The Saga of Hai-Ek Ai El

By Nancy Hand

El is from the small village of Ai, deep in the southern region of Ka. After completing her training as a Sword El travels north with her mother, a Lance, to the city of Ur Ka. There she joins the army of Ekka Ka to defend the queen's realm against attackers from Sanna Toh. Some think her insane, a crazed animal, others are less sure of what she is. A few even regard her as a valued friend.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Nancy Hand
• Release date: Mar 29, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463285688

Nancy Hand

In the course of years I've held a number of jobs (bookkeeper, sales clerk, computer network engineer) while trying to launch a career (jeweler, sculptor, knitter). In the process I've heard a lot of stories, read a lot of stories, and discovered I like to tell stories. My books were written "for fun". I hope you enjoy them

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The Saga of Hai-Ek Ai El

by Nancy Hand

Copyright 2020

Published by Nancy Hand at Smashwords

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either fictional or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is coincidental.

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Hai-Ek Ai El died on the 55th day of the 18th year of the reign of Ek Ka Es. She was 38 years old. With her death the War of 100 Years ended. Her wager was honored and Ekka Ka was declared victorious. It was said, by those who were there, that in her last moments Hai-Ek Ai El looked down at the point of the lance that had pierced her body and smiled.

El was born on the 50th day of the second year of the reign of Ek Ka Yee. It was a hot summer day with no breeze to cool the room where Ahk struggled to give birth. El was her third child. The birth should have been easier. When the process was complete the midwife put the baby in Ahk’s arms. She looked down at the infant she hadn’t wanted and tried to accept it. The little girl had all the usual parts, in the correct configuration. She looked healthy. The scales that covered much of the child's body were the usual soft brown. When Ahk stroked the skin at the outside of her eye, it flared a dark blue. The midwife was right, this was definitely a girl. A boy's eye patch would have been orange. Until someone reached adulthood, the patches would remain hidden. Really, she was a lovely child. Ahk had almost convinced herself to accept the child when the girl opened her eyes.

Most people had eyes of a single color; blue, red, yellow, and purple were common. Normal eyes might have rays of a lighter or darker shade of that color extending from the pupil toward the rim. Rarely did people have eyes of more than one color. El’s eyes were different. They were deep purple, almost black, with rays of bright red and blue extending outward. There were even flecks of yellow near the pupil. Ahk was repulsed. These were the eyes of a madwoman.

For Ahk it was a long, long fall and winter. Every time she looked at her infant daughter she remembered the night at the unnamed tavern, too much ale and wine, and the beautiful man. She’d been too drunk to take precautions. She’d been drunk because, once again, the Jen had reprimanded her in front of her unit. Ahk was hurt and angry. Drowning her hurt in alcohol had seemed reasonable. Even coupling with the stranger had seemed reasonable, at least until she discovered she was pregnant. By then it was too late. She hadn’t ridden north to join the army in the spring. She’d stayed home, in Ai, to give birth. That meant Jen Sa Lei would assign another to be Kai of her unit. Ahk was already 20 years old and had yet to receive a promotion to Kai.

When the first buds appeared on the trees in the orchards, Ahk packed for the long ride to Ur Ka and the battlefields. She called the Beast, Ai Lon, and tried to convince him it was time to accept her saddle and head north. Lon insisted it was too early. They had at least two more weeks before they needed to leave. Ahk only heard part of his argument. While all Beasts were telepaths not all Therins were. Ahk had some ability to hear Lon but she’d never worked at increasing her skill. Nor had she ever tried to understand his spoken language. Instead, she ignored him. With the help of Nec and Lah she put the heavy saddle on Lon’s back and tightened the cinch. Then she filled the quivers with lances, tied her bag and bed roll to the saddle, and mounted. Lon voiced his farewells to those of the House and Brenk including several insults regarding deaf Therins. Ahk rode away from the house, through the great orchards, and east along the river toward the Northern Road. She would return in the fall, at the end of the season.

