The old man came walking down a gentle slope overlooking a small cluster of buildings, walls covered with ivy growing thick over every surface. The cobbled streets passing between were wide and lined with trees, their pink and blue blooms pouring scent into the air.

It was a warm, still day and the sun shone high overhead amongst the few white clouds as the old man came walking along the road; a road that was flanked on either side with rows upon rows of gravestones.

The gravestones stretched up the sides of the hills, shining white in the midday sun, the bright stone they were made from vivid against the deep green of the grass fields they stood on. They were effectively numberless, stretching over the tops of the hills and continuing to an unknown extent beyond, but the small number of people that walked through the lanes that criss-crossed them paid little heed. Only a few figures could be seen walking amongst the graves, crimson robes rippling in the breeze as they trimmed any blade of grass that had grown too long, or kneeling to clean the stones with a soft, dry cloth. It was one of these robed figures, crouched to clean a gravestone near the road, that called to the old man as he walked by.

"Alms for the dead, sir?" the robed man asked, leaning over the low stone wall that separated the graves from the road. "I don't believe I have seen you in this town before, sir, and it is something of a tradition that you give alms when you first arrive here."

He proffered a small wooden box towards the old man, who looked down at it then back up at the robed man.

"Sir?" The man shook the box a couple of times with a clink of coins, but the old man merely leant on his stick and remained silent.

"Are you not from around here, then?" The robed man asked, a hint of puzzlement appearing in his voice, as if confused as to where this thought had come from. He heaved himself up to a standing position, resting the coin box on the wall and clasping his hands together. "You don't know what... all this... means?"

He gestured at the fields of graves.

The old man looked around slowly at the landscape, then back to the other man.

"I would like you to tell me," the old man said in his whispered tones.

It was a few hours before the robed figure, the monk Melvius as he introduced himself, could finish the day's tasks. The old man waited patiently, and when eventually he was finished Melvius walked with the mysterious visitor until they came to a small cluster of buildings surrounding a plaza of stone arches and benches. Individuals and small groups occasionally crossed the square, while small birds hopped along the arches overhead and sang into the evening light. A small cafe sat on the edge of the plaza, a couple of old wooden seats placed outside, and they sat here, looking over the square.

Melvius had been ordained into the church many years ago, he explained, and after ministering in a variety of locations, he was now spending his autumn years tending to the endless graves of this town.

"The stream of life runs fastest at the start," he explained, "and slows as it closes on the ocean at its end. But I did not bring you here to hear of my life, but of the fields outside," he continued.

"The Unforgotten Graves, they are termed. You must have come a long way indeed to have not heard of them."

He and the old man drank their tea slowly, gazing out over the plaza in the soft evening light as he spoke.

"This land has seen many wars. Many wars, more than we have records for. It has been invader and invaded, oppressor and oppressed. It has taken war abroad and brought war home. The histories tell of times when our people were tortured and killed in the vilest of ways, and of times when it was our people torturing and killing. It is a hard thing to reconcile, such knowledge, but we did so for the longest time. Honour, you see. We believed we were honourable.

“For centuries the warriors of this land began their lessons in fighting even before they learnt the names of their forefathers. It was a hard training, one designed to remove the chaff from the grain - by the flail if necessary. Many could not make it through these trials at all, and not all of those who failed walked away with their lives.

“This was not the way of it when I was a child, but we still looked on our martial past with fondness and pride. Duty and loyalty were the virtues of this land, unto death. A rigid hierarchy emanated from the Emperor who protected and guided the souls of his people. To defy this hierarchy was to defy the Emperor himself, to defy the very heart of the land.

“Thus did our warrior class develop, above and apart from the common people. Peasants and merchants alike bowed when they passed, and to them was given the best the land could offer, and a place in the heavens below. There were many wars in which we were victor and fewer wars in which we were vanquished, but gradually, then suddenly under the last Emperor, the empire expanded.

“Our armies poured over the continent in an unstoppable wave, and all who stood in opposition were drowned. With each victory we grew stronger. At its height, the empire held sway over vast swathes of the continent. This expansion saw the flourishing of our culture, the enriching of our people, and the further strengthening of our warriors. It was said to be a golden age.

“But such great success was not enough for the last Emperor and his advisors, however. It was his ambition to be ruler of all the lands between the great sea and the western, to be king of kings, and he could not abide the few lands that still resisted him.

“One such land was a great land of forests and mountains. The Emperor's men had been repeatedly rebuffed in their attempts to treat with the inhabitants, attempts that began in dialogue but ended in violence. Such resistance was anathema to the Emperor. He denounced the dwellers of the forests for insulting the power of the sceptre and nation, and he assembled his first army since the height of the campaigns.

I remember the day I joined that army."

The man gestured down at his worn body.

"This was a long time ago, and I was a different man.”

“The Emperor force-marched his army across half the continent. I remember seeing him amidst the cohorts, his golden palanquin carried high ahead. Every evening a great tent, larger than any building I had ever seen, was laid out and the army camped around it. Half of the tent was exposed, merely a roof to protect from the elements, and half was sealed, the Emperor's quarters. I could see him from time to time, standing over a map of the empire with his generals, lit by the light of the hundreds of candles they set every night. He wore thick robes of a material I had never seen - I later learned it was silk - and hid his face beneath a golden mask. They moved wooden pieces across the map as if playing a game, in which I came to realise we were less than pawns.

