Guardian of Heaven and Earth
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Kanbal
Part 4 - The Crown Prince's Pride
Chapter 3 - Hoi
When the meeting of the King’s Spears convened in the presence of King Radalle, he felt like his worst fears were coming to pass. Several of the Kings’ Spears had gone to Kahm Musa’s castle the previous night to ask after their friend’s health. The meeting today had been called to directly address the attack and fire that had happened at Kahm’s castle.
Radalle stood still in front of the doors of the meeting hall. He took a deep breath to steady himself, then walked into the meeting chamber. There were two armed guards on the other side of the door, one standing to each side of the doorframe. They announced the arrival of the king with a fanfare played on flutes.
The King’s Spears were chosen from Kanbal’s nine clans. All of them were present in the hall, along with Radalle’s two uncles and their sons. Those who were sitting stood up when Radalle entered. The King’s Spears lifted their weapons heavenward, then slammed the butt of their spears onto the stone floor. The resounding echo of impact resonated through the hall.
Radalle approached the chair set aside for the King of Kanbal. He didn’t look any of the King’s Spears or his family members in the eye. When Radalle sat down, the chair was so thick and large that he felt like it was swallowing him up. He took a moment to compose himself, then looked up.
“You may be seated,” Radalle said.
The King’s Spears, Radalle’s uncles and their sons all took their assigned seats. Only Kahm Musa remained standing. Radalle was startled not to see him take his seat. Kahm’s left arm was severely wounded, so he found it difficult to hold his spear. There was a black band tied around the shaft of his weapon, as was customary when the Spears were mourning a fallen or injured comrade.
The oldest of all of the King’s Spears, Hagu Muro, got to his feet and bowed to Radalle. “I open this meeting of the King’s Spears in the name of King Radalle, who has been blessed by the benevolence of Yoram, God of Thunder. We have requested this meeting because of our failures regarding one of our own number, Kahm Musa. To be more precise, we are here to judge the failings of Kahm Musa himself.”
“Kahm Musa’s failings?” King Radalle asked. His uncles and nephews glanced at him and at one another. None of the King’s Spears appeared surprised at Hagu Muro’s announcement, but King Radalle’s relatives were surprised. If Kahm Musa’s faults were deemed grave enough, he would have to be dismissed and replaced.
“Speak, Kahm Musa,” King Radalle said. “Explain yourself.”
Kahm got to his knees on the floor, then placed his spear out in front of him. He bowed his head. “Your Majesty, I admit that I have made a grave error. I believed that our nation was in grave danger, so I acted swiftly to protect it. I ask you to hear what I have done, and my reasons for it, and then pass judgment. I believe that once you know everything, you will be able to guide us all in the right direction.”
Kahm raised his head. His face was pale and drained of blood. When he spoke, his voice trembled, but he became steadier and more sure of himself as time went on. His voice was clearly audible to everyone in the hall. He started by explaining how he’d acquired so much information about the civil war in Rota, and how he’d intended to use that information to protect Kanbal from invasion. He told the assembled Spears and officials that he’d met Crown Prince Chagum of New Yogo and about the attack on his person and his castle afterward. Kahm was not a very eloquent speaker, so the picture he painted of events was a bit unclear in places, but Radalle had no doubt that he was telling the truth.
Kahm said that he’d received another visit from Balsa the previous night. She had relayed a message to him from Crown Prince Chagum. Kahm took a breath, then faced King Radalle squarely. “I am certain that you already understand my errors in conduct, Your Majesty, but I believe it is important to state them plainly. I believed everything I was told by the clan lords of southern Rota. They told me that they had an army on the upper Sangal peninsula, ready to support us in case we needed aid against invasion.
“But that was a lie. The army doesn’t take orders from the Talsh Prince Hazar, who is allied with the southern clan lords. It takes its orders from Second Prince Raul. The brothers are locked in conflict over who will gain the right to conquer all of the nations on the northern continent. Looking at the placement of the army, it seems that Prince Raul will conquer New Yogo first, bolster the army of the northern lords in Rota, then combine his army with those of his allies and wage war on us. Prince Raul hasn’t stated this in so many words, but I believe that this strategy is very possible.”
