The Eternal Champion

CHAPTER NINE AT NOONOS

Oh these blind and bloody wars…

'Really, bishop, you fail to understand that human affairs are resolved in terms of action…'

Brittle arguments, pointless causes, cynicism disguised as pragmatism.

'Would you not rest, my son?'

'I cannot rest, Father, while the Paynim horde is already on the banks of the Danube…'

'Peace…'

'Will they be content with peace?'

'Perhaps.'

'They won't be satisfied with Vietnam. They won't be content until the whole of Asia is their's… And after that, the world…'

'We are not beasts.'

'We must act as beasts. They act as beasts.'

'But if we tried…'

'We have tried.'

'Have we?'

'Fire must be fought with fire.'

'Is there no other way?'

'There is no other way.'

'The children…'

'There is no other way.'

A gun. A sword. A bomb. A bow. A vibrapistol. A flamelance. An axe. A club…

'There is no other way…'

On board the flagship that night, as the oars rose and fell and the drum continued its steady beat and the timbers creaked and the waves lapped at the hull, I slept poorly. Fragments of conversations. Phrases. Images. They tumbled in my tired brain and refused to leave me in peace. A thousand different periods of history. A million different faces. But the situation was always the same. The argument-made in myriad tongues-did not change.

Only when I rose from my bunk did my head clear and at length I resolved to go on deck.

What sort of creature was I? Why did it seem that I was forever doomed to drift from era to era and act out the same role wherever I went? What trick-what cosmic joke had been played upon me?

The night air was cool on my face and the moonlight struck through the light clouds at regular intervals so that the beams looked like the spokes of some gigantic wheel. It was as if the chariot of a God had sunk through the low cloud and become embedded in the coarser air beneath.

I stared at the water and saw the clouds reflected in it, saw them break to reveal the moon. It was the same moon I had known as John Daker. The same bland face could be made out staring down in contentment at the antics of the creatures of the planet it circled. How many disasters had that moon witnessed? How many foolish crusades? How many wars and battles and murders?

The clouds moved together again and the waters of the river grew black as if to say that I would never find the revelation I sought.

I looked to the banks. We were passing through a thick forest. The tops of the trees were silhouetted against the slightly lighter darkness of the night. A few night animals voiced their cries from time to time and it seemed to me that they were lonely cries, lost cries, pitiful cries. I sighed and leaned against the rail and watched the water creamed grey by the slashing oars.

I had better accept that I must fight again. Again? Where had I fought before? What did my vague memories mean? What significance had my dreams? The simple answer-the pragmatic answer (or certainly one that John Daker could have best understood) was that I was mad. My imagination was overwrought. Perhaps I had never been John Daker. Perhaps he, too, was another crazed invention.

I must fight again.

That was all there was to it. I had accepted the role and I must play it to the finish.

My brain began to clear as the moon set and dawn lightly touched the horizon.

I watched the sun rise, a huge scarlet disc moving with steady grandeur into the sky, as if curious to discover the sounds that disturbed the world-the beat of the drum, the crack of the oars.

'You are not sleeping, Lord Erekose. You are eager, I see, to do battle.'

I felt I did not need Katorn's banter added to the burden. 'I thought I would enjoy watching the sun rise,' I said.

'And the moon set?' Katorn's voice implied something that I could not quite grasp. 'You seem to like the night, Lord Erekose.'

'Sometimes,' I said. 'It is peaceful,' I added as significantly as I could. 'There is little to disturb a man's thoughts in the night.'

'True. You have something in common with our enemies, then…'

I turned impatiently, regarding those dark features with anger. 'What do you mean?'

'I meant only that the Eldren, too, are said to prefer the night to the day.'

'If it is true of me, my lord,' I said, 'then it will be a great asset to us in our war with them if I can fight them by night as well as by day.'

'I hope so, my lord.'

'Why do you mistrust me so, Lord Katorn?'

He shrugged. 'Did I say that I did. We struck a bargain, remember?'

'And I have kept my part of it.'

'And I mine. I will follow you, do not doubt that. Whatever I suspect, I will follow you.'

'Then I would ask you to discontinue these little jibes of yours. They are naive. They serve no purpose.'

