Sinae Al’tor was not wrong.
The Lord of the Saan, Miat Dvir, visited Ayae three days after he had met with Muriel Wagan and Lian Alahn. Before that, the Saan disembarked from their huge ships and set up a camp next to the already established tents. They were all male but for the woman who had accompanied Dvir, and they shared their tents with one another, and trained against each other. They spoke the traders’ tongue in various levels of proficiency, and in the three days, stories emerged of confusion, insults and, once, a fight which no one could properly explain. But those stories were small and isolated, and for the men and women from Yeflam and Mireea, life continued much as it had before the Saan ships appeared. They continued to work on the repair of Neela and still went out into the fields that had become an important part of their lives.
Ayae returned to Neela twice with Eidan. He showed little interest in the Saan, so much so that it was she who was forced to bring it up, in the dark hours of their morning. ‘They are here for war,’ he said, and shrugged. ‘The Saan exist to fight. It has not always been the case, but it has been for some time.’ Then, after a moment, he said, ‘They will come to you. To you, before me and my brother. Do as you wish.’ She had thanked him, drily, and he had told her that it was his pleasure. He was trying not to smile, but the scars in his face gave him away.
Other than Eidan, no one repeated Sinae’s words to Ayae. Instead, she heard pieces of gossip, stories of what was said inside the tent, and what was said, after, in the individual tents of Muriel Wagan and Lian Alahn. Everyone agreed that the Saan were here for war. Some said that they told the Lady of the Ghosts that they wanted to go over the Mountains of Ger before the month finished. They wanted to set up camps before the summer rains arrived and they wanted the Mireeans and the Yeflam Guard to come with them. She, it was said, supported that. Lian Alahn did not, and was said to be withholding the Yeflam Guard until the Saan agreed to help rebuild Yeflam. Miat Dvir was alleged to have told him that he did not care what happened to the land in the ocean. The quote Ayae heard repeated around the camp claimed that the Lord of the Saan had said that Yeflam was not real. ‘It was a lie that men and women had been allowed to live on.’
Ayae had asked Caeli about that, but the guard did not know about the exact words. ‘He said nothing to make Alahn happy, though,’ she admitted.
The two were sitting on old wooden chairs when the Lord of the Saan approached. Ayae had come back from Neela earlier and found Caeli inside their tent with two trays of breakfast cooling for both of them. They had just finished the warm bread and pieces of ham when Miat Dvir, in the company of the middle-aged woman from the landing, walked up to their tent. Behind them, a Saan warrior with copper rings around the lower half of both arms followed, a pair of chairs held in his grasp. At the Lord’s indication, he set these down opposite the two women and, after Dvir and the woman sat, he took his place behind them.
‘It is a pleasure to meet you, finally,’ Miat said to Ayae, first. He turned and offered a brief nod to Caeli as well. ‘If you will excuse me, I would prefer another to speak for me. I do not speak the traders’ tongue well.’ He spoke it well enough, Ayae thought, but said nothing. ‘Not like Vyla,’ he added, placing a heavy hand on the arm of the woman at his side.
Vyla had light brown skin and she was not tall, not like Caeli, but nor did she have the lean body of someone short, like Ayae. Rather, she had a fullness to her that was hidden in the folds of her yellow and orange dress. She had a handsome face, one that was strongly defined by her chin and nose, and her hair was hidden beneath a brown and white spotted scarf.
‘I thank you both for your time,’ Vyla said, her voice deep and strong. ‘We will endeavour not to take too much of it up.’
‘I should probably leave,’ Caeli said, rising.
Miat spoke quickly. ‘No,’ Vyla said. ‘My husband wishes for you to stay. It would be a great insult to the Blade Prince if you left your home because of us.’
Ayae could see the surprise on her friend’s face. Her relationship with Xrie had been one she kept private, one not common knowledge in the camp. ‘I don’t want to cause a conflict,’ the guard said, returning to her chair. ‘Besides, it is very public out here.’
The Lord of the Saan spoke. ‘We will not be long,’ his wife said. ‘Nor do we have anything to hide. Besides, both of you are Mireean, are you not?’
‘I have a job with Lady Wagan,’ Caeli said, her words chosen carefully. ‘Ayae does not.’
Vyla Dvir turned to Ayae as her husband spoke. ‘You do not?’ she asked, her voice holding the faint surprise that his did. ‘We were under the impression that you supported Muriel Wagan.’
Ayae shifted uncomfortably in her seat. ‘I do,’ she said.
‘Then,’ Vyla said, after Miat had spoken, ‘if Mireea were to march on Se’Saera, you would march as well?’
‘I am not a soldier.’
‘But you are . . .’
‘Cursed?’ Ayae suggested.
A faint frown creased Vyla’s brow. ‘That is not a word we use,’ she said. Miat had not spoken first this time. ‘The word that we use in our language does not have an easy translation, sadly. Immortal, perhaps, is a suitable description? You are like our uncle. You are like the Blade Prince of the Saan. You cannot die.’
‘I wouldn’t go that far,’ she said. ‘But yes. I am like him.’
The Lord of the Saan spoke. ‘And there are two others,’ his wife said. ‘Two men who have been alive for a long time?’
‘They keep their own counsel.’
‘But you speak for them?’
‘They speak for themselves.’
There was a brief conversation between the two, before Vyla spoke again. ‘You must forgive us,’ she said, shifting forwards on her seat, bridging the space between Ayae and her just a little more. ‘We were under the impression that you spoke for the two men, and Lady Wagan spoke for you. We have been led to believe that you would take part in our campaign in Leera should Lady Wagan agree to join us. We only wanted to confirm this.’
‘Jae’le and Eidan make up their own minds.’ And me? was the unasked question. ‘But they will not be soldiers for you.’
Miat Dvir nodded before his wife translated the words to him. He had heard the distinction in Ayae’s words clearly. At length, he spoke to Vyla. ‘My husband wants to be very clear to you,’ she said, when he paused. ‘The Saan will not be remaining here long. We will be going over the Spine of Ger. We will be going to war. He has seen a lot of things in this camp since his arrival. He has seen a lot of division. He supposes that it is only natural. But he would not bring that to war. He wants to make it very clear to you that he would bring a unified vision. He would stop this threat, not just to the Saan, but to all of us, before it can grow into something as large as the devastation in Sooia, or an empire like the Five Kingdoms. He hopes that you can remember this, and that you can pass it on to others, as well.’
The Lord of the Saan stood once she had finished. He inclined his head once to Ayae, and again to Caeli, before his wife stood and the warrior behind them picked up both chairs.
After they had left, Caeli let out a low laugh. ‘Not even Muriel speaks to Miat Dvir the way you just did.’
‘If he wants to speak to Jae’le or Eidan, he can go see them.’ She could hear the annoyance in her voice. ‘And he can speak to me himself.’
At that, Caeli laughed aloud. ‘Oh, look what we have become,’ she said. ‘We demand to be spoken to!’ She laughed again. ‘Do you know, that is the most I have heard him speak in the traders’ tongue. He showed us a lot of respect. In all the other meetings, Vyla speaks for him from the start. I’ve heard him say hello and goodbye, but that’s it. But what he said to you, he had practised. His wife would have taught him that before he came here. That is her job, after all. All the men of the Saan are illiterate. But you – you get paid the compliment and you don’t even know it. You just complain that he didn’t treat you like an equal.’
‘Shut up.’ Ayae slouched into her chair, trying to hide from her embarrassment. ‘Besides, you heard him. He just wants me to kill his enemies for him.’
‘Yes,’ the guard said, her smile fading. ‘Yes, he does.’