Ahk’s departure left El and her siblings in the care of their grandmother, Ahn. Ahn had retired from the army some years earlier. The House had been neglected and she had returned to run it. Her care shown in the abundant harvests and well-tended buildings.

Kah was the oldest at seven. She was learning to read and write. She’d shown some promise as a grammarian but was now leaning toward poetry. Nec, at five, was learning how to care for the animals raised for food, fiber, and skins. Neither of them had any interest in their new baby sister.

El seemed to be a normal, happy child. Ahn saw no signs of the madness her daughter ascribed to El. But, with two older children and a House to run, Ahn didn’t spend as much time with the child as she might have. When El began crawling through the various buildings no one seemed to notice except, perhaps, the Beasts. More than once El was found, sitting in the middle of the Brenk. She would laugh gaily when a Beast shook its head causing the scales along the back of its neck to rattle. She made friends with Pol, a Beast only a year older than she. He was the only other child of the House close to her age.

Ahk returned home earlier than expected. She’d been injured, though not seriously, and Jen Sa Lei took the opportunity to send her home. Ahn saw Lon and Ahk coming through the orchards and started planning El’s Choosing Ceremony.

The Choosing Ceremony was held as close to a child’s first birthday as possible. This was when children selected their occupations. Friends, family, neighbors, and even strangers were invited to help celebrate a child’s start at life. Items representing different occupations would be spread on the floor. The child was placed in the midst of the items and directed to select one. Whatever the child selected, and held onto, would mark the direction of their life. Items were always heavily biased toward the occupations of the parents.

Ahk didn’t want the big event Ahn was planning. Claiming weakness from the long journey, and the injury, Ahk tried to limit the ceremony to members of the household. That would include El’s siblings, Ahk’s bed-mate and El’s legal father, Kek, the four house workers, three Brenk attendants, the planter, and the orchader. The Beasts, all five of them, would also be invited.

When the Beasts accepted the invitation the ceremony was moved to the back courtyard. The items strewn on the ground included toy versions of a stylus and slate, a potter’s wheel, a loom, a lance, a spindle, a book, a plow, the scales of a doctor, and the tally-pad of a merchant. El was placed in the middle of the courtyard as people, Therin and Beast, arranged themselves around the sides. She sat on the ground and looked around. She scanned the items on the ground then the people around her. Ahk moved, catching El’s attention. El pushed herself up onto unsteady legs and ran toward her mother. She lost her balance as she reached for the langf at Ahk’s waist. Ahk tried to laugh as she picked up El and put her back in the middle of the courtyard. El looked disappointed. Then she pushed herself up and made a mad dash toward her grandmother. She grabbed at Ahn’s langf and managed to wrap her fingers around the hilt before she was returned to the circle. El scanned the items on the ground again. Finally, she picked up the toy lance. She seemed disappointed with her choice but held onto it.

Ahk was pleased. This would make El the fifth generation of Lances from the House of Great Orchards. Perhaps the Jen would take this into consideration next spring. In the meantime, she would look for a suitable teacher for El.

El’s training began the next day. Ahn started by teaching her how to hold the lance. El made another attempt to grab the langf from her grandmother’s belt. Again, her fingers were pried loose and she was offered the lance instead.

The langf was a large knife, attached to a broad leather belt, worn to indicate Ahn’s profession as a fighter. It was sheathed and mounted across her body so the grip pointed to her dominant hand. Ahn still wore the rank insignia of Jen attached to the sheath.

The teacher arrived about a month after the ceremony and El’s training began in earnest. There were regular drills, repeated during the day. When El got a free moment she disappeared into the Brenk to play with Pol.

After two years the training became more intense and El had less free time to play with Pol. The teacher encouraged obedience and silence. Questions and comments were discouraged with slaps to the face and jabs from the butt of the lance. No one seemed to notice when El stopped talking or if she had ever started.

Ahk had an argument with El’s teacher and the teacher left. El had a short break before the new teacher arrived. She spent the time with Pol, exploring the lands of the House and the river that watered the orchards. Then she was back at drills with her lance with the new teacher.