'They serve a purpose for me, Lord Erekose. They ease my temper-they channel it into a suitable area.'

'I have sworn my oath to Humanity,' I told him. 'I will serve King Rigenos's cause. I have my own burdens to bear, Lord Katorn…'

'I am deeply sympathetic.'

I turned away. I had come close to making a fool of myself-appealing to Katorn for mercy, almost, by claiming my own problems as an excuse.

'Thank you, Lord Katorn,' I said coldly. The ship began to turn a bend in the river and I thought I could see the sea ahead. 'I am grateful for your understanding.' I slapped at my face. The ship was passing through a cloud of midges hovering over the river. 'These insects are irritating, are they not?'

'Perhaps it would be best if you did not allow yourself to be subjected to their intentions, my lord,' Katorn replied.

'Indeed, I think you are right, Lord Katorn. I will go below.'

'Good morrow, my lord.'

'Good morrow, Lord Katorn.'

I left him standing on the deck and staring moodily ahead.

In other circumstances, I thought, I would slay that man.

As it was, there seemed a growing chance that he would do his utmost to slay me. I wondered if Rigenos were correct and Katorn was doubly jealous of me. Jealous of my reputation as a warrior. Jealous of lolinda's love for me.

I washed and dressed myself in my war-gear and refused to bother myself with all these pointless thoughts. A little later I heard the helmsman shout and went on deck to see what his call signified.

Noonos was in sight. We all crowded the rails to get a glimpse of this fabulous city. We were half-blinded by the glare from the towers for they were truly jewelled. The city flared with light-a great white aura speckled with a hundred other colours-green and violet and pink and mauve and ochre and red-all dancing in the brighter glow created by a million gems.

And beyond Noonos lay the sea-a calm sea gleaming in the sunshine.

As Noonos came closer, the river widened until it was clear that this was where it opened into the ocean. The banks became more and more distant and we kept closer to the starboard bank, for that was the bank on which Noonos was built. There were other towns and villages dotted among the wooded hills overlooking the river mouth. Some of them were picturesque, but they were all dominated by the port we were approaching.

Now seabirds began to squeal around our topmast and with a great flapping of wings settle in the yards and began squabbling, it appeared, for the best spot in the rigging.

The rhythm of the oars became slower and we began to back water as we approached the harbour itself. Behind us the squadron of proud ships dropped anchor. They would join us later when, the pilot had come out to give them their mooring order.

Leaving our sister ships behind, we rowed slowly into Noonos, flying the standard of King Rigenos and the standard of Erekose-a black field supporting a silver sword.

And the cheering began again. Held back by soldiers in armour of quilted leather, the crowds craned their necks to see us as we disembarked. And then, as I walked down the gangplank and appeared on the quayside a huge chanting began that startled me at first when I realised what the word was that they were chanting.

'EREKOSE.' EREKOSE! EREKOSE! EREKOSE!'

I raised my right arm in salute and almost staggered as the noise increased until it was literally deafening. I could barely refrain from covering my ears!

Prince Bladagh, Overlord of Noonos, greeted us with due ceremony and read out a speech that could not be heard for the shouting and then we were escorted through the streets towards the quarters we were to use while making our brief stay in the city.

The jewelled towers were not disappointing, though I noticed that the houses built closer to the ground made a great contrast. Many of them were little better than hovels. It was quite plain where the money came from to encrust the towers with rubies, pearls and emeralds…

I had not noticed this great disparity between the rich and the poor in Necranal. Either I had been too impressed by the newness of the sights or the royal city took pains to disguise any areas of poverty if they indeed existed.

And there were ragged people here, to go with the hovels, though they cheered as loudly as the rest-if not louder. Perhaps they blamed the Eldren for their misery.

Prince Bladagh was a sallow-featured man of about forty-five. He had a long, drooping moustache and rather blank eyes and he moved rather like a fussy vulture. It emerged, and I was not surprised, that he would not be joining us in our expedition but would remain behind 'to protect the city'-or his own gold, most likely, I thought.

