Souls of Aredyrah 2 - The Search for the Unnamed One (21 page)

Reiv frowned but did not respond.

“This will make things more difficult for us
to receive information from the Tearian clan,” Jensa continued,
“but…”

“What do you mean, Tearian clan?” Reiv
asked.

Jensa smiled. “It seems Dayn had a way with
words last night. He managed to organize those at the meeting into
groups called clans. Apparently that’s how his people are grouped
in Kirador. Not much else was accomplished, but that seemed to be
enough for now. Naturally the Tearians and Shell Seekers grouped
with their own, but the Jecta organized themselves according to
locations within Pobu and the outlying areas. Each clan elected a
representative to see that messages are conveyed more efficiently,
and all are expected to brainstorm ideas to present at the next
meeting. For now, Dayn has agreed to be the one to call the meeting
locations and times. Until his wayward cousin decides to take his
place, that is.”

“Dayn did all that?” Reiv could not help but
beam. “I knew he would do better without me there.”

“Is that why you left?” Jensa asked. “You
meant for Dayn to take over?”

“Something like that.”

“Well,” Jensa continued, “with news of the
King’s proclamation, the Tearians may need to give you a new
name.”

“They may call me whatever they wish, but I
will claim no third name. Two in one lifetime is enough.”

“The King didn’t say anything about your name
not being spoken outside of Tearian walls, so maybe he didn’t feel
it was worth the effort.”

“I am sure he did not. He is not afraid of
the Jecta. Whatever show of power he makes in Pobu will be for the
Tearians’ benefit. What of the Guard? Have their numbers increased
in Pobu?”

“No. Actually, there were fewer there than
usual this morning.”

Reiv knitted his brow. “That seems strange,”
he said.

“Maybe they were all at the coronation,”
Torin offered.

“Perhaps, but that still does not seem right
to me,” Reiv said.

“Well, no matter what your brother has
planned, he’ll soon find the Jecta are a force to be reckoned
with,” Torin said.

“The will of the Jecta is strong,” Reiv said,
“but they cannot win by the sword.”

“No,” Jensa agreed, “but they still must be
able to defend themselves. Dayn and Gair will continue to make
weapons, but that won’t be enough. The people must learn other
means.”

“When is our clan to meet?” Reiv asked.

“When do you think it should?”

“When do I think it?”

“Reiv, I volunteered Torin as our
representative, but we still expect your input,” Jensa said.

“Well, I am sure Torin will agree that as
soon as possible would be best. But I think you should first
determine who is with us and who is not. You know your people far
better than I do, Torin. What do you think?”

“I think you’ll find there’s more support
here than not,” Torin said. “You made believers of most everyone
with Seirgotha and your transcension. But you’re right; it’s time
to weed out the doubters. Leave that to me.” He grinned and headed
for the village.

BACK TO ToC

Chapter 20: First Kill

T
he first clan
meeting of the Shell Seekers was held that night and attended by
the majority of villagers. Those who did not attend sent a
representative from their family or a message of support by word of
mouth. There were none amongst them who voiced disapproval. It was
agreed that the Shell Seekers did not have the skill for arm-to-arm
combat against Tearia, and so it was decided the Seekers would hit
them where it hurt. No longer would they provide shells, crafts,
fish, or any other food from the waters for their upper class
masters. Instead the Shell Seekers would hunt the seas only for
their own needs. It was against Tearian law, and there could be
dire consequences for it, but they determined the seas belonged to
no one group of people, so should be available to all. Plans were
then made to cease transport of goods from Meirla to Tearia.

In Pobu similar ideas were drawn up. When the
clans gathered at the next meeting a week later, it was decided
that the Jecta would also cease providing services to the Tearians.
There would be no loud pronouncement of their intentions, no verbal
demands, just a peaceful, quiet boycott. It was agreed by all that
the boycott would begin at the next Market, and so when the
traditional days of trade came, the protest was sounded by the
absence of many merchants. The Shell Seekers were particularly
missed, for their wares were always popular with the Tearian elite.
Many a disgruntled upper-class woman went home without jewelry for
her personal adornment or vessels to house her lotions.

