David Gemmell - Echoes of the Great Song

'What would you have me say?' asked Boru. 'We do not accept your laws. You sent armed men into our ancestral lands and declared them under your control. We resisted. We continue to resist. We will always resist.

How could we be men otherwise?'

'This then is your defence?' asked the second magistrate, a bald man with a forked blue beard. 'You claim your rights are superior to those of the Avatar? We have brought you learning and law. We have supplied the means by which you can avoid starvation. And you repay these gifts with acts of savagery and attempted murder.'

'Your gifts were unwanted,' said Boru. 'You imposed them upon us. And we slew no-one. Nor was that ever our intention. The Avatar in our village was captured and held — despite him killing three of our comrades. The Banis-baya have always been a people of the land. We have never been warriors or killers. We are free men.'

'You are not free, little man,' said the second magistrate. 'You are servants of the Avatar. And you are disobedient servants. I found your defence lacking and non-persuasive. Your friends will lose their lives. You, as is our custom, as the speaker for the condemned, will not die. The sentence upon you is thirty years. Take them away.'

The men were led from the courtroom and into a long corridor. An Avatar guard took Boru by the arm and led him through a side door into a long narrow room with bench seats. 'Sit down,' said the guard. 'You will wait here until your name is called. Then I will come for you.'

Stunned by the sentence, Boru had not resisted. As the day wore on another ten men were brought in to sit with him. Boru knew each of them well, but no-one spoke. The scale of the calamity which had befallen the Banis-baya was too great for conversation.

By mid-afternoon three of the men had been led away. As dusk settled they came for Boru.

He followed the two guards to a circular room. There were three Avatars there, each wearing blue silk robes.

At the centre of the room was a stone sarcophagus filled with green crystals which shimmered in the lantern light.

'Remove his chains,' ordered one of the blue-clad lords.

As they fell away Boru straightened. He was young, and tall and strong, his hair the colour of ripening corn.

'Climb into the sarcophagus,' ordered an Avatar.

'What is happening here?' he asked them.

'Do as you are told. This will not last long and you will be free to go within the hour.'

'Free? But I was sentenced to thirty years.'

Two of the guards took him by the arms and led him towards the glittering crystals. Shrugging them off, he climbed the sarcophagus and sat upon it. 'Lie down upon the crystals,' came the order. Boru did so. The men moved back. He could feel the gems digging into his skin. 'Close your eyes,' they ordered him. This order he also accepted. Bright lights played painfully upon his eyelids and he felt sickness rise in his belly. Then he passed out.

Some time later — it could have been an hour or a day — he awoke. The two Avatar guards hauled him from the sarcophagus and led him, without chains, back into the corridor, along past the courtroom and out into the light of day. 'Go back to your home,' they told him.

Confused, he had wandered down the courtroom steps into the fountain square. By the time he reached it he was tired, which was surprising, since it was only a short walk. He sat down on the marble wall of the fountain and felt the cool spray from the column of water. As he sat he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees.

Then the shock hit him. His arms were skinny, the flesh gone, the skin wrinkled and dry.

A young woman approached him. 'Are you all right, old one?' she asked, laying a hand on his bony shoulder.

'I am a young man,' he said, his voice grating.

She glanced nervously back at the court building. 'I am sorry,' she said. Then she hurried away.

Thirty years they had taken.

The twenty-five-year-old Boru sat by the stream, holding out his skinny fingers to the blaze, and thought of the Avatar sleeping in his wagon.

'I will see you fall,' he promised himself. 'All of you.'

Viruk awoke with a start. He had not intended to sleep so deeply. He rolled to his side. Someone had covered him with a blanket, which was thoughtful, for the night air was chill. Then he remembered the old man. It was so good to find sub-humans who understood respect. Viruk sat up. As he did the golden-haired child stirred beside him. But she did not wake. Viruk climbed over the side of the wagon and saw the old man sitting by a small fire.

The stars were bright in the sky and the moon shone full. T trust you slept well, lord,' said the man.

'I did indeed. Where are we?'

'I should reach Egaru around noon tomorrow, lord. But if you ride early you will be there soon after sun-up. I have fed the pony with grain, but it is still tired. It will not, I fear, carry you fast.'

'What is your name, tribesman?'

'Boru, lord.'

'You have been kind to me. I appreciate such courtesies.'

'It was nothing, lord. It was a pleasure to have been of service.'

'I am sure that it was,' agreed Viruk. He clapped the old man on the shoulder. 'I like you, Boru. I shall give you a gift.' Viruk drew his green crystal from its pouch and touched it to Boru's chest. The old man stiffened in fear. 'There is no harm being done to you,' said Viruk. Boru felt the arthritic ache in his back and arms subside.

There,' said Viruk, at last. 'You are ten years younger. Use the years wisely,' he said, with a smile.

Boru stood and bowed. 'My thanks to you, lord,' he said.

'It was nothing.' He stared closely into Boru's face. 'There is some yellow in your beard now. And your hair is thicker. Perhaps you gained a little more than ten years. I am not greatly adept at using these crystals on sub-humans. Still… enjoy!'

'I will, lord. I cannot thank you enough.'

'That's true,' said Viruk, with a broad smile. 'And now I must be on my way.'

Moving to the pony Viruk vaulted into the saddle. Without a backward glance he rode towards the west.

It was pleasant to be a god.

Boru had been quite right. The pony was still tired. Anxious to be back in Egaru Viruk used crystal energy upon it. The little horse was immediately invigorated and Viruk kicked it into a gallop. The beast died within half a mile of the city gates. As it collapsed under him Viruk jumped clear, landing lightly on his feet. It was an oddity of the crystals that they could not bring genuine strength to four-footed animals. They acted upon them like short-lived stimulants. Viruk was annoyed that the pony had not lasted a little longer.

Once back at his home one of his servants informed him that the Questor General was eager to see him.

Viruk bathed and changed his clothes, then rode to Rael's palace.

The Questor General was in the high study, poring over maps and scrolls when Viruk entered. Rael wasted no time in pleasantries. 'Judon of the Patiakes has called a gathering at Ren-el-gan,' he said. 'He seeks to bind the tribes under his leadership and storm the cities. Change his mind.'

'My pleasure, sir,' said Viruk.

Rael pushed back the maps and stood. 'I understand you found the raiders and despatched them. That was good. What was not good was sending that message to Ammon. One can only hope the messenger was sensible enough to disobey you.'

Viruk shrugged. 'What does it matter? We'll have to fight them eventually.'

'Ideally it will be when Talaban returns with the recharged chests.'

'Questor Ro succeeded? There's a surprise. A nice one, admittedly.'

'It is double-edged,' said Rael. 'They have four chests charged, one lost and one still empty. Worse news is that a volcanic upheaval destroyed the site, and unless we find another we will be powerless within a few more years.'