CAST of main Characters in order of appearance:
Lord Spy, Chief Councillor to the Emperor…..
The Twenty First Emperor of the Phoenix Dynasty…
Lord See, former Chief Councillor to the Emperor.
General Fang, Commander of the Imperial Army in the East..
Virtuous Gossamer (Scarlet Songbird), General Fang’s daughter.
Swimming Dragonfly, a village boy..
Sniffer, Dragonfly’s devoted friend.
Obedient Hummingbird, Aunt of Virtuous Gossamer, and General Fang’s Sister.
Venerable Bullfrog, Adviser to the Emperor and betrothed to Virtuous Gossamer.
Samark, Young Leader among the People of the Book.
Old Tea Leaf, a wise man.
Granite, a Captain in the Royal Guard of the Eastern Army.
Master of the Cleansing Fire, a teacher.
King Long Beard , ruler of the Kingdom of the South.
Isfara Dar Fara, Leader of the People of the Book.
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SCROLL ONE
The City of Golden Roofs is the beating heart of the Phoenix Empire and its huge, mud-brick ramparts glow red as the sun’s early rays strike inland from the coast. Clustered outside the Great Walls are the hovels of the poor. Inside are the single-storey homes of merchants, shop keepers and junior officials. At the centre, on a low hill, rises a Palace inhabited by senior officials, army generals, other members of the Imperial Court, and the Emperor himself. It is guarded by elite soldiers of the Imperial Guard and on its golden roofs are the burnished symbols of power: bronze statues of the Phoenix, the Eagle, the Ox and the Bear.
The Imperial Palace has various courtyards, each with a sacred purpose. On this particular morning the Courtyard of Eternal Despatch has been prepared and six wooden blocks stand on its carefully raked sand.
Dawn quiet is suddenly disturbed by brass gongs beating from within deep recesses around the courtyard. Six doors open and from each emerges a procession with a bound prisoner at its centre, feet bare, head shaven, eyes cast down, dressed in black rags. The prisoners are flanked by members of the Imperial Guard, resplendent in multi-coloured tunics, bearing highly-polished weapons of execution.
The prisoners are made to kneel, their shaven heads placed upon the wooden blocks, their necks pulled long. The beating of the gongs reaches a crescendo, the swords are raised high, and a single, deeper-noted gong signals the final cut. Six heads roll upon the sand and the reverberations decline to silence.
A thin, elderly man dressed in black silks is observing discreetly from an upper balcony. He is Lord Spy, newly appointed Chief Counsellor, Master of the Imperial Seals, Administrator of the One Hundred Departments. He enjoys watching death, the more so when the victims are traitors to the Empire, and particularly when they are personal enemies.
He leaves the balcony and hurries towards the Imperial Presence, guards falling back at his approach. The Emperor’s Secretary sees him coming and alerts his master.
“Lord Spy approaches,” he whispers reverently.
The Twenty First Emperor of the Phoenix Dynasty, Ruler of the Four Kingdoms, Interlocutor with the Council of the Ancestors, Possessor of Men’s Necks, is also called The Eternal Warrior but is known to lesser men in the outer palace, who see him occasionally, as the Small Pigeon because of his short legs and rounded chest. The general population call him the Avenging Sword because he is highly sensitive to any suggestion of disloyalty.
At this early hour the Emperor is alone except for the Tongueless Scribbler at his feet and the Imperial Secretary standing uneasily beside him, peering through thick eye glasses.
The Emperor sits high on a throne of yellow brocade. He is clothed in silk robes of the Imperial colours, yellow, red and turquoise. His white hair is hidden by a cap of rare furs, studded with jewels. Despite sixty years as Emperor, the Twenty First member of the Phoenix Dynasty looks alert and as ready for revenge as ever.
Lord Spy kneels before him to deliver his message.
“The six collaborators have been executed according to your wishes your Imperial Highness. They were not tortured and their deaths were sudden.” After a brief pause he risks adding: “You have been generous to them and to the exiled Lord See.”
“I am never generous,” contradicts the Emperor sharply. “Nor am I mean. Balance, Lord Spy. Balance is everything, never too much, never too little.”
Lord Spy presses his forehead onto the stone floor briefly to indicate gratitude for this gift of Imperial Wisdom and to show that he has accepted the advice and will hold to it closely.
“It is true that I have shown mercy to Lord See,” continues the Emperor. “He tried to serve me well and he is very popular. He loved the Empire as a romantic young man loves a virtuous woman. He gave his heart completely to its service. To have removed his head, as you so earnestly advised, would have created too many enemies. So his life has been spared and now he languishes among my loyal supporters in the Kingdom of the North.”
The smallest movement of the Imperial hand bids Lord Spy rise from his kneeling position. He stands to listen, head bowed.
“But his so-called Judicious Harmony has failed,” says the Emperor, becoming angry and striking his fist on the throne. “Tolerating the intolerable! The People of the Book are no longer content to stay among the Mountains of the Stars. They threaten the Imperial Dams. Already we have had to keep water in reserve, starving the Great Canals of life-giving irrigation. And at the other side of the Empire the Khan senses weakness and his horsemen press upon the Walls of Fierce Resistance.”
None of this is new to Lord Spy who has undermined his predecessor Lord See with the subtlety of a ghost and knows how serious is the situation.
“And the Jasmine Kingdom of the South. What do you know of King Long Beard’s intentions?” The Emperor speaks softly, deliberately, his eyes half-closed, his elbows hovering just above the padded arm-rests, his hands held in front of him meeting at the finger tips. He looks, as no doubt he intends to look, like a master strategist planning a critical move.
“Our sources in the south tell me that the kindling is dangerously dry but it lacks a match,” says Lord Spy. “King Long Beard is as frightened as a new-born rabbit. He makes no decisions without the agreement of his wife. Since they can never agree on anything there are no decisions. The southerners groan and complain about their Imperial responsibilities but they won’t do much till the old King dies.”
“Lord Spy, you are a baker selling me yesterday’s dumplings with stories of how early you rose this morning to bake them.” The Emperor speaks softly, like a snake. “Have you not heard? King Long Beard no longer favours his wife and listens instead to this so-called Master of the Cleansing Fire. He spurns the wisdom and guidance of the Ancestors”.
The Emperor rises angrily from his throne, shaking off the Imperial Secretary who scurries forward to assist. He seizes Lord Spy by the elbow, takes him to the viewing window at the end of the room and pushes open the screens. They look south across the golden roofs of the city, over the great ramparts, over bends in the Long River and the rice fields patterning into the distance towards clouds rising in the morning sky.
“A storm is coming. If we do not move quickly a tempest of violence will break upon the Empire that will sweep it into the sea. That is why Lord See is in exile and six weaklings lie dead in the courtyard. We cannot risk this so-called Judicious Harmony. We must strike all our enemies soon and we must strike hard if we are not to be shattered.” He takes a beautiful ceramic vase from a shelf and deliberately lets it drop onto the floor with an explosion of sound and fragments dancing across the tiles.
“Mobilise General Fang to crush the Khan’s horsemen before they dare to breach the wall. Defend the Imperial Dams and drive the People of the Book back into their mountain caves. Declare the Master of the Cleansing Fire to be an Enemy of the Empire to be hunted like a wild baboon. Prepare. You must be my eyes and ears. You must be as a snake in the grass and a vulture on the wing, always watching, always looking for signs of weakness and places that we can strike with minimum loss and maximum effect. That is why you are Lord Spy, my new Chief Counsellor. Fail and I may not treat you as leniently as I have treated Lord See, eating himself stupid in exile.”
The Imperial eyes turn to pierce Lord Spy who straightens his back and hardens his expression, even as his insides dissolve to the consistency of rice porridge.
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SCROLL TWO
The sunlight that is burnishing the golden roofs of the Imperial Capital is also bringing morning warmth to Goatwash, a provincial town of the Northern Kingdom close to its border with the Imperial Centre. On top of a hill, just outside the town walls, is a large, mud-brick, fortified villa surrounded by trees. Inside, in the semi-darkness of early day, is a buffulo-sized man with black hair falling to his shoulders, eyebrows like two giant caterpillars, a broad chest and a proud stomach. He has a loud voice, seldom at rest, and a laugh which echoes through his throat as if in a mighty brass pot. He is eating.
His wife is busy upon duties she has faithfully carried out three times a day for over thirty years, supervising the preparation and the serving of yet another substantial meal for her beloved husband, Lord See. She is his opposite, thin where he is fat, quiet where he makes constant noise. But they laugh together.
His enjoyment of her labours is evident, and chopsticks fly back and forwards like a shuttle in a weaving loom. Freshly boiled noodles are being sucked into the voracious mouth, thrashing and flashing in the suction like snakes being swept down a storm drain. So vigorous is the sucking and so long are the succulent noodles that one slaps him in the eye on the way into his lips.
“These noodles are alive,” he cries, wiping his face. “Did you not strike them on the head first Wife?”
“I will strike you on the head.” She gently taps him with her fan while a young servant girl hurries from the kitchen and lays a dish of steamed vegetables garnished with black mushrooms and oyster sauce on the table.
“What a feast! You and my food are the only enjoyments left. I will soon roll down the hill like a huge ball of fat and you will have to roll me back up to my bed,” cries Lord See, helping himself to the mushrooms. “It’s so quiet here I can hear myself chew.”
“You talk so much I am surprised you have time to listen,” says his wife.
“Well I do listen. I love to hear the dawn chorus of bird song. ” He stops talking and rises to throw open the shutters for a better view of the trees immediately below and the birds among the foliage. The morning’s first sunlight sends long, bright fingers across a gentle landscape of small fields, and patches of scrub woodland. Still hidden in gloom is a thin river winding between low hills and through the little town below.
“I think your peace is about to be interrupted.” says his wife.
Along the road towards them is a horse being ridden by someone urging it up the steady incline. Lord See abandons his breakfast and seats himself in the reception room, belching loudly, in time to receive the breathless horseman who enters. Heavy wooden shutters are being opened by two servants shedding enough light that Lord See immediately recognises this new arrival as an Assistant to the Emperor’s first born son, Prince Watchful Eagle – a name seldom used by those outside the Imperial Palace, who refer to him as Prince Rabbit because he seems so nervous.
The Prince’s Assistant bows low. “Greetings my Lord. I have been asked to tell you that the hunting of birds is particularly successful today on the low hill by the marshes across the bridge.”
“That is within the Imperial Centre. I am banished and risk my life crossing the river. Horses are also forbidden to me,” replies Lord See..
“You may borrow my riding robe, my horse and my bow. If you put on a large hat to shield yourself from the sun, you will pass unrecognised.”
“By Everything that’s Sacred! I am as big as a small house. It’s a very stupid man who cannot recognise me squeezed on to your horse.”
“My Master is owed a particular favour by the Commander of the Royal Troops. The guards will ask no questions of a large man on a small horse.”
“Very well,” says Lord See, rising quickly with a grunt. He strides into the courtyard, gathers a robe about him, pushes a large hat firmly onto his head, mounts the horse and clings tightly to the saddle. The Assistant’s small, tired horse groans beneath its new burden and staggers reluctantly down the hill, skirting the town and across the bridge. The Assistant walks hurriedly behind. Two soldiers in brown uniforms of the Royal North stand like stone at the bridge, their eyes fixed before them, asking no questions.
The sun has risen higher by the time the ill-matched horse and rider reach the woods. From a group of pine trees comes the cry of a man pretending to be a bird. Lord See smiles to himself at the signal, dismounts, removes his hat and enters the woodland, coming soon upon a group of eight men, their horses tied to nearby trees, Prince Watchful Eagle at their centre.
“Your Highness,” cries Lord See, as if surprised and bowing to the ground. “I was hunting and somehow have become lost. I have wandered across the river without realising. I must honour your Father’s Imperial Command and return immediately.”
“You must,” says the hesitant voice of the thin young man in rich robes. “I am shocked and displeased to see you here,” he continues without betraying a hint of either emotion. “But since you are, let me ask you quickly before you go…are you well?”
“I am perfectly well Your Highness. I am enjoying the peace of the countryside after so many years of public service in our great capital city. Here in the provinces I have time to read classical literature, to reflect upon the state of things, and to observe the movement of the stars.”
The Prince stamps his foot and twists his hands in anxious displeasure. “We need you Lord See. It is screeching madness to have you here contemplating the stars while the Empire trembles itself into collapse. For twenty years you have been the pillar at the centre. Your care reaches to every corner of the Empire. Without you my Imperial Father’s passions are like an angry bull. First we charge this way, then that. The Four Kings are becoming very impatient with the Empire.”
“What of the new Chief Counsellor?” asks Lord See. “Surely my successor can advise caution.”
“Of course not. As you know perfectly well!” squeaks the Prince. “Lord Spy has never lifted a sword in his life but he is delighted to encourage the Emperor to make war on the People of the Book and the Khan’s Horsemen. And yet his Treasurer, the Venerable Bullfrog doos not give the Imperial and Royal Armies the money they need to prepare. My father urges the generals to mobilise but his Chief Counsellor and Treasurer keep them weak.”
The Prince twists his hands in a frenzy and continues, his voice at an even higher pitch. “General Fang is so worried by the situation that he is marrying off his only daughter to this miserable Venerable Bullfrog in the hope of getting more money from the Treasury.”
“That is a terrible thing to happen to a young girl,” whispers Lord See. Then he raises his head suddenly to ask, “ Prince Watchful Eagle, what does your father think about this Master of the Cleansing Fire?”
”The mention of the Cleansing Fire is like a bee sting and causes him to roar. My father believes rejection of the Ancestors to be a most evil betrayal of the Empire. He issues orders to King Long Beard to do something since but nothing happens. The Cleansing Fire spreads across the Kingdom of the South. What to do?” asks the Prince.
Lord See bows before saying, “You honour me by seeking my advice. I offer this in humility. The Master of the Cleansing Fire in the South has followers but no army. His people do not threaten the Empire yet, although they may do in the future. The People of the Book in the West are decent, but fearful of the Empire. Reassurance and reasonable compromise offer a path to peace. The Great Khan in the North East is different and should be called the Mad Khan. Attack and defence are the only arguments he understands. We defeated him twenty years ago and he has been licking his wounds ever since. Now he feels strong again. It is time to enlarge the Imperial Army in the East for a determined attack on the Khan. General Fang is right. He needs more money from the Imperial Treasury.”
Lord See pauses to make sure that the Prince is listening carefully. “My advice therefore, Prince Watchful Eagle, is to reach accommodation with the People of the Book, to watch closely the Master of the Cleansing Fire and to focus immediate action on the Great Khan and his Horsemen.”
“Yes,” smiles the Prince almost laughing. “That expresses it clearly. So clearly. I must convey this to my father.”
“Remind the Emperor,” continues Lord See, “that confronting the Khan requires a strengthened Imperial Army in the East and that this would send a strong signal to others plotting harm against the Empire – the Master of the Cleansing Fire may become less ambitious and the People of the Book will keep to the mountains, at no further cost to the Empire. Implore your father to talk directly with his Generals.” Then, seeing a look of new purpose dawning on the Prince’s face he senses the interview to be over and bows low once again.
“I am sorry we could not meet,” says the Prince. “We saw you across the marshes and, knowing you had lost your way, waved a warning not to cross the bridge.”
“I was not even sure it was you, but I was grateful for the guidance,” says Lord See, playing along with the Prince’s caution.
“I may return to these parts. The hunting is good; in which case we might pass close by again.”
One of the Prince’s companions passes him a small woven basket, whispering a reminder.
“Oh yes,” cries the Prince with a smile, “I happen to have some roast pork buns freshly prepared by the Palace cooks. Your favourites, I know. Please enjoy them.”
Lord See accepts the gift courteously with two out-stretched hands and lowered head. “Prince Watchful Eagle is most generous. I will savour each one.”
Lord See rides homeward in thought, the Prince’s Assistant walking behind to retrieve his horse. The villa is shut and silent as they approach; the servants remain within its red walls, as instructed. Only four guard dogs bark a welcome in the courtyard. After the Assistant has left Lord See feeds each dog a roast pork bun. He mounts the stairs to the upper floor where his anxious wife awaits, fanning herself in readiness for the rising heat of the day. Lord See chuckles to reassure her.
“I have just had a meeting that didn’t exist with Prince Rabbit, who is as nervous as ever. He was surrounded by his entourage. No doubt he thinks the meeting will be kept a dark secret. But his Imperial Father will soon learn of it.” He walks to the window overlooking the courtyard and adds, “So too will Lord Spy. At least one member of that group wishes me dead. Look!”
Madam See hurries to the window. On the polished stones of the yard below lie the four dogs, guarding no longer, their bodies lying motionless, their spirits departed.
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SCROLL THREE
To the east lies the Great Sea where a grey fog swirls along the coast. Emerging through the gloom, high on cliffs, is the outline of a Military Citadel. Above its walls Imperial banners hang limp like damp ghosts. On the flat roof is a large brass gong and, beside it, a Gongsman, his bare chest and thick arms twitching in readiness for a signal to wake the soldiers asleep in the stone rooms below. The smell of boiled rice for breakfast hangs in the courtyard.
Outside the Citadel’s Great Gates is a red tent containing the garrison’s ever-vigilant commander. A loud fart from within, some rustling noises and a high-pitched belch alert the ageing military Secretary waiting dreamily outside that the day has begun for the General of the Eastern Imperial Army. The Secretary signals to the Guards and they withdraw to a greater distance.
General Fang emerges suddenly. He is a small man, naked except for a white cloth around his loins and a pair of large leather sandals. He takes a fierce breath and stretches upwards like a stick insect reaching for its prey. His Secretary says nothing, averts his gaze and then follows as his master strides towards a stone water trough nearby. Washing vigorously, the General issues instructions which the Secretary strains to hear above the splashing.
“The guests will arrive soon. Ensure that the feast arrangements are in such order that we could entertain the Ancestors were they to return to this world. The announcement of my daughter’s betrothal must be a great and memorable occasion. I want that ugly old bullfrog to understand that he’s about to marry the most beautiful girl in the Empire. And I want him to hear her sing.”
The General finishes washing and moves to the next stage of the morning ritual, vigorous drying with rough cotton cloths. “He thinks because the Emperor listens to him he can threaten to call the engagement off”. He bursts into a fit of coughing, clears his throat with a gurgling retch and spits onto the grass. “When he hears her sing his heart will melt into the mould of love.” Then he adds after a moment’s reflection and some more muscular rubbing, “Virtuous Gossamer, a beautiful name for a most beautiful girl, you must agree?”
It is hardly a question, but the Secretary takes the precaution of breaking his silence for the first time that morning to say, “Most certainly.”
The General is now dry and he strides back to his tent, pink and refreshed. The Secretary follows obediently. “Most certainly,” he repeats lest his profound disagreement be detected. How could a girl be called Virtuous when she so obviously enjoys making every man in the Citadel fall in love with her? And as for Gossamer, the Secretary grunts to himself, the fine filament of an early morning spider’s web sparkling with dew is not her kind of beauty. The General has raised his only daughter to handle a sword like a feather, shoot arrows at full gallop, swim cold lakes, run up mountains and recite ancient poems from the summit. As quick as a monkey, as tough as a tigress, as mysterious as the moon and as beautiful as sunny dawn on a high mountain: what name could capture the glory of such a girl wonders the Secretary. Certainly not Virtuous Gossamer.
The General is back in his tent, dressing himself and shouting to the Secretary through the felt, “And tell her Aunt that she must ensure my daughter is thoroughly prepared and perfectly dressed. She thinks my daughter is too young to marry. Donkey dung! There comes a time when a girl must obey the wishes of her Ancestors. Marriage to a top civil servant is a great honour. And we need her to convince this so-called Venerable Bullfrog that the Eastern Imperial Army needs more money if it is to defeat the Great Khan.”
After a great deal of heavy breathing, grunting and a final cough the General emerges like a proud peacock, resplendent in the red silks and golden sashes of a top commander in the Imperial Army. The Secretary begins to tie to his master’s side a silver sword while the General continues, “Duty to the Ancestors! The careful observation of ancient traditions! These are the stones with which our Great Empire has been built. I love my daughter as I love my right arm; but she must do what is required.”
He places a tough, scrawny hand on the sword now secured at his side and adds quietly, “I have no choice. The security of the Eastern Kingdom depends on it, perhaps the Empire itself. The Emperor wants me to challenge the insolence of the Great Khan immediately. But we are not ready. A snake doesn’t strike until it has coiled itself and steadied its head. That old bullfrog must convince the Emperor to give us more money and more time. Now go. Prepare!”
The Secretary bows submission and departs, sad for the father whose sense of duty commands great sacrifice and regretting with every beat of his heart that he must now finalise preparations to place a most beautiful young songbird in a cruelly small cage. Once tomorrow’s Betrothal Feast is over, she will be carried in triumph to the City of Golden Roofs, far from her beloved sea and married to a man twice her age with a huge mouth and greasy hair.
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SCROLL FOUR
The cliffs and General Fang’s Citadel look a bit like a relaxed lion. The Citadel itself is the head, steep crags create a shaggy mane. Smooth sandstone shapes a muscular back and haunches that slope towards a beach. The lion’s tail is formed by a harbour wall that curls into the sea, a wall whose stones have been added to by a hundred generations of fishermen to shelter their boats.
The village of Humble Haven lies just inland among dunes and low hills, homes of stone and wood with roofs of grass and tiles. There is a larger building with red tiles for Village Administration and another still larger called the Grand Hall of the Magistracy where judgements are delivered against those who break the law. On a slight hill in their midst stands the grandest building of them all, the Village Temple with a golden-tiled roof and ornate decorations, glinting in the morning sun.
In a small cottage with a blue bamboo door, two boys wake to a very important day for one of them. The other is crouched over a fire stirring rice in a pot and grilling two small fish. He is thin with limp black hair, his simple tunic carefully patched. He sniffs and wipes his nose with the back of his hand. “Once called Sniffer, always called Sniffer”.
“The name suits you,” grins the other boy standing in the gloom, naked but for the white cloth he is carefully tying about his waist. “At least you don’t have to have a Naming Day, doing stupid challenges just to be named Frog’s Bottom or Goat’s Breath. Doesn’t seem something to want.”
“It’ll win you the type of respect that I’ll never have,” says Sniffer who arrived in the village as a small, hungry, homeless orphan with a runny nose and has made himself useful ever since. “Your Grandma has worked hard to convince the Elders to give you a big, important name. She says you must eat well because the tests will be harder than you imagine.” He turns over the fish grilling above the embers. “She’s on the beach already chatting to the Elders. We must eat quickly”. He spoons rice into two bowls and puts a small, grilled fish on top of each.
They eat hungrily and are soon outside juggling stones in the early morning sun to keep their minds focused and their bodies from feeling worried. “Please don’t do anything crazy,” says Sniffer. “Just do what they ask you”.
“She’ll be watching,” laughs his friend.
“Who?’ says Sniffer. “The General’s daughter? She’s never spoken to you. She watches your antics from a distance, high on the cliffs, like you watch the dolphins jumping waves. It means nothing. Just concentrate.”
At last the Village Messenger they have been waiting for walks purposefully up the sandy path from the beach. He is a tall, serious man called Elegant Willow, a fisherman and a good musician but today dressed as an Imperial Village Elder in a black, silk, full-length tunic fringed with red. He seems not to know the boys and addresses no-one in particular when he says in a loud voice, “The sun has risen on your Naming Day. The Elders await.”
He turns and strides back towards the beach. The boys follow, mimicking his big strides. Sniffer drops behind as they make their way through a group of chattering villagers and approach the Meeting Tree. It stands like a mountain of dark green leaves between the sand dunes and the beach. Around it are bright, colourful banners fluttering in the breeze.
“I’m here, Grandma,” cries the boy, bursting out of the sand dunes onto the beach and running towards an old lady, her back bent like the prow of an upturned fishing boat, as she leans heavily on a gnarled stick. He is as brown as a polished nut and as thin and supple as a young tree. The new white cloth around his middle leaves his arms and legs bare.
“You’re late,” she says, hitting him gently on the leg with her stick.
“I’m not frightened of you, Grandma,” he laughs. “Not now that I’m taller than you.”