“We did not resent him for this, though. No, he was our champion. It was through his brilliant leadership that we had attained such heights, that our enemies lay dead or dying and our people reaped the rewards. Every time I saw him my heart leapt with joy and thankfulness. He would lead us to further greatness, I believed.

“It took a long time for my feelings to change. The terrain changed as we marched. We crossed mountains and meadows, forded rivers and built great bridges over ravines. I remember once we came to some great black rocks that towered into the sky, and when we ascended them we could see far into the distance. In every direction were green meadows that gave such a feeling of peace it seemed impossible to think we were an army marching to war, that soon we would be fighting and killing. Peace can be as penetrating as sudden violence, you know?

“Soon, though, we came to the edge of the forests that marked the borders of the land we had come to claim. We camped at that edge the first night and it must have been just a few hours before dawn that I was woken to the sounds of yelling, of screaming, and the clash of steel and crackle of flames.

“Our arrogance was almost our undoing that night. We had assumed the locals would be stunned by the size of our army, cowed into submission at the mere sight of us.

Instead, they attacked at the first chance, setting fire to the tents and stabbing at those who ran in a panic from within. I was nearly gutted myself as I fell out of my tent, saved only by luck and a bad aim. As it was, a lump was torn out of my arm..."

Here he raised the cuff of his robe to reveal a livid purple scar on his upper arm,

"... and I barely managed to take my knife from its sheath at my ankle. I don't remember how I got that knife between the ribs of my attacker, but I did, and for the next hour all I remember is soul-sucking desperation. We fought tooth and nail, and eventually succeeded on driving the attack off, but we lost a great many men. Too many men."

The story was paused as the man stopped and stared out across the plaza, to the graves that rose on the hillside far behind.

"I think it was the presence of the Emperor that saved us. The moment he emerged from his tent, armour shining brighter than the flaming light surely allowed, sword raised in defiance to the heavens, we redoubled our efforts. The enemy fled.

Once the battle was finished, we had time to take stock of the dead, and our losses. We had lost not only men, but a good deal of our supplies too. The Emperor's caravan remained, but most of the rest of the supplies had gone up in the flames. From now on, we would be living off the land.

“But we did not believe our situation to be dire. We remained certain of our eventual victory, only now we knew it would require a good deal more toil. The perfidy of the enemy served only to reinforce our resolve.

“The next day, soon after we had cleared the ruins of the night, a messenger appeared from within the trees. He came alone, unarmed yet unafraid, standing tall and proud in his barbarian animal skins, larger than our strongest warrior. I remember how the work stopped throughout the camp, all eyes turning to focus on him until one of the Emperor's escorts strode up to him. There was a conversation inaudible to our ears, and then the messenger was taken into the great tent and out of sight.

“A few hours later he re-emerged, and sprinted off into the undergrowth without a second look. Back in the tent the generals stood clustered, silently watching the departing figure. We all noticed their thoughtful expressions. I was called into the great tent soon after.

“My officer found me as I was sharpening my sword and told me I had been summoned to the Emperor's council. I couldn't understand! Why me? I was a low-ranking nobody, one of the many lowly soldiers that make up the bulk of the army - what could they possibly want with me?

“To be sure, it was not unheard of for the Emperor to meet his men. He was not like the Emperors across the great sea. No, he fought alongside his men and he would sometimes be found walking amongst the camp, a handful of guards at his sides inspecting and questioning. I had never spoken to him personally, but knew many who had, receiving some small compliment or answering some query.

“… But to be summoned to the council - I was shaking so hard I nearly cut myself as I tried to put my sword back in its sheath! In the end I had to leave it unsheathed, hiding it under the blanket of my roll bed. I ran as fast as I could to the edge of the tent, paused to catch my breath and compose myself, and stepped inside to be nearly decapitated.

“In my haste I had failed to announce myself. The guards' blades crossed beneath my chin, the sharpened metal V of instant death pressing against my throat. I had to explain, very, very slowly, that I had been summoned here, and I do think that had the Emperor himself not looked up and beckoned me through they may not have heeded my explanation and would have cut me down where I stood.

“He was stood at the campaign table with his staff, several men clustered around a great map that showed what was known about this area. I rushed over and was motioned to stand quietly a few steps away whilst they continued their discussions.

This wait gave me the opportunity to look over the layout of this land, and I remember being surprised by how little we knew of the area. Our camp was marked with a golden X, and a few miles further in a clearing on the edge of a river was marked with a smaller one, indicating some search party I had no knowledge of. All between was forest, and the other side of the river was... nothing. The banks were marked as forest, but beyond that was terra incognita. I think I knew what they were sending me to do before they told me.

“I had been a hunter before I was a soldier, you see. Some of my fellows had commented on my prowess in moving through the forest, and it seemed not only my fellows. I had never thought much of it.

The Emperor himself spoke to me.

‘The messenger that just left,’ he told me, ‘came bearing a message from their queen.’

This was the first I had heard of any queen, but I was too frozen with awe and fear to react.

‘They say they have a great host awaiting us, one that will grind us into dust if we do not treat with them in the next three moons. My generals assure me we can resist any attacks from such barbarians...’ and here he gave them such a stare they shuffled uncomfortably, ‘but I wish to confirm this claim.’

