David Gemmell - The King Beyond the Gate

Subodai and Gitasi ran to the fire, where Tenaka Khan was quietly finishing his supper.

'Why?' asked Subodai. 'Why did they not kill us?'

Tenaka grinned, then yawned theatrically. 'I am tired. I will sleep now.'

Out in the valley beyond, Ingis was being asked the same question by his son, Sember.

'I cannot explain it,' said Ingis. 'You would not understand.'

'Make me understand! He is a half-blood with a rag-tag following of Notas scum. And he did not even ask you to follow him.'

'Congratulations, Sember! Most of the time you cannot grasp the simplest subtlety, but on this occasion you surpass yourself.'

'What does that mean?'

'It is simple. You have stumbled on the very reasons why I did not kill him. Here is a man with no chance of success, faced by a warlord with twenty thousand warriors under his banner. Yet he did not ask for my help. Ask yourself why.'

'Because he is a fool.'

'There are times, Sember, when I could believe your mother had a secret lover. Looking at you makes me wonder if it was one of my goats.'

Tenaka waited in darkness and silence as the sounds of movement in the small camp ceased. Then he lifted the flap of his tent and watched the sentries. Their eyes were scanning the trees around the camp and they were not interested in what went on within. Tenaka slid from the tent, hugging the moon shadows from the twisted trees as he silently edged into the deeper darkness of the woods.

Walking cautiously, he made his way for several miles, as the ground dipped and rose towards the distant hills. He cleared the edge of the wood some three hours before dawn and slowly began to climb. Far below, and to the right, lay the marble-covered tomb of Ulric — and the armies of Knifespeaks and Saddleskull.

Civil war was inevitable and Tenaka had hoped to convince whoever was the Khan that it would be profitable to aid the Drenai rebels. Gold was a scarce commodity on the Steppes. Now things would have to be different.

He continued to climb until he saw a cliff face, pock-marked by caves. He had been here once before, many years ago when Jongir Khan had attended a shamen council. Then Tenaka had sat with Jongir's children and grandchildren outside the caves while the Khan journeyed into the darkness. It was said that hideous rites were performed in these ancient places, and that no man could enter uninvited. The caves were, the shamen promised, the very gates of Hell where demons lurked at every corner.

Tenaka reached the mouth of the largest cave, where he hesitated, calming his mind.

There is no other way, he told himself.

And entered.

The darkness was total. Tenaka stumbled. He pushed on, hands stretched out before him.

As the caves wound on — twisting and turning, splitting and rejoining — Tenaka quelled the panic rising in him. It was like being in a honeycomb. He could wander lost in this blind gloom until he died of hunger and thirst.

He moved on, feeling his way along a cold wall. Suddenly the wall ended, cutting away at right-angles to his hand. Tenaka walked on, hands outstretched. Cool air touched his face. He stopped and listened. He had the impression of space all around him, but more than that he felt the presence of people.

'I seek Asta Khan,' he said, his voice booming in the cavern.

Silence.

A shuffling sound came from left and right of him and he stood still, folding his arms across his chest. Hands touched him, scores of hands. He felt his sword being drawn from its scabbard, his knife from its sheath. Then the hands withdrew.

'Speak your name!' commanded a voice as dry and hostile as a desert wind.

'Tenaka Khan.'

'You have been gone from us for many years.'

'I have returned.'

'Obviously.'

'I did not leave willingly. I was sent from the Nadir.'

'For your own protection. You would have been slain.'

'Perhaps.'

'Why have you returned?'

'That is not a simple question to answer.'

'Then take your time.'

'I came to aid a friend. I came to gather an army.'

'A Drenai friend?'

'Yes.'

'And then?'

'Then the land spoke to me.'

'What were its words?'

'There were no words. It spoke in silence, heart to soul. It welcomed me as a son.'

'To come here unsummoned is death.'

'Who decides what is a summons?' asked Tenaka.

'I do.'

'Then you tell me, Asta Khan — was I summoned?'

Darkness fell away from Tenaka's eyes and he found himself in a great hall. Torches shone on every side. The walls were smooth, embedded with crystals of every hue, while stalactites hung like shining spears from the vast dome of the roof. The cavern was packed with people, shamen from every tribe.

Tenaka blinked as his eyes grew accustomed to the light. The torches had not sprung up instantly. They had been alight all the time — only he had been blind.

'Let me show you something, Tenaka,' said Asta Khan, leading him from the cavern. 'This is the path you took to reach me.'

Directly ahead was a yawning chasm, crossed by a slender stone bridge.

'You walked that bridge in blindness. And so, yes, you were summoned. Follow me!'

The ancient shaman took him back over the bridge to a small room close to the main cave entrance. There the two men sat on a goatskin rug.

'What would you have me do?' asked Asta Khan.

'Initiate the Shamen Quest.'

'Saddleskull has no need of the Quest. He outnumbers his enemy and can win it by battle alone.'

'Thousands of brothers will die.'

'That is the Nadir way, Tenaka.'

'The Shamen Quest would mean the deaths of only two,' said Tenaka.

'Speak plainly, young man! Without the Quest you have no chance to rule. With it your chances rise to one in three. Do you truly care about a civil war?'

'I do. I have the dream of Ulric. I want to build the nation.'

'And what of your Drenai friends?'

'They are still my friends.'

'I am no fool, Tenaka Khan. I have lived many, many years and I can read the hearts of men. Give me your hand and let me read your heart. But know this — if there is deceit in you, I shall kill you.'

Tenaka held out his hand and the old man took it.

For several minutes they remained thus, then Asta Khan released him.

'The power of the shamen is maintained in many ways. There is generally very little direct manipulation of tribal directions. You understand?'

'I do.'

'On this occasion I will grant your request. But when Saddleskull hears he will send his executioner. There will be a challenge — it is all he can do.'

'I understand.'

'Do you wish to know of him?'

'No. It is immaterial.'

'You are confident.'

'I am Tenaka Khan.'

The Valley of the Tomb stretched between two ranges of iron-grey mountains; these were known as the Ranks of Giants and Ulric himself had named this place as his burial ground. It amused the great warlord to think of these ageless sentries standing guard over his mortal remains. The tomb itself was built of sandstone, covered with marble. Forty thousand slaves had died building this monolith, shaped like the crown Ulric never wore. Six pointed towers ringed the white dome and giant runes were carved upon every surface, telling the world and all succeeding generations that here lay Ulric the Conqueror, the greatest Nadir warlord of them all.

And yet, typically, Ulric's humour came through even this corpse-white colossus. The only carving to show the Khan depicted him riding his pony and wearing the crown of kings. Set sixty feet above the ground and back beyond a curving gateway, the statue was meant to depict Ulric waiting beyond the walls of Dros Delnoch, his only defeat. On his head was the crown, placed there by Ventrian sculptors who did not realise that a man could command an army of millions without being a king. This was a subtle jest, but one which Ulric would have enjoyed.