The stoic expressions on the faces of the King’s Spears started to crack. King Radalle’s uncles and nephews whispered to one another and exchanged glances of alarm.
Kahm spoke louder so that his voice drowned out the whispers. “Your Majesty, I wanted only to back the winning horse in this conflict, to ensure that Kanbal would be safe. But I acted on bad information. There is no benefit for Kanbal in joining with Talsh. They will try to use our neutrality or meager resources to crush Rota more easily before turning their eyes to us.”
The whispering in the hall became louder.
Radalle’s face was colorless. Kahm struck the butt of his spear against the floor and restored silence. Everyone faced King Radalle. Radalle took a moment to compose himself, then said, “I understand the situation as you’ve laid it out so far, but what do you want us to do now? The southern lords of Rota have made their choice. Any alliance we might have had with Rota to help protect us would have been with the southern lords, anyway, and not the King of Rota. He’s never proposed an alliance with us.”
“But he has proposed an alliance, Your Majesty,” Kahm said quietly.
King Radalle’s eyes widened. “What?”
Kahm’s voice was shaking again when he said, “We’ve received a messenger from the King of Rota. Would you like to read it, Your Majesty?”
The whispers started up again.
“Wait...wait a moment,” Radalle said. “Perhaps it’s best if this part of the conversation takes place more privately.” He sank back in his seat like he was trying to disappear inside it.
Hearing Radalle’s indecisiveness, Hagu Moru stood up and said, “I think it would be better to invite the messenger from Rota here before us all, Your Majesty. You will have to make a decision based on this information, and we are all your closest advisors. There may be motives and meanings in the message that we should all interpret together.”
Several other King’s Spears nodded in assent. Others added their voices to Hagu Moru’s.
Radalle sat up in his seat and said, “I will do as you advise. Have the Rotan messenger brought in.”
Hagu Moru crossed the room and opened the door to the meeting chamber. The King’s Spears and councilors had no idea who to expect, so when they caught sight of the messenger, they rose to their feet and caused an uproar.
The messenger himself was a young man from New Yogo who attracted little notice, but all of the King’s Spears recognized Balsa as a spear wielder who had performed the Spear Dance at the Giving Ceremony of Luisha in the Mountain King’s Hall. It took some time to recognize that Crown Prince Chagum was actually the messenger.
***
When Chagum was led before the King of Kanbal, he bowed his head slightly in greeting, then said in Kanbalese, “I am glad that we could meet again, King Radalle. It seems like such a long time since we last greeted one another in Sangal.”
Radalle said nothing in reply. He recognized Crown Prince Chagum’s face easily, but there was no trace of the boy he had met several years ago in his expression or his movements. There was a long scar on along the side of his face, extending from his forehead all the way down his cheek. He was also severely sunburned from his long journey.
Radalle stared straight at Chagum and didn’t look away. He rested his chin in his hand. “I’m happy to see you again as well, Crown Prince Chagum.” He meant these words sincerely. His voice was calm; he felt some of his own tension draining out of him as he spoke. “We heard you had died at sea. I was glad when Kahm told me you survived.”
Chagum smiled. “Thank you, Your Majesty. I never intended to do anything so reckless as that, but countless lives are depending on me. That’s why I’m here.”
Chagum’s smile vanished as he removed a rolled-up tube of parchment from his breast pocket. “King Radalle, I am here as a representative of the kingdom of Rota. King Yosam is currently too ill to perform his duties, so his younger brother, Prince Ihan, is ruling in his stead. May I read out Prince Ihan’s message here?”
Radalle nodded.
“You may. Listen carefully, everyone.”
Chagum unfurled the scroll and read in a loud, clear voice: “In the name of the King of Rota, and possessing his full legal authority, I, Prince Ihan, swear that I will accept any proposed alliance with the King of Kanbal that is negotiated by Crown Prince Chagum of New Yogo.
“Crown Prince Chagum has my full understanding and support. His land is being overrun by the Talsh empire. Rota and Kanbal uniting in alliance is the best way for both countries to avoid the same fate. We are the rulers and leading diplomats of the northern continent; it wouldn’t be fitting for us to give in to invaders without a fight.