He was sending me to scout the barbarian army!

“To this day I do not know why it was I and not one of the scouts. I have heard different reasonings from others who were there. Some tell me the scouts had been wiped out in the raid, or long before. Other suppose I was not the only one sent out, that I was one of many. My own opinion is that I was expendable, a cheap piece to lose in return for the chance of valuable information. Either way, I will never know now..."

The monk cleared his throat and stood as he placed a few copper coins onto the table. The old man stood with him. The sun was below the horizon now, the plaza enveloped in shadow and the birdsong silenced.

"At this time we light the candles beside the graves. If you come with me, we can continue as I work."

They walked side by side towards the fields of graves.

"I left that evening with nothing but a hunting bow and my small pack of provisions. A sword would have been too cumbersome for what I needed to do, and besides I was only used to battling in formation. I wasn't trained in swordsmanship in the manner of our officers.

“I carved a path through the night, using the stars as my guide, until I came to the clearing I had seen on the map. There was nothing there. Whoever had been here had moved on, or been taken. The latter thought made my teeth chatter.

“Crossing the river was a daunting task. It was wide and fast flowing, and had no obvious crossing points. I explored up and downstream for a couple of hours, finding nothing. By the time the sun was once more rising, I was too tired to continue my search so I hid myself in the nook of a tree, and slept.

“The next afternoon was fortunately dark and overcast, allowing me to move earlier than I had expected to be able to. I found a narrow area of the river and waded out as far as I could, using a strong branch for support. When it deepened, I floated out on my back and allowed the current to carry me, gently pushing myself towards the other bank.

“Did you know that some people actually try to swim against the current when crossing flowing water? It's apparently a natural reaction when panicking. They are the people who the current takes. It is as we learnt in childhood: fight the flow and you are swept away, join the flow and it will take you where you need. This is true, and saved me.

“I had barely clambered out of the water when I heard them. Three men, large spears at their sides, looking out over the water and talking quietly. I couldn't have been more than the length of two men away.

“They stood on a large rock that rose out of the bank and gave an excellent view of both sides - everywhere except the small sheltered pool I had climbed from. I had been lucky. A tree must have collapsed into the river and been carried away at some point, leaving a wide hole where its roots had been. Knotted branches above kept this pool hidden from view, and it was possible to crawl out and up into the forest through a cramped tunnel of roots without being seen.

“I moved further into the trees a quickly as possible, still soaked but valuing my life more than my comfort. It was some time before I felt able to stop and take stock.

The oiled skins that I had wrapped around my pack had been torn on some rock during the crossing water had flooded within. The bow was ruined, its string wet and stretched, and most of the food too, but the smoked meat I carried was still edible, so I ate it and threw the pack away. I wasn't too worried about food - I would not be here long, and I had greater fears.

“I admit I was panicking by now. I thought I was calm and in control, but all my actions were rushed. When I look back it is clear I was hurrying in order to return to the camp as soon as I could. I didn't stop to dry my clothes, and the chill air set me shaking. I moved too fast through the trees, and caused too much noise.

“They found me at the same time I found them. The sounds of metal on metal, of fire and revelry, and the smell of roasting food led me to the host. It was enormous. A break in the trees revealed a vast clearing filled with people and tents, filled with the energy of a people on campaign. Blacksmiths tempered iron outside, men fought with wildly spinning spears within wide sparring circles, while all drank and laughed. I could see women and children too - they travelled together, something I had never seen. The numbers shocked me. This army was far greater in size than ours.

They must have come from behind me, because something struck me on the back of the head and everything went black."

The monk had crouched down beside one of the white cubic graves and begun polishing it, carefully wiping with first one cloth and then the other to draw out the stone's lustre in the candlelight.

"When I awoke my hands were bound and I was being carried between two giants of men. Their arms must have been bigger than my chest. They threw me down so that I landed on my back, winded, and when I regained my senses I found that I was in front of a raised chair with someone sitting atop.

“The chair was a shining black material I have never seen before or since, inlaid with pearls and other precious gems. It was wide and deep, a throne, and its occupant was a tall, fiery-eyed woman with close-cropped hair, a thin crown on her head. She wore the breeches of a man and carried a sword at her side, another sight I had never dreamt to see. I say this to men now and they mock me, laugh at me, but I tell you: here was a warrior-queen that could lay rent the greatest of our army. I saw this the instant she looked at me, her gaze boring to my very core, and I cannot speculate on what she saw when she looked at me. An insect, perhaps, some small creature barely worth her noticing.

“I crawled to my knees and bowed low, my shaking no longer due to the cold. When I tried to raise my eyes to look at her once more, I was kicked from behind and my face crushed beneath a foot into the dirt.

'You do not rise until the Queen permits you to,' a voice growled behind me.

“I remained there, trembling, and listened to the footsteps of the queen as she strode around me, inspecting me. The gathering had fallen quiet now, so quiet I could not believe all those people I had seen remained, and her steady footsteps were loud in my ears.

Eventually she returned to her throne and permitted me to raise my head.

'You come from the eastern lands, do you not?'

She spoke our language! Another surprise. I nodded hurriedly in assent.

'You come to spy on us? To judge our strength?'

Again, in my fear I could only nod.

'Well, then, tell me. What do you find, when you see my people gathered here?'

