We spent two weeks in Alsabi, first waiting for the snow to clear and fit the rest of the caravan to arrive, and then waiting for new horses and equipment to replace that lost in the bandits' attack.
When we finally set out, we were down to one wagon and the carriage, with a mere dozen mounted men. The next leg of the trip was less eventful. We'd lost our chance to cross the Borga pass, which was too risky in the weather, and instead headed northeast, taking the longer road to the Britok Pass, and then commenced the long march across the Rousian plateau to Moscar.
Compared to the first leg of the journey, the last part was much less eventful. I spent the days walking alongside the carriage and the nights standing guard and chatting with Effie and the girls. Effie evidently satisfied her curiosity about my body, and the conversation was mostly about her impending marriage to the heir to the throne of Rousia. I say mostly, because while Effie had lots to say about all sorts of things, neither girls nor I offered much in the way of intelligent conversation about world politics or even Rousian customs compared to Alcatian ones.
Moscar, while small in comparison to Alcatia, was still an impressive city, which stretched out far past the central royal castle. I accompanied Effie and the girls into the castle,but the guards took one look at me and my sword and told me to wait in the courtyard with the captain and the rest of the soldiers. I started to protest, but the Captain told me to stand down. Our job was done.
We spent a couple of days enjoying Rousian hospitality, which I found for a common soldier to be fairly unappealing. While Moscar itself was relatively warm compared to the countryside, it was still fairly cold and damp, and the nightlife left a great deal to be desired as far as I was concerned. All hands in the Castle were preparing virtually non-stop for the wedding, so we headed into the city and unwinded with a little feast of our own at a local tavern. The food was strange and unappealing, and the only liquor to be had was some clear spirit which I found completely tasteless. At least the tavern girls reminded me a little of home, though, with their fair skin and light colored hair.
I'd gotten to know both the captain and his men some on the journey, and while they were still a little put off by me, they were good lads and I was actually looking forward to the trip back home with them when Panda and a Rousian soldier came to our barracks. She was dressed in Rousian fashion, with a long dress and shawl, and she smiled at the soldiers before coming to me.
We spent a couple of days enjoying Rousian hospitality, which I found for a common soldier to be fairly unappealing. While Moscar itself was relatively warm compared to the countryside, it was still fairly cold and damp, and the nightlife left a great deal to be desired as far as I was concerned. All hands in the Castle were preparing virtually non-stop for the wedding, so we headed into the city and unwinded with a little feast of our own at a local tavern. The food was strange and unappealing, and the only liquor to be had was some clear spirit which I found completely tasteless. At least the tavern girls reminded me a little of home, though, with their fair skin and light colored hair.
I'd gotten to know both the captain and his men some on the journey, and while they were still a little put off by me, they were good lads and I was actually looking forward to the trip back home with them when Panda and a Rousian soldier came to our barracks. She was dressed in Rousian fashion, with a long dress and shawl, and she smiled at the soldiers before coming to me.
"Effie wants you to stay for the wedding. Isn't that wonderful?"
I ran it by the captain, who, in turn, checked with the Alcatian Ambassador, and in the end, I had the privilege of seeing Effie wed the Prince of Rousia. I won't bore you with all the details, but it was exciting, with a great deal of pageantry, and I was even treated as sorry of a minor Alcatian dignitary and got to meet the future King. It was a spectacular affair in all sorts of ways, yet, in retrospect, the most significant thing about it was just meeting one of the other guest.
When they introduced the Kargellian ambassador, there was a hush in the room as a solitary man wearing a dark cloak stepped forward. He pulled back his cloak as he approached the Royal family, and bowed his head politely to the King, but when he turned away and looked out at the crowd, there was a barely audible gasp. The man appeared to be in his fifties, with greying black hair, brilliant blue eyes and a hawk faced shape to his face. He didn't say or do anything, but one of the women he looked at nearly fainted and men's hands went to their belts for their swords, whether they were wearing them or not.
Even I felt it when the man stopped and took a step towards me, his lips curling back into something in between a sneer and a smile. As he stepped up to me, my palms got sweaty, my heart started pumping more quickly, and, most oddly, I felt a flush spread over my whole body. It only took a few moments, but it seemed like much longer.
