Speaking Bones, page 87
Finally, as Cutanrovo’s movements slowed, and her limbs fell to the ground, limp, Goztan stepped forward and gently touched Tanvanaki on the shoulder. “Votan, let go. Too many of us have already died.”
For a long while, it seemed as if Tanvanaki would ignore Goztan. But abruptly, she let go and stood up. The older woman gasped and coughed as air, long denied, finally returned to her lungs.
“You are the most dangerous kind of fool,” said Tanvanaki as she stepped away from Cutanrovo’s curled-up form, “the kind that believes her own lies. You thought you were doing the best for the Lyucu in Ukyu-taasa, and for that reason alone I am sparing you—”
She stopped as self-loathing overwhelmed her.
Have you really looked at the world outside the Great Tent?
Timu’s words felt like a slap to the face. She herself was the most dangerous kind of fool; she thought she was doing the best for the Lyucu; she had believed her own lies. While Cutanrovo made a mess of things, she had been paralyzed by fear and hope, instead of doing the only thing worth doing: confronting reality.
Cutanrovo panted as she lay on the ground, recovering.
Tanvanaki turned to Goztan. “If there is a general rebellion, how long can we last?”
“We have nominally less than half of our fighting strength, due to the tolyusa-madness,” said Goztan. “But in reality, it’s much worse since most of the thanes and naros-votan have been afflicted, and there is much fear among the remaining warriors that the gods are displeased with us.”
“And the native garrisons?”
“They are hated as much by the common people as we are, so for now they remain obedient. But once our plans for the slaughter-engines are revealed and a general rebellion is sparked, I suspect many of them will turn to fight for the rebels in order to save their own hides.”
“We’ve got to give the natives hope; defuse the tension somehow,” mused Tanvanaki, pacing around. Now that she had finally accepted unbending reality, a new strength seemed to suffuse her limbs. She was still the pékyu; she had to think about what was best for Ukyu-taasa.
Think! What do the natives want?
“Set the slaughter-engines aflame and destroy them in front of as many witnesses as possible. We’ll need a good scapegoat…. Blame the slaughter-engines and the corpse-meals on Wira Pin and Noda Mi. Flay them alive and parade the skins around the islands to pacify public anger.”
Goztan nodded.
“Send Timu to tour around Rui and Dasu to further calm the mood,” continued Tanvanaki. “Let the people know that I am sorry to have been deceived by Noda, Wira, and Cutanrovo—”
“Votan! No!” Cutanrovo struggled to sit up. “You cannot show such weakness—”
“Silence!” said Tanvanaki. “The only reason I’m not throwing you into a lightless cell immediately is because too many warriors are stricken with tolyusa-madness, and I need every able-bodied Lyucu—”
Ignoring the pékyu, Cutanrovo glared balefully at Goztan. “It’s the false counsel of faint-hearted advisers like you that has led the pékyu astray—”
Tanvanaki strode up and loomed over her. Cutanrovo flinched.
“If you weren’t Lyucu, I’d flay you and parade your skin around Ukyu-taasa. It would honestly do more good,” said Tanvanaki calmly. She turned back to Goztan. “Slaughter the remaining cattle and distribute the meat to the native villages. We can only hope this will stave off a rebellion long enough for us to go beg Jia for more aid.”
Even Goztan looked surprised. “Beg? But you said that Jia would show no mercy if she knew our true state—”
“No, votan,” croaked Cutanrovo, desperation overcoming her fear of Tanvanaki. “You cannot mean beg. You must threaten—”
“I do mean beg,” said Tanvanaki quietly. She looked from Cutanrovo to Goztan, a bitter smile on her face. “Don’t you get it? This was her plan all along. We became addicted to her tribute, and then we became addicted to her tolyusa. She was never afraid of our threats; she just didn’t want her people to die needlessly. All she had to do was to cut off the supply of manipulated tolyusa, and she knew Ukyu-taasa would fall apart in a month. We have nothing left to threaten her with—not even the despicable act of killing hostages, not when our warriors waste away in dreams of tolyusa-haze!
“Without launching a single ship or garinafin, she has subdued us. She is a far more skilled warlord than her husband or son.”