“I do not remember exactly what I said in response, only that I stumbled over my words and became close to incomprehensible in my fear, but I know I said anything I thought would appease her. I spoke of her vast armies and how we would be swamped by them, of how they outnumbered us many times over.

'So you know you cannot win against us?'

“Now, there's the rub. Even in my terror, a lifetime's belief in the obvious destiny of our people and our Emperor prevented me from replying.

She asked again.

'No barbarian army can stand in the way of the Emperor,’ I replied.

“I flinched from a blow that never came. Instead, I gradually became aware that the queen was laughing, a quiet, throaty chuckle. Her people all around began to laugh too, until it filled the forest.

“When the cachinnation ended I thought my time had come. I was sure I would be killed there and then. Instead, hands dragged me roughly to my feet and the queen stood up on the step of her throne. She fixed me with a stare so powerful I could not blink.

'Go to your Emperor' she sneered - and even now part of me raged at such a tone - 'and tell him we are not a violent nor unmerciful people. If he would meet my envoy at the river before the second moon from today, we will treat with him. He is to send no more than those who can speak directly for him, and I will do the same. I guarantee him safe passage. My men will show you the place.'

“She dismissed me from her thoughts in an instant, and I was dragged away by the same two as had brought me there. They said nothing as they led me away from the light and into the forest, all the way back to the river.

“We arrived much further upstream than I had been before, to a place of rapids. Somehow, within the foaming torrents they knew a path across that dampened me to no more than my waist. We crossed without incident, but when I looked back I could see no sign of the path we had taken. To try without their guidance would have been madness; only those blessed by the water herself could cross alone.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“I was taken to a clearing not far from the river. At first I was confused. Surely they did not mean this was the meeting place? This side of the river was where our army was located. No matter how swiftly a few could cross the rapids they could never get their army across in good time or order. I was mystified, and questioned my escorts.

“It seemed at least one of them also had some knowledge of our language, as he replied.

'If the queen promises safety, there is safety. If she promises war, there is war. There is no honour in lies.'

Barbarian honour! I would have laughed had I not been so cold and fearful.

They left me there and disappeared into the night, while I made my way back to camp by the stars above."

The old man had watched the monk clean the first few gravestones, and now he too was crouched down and cleaning. To the monk's surprise he had produced two cloths from somewhere within his pockets. Where he wiped the stones they gleamed, reflecting the candlelight. It seemed almost as if the stones the old man cleaned shone with more than the light of the candles.

They continued as the story progressed.

"I reached the camp before dawn, and was taken immediately to the Emperor's tent. He and his advisors were still awake, though I could see no evidence of fatigue on his face.

“They made me give a full account of what had happened on my journey, pressing me for more detail at every juncture. It took until the sun was high in the sky for them to be satisfied. I was swaying from hunger, barely able to stand, by the time they let me leave. I thought they were done with me.

They were not.

“I was called back into the Emperor's presence later that afternoon, roused from my sleep by an armoured boot in the ribs. I struggled to focus on what they were asking of me through the haze of exhaustion, until realisation struck me like a bucket of iced water.

I was to lead them to the clearing!

“I couldn't understand. I had given them the direction, shared the compass points and landmarks with their closest subordinates, but it was me who would lead them.

The confusion must have been evident on my face, for one of the generals in the room demanded to know if I was questioning the wishes of the Emperor. I had to beg on my knees that this was not so.

The next day I woke early, before the rest of the camp, and met with the Emperor's men a short ways away. The Emperor himself was not there, but several of his generals and advisors were. They said little save to instruct me to lead the way.

“As we moved through the trees we were joined by a large number of our compatriots, appearing suddenly from where they must have been waiting since hours before. Soon, we had a far greater number of escorts than the queen could possibly find acceptable.

We reached the clearing in the early morning light. The shadows of the trees crossed the ground like the bars of a pauper's prison, making it hard to see what awaited us beyond.

“It was I that was sent to investigate. I trembled as I entered the clearing, exposing myself to whatever might lurk in the woods beyond, but no arrow came for me. The others emerged soon after, guards spreading out and searching the area.

I couldn't comprehend what they were planning. What were we doing here with such a large group? There seemed to be no reason except to enrage the queen, and my confusion only increased when they set up several long tables in the centre of the clearing, taken from the horses' sides.

“Upon these tables were laid rations I was unaware still remained. They must have been taken from the Emperor's own kitchen wagon. There was mutton and lamb, some strange red shelled creature I had never seen, and a great variety of rices and bread.

More than that, there were large skins of wine and beer, more than enough to leave our group on the floor twice over. I thought they must be mad to plan for such a feast here - we would be smashed by the first enemy party to come through!

As soon as the feast was set, several men were sent to sit around and indulge themselves whilst the majority of us retreated into the trees. I was mystified. Why were a handful, the lowliest no less, eating the food of the Emperor?

“My answer came a few hours later, as the twilight came down. Far to the other side of the clearing, first one than another of the queen's men appeared, hanging back far from the table as their numbers increased. You could see if not hear the hissed argument happening as they all gazed intently at the banquet incongruously sitting in the middle of the forest.

“A large, muscled giant of a man, my former captor perhaps, walked warily towards the table, sword sheathed at his side. I could not hear what was said, but he was met by a dagger to the stomach in reply.