“I consider the King of Kanbal to be an honorable man who is more courageous than he believes. He will always make the right decision for his people.”
Chagum rolled up the scroll. It was so silent in the hall that Chagum could hear water dripping somewhere. He looked up at Radalle, who was seated above him on a low platform.
“King Radalle, please agree to form an alliance with the King of Rota,” Chagum said. “If you do, you’ll obliterate the Talsh empire’s invasion plan for the continent. I’ve seen southern Rota with my own eyes. If you capitulate to Talsh, you’ll be a ruler in name only; they subjugate every land they take swiftly and efficiently. Your people would be recruited as Talsh soldiers; those who remained would suffer from high taxes. Within months of capitulating, there were new fortresses built on Sangal peninsula and the Sangal navy was completely absorbed into the Talsh one. I saw the Sangalese sailors doing drills with Talsh soldiers when I was taken captive.” Chagum spoke without taking a breath; the whole room started to spin.
Chagum faced Radalle and said, “The fate of the northern continent depends on Kanbal. You can help end the civil war in Rota faster and prevent more needless deaths. Let us join our hands together in alliance and brace against the advancing wave.”
Radalle stared silently at Chagum.
“With Rota at peace, we’ll be able to add their armies to Kanbal’s and northern Rota’s. Agreeing to this alliance helps all our nations. Please!”
Radalle glanced around at the King’s Spears and his councilors. Radalle’s cousin, Aron, was seated to his right-hand side. Aron leaned forward in his chair and said, “There are too many unknowns. We know for sure that Rota is at war with itself. Rushing to their aid would deplete our own resources without any guarantee of gain.”
Chagum’s eyebrows shot up. Radalle looked at him with a bitter expression. “There is no guarantee that we would win against the Talsh even if we allied with southern Rota, which has the greater army and the most resources. Allying with the northern Rota is even more dubious.”
The King’s Spears nodded in agreement at Radalle’s words.
Radalle was torn. Kahm and Chagum did seem to have new information, but from what Radalle understood of the situation, his cousin Aron seemed to have the right of it. It was clear that Kanbal should protect its own interests and not get involved with Rota’s messy state of affairs, but the situation wasn’t that simple. The muscles of Radalle’s chest felt tight as he pondered his decision. He had received a magnificent necklace from the Talsh ambassador that his wife dearly cherished. If he went back on his word with the Talsh now, he would be sneered at and ridiculed for wasting so much time and making such a mistake.
Radalle’s heart beat faster. His mind went completely blank with panic. All of his councilors and the King’s Spears looked at him with expressions of trepidation.
Chagum looked into Radalle’s eyes. He was clearly at a loss for what he should do. Chagum remembered what Hagu Muro had told him while staying in his home the previous night: “King Radalle is kind-hearted by nature, but it takes time for him to make a decision. The King’s Spears are all inflexibly loyal to him, as he is to us. We must abide by his decision, whatever it happens to be.”
Chagum felt like he’d been frozen to the floor. He remembered his journey here and everything that had happened so that he could reach this place at this moment. He had fled from Prince Raul of Talsh and swum across the dark sea. He remembered how hopeless he’d felt then. He wanted so desperately to save his people, and all the people of the northern continent.
So many people had made sacrifices to get him here. So many sailors in New Yogo’s navy were dead now. The Talsh army would land on the Nayoro peninsula and march on his home. He could see it all happening clearly before his eyes. It would all happen, if King Radalle made the wrong choice.
As he looked into Radalle’s watery and indecisive eyes, he felt the stirrings of a cold rage. King Radalle had always been an isolationist monarch who put the needs of his people and his own personal needs first. As time dragged on and King Radalle still didn’t make a decision, Chagum’s rage commingled with irritation. His vision went white and he shook all over.
He wanted to yank King Radalle forward by the collar and force him to listen. He wanted to shout at the top of his lungs that agreeing to the alliance would save untold thousands of lives.
“Your Majesty,” Aron said from Radalle’s right-hand side. “This may be presumptuous of me, but upon further consideration, I do think that we should accept the alliance. Everyone here is in agreement.”