The Jecta laborers and craftsmen within the
city walls usually left during Market to work a booth or visit
their families in Pobu. And so they did, but this time they did not
return to Tearia. The following day there was no one within the
city to clean the garbage from the streets or debris from the
sewers, just as there was no one to slaughter animals for food or
tend to the bodies of the dead. The field laborers also did not go
to their posts. Bewildered Tearian foremen stared at rows of
untended crops, threatening punishment for their tardy charges. But
the laborers never came.

One night, shortly thereafter, the Jecta made
a great raid into the fields. The Tearians were not watching, they
had never had reason to guard the crops, and so the nearby orchards
were picked clean and the outlying fields stripped of their bounty.
No longer would they settle for scraps, the Jecta determined, no
longer would they slave with no pay. By law they were stealing, and
they prayed hard to their gods for forgiveness, but most justified
the act as compensation for the years of labor they had provided.
It helped ease their consciences somewhat, though not the fear of
reprisal from the Guard.

The Guard had been strangely absent in Pobu
since the coronation of the King, but rumor abounded that their
activity was increasing behind the walls of Tearia. Whispers
claimed the

King was plotting something, though no one
yet knew what. After the raid on the fields, a host of Guard was
dispatched to Pobu. They returned to Tearia with prisoners, even
though they had found no evidence of thievery. Unbeknownst to the
guards, the Jecta had devised a plan for hiding the food. Dayn had
suggested the idea of cellars, almost everyone in Kirador had one,
but there was no time for digging cellars, so crates were buried in
the ground and hidden under furniture and rugs instead. The
compartments were easy to disguise, as every floor in Pobu was
dirt, and storage bins were simply covered over with the sweep of a
broom. It never occurred to the guards to search beneath their
feet.

The Tearian clan still managed to get
information to Pobu, regardless of the King’s ban of travel there.
Brina knew of an abandoned tunnel beneath Tearia’s walls that led
to a nearby hillside, and was only too happy to share the location
with trusted clan members. She had no idea why the passageway had
been constructed, but had been using it for quite some time without
incident.

The Tearian clan began to refer to Reiv as
“Agneis”. It was the perfect code name, they reasoned, as there was
no law against speaking the goddess’s name. The fact that it was a
female name rather than a male one seemed the perfect ploy.
Although they could not participate directly in the boycott, other
than to get information out, there seemed to be more trash than
usual tossed into their streets after that, and the sewers became
mysteriously clogged. It made the streets of Tearia most
unpleasant, but it was the least the Tearian clan could do.

In the days that followed, the Guard became
more prevalent in Pobu. Loud proclamations were made that all Jecta
were to return to work at once. The spectators nodded with faces of
confusion, indifference, or carefully disguised amusement. The
clans had gathered many to their cause. Even those who had
initially expressed doubt had become ardent supporters.

Tearian spies abounded, and word quickly
reached the palace that the boycott was a well-organized one. New
arrests were made, which caused fear and unrest amongst the
insurgents. But determination won out, and the Jecta found courage
in their hearts where it had long been lacking.

A meeting was called on the night of the
fifteenth day of boycott. It was time for the Jecta to make known
their demands. The meeting was held in a different location from
the last. With each meeting, the crowd had grown larger. On this
night, a building that had once housed multiple apartments was
used. The interior walls had crumbled into mounds of earthen brick,
and the roof was pocked with holes revealing the stars above, but
the weather was pleasant, and the place would accommodate the
numbers expected to attend.

Dayn stood at the far end of the large room
alongside Reiv and Torin, while Jensa and Alicine whispered off to
the side. The crowd shuffled in, lighting candles as they entered,
and spoke in hushed voices. The place soon filled to capacity.
Maintaining silence became almost impossible.

Dayn stepped forward and made a call to
order. Most eyes were turned in his direction, but others stared at
Reiv who was leaned against the wall at Dayn’s back. This was the
first meeting the former Prince had attended since he had told them
the truth of things, and everyone was anxious to hear what he had
to say.

