrage when he told them to set the heap alight.
'Do you want to bring the Bluedancing down on us?' said Crowrane.
That's exactly what I want.'
Carnelian's answer produced incredulous consternation.
'All of them?' said Loskai, scowling.
'If we're on foot, they'll ride us down,' said Crowrane.
That's what the Master hopes they'll think. You saw how carefully he chose this site? He knows what he's doing.'
Krow was nodding.
'How do you imagine we're going to be able to ride home without our saddle-chairs?' demanded Kyte.
'Let's worry about that when we're victorious,' said Carnelian.
The Plainsmen fell silent as the desperate reality of the situation soaked into them.
The moment they see us, the Bluedancing will know only half of us are here,' said Fern.
Carnelian was relieved that they were beginning to move along the path of argument Osidian had predicted. 'Knowing that, what do you think the Bluedancing will imagine is the reason we're making all this smoke?'
He was answered with many frowns.