The Sultanah Ch. 14

"I must admit," Cin said, "this is clever, even by your high standards." I smiled. It felt good to have Cin back by my side, though I had noticed a change in her as well. She had, of course, conducted the ritual mourning that any Sun Priestess must abide by when her partners died. But, I got the sense that Cin truly mourned for Agiz and Got, that she was not simply going through the motions. She had returned to me, but I still felt the grief and melancholy on her, thick as my own.

This led me to a somewhat shocking realization. All this time, I had relied so heavily on Cin. She was my primary advisor, the person that I expected to have all the answers. But she had no foreseen all the dangers that lay ahead. And she had been brought low by the same forces that had nearly swallowed me up. I wondered to what extent Cin had come to the same conclusion that I had, that we were not playing a game and that we were meddling in forces far beyond our control? It felt to me that Cin had grown up in some ways, even if she had never seemed particularly childish before. But there was a hardness about her now that had not been there before and I felt it as a reflection of my own rising callousness.

And I was growing more callous. I could sense that now. I no longer felt the need to protect the "womanly" parts of myself, to try to ensure that I maintained some semblance of "soft" feelings. I knew that part of me was in no danger, that it was locked deep inside of me where I could find it. Where Nislani could find it. Where my child would be able to find it. If anything, the callousness I cultivated on the outside served to better protect that half of myself. I embraced the nature of being Sultanah and with it my own sense of cunning and ruthlessness.

"It is going to be a tight thing no matter what," I said, gazing out at the field ahead of me.

"Yes, I have foreseen much of today, but much of it is still cloudy. But beyond prophecy, I have a good feeling."

"It appears that the letters placed them in the right frame of mind," I said and looked over at Cin. She smiled bitterly and I could sense word 'revenge' throbbing behind her smile.

"You have dangled a damsel in distress. Two really counting Nislani. How can chivalrous gentleman refuse? Throw in a chance to humiliate a rival and there is really nothing better. It was a trap they were born to fall into," Cin explained. Her reference to my wife made me think of her briefly, hiding deep in the depths of the palace, waiting nervously for the results of the day's action. I thought of our child and hoped that everything would go off as I planned. But I shut those feelings out. There was no time for them now.

The plan itself was the fruit of months of preparation. The girl who ran through the narrow streets to ring a bell all those nights ago could never have even suggested a portion of this plan. But I had learned so much in so short a time. I had learned to trust in Gunes, to rely on myself, to value my friends, to control the government, to consider my dynasty, to believe in my people, to enjoy my role, and, most importantly now, to punish my enemies. And I learned how to do all of that as a woman. And all of that would come into play now.

"They expect a woman and so I gave that to them to rely upon. They wanted to believe so badly that I could not handle it that they took any excuse to believe it. How easy to turn boys against one another over a pretty girl, like this city. Why fight so hard to be considered a man when being a woman can be so much easier?" I asked. Cin laughed coldly. But at that moment, we heard a voice down below. A scout had come running up to the walls of the castle. His face was red and he was out of breath. He was one of Sican't men.

"Lady Varis!" the man said, careful not to refer to me as Sultanah, "Your reports were correct, the enemy has arrived on the field."

"Oh dear!" I said, "Whatever shall we do!" I tried to sound as though I was on the verge of panic.

"King Sican is hardly afraid my lady and I advise you to follow his lead," he said.

"He is so brave, I will rely on him greatly," I said and Cin suppressed a smile.

"He is drawing his men up into formation and will repel the attack. He asks that you provide your legions for his use. Your Colonel Saygili may lead your troops, but he needs them," the soldier replied. Saygili had been demoted when he was inducted into the Dusman army. He didn't complain. He was one of the few people, and perhaps the only man, who knew all that would follow his induction.

"Of course, of course, I should have thought. No I shouldn't have, it is not my place. Thank Tanri for King Sican," I said and Cin sighed now, concealing a laugh, "I will collect them immediately." With that I made a signal with my hands. Soldiers at the palace had been waiting for that mark. As I did so, they unfurled a giant banner that fell down over the sides of the palace, covering several floors in thick fabric. A giant field of yellow with a fiery yellow sun planted in the center.

