Homage and Honour (4 page)

“You and Alya
are in the Vada?” asked Beth over breakfast.

“Where else,”
he declared with pride, tapping his chest, “with this uniform?
We’ve been serving over thirty years! It’s an honourable
profession, especially here in Vadath, Argyll too.”

“What does the
Vada do exactly? I never even heard of it until a tenday or so ago.
You’re soldiers, aren’t you? A special kind of soldier.”

“We’re a
cavalry army, much better and faster than the horse cavalry. Better
fighters too.”

“Have
you
fought? Are there wars here?”

“Bless you
child, no. This is Vadath. Alya and I, before I got too stiff,
fought the pirates and some nasty large predators that inhabit the
mountains to the north, the gtran and the wral, fearsome beasts
both.”

“No Dukes, no
Barons, no Thanes? No King?”

“No need. We
just get on with our lives. The four home-pack domtas and domta
Winston lie to the north; it’s woodier there. Most humans live on
the plains and lowlands. It’s different in Argyll. It is divided
into wards, I don’t rightly remember how many and their rulers are
elected. There’s a Council there as well, at Stewarton, but you’ll
learn all that in lessons. That’s not to say that some families in
Argyll aren’t rich and powerful but if they started calling
themselves ‘Lord This’ and ‘Lady That’ they’d be laughed out of
town.”

“It will be
nice to be an ordinary person,” said Beth with satisfaction.

: Nothing
ordinary about this one :
Altei telepathed to Alya.

: You might be
right :

: I know I am
:

: Is she for
you? :

: No :
Altei’s reply was regretful.

Harld helped
her mount Altei, showing her how to fasten the leather straps that
would keep her in the saddle then he fastened on the
saddlepacks.

“Don’t worry
about feeding Altei,” he advised, “Vada is only a three-day or so
journey away and he’ll catch something himself if he gets peckish.
The Lind don’t need to eat a big meal every day. When you’re
getting tired, tell him. Your water bottle is in with the food.” He
then placed her hands on the raised pommel strap of the saddle.

“Hold on to
this.”

“Thank you,”
Beth said, “you’ve been very kind.”

“My pleasure,
young damsel of the South,” he answered, “It’s not every day that
someone as pretty as you arrives on my doorstep.”

He stepped
back.

“Run well … we
will meet again soon.”

He nodded to
Altei who took the hint and bounded away, slowly at first then
faster and faster still. The wind flipped at her short curls, at
her face. She laughed with delight.

She was free.
She was in Vadath. She was
of
Vadath now!

* * * * *

Convergence
(3)

The second
member of the quartet had known for a number of years that to be
the human half of a vadeln-pair and to join the Vada was her
future.

Jessica
Crawford was fourteen and came from Vadath itself, the only one of
the four to do so. Her family farmed west of the Vada Stronghold,
at the western edge of the great arable plains where most of the
human citizens of Vadath lived and worked. Her great-grandparents
on her mother’s side had moved to Vadath from a farm in northern
Argyll when first their only son James had paired with a Lind and
joined the Vada and then their daughter married one of the same.
Her father, David Crawford was descended from generations of
serving vadeln-pairs. Her Great-Uncle James, although sixty years
old, was still a serving vadeln at Vada although he was no longer
part of an active-duty Ryzck.

Mlei, Jessica’s
Lind pair, had singled her out as his future human partner when
barely out of puppyhood and Jessica a toddler of six. The young
Jessica had romped and played with Mlei and his littermates
throughout the long summers of her childhood.

Their mental
ties had therefore been formed a long time before this day and on
Jessica ‘coming of age’ earlier that month, all Mlei had had to do
was to telepathically inform her that he was on his way. The formal
acceptance of the bond had thus been very low-key. The two had been
sharing their innermost thoughts for years.

Jessica’s
mother Anne watched her eldest daughter leave that morning with
resignation. Jessica’s grandfather had been killed in a fight with
the gtran when she herself had been only seven years old and
although she knew this day had been bound to come, she was filled
with misgivings. A lifetime of service within the Vada was an
honourable one.

