Tanak laughed. “They are your phantoms, Akira. I have sent spies down into Azaria, and they report the Azarians wanted nothing more than to reclaim the land south of the pass. Now that you have abandoned Fort Azuma, I expect hostilities will cease. My first act as lord of the Southern Kingdom will be to ride south and present a formal treaty to the leader of the Azarians.”
Akira couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Are you serious? The Three Sisters is closed.”
“Yes, but my scouts report some of the game trails are still open. It’s not enough for an army, but a small party can get through. I will take a small force, but I have already sent envoys, and they have been well received.”
Akira’s head was spinning. “But they have hunters.”
“And nightblades are clearly running all over our land, so we have nothing to fear. I will establish a new peace that will last for lifetimes.”
Akira was trying to understand what Tanak was saying. If he was speaking the truth, it cast doubt on over sixty cycles of combat between the Azarians and the Southern Kingdom. Had his people really been the aggressors? It wasn’t logical. Toro had written of a host of Azarians almost beyond count. It was much more than was needed to take Fort Azuma, especially if there were hunters in the party. No, Akira was missing something, but he didn’t know what it could be.
“Tanak, I think you are making a mistake. We need to gather our forces and prepare for the upcoming war. The Azarians will be here in the spring and we need to be ready for them.”
“We don’t need to be ready for them. I will treat with their leader, and when I come back, we will have peace.”
Akira saw he had no hope of changing Tanak’s mind. He couldn’t shake the feeling there was something more he was missing, but without any idea what it was, he had no options. As much as it pained him to do so, his new role was to obey.
“Very well. What would you have of me while you are away?”
“Lead the hunt for the nightblade. Work on the successful merger of the kingdoms. I want some of the goods from the Southern Kingdom sent into the Western Kingdom. If this is going to work, our people need to be united as one. I will station several of my closest advisers with you, and if there are any challenges, we can deal with them when I return.”
“As you will, my lord.”
Tanak laughed. “Have no fear, Akira. This partnership will work.”
Chapter 3
Nameless stood on the walls of his newly-won fort and looked south into Azaria. He wondered what those who had stood here before him had thought. Had they believed they were looking on a savage and barren land? Nameless had never known any land but Azaria. Even as they made plans to depart, he would always consider it home. There was a part of him that felt regret. Not for the blood he had spilled or the battle that would come, but regret that the only way he had found to save his people was to leave their homeland. He wished there was another way, but nothing occurred to him.
The sun was high in the sky, but still the freezing winds blew down from the pass. The blizzard had been raging for days, and the scouts who braved the pass reported inhospitable conditions. Deep snow and avalanches had already cost Nameless some of his best scouts. In the plains below the fort his people were camped, but daily it seemed they retreated against the onslaught of the cold. Nameless feared the coming winter. The demon-kind were already ranging far and wide to bring in enough food for the camp, and he worried they wouldn’t bring enough to maintain solidarity through the season. The People were not meant to stay in one place.
But those were decisions for another day. Nameless had to give credit to the man who had commanded this fort. His men stood firm against the demon-kind, refusing to break ranks though many were killed night after night. Even more impressive, the commander had held the fort for over a full day with only a few hundred men. He had given his retreating army time to make it through the pass before it closed for the winter.
Nameless could have killed them all that first day, but he had made the decision to leave the final assault of the fort to the clans, not the demon-kind. His first strategy had been to send in the demon-kind only. From what he knew of the people of the Three Kingdoms, he had expected the army to shatter after a few days of the attacks. He had hoped to take the fort without casualties to the clans. It had all gone to plan, except the army holding the fort had not broken as he had expected. There was a steel within the men he hadn’t predicted.
Then the news came that most of the army was retreating and the pass was closing. Nameless decided to let the clans have their chance at taking the fort. It meant a greater loss of life, but Nameless assumed with only a few hundred men guarding the walls, the clans would be able to take it easily. The People needed to remember this wasn’t just about the demon-kind. This was a victory for all of them. He had held his demon-kind back, but again he had underestimated his opponents. They had held for a full day. It hadn’t been much, but it had been enough. Now he was stuck on the wrong side of the Three Sisters as winter settled in.
Nameless rolled his shoulders back and sighed. There was little to do about it now. Their only choice was to wait. With any luck, spring would come early. He had made a mistake, but the past couldn’t be changed. Only this moment mattered.
He had sent twenty pairs of demon-kind through the Southern Kingdom over the game trails that were just barely open. Their orders were specific. They were to spread fear and terror throughout the Southern Kingdom. Nameless might not be able to lead the People across the pass this winter, but when they marched in the spring, he expected to find a land torn apart by fear. The army had held, but the people of the Three Kingdoms never would. They were too weak. Nameless smiled. He was delayed, but he wouldn’t fail his people.
Nameless was out in the fields watching some of the clans train when a messenger came to find him. The messenger was one of his demon-kind, and from the snow still on his shoulders, Nameless assumed he’d come from the mountains.
“Yes?”
“An envoy comes from the Three Kingdoms. It is a small group, ten strong. They are taking one of the game trails through the mountains we have been watching.”
“Is it him?”
The messenger shook his head. “We do not recognize any of the riders, and none of them are gifted. At least one is richly dressed though.”
Nameless considered this for a moment. “How long until they are in sight of the People?”
The messenger thought about the question. “They are making slow progress. The trail is hard. Perhaps two or three days. More if the trail worsens.”
Nameless debated what to do. His gut warned him against letting them see the mass of forces arrayed against them. If an enemy envoy was to reach the clans, it might spread further dissension among the ranks. He was already concerned about several clans after the escape of the female nightblade. Best to meet them in the mountains. “Can you guide me there?”
The messenger nodded, almost as though he was offended Nameless would ask the question.