“You were never frightened of anything. Your mother and I had to do all the worrying for you,” she grumbles. “Ever since you were born you’ve been like a firework. Today you must concentrate. Prove yourself special and they may name you Soaring Seabird like your Grandfather. Now go.”
She follows her grandson into the deep shade of the Meeting Tree. Beneath the wide-stretched branches stand Village Elders dressed in silk robes of power and self-importance. The Chief Elder is the grandest of all with his high black hat, his aquamarine gown, white sashes and long fingernails. Grandma bows lower than her grandson has ever seen. The Chief Elder coughs, making the small yellow decorations hanging on his black hat shake. He clears his throat noisily and speaks in a grand voice.
“You know the tests we have set in manliness and village history. You will be timed on the first by the sand clock. Now go.”
As the boy begins to run down the beach a glass timer is upturned. He can feel the villagers watching him as he charges into the water. They are expecting him to wade all the way, breast high, fighting the foam towards the Sentry Rocks out to sea where the waves start to break.
Diving forward as he has practised in secret so often, he lunges into the waves, passing from the world of splash and sparkle to one of blue-green and muffled sounds. Few villagers can swim, none of them underwater, and they will think he is drowning. This is a mysterious world reserved for fish, sharks and monsters but he has made it his world. Chest and knees almost scraping the sandy bottom, he pushes strongly through the water. The currents are less down here and he surges forward but at last he has to burst up for air. His grandmother will be pleased he is still alive. The rocks are much closer now. Back under water small fish dart away. He has measured this journey in the dark and in secret. Four more breaths and he will be there.
When he reaches the rocks he clambers out looking for the hiding place. The long, thin raft is where he put it last night and he quickly carries it above his head to the sea as he has practiced so often with Sniffer on remote beaches.
He knows the type of wave to look for, bigger than the others, already breaking as it moves around the rocks and heads towards the beach. Seeing the perfect horse mane of foam and with a thrust that tips the point of the raft forward he jumps aboard, forcing the tip slightly down into the leading edge of the wave, catching its thrust; lies along the raft’s length, foam creaming around the sides; kneels, arms out-stretched to balance, and then stands, legs apart, racing towards the shore.
In a single glance he can see the villagers crowding around the tree, the flags fluttering, the huts huddled among the sand dunes. On the cliffs beyond the harbour, a white horse and the girl. She is tiny in the distance but he knows she is standing on the horse’s back.
The raft scrunches onto the beach and he leaps and runs, laughing at the surprise he knows he must have created. He has been faster than any could imagine. Dripping and gasping for breath he bows before the Chief Elder.
“I present myself for the Village History Examination”.
SCROLL FIVE
General Fang’s arrangements for the Betrothal Feast of his daughter, are in place. The guests have been arriving at the Citadel all morning, on foot, on horse, and a few in curtained palanquins carried by bearers in bright uniforms. The Great Hall is filled with a hundred circular tables each occupied by twenty eager faces, most talking at once. There are Army Officers and Village Elders, Magistrates and Merchants. High above the roof beams reverberate with the noise of their chatter and the sharp light of a spring afternoon cuts in through open windows, sparkling on ladies’ ornaments, shimmering on silks, and shining on silver platters. In recesses along the walls are brightly coloured lanterns shaped like yellow butterflies, golden carp, peony flowers, dragonflies, and multi-coloured peacocks.
The guests are supposed to be elegant but they eat like locusts. Dishes heaped with steaming food, bowls sloshing with soup, and skewers of roast meat are hurried to the tables while empty plates are clattered out of sight. Exotic foods appear and disappear: steamed fresh-water crab, minced meat of young deer, lotus seed dumplings, sweet lavender rice. Men gnaw on roast pigs’ trotters and drink warm rice wine. Ladies eat fragrant vegetables and sip green tea made from delicate leaves grown at high altitude.
On a raised platform is the Head Table at which General Fang presides. He looks small, thin and fierce. He has surrounded himself with men of substance. Beside him sits his future son-in-law, Venerable Bullfrog whose black hair is greased tightly onto his big round head. His lips are thin and his mouth is wide.
General Fang is silent and glowers until a junior official approaches, bows and talks softly in his ear. His daughter has returned it seems and is preparing to sing, obedient to her father’s wishes. The General grunts and nods approval.
In an anti-chamber divided from the Great Hall by thick curtains, Virtuous Gossamer is undressing quickly out of her riding clothes. Her Aunt, Dutiful Hummingbird is behaving more like a flustered chicken.
“I thought you’d never return. I was about to jump into the sea from a high cliff. Seriously. Don’t smile. Your father holds me responsible. Quick rub yourself with this cloth. You’re so damp.”
“I saw him Aunt. He rode the waves like a dolphin. It was beyond everything wonderful.” Her face shines and smiles. She is breathless.
“Forget about village boys. You are about to be a married lady of distinction. Now quickly, turn around so I can fasten your dress.” Aunt lifts a shimmering garment of deep red velvet, helps Virtuous Gossamer pull on the sleeves and girdles it about her slim body.
“It’s like a battle suit.”
“Marriage can be a bit of a battle,” sighs Aunt pulling the ties at the back of the dress as tight as possible. “You have to be ready”.
There is a sudden roar from the Great Hall and the two ladies hurry to peep through the curtains. Virtuous Gossamer sees her future husband for only the second time in her life and gasps.
“No wonder they call him the Not-so-Venerable Bullfrog when he’s not listening,” she whispers fiercely. “How could my father do this to me?” she continues above her Aunt’s attempts to soothe her. “How could he give me a boy’s education, allow me to read the classics, study the art of war, learn swordplay and archery, then marry me off for power? And I am expected to sing a song of love and faithfulness in front of all these hypocrites. I’m eighteen summers. I’m not ready for marriage.”
“It’s an honour to be married,” says her Aunt, nervously stroking the long dark hair, trying to calm a temper she has learnt to fear. “I was married off to your uncle when I was seventeen summers. It wasn’t so bad once I got used to his huge stomach and prickly chin.”
“But Aunt, at least you were brought up to be the dutiful wife. They didn’t try to educate you.”
“I may be uneducated but I have feelings.”
“I know you do Aunt. You are a very clever, caring, darling Aunt. I’m sorry to sound ungrateful. But my heart is going to burst,” she moves towards a window with distant views. “My spirit wants to fly high into the hills. It wants to ride a boat down rushing torrents of the Long River, out into the Great Sea. Do you understand Aunt? I want to study at the feet of the Master and learn about his Cleansing Fire. I want to sleep in the Mountains of the Stars and learn from the People of the Book. I want to see the world, meet strange people and fall in love with a god.”
“A senior Imperial Civil Servant is almost a god.”
“Don’t joke about it Aunt,” explodes Virtuous Gossamer. “Why should I obey my father? Why should I have to worry about duty to the Ancestors so much? What have the Ancestors ever done for me? My mother dies before I can remember her.”
“Hush. Don’t upset yourself. You must be ready to perform”.
“I can’t sing in front of that bullfrog. He looks at me like an insect he’s about to eat.”
“You must. You must be strong,” whispers Aunt urgently. “You must be true to your destiny”
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SCROLL SIX
He stands dripping wet, his chest heaving for breath but he is smiling as he stands dutifully before the solemn Village Elders.
“I present myself for the Village History Examination”.
The Chief Elder strokes his beard. Perhaps he is trying to look wise but one of his long fingernails gets caught for a moment in the grey curly hairs.
“Who was your father’s mother’s father?” says the old man.
“Sand Owl. He became Sand Owl the Wise, a Village Elder but never the Chief,” says the boy quickly, still gasping for breath.
“And who was your father’s mother’s mother?”
“Elegant Crane, but known in old age as the Croaking Snail. She lived through ninety cold seasons.” Still panting but his mind is working fast.
“And your father’s mother’s mother’s father?”
“We do not speak of him because of his crimes. He was sent into exile and was lucky not to have his tongue removed.”
“Not just his tongue,” adds one of the Elders softly.
“Tell me about your father’s father?”
He had hoped this question would not be asked and from the snort just behind him he can sense Grandma getting angry.
“He was called Soaring Seabird. Cleverest in the village he passed all the Imperial exams and served many years in the City of Golden Roofs. He became Trusted Clerk to Lord See. Some say he should have used his position of influence to benefit our village. He put loyalty to the Empire first”.
The Chief Elder grunts. Perhaps he has eaten his early meal too greedily.
“Which is the oldest building in our village?”
“Some say it is the Village Temple. But in fact the deep well outside the Temple was built before the altar and the Temple walls.”
“Enough,” says the Chief Elder suddenly and loudly. “You have too many of your own ideas. Everyone knows that the Village Temple is our oldest building. It is the sacred foundation of our village. Our water well!” he coughs angrily. “A well is not a building”
“But the well is beautifully lined with bricks and carefully carved rocks.”
“Silence! You try to be too clever. Where other young men run through the waves, you think it will impress us to swim like a fish and hover above the waves like a dragonfly on a pond. Very well.” The Chief Elder pulls himself even straighter, obviously readying for a grand pronouncement. The chattering villagers fall silent. Only the cry of a single bird and the waves breaking along the shoreline disturb a moment of silence.
“You are to be called…………….. Swimming Dragonfly.”
Everything happens at once. The Village Elders clap gently, trying to look wise in their agreement at such a sensible name, Grandma screams and throws herself on the sand, and some of the villagers burst into laughter.
“Not a dragonfly,” pleads Grandma from the ground. “It’s so small. A dragon, yes! But not a dragonfly”.
“Not such a bad name” thinks Dragonfly. “I have a proper name at last”. He has always loved the rich, magical colours of dragonflies flitting with magical speed and hovering above the water. But Grandma seems so angry, so humiliated and some of the villagers are laughing, calling his name so disrespectfully. He wonders what his father, Old Turtle would think of such a name.
“Not bad my son, not bad. Make the best of it.” And then he would return to mending his nets. He was always mending his nets. Even on the deck of his fishing boat as he sailed away for the last time he had a net over his knee and was threading twine.
The Chief Elder is talking again. “And now you will make peace with the Ancestors. A day and a night alone in the Village Temple will accomplish this. Come”
The Village Messenger, Elegant Willow raises a banner high and leads the way up the beach through the village and towards the Temple. The crowd parts to let the procession through. Beautiful silk robes of the Elders contrast with the dark simple jackets and baggy black pants of the fishermen and the wide black hats of the women who will soon go to work in the vegetable patches and rice fields behind the village.
Dragonfly tries to look relaxed as he walks behind the Chief Elder through the crowd of familiar faces. Some murmur support, some are laughing, perhaps happy to see his family humiliated, others just stare. Sniffer is running among them, appearing at various vantage points to give encouragement.
“Dragonfly is great,” calls Sniffer jumping up among the crowding villagers to be seen by his friend. “Long live Swimming Dragonfly.” He waves a small cloth.
At the rear of the procession comes the Harmonious Music Band making a terrifying noise with gongs, horns and pipes, a challenge to any evil spirit lurking nearby.
The Village Temple stands aloof, normally guarded by the old Temple Keeper and his dogs. There is no sign of them and the building looks grander than ever, its huge roof of golden tiles carried by ornately carved pillars along the sides and at each corner by a bronze dragon. Before the two great, red, wooden doors is a large brass pot of freshly lit incense sticks filling the air with pungent smells and dense smoke.
The villagers drop back as the Elders file each side of the Chief to stand in a row on the Temple’s lowest step. Dragonfly is required to stand a step higher and they all face upwards towards the entrance. The band stops playing and in the sudden silence the Chief Elder addresses the Village Temple and the Ancestral Spirits within.
“We bring you Swimming Dragonfly, newest of our number. He has come to meet our Ancestors and pay his respects.” The Chief speaks quietly now, even kindly. “Swimming Dragonfly. Your time for manhood has come. Go into the Temple. Kneel before the Village Gods. Tell them all that is in your heart. Seek their help throughout your life. You will see statues of your ancestors along the walls. Do not disturb them. You will eat nothing and drink nothing. In the darkness you will hear many things. Keep a steady spirit and remain silent. When the sun rises we will be here to greet you back.”
Slowly, solemnly Swimming Dragonfly ascends the stairs towards the dark mouth of the Temple, the incense smoke swirling about him. He can feel the Elders watching silently behind him. And then a small anxious voice cries, “Good luck my Dragon.”
“Dragonfly, not dragon,” says another voice. Some villagers laugh. “Silence!” growls the Chief.
Dragonfly can imagine his grandmother’s feelings of anger and shame but he keeps looking forward, hovering outside the great dark entrance. He can feel a flush of anger on his cheeks, hear the pounding of his heart and sense the sting of tears in his eyes. He steps over the giant wooden entrance.
Oil lamps flicker. Incense sticks smoulder red and smokey. As he gets used to the gloom he sees the looming shapes of statues, each one a god. He has never been allowed here before but Grandma has told him every detail. By the door hangs the great Temple Gong. Towering in the nearest corner is the fierce, black grimace, bulging eyes and raised weapons of the God of War and Justice, over there are the softer lines of the Goddess of Love and Motherhood, and that squat, ugly-looking statue must be the God of Village Administration. There are others: the Guard of the Temple, the God of Royal Obedience, the Spirit Guardian of the After Life.
He moves cautiously through the smoke, surprised by the height of the blackened pillars pointing up towards hints of daylight among distant roof tiles. The Temple seems at least twice as big inside as it looks from the outside. Here is the wall of the recently deceased, little alcoves each bearing a name and a small statue. He looks for his Grandfather, Soaring Seabird. Grandmother told him exactly where to look. The name is clear, but there is no statue in the alcove. All the other alcoves have statues in them. Why do they dislike the memory of his grandfather so much and why do they keep trying to humiliate Grandma ?
“I will not be silent,” growls Dragonfly. He walks purposefully to the mighty Gong by the door, climbs on to the ringing platform, draws back the suspended wooden Log of Calling and drives it forward with all his strength into the centre of the huge brass disc.
The Gong roars like a dragon. The Log of Calling swings back striking Dragonfly in the face. He falls backward on to the stone floor, waves of dazzling darkness closing about him.
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SCROLL SEVEN
Gongs suddenly crash in the crowded Great Hall. The roar of laughter and conversation dies. Virtuous Gossamer and her Aunt peep through the curtains from their hiding place. Every eye looks upon the strangely small General who steps to the front of the Main Platform, chest puffed out, features hard, eyes fixed ahead.
“Praise to the Ancestors of the Great Empire,” he barks. “Praise to the Twenty Third Emperor of the Phoenix Dynasty. Praise to Lion Heart, King of the East.” He keeps other preliminary remarks brief and moves to his goal. “This occasion marks a very significant betrothal between two special people. Venerable Bullfrog, of Imperial lineage, is appointed by the Emperor to be his Treasurer. And he has chosen as his Wife the most beautiful lady in the Eastern Kingdom, Virtuous Gossamer, only surviving child of this humble Imperial General.” He bows to make sure that they all understand he is referring to himself.
The guests murmur approval. Virtuous Gossamer resists the screaming temptation to flee. But Aunt is right. She must be true to her destiny.
“Let her sing,” they cry, perhaps thinking this is the best way to stop the General from preaching about duty and destiny as he has done so often in the past. He consents with a grand gesture towards the curtains at the back of the hall.
Virtuous Gossamer makes herself as tall and straight as possible facing into where the curtain will part. Her mouth feels as dry as a lizard’s back. Aunt adjusts the headdress of pearls before pulling back the curtains. The guests gasp and then applaud softly as the young girl walks slowly past the tables in her tight fitting red silk dress towards the Main Platform. She can hear comments of approval and jealousy.
A small orchestra of piped and stringed instruments has assembled below the platform. She stands beside the players watching her father. He nods, she walks up steps onto the platform, bows to the High Table and faces the room. The guests’ upturned faces are like stones on a beach, waiting for the waves.
The orchestra begins a tune she has practiced with them a hundred times. She feels their music clustering about her, familiar, reassuring and then she begins:
“Come to me on tuneful sounds,
Carry me on dreams of song,
Take me from fear and sorrow,
Bring me to mountains soaring.
Air is pure and eagles live.”
She senses the audience, wrapt, attentive, enchanted. Her words take them on a journey through forests of black pine, across lakes like polished marble, over mountains whose peaks are among the stars. She raises her arms high in a gesture of supplication as the song draws to a close:
“Love release us.
Unlock the doors.
Let freedom sing”.
At the word “unlock”, among the many faces, she finds herself looking by chance directly at the Keeper of the Lock, the man whose job it is to keep the Citadel Gates firmly shut and bolted at night. She sees a look of fear on his face as if he senses that he is being asked to do something that will betray a sacred trust and may cost him his life.
She had not dared to ask such a favour. But a surge of new possibility rushes through her. She turns her face up, stretches towards star-shaped lanterns above and sends her voice to the rafters.
“Our love is freedom.
Together we fly.”
Cries of approval burst like a storm cloud. Virtuous Gossamer bows in gratitude to the orchestra and courteously to the guests. She can feel her face flushed, her body suffused with energy. She bows low once more to the Head Table. Her father is busy drinking a toast with Venerable Bullfrog. Let them drink she thinks triumphantly to herself.
The sky outside is turning pink in the late afternoon light. The guests will soon be drowsy from feasting. When sore heads in the morning are asking difficult questions she will surely be in the mountain passes, running. Running like a hunted animal perhaps, but feeling wild and free.
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SCROLL EIGHT
Swimming Dragonfly wakes with his head in flames and someone putting a cool cloth on his forehead. He opens his eyes slowly to see the familiar wooden beams of the hut’s roof and his family crouched around, younger brother Oyster Catcher, sister Little Orchid and Grandma. And Sniffer, of course.
Grandma explains that he has been accused of desecrating the Village Temple and that a travelling Magistrate will hear the case this very morning. She speaks softly at first but Dragonfly can sense her concern and displeasure.
“What mad spirit made you swing the Log of Calling at the Gong? How often have I told you how sacred that is? Why must you always do exactly what you are told not to do?” She asks more questions but Dragonfly knows she does not expect an answer to any of them.
At last Grandma’s temper cools and she says, “You must recover your strength quickly. You will soon be called to appear before him.”
“But my head is going to burst,” replies Dragonfly, carefully touching the damp cloth on his forehead.
“You’re lucky you still have a head,“ Sniffer murmurs. “That swinging log could have knocked it over the Citadel“.
Dragonfly rises slowly, groaning and giddy. Grandma slips a white tunic over his head and gives him a bowl of chicken broth which he slurps like a hungry puppy.
“What’s the punishment for desecrating a Village Temple?” he asks and for a while the only response comes from twigs crackling nervously beneath the rice pot. Oyster and Little Orchid avoid his glance, staring at the fire as if searching for an answer among the flames. Finally, Grandma says, “We don’t know. It’s a matter for the Ancestors.”
“So bad you can’t tell me. Come on Sniffer help me to the Grand Hall of the Magistracy and let me look down the Dark Throat of Justice,” smiles Dragonfly, trying to sound brave but annoyed that his voice betrays fear.
Outside a cool wind is blowing and the sky is the colour of a donkey. Grandma leads the way to the second largest building in the Village. Dragonfly leans on Sniffer. Oyster Catcher and Little Orchid follow. Ahead villagers chatter around the Magistracy doors. Uncle is there and smiles a worried welcome. He is a small, round man with short black hair and a red face that is usually creased with smiles. Dragonfly treats him like a father and bows in respect. But Uncle hugs him as if he were a small boy once more.
“The Village Council have been in there for so long I’ve had to piss twice while waiting,” he says, sounding determined to be his usual self. “They’re bound to call for you soon. I’ll try to come in as well. Don’t even glance at the Magistrate. Go in, kneel down, put your head on the floor and get as comfortable as you can. You may be there a while.”
They wait, peered at suspiciously by the two County Militia who stand guard at the doors. Dragonfly has never been so close to soldiers before, even local ones like this whose job it is to tour the County with the Magistrate. They wear dark metal helmets and leather shoulder protection. Their arms are clad in highly polished bronze and they each hold a long spear. But the way they lean on the door and look about them, and the half open mouth of the larger one makes Dragonfly wonder if they are real soldiers.
At last the sound of a metal bar being pulled back prepares them. At a command from one of the County Militia, Dragonfly enters the great, gloomy Hall, eyes down, almost ready in his heart for the death sentence to be pronounced and determined to show no emotion. He can hear his heart it is beating so fast. He risks a quick glance towards the Elders of the Village Council who stand like disobedient children before an angry parent, lit by weak light from high windows and two large fire brands. They are grouped slightly to the left of a raised platform on which sits a giant man.
The County Magistrate is like the brightly coloured statue of an angry god. His face flickers red in the light of the fire brands. His extravagant black whiskers curve downwards in stern disapproval. He is wearing the full plumage of a senior Judge. On his head is a high black hat with side flaps that reach to his padded shoulders. His tunic is made of red brocade and black silks, ornately embroidered with the symbols of justice and discipline. The wide sleeves are so long they fall over his knees. His legs are clad in loose black trousers tucked into the largest boots Dragonfly has ever seen. County officials with scrolls and writing implements sit at a table to his right, and the two County Militia now stand erect behind him.
Dragonfly feels Uncle with him, a gentle hand helping him to the ground. Kneeling, he lowers his head to the cold stone, and puts his hands near his cheeks. He is looking at his right hand beside him and finds it resting on the simple pattern of a flying sea bird carved into the stone. He forces his attention on to the pattern, trying to drive out all other thoughts, watching the bird in his mind flying white above high cliffs on a sunny day, balancing on a sea breeze, hardly moving its wings, an effortless freedom.
“Listen to the judgement,” says the Magistrate in a voice like large waves booming in a rocky cave. “I speak with the authority of the Great Court in the Royal Capital of the East. The details of the case have been heard; the laws have been consulted; the demands of justice have been measured against the cries for compassion.”
There is a moment’s silence and then the two County Militia come noisily off the platform, seize Dragonfly by the clothing on his back, drag him to the floor directly before the Magistrate and throw him to the ground, giving no more respect than they would to a sack of rice. One of them places a heavy foot on the boy’s shoulders, pinning him down lest he try to escape.
“Swimming Dragonfly, you were raised by caring parents in a responsible village which has long revered its Ancestors. You were trained in the arts of reading, writing and astronomy,” rumbles the Magistrate. “You have attended the County Academy to learn the disciplines of War and the Duties of a Citizen. You passed the exams. And yet you dare to desecrate the Village Temple, Dwelling Place of the Ancestors. The law provides a clear remedy for those who desecrate a temple. The criminal is to be tied by each limb to four horses driven in opposite directions, tearing the limbs from the torso. The bowels are to be removed and the head severed from the shoulders. The different parts are to be carried to the corners of the county, ensuring that the offending spirit is condemned to roam forever in search of its bodily remains.”
The Magistrate pauses before pronouncing his sentence. Dragonfly is faint with terror, his limbs shaking, his tongue so dry it feels like a small dead animal in his mouth. He has never thought seriously about his Ancestors before, never really meant his prayers. Now he pleads with them in his heart, desperate for their forgiveness and help. He offers to serve them faithfully if only they can give him life. He imagines himself begging earnestly in the Ancestral Temple.
“On the other side,” says the huge voice, “I have heard how Swimming Dragonfly gave courage to the crew of a village fishing boat on a journey home through a rising storm and helped save the lives of ten fishermen by his boat-handling skills.”
“It is therefore the Judgement that you, Swimming Dragonfly be exiled from this Village of Humble Haven, and from this County for the rest of your life, except by a pardon of the King of the East, or the Emperor himself. Should you return to this County without such a pardon, you will be executed in the manner proscribed in law for those who desecrate a temple. You must depart before the sun reaches its highest point tomorrow.”
The Magistrate pauses. Dragonfly feels relief flood his body. His heart is still racing but at least he is not to die. Then the Magistrate shouts in a voice so loud it seems to shake the building, “Go!”
Once more the
two County Militia seize the clothing on Dragonfly’s back lifting him so high his feet hardly touch the ground, take him through the great doors and throw him onto the dusty ground outside.