“Don’t forget
to remind your Uncle James to visit before he and Siya head
west.”

“I won’t
mother,” promised Jessica. She knew that her uncle and his Lind
Siya were only remaining at Vada to welcome Jessica and Mlei, the
first of her generation to accept the challenge.

Anne Crawford
waved goodbye. Jessica’s younger sister Anne, known as Annette to
differentiate her from her mother, her brother Xavier and baby
sister Ruth watched her go, the latter with envy in her gaze. Her
father David had said goodbye earlier, he was by now some miles
away. This was market day. The early root crops were ready for sale
and a farmer’s duties waited for no man, even for a daughter
leaving home.

* * * * *

The third
member of the quartet had always wanted to become vadeln to a Lind
and had done her level best to become so.

To the east, in
the human country of Argyll, she was halfway through her term of
Garda training. Not that every teenager took the time to complete
the training these days, but Tana's father knew his duty and, at
his daughter’s insistence, had sent her along with her other
yearmates, although he had refused to pay for the more extensive
private instruction like some of her fellow students. He did not
wish his eldest daughter to make a career out of soldiering.
Clothier Cartwright was ambitious and his plans for the future
expansion of his business included the advantageous marriage of his
young daughter to the son of one of his rivals.

The same day as
Anne Crawford bade a tearful goodbye to Jessica, Tana Cartwright
bounced out of her bunk. Not that there was supposed to be anything
special happening this day but it was an acknowledged fact amongst
her friends that Tana was always up with the malinon, not for her
to lounge in her bunk until reveille sounded. She was a real
livewire, always on the go. She didn’t want to waste a moment of
her term at Settlement. She dressed with her usual economy of
movement after running back from the ablutions block.

“It’s a
gorgeous morning,” she announced to no-one in particular as she
fastened the buttons on the simple grey uniform tunic they all
wore.

There were
groans from the other bunks. This was a rest day and the students
were permitted an extra bell-time in their beds before they rose to
perform their daily chores after which they would be set free until
curfew. Tana and her girlfriends fully intended to take advantage
of their free day and were planning an excursion into town
later.

“I’m going for
a walk before breakfast,” she continued to her unresponsive
audience, “see you when the bell rings.”

Suiting actions
to her words Tana made for the door, being careful to shut it
quietly behind her (the training corporal slept in a slip of a room
nearby and did not appreciate rude awakenings on rest days – as
Tana had learned to her cost) and made her way down the narrow
stairs, her boots, despite her best efforts, clumping on the wood.
She made for the courtyard, expecting it to be deserted.

Not so that
morning. The yard was filled to overflowing with Lind. Their heads
swivelled round as they sensed her presence, as did the officers
who were assembled en masse to her left.

Tana was quick
on the uptake. She took in the scene before her, noting that none
of the four-pawed visitors had humans with them. It was not a Vada
troop, or Ryzck as they were known, these were Lind looking to
life-bond. It didn’t happen every term she knew; what luck that
they had decided to come now. Before anyone thought to stop her,
Tana turned and ran back through the barracks’ door, up the stairs,
boots resounding staccato-like on the hardwood and burst into the
dormitory. She ignored the angry shout from the corporal.

“The Lind are
here, masses and masses of them,” she cried in a stentorian voice.
“Get up everybody and come and see.”

“Stop the joke
right now,” commanded a girl with a hard-looking face.

“I’m not
joking, honest.”

One or two
heads lifted from the pillows.

“None of the
officers said anything yesterday,” announced one girl.

“They never
do,” replied Tana, “get up, do and let’s go and find out.”

Down in the
courtyard the officers looked at each other with rueful
expressions.

“That’s torn
it,” said one, “I forgot that Tana would be up with the dawn, rest
day or no.”