King Sican had been told that this was my signal for my legions to assemble and prepare to fight. King Köylü believed that it was a signal to my legion to prepare to sally forth, to attack King Sican who was besieging my city. My legions, already assembled inside of the Duke's gate, stood silent and waited for a different signal.

Regardless, the soldier clipped a quick salute and then immediately ran back towards his camp. King Sican was out in the camp now, looking calm as he roused his troops and moved them into position facing away from my walls, to protect Şehir from invasion. I saw his son as well, Lider running around, somewhat panicked and trying copy his father's cool. On the other side, I saw the legions of Temsilci rapidly filing into the valley outside of my city. They wanted to get the jump on Sican, to strike before the Dusman army, which was slightly larger, could get into position (though even Temsilci's army was several times larger than my own). Just as I had hoped. The armies moved quickly, expertly. They were clearly better trained than my own legions, though the gap was shrinking.

I am no military historian and I feel no need to recount in minute detail The Battle of Şehir. If you require all of the back and forth of the battle and to feel like your hands are in other men's guts, I commend you to the history written by Tarihçi or the famous play by Yazar. I believe a rough sketch will suffice for our purposes.

The armies moved quickly into place. They both wanted to strike before the other gained an advantage. Further they were both fired by the supposed betrayal perpetrated by the other. Sican had prepared some shallow trenches for his men (not really expecting an assault) and his men filed into these. King Köylü was no put off by this maneuver, despite the differences in numbers. In fact, he opted to counter it with a rather unimaginative frontal assault. He simply moved his men in place in a line and then pounced on Sican's center.

It was mid-afternoon when the battle started and there was still a great deal of time before dark. The evenly matched armies ensured that this was butchery. Twelve times, King Köylü's forces charged into the trenches held by their enemies, hacking into them and trying to dislodge them, to make a breach in the line. Each time King Sican's forces pushes them back with great losses. Sometimes the Dusman lines wavered or even cracked. But the trenches were then filled with new troops and the enemy was repulsed. The more vicious the fighting, the angrier the participants became, fueling still more vicious fighting. Soon, it had spiraled out of all proportion to rationality and scores of men fell dead as the price began to outweigh the prize.

After Temsilci's eleventh assault, the scout who had spoken to me before, returned to the ground below the Duke's gate. Cin and I had watched the battle develop directly below us with mounting horror. We did not speak, but simply watching thousands upon thousands of men hack themselves to death before our eyes. I felt pity for the individual men involved. But, like me, they were trapped by their fates. I had made the best I could with mine, I hoped they could say the same.

Regardless, the scout arrived, drenched in blood with his left arm hanging limp at his side, "Lady Varis, King Sican begs to ask the location of your legions. The fighting, as you can see, has been hot. We are holding on, but they are giving us everything they have. Your men could turn the tide!"

"Oh yes, of course!" I said fluttering my hands in front of my face, "I just...I am so scared. There is so much blood."

"Please my lady!" the man begged.

"Of course, of course, I will have it done!" I said. The man saluted and then quickly rushed down to the battle. I looked at my men, standing solemnly and listening to the sounds of battle. I could also see townspeople in the streets, listening to the carnage with confused and terrified faces. It would be some time before everything became clear. Even for me. Nonetheless, I said nothing to my soldiers. They waited.

Temsilci's soldiers came again, one more attempt to break through Dusman's lines. Soldiers on both sides were exhausted and bloody. There were no reserves left. They had thrown everything they had at one another. Temilsci's soldiers made a small breach in the Dusman lines. King Sican himself saw the breach and bravely rushed into it, striking down common soldiers and willing his men to victory. Heartened by the display, Sican's soldiers rallied, plugging the gap and throwing Temsilci's soldiers back. However, this time, rather than allowing Temsilci to retire in good order, Sican pushed the action. He rose out of the trench and began to pursue his enemies. His men followed his lead, driving Temsilci back.

King Köylü's men, exhausted by the battle and responding to a rumor (later proven true) that the King himself had died in the assault, crumbled into a mass. They dropped their weapons, turned tail, and ran. Armor and weaponry fell by the wayside as Temsilci's army ceased to exist. Exhausted, King Sican and his men broke off their assault, they cheered and laughed, the battle won. Horns began to sound as Temsilci's men made their way rapidly back to the woods in the distance.