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SCROLL NINE
Virtuous Gossamer lies beside Aunt, snuggling closer for warmth, wrapped in a blanket beneath dark, dripping, low-hanging pine trees. Aunt is asleep and snuffling. The rain has stopped and Gossamer senses the grey light of dawn but down here the shadows are thick and the forest is creaking. Then a bird starts to sing, and she lies still in the warmth imagining it perched on a tall branch looking across tree tops towards the grassy slopes of high hills sparkling in the dawn sunlight. She tries to look for the source of this beautiful whistling without waking Aunt, twisting her neck, squinting through half closed eyes, seeking the bird, happy to be free, happy to be alive, wanting to get going.
In the darkness they had slipped through the Citadel Gate, were helped onto her horse by two strong young men and the Keeper of the Lock who clapped his hands noisily to hurry the horse on its way. Aunt hung on tightly behind as Gossamer guided the horse along paths into the hills where she knew of a small village and a warm welcome. The villagers were so surprised to see them and delighted to give her a tough little mountain horse and some provisions in return for the beautiful white stallion she had arrived on. They offered a bed and a chance to rest but Gossamer insisted they get going, this time on foot, leading their new horse, scrambling up steep hillside in the light of a half moon, gasping for breath, Aunt hanging onto the horse’s side-straps for help up the steeper slopes.
The trees grew thicker about them, the gentle moonlight disappeared, and the darkness became as black as the inside of a dragon’s stomach. Aunt began to whimper like a lost child, pleading for rest. At last the slope lessened.
“We are near the top Aunt. Let’s sleep until dawn and then we can find the ridge path”. Together on soft pine needles wrapped in a blanket they slept, barely aware of passing rain until dawn finds them in the forest gloom.
Gossamer coughs to see if she can gently wake her Aunt who responds by pulling the blanket more tightly about and murmuring “Are you sure you know where we’re going?”
“We are going to find our destiny,“ says Gossamer trying to sound encouraging and surprised when she hears Aunt sobbing. “Please don’t cry Aunt. I have been trained for adventure. I can look after you. Great things will happen. But first we must find grass for the horse to eat while we have our breakfast“.
They reluctantly leave the warmth, rise, stretch, fold the blanket and strap it with all their clothes and food to the horse’s saddle. Then they pick their way through the shadows towards sunlight ahead. Soon they emerge into a clearing of brightly sparkling, dew-soaked grass
Gossamer stops to feel the sun’s rays on her face. Her heart sings in the fresh morning air, but she is alert to danger and senses a presence.
She turns quickly to see three men emerging from the trees, almost exactly where she and Aunt had just been. How had she missed them? The horse moves away in alarm. Aunt screams. Gossamer crouches, arms raised ready to fight.
She has seldom seen men with such prominent, sharp noses, such piercing eyes and such high cheekbones. They are young and tall and strangely dressed in colourful rags, almost like street entertainers. But they are not smiling and move towards her.
“ Get back,” she shouts. The tallest of them continues to advance towards her saying something with such a strong accent she cannot understand. She drops low onto all fours, her hands on the ground as a central pivot and with all the power of a mill-wheel driven by a torrent of water, she swings her legs in a full circle. The outflying right heel crunches into his stomach and he crumples to the ground as air rushes from his lungs. The second man pauses but she has already started to swing the other way, her hands on the ground her legs gathering speed until the left heel catches him between the legs. His howl joins Aunt’s screams. One more to go she thinks and he is backing towards the woods. She runs, then jumps to seize a branch just above him. Using momentum she kicks his head but as he falls there is a crack as of thunder. The branch breaks and she falls onto him. She rolls quickly onto her front but the other two must be hardened warriors and have recovered already, jumping onto her arms and back, stopping her from moving further.
For a moment Gossamers’s racing thoughts turn to her father’s collection of butterflies, each pinned to a board, wings outstretched, captured in beauty for ever. Her heart sinks and her struggling ceases, but her mind is racing faster than ever.
—————————————————————————————————–
SCROLL TEN
Silence for a moment as Dragonfly picks himself up from the dust, and then an explosion of questions and a single loud answer from Uncle “Banished!”.
Grandma howls as she rushes to hug her Grandson. Villagers gasp and murmur, repeating the word to others who hurry over to hear the news.
“For how long ? Where to? “ weeps Grandma.
“Until he gets a pardon. And out of the County. Not too bad,” consoles Uncle.
“At least no death penalty,” says Dragonfly, and then he can hold back the tears no longer. Thoughts and feelings tumble about inside causing his shoulders to heave and sobs of pain so loud he can hardly believe they are his.
“Come, “ says Uncle putting a hand on Dragonfly’s shoulder. “Let’s go home and we can decide what needs to be done.“
The family makes its way down the path and through the familiar bamboo doors. Everything seems very precious to Dragonfly, seeing things for perhaps the last time. His sister, Little Orchid throws kindling on the almost dead embers. Sniffer brings an armful of dried buffalo dung and takes charge of breathing life into the fire. His brother, Oyster Catcher opens the shutters on the sheltered side of the house to let in light. A much-loved neighbour brings freshly cooked pork buns on a large woven tray.
“Your favourite,” she says, smiling to Dragonfly who settles cross-legged by the fire and takes two.
“Leave us some, you pig,” laughs Little Orchid cuddling beside him while grabbing a bun.
“I don’t know whether to sing or sob,” says Grandma.
“Don’t do either,” says Uncle, sounding harsher than no doubt he means to. “We have much to plan in a short time. Dragonfly must leave soon after sun up tomorrow. Where should he go? And what can we give him for the journey?”
Dragonfly has been so relieved at escaping death that only now does he think about leaving his family for exile. “Am I really to be punished for the rest of my life? How can I leave home forever? The Ancestors must surely hate me.”
“No,” says Uncle firmly. “No. This can have nothing to do with the Ancestors if they truly care for this village. They know that your father gave his life at sea trying to find food for his family and the village. They must surely know that you are already one of the finest fishermen this village has. In a few more years you could have become a legend along this coast for the way you handle a boat. What have we done to so displease them?”
Uncle sits heavily on the Father’s Chair, giving him an air of authority. The family grows quiet. Even Sniffer stops sniffing.
“You all know I have long had my doubts about the power of the Ancestors. I try not to say too much because I don’t want to offend them. But I spend hours at sea on the Steering Oar. I listen to the whispering of countless stars in the great dome of a clear night sky, to the howl of the lonely moon. I look at the Great Sea that stretches to the rising sun: on a summer day the water can be as still as a blue mirror of polished azure; and yet, when the spring wind is strong, each wave is more savage than a thousand beasts. And it seems to me that the Spirits of the Ancestors are no more powerful than rose petals in the vast passion of this world, and they share our fate. There must be far greater forces at work. Dragonfly will hear more about them if he travels across the Empire. Perhaps he can learn to ride them as he does the waves.”
“Yes Uncle,” says Dragonfly, eyes shining in the firelight. “I have always dreamed of travelling. Now I must. I want to visit new places, to study from the wise and listen to the humble. I want to learn in great cities. I want to meditate with monks and talk to teachers of ancient knowledge.”
“So!” cries Uncle “This is the thin boy who made us laugh with his antics and who cried when his father beat him for losing a pig. He is now a young man with stars in his eyes”.
“Uncle,” says Oyster Catcher. ” My dear brother will need a companion. Can I go with him, at least at first?”
“No!” cries Grandma. “I can’t lose both grandsons. Oyster, you are my eldest. If your Uncle is taken from us to be with the Ancestors you must be here to lead the family. We need your strength. You are very precious.” She hugs him tenderly. “Inside this Oyster is a pearl of rare strength and beauty.”
“But you are right,” says Uncle. “This Swimming Dragonfly needs a companion. A lonesome traveller is a sad one.” He glances sideways for a heartbeat. “Sniffer will accompany you, Dragonfly.”
“If I must,” says Sniffer, smiling so broadly his head is in danger of splitting. The two boys hold hands very briefly, looking firmly into the eyes of the other.
“Do not go to the Royal Capital of the East,” says Uncle, “at least not at first. The so-called Garden City is known to be the arsehole of the Empire. Go to Blue Lake City. It is no further and my cousin will look after you for a while. He is a miserable man but quite wealthy and has a kind heart for relatives. He will help you find work. And since you are hungry for wisdom you can visit a famous wise man that lives by the shore of the lake called Old Tea Leaf. He will advise you about life, and about the waves of destiny you must ride if ever you are to return to this village. He has journeyed to the Kingdom of the South where I believe he studied under the Master of the Cleansing Fire”.
“That is eight hard days’ walk Uncle. We will surely need some food to help us get there.”
“Come! Let’s what I have in the store room,” says Grandma taking Dragonfly by one hand and Sniffer by the other. Dragonfly glances at Sniffer. He has never seen him look so happy. The family clusters into the store room all talking at once, Little Orchid the loudest.
Outside the cool winds of spring blow from the far north east. They have passed the fire mountains of Ye Da So, they have crossed the Great Sea, and now they beat upon Humble Haven, urging travellers to go inland and south.
____________________________________________________________
SCROLL ELEVEN
The three men release their hold and Gossamer stands up, angrily brushing grass off her clothing.
“Who are you?”she asks.
“It is we who ask the questions,” says the tallest of the three. She thinks he looks ridiculous in his patched and colourful clothing and wonders how she could have been overcome by three men dressed as village entertainers. “Please tell us who you are and why two ladies are wandering the hills with a small horse? And why you want to attack us so violently?”
“ I will tell you nothing,” says Gossamer still panting for air.
“Then perhaps the old lady will.”
“She is not old. She is my Aunt, my beloved Aunt and you must respect her,” says Gossamer sharply as if addressing a snotty-nosed child.
“ Of course I will respect her. I respect all living creatures. Now, beloved Aunt, please tell me your name.”
“ Obedient Hummingbird,” says Aunt very quietly.
“For a hummingbird you have a very piercing scream. But it’s a respectful, beautiful name,” says the young man bowing slightly. And then he adds, “And this young lady’s name?”
“Virtuous Gossamer” says Aunt. Gossamer looks angry while Aunt stares at her feet.
The young man bows again and says, “Gossamer. A soft, delicate name. Not very appropriate for someone who can kick so hard.”
“I am Virtuous Gossamer. It is a very appropriate name. I am proud of it,” she replies trying to look as confident and as proud as possible.
“Well! May I invite Virtuous Gossamer and Obedient Hummingbird back to our humble camp? With your little horse.”
“Do we have a choice?“ asks Gossamer. “If we are to follow you at least let us know your names and who you are.“
“My name is Samark. I will tell you more about myself and my friends when we have offered you tea and something to eat. Now come.”
The ladies follow him across the meadow, back among trees and along a tiny path which wriggles through the undergrowth. Samark is leading silently, tall, decisive, his long limbs moving quickly. Gossamer is next. She looks quickly round at Aunt and makes a face which she hopes conveys the message: “Don’t trust these people.”
The other two men follow with the horse, talking quietly in a language which Gossamer decides sounds like a deer with a cough.
The trees get taller and closer together, the undergrowth thinner. It is gloomy but easier to walk. A small outcrop of rock appears and suddenly Samark ducks into a cave mouth calling behind a simple instruction, “Come!”
The entrance is dark and slightly smokey but a red glow ahead reveals the cave growing as it deepens. Gossamer finds that she can stand upright and look around. This is so different from anything she has ever seen and as perfect as anything she could ever imagine. She tries to look angry but can feel wonder in her face. Samark is bringing life to a lamp and candles that throw gentle light on warm, richly patterned carpets, cushions and an animal skin rug. The orange red embers of the fire make brass kettles and pots gathered around them look magically rich. In one corner a brighter, white-flamed candle illuminates a large book held open on a wooden stand.
Most fascinating of all to Gossamer are three musical instruments she can just see among the shadows, hardly visible; also a large knife by the fire. This cave must fill with magical sounds if these young men are musicians. But they might also be thieves.
Samark is pouring boiling water onto leaves in a bowl. “This and our fruit dumplings will help you recover from your cold night under the stars. Sit on those cushions”. He passes them each a dish of tea and dumplings in a bamboo basket. “ You want to know who we are. Well, listen.”
Each man picks up a musical instrument. Samark cradles a small, stringed lute, one man has a larger version of the same and the third a reed pipe. In the light of the candles and the lamp they start to play, softly and slowly at first. Gossamer senses they are praying to their god. They sing in deep voices, an echoing sound among the notes of their instruments. Gradually they speed up until they are playing tunes which Gossamer half recognises. She cannot resist singing gently with them. They do not look up but adapt their songs to bring her in. She starts to feel completely at home, warm and fed, drenched in red light, deep in the Earth, absorbed within gentle music of the type she learnt from her mother. And then suddenly they stop.
Samark raises his eyes. “That is who we are. Travelling musicians. Entertainers. We had hoped to play before the guests at a big betrothal feast in the Citadel of the East but they didn’t want us. Do you know who did entertain there?”
Gossamer feels her face turn the colour of the brass pots around the fire. She looks down to avoid Samark’s eyes. “What betrothal feast?” she asks.
“Surely you know. We saw the guests travelling there yesterday morning. You are clearly ladies of distinction. You must know whose betrothal feast that was.“
“You are spies,“ snarls Gossamer jumping to her feet and spitting like a cat cornered by fierce dogs.
“Your reaction confirms what I suspected,” Samark speaks softly. “I am not a spy but I do listen to villagers. I have heard them talk about the General’s legendary daughter, how beautifully she sings , how opposed she is to being married to her father’s choice”. Then, rising slowly to his feet, he asks with what Gossamer suspects is a smile, “How much would the General pay to have his daughter returned?”
Gossamer leaps forward to pick up the knife by the fire and kneels to fall on its point. “I will die before you ransom me like a slave in the market,” she hisses.
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SCROLL TWELVE
Three hot days the two boys have walked along dusty paths, through simple villages, around fields of grain, and have been guided by wrinkled peasants in the direction of Blue Lake City. Two nights they have slept in the open beneath clear skies spangled with more stars than they could ever hope to count. Restless on the hard ground Dragonfly has dreamt of Humble Haven, the sea, his family and familiar food. Walking all day he feels like a dry leaf blown by unceasing wind with nowhere to stop.
On this third evening rainclouds have drawn a dark cloak from horizon to horizon and the friends have decided to spend a little money renting shelter for the night. An elderly farmer agrees to put them in his smallest barn and his wife gives them bowls of steaming noodles in a sauce so spicey it makes tears burst from their eyes. They sit outside in the growing darkness slurping and coughing.
“I think my throat is on fire,“ says Dragonfly. “My lips are swollen. My eyes are like a village water pump. I can hardly see you but I think your face is glowing red.“
“I’m fine,” sniffs Sniffer, sniffing more than ever. “I was often given food like this.”
“Do you think you come from around here?”
“No idea. All I remember as a little boy is wandering from village to village. I lived off the kindness of strangers. A bowl of spicey chicken rice here, some dumplings over there. I learnt very young that people are generous to the needy, but not for long. The secret is to keep moving on.”
“I can’t get used to moving on,” chokes Dragonfly glad that the spicey food can be an excuse for his tears. “At least we have a roof over our heads tonight.”
“The hut smells like the dirty end of a water buffalo,” says Sniffer. “In fact I think they moved out a pig to make room for us. But if it means you can rest better it’s worth it. I’ll take these empty bowls back to the lady. You get your head down on that little bit of clean straw.”
Sleep falls upon them as swift as an executioner’s sword. But in the darkness of deep sleep Dragonfly is disturbed by dreams of rats rustling and wild birds screaming in the night, of thunder growling like a bear in a deep cave, of the clatter of horses hooves and the shouts of men.
He pulls upwards through layers of sleep, forcing himself to believe that these are real sounds and not a nightmare. Voices cry in strange accents calling for food and fresh horses. He hears the farmer and his wife, shrill with alarm, explaining that they only have two horses and little food. The men curse and insist. Lamps hurry about casting giant shadows. Horses snort angrily and harnesses rattle.
Peering out cautiously Dragonfly sees in the light of the farmer’s lamp two strangely dressed men who remind him of fisherman returned from stormy nights at sea, staggering with exhaustion, except that these men seem to be wearing light military armour. They are arguing with the farmer and taking fresh horses out of the larger barn opposite. The farmer’s wife comes with a flagon of something to drink and bundles of food. They take them with barely a word of thanks, talk in strange accents of generous payment later, mount two horses and hurry away with flapping cloaks and angry shouts like dragons on the warpath. The farmer’s wife bursts into tears.
“What in the name of everything holy was that about?” asks Sniffer who has finally emerged, scratching and sniffing.
“Those were the King’s messengers,” says the farmer. “They were in a great panic. They said that some of the Khan’s horsemen have broken through the Wall of Fierce Resistance and are pillaging southward.”
The farmer’s wife returns to the darkness of their home, moaning and bent.
“The Khan’s horsemen may come this way,“ says the old man, the lantern in his hand shaking in the light breeze. He continues as if talking quietly to himself, “My sons are in Blue Lake City. I must stay here. We can burn the thatch before the horseman arrive. We have somewhere to hide, even the pigs. But not my horse.“
“How can we help?”
The farmer looks at the boys, long and steady; so long that Dragonfly wonders if he has heard the question, or if his head has been emptied by panic.
“You can take the horse to my eldest son. He is known as the Butcher King. He sells meat in the market by the lake. Everyone knows him.”
“But we don’t know how to ride a horse,” mumbles Sniffer.
“Yes, we do.“ Dragonfly is breathless at the idea of not having to walk for another three days under the hot sun. Sniffer coughs and sniffs. Dragonfly adds, “Not well, but well enough.”
“ Really?” says the farmer, but before getting an answer adds, “I have no choice but to trust you. It’s a very fine horse. My son will look after it well.”
“Upon the good name of my Ancestors,” says Dragonfly, “we will deliver your horse safely, provided the Khan doesn’t find us first.”
“Don’t say that,” says the farmer. “The horsemen are wild. They kill for pleasure. You must go quickly. Sleep until first light and then speed away. We will give you food enough.”
The boys return to the dark, rustling hut. “They kill for pleasure,” repeats Dragonfly, as he lowers himself onto the straw, hoping Sniffer has words of comfort. But with a single, long sigh his friend settles to sleep and Dragonfly is left to fight with alarming thoughts and half dreams until grey light fills the doorway.
____________________________________________________________________
SCROLL THIRTEEN
Gossamer holds up a hand as if signalling to Samark that if he moves she will fall onto the knife’s sharp point. The three young men are all as still as the cave walls. She can hear her blood thumping and breath roaring in her nostrils. She looks down at the knife and draws it closer to her stomach. Aunt whimpers.
Then Samark says, “We know your secret and you know ours. Yes, we are spies, although we prefer to think of ourselves as scouts and lookouts”
“For the People of the Book?“ asks Gossamer. Samark nods a yes.
“I have read your Book. It speaks of love but your warriors kill women and children.”
“Never” barks Samark like an angry dog. “Never. We protect our homes in the Mountains of the Stars. We fight honourably. We do not kill defenceless people.”
Gossamer grips the knife harder. She had thought Samark handsome but now she sees his fierce eyes and pointed nose like a threatening eagle, hovering above its prey.
“You don’t trust us,” says Samark. “And we don’t trust you. There are three choices. We kill you.”
“Please not,” Aunt whimpers.
“Or you kill yourself,” continues Samark. “Or we stay together.”
“In this cave?“ says Gossamer. “Like animals?”
“Our work here is done. We know the Great Khan will attack, and sooner than General Fang knows.”
“He knows everything,” cries Gossamer, angry that a young wanderer could claim to know more than her father.
“We must travel south as fast as travelling entertainers can,” continues Samark ignoring her interruption. “Our new task is to learn about the Master of the Cleansing Fire. What are his plans? How many followers?“
Gossamer scowls and looks more closely at the knife she is now pressing hard into her stomach, kneeling into its point.
“You will be our singer,” continues Samark. “Then our disguise will be as complete as the spots on the leopards that creep in the Jungles of Green Darkness.“
“So! I am to be a spy.” groans Gossamer, her face now close to the cave floor. “ And Aunt?”
“She will be our mother, looking after us, making sure we are all safe, a hen clucking encouragement and warning.”
Gossamer shakes her head as if in disgust, but deep inside her heart is singing. To study at the feet of the Master is her greatest wish. To bring the Cleansing Fire into her soul and clear away worries about what her Father and the Ancestors think. To be in control of her own destiny.
She must hide these thoughts from Samark. But let him take her on the journey south, away from the Great Khan, around the Blue Lake, across the Canals and Rice fields to the fabled Jasmine Kingdom, there to find the Master of the Cleansing Fire. “Yes!” she thinks.
———————————————————————————————————-
SCROLL FOURTEEN
The waters of the Blue Lake are true to the name beneath a cloudless sky and stroked by a warm breeze. On the southern shore cluster the mud brick houses of Blue Lake City with their terracotta roofs arranged in no particular way and divided by little alleyways, patches of vegetables, bamboo groves and market stalls. The air is thick with the smell of wood smoke and grilling fish. Dogs bark and small children run screaming with delight towards a man in a red hat about to juggle clubs.
Dragonfly and Sniffer wander among the market stalls by the lake shore. They have delivered the horse safely to the Butcher King after three days bouncing about on its uncomfortable back. It has taken them a day to recover. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to walk properly again,” says Sniffer exaggerating a limp.
The boys giggle nervously about how different this town is from their village and marvel at how hot it is away from sea breezes. They seek shade among the awnings stretched across the colourful stalls of fruit, vegetable and bright fabrics. They eat greedily on lotus seed buns and sweet rice cakes which they buy with money Uncle’s cousin has given them.
At last they come upon the giant mango tree where Old Tea Leaf is said to live and they see him sitting on a low stool in front of his hut, toothless and wrinkled, cackling like a hen.
“That’s the great wise man we have travelled so far to see?” asks Sniffer softly.
Dragonfly had imagined a long white beard, not a few wisps of straggly grey hair; and a temple by a peaceful lake, not a hut beneath a tree in the market.
They arrange gifts of oranges and tea leaves on the tray given to them by Uncle’s cousin and approach with heads bowed in respect. Old Tea Leaf stops exchanging shouts with nearby stall holders. “Welcome young masters. Anyone with gifts is welcome indeed,” and he cackles again.
“Your name is revered among the coastal villages where we come from. May we seek your guidance?” says Dragonfly as he lays the tray at the man’s wrinkled feet. Old Tea Leaf rises swiftly for one so bent, picks up the tray and beckons the boys to follow him into the gloom of his hut. They enter the shadows and sit on matting while he pours water from a boiling pan into a delicately small, earthenware teapot.
“I don’t know what you have heard about me but I am not a fortune teller,” says the old man sitting down beside them on a low stool. “I have travelled widely in the Empire and now that I am old I sit here and listen to its heart beating. I can warn you of dangers that may come and roads you may take, but I do not pretend to know what the future holds.”
Old Tea Leaf asks many questions and listens carefully. The boys tell him about their village, about the hard life of fishermen, about surfing the waves, about working in rice fields under the hot sun, about being banished from Humble Haven for disrespecting the Temple, about dreams of adventure and swordsmanship, about love and despair. Sniffer talks about his fears of warfare. And Dragonfly talks about his search for truth and asks about the distant Islands of Ye Da So, the islands of fasting and self-discipline. Old Tea Leaf says he dreams about the islands but has never visited them.
“There is much wisdom in Ye Da So,” he murmurs thoughtfully. “The monks there have developed great powers. There are some who sit perfectly still for a year, fed soup by fellow monks and working no muscle except their bowels once a week. Imagine what inner stillness they achieve in the darkness of the night. Their minds swim so deep that their souls begin to merge with that of others. What wisdom such meditation and self-control must bring!” The old man sighs and then cackles “I enjoy tea and conversation too much. That and watching pretty young girls laughing by Blue Lake.”
Dragonfly glances at Sniffer. They had hoped this teacher would be like a monk, and less worldly.
“Now that you have told me about yourselves, let me tell you what I think.” Old Tea Leaf pours them each another cup of the clear green tea.
“You are fortunate to be strong young men. The Empire is about to be thrown into chaos which will be hard for the weak and the old. You have shown bravery by travelling so far from your village in search of answers. If you continue to be wise, you may live long enough to return home bringing honour to your family.”