“We won’t be able to meet in secrecy much
longer, if we’re even doing so now,” Dayn said. “Our numbers have
become too great. It’s only a matter of time before we’re
discovered. It’s time we drew up some demands and presented
them.”

“Once they’re drawn, who’ll take them?” a man
in the audience asked.

“That’s something else we need to decide,”
Dayn said.

“Reiv should do it!” a voice shouted.

Dayn glanced back at his cousin and raised a
brow. “Well,” he said, turning back to the crowd, “that’s up to
Reiv.”

The crowd called out encouraging words to
Reiv, but he stood with hands clasped and said nothing.

“For now let’s just get our demands sorted
out,” Dayn said.

Many suggestions were made, some simple,
others grandiose, but it was decided to keep them reasonable and
few. Once successful with the first demands, the others could
follow in time. Reiv, knowing the Tearians better than anyone,
offered ideas and criticisms, but made no firm recommendations.

Eventually they decided on three demands. The
first was that all labor be compensated for with coin, or in the
case of field laborers, a reasonable percentage of the harvest.
Second, the seas and forests were to be declared the property of
all, and any fishing or hunting within them was a gods-given right.
Third was the legal right to assemble. It was unlikely the last
demand would be granted, but at least it was a good bargaining
chip. If assembly was denied, the Tearians would feel a sense of
victory, especially if they conceded to the first two. But assembly
was of no real concern to the Jecta. The fact that it was illegal
hadn’t stopped them from doing it anyway.

“Now comes the issue of how to present our
demands,” Dayn said. “If they’re to be spoken verbally, we’ll need
to decide who does it and when. If in writing, then Reiv will have
to put it to parchment for us. But there’s still the matter of how
to deliver them.”

Discussion buzzed within the clans, but there
was no consensus as to how to go about it. There was risk every way
they looked at it.

Reiv leaned in to Dayn and whispered in his
ear. Voices in the room grew silent. Reiv then took a step forward
as though to address the crowd, but before a single word could
leave his lips, the door burst open.

Loud cries split the air as a host of Guard
rushed in, swords swinging. Shouts and screams exploded within the
room as people scattered, tripping and shoving their way into
corners and against walls. The guards barked orders, but they could
barely be heard over the hysterical noise of the crowd. The floor
soon became thick with bodies that had stumbled to the dirt.
Candles dropped, their flames extinguished. The room became a place
of shadowy confusion. The only light was that of the moon streaming
through the holes in the ceiling, leaving splotches of silver and
gray.

Reiv grabbed Alicine and pushed her to the
ground, while Dayn threw his weight against the dark form of a
guard rushing toward her. The guard stumbled and fell hard onto his
back. Dayn grabbed up the sword that had dropped from the man’s
grasp and held it out with a shaking hand. The guard regained his
balance and leapt toward him. Dayn thrust the blade forward,
plunging it into the man’s chest.

Dayn stared at the blood-covered sword with
horrified eyes, then tore them away to search the darkness for a
sign of his sister. He saw her huddled on the ground and rushed
over. Grabbing her by the arm, he pulled her to his side. He then
turned his attention to Reiv, who had been standing next to them.
But his cousin was no longer there; he had vanished without a word
into the madness that surrounded them.

The sound of sword upon sword could be heard,
the clash of metal upon metal. Jecta and Shell Seekers rushed
forward with weapons drawn and fought back in a wave of fury. Dark
forms backed toward the doorway. The outline of blades rose and
fell in ominous silhouettes against the moonlight. The Guard
retreated out the door and into the street where the clans
followed. Before long, the street was a sea of screams and blood
and bodies.

Dayn ordered Alicine to the security of a
dark corner, then took to the streets with the others. He swung his
sword wildly, not really knowing how to wield it. It was clear the
other Jecta didn’t have the skill either, yet the power of their
determination seemed to be all they needed against the startled
guards. Many of the Jecta and Shell Seekers had retrieved Guard
weapons, but other clan members held very different armaments. In
his confusion, Dayn had not given it much thought, but then in a
moment’s lucidity he realized they were using his weapons, the ones
he had made in the back room of Gair’s shop.