21 Tribes

The rain and the blood dissolved the battleground into muck and she wiped her feet before climbing the steps.

“By the law of the 21 tribes!” she called whiles holding the severed head of the king up high, “I am now your king! Decide your fates!”

She turned to the stake by the throne, removed her husband, Sesti’s head, and put the head of the last king up instead.

“I told you, didn’t I?” she told Sesti’s head while holding it to her chest like a baby. “The Zerrin-bir tribe might experience temporary setbacks but the power will bring back the victory.”

The time spent from when he lost his title until she took it back had been so short that his lips where still warm when she kissed them. The blood of two kings covered her pale skin as she stepped up to the throne and turned to the two tribes.

“Make your choice.”

The members of the Zerrin-bir tribe instantly bowed to their former queen while the Sahin-bir tribe hesitated. They charged in at dawn confident to win and now they stood as losers. One warrior stepped forward and bowed.

“Clan Boz Qaya of the Sahin-bir tribe bows to you King Ejdea Solgun Zerrin-bir.”

The rest of the clan bowed and the next warrior stepped forward.

“Clan Ulv Duda of the Sahin-bir tribe bows to you King Ejdea Solgun Zerrin-bir.”

Five more warriors and their clans stepped up to bow to their new king while two clans left without a word. The last clan stared at her with defiance.

“Clan Al Demir of the Sahin-bir tribe do not bow to you. I Zor Cod challenge you Ejdea Solgun Zerrin-bir to fight for the throne.”

His choice did not surprise her; the fights for the throne went on for days. However, it surprised her that only one man dared to challenge her. She gently put Sesti’s head on the throne to oversee the fight.

“Don’t worry my love. The power is still with us.” She turned to the warrior. “Prepare to die Zor Cod Al Demir Sahin-bir.”

“Prepare to die witch.”

It struck her what a peculiar sight she must be, short, and pale unlike the tribe people and still in her nightgown, easily confused for a child not a Queen turned King. Only the truly brave or the terrified would bow to her and she wondered what kind she preferred.

“I’ll make the fight more even. I don’t want people saying that I did not win the throne in a fair fight.” She threw her sword to the side and pulled her dagger instead. “Let’s get this over with. I have a funeral to plan.”

Zor faltered when she dropped her sword and she dashed in and cut his thigh. Enraged he swung his sword at her. She dodged, rounded him, and stuck her dagger through his ribs, puncturing his lung. Coughing and spitting blood, he kept swinging at her and she escaped his sword with ease. He staggered and she shredded his liver with one quick cut, then she took his sword and severed his head from his body.

She held his head high. “Anyone else?”

No one moved.

“Carry Sesti’s body to our tent,” she said. “Tend to your dead. Tonight we light the pyres.”

Massive clouds formed at the horizon and a cold wind embraced her when she brought her husband’s head to the tent. The guards placed Sesti’s body on a bier and bowed to her.

“Prepare the pyre,” she told them. “Stay Ayi. He’s your brother, your place is here.”

“Yes, my king.”

“His ceremonial clothes are in the red chest.”

She put Sesti’s head by his neck. The gruesome reality caught on to her and she started to cry. Ayi put his arm around her.

“Be strong Ejdea. Only your strength can keep the tribe together now.”

“I thought you’d be the first to challenge me.”

“I swore I‘d never harm you.”

“He’s dead now.”

“I still stand by my word.”

Thunder rolled across the sky and the dogs howled. Ejdea heated water and together they washed the body and put on the clothes.

“Did he tell you why he married me?”

“He said something about beautiful green eyes and wide hips.”

“Be serious.”

“I am.”

“He didn’t tell you what I am?”

“Stubborn.”

“I’m that too.”

She went to the bed to get her son and struggled to stay strong when she put him on Sesti’s left arm.

“The gods will greet them a hero’s welcome,” Ayi said.

“He really did not tell you.”

“Tell me what?”

“The reason he why he persuaded my father to marry me to him, is because he found out that I’m a Dragon.”

Ayi glared at her with doubt. “The Dragons are gone. The gods killed them all. When they overturned the world.”

“The gods forgot about the eggs. Our bloodline lives on.”

“So your father is a good ally to keep.”

“That useless old fool! He’d be long gone had he not had us dragons to protect him.” She touched the locks on her son’s head. “The women hold the power among the dragons. I am the power.” She cut her hand, smeared the blood on Sesti’s neck, and put the edge of his head in place. The cut faded and a scar formed in its place. “The dead are dead. The power can’t undo the eternal bonds of death. However, I can make sure his head follow him wherever he goes.”

“The Dragons only lost one battle. You can lead us all to victory.”

“We did not lose the battle with the gods. We killed several of them, even though they claimed it to be impossible. We stopped them from wiping out all life in the world. You are still here. Most important of all, we survived. They slaughtered every dragon they found, still I stand here today.”

Ayi filled a beaker with wine while pondering the news. “What now?”

“Now we light the pyre. Call the guards and maids.”

***

The heavy rain sounded as a thousand hooves galloping over the plains and the rolling thunder as drums of war calling to battle. The tribes would rather stay under cover but did not dare to defy their new king so they gathered around the soaking wet pyre.

“My king,” a servant greeted her when she arrived. “We can’t get the fire started.”

“Don’t worry about that. Are the sacrificial slaves and horses ready?”

“Yes my king.”

She walked around the pyre while studying her new tribe and then she turned her attention to the slaves and horses. The slaves were pitiable beings, dressed in rags and shivering from fear and cold. The horses moved nervously and their eyes rolled with fear of the thunder.

“This is an overturn,” she shouted. “They are never comfortable or convenient. We can’t stop it. The change is here.”

She took two unlit torches, pointed to the sky, and summoned the ancient magic of her ancestors. The rain stopped falling over the tribes, an opening formed in the clouds and the light from the stars fell on them.

“The 21 tribes will unite again.”

The arm of a lightning reached the torches and set them on fire. She stuck them into the pyre and the flames instantly engulfed it.

“The sacrifice… is great, far too great.”

She cleared her mind of emotion and turned to the slaves.

“Blood will flow, but not the blood of the innocent. You are all free. Free to stay, free to go. Free to serve, free to betray. Your lives are yours again; do with them as you please.”

She turned to the frightened horses, lifted her hands, spoke the words of the ancient and the horses calmed.

“Set them all free, slaves and horses alike.”

Ayi stepped up to her side. “My king. Maybe you should wait with such decisions until tomorrow. When you are stronger.”

“The ones who leave would have deceived us eventually. The ones who stay will fight with us to death. I’d rather see them slither away now than live with the threat of their venom.”

Ayi nodded to the guards and the guards removed the bonds on both slaves and horses.

“Come! Bring the fire from pyre to pyre and they will all burn. Mourn your dead. Sing for your heroes. Tomorrow we will overturn this world and write a new beginning.”