In the early fall of her fourth year there was a visitor to the House. A teacher was taking her young student to visit friends in another village. Na Lei was learning the sword and the two teachers thought it would be instructive to have their students spar. It would help prepare them for the battlefield. The sparring was uninspired, even for such young students. The teachers sat on the porch to talk as their students stayed in the courtyard to compare weapons. Na Lei tried El’s lance and fumbled her way through throwing it at a target. The teachers smiled. Then El tried the sword. Lei was right-handed so El grabbed the sword with her right hand and slashed at a post. After giving the post a few solid thwacks, El switched the sword to her left hand and slashed again. The teachers stood up in unison as they dropped their drinks. El was better with the sword than Lei and she was two-handed. Ahk and Ahn were told what had happened. A new teacher was hired. Ka Lah was brought in to turn El into a Sword.

Ka Lah was more demanding than El’s other teachers had been. El had missed three years of training with the sword and Lah was adamant she be brought up to her proper level. Drills started early and continued all day. Lah was unhappy with El’s progress. She didn’t hold the sword properly. It would be too easy to knock it from her grasp. Lah talked to Ahn and Ahk about a solution. They tentatively agreed but Ahn insisted El be asked before any action was taken.

El looked up from her seat on the back porch. Her mother, grandmother, and teacher stood in front of her.

Ahn began, El, Ka Lah says you are having trouble holding the sword. She suggests binding your hands to the sword so you can feel the proper grip.

El tilted her head, "How long?"

Lah answered just as Ahk, who hadn’t heard El’s question, prepared to slap her daughter, Maybe a year. Maybe a little more, or less. We’d have to see.

"Each day?"

Yes.

"Will it hurt?"

No. I don’t think it will hurt. It shouldn’t have a lasting effect on your hands. They’ll still work as they do now. I just need you to understand the proper grip.

El looked down as she considered her response. She heard Lon advise against it as Mai spoke for it. Neither Pol nor Kol offered an opinion on the matter.

Ahk was getting impatient, Well? What’s your answer?

El looked up at her mother. Then she nodded.

The next morning Lah woke El before sunrise. Get something to eat. Take care of your toilet and get dressed. Then come to the courtyard.

El nodded.

Lah had set up a small table on the back porch. On it were two small swords and some soft leather strips. When El arrived Lah used the leather strips to tie a sword to each of El’s hands. The bindings were tight and uncomfortable.

At midday El wanted to take a break, get something to eat, massage her hands, anything but another drill. Lah refused to free her saying battles didn’t stop just because you were hungry. Drills continued until dark.

When El’s hands were finally freed they wouldn’t open. As Lah pried her fingers from the grip, El screamed in pain. Lah slapped El across the face. Screaming was unacceptable. When the pain subsided El went to clean up. Changing clothes was difficult. Her hands throbbed with pain.

The next day, and many, many days after were the same. Lah insisted on leaving El’s hands bound to the sword all day. Because the swords were different weights they were switched left to right each day. El’s hands ached. Her fingers refused to straighten. And still Lah insisted on binding her hands.

It was early spring and Ahk was getting ready to return to Ur Ka. She listened to rain falling on the tile roof as she lay in bed next to Kek. The sun would be up soon. She snuggled closer to Kek and started to doze off.

Screams pierced the house, NO! No more! Go away!

Ahk, Kek, and Ahn leapt out of their beds and ran toward the courtyard. Other members of the household soon arrived to see what was going on. As the morning sky lightened they saw El, a sword in each hand, attacking Ka Lah. It looked as if El was going to kill her.

No! You said no pain. Liar!

Lah tried to say something in response.

El slashed a sword in front of Lah’s face, Lies. All. Hurts.

Lah tried to slip off to El’s right, to hide behind a short wall.

El slashed both swords down onto the top of the wall. One sword landed a hair’s breadth on each side of Lah. El pulled the swords out of the wall, No more! Leave! Go!, and brought them down again.

Ahk was furious. El had no right to attack Lah. She stepped off the porch, into the courtyard. El spun around to face her mother, swords at the ready.