Tanvanaki gazed into the distance, a look of genuine admiration on her face.
“There is nothing we can do now except… beg her to grant us mercy, even if it’s against her nature. When all the possibilities have been closed off, the only path left leads through the impossible.”
Neither of her thanes, one standing, one lying on the ground, said anything for a long time.
“Who do you want to be the envoy?” asked Goztan.
“The best choice is of course Timu,” said Tanvanaki, “… assuming I haven’t shattered his heart. We should send Vocu Firna with him—he has done the least against the natives and knows the tongue of Dara best of us all.”
“Vocu is dead,” said Goztan. She glanced at Cutanrovo and choked back the rest of her bitter speech.
“Dead?” After a brief, melancholy pause, Tanvanaki went on. “Then we’ll need to spare Noda Mi to go as the emperor’s assistant. Timu is too pure; he’ll need someone like Noda at court to help him. I’ll start drafting the letter to my mother-in-law.”
She didn’t say it, but both Cutanrovo and Goztan understood that such a letter was likely the first step in the ultimate surrender of the Lyucu in Ukyu-taasa. Cutanrovo’s expression was one of utter despair, but for the first time in a long while, there was hope in Goztan’s eyes.
Tanvanaki walked away, her shoulders hunched under an enormous, invisible weight.
* * *
Cutanrovo paced in her tent like a caged animal.
The pain and humiliation from Tanvanaki’s rebuke had faded with another dose of the precious, dwindling supply of omnipotent wild tolyusa—no, she refused to accept Tanvanaki’s conclusion that this sign of the blessing of the gods of Ukyu had been part of a Dara-raaki plot. To accept such a theory was to accept that she had been at fault, which was the same as admitting weakness, just as those who had succumbed to tolyusa-madness were confessing their weakness.
She was not weak.
Yet… she had lost. Everything the pékyu-votan and his brave Lyucu warriors had fought for and bled for and died for over the last decade and more: gone. Lost because a weak and young pékyu, beguiled by the corrupt accommodationists, lacked the courage to do what had to be done.
She was certain that if only Tanvanaki could see further, like her father had, she would understand that Cutanrovo was right. So long as the Lyucu spirit remained unbowed, victory was always possible. The more desperate the situation, the more the Lyucu needed to remain resolute.
That Tanvanaki had been so cowed by Jia that she was ready to surrender was incomprehensible. One had to view the Dara-raaki with utter contempt; so-called reality had to be filtered through faith, through the absolute truth of Lyucu superiority—anything else was a lie.
If Noda Mi were dispatched to Pan with another threat to slaughter the native population of Ukyu-taasa—or even better, the slow and painful torture of Timu, though unfortunately Tanvanaki could never be persuaded to go that far—Cutanrovo was sure another tribute fleet would soon be arriving in Kriphi. In fact, she would have him demand that Jia scour the rest of the islands and bring Ukyu-taasa more of the precious wild tolyusa.
And even if Jia somehow had grown a spine, she believed the Lyucu would survive the winter with no problems: There were plenty of two-legged swine for everyone to feast upon.
As for the specter of a rebellion by the native garrisons and villagers, the risk was obviously exaggerated. The natives were cowardly, craven, divided—how could they possibly be a threat? And even if they tried to fight, a single wolf was as good as a hundred sheep, and the invincible Lyucu would overcome them with barely any loss—so long as the softhearted accommodationists weren’t there to sabotage the effort.
She squeezed her fists tightly until the nails dug painfully into her palms. If only I could make the pékyu see… if only I could make her feel… if only I could make her believe… if only I could force my mind into her body and awaken the blood of the pékyu-votan—
The string of bones hung over the outer entrance to her tent chimed, announcing the arrival of a visitor. She looked up sharply, eyes red from tolyusa-haze, as the visitor opened the inner flap of the entrance and—
—there was no one standing at the entrance.
Slowly, she lowered her gaze and realized that her visitor was crawling in on hands and knees, his nose against the ground.
Her mouth curved up in a wide grin. It was Noda Mi, Loyal Hound of the Lyucu.
* * *
“Most August and Merciful and Magnificent and Sagacious Pékyu, a calamity! A disaster! Such terror! Much sadness! There is no time to waste! You must go to Kigo Yezu right away!”
