The Trial IV

"So you will start a rebellion." The ale was a delicacy that was well worth the price. "It is a foolish plan; they will not succeed." 

"Who are you to say, it is the gods that decide such matters, not You, not Tolon, not I." She was a woman grown; her features were well defined and sharp as befit her Noble blood. For all the effort Bakar put into controlling his emotions and urges he could not deny human nature.

"That is what people say when they have nothing else to say. If you truly believe that, then you should speak to Tartar, it is he that can counsel you on the god's intentions." Despite his words, he held doubts that the shaman could or would provide an answer. His training with Tartar had begun to change him, to show him glimpses of what the shaman saw. "Your family is still wealthy and powerful, with the way our new Khan has kept the loyalty of the tribes, I believe you shall be spared."

Maral stared down into the mug, now refilled with her fifth cup of ale. She had liked the taste so much she gave the maid a necklace of gold for an entire jug. He was equally as far into his cups as her.

"Well, if truth be told, I don't care what the rest of my family does. Tolon and Badai raised me, not my real father and mother; there is no love lost between us." She hiccuped and then started again. "I plan to follow Badai, whatever decision he makes. He and Tolon were blood brothers, so he might very well rebel." 

"If your family decides to escape and incite a rebellion, you could inform on them. It would put you in the good graces of our new overlord." He boldly suggested.

"Craven." Maral joked with another hiccup. "Wait. You are serious?"

My judgment is clouded, I should not have said that. He thought aware of the overstep.

"You're right. It. It is unbecoming of me to suggest such a cowardly thing; the alcohol is getting the best of me. I should retire for the nigh.... "

"No!" Maral blurted out. "It is fine. Stay and drink more; the night is still young." She poured them their sixth drink of the night. 

He would not deny her request, could not deny her request. She had bewitched him; his heart suddenly fluttered with a fury he had not felt before. Something stirred within him, or 'somethings' rather. 

"You are of noble blood and birth; I am an orphan found in the wild. I see nothing but opportunities where you see the opposite. An army unlike any our people have gathered in two hundred years is here, an army that may grow larger yet." He paused for a long swig of ale. "I am being trained by a shaman, raised by an alchemist, and may yet hold a position in the Tengi if the Khan wills it." 

"I was to be married Bakar. Badai told me at the start of the trial, I do not know if the agreement still holds. I will not lose my independence, If I must inform on my family to do so, then I will." She leaned across the table. The warmth of her breath on his face made his heart beat even faster. "You are going to help me. I know you better than you may think, I'm aware you won't just do as I ask. So you help me and I will help you."

A spark of understanding came to Bakar. He understood what had happened; he had fallen into her trap. Lured in by alcohol and those damned eyes. Still, the sudden ruthlessness caught him off guard in a way that had never happened before.

"Have I misread her?" He thought to himself

"Explain."

She ran a smooth finger down the length of his arm. "If I inform on my family I will forever be disgraced by the rest of the tribe. You are already an outsider to most of the tribe, so you will be the one to pass on the information."

"And what do I get in return."

Her devilish smile never left his lips "Well, I will be free to marry for one." Now Bakar was the one who found himself blushing. "Or," she continued, "If you prefer, I also have a large stash of valuables no one knows of."

"Two very differing options, maral." She had him in a corner, and he knew it. He refused to be on the back foot. "I will take everything, you, and all your wealth." 

She grinned even wider than she ever had and stood from her chair. "If I remember correctly today is your birthday is it not?"

"It is." He was fifteen now, officially an adult by the rules of the tribes, if only barely.

"Follow me, Bakar; there is something I wish to show you."

His knife was never far from his person. It was the same for every member of the tribe; any second, you might need to fight. But in the deepness of the dark wood forest, he felt a longing to hold the hilt of his battle axe again, to hold it tight and let the deadliness of pure steel calm him.

They must have walked for hours on an ever-increasing slope. Higher and higher until it seemed they soared as high as any bird might have dared. Slowly, the trees grew sparser, soon, bushes and hedges solely remained, then nothing but grass that too began to grow scant. 

"We are here." Maral turned and strode to a side path that led them to a flat terrace. A stream ran down the middle of the plain, then decided in a zig-zag towards the bottom of the mountain toward the camp.

That was when he noticed it: the dim of the night had given way to the break of the sun. So long had they been awake the day and started anew. 

He had never been affected by such sights before, not in the hills, not in the northern realms where the trees and snow were plentiful, not in the arid wastes of the central east. Yet, for some reason, this site had him awestruck. Maybe it was the alcohol or the training he had received from Tartar, but he could feel something. 

Power. I feel power. In the rays of light, in the flow of the wind, in the earth beneath my feet. Something was there; what it may be, he did not know, but it had to be there. He reached out with his mind, projecting his ethereal self to look for ripples in the fabric of reality as he was trained. 

He saw it. So bright, so powerful, he felt tears running down his eyes, a well of magic, a geyser spewing forth an unending vigor. His mind's eye saw it in the ground, buried deep. 

"It calls for me. Whatever 'it' is," His thoughts could not be drawn away from this. He would return with tools and supplies enough to see his newfound duty through.

"Bakar." He lost focus at Maral's voice his mind returning to its normal state. 

"It is beautiful. Thank you for bringing me here Maral." 

"Bakar" She persisted 

He turned to her. His heart fluttered, and he burned red. There she stood, bathing in the sunlight black hair absorbing its warmth. 

Her silk dress dropped around her feet exposing her to the cool morning air.