Arrival

Danan and Clee made their way through the barren pass of Almira in two days. On the third day they entered a village of shepherd, and Danan sold their two goats.

“We need coin for the city of Orvma,” he said. “We’re in the valley of Orvma now, soon as we came down the pass. We’ll be at the city by sundown tomorrow.”

“Why did you buy eggs for?”

“Careful! Careful! I’ll cook them for a bit, show you how I like them. Eggs are tricky. First you boil a pot of water…”

Eggs were beyond Clee, but he recognized black bread and fresh roast kid and milk, and enjoyed his breakfast.

“Done eating, good. Now practice yelling,” said Danan.

“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”

“Not nothing, fool! Practice yelling, ‘Danan approaches!’”

“Danan approaches!”

“Use your belly. Push from, here. ‘Danan approaches’!

“Danan approaches!”

“Better.”

They walked down the seemingly endless slope, forested with pine and cedar. The sun moved through the azure sky. Danan talked of cities and great courts and how Clee must shut up and observe and listen and learn every second, for the apprentice would reflect on the dignity of his master.

“For its in the cities, boy, that a sorcerer can make his fortune. A season with the Henren is steady eating, but to be a court sorcerer! Ah, the wines, and the cheese, and the women, and the gold, gold every day! We won’t have that in Orvma, sorry to say. Orvma serves the LORD.”

“What’s the LORD?”

“Oh dear me. Don’t they teach you anything…no, I guess they don’t. Well, mark this carefully boy: don’t admit not knowing what the LORD is in Orvma. They’d likely take you away from me and put you in a monastery. When anybody mentions the LORD, suck your teeth and nod. Like this.”

Clee laughed.

“It’s not funny! Better get a fire going, and I’ll tell you what I think you ought to know about the LORD.”

Clee worked for an hour on the fire and the pot of water and their meat, and Danan made scrambled eggs again.

“They believe in Orvma,” began Danan, “ that all this, the whole world, and everything in it, was made by the LORD, to His purposes. And the LORD gave Holy Scripture for men to follow His teachings and live accordingly. And the priests of the LORD keep the faith going year after year, and in Orvma they have great power.”

“Like the shaman of the Henren.”

“In Orvma the shaman of the Henren are pathetic frauds, and the priests are the voice of the true God. Never compare a priest with a shaman in Orvma.”

“Which one is right?”

“All you need think on, as a sorcerer, is who you’re with, and what they think.”

“What if you say the wrong thing?”

“Speak last, and say little, you fool.”

“Do the priests summon demons?”

“’Do the—’ No, boy! They don’t practice sorcery at all! It’s against the LORD!”

“So why are we going there?”

“Well. Because…because the nobles of Orvma don’t always follow the LORD so strictly as the priests would like.”

“So the priests won’t want us in Orvma? Isn’t that dangerous then?”

“That’s the life of a sorcerer. It’s dangerous to try and find shelter with the Henren, too. We’ve been compared to lice in a pelt.”

“Oh, you mean, a nuisance to be crushed?”

“Yes…very good.”

Clee watched the fire, trying to focus on the fire, seeing nothing but the fire. Danan watched him.

“Some sorcerers use a crystal,” he said after a time. “A rare few can focus without anything, they’re usually half-blind in my experience. I always like to get away by myself and stare at a fire. I enjoy watching fires.”

“Is there a demon who can help me concentrate?”

Danan sat up with a jerk. “Yes! Nun! I never thought of that.”

He sat closer to the fire, reached into his pack and pulled out a strand of blue-green cord. He wrapped it around his turban and tied the ends in an ornate knot.

“What’s that for?” asked Clee.

“Blue-green is the color of magic,” said Danan. “Nun is a stickler.”

“Shall we draw the circle too?”

“Oh, might as well. Here, you do it. A big circle, yes. A triangle, with the points touching the circle. Another triangle, upside down, that makes a six-pointed star, see? Now watch me draw a five-pointed star and you try it.”

They soon had the hexagram drawn as before, and both stood inside it.

“I, Danan, conjurer of Eden, son of Adam, summon Nun, demon of magic, to come, and coming, obey!”

A flame shot twenty feet high into the night, died slowly down to reveal a leathery nine-foot demon.

Danan clamped a hand over Clee’s mouth as a warning. “I, Danan, son of Adam, conjurer of Eden, invoke thee, Nun, demon of magic.”

The demon said, “Must be quite a favor to sacrifice a boy.”

Clee nearly yelped but remembered the hand in time, remained silent. Danan said, “The boy is my apprentice and the subject of my favor, O Nun.”