Tanvanaki looked at the prostrate figure of Noda Mi, trying to suppress the blend of disgust and suspicion from her face. After being spared from Wira Pin’s bloodcurdling fate, Noda had turned even more groveling and simpering in his manners, his speech a nigh-incomprehensible admixture of pseudo-formal Lyucu high speech and badly translated Dara honorifics. If before he had acted like a dog of the Lyucu, he now most closely resembled a maggot. A caricature of himself.
“How did Cutanrovo get captured? She has always been so careful.”
Noda Mi slammed his forehead into the ground before her again and again, heedless of the sharp pebbles poking out of the soil. “Thane Cutanrovo was deceived—beguiled—no, entrapmentationalized by the crafty, despicable, Dara-raaki slaves! Oh, heart bleeds, weeps, erupts with regret and indignation—”
“She ought to know better than anyone how much the natives despise her.”
“Every word from the most Transcendent and Pulchritudinous and Awesome and Circumspectful Pékyu Vadyu is like a drop of the purest truth that sates the parched throat of this most loyal subject—”
“Get to the point!” With great effort, Tanvanaki kept herself from kicking him.
“Certainly! Certainly! Thane Cutanrovo went—progressed—no, bipedal-pre-per-throughambulated to a gathering at Kigo Yezu to commend slave elders from several nearby villages for voluntarily slaughtering five children as a sacrifice to the gods of Ukyu and to reduce the number of people the local garrison must feed. Since the Dara-raaki slaves were so loyal and close to a garrison, the thane didn’t bring a detachment of warriors to guard her; instead, she only brought me in case the slaves needed an interpreter to understand the thane’s opulent, coruscating pearls of wisdom.
“However, it all turned out to be a dirty trick. Such despicable! Much surprise! The elders had not slaughtered any children at all, but sculpted simulated corpses out of hunks of beef distributed to them by the local garrison! As the thane offered the elders a sip of kyoffir to reward them for their submission to Lyucu supremacy, a group of rebels emerged—erupted—no, explode-vomited from ambush and captured her. I was released to bring you the news—”
“Careless!” seethed Tanvanaki. “So arrogant and careless! And at a time like this!”
Noda Mi prostrated himself even more violently against the ground; his bloody forehead stained the pebbles. “It is all my fault, Most Omnipotent and Omniscient Pékyu, Most Panoramic and Pansophical Protector of Dara…”
Almost subconsciously, Tanvanaki shuffled back, unwilling to have this fool stain her feet with his blood.
She tried to sort through her tangled thoughts—it was so hard to think with Noda’s constant patter! A nascent rebellion like this was a test. Unless handled properly, it could erupt into a general conflagration that would ruin the fragile peace she had been maintaining.
As much as she hated Cutanrovo, if she allowed these rebels to kill her, long the most powerful thane in all Ukyu-taasa, it might send a signal to the natives that the Lyucu were like an arrow near the end of its flight, and precipitate a general rebellion. But a violent, all-out assault might undo all the goodwill that the public execution of Wira Pin, the distribution of food to the hungry, and Timu’s visits had built, and lead to general rebellion as well.
There was no doubt that she had to save Cutanrovo—she was, after all, a Lyucu. Yet she had to walk a delicate balance and keep the natives in just the right amount of suspense. She had to maintain the peace until Timu could go to the Big Island and beg for mercy from Jia and Phyro.
Meanwhile, Noda Mi’s tongue never stopped wagging. “… Thane Cutanrovo is like the main mast that powers the ship of state of Ukyu-taasa—oh, no, no! Forgive me! The Peerless and Brightest Jewel of Heaven, the Priceless and Firmest Jade of Earth, Sovereign of Sovereigns, Queen of Queens, Mistress of Mistresses, Pékyu Vadyu, is actually the main mast. But the thane is a little like a mizzenmast, which is also crucial…”
Tanvanaki rubbed her throbbing forehead in frustration. Telling him to stop this nonsense was useless. At most, he would shut up for a few seconds, before beginning the absurd groveling again. As much as she despised him, she also pitied him: He acted like this only because he was a parasite; his very survival depended on pleasing his Lyucu masters. She forced herself to try to be kind to him.