“We will leave immediately. Find two others to come who have strong bows. I will meet you here.”
It took little time for them to gather. Nameless approved of the other demon-kind who had volunteered. He had known both for many cycles, and their skill with a bow was excellent. Their quivers were full and their clothes were warm. Without a word they took off for the mountains.
The trail was hard, and it wasn’t long before they abandoned their horses. Azarians prided themselves on their horsemanship, but they were riders of the plains, not of the mountains. Demon-kind could move faster on foot over the narrow trails that wound through the heights. Nameless set the pace, a steady march that ate up the distance between him and the envoy. His side still ached from where the accursed woman had gotten the best of him, but he relished the pain. It was a reminder that for a moment he had let down his guard. He had beaten her, but not by enough. Never again would he give anyone the chance to hurt him.
They ran through the day and night until they came to a place where they could see the trail for hundreds of paces. Nameless pointed to an outcropping of rock about a hundred paces ahead of him and about thirty paces above the trail. He spoke to the archers. “Go there. If needed, unleash your arrows. Stay hidden.”
The archers nodded and trudged up the mountainside towards the rocks. Nameless saw their tracks and hoped the blowing snow would hide them by the time the envoy arrived. He turned to the original messenger. “Go further ahead and find a place to hide. You will be our last line of defense. If it turns to violence, ensure none of them find their way back home.”
The messenger nodded and ran ahead. Nameless squatted in the snow and waited. If the messenger’s estimate of the envoy’s speed was accurate, he wouldn’t have more than half a day to wait.
They came as promised, but when Nameless counted, there were only nine. His first suspicion was a trap, but when he studied their careful approach, he took a different guess. One had fallen on the trail. It was little surprise. The game trails existed, but they were dangerous, and for a group of ten, it was surprising only one had fallen.
The envoy halted in front of him, and Nameless took their measure. The one richly dressed was the one in charge, but his eyes were full of fear. The man tried to mask it, but Nameless could smell it on him. The other eight were warriors, and they handled their mounts well enough. But Nameless agreed with his messenger. None were gifted, and none would be able to match him.
The richly-dressed man spoke, “My name is Lord Tanak, Lord of the Southern Kingdom. Who are you, and why do you stand in our way?”
Nameless stared curiously at Tanak. The name he recognized, but the title was new. His sources had told him Tanak was the Lord of the Western Kingdom. He must have defeated the Southern Kingdom in combat.
Nameless’ silence made Tanak uncomfortable, so he let it linger for a few moments longer than necessary. “I have no name, as is true of all my kind. However, I am the leader of the People, and I have come to hear what you would say.”
Tanak looked around as though he disbelieved what Nameless was saying. They were in the middle of nowhere, a mountain pass used more by goats than by humans. It was not what the lord had expected.
“Are you going to escort me to your people? I come bearing terms of our truce.”
Nameless stifled a grin. “We can treat here. I am the only one who must hear what you have to say.”
Tanak looked doubtful, and Nameless saw in the lord’s face that he considered the Azarians to be less than those of the Three Kingdoms. He considered the People savages. Nameless would delight in proving him wrong.
Nameless glanced at the men on horseback again. “Where is the one we dealt with before? The nightblade, Renzo.”
Tanak shook his head. “He is dead, killed by another nightblade in battle.”
Nameless was surprised. He had met Renzo once, and the man had been strong. For him to be defeated indicated there was greater power in the Three Kingdoms than he guessed. It must have been the boy. There was no one else capable. He pushed the thoughts aside. Right now all that mattered was dealing with Tanak. “What are the terms of your truce?”
“As you discussed with Renzo. All the land south of the Three Sisters is yours. The pass will be considered a no-man’s zone. You will never have to deal with our attacks again. But we never have to deal with yours either.”
Nameless laughed. It was the deal he had discussed with Renzo. Nameless would distract the armies of the Southern Kingdom, pinning them down in the fort while Tanak and Renzo swept through the Southern Kingdom. Unfortunately, it had taken Nameless longer than he expected to bring the clans in line, and his invasion hadn’t begun until autumn. Fortunately, it had all worked out. He had promised Renzo peace, but what he really wanted was a land torn apart by war. Renzo had always seemed suspicious, but it seemed this lord had fully believed in their agreement.
Tanak frowned. “What’s so funny?”
Nameless shook his head. “I will never treat with one as pathetic as you.”
Tanak wasn’t used to such treatment, and although Nameless saw the fear flash in his eyes, he acted as though he was courageous. “That’s a bold statement when one stands against nine.”
Nameless smiled. He felt the power flow into his limbs. Without a word, he drew his blade and darted among the horses. Every soldier seemed to be moving through water, unable to respond to his attack quickly enough. He intentionally left Tanak and a guard alive, but he wasn’t quite fast enough to get through the entire line. The soldier who had brought up the rear of the envoy had turned his horse when they had stopped, protecting their flank. As soon as Nameless attacked, he spurred his horse forward, escaping Nameless’ blade. Nameless threw out his energy, a signal to his demon-kind hidden up the trail. They rose in unison, sending an arrow each into man and beast.
Nameless cleaned his dark blade and turned towards Tanak. “Is my answer enough?”
Tanak looked terrified, and Nameless could see the dark stain spreading down his leg. The man was a coward. Nameless looked to the other soldier, frightened but standing firm. “Can you deliver a message?”
The soldier nodded, unable to speak.
“Good.”
Nameless leapt easily onto the back of Tanak’s horse. The lord hadn’t even drawn his sword. Before man or beast could react, Nameless’ blade sang one more time, and he caught Tanak’s falling head with his other hand. He leapt down to the ground, landing softly in the snow. He took the head to the soldier and put it in his hands. “Tell your people we are coming.”
Chapter 4