The demon said petulantly, “Aw nuts. Very well, what is thy sacrifice?”

Danan took out his belt knife, pricked a finger. “Blood of the son of Adam, O Nun.”

“You always were a cheapskate, Danan. Very well, I accept and hear you, O son of Adam.”

“My apprentice wishes to learn the aspect of magic. He seeks your expert aid in conjuring.”

“No powers? No great spells? No superhuman abilities?”

“No, Nun. He wants help concentrating.”

“Well. Impertinent though you are, you have the benefit of being unique. Even though you don’t really know what you’re asking, do you? Still. The boy must learn himself, old man. You there, boy! Name yourself.”

“I’m Clee.”

“And your lineage?”

“Son of Adam. Conjurer of Eden. I invoke thee, O Nun!” said Clee, in a rush.

“Very good. Offer me a sacrifice.”

Clee winced, and slit a finger with the knife Danan offered him.

“Very good, Clee, son of Adam.” With a rush, Nun came forward and slapped Clee on the forehead, knocking him flat. “Henceforth, concentrate with my assistance behind you.”

Clee breathed raggedly. Danan yanked at him, knelt beside him. “He’s unconscious!”

“Yes. Well a boon of that power shouldn’t be forgotten, should it, old man? I see you don’t agree with me. Well, I could tell you didn’t know what you were asking for. Take care of that boy. He’s potentially more powerful than you are, fellow enemy of the LORD.” Nun vanished in a rush of fire.

Danan stood, blinded by the flames, stunned by his imagination.

************************************************************************

Clee woke to find the sky well into mid-morning. He tried to leap up, fell back dizzily.

“You were out for a day and a half,” said Danan.

“Ow…”

“I’ve been putting cold cloths on your head. The swelling has mostly gone down now.”

“Thank you Danan. Ow, my head.”

Danan stared at him queerly. “Feel anything else different?”

“No. Why? What did that demon do to me?”

“I’m not sure. But go bathe in the creek and we’ll break camp. I want to get into Orvma today anyhow.”

Clee went to bathe in the creek. The water splashed down a small fall near a rushing eddy. Clee stared at the eddy, concentrating.

“Clee!”

Danan shook him roughly. “I came to see why you didn’t answer. You were just staring at the water, boy. What were you thinking?”

“Nothing. I was thinking of nothing.”

“Well. It’s good practice, in its place. Now come on.”

They set off down the sloping forest for the hazy hills on the horizon.

By afternoon they reached a serai, a great encampment three miles from the main gate of Orvma. Here there were two different caravans parked in offset corners of the serai, a great square mile compound with packed earth walls twenty feet high. Clee wanted to mingle with the caravans, which reminded him of bazaar week back home, but Danan wanted to press on to the city gate.

“Oh oh,” said Danan a few minutes later. “The army’s out in force.”

They had come to the great Field before the gate of Orvma. Here were four thousand tents arrayed in rank and file, orderly, with guards set, and the horses of the cavalry quartered beyond. A platoon guarded the only road to the gate, and Danan and Clee walked steadily towards them.

“Halt!” cried a sergeant of the patrol, his axe of office at rest before him.

Danan and Clee halted before him. “State yer name and purpose,” said the soldier. “What would ye in Orvma?”

“I am Danan the sorcerer! And this is Clee, my apprentice,” began Danan.

“Say no more, sorcerer. None of your kind is welcome in Orvma! Especially now that the Xee are massing.”

“Perhaps I can help.”

“Orvma needs none of your profane sorcery! Begone, sorcerer.”

“I bear also a message. For High Queen Pelena. From her father, Galmok, chief of the Henren.”

The sergeant frowned. “What token bear ye that I may know you truly come from the Henren?”

“Me,” shouted Clee. “I’m a Henren, that’s plain enough.”

The soldier looked over the furred shepherd boy. “Ye tell truth. Well, sorcerer, I don’t have any orders to let you through. Stay at the serai for the night. If the Queen will see you, she’ll send for you.”

“It would be better if you let me through now,” said Danan.

“I’ve given you my answer, Danan. Word will be sent. Best be off before the sun sets,” said the soldier more kindly.

“Thank you, sergeant,” said Danan, and bowed. Clee copied the bow. The sergeant saluted with his axe, and turned away.

“Well, Clee,” said Danan, “it looks like we’ll be making friends with a merchant company. And on short notice! I might actually have to pay.”

“Why not summon a demon and whisk us over the wall, like in stories?” asked Clee.

“Hmmm. I’d have thought you’d had enough of demons for a while.”