Old Tea Leaf pauses. In the afternoon heat the market has become quiet and they can hear the lapping of the waves of Blue Lake against its stony shore.
“People are questioning the old ways,” continues Old Tea Leaf. “They have started to doubt the authority of the Emperor and the wisdom of the Ancestors. The People of the Book in the Mountains of the Stars fight for a single god. The Northern Horsemen offer Paradise to warriors killed in battle. And in the south young people are hurrying to learn about the Cleansing Fire. But the Ancestors will fight fiercely. If the Empire drowns it will be in a sea of blood. So, before you begin the search for truth for which you yearn, learn to protect yourselves. You say you have studied speed and balance, swimming among the waves of the Great Ocean. well, speed and balance are the attributes of swordsmen. Join the Royal Guard if you can. They need good fighters. The Great Khan’s horsemen are coming south. They are fierce and merciless. We must be ready to protect ourselves and we need brave young men like you.”
These are frightening words from such a cheerful old man on a sunny afternoon.
“I left home seeking peace Master. Peace and wisdom, not bloodshed and war,” says Dragonfly. “We are young and defenceless in a strange town. Is there not somewhere we can go to find shelter and time to study the classics? I want to learn to play on a musical instrument, not a sword.”
Old Tea Leaf nods. “The safest place in the times ahead will be in an army. There you will find regular food, training and discipline. One day you may be able to transfer the skills and grace of swordsmanship to playing on stringed instruments.”
He stops smiling and his wrinkled face becomes deep and serious.
“This is my advice to you. You have a Guardian Spirit. Listen to her. Trust her.
Learn to protect yourselves and to judge yourselves and to judge risk. You are more use alive than dead.
Practice self-discipline. Your appetites will push in many directions. Teach them to obey you. Only then can you shape the future.
Love your friends but remember, if you come between them and the object of their desire, they will betray you.
Strive for peace and prosperity. But remember they are won through struggle and hardship. They are easily lost and hard to regain.
Know your strengths and develop them. Use them for good and good will come to you.”
The old man turns directly to Dragonfly and holds his gaze. “You are a born leader of men: but to be effective you must learn to listen. Listen to others. Listen to your inner voice.
And remember that truth and humility are your strongest allies.”
Old Tea Leaf stops suddenly and smiles. He slurps a large mouthful of tea and rattles a laughing cough. “Above all, enjoy yourselves. Enjoy being young, enjoy learning to become swordsmen, enjoy gathering wisdom and,” he gives a large wink, “enjoy being men.”
He rises, massages his knees and picks up a long stick. “Now it is time for my daily exercise. I walk high into the hills to a small cave which no one visits. It has a fine view of the setting sun. When you are old, pleasures become few and you must enjoy each one. For me there are few greater than having a good shit while looking at a beautiful view.” He leaves the hut, waves his stick in a cheerful farewell and walks stiffly up a path, leaving the boys to wonder whether he is wise or mad.
_________________________________________________________
SCROLL FIFTEEN
Virtuous Gossamer has never seen so much flat land. From horizon to horizon stretches a pattern of little fields crisscrossed by irrigation ditches. She dreams of mountains. Samark insists that they walk from sun up to sun down no matter how strong the heat at midday.
They have three horses. Aunt rides on Big White. Small White and Little One stagger beneath the weight of bags and musical instruments. Gossamer walks beside Big White whenever the path is wide enough, talking to Aunt and trying to keep her from getting anxious. Rumours that the Khan’s horsemen are coming grow louder at each village they stop at.
Samark’s musical companions have such strange names that Gossamer and Aunt have given them new ones. Eagle is the serious one with piercing eyes, Stork the thin friendly one.
It has not rained for days but clouds have built themselves upwards like dark citadels bristling with fierce weapons.
Samark has led them to a wide, almost dry river bed as daylight fades and insists they cross before dark. Rain has started to fall, softly for a moment and then a torrent. “The rain will swell the river very soon and we would have to walk miles upstream to find a bridge,” he says. “This is our best chance.”
They start walking across the dried riverbed, picking their feet between rough stones and over cracked mud. Small White and Little One are led by Samark and Eagle who are soon ahead. Big White is nervous about the rocky footing. “ I must get off this horse” cries Aunt. “It’s like sitting on the top of a ship’s mast in a rough sea.” Virtuous Gossamer helps her down and strokes the horse’s neck. “And now we are going to get soaked by the rain. I think we left our brains in the mountains.”
Virtuous Gossamer leads the horse gently towards the others who have arrived at the remains of the river. Samark is already wading across, leading Little One. The water is slow moving and muddy and about thirty paces across. The heavy rain drops and gathering gloom makes it more difficult to see below its surface.
“We can’t cross that,” exclaims Aunt as she and Gossamer draw closer to the dark waters. The sky answers with a crackle of warning thunder among the walls of black cloud. The rain sharpens and the noise of it hitting the ground becomes a steady roar.
“Quickly,” yells Samark from the far side. “It’s been raining upstream. The water is rising fast. No time to turn back.”
Stork takes Aunt’s hand and without a word gently leads her into the water. Big White shakes his head and steps back, his hooves clattering defiance on the stones. Gossamer grasps his halter and strokes him but he will not be soothed. The sound of rain is terrifying and the river waters are starting to foam and spread.
Samark has started to wade back across the river passing Stork and Aunt who are now halfway to the other side. The waters, made mad by the rain and the strengthening current, wriggle and squirm about them.
Samark reaches Gossamer and Big White, his wet hair flattened onto his forehead, clothes clinging to his limbs. He takes the halter and tries to lead the horse into the swelling stream, pulling harder. Very grudgingly Big White moves forward. Gossamer follows, patting the horse’s rain-soaked behind.
With every pace the water gets deeper, the current runs faster and the noise grows more fearsome. Another crack of lightning and rattle of thunder causes Big White to rear up, his front hooves kicking at the rain, thrashing in panic.
Gossamer prepares to jump, bending her knees until the water reaches her chest, then pushes upwards, grasping a strap on Big White, pulling herself on to his back as front hooves crash back through the water. She senses he is about to rear up again so lies forward holding on to his soaking mane, reaching for the halter at his mouth, shouting encouragement above the sound of river and rain. He starts to move forward, stumbling on stones now deep beneath the surface.
Gossamer moves her weight towards his rear, still keeping a tight grip on the halter. She senses he is about to rear up again so she places her feet on his rump and cautiously stands up, halter in her right hand and left arm held out for balance. She glances down at Samark who holds tightly to a strap on Big White’s flank. Ahead through the rain are Aunt, Eagle and Stork stretching arms towards them, ready to help but not venturing more than a pace or two into the angry water.
Gossamer can feel alarm in the others and a growing calm in herself. She has to concentrate hard on balancing but feels no sense of uncertainty. She is in control. She shouts with joy and encouragement, almost laughing at the sharp shafts of rain striking around her.
Big White makes his way through increasingly shallow water and arrives safely among the others who cluster around. Gossamer slips easily off the horse’s back into the arms of her weeping Aunt. Stork takes Big White by the halter and leads the three horses out of the river bed on to the grass beyond. Already the rain is softer.
Samark stands solemnly beside Gossamer until Aunt releases her. Then he bows low. “Thank you,” he says in the direction of Gossamer’s feet. The river is still so noisy she wonders if she has heard correctly.
He stands straight again, rain pouring down his face, looks into her eyes. “I cannot swim,” he explains. “I feared that I might be swept downstream. Thank you.”
Gossamer bows in reply, accepting his thanks, trying to look serious, but inside shouting for joy. She turns quickly so that Samark does not see the grin on her rain-soaked face and follows the others onto higher ground.
_____________________________________________
News of the Khan’s Horsemen becomes more alarming and urgent in the streets and homes of Blue Lake City. They are said to be as numerous as the stars on a dark, cloudless night, and some even say that their horses blow flames from their nostrils. Panic is spreading. The market stalls have been dismantled, the old city walls strengthened, and bags of rice are being carried into the Citadel. Young men are being recruited and trained in the art of war. Older men are remembering half forgotten skills. Some are leaving with the women and children to hide among the fields and distant villages. They are called the Hiders. Those who remain are called the Fighters.
Dragonfly is determined to be a Fighter. Sniffer thought that being a Hider sounded a better idea but could not imagine leaving his friend. And so together they have taken tests to join the Royal Guard, running, climbing, fasting and going without sleep. They are now in a company of fifty recruits being trained by one of the fiercest officers.
He is their Captain, a member of the Royal Guard, clad smartly in leather and shining brass, with huge shoulders, a face like stone and a powerful voice that makes men jump. He stands beneath an old tree looking out on the flat, hot, bare training ground.
He wants the recruits to move as fast as lightning, to stand steadfast as a rock face, to turn retreat into attack. He has made them rise at dawn and run long distances before the first bowl of rice. They are now among the fittest soldiers in the Royal Guard. But some have been more successful than others.
This is the seventh day of training and Sniffer tells Dragonfly that he thinks he will probably die. “ I am so tired, so very tired. He just stands there yelling at us. I’d like to see him rin”, he gasps after completing yet another long race. “My legs feel like boiled noodles”.
Sniffer kneels slowly, groaning. The Captain strides towards him at speed, raising his thick cane, bringing it down mightily. Dragonfly moves quickly to protect his friend and takes the full blow of the cane across his back. He feels the air being knocked out of his lungs, staggers forward, grunting with pain but determined not cry. Sniffer stands up, blood running from his nose as it usually does when he suffers a shock.
Dragonfly braces himself for another blow but the Captain is standing still, staring at him. Time seems to have stopped. The other recruits are motionless.
Then the Captain growls, “ Go and clean yourselves up. All of you. And eat. Return when the sun is at its highest. You will learn swordsmanship in the heat. You will sweat until there is no sweat left in your bodies. When the Khan’s Horsemen arrive they will face the toughest fighters in the Empire”. And then he brings his cane down with a loud smack into the unflinching palm of his other hand. He shows no sign of pain. He seems to be made of the hardest stone. He is Captain Granite.
_______________________________________________________________-
SCROLL SEVENTEEN
Aunt is trying to squeeze Gossamer into her only good outfit, a long, tight-fitting dress made of bright scarlet satin. She offers advice as she does so. “Please sing your best. I lose face when you mumble like a young girl caught eating an apple.”
They have performed in six villages so far and done well enough, earning food and a place to pitch their tents for the night. This is the largest town they have been in.
“Samark knows you can sing better, but he’s soft on you so he doesn’t insist.”
“Aunt!” whispers Gossamer severely. “Don’t say such things. Just because he thinks I saved his life in the river doesn’t mean he likes me. And I don’t trust him. His loyalty is to the People of the Book.”
“Do it for my sake. Sing from your heart to these villagers. Make them remember you for as long as the moon sails across the sky,” Aunt’s voice quavers.
Gossamer slaps her Aunt playfully on the wrist. “You know just how to get me to do what you want. You pretend to be weak but inside you’re as strong as a buffalo. So! I will do it for you.” Then she adds in a fierce whisper, “But not for him.”
The two ladies stoop through the tent door and emerge into the soft, late afternoon sunlight. Samark, Eagle and Stork are waiting with their musical instruments. Small children in simple clothes gather excitedly to escort them to the market place. They gasp and stare when they see Gossamer emerging from her tent.
Samark whispers quickly, “Now remember, we are a family. If anyone asks, tell them we live in the mountains raising goats. Hard times have forced us to make extra money as touring entertainers. We are travelling south to Rice Mountain because more people are going there and we hope to find bigger audiences in the capital of the south.”
Gossamer nods impatiently. She has heard all this before and she wants to hurry. Her stomach is full of nervous butterflies and only singing will stop them fluttering.
The children cheer with excitement when Samark picks up his lute and signals the others to follow. They squeeze through alleyways and gaps between brick huts. The roar of a busy market place draws closer and suddenly they are among crowds and stalls piled high with things for sale and delicious-smelling food.
The chatter and yell of passers-by, the cries of salesmen and the crackle of cooking fires make Gossamer think for a moment about peace in the mountains and the freshness of hilltop walks overlooking the sea. But she can see and hear other entertainers around the market place: singers and musicians, jugglers and even a monkey tied to a post clashing cymbals. She wants to do better than that. She wants the townsfolk to hear Samark’s beautiful lute playing. Surely they will never have heard anything so haunting, so lyrical. To make them listen she will sing with all her skill and strength.
They arrive at a carpeted corner of the main square which Samark has paid the owner of a nearby market stall to reserve for them. Eagle and Stork sit on low stools and get ready their instruments. Samark stands and raises his lute almost to chest height. They have formed a semicircle into which Gossamer steps, facing the clatter and chatter of the market.
The late afternoon light is fading. The sky is a bowl of dark blue. She can see lamps being lit and fires in the kitchen stalls burning more brightly. A moment of change has arrived.
The first few notes of Samark’s lute are lost but, when the other lute and the reed pipe join in, those closest stop and look. And then Gossamer sings.
She begins with a song they have practiced well and which suits the setting. It tells of a poor girl who falls in love with a young man selling sweet dumplings in the market. They exchange glances but she is too shy to approach until one day he calls her over and they start to talk. She asks him if he is married but he refuses to answer. She has only enough money for one dumpling and asks what flavours they contain. He says some contain Love, and the others Truth. She chooses Truth. The next day the dumpling seller has gone, never to return.
Gossamer’s voice grows stronger and soon soars above the hubbub of the market square, weaving a magic tapestry of musical images in the air. Passers-by pause, the kitchen staff stop cooking and the other entertainers move away. Even the monkey stops clashing its cymbals. Young boys call their friends to watch the beautiful girl singing.
When she stops, there is a murmur of approval. She starts again, this time with a cheerful song about children at play. Then another about an eagle soaring over mountain valleys in search of a lost river.
With each song the audience grows. The kitchen staff quietly resume cooking, conversations begin again but nothing disturbs Gossamer now. She can feel the audience responding to her, each gesture, each inflection of her voice becomes confident, calculated for maximum effect. She feels adored.
When she finally stops they beg for more. “This evening,” she says. “I will return this evening.” Her three companions are collecting donations of food and coins among the crowd.
“What is your name?” calls one young man.
“Virtuous Gossamer.”
“That’s no good for such a voice,” cries a wizened old lady. “You need something far grander than that.”
The on-lookers start to shout among themselves, making all sorts of suggestions for a more suitable name, some colourful, some cheeky.
“What about Songbird?” cries the old lady.
“That’s it!” shouts the lead chef in the nearby food stall. “Scarlet Songbird.”
Others take up the cry, laughing and clapping at a name that seems so right for such a beautiful girl, dressed in red with such a voice.
“Scarlet Songbird,” they chant.
Samark steps beside her and raises his arms for silence. “The Scarlet Songbird needs rest. She has agreed to return this evening.” The crowd cheers and the musicians prepare to depart, exhausted but elated.
A girl in rags but with confidence steps forward, bows and says, “I will lead you to your tent.” Then she raises her hand high and calls out, “Make way for the Scarlet Songbird”. She marches through the crowd which quickly parts to let her and the musicians through. Aunt hurries along behind.
“You must call me Songbird” she calls back to Aunt, grinning. Villagers are smiling and calling her new name as she makes her way out of the noisy market place towards their tents.
“I have a proper name at last,” she thinks. “A name that I have created. I am Scarlet Songbird. I think I must be flying”.
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SCROLL EIGHTEEN
The storm has come to Blue Lake and turned everything grey. Low clouds, light rain driven by strong winds and the wet walls of the Citadel are all drained of colour. The market stalls are empty and the narrow streets moan in the wind.
All is ready. A messenger has brought news that a small cavalry of the Khan’s Horsemen has avoided engagement with a large force of Imperial soldiers and will arrive at Blue Lake City soon. It is left to the thousand Royal Guardsmen to defend the City until reinforcements arrive. They are drawn up in disciplined rows between the hills and the lakeside, the City and Citadel behind them.
Captain Granite’s trainees are mixed with some of the most experienced men in the field andare positioned near the lake shore where the main force of attack is expected.
Dragonfly and Sniffer stand shoulder to shoulder, their new leather helmets dripping water down their backs. They each have a leather shield, a sword, a lance as tall as themselves, and a leather studded tunic that seems to have doubled in weight since the rain began. They stand in the second rank. In front of them are the broad shoulders of more experienced guardsmen armed with larger shields and long pikes. In their midst is Captain Granite. Behind are ranks of archers ready to release a hail of sharpened arrows over their heads and into the advancing Horsemen.
But there is no sign of them. Rain passes across in curtains of miserable grey, obscuring any view. The lake to their right is flecked with white waves, the ground rises to their left towards hills shrouded in cloud.
“I’m starving,” sniffs a thin voice beside Dragonfly.
“How can you think of your stomach at a time like this?” he replies.
“I think I’m going to eat one of these carrots.” They are standing in a small field of vegetables that are now trampled into a muddy mess.
As Sniffer bends to pull up a carrot, they sense a rumble and hear over the noise of wind and rain what is possibly the jingle of horses’ harnesses.
Dragonfly feels his throat dry and his heart beat against his leather tunic. His hands clench the sword so tightly it hurts.
“This is it!” he shouts, to no-one in particular.
“I’m not deaf,” murmurs Sniffer. “But I’m very, very, very frightened.”
Through the grey mist and rain emerges a long line of horsemen, at first just anoutline silhouette looking larger than real. The horses’ heads are covered with leather protection except for eye holes which make them look like beasts of terrifying fable. As they move closer, steadily trotting, Dragonfly can see that the Horsemen have huge hats of wild animal fur decorated with feathers. Their light armour shines in the wet rain. Their spears look unbelievably long, feathers and fur fluttering down their length.
There must be a hundred of them strung out in an advancing line. A few of themhave bows which they now draw quickly. It’s impossible to see arrows flying through the rain but one suddenly arrives with a thump into the shield of a soldier near them who falls backwards with the force of the strike.Sniffer shouts with shock.
“He’s going to be OK,” soothes Dragonfly, trying to sound confident. “Just hold your shield well up to protect your face.” Sniffer cowers down.
The archers behind them let off a volley of arrows. The Horsemen turn sideways and gallop uphill away from the lake. A shout of triumph swells among the Royal Guardsmen who jeer and wave their swords at the horsemen now moving left across the archers’ line of fire. One or two of them have been hit but their comrades prop them up on their horses.
No sooner is this first line of horsemen moving to the side than another longerline of them appears. And for a moment the mist swirls up to reveal a third line advancing, a mighty crowd of spears and armoured horses.
This is what had been feared and there is a plan. If the small band of Horsemen turns out to be an army, the town is to be abandoned and they must retreat in disciplined order to the Citadel. Horns sounds from behind.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” murmurs Sniffer.
The archers release volley after volley of arrows while others break ranks and hurry through the deserted town to the Citadel gates. The front rank of horsemen halts its advance, just beyond the arrows’ most dangerous reach. The next rank joins them, and then another, waiting, a phalanx of restless dispensers of destruction.
Dragonfly and Sniffer look towards Granite for a sign that they too are released and may hurry back to the protection of the Citadel. Surely the moment they retreat the horsemen will attack? The archers behind them are now moving away.
At last an order is given. Dragonfly and Sniffer turn and run into a narrow alleyway where no horse could ride, jostling with other guardsmen in a dash for the safety of the Citadel. Sniffer, his head down, is moving so quickly that Dragonfly finds it hard to keep up. A deep sense of loyalty to his commander slows him.
The discipline has gone. Men are pushing each other, swearing and yelling. Some slip on the wet stone cobbles and have to scramble without help. A stray arrow fired a long distance strikes Sniffer like a lightening bolt, knocking him down, his head hitting the stones. A soldier jumps over the still body in the rush to climb the approach to the Citadel’s huge entry gate. Dragonfly shouts to others to run around him while he quickly takes Sniffer into his arms, gathers his friend’s spear and sword. He staggers beneath the weight but is pushed up the slope by others hurrying to safety.
Inside the Great Courtyard is full of cheerful chaos. Friends who had ignored each other in panic reunite with cries of relief. Company Commanders try to restore discipline with shouts and empty threats.
Dragonfly carries his friend through the damp, enthusiastic crowd of soldiery towards the shelter of the Great Dining Hall where he lowers him flat on to a bench.
The big lady in charge of the kitchens waddles over with a damp cloth used for wiping the tables.
“Brought him here to die?” she asks in a big cheerful voice. “He’ll be all right. They usually are.” Before Dragonfly can protect his friend, she squeezes water from the cloth on to Sniffer’s face and the large red bruise on his forehead.
“What?! What happened?” splutters Sniffer shaking his head and blinking. He lies still for a moment looking up at his smiling friend.
“How many fingers?” asks the big lady, holding a single stubby finger in front of Sniffer. He looks carefully and says, “Three.”
“And you’ve got three eyes,” she laughs. Sniffer starts to laugh but winces in pain.
“You’re going to be fine,” smiles Dragonfly in relief. “But you must rest a bit. Can you look after him for a moment?” he asks, turning to the lady. “I must see what’s happening from the high wall. I’ll be back in two shakes of horse’s head.”
“I know how to look after a handsome young man,” she laughs.
Dragonfly runs through the crowd of shouting excited soldiers in the courtyard. The wooden gates are closing as a last few squeeze in, gasping with exhaustion and relief. Dragonfly runs up a long flight of stone stairs to the fortified walls, two steps at a time at first, then slowing beneath the weight of his wet tunic, glad that he has left his helmet with Sniffer and the lady.
The rain has stopped. He reaches the top and the view spreads out below, washed clean, every detail sharp. Blue is returning to the lake and the fields are bright green. The town below is a riot of colour and confusion. Horsemen are hurrying through the lanes, removing anything of value. Houses are burning, flames bursting through the tiles, wooden timbers collapsing. A few last Royal Guardsmen are being chased towards the Citadel.
In the small square in front of the ramp up to the Citadel Gates stands Captain Granite, a long burning beam of wood grasped in his hands. He is swinging it round and round, keeping three attacking horsemen at bay, and giving the last few of his comrades a chance to escape up the ramp.
More horsemen arrive, some with bows drawn ready to fire. Granite will surely die. Dragonfly leans over the wall and shouts down the long distance with little hope of being heard above the chaos of the town. “Retreat back up the ramp!”
It is too late. A bowman has shot Granite in the leg. He falls to the ground and, with howls of delight, the Horsemen close about him, binding him up like a chicken to be taken to market, and with great speed carry him through the streets towards their horses in the fields beyond.
“We will come,” yells Dragonfly, his voice breaking with grief. He grips the stone wall in determination to save his Commander or die in the attempt.
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SCROLL NINETEEN
Scarlet Songbird has slept happily in her tent like a small bird in a nest lined with soft feathers. She wakes slowly to the sound of Aunt busy about outside and cuddles in the gentle warmth enjoying her new name and the memory of being applauded by so many villagers the evening before.
“Gossamer, it’s time you were moving,” cries Aunt.
“I won’t leave this tent until you call me by my proper name,” she replies. She hears murmured conversation between Aunt and Samark but cannot hear the words. And then Samark speaks.
“Esteemed Scarlet Songbird, we humbly ask you to leave your tent and prepare yourself for the day’s journey.”
Songbird can tell he is smiling but likes hearing him use the name.
“Good,” she cries, and bursts from the tent. Samark and Aunt clap. A few villagers leaving for work in the fields join in the applause. Songbird suddenly feels a bit silly because she knows she must look very different in her night clothes and her hair ruffled by sleep. Her clothing is so simple she is dressed for a journey in moments.
One of the Village Elders emerges from a narrow Lane between the houses and approaches their camp before bowing and saying in a low voice to Samark and Songbird, “We have just learnt that the Khan’s Horsemen are approaching Blue Lake City. That’s almost a day’s march eastwards and I doubt they will come this way but I suggest you resume your journey. Just keep going south as fast as you can.”
Aunt overhears this and starts hurrying about like a chicken that has seen a fox.
“We must eat first,” soothes Songbird. “Tall Stork has prepared rice porridge with eggs, your favourite.”
