Joel Shepherd - Tracato

“I second the learned serrinim!” Errollyn called in reply. Kiel seemed a little surprised at his support and accepted it with a graceful bow.

“Third!” called Aisha. Seven more voices followed in support. Ten, from thirty. Errollyn rolled his eyes to the high ceiling. One of these days, the serrinim would realise that taking necessary action was more important than the pursuit of interesting debates. He only hoped that those serrin who reached that realisation would not be the small, huddled handful remaining after the rest had been slaughtered by foes who cared nothing for clever argument.

“Ten is insufficient,” said Lesthen. “I believe that I continue to hold the floor.”

“Horse shit you do,” Errollyn muttered, and got to his feet. The two serrin opposing him also stood. Errollyn unbuckled his bandoleer, and handed it to them, sword and all. They waited for his knives, too.

“Errollyn,” Lesthen said tiredly, “you do not have the floor. It would interest the impartial debate for you to remain seated, and follow the-”

“I’ve no time for that,” said Errollyn, walking down to the stage side. “None of us has time for that. I am required at training for the new talmaad sent from Saalshen, they have little experience in battle and my presence here may deprive them of the one vital lesson they need to keep them alive. I submit to you that the life of Reynold Hein is not worth the small finger of a serrin talmaad , let alone his life.”

“Much agreed,” said Kiel. It disturbed Errollyn only a little, to have found a point of agreement with Kiel. Kiel seemed to find it amusing.

“Do you then suppose that we should abandon our learned debate?” Lesthen asked. “Abandon the one facet of serrin life that has served us best in all times, our search for truth?”

“You do not offer truth, Lesthen,” said Errollyn, putting a foot upon a raised stone so he could lean on a knee. “You offer procedure.”

“One finds truth by searching. The simple or brief thought is usually wrong, driven by emotion, by desires and wants of the heart. And so we have procedures, to serve as the filter for our thoughts.”

“Lesthen.” Errollyn looked at him, attempting patience. “We stand here in human lands. Some humans may care for our debates, but their society does not function by it. Human society functions by rules. They do not persuade each other as to the wrongness of their ways, they simply kill them, as necessary. We seek now to rule in human lands, yet we do not learn to follow the methods that work.”

“We seek to elevate humanity,” Lesthen replied. “In Tracato, humanity has reached a level of civilisation unmatched elsewhere in all human lands. Do you dispute this achievement?”

“For everything, there is a time,” said Errollyn. “Not now, Lesthen. Not here, and not in this. A very simple rule was broken, and this man attempted to unbalance everything that you, and all serrin, have worked so hard to create, and that you now laud as a great achievement. We kill him not from vengeance but because to fail to do so will cause all right-minded humans to lose faith in us, or to view us as helplessly weak.”

“And quite rightly too,” Kiel interjected, “should we fail in something so obvious.”

“And what should we become, if we kill this man?” Lesthen looked at Reynold. Reynold watched, with more trepidation now than before. The intelligence was there, in his blue eyes. The charm. At another time, Errollyn might have wondered how it were possible for a man who possessed so many admirable qualities to be so evil. Now, he only remembered the pain of blades and shackles, and the scars on Sasha’s body.

“Should we become like our very worst enemies?” Lesthen continued. “Should we kill any who oppose us? Should we seek the sword before the word? Can truth be found in blood?”

“Yes,” said Errollyn. “The poets write of a mystical balance in nature, yet I grew up in the wilds, and I see nothing like what they describe. Nature’s creatures do not seek harmonious relations, they would all grow to a plague if allowed, and rape all the land. But they don’t, because first, the food runs out, and second, the predators kill them. That is the truth of blood, Lesthen, that we serrin have forgotten. All the way of the world is blood, and the harmonious balance of the poets is nothing more than an equal measure of death. We forgot it for a thousand years and more, and now, the humans remind us. Yet you…you do not thank them for the reminder of a vital truth, but rather cling to unwise myths of the loving mother earth. Mother earth eats her children, Lesthen. So shall we, should we seek to live on this earth much longer?”

Lesthen said nothing. He was considering. About the resh’ulan , many were. Errollyn was surprised. It had been a while since he had stood in a space such as this, and exchanged the idis’iln , the force of reason, with his fellow serrin. For so long he had been exasperated by them, by the hypocrisy of a people so proud of their equanimity, yet so lacking in its practice. Had he misjudged his people? Or rather, had he simply grown?

Reynold cleared his throat. “Might I speak my piece?” he suggested. Lesthen ignored him, considering how to respond to Errollyn’s idis’iln , with one of equal force. Reynold took it for encouragement, and carefully stood. “I have heard often of the justice of the serrin, and I am encouraged, noble serrinim, to see it in practice here today…”

Lesthen made an irritated gesture to another serrin. That man hopped the small moat and struck Reynold to the face. Reynold hit the ground hard, and lay groaning. Not one serrin face, in all those surrounding, displayed any shock nor displeasure.

“Your words are pure poison, Master Reynold,” said Lesthen. “You and your kind suffer from the worst disease of humanity, the willingness to subordinate truth, to lock reason in chains and to rape the objective thought, in order to achieve your objective. Never mind if the objective is just, you have forfeited by your methods any right to speak in the resh’ulan , for now and ever. Your life belongs to us now.”

To the rear of the amphitheatre, some serrin were rising. Errollyn turned, and saw Kessligh walking down the stairs. His eyes were on Reynold, and deadly serious.

“Yuan Kessligh,” said Lesthen. “I welcome you. Perhaps you wish to speak?”

Kessligh appeared to be considering it, as he walked to Errollyn’s side. Errollyn noted that no one had thought to remove his weapons. Kessligh stopped, and looked at Lesthen. Then at Reynold. Everyone waited for him to speak.

Instead, Kessligh stepped across the moat, dropped his staff in favour of his blade, and struck off Reynold’s head where he sat. The body fell, fountaining blood. Kessligh examined his blade, critically, as Reynold’s head rolled on the stone, then stopped. Finding no blemish, or even a stain of blood, so fast had been the strike, Kessligh resheathed the sword. And turned, to confront the entire resh’ulan staring at him, silently.

“What are you doing here?” Kessligh asked, in exasperation. “The purpose of debate is to change opinions. Some humans are not capable of that. In such confrontations, it’s them, or it’s us. I choose us. Now, Rhodaan is under attack, I submit we all have better ways to spend our time than here.”

“The purpose of the debate, Yuan Kessligh,” said Lesthen, “is not to convince our enemies. It is to convince ourselves. Serrin are not born wise, we must teach ourselves wisdom every day.”

“Wisdom?” Kessligh walked close to Lesthen, and stared at him. “Serrin have had two centuries to prepare for this moment, yet still the main force that defends you is human. Where are Saalshen’s heavy forces? Saalshen makes steel unknown to human methods, and breeds fine horses and horsemen, and engineers projectile weapons of terrible force, and flaming oils that can melt steel and crack stone, but still you will not make your own armies save for the talmaad ’s light cavalry! Heavy armies require a change in methods, a change in civilisation, a recruitment of soldiers, a reordering of society. Serrin have refused all this and chosen instead to place their burden upon the shoulders of humans. And why? Because you’re too busy fucking debating!”