Some of the ballads says I'm immune to the spell of the Karga, and certainly, over time I learned not to quiver in my boots or spread my legs on the sight of them, but I can assure you, my body still reacts to them even now. Its true that I've stood toe to toe with Karga, and as I'll tell you later, I've bested some of them in combat. But I can promise you, its never been easy. Then, it being the first time I'd been in their presence, I assure you, I definitely felt the impact of the man's presence.
Thank the gods, most of my readers have never experienced being in the presence of a pure bred Karga, so I suppose now is as good a time as any to give you my thoughts on what its like. Kargellians claim their nobles are divine, just as some Alcatian sources believe they're the spawn of demons, and there's likely something to both of those theories, but overall, the feeling I get from them is not so much that they're supernatural as superhuman.
From later experience, I can tell you, the Karga are faster and stronger than normal humans, and in most ways, probably smarter as well. They certainly think more quickly and have more acute senses. And those senses let them know the effect they have on humans. A human in the presence of a Karga is, in many ways, like a puppy in the presence of a full grown wolf, or perhaps a sheep, depending on the circumstance. Either way, its impossible to escape the feeling that the Karga is more than you are. You just know it, and the worst part is that you know he or she knows you know it. When a Karga speaks, his words burn in your brain, telling you to obey, even as a part of you wants to run. For me, as for many, its not impossible to resist what they call their "natural mastery," but its not something you can actually ignore.
When they introduced the Kargellian ambassador, there was a hush in the room as a solitary man wearing a dark cloak stepped forward. He pulled back his cloak as he approached the Royal family, and bowed his head politely to the King, but when he turned away and looked out at the crowd, there was a barely audible gasp. The man appeared to be in his fifties, with greying black hair, brilliant blue eyes and a hawk faced shape to his face. He didn't say or do anything, but one of the women he looked at nearly fainted and men's hands went to their belts for their swords, whether they were wearing them or not.
Even I felt it when the man stopped and took a step towards me, his lips curling back into something in between a sneer and a smile. As he stepped up to me, my palms got sweaty, my heart started pumping more quickly, and, most oddly, I felt a flush spread over my whole body. It only took a few moments, but it seemed like much longer.
Some of the ballads says I'm immune to the spell of the Karga, and certainly, over time I learned not to quiver in my boots or spread my legs on the sight of them, but I can assure you, my body still reacts to them even now. Its true that I've stood toe to toe with Karga, and as I'll tell you later, I've bested some of them in combat. But I can promise you, its never been easy. Then, it being the first time I'd been in their presence, I assure you, I definitely felt the impact of the man's presence.
Thank the gods, most of my readers have never experienced being in the presence of a pure bred Karga, so I suppose now is as good a time as any to give you my thoughts on what its like. Kargellians claim their nobles are divine, just as some Alcatian sources believe they're the spawn of demons, and there's likely something to both of those theories, but overall, the feeling I get from them is not so much that they're supernatural as superhuman.
From later experience, I can tell you, the Karga are faster and stronger than normal humans, and in most ways, probably smarter as well. They certainly think more quickly and have more acute senses. And those senses let them know the effect they have on humans. A human in the presence of a Karga is, in many ways, like a puppy in the presence of a full grown wolf, or perhaps a sheep, depending on the circumstance. Either way, its impossible to escape the feeling that the Karga is more than you are. You just know it, and the worst part is that you know he or she knows you know it. When a Karga speaks, his words burn in your brain, telling you to obey, even as a part of you wants to run. For me, as for many, its not impossible to resist what they call their "natural mastery," but its not something you can actually ignore.
My first experience with the "supreme race" was truthfully not that impressive. I was quite young and at the time surrounded by nobles, my elders and my "betters." He only looked at me for a few moments , so I've no idea what I would have done if he'd given me a command or spoken to me. Still, that old man stood apart from them all.
After the wedding, I was on my own to travel back to Alcatia since the captain and his men departed earlier. The Alcatian Ambassador gave me directions, this time over the Borga pass, and Effie even gave me a mare, courtesy of her new husband.. Although Snowflake and I had a rocky beginning, after she got used to my weight and my behind got used to her saddle, we actually got along fairly well, both being females of few words with large haunches and healthy appetites. We had our differences, to be sure, but for the most part, I feel like I made another friend, my first with hoofs and four legs.
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