He fell forward, a look of shock on his face. At this, the rest of the group, at least 20 in number, raised a blood-curdling war cry and charged the few men at the feast. They cut their throats in an instant, even as they tried to stand, and fell upon the feast.

We stepped out from our scattered hiding places and fell upon them as hungrily as they had upon the food, at least three times their number. Several of the group were dead in seconds, and the handful who were not were made to sit on the ground. They glowered at us through hate-filled eyes.

“I found out in the next few hours what had happened, as the tongues of my fellows loosened in the flush of victory.

It was apparently well-known that the people of this region were suffering heavily through lack of food. I had seen no evidence of this in my short time in the camp, though admittedly I was not looking for any, but winter was fast approaching and times would only become tougher. A guard captain informed me that during the raid on our camp a great amount of food had been stolen before the fire was set, further confirming the hunger of the enemy.

“Knowing they were hungry they set up the banquet to entice the enemy party out, and took full advantage of the distraction caused by the plentiful food to slaughter them.

I asked the guards captain what would have happened had the enemy numbers been far greater, and I shall always remember his reply;

'The queen promised she would send only her guard, and these fools pride words over victory. We knew she would keep her promises.'

I felt a strange knot in my gut at these words, some strange feeling that made me feel sick inside. I did not analyse them then, but I know now it was shame.

“Only one thing remained, I was told. Within this party would be the queen's envoy, someone entrusted by her to speak in her voice. He would not be among the dead, for his fellows would undoubtedly seek to die before him, and it was not long before he was discovered.

“The tall, raven-haired envoy wore a studded brown leather jacket with an empty sheath at his side. He did not show any fear as he was dragged in front of the generals. He stared defiantly up into the eyes of the mounted men with nary a blink, refusing to be intimidated. They made several demands of him, but his only reply was to bark back in their harsh language, a gabble of sound whose words were unknown but meaning clear. He was not going to cooperate easily.

“He was placed in chains I had not even known had been brought on this journey, bound at the hands and by the ankles with just enough give to allow him a hobbled walk besides us. I was not needed to guide the way back to the main camp, so I walked somewhere to the back of the crowd of my fellows, trying to remain as unnoticed as possible. Perhaps now my involvement in these proceedings could end, I hoped. The affairs of the mighty were not for one such as me.

“It took me a while to become aware of the clinking of chains as I lost myself in dreams of obscurity. Locked in thought, my wanderings had taken me to the side of the captive, and I found my pace being matched by his - or perhaps his by mine? Either way, I walked beside him for some time, clambering over fallen trunks and watching for knots of roots underfoot. These roots were causing the man much trouble, bound as he was, and at one point he fell sprawling to the floor. I helped him up without much thought, where others simply laughed. He eyed me strangely as we continued on.

'You are the one brought before the Queen,' he said suddenly.

I was unsure what to say to this, and unsure if I should even respond. I didn't want to be involved in any of this, especially the affairs of some enemy captive.

'She should have had you strung, and burned you all alive,' he said, voice filled with a cold resentment.

'She tried,' I replied curtly. ‘She nearly burned down our camp.’

I was surprised to hear him laugh, a guffaw bursting from his chest then gone as quickly as it appeared.

'You think she tried?' he asked incredulously, 'If she had wanted you dead, you would already be dead! You were given a warning. And we did not set any fire. Your fool sentries knocked over a lamp in panic, and you are so arrogant you set no firebreaks in your camp!'

I made a point of laughing loudly, disbelievingly, in case others were listening in, but I admit a part of me believed him. We walked on in silence again.

'What do they plan to do with me?' he asked me some time later.

I shrugged. I had as little idea as he did.

Apparently, someone had been listening in, because a man walking close behind spoke up suddenly.

'You're a game piece,' this newcomer said.

'They will trade you. They'll use you to break the queen.'

The captive smiled grimly.

'My death will mean nothing to her,' he said, looking down as he shuffled along.

The newcomer laughed.

'You know that's a lie. We don't take well to liars...' and he punched the captive square in the face.

'We know who you are,' said the newcomer angrily, clenching and unclenching his fist as he stood over the fallen man.

Once again I had no idea what was occurring here. Who was he?

Whoever he was, his eyes narrowed and his mouth formed a pencil line. He was clearly infuriated by this turn of events.

The newcomer turned to me.

'Do you know who this is?' he asked me conspiratorially.

I must have looked blank, because he told me unprompted.

"This is Jer. Salot. The brother of the queen.'"

"We lost him for a time after that. Jer. Salot refused to speak for a while, and his harasser took great pleasure in telling me about him.

I learnt that 'Jer.' was an honorific similar to Duke in our lands, and that he was the youngest of seven brothers of the queen. Their society was not patrilineal, as ours, and successors were chosen by order of birth. Hence his sister, being the oldest, taking the throne.

“Though apparently throne was a curious word to use for their system. It seemed the queen, or king in different times, was more like a war leader than a monarch. Only in times of war did her writ run strong.

Another custom of theirs was to use only their closest companions, most usually family, as envoys. They believed only those who understood them implicitly could represent them in negotiations with other forces.

“Above all, they believed a bond of blood could never be broken. Not a one of them would ever abandon a member of their kin.

The Emperor, in his great wisdom I was told, had heard of their customs and seen there an opportunity. On hearing the queen would be sending an envoy to treat with him, he ordered his generals to make plans for this envoy's capture. Such an unthinkable move by their standards would give him a powerful bargaining chip, particularly if the captive turned out to be a member of the queen's direct bloodline. In this, he had been very fortunate.