"There you bitch!" I heard a voice say, I looked down and saw that King Sican had moved his way back through the camp and come down near the wall itself. He was standing just a few hundred feet from me, looking directly at me, "You were too cowardly to fight. The Empire missed its last chance at a victory! Tomorrow, my son marries your slut and we end this thing!" I placed a shocked look on my face. But I loved every moment of it, I drank in his hatred and used it to fuel my fire.

"How dare you speak to me in such a manner," I said, making it sound good. Cin also placed a shocked look on her face.

"What will you do about it? You are afraid to lift a finger!" he said. My eyes darted up towards the woods where the Temsilci army was retreating. I strained in the distance and, after a moment, I saw what I prayed I would see. I smiled and then carefully placed my hand out in front of me, lifting my finger and pointing towards the woods.

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, my voice coming out icy cold, no longer a little girl's voice. It was Sulatnah Varis' voice, in all its commanding terror. Sican furrowed his brow and then turned around quickly. He could hear a murmur from his troops. He looked back at me once angrily and then dashed off towards the front again. When he got there, he saw what I saw. The soldiers of Temsilci, streaming back towards his lines. But not in an orderly army as before. They were running, as they had once been running in the other directions. Their arms were flailing, their eyes panicked, they were unarmed. Behind them, were the recipients of my third and final letter.

The horsewomen of Anaerki had come pounding out of the woods even before the Temsilci army had reached the shadows of the trees. They had been waiting for this moment since morning, hiding away from the road that Temsilci had arrived upon, but otherwise fanning out. I had told them to be here. I told them that two great armies would fight each other to exhaustion and then, when one side faltered and their advantage in numbers was least effective, they were to burst from the trees and create havoc. I saw Maderşahi in the front of the pack, her daughter Kız right next to her. Both were armed and brought death with them from the shadows. It spread out along the width of the plain, shepherding all of the Temsilci soldiers in one direction, back towards my walls. It seemed I had learned the importance of alliances as well.

In a few moments, the disordered soldiers of Temsilci crashed into the Dusman lines once again. No longer attacking, simply in a blind panic and attempting to escape from the armed, fresh riders. Dusman's troops had become slightly disorganized by their victory. Now the return of Temsilci's troops deepened that chaos. The Dusman soldiers attempted to kill some of the fleeing Temsilci troops, but many were unsure of what to do. Soon, rather than two armies, there was one large, disorganized mass. King Sican began to scream at his soldiers and even those of Temsilci, trying to get them to form into new lines to repulse the mounted troops. But the Anaerkis were hot on the Temsilci heels. In just a few moments, they would crash into Dusman's disordered lines.

I turned my head and looked down at my legions massed at the Duke's gate. I saw Saygili in the front, looking up at me. My soldiers were in ordered lines. They knew what to expect. Saygili looked up at me and nodded. I turned to Cin, "Now." I said calmly. Cin relayed a message to the men in the gatehouse. They cut the line and the door to the gate collapsed.

"Forward!" I heard Saygili's voice cry and I watched as my legions poured forth from the city, into the enemy's rear. With our allies, we surrounded our disorganized foe, despite their still apparent advantage in number.

What remained was not a battle. It was a slaughter. The Anaerkis smashed into the enemy mass, sending them reeling in confusion and pushing them directly into the organized ranks of my legions as they poured out of the city. Panic infected the Dusman soldiers and they melted into confusion. The ground was soon red with their blood. The sights I witnessed that day went beyond all legend and myth in terms of carnage. Bodies were rent apart like rag dolls and the screams of the slaughtered filled the air like the chorus of Hell. I kept my eyes focused on it, felt my lips curl in a snarl. I felt only one thing as I watched the carnage. Pleasure.

Anaerki lost two women in the attack. My legions lost four men. A handful were wounded, only one greatly enough to earn a pension. The enemy armies had ceased to exist as fighting forces.