You lied. As El advanced toward Ahk, Lah took the opportunity to flee.

Ahk backed up, I thought it would help you. I know nothing about swords. Ka Lah said it would help. That it wouldn’t hurt you. That your hands would recover.

She lied.

Ahn stepped forward but stayed on the porch, El, I’m sorry. I had no idea what this would do to your hands. I’m sorry. Let me bring the Nis to see if she can help you.

El was only slightly mollified.

Mai walked up behind El, putting her head near El’s, Let them go El. Come with me. We’ll go to the river, play in the water.

El tilted her head, "In the rain?"

"Can’t get any wetter."

El recognized a certain logic to Mai’s argument. She looked at the people around the courtyard. She didn’t want to have anything to do with to any of them right now. She threw down the swords and swung onto Mai’s broad back. Pol followed as Mai started off at a brisk trot.

They returned several hours later, all three of them wet and muddy. El’s hair was caked with mud, her padded leather tunic and trousers were soaked through. Ahn looked at the three of them and shook her head. Then she called the attendants to see to the Beasts and Jai to help her wash the mud out of El’s hair.

Your mother decided to leave for Ur Ka today. Ka Lah went with her. I’ve been given instructions to find you a new teacher. I think it may take me a while, maybe a month, to get someone suitable. I hope you don’t mind taking a break from training.

El looked up at her grandmother, I would like break.

I talked to the doctor after your mother left. Nis Ai Sai has agreed to see what she can do for your hands. Would you be willing to go into the village with me tomorrow to see her?

El was almost six years old. She had never been to the village even though it was only three kils away. The village? I would like to go. To see Nis.

The House of Great Orchards was one of three large farms in Ai. It lay on the southeastern side of Ai, along the river that ran eastward into the Great River at the Northern road. The land was low and prone to flooding. The house and other buildings were at the northwest corner of the farm, where the land was slightly higher. The house and Brenk were single-floor stone buildings with blue-gray tiles on the roof. There were deep eaves sheltering the buildings from summer heat and winter rain. Store houses and drying sheds were arrayed behind the main house.

The other large farms, the House of Gentle Breezes to the north and the House of the Red Sun to the west of Ai, were built in similar fashion. Both were on higher, hillier land and were larger than the House of Great Orchards.

El’s eyes popped open long before the sun rose. Unsure what to do with the time, she went to the courtyard and practiced drills. Her hands still hurt and holding the swords was painful. Ahn had no difficulty in convincing her to stop and change her clothes.

Accustomed to wearing heavy leather garments, El found the common long-sleeved cloth tunic and trousers disconcertingly light. She felt undressed and exposed but, as Ahn was wearing the same thing, El decided not to argue.

They went out the front door to find Mai and Kol saddled and ready to take them to the village. Kol was Lon’s father and had been Ahn’s mount for many years. The scales on his neck had grayed with age. Both Beasts wore small saddles instead of the large, heavily armored saddle favored by Lances. They were only going into the village, not into battle.

Beasts came in as many sizes as Therins. Lances preferred large, strong Beasts. Swords tended to prefer longer-legged, faster Beasts. It was assumed El would make arrangements with a suitable Beast before joining the army.

Kol started for the village as soon as they were mounted. He proceeded at a leisurely pace, stretching the journey to a full hour. As they neared the village El was amazed by the crush of buildings. Some were stone, others mud brick. Some were one floor, others rose to three floors. Some had tile roofs, some had reed thatching. The total population of Ai was just under 1,000. About 700 Therins and 250 Beasts claimed Ai as their home.

They entered the village at the southeast corner and headed toward the main market. El fought the urge to turn Mai back toward the quiet of home. There were dozens of people, all talking. There were musicians, dancers, and singers. The smells of meat cooking, fruit rotting, and fires burning rose from the market and mingled with the smells of food animals offered for sale. El’s head spun and her stomach churned.