“As I was told all this, Jer. Salot's eyes grew narrower and narrower, his face flushing with rage and fists whitening. At the final comment he spat and began to curse.

'Your emperor is an honourless dog,' he hissed. 'A coward who cannot face the enemy in true combat lest he water his feet.'

Another punch from his captor knocked him on his back, blood streaming down his face.

A general from further ahead called back to us, summoning the man who had assaulted the Jer. I saw them have a brief heated conversation, and then the general slapped the man hard across the face. Of course, they wanted the prisoner in good condition for whatever bargain they could reach. The man did not return.

'To assault a man in chains is like violence against a child,' said Jer. Salot, spitting out a bloody glob.

I found myself apologising for my fellow, then feeling foolish for doing so. Was this man not my enemy? What did I care of his opinions? Again he eyed me curiously.

'You are... different... from the others. You see what is happening, and your heart rebels against it.'

I shook my head, looking down at the ground - to search for obstacles below, I told myself.

'You feel the shame of it.'

I did not reply.

'We have lived here for centuries,' he spoke as if to the air. 'We have carried no aggression to your lands, caused no harm to your people, yet you come here and demand a promise of fealty to a man from far away. You burn our fields and cut down our forests, and take those you capture and send them to unknown places. And you couch it in terms of civilisation!'

He spoke at length as we walked, telling me of his experiences though I gave no response, feigning disinterest.

“He had spent many years within the Empire, sent while just a boy to learn of this rapidly expanding power that ate up nation after nation as if insatiable. He had been to our greatest universities and met our greatest thinkers, had witnessed the marches of our armies and seen the towers of our cities.

“And yet, he told me, he could never understand how a people of such intelligence, such ingenuity and talent, could throw itself behind just one man. The fervour for the Emperor mystified him.

'It is better to follow than to be led,' he told me.

“This at least stimulated me to passion. How could he not understand, I asked, that it was from the Emperor that all stemmed? The Emperor stood at the centre of all things, and it was from him that all legitimate power was derived. From the highest lord to the lowliest peasant, the structure of civilisation depended upon him.

“Where, I challenged him, could authority be derived from if not from the Emperor? Only through loyalty to him could we know true purpose, and only through obedience could we know true unity.

Prior to the Emperor ours had been a nation at war with itself, wracked by internal divisions, I protested. Now it bestrode the world.

'And why is that a good thing?' he asked after the increasingly heated tirade.

I stopped, unable to grasp his meaning.

'The empire. Controlling great swathes of land. Why is that a good thing?'

I think I must have stopped walking for a moment, mouth hanging open. The question seemed ridiculous. Of course the Empire was a great thing! It was a question that did not need to be asked. And yet...

“I couldn't think of a way to articulate my answer. I had always known, as everyone I knew had known, that the Empire was great. But the answers that came to my lips died there without being said. Culture? The Emperor? Enlightenment?

Any reason I could think of seemed laughable when said to a man in chains.

“I think he noticed my rising anger, as he became silent and watched me struggle with my thoughts. Eventually, he spoke;

'Do not worry. These questions were not meant for you. Those caught in the games of gods can only invent answers that comfort them. They can never know if these answers are true.'

“We reached the camp a while after, the returning men cheering and whistling loudly, shouting of a great victory. I was subdued, pondering what had happened and feeling that this was in some way not the victory they claimed it to be.

Somehow Jer. Salot had become my charge. My conversations with him must have been noted, for I was directed by one of the generals to bring him directly to the Emperor's tent. Of course I was escorted by several armed guards, but it was I that led him there.

“All I wanted was to be done with this, with the whole of it, but instead I was once more within the open entrance of the Imperial tent surrounded by the highest leaders of the army. The Emperor soon appeared in full golden regalia, and this time he came close enough that I could see that his breast plate was gold leaf over hard iron. It flaked in places, and carried innumerable nicks in the metal.

Whatever Jer. Salot had said, he was at least wrong in one regard: the Emperor was not a man afraid to fight.

“He came close to Salot and inspected him intently. The two locked eyes and I was filled with fresh fear when the Jer. refused to look away, meeting the Emperor's gaze unblinkingly. There was what felt like an eternity before the Emperor suddenly smiled and turned to me, speaking as if I was a valued servant of the place.

He instructed me to take the captive to the holding cells, and then the generals swarmed around him and I and the Jer. were swept away. A wizened old man in the black-and-red livery of the Imperial staff appeared at my side, smiling. Apparently I was not the first member of the rank-and-file to have been suddenly conscripted into the Emperor's more direct service.

“The old man guided me and the still-chained Jer. out of the tent and to a cluster of dark black ones that every soldier knew but tried not to think of. Each tent was small and squat, little more than a cube hardly taller than a man. Outside each one stood a stone-faced guard, standing to attention with a large spear at his side. These guards were chosen from the most serious of the army, men who could tolerate long periods of inaction without tiring.

“And they needed such tolerance, for within each tent was a cage. The cages were boxes built of iron bars, welded together and fixed into thick wooden planks. Within these cramped conditions were kept those who had provoked the Emperor's wrath, be they enemies, deserters, or myriad other criminals.