They all eat greedily, knowing they will not stop for several hours.Soon the horses are packed up. Aunt is encouraged to ride on Big White and they set off, Samark leading the way, then Songbird leading Puzzle, and then the two musicians with the smallest horse loaded with the musical instruments. A group of villagers waves them farewell and little boys run beside them for the first few hundred paces.
The sun peeps above the horizon, sending long flashes of golden light towards them. A mist over the rice fields thins to nothing, revealing the day’s journey ahead. They must walk across flat lands broken occasionally by clumps of trees towards a distant line of reeds that must surely fringe one of the canals that brings water across this fertile plain.
By the time they reach the canal and the long wooden bridge across it the sun has reached its highest point and the rice fields crackle with heat. A single ancient tree bends over the path and they decide to stop and eat. Aunt climbs down from Big White and crumples to the ground in the deepest shade.
“Water! I must have water,” she mumbles. The water bottles are nearly empty so Samark hurries towards the canal edge, pushing through the tall, rustling reeds that crowd along its bank.
“It’s so muddy,” cries Samark as he returns. “There’s hardly any water in the canal. No wonder the villagers were complaining. They say the Emperor himself has ordered the dams be shut to save water.” He passes full bottles to the others who drink eagerly.
“We are like camels who have crossed the desert!” he laughs.
“I’m not a camel!” says Songbird, feeling too hot and exhausted to join the joke.
“I know,” replies Samark. “You’re a Songbird. You’ve mentioned that before.”
“Let us not quarrel,” says Tall Stork. “We will need all our strength. Look!”
He points along the canal. On the horizon smoke is rising and faint shapes seem to be moving along distant reed beds in their direction.
“Horsemen!” murmurs Samark, his throat sounding dry.
Aunt gets to her feet with surprising new strength.
“They mustn’t take my Songbird!” she cries.
“You’re right,” says Samark. “Quick. Songbird and Aunt, you must take the horses. A horse each and the third will carry your food and water. We will hide among the reeds.”
Songbird feels her stomach writhing like eels taken from the water in a fisherman’s net. “We cannot leave you! We must stay together.”
“No,” replies Samark sharply. “We have more chance if we three hide and you and Aunt disappear southward at speed with the horses.”
Songbird chooses not to argue. Quickly they unstrap the loads from the horses: the musical instruments, the tents, the weapons, the clothes.
“Let me take my scarlet dress!” pleads Songbird, wondering to herself why she is making such a strange request.
They divide up the food hurriedly and pack basic provisions on to Little Legs. Aunt rides Puzzle, and Songbird mounts Big White.
“Follow the midday sun and you will reach Rice Mountain and the Master of the Cleansing Fire in about five days. We will find you there. May your Ancestors keep you safe,” cries Samark.
Songbird bends down from her horse, holding out a hand which Samark takes briefly. “May your god bring you safely to where we can meet again,” she murmurs.
Without another word she urges Big White across the creaking bridge. Aunt follows, sitting uneasily on Puzzle and leading Little Legs on a halter. Already the sun beats upon their backs and necks. Songbird allows a moment of deep regret to wash over her, like a dark wave; and then forces herself to think ahead.
She wants to travel as fast as possible but knows that the only way to do so is to keep a steady pace, allowing the horses to stop at regular intervals. She senses that Aunt keeps looking backwards no doubt expecting to see horsemen. She keeps her own eyes firmly to the front.
There are no longer any fields, only thin grass on dry, cracked earth stretching almost as far as the eye can see. In the distance a grey patch of trees offers a clear target for their journey. They set off and Songbird imagines herself and Aunt to be two tiny snails making their way slowly across an endless stone floor, fierce sun pouring in from high windows.
At last their shadows grow long as the sun slips down and distant objects become clearer. Faint movement on the horizon to their left gradually forms the silhouette of horsemen, far away but unmistakable.
Songbird doesn’t say anything to Aunt and focuses on calculating carefully how quickly they can reach the trees. Certainly they will be there long before the horsemen. As she slightly increases their pace Aunt detects the change and looks about anxiously.
“Look! Horsemen! Who are they?” she cries.
“I’ve no idea. But we must get to the trees and hide,” replies Songbird over her shoulder.
They hurry towards the woodland which turns out to be smaller than she had hoped but there are large patches of thick undergrowth. They tether the horses among the largest bushes and move elsewhere to hide, crouching down, breathing hard, murmuring prayers to the Ancestors. Songbird forces herself to look through the tangle of leaves and sees in the fading sunlight at least ten horsemen in strange clothing, quite close now and moving steadily towards them.
She turns to cold stone, unable to think. Aunt squeaks like a mouse. They can hear the jingle of the horses harnesses grow closer and then the grunt of men dismounting. They call to each other in growling, strange voices. They seem to be surrounding the woodland and are now moving towards their hiding place.
Songbird feels a burst of energy as if a hidden force has taken over her body. “Quick! Help me put on my scarlet dress,” she whispers urgently, taking it out of its bag. “I am a Princess!”
Shaking and murmuring Aunt tries to help. The men are crashing about, calling and laughing, drawing closer.
Songbird smoothes down her dress and adjusts her hair. There is a little clearing nearby where the fading sunlight is slanting through the leaves pouring light onto a patch of grass. Emptying her mind of all other thoughts she starts to rehearse to herself the words of a song from the northern grasslands. She doesn’t know it well and can only remember the first two verses. The men are nearly upon them. With a heart beating a powerful rhythm of alarm she moves forward into the light standing still and straight.
The man closest shouts to the others who run towards the clearing and the solitary girl. She can smell them now, sweat and leather, hear their heavy breathing and grunts of amazement. She cannot see them clearly because she is in the sunlight and they are in the shade but she has a sense of their bare, broad chests darkened by the sun, leather tunics and short swords. They pause as if wondering what to do next.
Standing perfectly still she sounds a single clear note and then raises her arms to sing of northern grasslands with images of galloping horses, lakes of clear water, hunting birds and white tents. She is singing for them, these wild men of the north, and she is singing to save her life.
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SCROLL TWENTY
Deep night has fallen on the small, burnt city. Houses smoulder in the darkness and crackling embers glow angrily. The Horsemen have withdrawn to the hills taking prisoners and all they can steal.
The Citadel stands dark against the faint grey night sky. The top of its walls bristle like the hackles of a dog with the spears and arrows of Guardsmen who peer anxiously into the night for signs of another attack. In the courtyard below villagers, off-duty soldiers, pigs and little children try to find somewhere comfortable to sleep amongst the store houses, huge sacks of rice, piles of hay and water barrels. Voices are soft and worried. Babies whimper.
Dragonfly, Sniffer and ten companions, chosen for their archery skills, are determined to save Captain Granite and have crept from the Citadel armed only with bows, arrows and sharp knives. They climb through inky shadows into the hills, guided by Surefoot, a small, rat-like man who knows the paths like the back of his eyelids. He climbs quickly and they work hard to follow, their legs soundlessly screaming, their lungs heaving for air. They scratch and scramble through bushes and over rocks to a high place where they collapse among the stones to wait while Surefoot disappears ahead to scout for Horsemen.
Dragonfly can hear his friend snuffling about nearby. “Why bring all these arrows?” mutters Sniffer. “Can’t see to fit them into the bow, let alone aim at anything.”
“Surefoot says there will be a few breaks in the clouds,“ replies Dragonfly. “There’s a half moon rising, so it could suddenly be quite bright.”
“And then?” Sniffer asks, his voice thick with doubt.
“ And then we can see to rescue Granite,“ replies Dragonfly, trying to make it sound as straightforward as grilling a fish. He cautiously checks the small, brass fire-holder he carries.
Suddenly Surefoot is back. “Quickly and look,“ he whispers, his voice quivering. And then murmuring to guide them in the dark he leads, clambering and stumbling over boulders and tough grass until suddenly in the dark below pinpricks of distant firelight appear. “Campfires. I count over fifty of them.”
No sooner has Surefoot spoken than the cloud thins letting faint moonlight into the great valley bowl. They can make out tents in a wide circle around the campfires with men and horses busy.
“They should have guards up here but I sense none. Can’t smell them either. I think the Horsemen are too confident, “ whispers Surefoot. “Let’s get closer.”
Without another word he leads them into a well-worn, downward path between two massive boulders. It is a steep descent and their legs are soon aching again as they slip and slide and curse, urging each other to be as quiet as cats.
Dragonfly guesses they are about half way down when suddenly the moon breaks through the clouds completely and the valley is flooded with silver light. They get a sharp, clear vision of tents, horses in tethered groups, men standing around fires cooking, others preparing weapons and talking.
“It’s like a hornets nest,“ cries Sniffer in alarm.
“Be calm,“ begs Dragonfly urgently.
“Bees preparing to swarm, death on the wing,“ continues Sniffer. “It’s… it’s… terrible..”
“Not another word,” growls Dragonfly.
Sniffer squeaks like a mouse being stepped on by an elephant.
The sudden appearance of full moonlight seems to act like a command to the Horsemen as if this is what they have been waiting for and they start to shout and run towards their horses, some hurrying into tents, emerging with more weapons. The horses are freed from their tethers and blankets are thrown about, saddles are hurriedly buckled. The fastest are soon mounted and with flaming spears lead towards a gap in the hills, others follow howling like wolves. In the silver light the valley empties in the direction of the Citadel.
Dragonfly studies the camp below from a wide ledge beside the path. The horses are gone, a few guards remain, and a circle of men sitting cross-legged in the shadows of a large tree must surely be the prisoners. “Now we remember the words of Old Tealeaf. Fire to attract, fire to distract,” he murmurs carefully opening up his fire holder. “Archers, light your arrows. Aim at the furthest tent. And let us be ready to descend like eagles.”
“What in the name of the Ancestors are you talking about? “ cries Sniffer. “We can’t just run down there. We haven’t got the weapons. The Horsemen will tie us up and roast us on their fires.”
“We have the best archers in the Royal Guard and we have the advantage of surprise. Anyway, most of the Horsemen are gone,” replies Dragonfly. The others have their arrows ready and bows in their hands. One by one they light an arrow from Dragonfly’s fire-holder, and one by one they release a sparking missile high into the night. The famous firework craftsmen of Blue Lake City have done their job well and as the arrows descend towards the furthest tent they flare into streaking flame. Ten expertly aimed arrows and then ten more follow and yet more like fiery rain until the furthest tent and the one next to it are fiercely alight. The few remaining Horsemen rush like moths towards a flame.
“Now is our chance,“ cries Dragonfly. “There are the prisoners in a circle. Surely one is Granite. Hurry, we must release them all and run for the hills,” he speaks over his shoulder already scrambling down the rough path towards the valley floor. They stop briefly to fire a few more arrows at other tents in the distance, causing further shouts from the panicking Horsemen.
Finally they emerge from shrubs onto the valley floor not far from the cross-legged prisoners and run towards them crouching. The moonlight is strong and they are now easily seen if a Horseman looks this way. But none do.
“Captain Granite,“ calls Dragonfly urgently as he scurries like an anxious crab towards the seated shapes.
“Yes!“ comes a strong, growling reply amidst murmurs of new hope from others. It is easy to pick out his big square shape and as a thick cloud suddenly covers the moon Dragonfly crouches beside Granite in the darkness feeling for the leather ropes that bind his wrists together and which tie him to the men sitting on either side. Dragonfly and his friends work their sharp knives quickly on all the Guardsmen. There must be at least twenty of them.
“No one move until we can all move,“ commands Captain Granite.
“ Done!“ says Dragonfly as the leather straps fall from Granite and the men on either side of him.
“Done… done…done…” come reports from the others as one by one the captured Guardsmen are set free.
“Not yet done… this knife is as blunt as a water buffalo’s backside,” grunts Sniffer. Dragonfly stumbles urgently towards his friend but just as he grabs a familiar scrawny arm Sniffer shouts “Success!” much too loudly.
“Help us too,“ comes the whispered cry of a lady from a nearby tent. Sniffer and three of the company run across.
“Be quick!“ calls Dragonfly. “We’ll start climbing up. Follow as soon as you can.“ He grabs Granite’s arm and steers him towards a dark patch among the shrubs where he knows the path begins. Even with so much going on in the back of his mind he marvels at the thick solid arm he is holding which seems more like a log of wood. Granite limps and grunts but moves fast. The other Guardsmen seem able to follow, but murmuring about how stiff they feel after so long sitting bound together. Surefoot leads the way.
Clouds continue to cover the moon and the way is black. Across the valley tents still burn and Horsemen shout. Dragonfly worries about Sniffer but must concentrate on finding his own footing and helping Granite. “Focus on the task in hand,“ he remembers Old Tealeaf saying.
Granite’s left leg is clearly damaged but he struggles upward, pushing and heaving, using his hands as well as his good leg. Dragonfly helps when he can.
They don’t stop until they reach the halfway point from which they fired arrows at the start. Granite lowers himself to the ground breathing heavily and saying nothing. Other Guardsmen follow his example. Dragonfly looks anxiously for Sniffer but the clouds are thick and clouds begin to spit rain.
Granite rises slowly to his feet. The others follow without a word and Surefoot leads the way upwards once more. It seems a dark, scrambling age before they stop again. At last Dragonfly can see the two massive boulders at the head of the path and they reach the top, exhausted, hot and dropping to the stony ground.
“There is a path from here to the right,“ explains Surefoot. “It will lead us to a point where we can see if the Horseman are attacking the Citadel“.
But there is a sudden cry from down the slope. “The Horsemen have found our trail. We must move faster,” whispers Surefoot.
“Wait! Listen!” urges Dragonfly. They stay as still as the rocks, and hear grunting, the noise of climbing feet and rustling grass. The archers prepare the few arrows they have left. “It’s Sniffer and the others,” cries Dragonfly with great relief. “ We’re here,” he calls down softly.
“Good,” comes the brief reply. More grunting follows until Sniffer and the other three pass between the two boulders and join them in their dark hollow, gasping for air. “What a climb!” exclaims Sniffer between gulps. “We managed to release the ladies. Two of them. Found them a horse each. Rode away. So grateful.”
”Well done my kind friend. But we must keep moving, ” whispers Dragonfly urgently. Surefoot sets off along a new path urging them to follow.
As they amber round the side of the hill the moon breaks through the clouds once more and suddenly they can see Blue Lake glittering silver. On its shore lies the dark smudge of the burnt town and the mighty walls of the Citadel. They hurry towards a high viewing point but stop suddenly. Silhouetted against the sky is the figure of a bent man leaning on a stick.
“Old Tealeaf! Master Tealeaf!“ cries Dragonfly moving forward with conviction. The others follow and they join the old man on his high vantage point.
“Yes. It’s me. Old Tealeaf. So old that I have lived to see the destruction of this great city.” He speaks softly without taking his eyes from the scene below. The ground in front of the Citadel is crawling with horses and horseman like angry ants.
”They have broken through the Great Gates and a setting fire to buildings in the courtyard,” continues the old man.
Dragonfly forces his gaze from the frightening scene below to look at the old man. The moonlight has turned his worn grey tunic and his straggly white hair to silver. He is small but his stillness and the moonlight make him seem beyond measurement.
“What will happen Master?” he dares to ask.
“The citizens and the remaining Guardsmen will be in the strong tower and safe for a while,“ says Old Tealeaf quietly. “The Horseman are burning everything they can and will soon reach the fireworks and gunpowder stores. Look! It’s happening already.”
A series of very bright lights and flashes appear above the Citadel walls. Dragonfly gasps in wonder and then the sound hits hits him in the chest. More light bursts from the Citadel, some of it brightly coloured. More crashing sound. Amidst the amazement, horror and shock Dragonfly recalls in a flash stories he has heard of volcanoes on the islands of Ye Da So. So this is what they must be like. So powerful. More destructive than a wild storm at sea.
Horseman are pouring out of Citadel gates. Dragonfly looks again at Old Tealeaf and sees tears rolling through deep wrinkles.
“It is time for you to go,” says the old man. “Go south. Go to find the Master of the Cleansing Fire. Tell him what fire can do, for good or ill. You are one of very few to witness this. You have a story to tell that he may wish to hear”.
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SCROLL TWENTY TWO
Songbird tries to give prayers of sincere gratitude to her Ancestors. But it is hard to concentrate when she feels exhausted and her horse smells so bad that it makes her lips curl. She and Aunt are urging their horses down a moonlit road that she hopes will lead to safety in Rice Mountain, capital of the Kingdom of the South.
“This is terrible,“ cries Aunt from behind. “My horse is shaking me to pieces.“
“ We must fly like the wind in case the Horsemen pursue,“ replies Songbird over her shoulder.
“This horse certainly can’t fly. It has no wings and only three legs,“ replies Aunt, her voice shaken by the jarring horseback.
Songbird is pleased that Aunt can joke after all they have been through since yesterday. When the ten Horsemen surrounded them in the wood she thought they would be killed. Acting like a magical, singing Princess had worked, at first. They were treated with respect, put on horses and taken to the Horsemen’s camp in the hills.
Songbird had never seen such a sight as that camp. Her father commanded many soldiers but they were always disciplined. This seemed different, wild. So many horses, some tethered, others roaming freely, so many big white tents pitched around a wide area of grassland, fires being lit, cooking pots hung over flames, Horsemen returning as if from battle, exhausted but excited, a group of bedraggled prisoners with their hands tied, being made to sit in a big circle, their heads hung down.
The Horsemen who had brought Songbird and Aunt protected them from the others that shouted with excitement when they saw the two ladies on horseback. Aunt whimpered. Songbird looked straight ahead, solemn, sitting upright on her fine white horse, doing her best to look like an important princess.
They were told to dismount in gruff language they couldn’t understand but the meaning was obvious. Then they were lead into a large, circular white tent with nothing in it except a rough carpet around the central pole and made to sit. Songbird was glad she still wore pantaloons under her red dress which she had to hitch up around her waist in order to sit cross-legged. Their left wrists were secured to the tent post by a Horseman who grunted as he tied the straps.
Songbird could not resist looking at him as he knelt beside her. The skin on his face was like leather dried in freezing winds and burnt by a fierce sun. His eyes were deep-set between a strong forehead and high cheekbones. The animal furs of his jacket were stained and smelt damp. His boots seemed far too big and reached his knees. His black hair was streaked with grey and hung over one side of his face as he bound their wrists. She was surprised at how gently he worked. And then he was gone, the tent flap closing behind him leaving the two ladies in a white world of strange sounds and fading light.
Aunt hung her head allowing tears to drop onto her lap. Songbird started to shiver violently. Sitting scrunched on the floor, hands tied to the tent pole, they did their best to hug and comfort one another
“What will they do to us? Will they bring us food? I’m so thirsty,“ Aunt kept muttering in fear and longing. Songbird tried to relax her Aunt and control her own shivers by repeating, “We must be calm. We must be calm.“
Gradually the white walls of the tent turned grey as the day faded and the rough waves of fear subsided.
They listened to the mixture of sounds outside, trying to make sense of what was happening. The guttural cries and shouted conversations of the Horsemen meant very little. But through this they began to hear snatches of quiet conversation spoken in the common tongue.
“Those must be the prisoners taken in battle,” whispered Songbird eagerly.
“That’s no help to us,” replied Aunt almost sobbing. “They’ve been tied up like chickens in the market place.“
Suddenly a Horseman pushed through the tent door carrying a small candle, a single earthenware dish and a cup. He grunted as he put them down beside Songbird and left as abruptly as he had come.
“I guess this is for both of us,” said Songbird putting the fingers of her free hand into the bowl. “Rice and dumplings. Quite hot,” she declared. “It could be worse.“
“Taste them carefully,” urged Aunt. “It’s hard to see in this light. It could be anything. Fried cow dung perhaps.“
Songbird bit into a dumpling. “If this is fried cow dung it’s been excellently cooked,“ she said chewing greedily, lips dripping with fat. Aunt followed her lead.
Then they heard cries of alarm, orders being shouted, urgent footsteps, panic spreading among the Horsemen who seemed to be running to a distant corner of the field, as if under attack. The ladies finished the rice and dumplings, eating hurriedly with their free right hands, sharing the food as equally as possible, all the time listening. They were so hungry it was almost as if they inhaled their food, sucking it up in a few moments. And then they sat still, not saying a word, listening.
By now daylight had faded completely. The tent walls were dark but one side began to glow faint orange. “Is that crackling fire?” asked Songbird as much to herself as to Aunt. It was hard to be sure amidst the distant shouts and whinnying of horses. And then footsteps close at hand, running towards them. Two Horsemen burst through the tent entrance so violently that part of the tent wall fell away. They ran to Songbird, seized her roughly and then, growling quietly between themselves, started to cut the leather thongs around her wrist. She screamed as loudly as she could. Another Horseman ran in and shouted at the men pointing angrily in the direction of the commotion. All three ran away leaving them dry-mouthed and panting with fear, the leather straps still holding firmly.
With part of the wall now removed they could see something of what was happening. Tents in the distance were on fire. Men, like stick figures silhouetted black against flickering orange, were rushing about trying to put out the flames. In the darkness near them prisoners sat in a circle, dark and muttering.
For what seemed a long while they watched, hearts racing, eyes wide, mouths open. And then Songbird caught a movement out of the side of her eye. “Look!” she cried, trying to suppress excitement. “Are they coming to free the prisoners?“ Crouching figures ran from dark bushes on the nearby hillside towards the captives and started passing among them, whispering.
Songbird could feel her heart pounding, hear blood rushing in her ears. The clouds flicked across the moon making it very hard to see what was happening. But then some of the men started to stand up.
“Over here! Please set us free. We are prisoners as well,” Songbird called softly. She repeated the call twice and then two men hurried towards their tent.
“How many of you?“ whispered the outline of a young man crouching at the tent entrance. “I can’t see you properly.“
“Just two of us ladies. Our hands are bound by leather to the tent pole. Can you cut us free?”
The two men stumbled forward feeling their way to Songbird and Aunt. Within moments the bonds were gone. “Thank you, thank you, thank you,” repeated Songbird struggling to her feet and then bowing in gratitude.
“Who are you?” asked the taller of the two young men with a sniff.
“We are travelling singers, entertainers captured by the Horsemen yesterday. We want to go south as quickly as possible. But our horses have been taken from us,“ explained Songbird.
“Lots of small horses harnessed outside. Quickly, we can free two of them,” said one of the young men already peering nervously out of the tent to see if any Horsemen were about. He hurried them beneath a large tree nearby where tethered horses were stamping and snorting in the darkness. Songbird looked for her white horse but he was not there. No time to be fussy. Together they picked out two horses that looked less sweaty than the others and found blankets over a wooden post which they spread on the horses’ backs. Then the young men helped Songbird and Aunt mount up.
“I think if you go that way you will join the road that leads south,“ said the young man pointing. “Go as fast as you can. May your Ancestors be with you!“
“May we meet again in happier times,“ replied Songbird. The two men hurried into the darkness. The ladies turned their horses in the opposite direction and, applying gentle pressure with their heels and guiding with simple reins, encouraged them to move.
Crouched low over the horses’ backs they descended a gentle slope into a dark gully heading southward. Gradually the noise of the camp grew faint. The horses were tired and seemed to find the ladies’ instructions difficult to understand, but they knew how to walk through tough grass and stones in the darkness without stumbling.
And as they came up a long slope the clouds slid off the moon and there lay a clear, well-trodden road.
“ I’m sure that this is the road that goes south across the Land of Canals. This is the way to the Master of the Cleansing Fire,” cries Songbird softly. They urge their horses with pleading, urging, gentle digging with their heels. Songbird feels that at any moment their escape will be discovered and Horsemen will start to pursue.
But it is not long before Aunt starts a low moan. “We need shelter, food, somewhere to sleep,“ she repeats weakly. “I see a little light ahead. A village perhaps.”
Songbird feels giddy with exhaustion. The world is revolving, the stars wobbling. To avoid falling off she has to lean forward onto her horse’s back, trying to ignore the smell of its muddy, damp hair.
“We must keep going”, she says as loudly as she can. And then a sudden loud thump from behind. The horses stop. The ladies look round in time to see the hills in the distance silhouetted by flickering red light which quickly fades. Another thump and the light brightens briefly, the hills fiercely dark against the red sky.