“Let’s try it. I’ll get a fire from one of the merchants.”

They entered the serai, and walked past camels of both kinds, giant lizards, horses and ponies, all manner of pack beasts, and carpets, tea, salt, leather, furs, bronze, ink, timber, and worked materials, carved tables and chairs, swords, spears, arrows, bows, and Clee heard the jabber of a dozen languages and saw men of all kinds. He darted between a group of sitting men and lit a taper, then wandered off to a corner where Danan waited.

“Light the wood, and concentrate,” said Danan. “You try the summoning. The name of the demon is Argomath, demon of Air.”

Clee stared at the fire. It seemed to fill the night as he stared at it, become more real than anything around it.

“I, Clee, son of Adam, conjurer of Eden, summon Argomath, demon of Air, to come, and coming, obey!

A rush of air spun into a dust devil, roiled the fire, and ended with a great leathery demon nine feet high floating above the camp. The watching men gasped and shouted.

“A boy?” roared Argomath. “A boy summons me with such power?”

“Argomath, I, Clee, son of Adam, conjurer of Eden, invoke thee,” said Clee, nervously, since it was his first time dealing with a demon. Danan remained silent beside him.

“I’m incredibly busy!” shouted the demon, and vanished.

The watching men roared with laughter, turned back to their fire.

“I embarrassed us in front of the others. I’m sorry, Danan,” said Clee.

Danan said nothing. Then he sighed, and said, “Never mind, Clee. Perhaps it’s better this way. Let’s wait for the summons.”

**************************************************************************************

The next day a courier in the uniform of the Royal Guard made his way to the serai. As befitted a courier of the Royal Guard, he was accompanied by four spearman and a trumpeter.

“The High Queen commands Danan! Sorcerer! To attend her at once! Danan step forward!” bellowed the courier.

Danan elbowed Clee in the ribs, said, “Go on, shout it.”

“Danan approaches!” shouted Clee. Danan stood and waited.

The courier and his companions strode forward. The merchants buzzed. “Are you Danan?” asked the courier.

“I am,” said the sorcerer solemnly.

“I bring greetings from the High Queen! Greetings! And she bids you attend at once,” said the courier.

“We will go, my apprentice and I,” said Danan.

The courier looked over the shepherd boy, glanced at Danan. Danan met his gaze serenely. “Very well,” said the courier. “Let us depart.”

They marched past the great gate of Orvma, with its roaring lions ready to pounce on the evil. They marched up the flagged streets of Orvma, and Clee thought something was horribly wrong, because of the filth and stench of the city. He had never been in a city before and was used to the relatively clean life of the nomadic Henren.

Everywhere was people, and noise, and jabber, and smoke, and stench…

They made their way through the winding main street of Orvma to the Palace, with its striped awnings and marble lions, and through the courtyards and atriums with great pools full of lilies, and koi, and bathing pools, and on into a shady room with three walls and a great ivory screen. The courier made obeisance to the screen. “One of these,” muttered Danan, as he bowed low. He elbowed Clee to do the same.

A bald major domo struck the checkered floor with his staff. “The courier returns,” he bellowed.

“Oh High Queen, here is the sorceror Danan and his apprentice," called the courier.

Danan held his bow. So did Clee, watching him out the corner of his eye.

A woman’s voice cried sharply, “Who is that boy?”

Danan raised, bowed, raised and said, “O High Queen,” waited, continued, “O High Queen, it is my apprentice, Clee.”

“Where did you find him?” asked the female voice beyond the screen.

’Among the Henren, O High Queen. Where I stayed for the winter, and from whence I come, bearing a message from Golmak to his daughter.”

A silence, then “What is his message, sorcerer?”

“Golmak sends his warmest greetings to his beloved daughter! And bids her know that fifteen new queens of the Xee are airing their wings in the plains. He bids her prepare for unstoppable onslaught from the Xee!”

A gasp went round the audience chamber. The major domo banged his staff angrily for silence. “We thank you for this news,” said the Queen, sourly. “You must be fatigued after your journey. Rest a while. Let food and drink be brought our guest!”

“Many thanks, noble Queen,” said Danan, and bowed, and backed away, motioning Clee to follow.

“Leave the boy!”

Danan hesitated, then continued to walk backwards. There was nothing else he could do.

Clee stood nervously in the chamber, wanting to run after Danan. A panel of the ivory screen parted and slid back. A tall, formidable woman in the richest robes Clee had ever seen walked forward to meet him. All the others in the room bowed low. Clee copied them.

“Argomath says you are no apprentice,” said Queen Pelena quietly. “You must tell me why you impressed him.”