The cages had nothing within save a bucket, and prisoners would sit for long hours on the splintered floorboards, unable to properly stretch their cramped muscles. Standing straight was impossible for any but the shortest man, and Jer. Salot was taller than most. I knew he would be most uncomfortable.

“The servant who had shown me the way here spoke briefly to a cluster of dour men stood nearby, and a scar-faced man took a ring of heavy keys and opened a nearby cage. I gestured the Jer. towards it, unsure what I would do if he resisted, but he calmly stepped into the cage and sat cross-legged on the floor, backs to us all. He was still sitting unmoving as the thick entrance curtains were allowed to fall back, enveloping him in darkness.

It was done! Now I could return to my tent, and the duties of an ordinary foot soldier. I thought I would be more relieved...

“… Instead, I returned to my tent filled with unfamiliar feelings of doubt and shame. I had seen little of the people we had come to conquer, but I had seen much of the attitudes of my own. They had trusted us to meet them with honour, and we had not. I found it hard to think about, for I could still not reconcile such thoughts with my love of the Emperor.

“It was because of these confused emotions that I returned to Jer. Salot's tent the next morning. I approached the black tents apprehensively, but the guards of the tents must have recognised me for they allowed me to enter without question.

The old servant from yesterday was there, stood beside a table on which many trays of dry food and water were placed. He greeted me as I approached, and seemed unsurprised at my presence. Instead, he told me he was glad of the help, and passed me a tray to take to the Jer.

“I stood there for a moment holding the tray, surprised at how easy it had been and wondering what I was even thinking, then gathered my wits and walked into the black tent that held the Jer.

He was still sitting cross-legged as he had when I last saw him. The tent was musty and chill, but he seemed unmoved. He did not react when I entered, propping open one of the curtained entrances to allow in some light.

“I took the plate and water and placed them individually on the floor of the cage beside him, and he glanced in my direction as I did so. His eyes focused when he saw who it was, and he turned to face me. He said nothing, however.

I froze, unsure what I wanted to say, and panicked. I left the tent quickly, a cold sweat running down my spine.

This time I was definitely done with it all, I told myself. I would not return to that tent again. I would await whatever battles were coming, and lose myself in them.

“It was whilst I was resolving to myself to do this that I became aware of a buzz around the camp. People were chatting intensely to each other, a susurration of excitement running through the air. Grabbing the attention of the nearest group, I asked what was happening.

'We may not have to fight!' said a beaming soldier.

I couldn't begin to imagine what he was talking about, and demanded he elaborate.

'The Emperor has sent a demand to the queen of these barbarians. The queen is to bow before the Emperor or her brother will be executed!'

I felt cold at what I was hearing. Blackmail. Was this how we now did battle?

“There was more to the terms of the demand, I found out. A further enticement for the queen was that, should she submit to the Emperor, she would be allowed to keep her throne. This was an offer the Empire made very seldom, to allow a client monarch to speak for the Emperor.

“I knew I should feel glad, as the rest of the camp did. We were still not fully recovered from the previous attack, and any battle is a mess of blood and pain, but I instead felt a great unease.

I returned to Jer. Salot's tent that evening.

He turned to me once again when I entered, and this time he spoke.

'I did not think you had the strength of will to return,' he said. 'It is a hard thing, to see those whose freedom you have taken.'

I must have shifted uneasily, because his eyes narrowed with suspicion and he demanded to know what was wrong.

“I did not tell him at first. Instead, I asked him things about his people, about his life. He was reticent, but the few things he told me did not sound alien to my ears. They sounded familiar.

Eventually, he demanded to know why I had come. He could see, he said, that I had something I wanted to say.

“So I told him of the Emperor's ultimatum to his queen. Even in the dark, I could see his face flush with rage. His voice became cold, kept in restraint by strength of will, but he could not contain the anger completely and his right hand punched rhythmically into the floorboards, his eyes always on me as he asked for more details. He seemed oblivious to his actions even as his knuckles began to bleed.

'You know,' he said at length, 'You know this is wrong. I see it in your face.'

'The Emperor...' I began.

'If you love your Emperor you would not allow him to debase himself this way!'

The Jer. was suddenly shouting, standing up as much as he could in the cage and grabbing the bars, forcing his face as close as he could to mine, eyes burning.

'This is not a path of honour! He is disgracing himself!'

“Some part of me knew this was true, but confusion and the terror that his shouting would be heard by someone meant I fled from the tent, running from the area.

“I did not return until the next day. Rumours had been flying around the camp since the evening before, when a messenger from the queen had been seen being taken into the Emperor's tent, departing soon after.

She would bow, some said.

She would fight, others said.

She had fled, still others said.

I knew at least the latter was not true. I had seen her eyes, and there is no way she would flee.

I returned to Jer. Salot as the moon rose. He turned to me and spoke as if no time had passed since we last met.

'I need a sword.'

I looked at him in disbelief.

'This cage cannot hold me, but I need a weapon,' he said.

He couldn't be serious, I thought.

He must have known what I was thinking.

'A weapon,' he said, and turned away.

“For two days I did not return to the Jer. The camp had grown lax since the Jer.'s capture, and raids on distant farms had finally brought fresh food back. Word had spread that the queen had accepted the Emperor's ultimatum, and that it would not be long before we could return home. Soldiers joked and laughed, and watches were fulfilled half-heartedly, often by drunk men who would be useless in raising the alarm.