“Something’s happening at Blue Lake City,” murmurs Songbird her mouth croaking dry. “They must be letting off their famous fireworks. Perhaps defending the city.”
“Whatever it is it’ll keep the Horsemen busy,“ says Aunt. “We don’t need to keep going all night. Let’s go to the light ahead. Perhaps it’s a village with somewhere to sleep.”
“Alright, alright,“ replies Songbird. “My dear beloved Aunt must have her way. We will go to that light, whatever it is, and go to sleep.“
It doesn’t take long for the horses to take them along the road and down a track towards the light which turns out to be the embers of a small fire at the centre of a group of three village hovels and some collapsed barns. Songbird calls out softly. They dismount and call again. A little voice croaks from a dark doorway, “Who are you?” It sounds like an old lady.
“We are two travelling singers fleeing from the Khan’s Horsemen,“ explains Songbird. We just seek shelter for the night”.
“Most of these huts are deserted,” said the little voice. They still cannot see the person talking. “People have fled. Take that hut beside you. You’ll find straw to sleep on. I have no food to offer, except perhaps a little boiled rice in the morning.”
Songbird thanks the voice, and then takes a small flaming stick from the dying embers of the fire to light their way. With Aunt’s help she ties the two horses to a post outside the hut and then enters the door, holding the weak flame in front and peering into the gloom. A bare floor and some straw in the corner is all they can see, but they hear rustling noises.
“ I think we will have to share the straw with mice. But we have no choice. Let’s just lie down and sleep as quickly as we can, forgetting our hunger,“ sighs Songbird taking her horse blanket and adjusting herself onto the straw. Aunt does the same without a word of complaint.
Dreams crowd upon Songbird, dreams of horses galloping through tall grass, men shouting like wild animals, a city in flames, and then a dive deep into the darkness of sleep. Later, through a fog of unknowing, slow consciousness returns and she hears voices speaking in a strange language that sounds like the coughing of a deer. At first she lets the voices lull her and then she startles awake, heart racing, ears straining for sound. There can be no doubt : the sound of men’s voices is close and certainly not a dream.
SCROLL TWENTY THREE.
The fields remind Dragonfly of his grandmother’s feet, brown,
cracked and dry. The canals and ditches have mud but no water. Even
the trees look dusty and tired. The simple track leads day after day,
straight towards the horizon in the direction of the midday sun.
Dragonfly, Sniffer and Granite managed to seize a single horse from
the chaos of the Horsemen’s camp and chose to follow Old Tea
Leaf’s advice to journey south to the capital of the Kingdom of the
South. They did not linger to find out who had survived the great
explosion. Granite bound his leg with a splint and found he could
walk as fast as the others.
At each stop on their southward journey the children look hungrier
and the villagers’ complaints about lack of water for their fields get
fiercer. In return for simple food and a place to sleep each night the
three companions try to answer questions about the fate of Blue Lake
City, about the Khan’s Horsemen, about the state of the Empire, and
again and again about why the canals have run dry.
Every night they stop at a little village and the same things happen.
The old women lavish care on Sniffer, anxious about his thin limbs
and soft looks. The boys talk to Dragonfly about things beyond their
experience, about riding horses and fighting the Great Khan.
And the Village Elders talk carefully with Granite, testing his
loyalties.
They can see in his torn clothing the remains of military uniform and
soon establish that he was a Captain in the Royal Guard. His answers
are steady and cause murmurs of agreement. When they learn to trust
him they ask if he thinks the Emperor has gone mad and why the
Empire has cut off water to the Kingdom of the South. They ask about
the Great Khan and whether his Horsemen were all destroyed by the
fiery volcano in Blue Lake City. They ask if he thinks that King Long
Beard of the South will make war on the Emperor.
Granite answers carefully but the villagers’ imaginations add detail.
Some hurry to nearby settlements adding the spice of horror to the
tales they have heard.
So when the three travellers stop at a village the following evening
they find that their stories have gone ahead of them and grown fiery
dragons, lines of wild horseman stretching as far as an eagle can fly in
a day and volcanic eruptions conjured by a little old man.
Each dawn as they leave their resting place and set off on another
day’s journey they are joined by a few villagers at first. Some are
children having fun in the early light and soon return home. Some are
young men with packs on their backs determined to join King Long
Beard in Rice Mountain. They talk of joining the Army of the South,
of learning to fight and of leaving the hopelessness of a village
gripped by drought. They yearn for adventure. In their enthusiasm
they walk quickly and soon leave the three friends behind.
On this particular morning two young boys ask to join them for the
day’s journey. They say they are returning home after staying with
relatives. Granite lifts them onto the horse’s back where they hang
onto the bags nervously, grinning with delight.
“Be good!“ Sniffer shouts up to them, “or it will be my turn to ride
the horse.“
After a while, as the heat of the day grows and the boredom of
walking the dusty path for yet another day seems unbearable, Granite
surprises them all by starting to sing as he walks. He has a low,
rumbling bass voice but tuneful.
“Is that thunder?“ asks Sniffer, as if talking to himself. Granite smiles
but keeps singing. And then the boys join in from their perches on the
horse, like two little birds chirping and whistling in time with
Granite’s rumbling.
A distant line of low shrubs and stunted trees draws close more
quickly now that they have something other than thirst and heat to
think about. When Granite stops singing one of the boys points to the
trees and says, “That is a canal. The mud is cool and we can show
your roots to suck that have water in them”.
In the time it takes an old man to tell the story of his life they finally
reach a bridge across the muddy canal and tie their horse in the shade
of a low willow tree. The canal is about twenty paces wide and its
length stretches into the distance, straight as a shaft of light. On each
side are small trees, shrubs and thick patches of reed.
The boys scramble down from the horse. “Follow us. We’ll show you
a good place to wallow. And we can find the water roots.”
Dragonfly is giddy with heat and exhaustion but forces himself to
follow the boys who move quickly through thick brushwood. He can
hear Sniffer complaining behind him. No doubt Granite is plodding
steadily at the rear, moving softly but just as hot. Suddenly an excited
cry from the boys ahead. Dragonfly pushes through a wall of dry
vegetation to find them kneeling in dark shade beneath a low hanging
tree and peering down the canal bank.
“This is a good place. The mud here is not too deep,” the boys
explain. “But we each need to have a long stick in case we sink too
low.” They start hunting in a nearby stand of tall bamboo. Dragonfly
goes to help.
“The poles need to be twice your height,” say the boys.
Soon they are all holding a long bamboo cane and sliding down the
bank into the shade and mud.
“Heaven!” cries Sniffer grinning, his teeth shining white in the gloom,
his body immersed, his head just above mud.
Dragonfly feels the damp slime draw around him and fears
being sucked in completely. He clutches his bamboo pole
tightly wondering how best to use it. Suddenly his feet feel firm
ground. The mud is only waist high. He grins with relief and
then crouches so that he too becomes just a head bobbing
above the brown ooze. The cool damp clutches away the heat
from his body.
The two small boys are now pushing their way into a nearby
bed of reeds, calling to each other.
They start pulling up long roots, grunting with satisfaction. It is not
long before they slosh back through the mud to the others,
proudly holding out bundles of roots dripping with mud.
Sniffer makes a retching sound “You’re not expecting us to eat
those are you? “ he asks.
“These are for you,” says one of the boys putting a bunch of
leaves and roots on the mud beside Sniffer. “Watch,” and then
he takes one of the roots, rips off the leaves at its top and
places his lips over the fresh wound, sucking noisily. When he
takes the root from his mouth water drips under his chin. He
grins excitedly. “So delicious. You try. “
Sniffer takes one of the long leaves and rips off the root at its
base. Very carefully he tries to wipe away the mud around the
wound and then sucks. In the gloom Dragonfly can just make
out Sniffer’s expression which changes from cautious dislike to
almost pure ecstasy.
Dragonfly realises just how thirsty he has become. He stretches
out eagerly for one of the roots being offered by the little boy
closest. He rips off the leaves and sucks in two mouthfuls of
pure, cool, slightly sweet, amazing water. He almost cries with
relief. Nothing he has ever tasted has seemed quite so
delicious.
And so for a long time the three friends and their two small
companions wallow among the reeds feeling for plump roots
deep in the mud, pulling them up and drinking until their
stomachs are uncomfortably full.
“Now the sun is lower there will be a wind through the trees,”
explains one of the little boys. “Climb into the branches to feel
the cool.”
They follow his example, heaving their muddy bodies up the
bank and lifting themselves along the low branches that shade
over the canal. A soft wind blows so they each select a fork
among the branches to lie back and relax, enjoying the breeze
and the sensation of drying mud cracking off their skins.
Dragonfly looks towards his friends whose bodies are
silhouetted among the gnarled branches against the blue sky,
Granite like a huge muddy beast from stories they tell about
swamps and jungles in the south. Sniffer is an insect with thin
dark limbs and hair like antennae.
As the sun edges towards the horizon one of the boys cries out,
“It is still some way to our village. We must leave now if we are
to get there before dark.“ They clamber down and take more
water from the reed tubors in a leather bucket for the horse.
And soon they are on their way, the sun’s low rays making their
shadows long across the dry fields. Granite resumes his soft
singing but the little boys, back among the bags on top of the
horse, seem too tired to join in.
It is almost dark by the time they can see the village lights. The
boys wake from their dozing on the horse to chatter excitedly at
the prospect of getting home. Then one of them cries out,
“Look, look there is the glow of Rice Mountain, our capital city.
They must have lit huge bonfires tonight. Normally we can’t see
it from here.“
Dragonfly strains his eyes and where the greys of the sky meet
the black of the distant horizon he detects a glow. He can
imagine fires being lit to attract hungry villagers from afar to join
King Long Beard’s army of anger against the Emperor. He can
imagine the Master of the Cleansing Fire teaching villagers to
become disciplined monks capable of withstanding great
physical hardship. He tries to imagine what strange forces are
being stirred up in this great city of the south. Surely in no more
than two days journeying he and his friends will be there.
SCROLL TWENTY FOUR
Songbird’s heart beats nervously in the darkness as she listens to the
sound of men, and possibly a horse, coming towards the ruined village
hut they have taken shelter in. Aunt is snuffling like a piglet and rustling
in the damp straw as she stirs in her sleep. Songbird puts a hand over
Aunt’s mouth and whispers in her ear.
“There are men outside.“
Even in the darkness she can see the whites of Aunt’s eyes as they
burst open. Lying very still they hear voices.
“Samark…… I am sure it’s him,” Songbird whispers and her shoulders
shake with cold and excitement. “They must have escaped the Khan’s
Horsemen.“
She rises from the straw and creeps quietly towards the faint light in the
doorless gap in the hut wall. There is no moonlight but the sky is clearer
and more star-filled than she’s ever seen it, a great silvery canopy that
shimmers over everything, startling bright above and deep shadow
below.
“Why are the stars so bright?” she wonders, her mind racing like a young
horse across wide grassland. “Perhaps it’s because we’re further south.
Or because it’s so dark in this hut. Or because I’m so excited.“
She keeps very still and her heart seems to stop for a moment as she
watches the silhouette of the three men come into the circle of old huts.
An idea flashes into her in thoughts and in the voice of a very elderly,
anxious lady she cries out, “Who are these unkindly men come to
frighten us? Go away we beg of you. We have nothing to give. And all
the young ladies are gone.“
The men stop. Samark’s voice is unmistakable. “Our humble apologies
dear lady. We come in peace and do not want to frighten you. We have
some food to offer in return for a place to rest a while.“
“Then lay down your weapons,” replies Songbird, still in the high pitch of
great age. “To show us you come in peace, please kneel down”. At first
the men seem reluctant to move, and stand like dark shadowy pillars.
Then slowly they move towards the ground. Songbird wraps her cloak
around her and, stooping like an old lady, walks from the hut towards
their huddled bodies until she stands in front of Samark. She can just
make out his face in the star light as he looks up at her from his kneeling
position. Slowly she straightens her back and lets the cloak drop behind
her and then in a normal voice, says gently “You may kiss my feet“.
Samark shouts with surprise and tries to get up. “Gossamer!“ He cries.
She pushes him back down with her foot.
“You shall not get up until you call me correctly.“
He laughs, “Songbird, Scarlet Songbird. My beautiful Songbird.“
“I am not yours,“ she replies. “But you may get up. And, by the way, you
mentioned food.“
Samark and his friends stand up laughing and full of questions. Aunt
comes cautiously out of the hut, whimpering with relief. Eagle and Tall
Stork clasp their hands together and bow the welcome salute of the
People of the Book. A heavily laden horse they have been leading steps
forward as if to say, “Please make my load lighter“. Two other horses
step forward.
Everyone starts talking and laughing as Samark unfolds a bundle of food
and Songbird kneels to breathe life into the embers in the fireplace in
front of the hut.
“We took this food and three horses left by the Khan’s Horseman when
they deserted their camp after the big explosion. Did you hear that?“
“Yes!“ replies Songbird. “What happened? A volcano? Were you there?“
“No. Our road south took us around Blue Lake City, but we met many
who had fled. They told us the city is famous for its fireworks, and a trap
had been laid for the Horsemen if they broke into the Inner Citadel. They
must’ve succeeded because last night as we were watching from a
distance we saw the flames of attack and then there was a sudden huge
explosion that lit up the whole sky. “
“My heart bleeds for the citizens of the city!” cries Songbird.
“I think most would’ve survived,“ soothes Samark. “But so many of the
Horseman died. Some villagers took us in the darkness to the
Horsemen’s camp. Deserted! Empty tents everywhere. Horses roaming
around. Camp fires still red. We took three horses and as much food as
possible. We still have our musical instruments although they’re a bit
battered. Loaded up the horses to come a little further south before
sleeping. And here we are!”
Songbird has brought life back into the embers of the fire and Tall Eagle
is collecting bits of wood from collapsed huts. Stork has filled a pot with
water from the village pond. Now the fire is roaring red, casting dancing
shadows and Samark suspends a big lump of meat and a large pot of
rice above the flames. The old lady who had first welcomed Songbird
comes nervously out of her hut.
“Please join us!” says Songbird taking her by the hand and encouraging
her to sit on a rug spread near the fire
The old lady is nervous. “Will this fire not attract thieves? Perhaps even
the Horsemen of whom you speak?”.
“Yes, yes, yes,” murmurs Aunt in agreement, taking a seat near the old
lady. “We should make the flames less.”
Songbird kneels between the ladies and puts an arm around their
shoulders. She feels so sleepy and so hungry now that the air is filled
with the smell of sizzling pork meat. She shares their fear, but
remembers being swept down a mountain stream over rapids and
coming to a calm pool, and she feels like that now.
“Let us eat delicious food and sleep deeply until the sun is up,“ she says.
“No other thoughts. Danger may prowl in the darkness, but look up.“
They look into the great bowl of silvery stars and Songbird points to her
favourite constellations.
“There is the Great Turtle, bringing patience, and that big star up there is
on the forehead of the First Warrior, who is there to defend the helpless,”
she says.
“And there,“ joins in Samark, “is the Great Axe.“
“We call it by a more peaceful name,“ Songbird smiles. “The Plough.
And look, its handle points to the Grandfather Star, the North Star that
always stays in the same place.”
“So take heart ladies,“ adds Samark as he lifts the meat from the fire.
“Something stays constant in a revolving, violent world. Grandfather Star
is one of them. And the enjoyment of good food is another. Eat this.“ He
slices pieces of crackling pork meat and passes a lump to each of them.
Tall Stalk scoops boiled rice into simple wooden bowls for them all. And
then there is silence but for the sound of heavy breathing and chewing
and murmurs of satisfaction.
After a while Aunt says, “Gossamer… I mean Songbird! Do you
remember your mother singing to the stars?”
“Of course I do. But she died when I was only five summers old so I
don’t remember the words, just the tune.”
Songbird stands, pauses for a moment and then sends her voice soaring
upwards in a high, magical melody that seems to resonate with the vast,
silver space above, powerful but soft. She feels as if for a moment she is
among the stars, and is one of them, beyond all cares and close to the
mother she can hardly remember.
The tune comes to a gentle close. “So beautiful. Thank you,” says
Samark sounding quite emotional. “And now….Let us sleep until the sun
wakes us,”
And with tired murmurs of agreement they each seek out a place to
rest. Songbird can feel herself falling asleep the moment she lies down
but stays awake just long enough to hear Aunt say “I wish this straw
didn’t smell like a dog’s bottom”.
——————————————————————————
SCROLL TWENTY FIVE
All paths lead to Rice Mountain, great capital of the Southern Kingdom. The nearer Dragonfly and his companions get to the city the more crowded the paths become. There are carts and an occasional horse but most travellers are young men dressed in dusty tunics with a few possessions in simple bags on their backs. So many of them. Dragonfly is reminded of columns of tiny brown ants hurrying along a path towards the smell of rotting fruit that had fallen from a tree at the edge of his village.
The sun is high, the air still and dust rises from all the feet tramping south. Few of the men say anything but they groan and grumble about feeling hot, hungry and thirsty. Dragonfly notices the way they look with suspicion in sideways glances at the three of them, Granite in particular. Perhaps it is because each of them is leading a horse and because, beneath a layer of dust, their Royal Guardsmen uniforms are just visible. But it may be because they are taller than these men of the south. Granite’s shoulders are higher than most heads and his waist is equal to three of anyone nearby.
“The Avenging Sword is a dog’s turd!” shouts a young man just ahead of them. Others laugh or just grunt agreement. By using one of the Emperor’s many nicknames the insult is not punishable by death. But as someone points a finger back, the young man turns to see the giant Royal Guardsman following closely and he darts ahead into the crowd like a rabbit chased by a dog. Granite smiles slightly and keeps steadily walking onwards, his horse plodding behind him.
Through the clouds of dust and haze of heat, across what seems an endless plain of dried fields Dragonfly can begin to see the outline of Rice Mountain. Even at this distance it seems huge, a great pale rock the size of a small mountain. Or a magic white cloud that has detached itself from the sky and landed on the plain.
As they get closer and the sun lowers in the sky they can start to make out the walls which surround both city and rock. The walls are so high that few of the city buildings inside show above the ramparts. Here and there they glimpse burnished tiles of temple roofs and, further away at the back, what must surely be the lofty, sweeping roofs of King LongBeard’s Palace, gold and emerald against the white flanks of the enormous Rice Mountain towering above. Nothing seems to grow on the steep sides of the rock and there are certainly no buildings.
“It really does look like a huge pile of white rice,” exclaims Dragonfly.
“Or a rock covered in bird droppings,” calls Sniffer trudging along at the rear with the smallest of the horses.
“That’s not very nice. Anyway, what do you know about bird droppings?” calls Dragonfly over his shoulder.
“Every morning, very early, going with Grandma to scatter dried bird shit, fertilising the growing rice shoots. I learnt how to avoid the white dust making my eyes sting. Everything got covered in white grey dust.”
Dragonfly keeps silent, feeling guilty that every morning he had pretended to be asleep while Grandma and Sniffer prepared to go out before sunrise to spread fertiliser in the cool, still dawn. And he would lie in his bed a while longer before going down to the harbour to help mend the nets and prepare boats for a fishing expedition. This was men’s work he used to think. But Sniffer was not ashamed to help Grandma in whatever way possible. Dragonfly suddenly feels a painfully strong wish that he could show Grandma how much he cares for her. His spirit returns to the familiar family hut in Safe Haven, his little sister laughing, Grandma welcoming him back. The thought brings sudden joy to his heart.
“What are you smiling about?” asks Sniffer, softly bringing him back to the crowded approaches to Rice Mountain. The path is broad now and Sniffer has drawn level with Dragonfly and Granite, so that all three men and their horses are walking abreast towards the Great Gate in the city walls, passers-by falling back to stare and let them pass.
“I am happy to have reached Rice Mountain,” replies Dragonfly quickly, embarrassed by his homesickness. “I have wanted to be here for so long, to find inner peace in the teachings of the Master and his Cleansing Fire.”
“I don’t think we’ll find much peace here,” says Sniffer. “These men are very angry that the Emperor has stopped the irrigation water. Their families are starving. They want to join King Long Beard’s army and march on the City of Golden Roofs to overthrow the Imperial Power.”
Granite grunts disagreement and says, “The parents are arguing so the kids pick up sticks to beat one of them. I don’t think that’s going to work. The Master’s message of peace will help King Long Beard find a way to please the Emperor and reopen the dams. Water will flow again soon.” He ignores the sniffs of doubt from his thin friend.
Suddenly the crowds in front of them draw apart revealing a single monk dressed in saffron robes apparently waiting for them at the Great Gate. Chattering subsides to a murmur.
“Greetings,” calls the monk. He is quite small but his voice is deep. His head is shaved bald, thin brown arms escape from the folds of robe and his hands clasp together in what looks like a special gesture of greeting. His lower legs and feet are bare except for simple, large sandals. Granite, Dragonfly and Sniffer stand like statues, except that Dragonfly can feel his lower jaw sagging open. Surely this is not the Great Master.
“Are you the three Royal Guardsmen who saw the destruction of the Great Khan’s Horsemen and Blue Lake City in a mighty fire?” asks the monk in his deep voice. He makes the question sound like a command.
“We certainly saw the explosion and we have travelled here in the six days since. I am Captain Granite of the Royal Guard of the Eastern Kingdom. This is my second in command, known to us Swimming Dragonfly. And this is his Esquire, Sniffer.”
“You are all three welcome. The Master will ask you questions in the morning. But now he offers you somewhere to stay and a place at a special dinner he will host this evening with King Longbeard to celebrate an Agreement between them.”
“We are honoured,” says Granite, bowing slightly.
“Follow,” commands the monk, turning and walking swiftly through the gate and up the gentle, cobbled slope among the city buildings. They follow as fast as their horses can walk on the highly polished cobbles.
“Esquire?” exclaims Sniffer quietly to Dragonfly. “Esquire? What does it even mean?”
SCROLL TWENTY SIX
Dust kicked up by thousands of weary feet hangs in the hot, still air. It has been a long, long walk for the two ladies and the three musicians. The further south they travelled the more young men joined the journey. It was as if they had started in a stream, which became a river and is now a fierce torrent.
They could not have done it without the three smelly little horses they had rescued from the Khan’s Horsemen. helps Songbird and Aunt dismount. The wide track towards the Great Gate of Rice Mountain City is just too crowded. The horses are getting uneasy and will stay calmer if they are led.
“This is so exciting,” cries Songbird, looking at the mighty walls now so close and the huge, white flanks of Rice Mountain itself rising towards the sky.
“I’m so tired…so tired”, murmurs Aunt, massaging her limbs and stretching. “Walk, sing, sleep. Walk, sing, sleep. That’s all we’ve been doing for days.”
“I never heard you complain about sleep before,” Songbird says, trying to sound cheerful.
“That was the only good bit,” replies Aunt, still massaging her legs.
“The singing got us food and water and somewhere to sleep,” consoles Songbird. “Anyway, we’re here now, though I’m not sure we’ll ever get through the gate with all these men pushing like young bulls.”
“I don’t think we should try,” cries Samark over the rising noise of the crowd. “Come on, let’s go up to the top of that little hill over there and work out what’s going on.”
He leads his horse and the others follow, aiming towards the hill and cutting through the steady streams of men walking towards the Great Gate. The paths lead around the bottom of the hill so there is almost no-one on the hill itself. They climb up its gentle sides, urging the horses and pushing their exhausted legs to keep walking this last stretch. Samark leads, then Songbird. Eagle and Stork do their best to help Aunt.
It is not very high, just enough to get them above the heads of the men swarming around its base in the direction of the Great Gate which lies about four hundred paces to the West.
“Look at the soldiers. Their uniforms are turquoise. Like peacocks!” cries Songbird. Amidst the chaos it is a comfort to see smartly dressed members of the Royal Guard of the South controlling the gate. There is shouting and arms raised in anger.
“And monks as well,” says Samark. “Those men in saffron-coloured robes are surely followers of the Master of the Cleansing Fire.”
“They don’t seem to be able to calm these crowds,” adds Songbird, after a while of watching and feeling disappointed that followers of the Master should be unable to command respect from such a noisy rabble.