“Noda, I’m perfectly aware of Cutanrovo’s importance in the hearts of my people. Perhaps Goztan could rescue her through a surprise assault, with a few naros on a garinafin—”
“Oh, no! Pékyu, that must not be! Thane Goztan is away to bring in a new shipment of tolyusa from Dasu. And these black-hearted rebels are cunning, sly, and crafty! They’ve posted lookouts in every direction, and at the first sight of an approaching garinafin, they will execute the poor, loyal, magnanimous thane for sure.”
Tanvanaki bit her bottom lip. She hated how volatile the situation was, leaving her no good choices.
Noda Mi waited a beat before continuing, a note of hope creeping into his voice. “The rebels did say that if you and Emperor Thaké, all by yourselves, would go to Kigo Yezu in person, listen to their complaints, and grant them a full pardon, they would release the thane unharmed. Is it worth a try, votan?”
“Only a child would fall for such a trap,” Tanvanaki scoffed. “They clearly intend to capture me and Timu and hold us as hostages.”
Noda slammed his forehead against the ground again. “Oh how close I came to falling into their evil schemes a second time! I was preserved from ruin only by the unfathomably keen insight of the Magnificent and Many-Hearted Pékyu….”
Tanvanaki looked away, disgusted. Before falling out of her favor, Noda had been her most ruthless and sly adviser. His recent brush with death had apparently straightened out his intestines and taken away his ability to think.
“… of course it’s a trap. How could I have been so stupid! Stupid! The pékyu should never ever be put into the position of taking any risks….”
Tanvanaki’s face flushed. Noda’s prattle bothered her more than she cared to admit. Was this really how he and her thanes saw her? A coward who didn’t dare to take risks to save her own people, a petty queen no different from the native tyrants the Lyucu so despised?
Whatever Cutanrovo’s faults, she was loyal. She was Lyucu; and she had to be saved.
“Maybe Timu and I should go meet the rebels,” she mused aloud. “Otherwise people would really think that I’m afraid of some peasants.”
“Who would dare to think such a thing!” cried Noda Mi. “Who? Show me who! I will bite anyone who dares to doubt—”
“You don’t have to spare my feelings,” snarled Tanvanaki. “I know there is much confusion among the warriors and anxiety about the future of Ukyu-taasa. Naros and culeks, especially those who love Cutanrovo, whisper that I am no longer the stouthearted fighter that I was, that I’ve lost the favor of the gods, that I am drained of the Lyucu spirit. Maybe it is time for me to do something to show them that I am still Flash-of-the-Garinafin.”
She drew a deep breath, feeling a fresh energy coursing through her veins. She had missed the feeling of fighting with her own hands, of being in charge of her own fate. Let them try to trap her and hold her hostage! She would show them what she was made of.
“… those mud-legged peasants would be no match for your strength, for your mighty war club! They are so weak that they can hardly stand! They’ll tremble before you….”
Tanvanaki gave a wan smile. Was this how it would all end? The Pékyu of Ukyu-taasa brought down by a few emaciated peasants who overwhelmed her by sheer numbers?
Why did she feel no fear, no regret?
She needed to stop thinking like Cutanrovo, treating every move by the natives as some sly scheme to destroy the Lyucu. She needed to exercise a long-dormant capacity: empathy.
Why did the rebels demand to see her as well as Timu? It was because they still believed in him as a symbol, still thought of him as their emperor. They were desperate enough to rebel, but they still had hope. They could… be trusted.
“It isn’t a trap,” she declared, her confidence surprising even herself. “The rebels just want to be heard and seen. There will be no more killings, no more massacres.”
Noda Mi stared up at her, mouth agape.
She could already picture the scene: She would take Timu and go to the rebels to listen to their complaints without an escort. The rebels, awed that she would actually show up, would fulfill the promise of releasing Cutanrovo.
And then they would rant and accuse and she would listen: perhaps the last time as their pékyu. There was little chance that Timu’s trip to the Big Island would secure the Lyucu anything except a most ignominious fate—she wasn’t even sure Jia would allow her to live.
But she would look them in the eye and listen to their plaints. She owed them that much.