“And yet, for all this we may have been fine were it not for my actions.

I have long since accepted the responsibility for them.

For I went to the Jer's cage the morning I heard the queen was on her way, and was expected in just a few hours. I don't know what I planned to do, or even if I planned anything, but I knew my business with the Jer. was unresolved.

“He was clearly more dirty and haggard from his days in the cage, but still retained the strength he carried himself with. He knew what was occurring the instant he saw me.

'I will not allow this,' he said. 'Give me a weapon and I shall escape. I will not be the reason my people are enslaved.'

I remember I was sweating and panting like I was fleeing the tempest, and I found it hard to speak. I was barely conscious of my actions when I passed the short sword to him, and once more fled the tent.

“The queen came flanked by row after row of well-armed warriors, weapons glinting in the winter sun. Their feet crunched through the light winter snow that had fallen that morning, lending a strange peacefulness to the scene.

Ahead of her stood the Emperor on a raised, roofless palanquin, shining gold. He was flanked by ornately-armoured guards, and behind him our army stood, myself included, set up in rows and at attention, most smiling triumphantly as the queen's retinue advanced.

“She stopped before the Emperor, forced to crane her neck upwards towards him, while her guards stared into our army with hatred in their eyes. Nevertheless, we outnumbered them greatly.

The Emperor was magnanimous in victory. He greeted the queen as the ruler of this land, and spoke of her strength and beauty. The last was met with a venomous stare, but she nodded and returned the compliments with compliments of her own. Then the Emperor surprised us all, the queen's men and our own equally dumbfounded.

For the Emperor proposed marriage!

“Now, this was scandalous for us. To marry such a barbarian as this would have been a disgrace for even an ordinary layman, yet the very soul of the empire was proposing it. A murmur rose and fell quickly as order was restored.

'A bold gesture,' replied the queen, 'and one that would join our two streams into a great river. I will think on it.'

Anger rose amongst our army at this. To think she would speak as if she were an equal of him. Even I felt the indignation, though it was a damp thing compared to how I would have felt even a few days before.

And then she asked to see her brother.

“I was bewildered when the cage was hoisted out of the trees and placed besides the Emperor's palanquin. Within was Jer. Salot, kneeling towards the queen.

Before anyone could react, the Jer. bowed at the queen, drew the short sword from beneath his jacket, and slit his wrists. His eyes met mine for a brief moment as he fell.

“All fell into chaos. Most of the queen's men charged at us, while one group surrounded her and moved her to safety. She was not running, however, for when she was a short way away she let out a thunderous cry.

From all around us the cry was answered. This time, they had learnt from our traitorous actions. The queen's warriors poured in from all directions, slaughtering as they went. The clash of steel on steel resounded through the forest, drowning out the very thoughts in my head. I saw armed men and women cutting their way through my fellows, the screams of desperation growing louder as more and more fell to the sword.

“The Emperor's palanquin fell to the ground as its bearers drew their own weapons, and I moved in to the circle of steel that surrounded him, protected him. I saw him draw his own great sword and let loose a powerful cry, charging in amongst his men and felling the enemy all around him.

I can honestly say that he was the greatest fighter I have ever seen, of all the many battles I have been a part of. This statement is only tempered by the fact that I now feel it is not the ability to fight that makes a man.

“It was a bolt that got him. One second he was carving a bloody swathe through the attackers, the next he was standing frozen, slowly reaching up to his neck where a bolt stuck clean through. He turned at the same time as I, to see the queen slowly dropping her crossbow and watching as he fell, first to his knees, and then face down into the mud.

“With the death of the Emperor our army was done. We broke all at once, dashing in all directions into the forest, chased by the enemy in our rout. I don't know how I survived the initial rush, but I was fortunate to have the woodsmanship to make it across the land in the next few days. Many of my fellows did not, and died even though they escaped the enemies blades."

The monk paused in his task as he looked to the old man.

"The disintegration of the empire led to many more battles, and I took part in a good number of them, far larger and bloodier than that one, but it will always be my time in those forests that I remember."

He watched as the old man continued his methodical polishing of a gravestone.

"I never told anyone it was I who gave the short sword to the Jer. Indeed, I have never heard it commented on, so great was the chaos of that day. But I remember the responsibility, and so I came to this town, and began to set these graves.

“They are not for the people of this town. They are the graves of those lost in the wars of the empire. Any name we can find is interred here. Perhaps the person whose grave you clean now was the enemy of the man placed next to him, but no-one can remember. So great and so many were the wars that followed that those who were your enemy one day may be a friend the next, and the reverse.

“It began with just me, only a decade or so ago, placing small cairns of stones, but so many had lost so much that I was soon joined by others. We became an order, dedicated to the creation and maintenance of these stones, in which the memories of both friend and enemy are preserved. For though we may be divided in life, we are all united in death."

The moon was now far into its descent, the light of another day barely visible on the horizon. The monk stood and stretched cramped joints.

"Thank you, sir," he said to the old man, "but our labour is done for the night. You are welcome to stay in the rooms of the order and rest, should you wish."

The old man stood, folding and pocketing his cloth, and shook his head. He bowed to the monk, who bowed back, then turned and walked away.

The crimson-robed monk turned his back to the dawn light, and walked towards rest.