“We’d better
get organised,” said another, “they’ll all be down within a quarter
bell, or less.” He turned an inquiring look at the Lind.

“We go to the
field,” uttered a large violet-striped male, “you will bring
candidates to us there?”

“I will. Do you
require anything else?”

“Water is
there. We will drink. Eat later.”

“I’ll send a
runner to warn you when we are marching them out. You wish to see
everyone who would like to be given the chance?”

“Yes. A hundred
of us we are. All wish to find vadeln.”

“I have a
couple of older men who might be interested?”

The Lind nodded
agreement as he turned to follow his four-pawed companions to the
practice field, the traditional place.

“I take it that
was a yes?” asked the Major of his fellow officers, “not that they
choose those of mature years very often.”

“I’ll let the
cooks know.”

So it was that
when the barracks emptied itself of its excited youngsters, the
Lind were gone from the courtyard.

Some looked at
Tana accusingly but there was no time to say anything. The
sergeants were ordering them into file so any comments remained
unsaid. There was some jostling as the students formed up, the more
slow-witted still wondering if young Tana had been joking with
them, others realising that she probably
had
seen what she
claimed, why else would they be forming up on a rest day?

It was at this
point that the officers explained the situation and told any person
who did not wish the chance to bond with a Lind that they could
dismiss. A few did, including the hard-faced girl who had
complained earlier.

Thank
goodness
, Tana thought as her squad marched to the practice
field. The girl was not one of her favourite people,
oh jumping
jiminikins, what luck!
Tana had a dream, to be chosen by a
Lind, to ride off with him to Vadath, there to become a great
warrior of renown and here she was, surely she was in with a
chance?

She never spoke
about this dream, even to her oldest friends, frightened they would
laugh at her. Tana was the smallest of the twelve to
fifteen-year-olds presently learning basic swordsmanship and
defence in accordance with the law of Argyll which said that a
certain proficiency with weapons must be achieved before one
reached the age of sixteen, although these days the law was upheld
only in the southerly wards and along the coasts.

Tana was
smaller by a head than the smallest of the other students in her
class. She did, however, more than hold her own. Indeed, in the
practice bouts, height and weight notwithstanding, she often won,
much to the chagrin of the other larger students, especially the
boys.

Their principal
instructor was slow to give out praise and Tana thought these wins
must have been lucky flukes. Not so her instructors, Tana had no
idea that she was considered one of the more promising of the first
term students.

Tana marched
on, stretching her legs to keep up the required pace and
rhythm.

Her training
warrant officer watched her as they marched. If anyone was a prime
candidate to vadeln-pair it was Tana he was thinking, despite her
size. She was the best and the most naturally talented student he
had taught in a long time. He would have her under his command in
an arrowshot, despite what the others said.

It can be
surmised from Warrant Officer Peter Littleman’s thoughts that he
had been the recipient of much ribald teasing about his
promulgation of his favourite pupil. Tana herself would have been
amazed if she had known; she thought she was his
least
favourite pupil; he was half as much again harder on her than on
anyone else.

They arrived at
the field and orders were uttered to fan out, to make a circle
round the perimeter and wait for the Lind to arrive from the
paddock more usually dedicated to the officer’s cavalry mounts and
where butts had been placed in one corner and filled with cool,
fresh well-water.

The nervous
students stood, wondering who would be chosen. Tana stood with the
rest, her shaking hands held tight behind her back in case anyone
should tease her about it later.

Peter Littleman
positioned himself behind Tana, anxious for her sake. He had met
the girl’s father, tried to persuade him to allow Tana another term
under his tutelage and had not been impressed with the man’s lack
of vision or understanding. It was not that the family was short of
money; Luke Cartwright merely didn’t wish his daughter to make
soldiering her career. Peter Littleman knew she’d be wasted as a
clothier’s wife and that if anyone was born to be a soldier, it was
Tana.

The Lind began
to move towards them. He stared at them, trying to communicate the
fact that the small erect figure to his front should be the one
they choose.