The soldiers and monks seem to be trying to stop anyone else from entering the Great Gate. Many others walking down the paths to the city join the crush. Someone starts chanting and others join in.
“What are they shouting?” asks Aunt, sounding very nervous.
It quickly becomes very clear they are chanting “Death to the Emperor! Death to the Empire! Life to the King! Life to the Master!” Again and again.
“Perhaps we could play music and I could sing to calm them,” suggests Songbird.
Samark looks at her with eyebrows raised to heaven in disbelief. “How could you tame such excited passions? There are hundreds of them and they are very angry.”
Songbird laughs in her excitement. “Let’s try. Music is magic!”
Samark, Eagle and Stork look very doubtful but start unbuckling the musical instruments and blankets from the horses. Then Songbird asks them to stand around her and hold up blankets so she can put on her scarlet dress unseen. She is quickly done and Aunt arranges her hair. The blankets are lowered and Songbird feels a thrill. Already she can see young men in the noisy crowd just below stop chanting to stare.
The three musicians spread blankets on the dry earth and ready themselves to play as loudly as possible. They wait for Songbird to tell them the tune she needs.
“I haven’t decided,” she says. “Let us wait for this young soldier.” She points to a man in uniform pushing his way through the crowd towards them. He stops for a moment at the bottom of the slope looking upwards, almost asking permission to approach. Songbird beckons and in ten strides he is with them, panting for breath and hot.
Songbird smiles to find the soldier no more than a boy beneath his dark felt and metal helmet, rather threadbare turquoise tunic and leather protectors. A sword shines in his belt and on his right arm is strapped a small shield that looks like a loaf of flat bread.
“You must have permission of the Royal Stewards to make music near the Great Gate,” says the soldier as sternly as he can.
Songbird thinks her smile must have insulted the soldier boy, so she makes herself look as serious as possible and says, “We would like to seek permission from the Royal Stewards but cannot get through these crowds. They are angry and we can help you soothe them. Would you allow me to do that?”
The boy soldier looks at her with big wide eyes and nods his agreement. Songbird turns to face the crowd, many of whom have stopped to watch this thin girl in a scarlet dress talk to the Royal Guardsman of the South. But before she can tell Samark what tune to play a large, dust-covered man shouts angrily at the Royal Guardsman “Let her sing!” He strides up the hill towards them with big clenched fists and a scowl.
As he reaches the top of the slope and is nearly upon them, Songbird turns to the Guardsman and in a swift, flowing movement pulls the sword from his belt and swings it above her head. With the leap of a skilful swordsman she springs into a defiant position, the tip of the sword almost touching the man’s nose. He stops like a statue and the nearby crowd gasps. The soldier is shocked at the loss of his sword but it has all happened so quickly he does nothing.
“Learn to obey, or die!” cries Songbird, her heart and mind racing. Right at the back of her mind she wonders where these ideas and words come from. “Kneel!” The man does so.
Then Songbird lifts the sword high and gives a long cry which rises above the crowd, echoes off the city walls and fills the sky like the call of a giant eagle hovering along mountain ridges, looking into valleys in search of prey. The crowd as far as the Great Gate has stopped to watch. She lowers the sword on to the head of the man kneeling in front of her and says loudly so that many can hear, “Impatience is weakness. Patience brings strength. Together we can overcome. The Master’s blessing be upon you!” She gestures for him to rise which he does before stumbling down the slope as if in shock. Songbird returns the sword to the Guardsman with a little bow of thanks.
The crowd is no longer pressing towards the Great Gate. Every eye seems to be on Songbird. The cries of rebellion and loud conversations have become a hum of expectation. Two monks are moving through the crowd towards her but before they reach the slope she turns quickly to Samark and proposes a tune which the musicians know well and start to play. Songbird adapts the words of an old song in her mind to meet this new situation, and takes a very long, deep breath. Then, turning to the crowd, she starts to sing with a strength which surprises even her.
Tame the heart, harness the soul
Grow with the strength of the sun.
Drive like rain, fly with the wind,
Together we overcome.
Love the moon, follow the stars,
Let the planets be our guide.
Ride the wave, race the river,
We welcome the ocean wide.
Give a hand, helping a friend,
Learning to live side by side.
Keep the faith, forgetful of self,
Master and King will provide.
She repeats the last two lines again and again. Samark and the others follow her lead. Songbird uses her arms to encourage the young men nearest to join in. They do and their enthusiasm spreads. Soon the Great Gate itself is reverberating to the call.
Two monks move to stand on either side of Songbird as if in support. She senses they have something to say and soon ends, lowering her arms and bowing slightly to the crowd who shout their appreciation.
The older of the saffron-robed monks steps forward, raises his hands for silence and then calls as loudly as he can: “You are all welcome. You will all be given food and water and as much shelter as we can provide.”
A huge roar of approval from the crowd. The monk raises his hands for silence once more.
“Unfortunately, the city itself is now full.”
A big moan from the crowd.
“We will bring supplies to you here in this area, east of the city. Please find yourself a comfortable place. Encourage new arrivals to sit further to your east. We will thus build a city of tents while we organise an army.”
At the word ‘army’ there is a widespread shout of approval.
The monk turns to Songbird. “Thank you for your help. We need you to set an example. The first two tents to be erected will be for you, your lady and your musicians. We will look after your horses and send you food, water for drinking and bowls of warm water to wash in. With you at the centre these men will settle down, provided we can get food and water to them quickly.”
By this time Aunt, Samark, Eagle and Stork are standing solemnly beside Songbird, listening to the monk and bowing their thanks.
Songbird turns briefly to Aunt and whispers, with a big smile, “You are ‘My Lady’. Did you hear that?”
“Concentrate!” whispers Samark.
Songbird gives a little cough of irritation in reply.
The monk continues, “My young disciple will stay with you until you are settled in your tents and have food and water.”
And then he adds after a pause, “King Longbeard and the Master are to host a feast this evening. I would like you and your musicians to perform that song and two other suitable songs of love and peace. Please be ready when the sun has set behind the walls.” Without a further word he turns and hurries towards the Great Gate, the crowd parting quickly to make way for him.
“Sing before the Master of the Cleansing Fire!” cries Songbird, clapping her hands, her face alight. It seems to her that this is all she could ever wish for. her life has reached its goal.
“I cannot accompany you,” says Samark very seriously. “I am here to observe. His beliefs are not mine. It would be against all that I revere”
Songbird feels the as if she has been struck and she can feel the blood of anger in her cheeks. Her stomach clenches into a ball. She is determined to say nothing to Samark. And she is determined that she will sing.
————————————————————————————
SCROLL TWENTY SEVEN
Dragonfly is glad to have solid Captain Granite beside him as they enter the
Banqueting Hall. The noise and colour are unlike anything he has seen before and the
hall seems like an enormous, buzzing beehive where intruders might get stung,
particularly village boys unfamiliar with sophisticated table manners and curious
Southern customs. At least he and his two companions have been able to wash in
warm water, wipe away the dust of their journey and put wax and oil on their leather
boots. Sniffer as Esquire has gone to help in the kitchens. Granite and Dragonfly are
to attend the feast. They feel proud of their red, Eastern Guard uniforms, so different
in colour and style from the turquoise uniforms of the Guardsmen of the South.
Dragonfly admits to himself that the turquoise looks good mixed with the saffron
robes of the monks and the dark grey tunics of senior officials who sit at the many
round tables. But he can see no ladies who might soften the strutting self-importance
of so many men. He reckons there must be half a thousand of them.
He and Granite are shown to a round table already occupied by eight other guests.
They are directed politely to sit between two monks who smile faintly but say
nothing and keep looking anxiously in the direction of the kitchen. The others are
Guardsmen and two officials.
At one side of the hall is a long, raised platform with screens and curtains on it
decorated with gold and turquoise and tables laden with flowers and fruit. Two small
clusters of cross-legged musicians sit at either end of the platform.
There is no time for conversation. A gong strikes and talking stops with military
speed; except, that is, for one old man nearby who must surely be deaf and
continues to speak in a loud, quavery voice until he is silenced by waving hands and
looks of mock horror. The musicians start to play gentle music and a curtain is drawn
towards the back of the platform and slightly to the right revealing a monk sitting
cross-legged on a settee, his head shaven, his hands folded on his lap, his body
draped in a simple, saffron coloured robe. His face is without any expression, like the
surface of a still pond that conceals its depth.
The audience gasps. Monks nod their heads as if confirming that this is indeed the
Master of the Cleansing Fire. Others just stare. Dragonfly looks at Granite who raises
an eyebrow as if to say “Is that little man really the Master you have longed to see?”
Dragonfly puts his head on one side and smiles gently in reply as if to say “Yes, it is. I
know he looks unusual, but he must be The One.”
The music changes and beautifully carved screens at the back and slightly to the left
of the raised platform are moved, revealing the King, sitting on a large throne, his
grey and white beard thin but long. On his head is a black hat, studded with
jewellery. His body is clad in deep folds of rich turquoise cloth that reach from his
neck to his feet making it look as if his head is at the top of a waterfall. Little bony
hands poke out at either side. At his feet sits a slim, beautiful young lady, simply
dressed like a devotee of the Master of the Cleansing Fire.
An official in a smart grey tunic steps onto the platform, bows deeply to the King and
then to the Master before turning to the assembled guests. Raising his head high like
a cockerel about to announce the rising sun, he says in a loud, but surprisingly high-
pitched, voice,
“King Longbeard the Wise, ruler of the Kingdom of the South, Father of his people
bids you welcome.” The assembled guests murmur politely while the pompous
official pauses to clear his throat, before continuing,
“The Silent Monk from the Sacred Isles of Ye Do So, Founder of Temple Cloud,
Guardian of the Eternal Flame, Master of the Cleansing Fire, also bids you welcome.”
The audience murmurs further approval.
“The King and the Master desire peace. But both have been made to suffer by the
Emperor. In breach of ancient agreements, the Imperial Capital has denied life-giving
waters from dams in the West. The King and the Master will join their strength, like
two mighty oxen drawing a single plough. Two armies become one: the Royal
Guardsmen of the South and the Mystic Army.”
Dragonfly notices that the beautiful lady sitting at the King’s feet is patting his left
foot as if it were a small dog, while turning her head to gaze at the Master.
“This banquet is a meal of friendship; and it seals this new bond as tightly as any
wedding ceremony.” The official turns to bow to the King and then to the Master
before leaving the platform.
With a single gesture the King signals the arrival of food. Doors on three sides of the
hall burst open and trays laden with steaming food are hurried in and laid at each
table. Dragonfly spots Sniffer in his new role as Esquire struggling towards them
bearing an enormous amount of food. Two others are with him, also with large
dishes of food, weaving their way through the tables.
Dragonfly waves as Sniffer draws close.
“All right, all right, I’m coming,” mouths Sniffer, glancing nervously towards the King
and the Master on the platform. “Anyone would think you hadn’t eaten good food
for days.”
“I haven’t,” laughs Dragonfly. But he has to stop because his mouth is now awash with saliva, drawn out by the variety of delightfully delicious smells.
“I like your uniform,” he adds.
“It’s just an apron, but you need it in there. The kitchens are going crazy,” says
Sniffer. “Now get your chopsticks flying before it’s all gone. I recommend that dish.
I’ve already eaten a load of it. Sweet mushrooms, chicken garnished with herbs and some
spices I’ve never had before. Be careful of that red-coloured stew. It’s fiery hot. More
dishes to come.” He hurries back towards the kitchen.
“Eat carefully,” says Granite. “It’s been a long time since our stomachs had so much
rich food.”
Dragonfly nods agreement but the advice is hard to follow and soon he
feels a glorious glow in his stomach. His hands and cheeks become covered with
flavour-filled sauces and his lips burn from the unfamiliar spices.
Granite belches so loudly it sounds like the bark of a dog. “I thought we were
supposed to be eating slowly,” says Dragonfly softly over the growing noise of well-
fed conversation. Granite ignores the remark to focus on eating. Soon they have to
lean back on their seats and stretch to make room for the rice and cups of sweet-
smelling tea that end the meal.
Conversation is hushed in the presence of the King.
Dragonfly notices amidst all the activity a girl in a scarlet dress enter from one of the
kitchen doors, followed by two strangely-dressed men, one of them thin and tall,
both bearing a musical instrument. The dining guests pay little attention until the
threesome step on to the raised platform. They position themselves between the
King and the Master, bowing low to each in turn. And then they prepare to perform.
The two musicians sit cross-legged on the floor with stringed instruments on their
laps. The girl in the scarlet dress steps in front. The banqueting hall is suddenly silent.
The King and the Master are perfectly still.
The musicians play soft chords, sending calm sounds high into the rafters of the hall.
The girl, as straight as a young bamboo shoot, moves very slightly as she takes a deep breath. And then she sings, a long, steady, soft note in perfect harmony with the stringed instruments. Dragonfly thinks she must have trained for a long time under the guidance of the Master, for her singing is like a meditation, filling the soul with quiet strength.
Gradually the tune becomes more complex, lilting and playful. And then words start
to form. Dragonfly thinks he has never been so happy, or at least not for a very long
time. He is full of wonderful food, sitting beside a solid friend, and listening to the
singing of the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. And then he corrects himself: the
second most beautiful girl. He realises that the words are starting to mean something:
Give a hand, helping a friend,
Learning to live side by side.
Keep the faith, forgetful of self,
Master and King will provide.
She repeats the verse twice. And then she repeats the last two lines again and again.
She raises her hands towards the guests in a gesture that clearly encourages them to
join in. They do so, softly repeating the last two lines many times. The King is smiling.
The Master remains still but somehow looks more content.
The song ends. The audience murmurs approval. The King smiles and nods. Even the
Master softens his expression. And then curtains are drawn shut to conceal the
Master, and two assistants close the screens in front of the King. The musicians play
soft chords and the audience stays still. Dragonfly imagines the King and the Master
standing up and making their way through concealed doors at the back of the hall.
Conversation resumes, but is still hushed and respectful. The girl in the scarlet dress
starts to sing again, this time with more cheerful words. Some guests begin talking,
others like Dragonfly remain silent to wonder at such beautiful singing.
The girl sings of love, and then of the mountains. And then a simple song of the sea
which Dragonfly recognises instantly. He has known this tune and these words for as
long as he can remember. He imagines his mother singing them before she passed
away. Sadness and excitement tumble about in his head. She sings:
“Spread the nets wide,
Draw in the fish,
Village is hungry,
Sea gives us food,So spread the nets wide,
Draw in the fish.”
The tune and words are so familiar to Dragonfly he cannot stop himself from singing
alongside it. He does not sing the same notes as the girl but an accompaniment that his
uncle used to sing and which the larger of the two stringed instruments is playing.
She starts to repeat the verse when one of the strings on the
instrument breaks with the sharp sound of a well-aimed arrow striking the centre of
a taut leather shield. The musician stops playing instantly but the girl keeps
singing.
Without hesitating for more than the beat of a bird’s wing, Dragonfly stands up,
singing the lost accompaniment. He walks closer to the platform, his eyes fixed on
the girl to keep in time and to make sure she accepts his help. She does, by singing
the verse again one last time, with an outstretched arm to Dragonfly and a look of
gratitude mixed with a question. And then they stop. He bows quickly and low before
hurrying back to his seat, while those nearby mutter among themselves, some
sounding disapproving, others more enthusiastic. The musicians are standing up to
be beside the girl in scarlet. They bow to the audience who tap approval on the table
and then all three quickly withdraw.
Sniffer suddenly appears and squeezes himself between Granite and Dragonfly. He is
no longer wearing his apron. “What was that all about?” he asks excitedly. “What a
beautiful singer. How did you dare to sing with her?”
“What do you mean?” replies Dragonfly. “My singing isn’t that bad! And I know that
song so well.”
“You sounded like a mother goat lost in the fog, calling for its kid,” explains Sniffer.
“You’re just jealous. Anyway, I need you to help me find out who she is. How did she
know that song? Does she come from the shores of the Great Sea?”
“In the kitchens they say she has only just arrived. They are a group of travelling
musicians. But they say she has already talked to the Master” replies Sniffer.
“She has met him!” exclaims Dragonfly. “That makes me want to talk to her even
more.”
Granite grunts in a way that lets them know he is about to say something. “Find me
an official, a soldier or a monk here who doesn’t want to talk with her. You’ll have to
join a long line.”
Suddenly Dragonfly feels the excitement drains from him like water down a hole.
“Let’s go” is all he can say. The three companions rise, bow to the
others around the table and go in search of their small, stone-walled room.
————————————————————————————
SCROLL TWENTY EIGHT
Songbird startles awake to the sound of gentle coughing beyond the dawn-grey sides of her tent. Aunt is asleep beside her snuffling like a piglet in hay. The talking and laughter of tired men settling to sleep on the hard ground nearby has long since died away and the peace of very early morning is all around. But the cough repeats itself like a signal.
Songbird shakes off her blanket and crouches at the door of her tent. Nearby is the small tent into which Samark, Stork and Eagle have squeezed. And kneeling before her is an elderly monk, his shaven head bowed over a bowl of steaming water. He holds up a fresh towel.
“The Master awaits,” the monk murmurs quietly. “But first wash and put on these robes.” He gestures towards a neatly folded pile of saffron coloured clothing beside him.
Aunt has been woken and crawls over to Songbird, yawning and bedraggled. Together they bring the water bowl and clothing into the tent. Songbird quickly washes and slips the robes over her head. They emerge from the tent into the dawn light, stretching and adjusting Songbird’s new clothing.
“No longer a Scarlet Songbird!” giggles Aunt softly, vigorously combing her niece’s long black hair.
“Be careful Aunt,” winces Songbird. Those are not weeds to be pulled out of the field. That’s my precious hair.”
The monk steps forward, bowing an apology. “Here is a scarf to be put over the hair, for modesty.”
“Modesty!” whispers Songbird almost angrily. “I’m not very good at being modest.”
“Let’s try,” says Aunt, placing the shawl lightly over Songbird’s hair and tying it neatly at the back. “You still look very graceful. And somehow more important.”
Songbird snorts impatiently.
“Come,” whispers the old monk. “I will escort you to the Master. My name is Om and it will be my task to teach you meditation.”
“I have no choice,” Songbird thinks to herself, smiling a soft farewell to her Aunt. “Samark is fast asleep in his tent and doesn’t seem to care. I have taken great risks to get here. I will go to see the Master.”
Aunt gives a worried, whimpering whine like a faithful dog being parted from its master. The monk turns to look at her and says in a low voice, “Have no fear. I pledge my life that I will keep this young lady safe and return her to you before the sun has reached its highest point today”.
Songbird follows Om down the small hill and they pick their way in the half-darkness past tents and men sleeping on the ground. After a while they meet a path that takes them away from the walls of Rice Mountain which sink into the distance as they walk towards the brightening horizon. Before the sun breaks into full view they pass through a thick bamboo grove and a mist-covered lake appears, with an island in its middle, capped by a large, ornate temple, reached by a low bridge almost lost in the mist. The temple has golden tiles on the roof and saffron pillars around its sides, supporting wide eaves. The interior is dark but the sound of a single gong and many monks chanting is soft and clear. It draws Songbird towards it. She must cross the bridge and meet the Master.
“In this early morning light with the mist rising off the lake you can see why we call this Temple Cloud,” explains the elderly monk as they cross the arched wooden bridge towards the hallowed space before them. The chanting is louder now and Songbird can see about twenty saffron-clothed monks sitting cross-legged on low stools, in two rows, their backs to her, straight as pillars. Facing them on a raised platform is the Master himself, also cross-legged, and flanked by two very old monks. Oil lamps suspended from roof beams burn a soft golden light over the whole space. The low chanting continues creating in Songbird a deep sense of peace. She feels that she has arrived at the intended destination of a long and perilous journey.
Om guides her to a low stool at the end of the second row of monks. He sits on a stool beside her, and with a gesture signals her to relax and wait. Then he closes his eyes. Songbird studies his face for a moment. It is deeply wrinkled, like a dried fruit and shows no emotion. It is as if his personality has crept away to hide deep inside his motionless body.
The gong continues to beat a rhythm beneath the higher notes of the chanting monks. The growing light of sunrise reveals more and more detail of the temple’s interior which looks so simple and clean compared to the clutter of Ancestors and Gods in temples Songbird is familiar with. The air is fresh, no incense sticks are burning, the walls and pillars shine in the sunlight. Even the shaven heads of the young monks gleam.
Songbird has no idea how long this will last so she decides to fit in as best she can, cross-legged, her back straight, looking straight ahead, she gently closes her eyes and lets the sound bathe her like warm water. All thoughts of her journey and the family she left behind, and new friends she has made on the journey, and the adventures and the terrors, all slip away and she is left in stillness.
Time seems to stand still, but the growing heat of the sun’s rays slanting into the temple start to tell Songbird that she is feeling uncomfortable. Suddenly the gong does a double beat, the chanting changes for a moment and then stops. There is a rustling as the monks adjust their position, probably feeling stiff after being still for so long. Songbird opens her eyes cautiously. The Master is completely still and his face looks like wrinkled bark on an ancient tree but the glint of his eyes peeps through. She realises with a jump, as if she has stood barefoot on a thorn, that he is looking directly at her. He raises his hand and motions her to approach.
Om rises quickly for one so old. He takes Songbird by the arm and leads her past the seated monks to a low stool directly in front of the Master. Songbird wonders if this has been carefully planned. Her heart is fluttering and her face feels as flushed as when Aunt found her on the cliffs looking at a young village boy riding the waves on a bamboo raft. She sits before the Master, eyes cast down, back straight. She can hear the monks behind her getting up and filing out of the temple without saying a word. Silence creeps in.
And then in a strange accent the Master says, “Songbird, you are well named.” A further pause. “Your voice talks to the sky like a high-flying bird.” Another pause. Songbird decides this must be how the Master talks, thoughtfully and carefully.
“We have a mission to sweep away the clutter of old beliefs, to burn them in a Cleansing Fire. It can be done in peace, by example, by good conduct and by the right meditation.” The Master pauses again. Songbird cautiously raises her eyes to see if his lips move. His words seem to emerge from his throat fully formed. But she detects a slight movement when he continues.
“We are creating a Mystic Army of young monks. They will have martial skills. Their strength will be greatly increased by meditation and freedom from old beliefs. Others will lay down weapons to join this Mystic Army and experience Cleansing Fire. The Empire is crumbling beneath old ideas. We will bring new strength and remove divisions.”
Songbird wonders why he is telling her all this. She is starting to feel uncomfortable, crouched on a low stool, and imagining the Empire crumbling and the old ways dismissed.
“Om will teach you the art of meditation. The Cleansing Fire will soon burn in your soul. Your songs will inspire the Mystic Army,” continues the Master in a series of short utterances. They seemed to leave her no choice.
“We will meet from time to time. Now go, with my blessing.” The Master pauses as Songbird stands up and then he adds: “You are now Saffron Songbird.”
She bows low thinking, “This great Master has placed such faith in me. I must try to learn from him, follow his teaching and inspire his Mystic Army. The Scarlet has gone. I must be Saffron.”
——————————————————————————————
SCROLL TWENTY NINE
Looking down on the town from the great walls of Rice Mountain City Dragonfly and Sniffer feel giddy. Palaces and the homes of officials are crammed between the walls and the white flanks of the strange mountainous pillar of stone that stands at the centre of the city and rises high above it. The walls run a great circle around both the city and the white mountain at its centre.
Within the walls all looks calm. Outside them men are hurrying like ants in a large nest that has been broken open by a hungry bear, each ant looking purposeful, but overall is panic.
After their first night’s sleep on proper beds for many weeks Dragonfly and Sniffer feel as energetic as young puppies. They are keen to see all over the city and have a few hours of freedom to do so. They are to be questioned later by the King’s advisers about the mighty explosion they witnessed at Blue Lake City. Granite has already been given duties training new recruits.
The two companions are being shown around by an elderly soldier known as Grey Water Buffalo. He is as wide as a door, but short. His hair is long and grey and his teeth look grey. To Dragonfly even the skin on his wrinkled face looks grey. The leather of his military tunic and shoulder pads was no doubt polished brown in the past, but it too has crinkled and faded. He has served in the Imperial Army as well as the Royal Army of the South and clearly thinks he has much wisdom and experience to share. He says he is loyal to the Empire, if only the Emperor would respect the four Kingdoms.
