The Thorian Sagas. 2. Insurrection.

Christine saw her head, and those heads of her colleagues fall to the sand in a haze of blood. Killed, for what they believed in.

Except, they hadn’t. Nothing had happened to hurt them. They all still lived.

She raised her eyes, not sure what she would see.

The swords; once raised over the heads of these men, were stuck firmly into the sand at the feet of the women opposite them, and the men were kneeling with their heads lowered.

What dream was this?

“We yield.”

She could not believe this. What had changed?

‘Boril? What does this mean?’ She did not understand this change.

He spoke in a way they could all hear and understand within their minds.

‘They continually surprise me too, no matter how old I get. You can never be sure what a Thorian will do. Accept his surrender, my dears. No one knows where this will go, not even them, but they do have a flare for the dramatic at certain times.’

She looked at the giant kneeling before her, and spoke to him.

“I do not understand.”

He repeated what he had said, confusing her even further.

“We yield, Christine MacBeath of Dorian. We yield to your pleas.”

He addressed her very much as Boril had. Formally, yet also disturbingly personally, sending a shiver up her spine.

“We yield to all of you. You women had the courage to do what you did, against all odds when you set out from your cities on this quest to change your lives; and change they did, and will. Now, let us see what you are capable of, as victors.

“You deserved this. We watched. We followed you. We even threw obstacles in your way here and there, thinking you would give up and go back, but you didn’t. You kept coming on.

“We misunderstood you, almost as much as you misunderstood us.”

“But…” Her confusion was obvious.

“Accept your victory, and hope that you really do want, and know, what you will be getting. Though that is still to be understood and negotiated. However, we Thorians may not be part of that process now. You must determine your own futures, if you can.”

He sighed. “And we were so looking forward to renegotiating that treaty. We would have liked to have suggested fifty tributes a year from each city, but….” He sighed heavily at such a loss. “I suppose such unfeeling tyranny might be out of the question now?” He knew it was.

He seemed to be joking with her.

He was saying things with a wry sense of humor about it all. She did not understand any of this. How had he, and those with him given up so easily? What was he hiding from them? She and a thousand such warriors could not have managed this by combat. It began to feel like an empty victory, with a hundred hidden pitfalls and traps along the way going forward.

This was not what she had expected. None of them could have anticipated this. It had been too easily achieved.

’What do we do, Boril? And what did he mean by saying that he hoped we know what we will be getting? What is he not telling us? This was won too easily.’

’You will soon find out what he means. And no, he is not being devious. Accountability, with responsibility, are burdensome cloaks to wear. ‘Uneasy, lies the head that wears the crown!’’

She had read that, somewhere, but began to see what it might mean. Boril had picked that out of her mind too. He explained it for her.

’Responsibility for yourselves and those who depend upon you, can sometimes be a bigger burden than you want to take on. Be very careful how you negotiate away what you already have until you know what you are giving up and will be replacing it with. There were many good things in that treaty when it was first written. However, times change.

’There are those who would give anything to have what you have, knowing nothing but peace and being sheltered in your cities from what the rest of us face every day. Have you so soon forgotten the terror you felt on those ships? Then, learning of the meaning of life and of death, each night you tried to sleep in that wasteland as you listened to the animals hunting around you?

‘Hunting you, if we had let them. I doubt you ever experienced that sudden rush of feeling in any of your cities. That feeling tells you that you are truly alive and living.’

‘Alive and living? This?’

They hadn’t felt such terror before. It would live with most of them for the rest of their lives when they returned. However… there was something in what he said that resonated with her. This was different. This was, living, and in a way she had never felt before.One moment of terror, then another of euphoria.

Boril brought her back to where she was, with these men still kneeling before them as he interrupted her thoughts

’However, first things, first. You have let them stew for long enough as you make up your minds whether or not you will accept their surrender. I think I would advise that you accept it.

‘Accept his, their, surrender. Protocol demands it. Sheath your swords. Take their swords out of the sand and return them to them, hilt first, as gracious victors. The city gates are now open to you all. The Thorians too. They need to be part of this process. Don’t lose sight of their needs whatever you do, or it will be a short-lived process when you see what you lost.’

He continued

‘Monique… she who lives in the city, will see to your comfort and safety. She and her guards know how to be hospitable. The life of the city will go on as before. The residents need to know nothing of this momentous change outside of their walls until it is all done. Some will thank you. Others, won’t. Uneasy lies the head….’

She began to understand.

He paused, sensing other feelings bubbling beneath the surface.

‘However, there is one thing you all need to know. Thorians always have this effect on women. Those ten Thorians are all spoken for. They are not free, so suppress those feelings. You will see why, when you enter the city. However, there are many like them who are free, out there. Thorian society is always short of women like you.’

Liam broke in. ‘Get on with it Boril. We are getting hungry.’

Christine caught that thought.

Liam was impatient too.

‘Put away your swords.’

The women put away their swords in unison still struggling to understand what had happened. The ten women in the front rank struggled to pluck the other swords from the sand, amazed at their weight, before passing them over as Boril had suggested. They were all lucky to be alive. Could they have been so wrong about Thorians?

Christine’s head was still reeling.

They had dared challenge these men. And they were still alive! This was not what she’d expected.

She looked up at Liam, to see him smiling at her.

“Why did you let me win?”

“Did I let you win? How do you know that we Thorians did not win? Sometimes you give up a small battle or two, to win the bigger war.”

There was a bigger war? Christine did not understand, though she had been given much to think about.

“We are very devious, we Thorians, remember? As well as inconsiderate and cruel. And Tyrannical. Boril knows all about how devious we are. He and I are good friends, despite that. I am sorry if we scared you for a while as we jockeyed for position; learning more about you.

“As for who won? The game is not over yet. You will need to know what you are facing, and can demonstrate that you are indeed fit enough, and wise enough to look after your own affairs. If not, you will soon be begging us for help once more. And we Thorians , tyrants that we are, negotiate a crippling price, as you know.”

His words sounded ominous.

“The areas around the cities are more secure now than they have ever been, so you can shoulder some of the load, but that will also change with time. You need to be ready for that. We can help. We already helped Fenn. You are lucky you did not challenge the guardians of the city to combat. They were Thorian-trained, but they do not have our experience, or patience, or restraint.”

‘What is he speaking of, Boril?’

‘You will learn soon enough, Christine… give him time. Watch, listen, and learn. Especially learn from those warriors of Fenn; those who guard the gate. Listen especially to what they have to say.’

He seemed distracted for a moment.

‘The trader and others are coming. We should go into the city and prepare for them.’