Kol led the way across the eastern end of the market and up a hill toward some stone houses. The smells and sounds of the market faded as they wound their way between the buildings. Kol stopped in front of a modest stone house with a blue tile roof. Then he announced their presence with what sounded like a snort.

A small woman opened the door, Kol! How pleasant to see you. How is your knee?

Kol lowered his head, putting it close to hers and said something that El didn’t quite hear.

Then I will make something up for you. If you can stay in town for a few hours you can take it home with you. The woman turned to welcome the rest of them, Mai, you look wonderful. How is that little boy of yours?

Mai shook her head and snorted, rattling the scales on her neck.

I see. Well, at his age they do get into things don’t they? She looked up at Ahn, Welcome to my home. This must be your granddaughter, El. Her smile was wide. El liked her already.

Ahn and El entered the house as Kol and Mai returned to the market. There was a small entry hall with three doors. One led out to a lush garden, another to a comfortable sitting room, the third led to the living area. El was directed toward a wooden stool as Ahn settled in a large chair in the sitting room. Nis Ai Sai sat on another wooden stool in front of El.

I’m told your hands have been damaged. May I see them?

El held out her hands. After almost two years of being bound to swords, they were curled in arcs, the fingers squashed into each other. They looked more like claws than hands.

The Nis held El’s hands gently and examined them. El watched her face and listened to her thoughts. The Nis was more saddened than angered by the damage done. As she examined the damage she consulted with one of her colleague’s.

El, I think we can ease some of the stiffness and pain. Perhaps get some flexibility back but I don’t think we can return them to their original shape. She released El’s hands and got a jar from a nearby table. I’m going to put some ointment on your hands and massage them. This will probably hurt.

El looked at her hands, they were nearly useless, then she looked up at the Nis. She looked out the small window at the lush garden. Then she turned back to the Nis and nodded. The last time she’d nodded agreement to something it had caused the current problem. Maybe she shouldn’t be so agreeable in the future.

The Nis Sai put a heavy coat of ointment on El’s left hand. Then she started to dig her fingers between the bones. It was painful. El fought the urge to scream and writhe on the floor but, twice, she withdrew her hand for a short while. When the Nis Sai finished with El’s left hand, she began the same process on the right.

Both El and the Nis were tired after two hours of forcing stiffened fingers to move. Ahn had watched with interest, planning to repeat this at home.

El, Ahn, I’ve done enough for now. If El could come here every day, we might get some movement back.

Could I do this for her?

You could try. It’s going to be as hard on your fingers as hers.

Ahn nodded. Her fingers weren’t as strong as they once were and she wasn’t sure she could inflict that much pain on her own granddaughter. El would see the Nis as often as possible.

As they left El flexed her hands. They were sore and swollen from the massage but the fingers moved, if only a little.

Ahn took El back toward the market. She wanted to buy something for El.

Just north of the market was a row of shops. There were weavers, spinners, potters, a baker, and a metal smith. Ahn led the way to the metal smith’s shop. They were greeted by a man almost as wide as he was tall. His hands were enormous calloused slabs.

Good day Jen Ai Ahn. How may I help you?

Good day Pah Lon. I’m hoping to buy a langf for my granddaughter, El. What do you have?

Pah Lon looked down at El. The girl already had a langf mounted on her belt. Does the young woman have a preference?

El shrugged. She had no idea what she might like. She had no idea what might be available.

Then let me show you what I have. Pah Lon went to a back room and returned with several knives. He spread them out on a table top for El and Ahn to inspect.

El reached out to touch the knives, to see what might feel right. As she extended her hand Pah Lon gasped.

My apologies. I did not know the sword was so hard on one’s hands. May I suggest this? The grip might be more comfortable for you. Pah Lon picked up a simple knife with a long, slender blade and a rounded grip. I could wrap the grip to provide additional comfort, if you would like.

El wrapped her hand around the grip. It felt good. The knife was well balanced. She looked up at Ahn to get her opinion. Ahn smiled. El turned back to the smith, Wrap. Please.

Of course, Ai El. It will be ready for you tomorrow morning. Do you also need a sheath?

El nodded.