“They have no choice,” he observes in his growling southern accent looking at the men rushing about below. They wait to see if he will say more but nothing comes.
“Who has no choice?” asks Sniffer.
“King Long Beard and the Master,” grunts Grey Water Buffalo after another pause. “So much anger, so much hatred of the Emperor. These men,” he explains, sweeping his arm across the scene, “these men cannot sit in their huts watching their children starve and the irrigation canals run dry. They are desperate and demand action. They are like a mighty flood that will do much damage. So the King expands his Royal Army and the Master creates the Mystic Army.” Grey Water Buffalo falls silent and scratches his chest.
“To do what?” asks Sniffer after waiting to see if the scratching stops and the explanation restarts.
“To march on the Emperor. To take the City of Golden Roofs. To scorch it with the Cleansing Fire,” explains the old soldier.
“Really?” cries Dragonfly. “Defeat the Imperial Army?!”
“It’s possible,” says Grey Water Buffalo. “The Imperial Army has to defend the east from the Khan’s wild horsemen. The great explosion you saw at Blue Lake City destroyed only an advance party. And in the west the People of the Book prepare for war. They are in touch with the Master and surely they prepare a deadly dance for the Imperial Troops.”
Grey Water Buffalo leads them along the wall and into a small turret at the southernmost point. They climb stone stairs that curl around and upward until they emerge on a flat roof with only a low wall around the edges.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” announces Sniffer, alarmed by the huge drop below and sinking to his knees. Grey Water Buffalo grunts unsympathetically. Dragonfly marvels at the view. To the east of the walls he can see the temporary tent city set up since yesterday evening. There are camp fires burning and a steady stream of men joining the encampment. A few soldiers in the turquoise uniforms of the Royal Army of the South seem to be there, probably organising and directing newcomers.
“Chaos,” comments Grey Water Buffalo, following Dragonfly’s gaze. “But look the other way. There, to the west of the city you can see the camps and training grounds for the Royal Army. They’ve now got more recruits than they know what to do with,” he chuckles.
Dragonfly can see order gradually emerging from chaos as young, angry men from the villages are brought from their temporary tents east of the city towards the military encampments to the west where they are being told which unit to join and given basic uniforms and a weapon.
Sniffer is still kneeling but has dared to raise his eyes slowly and carefully. “Look!” he cries, pointing. “The monks are coming.”
Beyond the men passing at the base of the city walls there is a very long bank of bamboo to the south. Emerging from the green are flashes of saffron as a group of monks walks towards the city. It is difficult to tell at this distance but they seem to be protecting someone in their midst.
“That must be the Master,” observes Grey Water Buffalo after peering carefully at the monks. “Beyond the bamboo forest is a lake with an island on it called Temple Cloud. It’s a sort of monastery. The Master stays there. He must be here to talk to the King. Come on. Let’s go down and catch sight of them coming through the Main Gate.” He moves surprisingly fast towards the winding staircase and disappears into the darkness.
“Come on, let’s follow,” cries Dragonfly.
“What’s a monastery?” calls Sniffer.
“Later,” replies Dragonfly over his shoulder.
Down the stairs and along the wall they try to keep up with Grey Water Buffalo, then down more stairs deep inside the walls, sloping towards the Main Gate. The windows are few and tiny and face inwards towards Rice Mountain. Suddenly Dragonfly notices a window facing outwards, just big enough to fire an arrow through. He looks out to see if the monks are getting close. They are. Soon they will be at the gate. But in their midst that is surely not the Master. Dragonfly pushes his face against the window slit. His heart jumps with excitement.
“It’s her. It must be!” he cries hurrying on down the stairs.
“Who’s her?” asks Sniffer who thinks he knows the answer but finds it hard to believe.
“The General’s daughter, the girl on horseback on the cliffs, the singer last night!” laughs Dragonfly excitedly.
They emerge from a narrow door close to the Main Gate. The cobbled streets are crowded because the guards, armed with long spears, are stopping anyone from entering or leaving the city.
“What’s happening?” Grey Water Buffalo asks in the loud voice of authority.
“Escort of monks about to arrive,” explains a bystander.
A barrier at the gate is lifted, spears are raised high, and suddenly the monks are there, quietly passing through the gate and heading up the cobbled street into the city. And among them is a slender young girl in a saffron-coloured tunic with long black hair scarcely hidden by a saffron-coloured scarf and an elderly lady following closely behind, clucking like a nervous hen.
Dragonfly’s face must have shone like a beacon because when she raises her glance she sees him immediately and looks directly at him. He can see the sudden recognition and wants to call a greeting. But she puts a finger very quickly to her lips while looking at him, almost in alarm. He knows exactly what she means and nods his head quickly before she passes on.
“What was that all about?” cries Sniffer beside him.
“Not a word,” commands Dragonfly, looking at his friend very seriously. But before he can find a quiet place to gather his thoughts and explain to Sniffer there is a disturbance outside the Main Gate. The barrier is lowered and the guards bring their spears down to block anyone from forcing their way in.
“I must talk to her,” comes a strong cry in a strange accent. “Let me in.”
“I’ll sort him,” says Grey Water Buffalo to the guards and they raise their spears slightly to let him through. Dragonfly slips along behind him.
They emerge outside the Main Gate to find a semi-circle of village men staring at them and at the front a tall, strong-looking young man with strangely coloured clothing, piercing eyes and a fierce nose like an eagle’s beak.
“Who are you?” demands Grey Water Buffalo.
“I am a village entertainer, a musician. These are my fellow musicians,” replies the man with the eagle nose, gesturing to an even taller, very thin man and a small squat one, also strangely dressed.
“That girl is our singer. I am Samark. She is Scarlet Songbird. I trained her. I must be allowed to talk to her. If I am not allowed into the City she must come out to talk to me.”
Dragonfly feels unexpected anger rising in his stomach. He steps past Grey Water Buffalo, places his feet firmly apart and pointing at the man shouts. “She’s not yours. She is a free person to do what she chooses.”
Dragonfly can see a change in Samark’s expression as if struck by a lightning bolt of anger. His face turns red. He moves towards Dragonfly who steps hurriedly back and as he does trips and falls onto Grey Water Buffalo. The old soldier pushes Dragonfly forward so vigorously that he slams into Samark, bringing his forehead onto the bridge of the taller man’s nose. Suddenly there is blood. Samark charges at Dragonfly who collapses beneath the weight of the taller man’s body but he manages to get his foot into Samark’s stomach and pushes upwards, sending him over and right into Grey Water Buffalo.
Samark struggles free, springs up and crouches, ready for another attack. His face is covered in blood. Dragonfly is on his feet thinking fast, trying to work out how he can overcome this taller, stronger man.
“Enough!” calls Grey Water Buffalo, placing his solid, wide body between them. “You are not to be admitted to this city. Now go!” he says firmly to Samark. Then, placing his arm on Dragonfly’s shoulder, walks him back through the Main Gate.
“Release the Songbird!” cries Samark, repeating the cry several times, getting the young men around him to join in until they have a loud chant established. Dragonfly hurries deeper into the city with Sniffer and Grey Water Buffalo following.
“What was that all about?” asks Sniffer anxiously.
“A man out there seems to think he owns Songbird and demands to have her back. I had a fight with him, which was a mistake. Now he’s got them all shouting for her to leave the city,” explains Dragonfly.
“That’s not going to happen,” grunts Grey Water Buffalo. “She’s just seen the Master and now has a meeting with the King’s advisers. They want her to inspire the soldiers with her singing. Come on, let’s find food. I could eat a mountain of real rice after all that excitement.”
They go to the Great Dining Hall and sit squeezed between soldiers and officials at long benches to eat rice and vegetable.
Then they must wait for the call to meet the King’s advisers. But no call comes so they spend the rest of the day wandering around getting to know Rice Mountain City.
At night they return to their little stone room to find that Granite is already preparing to sleep. They wash quickly in a bowl of water left out for them. There is a tiny window high above that faces out from the city walls and through it they can hear an occasional cry:
“Release the Songbird!”
“The King’s advisers will think I started all that,” says Dragonfly quietly, voicing a concern that has been tugging at his thoughts all day like a hungry dog with a bone. “They’ll never let me speak to her,” he adds.
“Don’t worry, you’ve still got us,” murmurs Sniffer, preparing to sleep.
Dragonfly gives a weary laugh. “You’re a dear friend, Sniffer, but you’re not as beautiful as her.”
“True,” says Granite thoughtfully. “Very, very true.”
“Silence,” says Sniffer turning to face the wall and pretending to fall asleep immediately.
———————————————————————————————————————————————
SCROLL THIRTY
Songbird and Aunt have slept in a room high in the Royal Palace, their first sleep in comfortable beds for many nights. They wake to distant birdsong and sun slanting through a small window. Om appears, silently bowing, with a tray of freshly brewed tea and sweet cakes. He enquires whether they have slept well and encourages them to eat. Then he says very gently, “Songbird, you are to have an audience with the King very shortly.”
“What?” she cries leaping up. “So soon. I’m not ready. What does he want from me?”
“He just wants to hear you sing again,” explains Om. “But we must make sure you are properly attired and look your best. The robes you wore last evening will do very well.”
“I need my musicians!”
“No. Just you alone. And please stay calm,” says Om quietly. And then he adds, “As calm as a small pond among trees on a still evening.”
Songbird snorts like a stallion but stops herself from saying anything rude.
“Please leave us for a moment. Aunt will help me dress. And she will try to calm me. Won’t you Aunt? Just remember I am to be as calm as a small pond among trees!”
“Yes, dear,“ murmurs Aunt already bustling about with combs, a brush and a bowl of water. Om withdraws and very soon Songbird is ready.
They leave Aunt looking anxious and Om hurries Songbird through a giant antechamber with high ceilings and walls painted with scenes of myth and legend, past two guards and into the Royal Presence. The King sits on a high throne stroking his beard with the same young lady at his feet as the night before. She is draped in the saffron-coloured silks of a follower of the Master and is laughing prettily at something the King has said. Then they turn to Songbird and nod encouragingly. “Sing a song of love,” says the lady. “Just a short one.”
Songbird feels her knees shaking but her voice holds true despite no accompanying musicians and she recalls clearly the words of a simple ballad. It has a lilting tune with a clear rhythm. The King nods but not in time to the music and smiles in an empty way.
Suddenly it is done. As the song ends the young lady at the King’s feet nods a thank you and gestures Songbird to leave. Om is suddenly beside her, taking her back to the antechamber.
“Beautifully sung,” he smiles softly. “I’m sure you’ve convinced the King that your voice will inspire the soldiers.”
“Really?” asks Songbird softly. “I’m not sure the King was listening. His face looked empty. We have an old saying ‘The fire is lit in the hearth but there is nobody at home.’”
Om looks uneasy. “Don’t say anything against the King,” he whispers. “ I think he is more clever than he appears. And it’s important in these troubled times not to judge others. We must keep focussed on ourselves. I will teach you meditation which will draw you into yourself, bringing steadiness of spirit, a confident heart and a kindly disposition.”
“That is what I want!” cries Songbird. “That is why I have travelled so far and endured such hardship. I didn’t come seeking attention or fame.”
“I understand,” replies Om. “But you have a destiny. I must help you find the strength and steadiness to meet that destiny. I must keep you safe.”
They stand still for a moment at the centre of this high-ceilinged antechamber, two saffron-clothed figures, a tall elegant girl with fair skin and a short, elderly monk with a large, hairless head. She looks into his steady face and senses kindliness. He bows for a moment and she wants to reach out and touch the top of his head which looks polished and brown, smooth and full of wisdom. But the moment has gone.
“The next test is coming now,” Om says quietly. A young man has emerged at the other end of the antechamber. “He is the King’s closest adviser. He is very clever. Be careful. Please.”
The young man approaches quickly. He is tall and thin but takes little steps. His robes are entirely white and as he gets closer it is clear that his hair is tied up on the top of his head beneath a small white cloth. His body and arms move constantly and he seems to float towards them on a light breeze.
“Greetings, greetings, greetings,” he cries in a high, enthusiastic voice. “It is an honour to meet the beautiful Scarlet Songbird,” and he sweeps a low bow. “Thank you, Om. We’ll call when we need you,” he says with another extravagant wave of his arm. Om bows and walks away.
“I am the King’s Chief Adviser, known – affectionately I hope – as The Laughing Ghost. But I am from noble birth so you may address me as ‘Your Excellency’.” He smiles.
Songbird bows and murmurs “Your Excellency”, trying to sound respectful while wondering about the sour taste in her mouth. When she looks up again he steps closer and she can see that he has white face powder and black eyebrows drawn in high arches above his eyes making him look constantly surprised.
“It is my responsibility to know everything that the King needs to know. He makes the decisions. I question nothing. Complete loyalty is my guiding philosophy,” explains The Ghost, speaking very quickly and waving his arms in emphasis.
“So tell me,” he asks suddenly, “who is your father?”
Songbird feels her cheeks flush red. “I really don’t know,” she replies after a pause.
The Ghost laughs. “Of course you know. You just don’t want to tell me. Then don’t. And don’t lie to me. I will know everything eventually.”
He smiles. “I have friends who tell me things. And I watch, I observe. For example…” he leads Songbird across the antechamber to a window with a view of the walls and city courtyards below.
“I can see the Main Gate clearly from here. I saw you enter yesterday with your escort of monks and your Aunt. Who was the young man you signalled to as you came in?”
Songbird feels blood rush to her cheeks again. “Oh yes, he was the young man who helped me by singing when the musician’s string broke. At the dinner last night…” she explains, trying to sound as if this was an incident she could only just remember.
“Of course, that was it! Now I understand. But it seems strange that you were signalling him to be silent. Oh well, no matter. Let us discuss something different,” says The Ghost. “Do you know what is happening, what all this is about?” he asks waving his arms in the general direction of the King’s Chamber.
Songbird shakes her head in genuine bewilderment.
“I know, it all seems as mad as a pig with a monkey on its back. But it’s quite simple. Here are things you need to know,” and he begins to count items off on his fingers:
“First, the Emperor expects complete loyalty from the Four Kingdoms of the Empire. Second, the Master of the Cleansing Fire has convinced King Longbeard that Ancestor Worship locks his Kingdom into service to the Emperor. So Ancestor Worship is regarded as old-fashioned and meditation is encouraged here in the South. Is that clear so far?” asks The Ghost. Songbird nods.
“Third” he continues, “the Emperor is furious at what he sees as the disobedience of King Longbeard and has stopped all irrigation water flowing to our fields. And so, Fourth, we are to march on the Imperial Capital demanding that water be restored and meditation be permitted.”
Songbird nods her head wondering what all this has to do with her.
The Ghost continues, wagging his finger like a strict teacher, “And Fifth, the Emperor’s exiled Chief Counsellor, Lord See, has broken from exile to convince the People of the Book to march on the capital and mediate a peace.”
Songbird feels like a child faced with an examination, having so much to remember.
“Why are you telling me all this?” she asks.
“Because you must help inspire the soldiers who are to march north, risking their lives, offering to sacrifice everything. You are to be like a good luck charm that a soldier holds close to his chest for comfort and courage,” replies The Ghost. “ I want you to understand the important part you have to ply. And, finally, you must keep what I have told you a secret. I added some detail for you alone. If I hear it repeated I will know that you have been gossiping. Question nothing. Complete loyalty. Silence is the golden gift. You understand?”
“I understand, your Excellency,” says Songbird bowing.
“Good. Soon we will discuss how you are to appear before the soldiers and what you are to sing. For now, return to Om who will teach you meditation and obedience.” The Ghost turns and in a few moments has shimmered away.
Songbird looks around eagerly for Om who creeps from a corner of the great antechamber, holding a finger to his lips. Songbird needs no such warning. The Ghost seems to her more like a snake than a ghost.
Om leads her back to their rooms where Aunt starts clucking like a hen with questions.” Yes, I sang before the King,” replies Songbird with a smile of excitement. “And then I saw The Ghost,” she pulls a long face.
“You saw a ghost,” cries Aunt in alarm. “I knew we should continue to burn offerings in the temple. Our ancestors must be furious!”
“No Aunt. Not ‘A’ ghost. ‘The’ Ghost, adviser to the King.” And then she whispers, “I think he is dangerous. More like a snake than a ghost. He says I am to accompany the army northwards when it marches on the Imperial Capital. I am to inspire the soldiers.”
“And then what?” asks Aunt.
“Who knows?” cries Songbird swinging her arms high and almost dancing with excitement. “A great tide is sweeping us along. We have no choice but to be swept. If we fight against it we may drown.”
“Yes,” agrees Om quietly. “We must march northwards with the Saffron Army and the Royal Army of the South. Together we can persuade the Emperor to be reasonable.”
“And if we fail to persuade him?” quavers Aunt.
“We shall pay the highest price,” replies Songbird kneeling and laying her head on the bed playfully preparing her neck to be severed by a mighty sword.
”Songbird! Don’t joke about it. You will be in open rebellion against our ancient Empire,” whispers Aunt in a fierce hiss. “Death will be the penalty!”
__________________________________________________________________________-
SCROLL THIRTY-ONE
The three companions are woken early by the puffing and grunts of Water Buffalo as he heaves himself up the stairs and through the small door to their little room.
“The King’s advisers will call you soon. You need to look your best so get your uniforms on. Your Eastern Army ones. They want to hear about what happened at Blue Lake City.”
Dragonfly jumps from his bed, Granite stands slowly and Sniffer rolls over groaning, “need more sleep.” Then he sees that Buffalo has brought a tray of freshly cooked dumplings and manages to stand up.
Soon they are dressed and being led towards the King’s Palace. Their uniforms are faded and crumpled but they have worked hard to look their best. They enter through huge iron gates guarded by soldiers of the Royal Army of the South, along a stone walled passage and out into a Grand Courtyard decorated with large statues of dragons and lions, and shaded by two giant trees spreading long green limbs of deep shade. On three sides are high stone buildings with brightly coloured window shutters. On the fourth side is the white flank of Marble Mountain towering into the sky, almost blank except for a red door which Water Buffalo leads them towards.
Dragonfly feels a cold shudder pass down his spine when when he realises that they are about to walk into the mountain itself. Suddenly the colours and shadows and bright light of the courtyard are gone and they seem to be surrounded by white as they ascend steps winding upwards. The stairs are carved into the solid marble and as they circle upwards the marble walls are so thin in places that the outside sunlight causes them to glow. Water Buffalo is puffing like volcano but manages to keep ahead of them until suddenly they enter a large room of even whiter marble glowing magically.
“I think I’m going blind!” cries Sniffer rubbing his eyes.
The room is about thirty paces long and wide, and almost as high. It is made entirely of white marble including the floor. Five men sit on chairs against the far wall which glows behind them making it difficult for Dragonfly to see their faces or the details of their clothing.
The man in the centre rises quickly and comes towards them in a flutter of white robes, waving his arms, “Welcome, welcome, welcome, brave soldiers of the Eastern Army.”
Dragonfly hears Sniffer give a snort of supressed laughter. Certainly the first impression of this man is ridiculous, but there is also something frighteningly sinister about him. As he draws near it is clear that his face is powdered white and painted eyebrows arch to his forehead making him look permanently surprised. His white robes seem to float in this softly lit, very white room
“I am called the White Ghost, Senior Adviser to the king of the South. You must address me as ‘Your Excellency’,” he explains in a high-pitched voice, half laughter, half serious.
Granite and Dragonfly bow respectfully in recognition of this Senior Adviser to the King. Sniffer just stares.
“I am the King’s listener. He wants to know everything,” says the White Ghost waving his arms in the air as if to demonstrate that the King is interested in the whole of existence. “ He has asked me to find out how an army of the Great Khan’s Horseman disappeared in a giant flame in the Citadel at Blue Lake City. You have travelled from there. Tell me what you know. How did the Eastern Army achieve such a thing?”
“I am Captain Granite and should know more. But I was a captive of the Khan’s horsemen in the hills behind Blue Lake City. My companions came to save me.” Granite turns to his companions.
Dragonfly then speaks of joining the Royal Army of the East, of the fierce attack and retreat into the Citadel.
“What did you see in the Citadel that might cause such a fire?” asks the White Ghost, very softly, his eyes narrowing.
“Blue Lake City is famous for the fireworks they display on special occasions,” explains Dragonfly his voice quavering. He cannot think why he feels so frightened of this strange man. “The firework store is in the Citadel at Blue Lake City. We had escaped the Citadel to release Granite so we were looking down from the hills. The firework store must have been hit by one of the arrows of flame used by the Horsemen as they burst into the Citadel.”
The White Ghost throws back his head, laughing and clapping his hands. “Just like that?! Boom! And they’re all gone.” He stops suddenly and puts his face very close to Dragonfly’s. “You think I can believe that? You think I am a fool? How can they make such a fire?”
Dragonfly feels his stomach clenching. “They told me there is a black powder they dig from the hills to the south of the Blue Lake. They soak the powder in cows’ urine under the sun. After the urine has evaporated the powder becomes dangerous. They put a little bit in a bamboo tube and that makes a firework.”
“But you have never seen them do this?” asks the White Ghost, sounding doubtful. “It is hard to believe.” He stares at Dragonfly and raises his eyebrows even higher.
“I come from further north,” explains Dragonfly. “They would not trust outsiders with the skill to make fireworks.”
“I know,” says the Ghost suddenly smiling. “You were banished from a fishing village.” And the he adds after a long pause and in a rather grand tone of voice ”If you serve me well, I will help you return home.”
Dragonfly bows in recognition of this promised favour.
“But first,” continues the White Ghost, “You must all serve in the Royal Army of the South. We have a task to perform. We must march north to make demands of the Emperor. Captain Granite will command a company.”
Granite bows.
“And you two,” says the White Ghost, waving his arm and the layers of white material draped over it, “You two will serve among the soldiers but I will call on you from time to time. Your loyalty is to me, and through me to King Longbeard. Do you understand?”
Dragonfly and Sniffer bow their heads to signal their complete acceptance of this instruction.
“You will receive an introduction to the Master of the Cleansing Fire, a single meeting at which he will introduce you to the Power of the Cleansing Fire.” The White Ghost turns away suddenly and calls, “Buffalo!” who comes quickly from the door where he has been waiting.
“Get these men the best uniforms of the Southern Army you can find. The full set: swords, helmets, tunics. Captain Granite will command a company and these other two can serve with him. Let them appear before the Master at first light tomorrow.” And then with a wave of his arms he dismisses them.
They walk from the soft white, magical, glow of the marble room down the winding staircase and out into the mixture of sharp sunlight, deep shade and colourful window shutters in the Palace Grand Courtyard. Water Buffalo strides ahead.
“That weird man knows everything!” exclaims Sniffer in a loud whisper. “So why did he ask us about how to make the explosive powder? I guess he knows already.”
“He’s the kind of man who checks and re-checks,” growls Granite softly. “His duty is to be suspicious. He’s testing our truthfulness and loyalty as well as checking what he knows about the black powder.”
“And that does sound odd,” giggles Sniffer. “Cows’ piss!”
Dragonfly has stopped listening. He has seen a small face peeping from behind one of the colourful shutters high above. “ I think that’s her!” he smiles and stops.
Granite grabs him round the shoulders. “Keep moving. Keep your head down,” he says urgently. “The Ghost is watching.”
“How do you know?” complains Dragonfly, angry at being forced to move on.
“You can be sure that’s the way he is. Always testing, always watching. He’s playing with us like a big white cat with three small mice.”
Granite speaks softly but they have caught up with Water Buffalo who has heard this last remark. “You’re right,” he murmurs. “Be very, very careful in your dealings with the White Ghost. I can’t say any more about this. You will have to work this out for yourselves.” He turns and leads them through the gate and into the busy street beyond, saying loudly over his shoulder, “You deserve a good breakfast. Rice. Dumplings. Eggs. Sweet tea!”
“Yes!” cries Sniffer, “My stomach is following you.”
ENDS
The Cleansing Fire 
This is great! I like the expression “donkey dung.”
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Thanks Henry!
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