'Ah, now, my liege,' he muttered as we reached his palace and the jewelled gates swung back to admit us (I noticed that they would have shone better if they had been cleaned). 'Ah, now-my palace is yours, King Rigenos. And yours, too, Lord Erekose, of course. Anything you need…'

'A hot meal-and a simple one,' King Rigenos said, echoing my own sentiments. 'No banquets-I warned you not to make a large ceremony of this, Bladagh.'

'And I have not, my liege.' Bladagh looked relieved. He did not seem to me to be a man who enjoyed spending money. 'I have not.'

The meal was simple, though not particularly well-prepared. We ate it with Prince Bladagh, his plump, stupid wife, Princess lonante and their two scrawny children. Privately, I was amused at the contrast between the city seen from a distance and the appearance and way of life of its ruler.

A short while later the various commanders, who had been assembling in Noonos for the past several weeks, arrived to confer with Rigenos and myself. Katorn was among them and was able to outline very succinctly and graphically the battle-plans we had worked out between us in Neciranal.

Among the commanders were several famous heroes of the Two Continents-Count Roldero, a burly aristocrat whose armour was as workmanlike and free from decoration as my own-also there was Prince Malihar and his brother, Duke Ezak, both of whom had been through many campaigns; Earl Shanura of Karakoa, one of the furthest provinces and one of the most barbaric. Shanura wore his hair long, in three plaits that hung down his back. His pale features were gaunt and criss-crossed with scars and he spoke seldom and usually to ask specific questions. The variety of the faces and the costumes surprised me at first. At least, I thought ironically, humanity was united on this world, which was more than could be said for the world John Daker had left. But perhaps they were only united for the moment, to defeat the common enemy. After that, I thought, their unity might well suffer a set-back. Earl Shanura, for instance, did not seem too happy about taking orders from King Rigenos who he probably considered soft.

I hoped that I could keep so disparate a group of officers together in the battles that were to follow.

At last we were finished with our discussions and I had spoken a word or two with every commander there. King Rigenos glanced at the bronze clock that stood on the table and which was marked with sixteen divisions. 'It will be time to put to sea soon,' he said. 'Are all ships ready?'

'Mine have been ready for months,' Earl Shanura said gruffly. 'I was beginning to feel they would rot before they saw

The others agreed that their ships would be able to sail with little more than an hour's notice.

Rigenos and I thanked Bladagh and his family for their hospitality and they seemed rather more cheerful now that we were leaving.

Instead of marching from the palace, we now hurried in coaches to the quayside and rapidly boarded our ships. The king's flagship was called the lolinda, a fact which I had not noticed before, my thoughts being full of the woman who bore that name. Our other ships from Necranal were now in port and their sailors were refreshing themselves in the short time they had, while slaves took on board the last provisions and armaments that were needed.

There was still a mood of slight depression hanging over me from my strange half-dreams of the previous night, but it was beginning to disperse as my excitement grew. It was still a month's sailing to Mernadin, but already I was beginning to relish the chance of action. At least action would help me forget the other problems. I was reminded of something that Pierre told Andrei in War and Peace-something about all men finding their own ways of forgetting the fact of death. Some womanised, some gambled, some drank and some, paradoxically, made war. Well, it was not the fact of death that obsessed me-indeed, it seemed that it was the fact of eternal existence that was preying on my mind. An eternal life involving eternal warfare.

Would I at some stage discover the truth? I was not sure that I wanted to know the truth. The thought frightened me. Perhaps a God could have accepted it. But I was not a God. I was a man. I knew I was a man. My problems, my ambitions, my emotions were on a human scale-save for the one abiding problem-the question of how I came to exist in this form-of how I had become what I was. Or was I truly eternal? Was there no beginning and no end to my existence? The very nature of Time was held in question. I could no longer regard Time in linear terms, as I had once done as John Daker. Time could not be conceived of any more in spatial terms.

I needed a philosopher-a magician-a scientist to help me on that problem. Or else I could forget it? But could I forget it? I would have to try.

The seabirds squawked and circled as the sails smacked down and swelled in the sultry wind that had started to blow. The timbers creaked as the anchors were weighed and the mooring ropes cast off from the capstans and the great flagship, lolinda, heaved herself from the port, her oars still rising and falling, but making faster speed now as she sailed towards the open sea.