Mikhail Shelkov - Elinor. The Deserted Valley. Book 1

“Forgive me that it took so long,” Mitsu continued. “The demons are getting more cunning and sly. Now they sometimes come in the haze. You were lucky. It’s already time to lift the bridge!”

“There is nothing to ask forgiveness for, honored Mitsu. You are fulfilling your duty. We really were in a hurry! We left Shohan a week ago.”

“A week?” Mitsu was surprised. “You were led by a truly great illa!”

“It’s hard to argue with that!”

E’Do approached the gate, and the guard bowed low to him.

The detachment walked into the fortress. First the tall, experienced fighters entered, then the yauls, and, lastly, several young apprentices. Apprentices were forbidden from going into the mist before giving oath to the Dotsu Code and being initiated as soldiers of the Empire, but this was a special occasion. These young men and several girls were fluent in the Common Language, and the udoğan reasoned that in the Valley, such a weapon could sometimes be more useful than a loyal sword.

“Close the gate and lift the bridge!” E’Do ordered the guard. “No good guests will be coming today!” He then turned to his detachment, “Go straight to the keep of the udoğan Goro!”

The streets of Lauhan presented a gloomy scene. There weren’t many happy sights in the lives of the Itoshins. But still, nighttime Shohan was magnificent.

The torches are reflected on the black surface of Moon Lake. Houses are flooded with a magical light. If you go out to the battlefield and draw your sword, the reflections of the moon and the stars will begin to walk along its sharpened edge. Could anything in the world be above this beauty?

For a young and skillful warrior such as Do’Ayve, nothing could! Almost nothing.

Complete darkness fell over Lauhan. Only signaling fires burned on special sites of extension attachments to the roofs of houses. “If you didn’t light a fire, wait for the night guest” went the old Itoshinian wisdom.

The kindling was being lit in the houses. The windows glowed with faint radiances. It seemed the people of Lauhan had already gone to bed, but then awoke, disturbed by the roar of heavy steps and the clanking of metal. A few gawkers poked their heads out from behind the window shutters.

“May the Emperor Tosho be glorious!” one shouted out, apparently distinguishing in the fog the armor of udoğan E’Do.

“May the Emperor be glorious,” he replied calmly.

The houses in the city were simple: the foundations made of stone, the walls made of thick logs smeared with clay, the roofs covered with poisonous thorn. The roads were covered with polished stone – not for beauty, but for practicality. The fogs in Lauhan were particularly damp, and the roads quickly turned into mud. If the pavement was not laid with stones, soon a real mud marsh would start inside the fortress.

The keep of udoğan Goro towered among the low houses like a black cliff. The tower was built in the shape of a pyramid: a heavy monolith at the base, the next level a less massive block, the next even less, the uppermost a stone cone. Signal bonfires burned in every top corner of each tier, with the largest on the dais. The keep, like the whole city, was built of stones, wood, and clay.

The towers’ wards called out to the detachment. Do’Ayve had already stepped forward to answer, but E’Do answered instead. Silence reigned on the tower for a while and then the answer followed, “The venerable udoğan Goro is expecting the valiant udoğan E’Do in his chambers!”

The inner gates swung open.

“Todo, you are in charge!” ordered E’Do. “Do’Ayve, you come with me!”

The detachment contained itself near the stone foundation of the keep. The yauls were driven into a group and guarded.

Do’Ayve followed the udoğan. The stairs leading up were incredibly uncomfortable, high, and slippery. Do’Ayve thought that an Itoshin should not complain about such inconvenience, but then he heard his commander swear about the layout of the tower.

“Mustn’t a warrior get used to everything?” Do’Ayve asked with surprise.

“Yes,” E’Do replied. “A warrior must know how to climb steep rocks, walk on mountain paths, move in a fog. But if we build a citadel, we must build it so that it helps the soldier and doesn’t get in his way! These steps could have been made in a more convenient manner. Then a warrior would spend less effort on climbing them, investing more forces in his stroke in a fight with the demon instead!”