Radalle frowned. Aron had only just argued for opposing the alliance--had the other councilors changed his mind in whispers? He looked at Crown Prince Chagum and saw the rage plainly on his face.
Sharp cold shot through Chagum’s entire body. He saw that Radalle was still undecided. He felt like he was facing down an ice wall. All he needed to do was find a crack.
“King Radalle!” Chagum called out in a bright, high voice. “The Princes of New Yogo are the children of Ten no Kami, King of the Heavens. They never kneel to anyone, and yet...”
Radalle was surprised. The look he gave Chagum was completely uncomprehending.
“I will kneel before you now,” Chagum said. His voice shook and so did his hands.
Several men in the chamber gasped as Chagum got to his knees and brought his head all the way to the floor directly in front of King Radalle. “King Radalle, I am bowing down before you as the son of a god to beg you. Make the courageous decision and save your people--and mine."
Chagum broke out into a cold sweat. He was shaking uncontrollably and couldn’t stop.
“I will...” Radalle said hoarsely. “I will agree to the alliance.”
Chagum lifted his head a bare inch from the floor. Radalle was looking at him as if he was the strangest person he’d ever seen.
“I agree, so please raise your head and stand up,” Radalle said. “I’ll send a messenger to Rota right away.”
Chagum’s ears were ringing. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He looked up at Radalle and didn’t say a word. Having accomplished his task, Chagum felt so utterly exhausted that he didn’t think he could stand.
After the alliance was sealed, King Radalle pronounced his judgment on Kahm Musa.
Withholding information and acting without the King Radalle’s knowledge or consent were grave offenses. But he had also brought forward critical new information regarding Rota that led directly to the alliance. His loyalty to the king himself had never been questioned, and his military might would be needed in a campaign against a foreign nation, so King Radalle decided that Kahm’s offenses would be forgiven if he returned from war victorious.
The meeting of the King’s Spears and councilors turned into a war council. Chagum told King Radalle and the assembled officials everything he knew about the Talsh army: its numbers, composition, naval technology and everything else he’d seen. Kanbal’s own army amounted to roughly fifteen thousand cavalry.
King Radalle gave the order for all Talsh emissaries in the palace to be arrested and detained, but when his guards went to their guest rooms, they were already gone.
***
Chagum went out onto a veranda in the palace garden after eating lunch. He had achieved his goal, but he didn’t feel happy or relieved. He had humbled himself before King Radalle and felt nothing but a profound sense of shame.
Chagum thought that he’d thrown away his pride as the Crown Prince of New Yogo when he’d rejected the title and thrown himself overboard near the coast of Rota, but it seemed that this was not the case. He had been raised as the child of Ten no Kami, God of the Heavens; that wasn’t something that was easy to forget. Going on his knees before King Radalle was an insult to both his pride and his person. He felt his face go hot whenever he remembered it.
The clouds were gold-red in the sky as the sun started sinking toward the horizon. Balsa heard footsteps behind her and turned around.
“You really surprised me,” Balsa said. “I thought you were going to yell at the king for a minute there. I never thought you’d actually kneel to him.”
Chagum looked away from her.
The sun peeked out from behind the clouds. Balsa glanced over at Chagum and said quietly, “That was a brilliant example of ‘hoi,’ don’t you think?”
Chagum looked at Balsa in confusion for a moment, but then he nodded in comprehension. There were times when sacrificing just one thing made the difference in saving everything else. Chagum’s fearful and puzzled expression transformed as he offered her a tentative smile.
Balsa smiled back at him.
I thought Chagum was going to strangle the King of Kanbal. Is this the angriest we've seen our wise prince?
ReplyDeleteClose! I think he was a bit angrier during Blue Road when he faced down the Mikado, though this definitely seems to be a callback to that scene, since Chagum spoke truth to power there, too. In this scene, he's shedding the idea of the Mikado being a god, which is a big deal; it goes against everything he believes in. I'm glad it pays off. :)
DeleteEdmund, you need to take down your account. You've lost the right to read this story. After what you did, you don't have the right to come within 50 miles of any of us. You're a disgrace to the Moribito community and to humanity itself. Get some therapy and get off the internet. Don't make me tell you again.
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