02 Quetzals Flock

QUETZAL'S FLOCK
Siyulk. They killed a great number of the traitors and recaptured many of the Picun,
together with the critical components from the ship. Siyulk escaped with the remnant
of his band into the depths of the Place of Heat."
Kane stopped him.
"This Place of Heat - What is it and where is it?"
"The Place of Heat is where the our sun is right above our heads, my father.
The Place of Heat moves slowly across the plain and we must always move ahead of
it. We must be careful to remain between it and the Place of Cold and Night, that too,
moves slowly. It is a region of great storms of wind. I have been there with Dagh and
Motya. The flocks must move between the two. The Encampment of Obeid moves ten
times in a day, sometimes more, if we are threatened by the Black Cloaks."
"What happened to Siyulk?"
Hammadi's answer was grudging.
"The Sharta escaped! He was a great leader - this can't be denied. He led the
remnant of his force into the Place of Heat and though the Grey Cloaks watched for
many heartbeats, they managed to elude them."
Kane was silent for a while.
"And you say, I killed this Tepe Siyulk?"
"He was your enemy, my father. He tried to take your life - and you heaved a
boulder on to his head."
Kane sighed, he had killed a sixteen thousand year old man. It was quite an
achievement for a puny oxygen breather. He pushed the thought of atmosphere from
his mind. Hammadi went on.
"It was then that Eridos took over as leader of the Black Cloaks. Eridos was
Siyulk's son. Tursac, my mother's father died in a skirmish soon after and Obeid took
command of the Grey Cloaks."
It added a new dimension to his relationship with Eridos. His Brother of the
Image was the son of a man he had killed! Kane cursed the convolutions in
chronology which created the situation that he had not only visited Jubal four
thousand years previously, but that he had been a traveller on the ship which had force
landed four or five thousand years before that - and it was all still to happen!
"Why do you wear different coloured cloaks?"
"It was the colours used on the ship. The Tepe Tursac was the commander, he
wore a cloak of grey. The Tepe Siyulk was the Navigator, he wore a black cloak."
It was that simple! As simple as falling off a log.
"Have there never been any attempts at reconciliation?"
Hammadi paused and answered carefully.
"There have been attempts. The last time, was when the Lord Quetzal was
here at the time of my conception. It ended when the Tepe Siyulk was killed!
We had made an encampment at a place where great rocks were piled. Each
side came with their arms - but they brought their women and children as well. It was
a way of showing that they did not intend warfare. At first, all went well, there were
negotiations, everyone was on their best behaviour. Then, some of the young Black
Cloaks started to molest our women. You grew angry and tried to call them to order.
Eridos laughed in your face and you slapped him! Then, Siyulk chased you into the
rocks, swearing that he would cut off your - er - balls! It was soon after, when he had
you cornered, that you picked up a large rock, there was a violent earth tremor and
threw it down on him. It crushed his head and he fell down the rock wall. He was
dead when they reached him.
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