* * * * *

Not an hour later, having climbed down from the tower, I was walking with Cin through the shattered remains of the Dusman camp. My soldiers and the horsewomen of Anaerki were still rounding up stragglers and killing any that resisted. I felt totally and completely safe walking on the battlefield without armor, trodding on ground where men had just minutes before been fighting and dying. Cin and I did not speak. We simply looked at the butchery. And smiled. Everything had worked out according to plan. Better, in fact, as I was about to learn.

"Sultanah," a small voice said to one side. I turned quickly and saw Soyguncu standing just a few yards away. She had been out on the field during the course of the battle and she was covered in blood. I knew that she had not been directly involved in the fighting, but even acting as a scout and spy had brought her in contact with untold amounts of death. Her skin looked pale and her eyes were slightly wild. It seemed she was ready to make her contribution to the bloodbath, if I was willing. To that end, there were two men on their knees on either side of her, she had knives at their throats, "I protected these two, I figured you would want them." She said, her voice shaky with emotion. I looked at the dirty men at Soyguncu's side. A feeling of warmth filled my heart and I smiled more broadly.

"Traitor Hain, False Prophet Rahip. It is a rare pleasure," I said, my voice sounding thick, almost velvety. Four weary eyes rose and glared at me. Both men had, apparently, been involved in the fighting. I assumed Hain was more closely involved in the action. His face was coated in blood and his expensive armor was in tatters. I was not sure which army he had fought for, but it didn't matter now. Rahip was simply covered in dirt and shit. He looked even more like a corpse than the last time I had seen him. I was not even sure if he was actually aware of what was happening around him. Nor did I particularly care.

"You filthy bitch," Hain said. Soyguncu moved silently, slicing off part of the Duke's ear. He screamed in pain and writhed on the ground. Soyguncu smiled. I laughed.

"It seems you will never learn manners," I said coldly, "That is what got you in trouble last time."

"I told Köylü not to trust you letter," he hissed, not responded to my gibe, "I told him that you were slippery as an eel and clever as a rat. I knew this was a trap."

"And yet, dumb as a rock, you walked right into it," I said.

"I would never miss my opportunity to end you, you whore! I would die a thousand times to kill you once," he said, more defiant than ever. Our games and plots were clearly at an end. Everything was out here in public now, there was no more room for maneuvering. Hain, it seemed, recognized that he was totally lost, at last. I felt oddly cold about it.

"I do not need a thousand revenges," I said, "just one."

"Be done with it," Duke Hain said in a tired voice, "I have no money for a ransom. Kill me now and end this charade," he said. I smiled at him now and considered my options.

As I thought about it, about the events of the day and then further, back into the past, I felt so strange. These two men, especially Hain, had been such an important part in my evolution to the Sultanah. They were my initial adversaries. The furnace that heated my metal and burned out my impurities. The final coup, their last attempt to violently pull me from this world, had been the impetus for my final transformation, the communion of my spirit with that of the Sultanah. But now, seeing them covered in mud and shit...they seemed so small. Next to the size of my ambitions, they were nothing. Compared to me, they were less than nothing. They had been tools, a means to an end. They had served their purpose in making me capable of rebuilding the Empire. Now there were such...little things. Broken items to be cast aside. So far beneath my notice that I suddenly felt embarrassed speaking to them. Killing them would almost feel petty, like holding a grudge against an animal. Suddenly, I knew what I needed to do to maintain my dignity.

"No..." I said, "No, I do not think that is appropriate. I would not want your death on my conscience. Rahip was once a man of some sort of god. And Traitor Hain, how could I look your daughter in the eye while I fuck her, knowing that I put her father to death?" I asked. Hain's eyes grew wide with rage and he began to rise. Soyguncu's knife bit into his throat and he sank again.

"You lie!"

"I suppose I do. I often can't see your daughter's eyes, the way I fuck her," I shot back. Then, before Hain had a chance to respond again, I spoke quickly, "gouge out their eyes in the old imperial fashion," I told Soyguncu. Then I looked at my enemies again, saw the despair in their temporary eyes, "And...cut off their cocks too. Only a Sultanah really needs one of those. Make sure you burn the wound so they don't bleed out, I want them wandering the world. Hang their bloody cocks around their necks." I grabbed two guards and sent them over to Soyguncu, to help her with her now squealing charges. I didn't bother to look.