01 Taxilas Children

TAXILA'S CHILDREN
on desperation? He didn't have the answers and neither had the nine Thanes who surrounded
the High Thane in Council.
Danyk and his escort were soon to see where the desperation led. Far ahead, on the top of a
wooded hill, he could see the glow of fires. Already the east was tinted with the dawn. The
Psi urge was pounding now in his mind and in the minds of his men. It was almost
overwhelming in its invitation to surrender and join the primeval rites being expressed in the
guttering light of the fiery beacons.
Danyk nudged his mount and abandoned all attempts at a stealthy approach. Even the
undergrowth seemed to conspire to impede their passage. Branches whipped across their
faces and the men cursed softly. The place had been chosen well but it was one of many that
could have served the same purpose.
The Lynxe star topped the eastern horizon, beating them to the hilltop. They were still a
hundred yards distant, when the Psi force changed to one of crazed fear - utter terror assailed
them. The mounts stumbled on, their riders unable to control them. Danyk held on to the
reins, swaying under the medley of terror, fanatical ecstasy, ruthlessness and savagery.
Desperately, he tried to mind-block and partially succeeded. He knew his men were not so
successful. He went on alone, as they clutched their heads in their hands, or vomited at the
visions they couldn't block out.
Suddenly came the climax, a hideous scream of utter agony and despair and then a wild
surge of exaltation. Danyk heard the shout and then the Psi force began to diminish and he
was able to make his way to the hilltop clearing.
What he saw was not unexpected but still it made him retch. They had not dared to take a
man of Lynxe but rather, some luckless Scarn. Some sort of ceremony had been performed
according to an archaic rite. It had to do with blood and seed and the culmination for the
Scarn had been that first they had hacked away his manhood and then, his living heart.
Danyk stared at the corpse, he swayed as if he was drunk. It had been men of Lynxe who
had done this - the superior race. Danyk left the site of the butchery to the cleansing birds and
led his men slowly homeward, retracing the way they had come. This time, the Thanehold lay
before them, the rising Lynxe star touching its rooftops. For once, Danyk could not find peace
in the sight. There had been many such days when he had risen early and had ridden through
the fields of oil-crop surrounding the Thanehold, to return as the dawn came. On less
traumatic occasions he had stopped his mount on the brow of one of the low hills encircling it
and had watched as the light touched the honey coloured stone roof and walls, giving warmth
to it as it crept down deep into the darkened courtyards.
Danyk's head was bowed down, as he topped the hill. He felt shame that men of Lynxe
could stoop to such bestiality and it wasn't the moment to reflect on beauty of the structure.
Behind him, he felt the flow of discussion among the men, their thoughts intermingling. He
didn't intrude, he knew that their conversations would be guarded because of his presence.
There was no talking as such, the only sounds being the soft moaning of the Vix, the shuffle
of their feet on the paths between the crop and the jingle of their harnesses.
They entered the outer gate and immediately, the protective warmth of the place began to
dispel the lingering residues of the Psi trauma. Someone had once said, so many generations
before that it couldn't be remembered exactly when, that the essence of those who had ever
lived in a Thanehold, lingered long after they had been dispersed to the wind. It was
interwoven into the fabric of the walls within which they had lived. Danyk wasn't so sure
about the old story, it was a legend, an old wife's tale, but then, he wasn't sure of very much
these days. He felt the Psi trauma draining from him and he supposed that the old story had to
mean something.
They dismounted and led the moaning beasts to their stalls. The men were silent, brushing
down and watering them. Danyk thanked them mentally, nothing more needed to be said.
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