It was not for nothing that E’Do was the Emperor’s favorite udoğan. Valor and strength were not his only distinctive features; so were wisdom and discretion. And, again, Do’Ayve couldn’t disagree with his commander.

The reception hall of udoğan Goro was furnished in a simple and coarse manner, thus matching the whole fortress. The only decoration of the hall was the weapons hung on the walls, and stuffed demons – a personal collection of the defeated enemies of Goro. Each udoğan usually created a collection of the most terrible individuals. This tradition had started from the Emperor.

“May the omnipotent Emperor Tosho be glorious!” E’Do and Goro cried out at the same time, and afterwards enveloped each other into a strong, manly embrace.

Do’Ayve kneeled down on one knee before the udoğan of Lauhan.

Goro was a man of mature age, in appearance about forty. He greeted his guests without armor, in a light canvas tunic laced with a rope belt. Apparently, he believed the regalia of an udoğan were unnecessary in this reception. The hands and face of Goro were entirely covered with scars. The demons had left many memorable marks with their claws. The udoğan stood straight and proud, his voice penetrated with steel.

E’Do and Do’Ayve were offered rough wooden chairs to sit on. Goro himself settled in a broader armchair, carved from stone and covered with yauls’ skin. He looked inquiringly at Do’Ayve. The young warrior felt a little uneasy.

“This is my assistant!” E’Do explained. “I keep no secrets from him.”

“He’s too young!” Goro noted, but Do’Ayve was used to such remarks in his address by now.

“At eighteen, he has killed as many demons as the common Itoshin doesn’t kill in his entire life!” E’Do answered in his assistant’s defense. Do’Ayve was flattered by such an intercession.

“It’s commendable,” said Goro, and paused for a moment. “So, to the Valley?”

“To the Valley!” E’Do confirmed. “That’s why I wanted to ask for a piece of advice from a worldly-wise udoğan.”

“Advice on what?”

“Advice on what should I do. I know how to fight demons, and I’m good at it. My warriors do it just as well. But there are no demons in the Valley.”

“Ye-e-ah,” Goro drawled, “There’s something worse than the demons in the Valley. You know, brave E’Do, I’m glad that I’ve returned to the lands of the Empire. I am glad the Emperor leaves me to be the udoğan of Lauhan and does not send me to the south. I find it easier here. I’m just like you – I know how to fight demons and do it just as well. This is my occupation, my essence, the essence of the warrior – and I like it. Wars must be carried out by the sword, and in the Valley, that is not always so. But I’m glad that it is you who is heading there! You are young, brave, and devoted to the Emperor! And your fighters are devoted to you. What else is needed?”

“Tell me about the clans!”

“About the clans? Why such an interest?”

“The Emperor allowed me and my warriors to join clans,” E’Do replied.

“Is that so?” Goro fell deep into thought.

For several centuries, the Itoshins had sent military detachments to the Valley to patrol the cities and retain order. The single duty of an Itoshin was always to serve the Emperor. And if the Emperor sent the Itoshins to the Valley, then the Itoshins had to obey the rulers of the Valley, as they did the Emperor. However, at first, the udoğans faced the fact that the burgomaster of one city could give an order that differed from the order of the burgomaster of another city. Therefore, Emperor Tosho sent a messenger to the Valley with a demand to work out a single law the Itoshins would obey. Since then, the burgomasters had become powerless over the warriors of the Empire. Only the Council of Four could give special orders. The Itoshins had also cut at the root all theft, robbery, smuggling, counterfeiting, fights with arms, vagrancy, and begging. For such violations, they denounced those guilty of the crime to a city prison, where it was the local court that passed decisions. Moreover, the Itoshins could sentence individuals with death for murder, necromania, and human trafficking on the spot, but such an order had to be given personally by the udoğan, and only in the case of an emergency.