Chapter 6 - 1-6
Revenge did not come. I thought it wouldn't come anyway, and if it did, I intended to accept whatever challenge it might be.
Instead, a messenger from my Father came.
It was already autumn. The clan of Aunt Mor, with whom Tenge was staying, was preparing to move to their next grazing lands. It was then.
The message was: return immediately.
"Did something happen?"
The one who had arrived as the messenger was Tenge's cousin, Sinkuk. He was a vague, airy young man in his late twenties.
"Let's see," Sinkuk said, looking down at Tenge while remaining mounted on his horse.
Originally, the Kosa people rarely dismounted from their horses.
Sinkuk was a well-built, handsome man, but he lacked any sense of intimidation. He was always smiling.
That same Sinkuk uttered words that made one's knees buckle.
"We are going to war."
Furthermore, he said, it was against the Ishma tribe.
"Tenge, you went to the town, didn't you?"
Sinkuk said with a smile.
Tenge resigned himself to his fate.
"I went. However, I did nothing shameful," he replied in a stiff voice, but he quickly broke down, clinging to Sinkuk's leg. "Big Brother Shin, surely not?"
"No, the cause of the war isn't particularly because of your quarrel."
"But Father, regarding the quarrel...?"
"Do you want to go to war, Tenge?"
"Of course."
"I thought you'd say that. I've already calmed the Chieftain down."
"Oh, Big Brother Shin!"
"However, I cannot take Astai with you."
Tenge was startled and pulled away from Sinkuk.
The reason was that Astai should have stopped Tenge, but he had failed to do so.
"You are the Chieftain's son, and Astai is your comrade. Strictly speaking, Astai should be the one to admonish you."
"But Big Brother Shin, if that's the case, even I won't be able to go to the battlefield. If I were to march out alone while leaving a friend behind, that would be my greatest shame."
"True. That is the problem." Sinkuk was looking into the distance. "What should be done?"
Tenge thought for a while.
"I'll fly over to Granny Sil's place right now." Then, he spoke his sudden idea. "I'll try to negotiate to take Hishaku as my bride."
Hishaku is Astai's younger sister. If he married Hishaku, Astai and Tenge would become brothers-in-law. Surely even Father wouldn't tell him to leave his brother behind.
"Not a bad idea. Then, do so."
"Big Brother Shin, won't you stop to see Geraha?"
"No."
Sinkuk departed without even saying goodbye.
Tenge immediately rode to Astai's settlement and confessed the situation to Granny Sil.
Granny Sil had been grinding medicine with a mortar, but she stopped her hands and looked at Tenge sadly.
"I worry about your future with such honesty. Did you not realize the conspiracy between the Chieftain and Sinkuk?"
"What do you mean?"
"To prepare for war, the Wolf clan is using you to strengthen their ties with our Tokapu clan."
"So what? It's a debt of my own making. Will you give me Hishaku, or not?"
"If you want her, I'll give her. But Hishaku is still a child, you know? She knows nothing. How about Astai's older sister, Kireru? Kireru has a womanly body. You could sleep with her right away."
"What are you saying, Granny Sil? Even I have a sense of shame. Besides, if I took Kireru, Astai would become my younger brother."
"Ho."
"My only younger brother is Geraha."
"Ho, ho. Geraha again, is it?"
In the end, that very night, Tenge truly held a wedding ceremony. Tenge was served sheep's brains. Singers sang, and dancers danced. Since it was all so sudden, both Tenge's and Hishaku's wedding garments were rushed. The Tokapu clan members seated on the plains were all in their everyday clothes. Tenge drank fermented mare's milk. It was thick, sweet, and had a strong odor.
At first, Astai's eyes went wide. Before long, he shed tears.
"Tenge, I am truly sorry it turned out like this. But, somehow, I am happy. That you are Hishaku's husband."
"That's right. We're brothers-in-law now. Astai, more importantly..."
"Yeah, the war."
"Let's crush them."
"Those Ishma dogs!"
A tent was set up for the wedding night, and Tenge and Hishaku lay upon the same fur bedding. An old woman caretaker had left a lamp, so the inside was bright.
Hishaku's face was turned toward the roof of the tent. There was a smoke hole at the peak, through which the stars could be seen.
"Hishaku, do you like me?"
"Yes."
"Because you are my brother's comrade," she said stiffly. Hishaku was only nine years old. Tenge was still treating her as his friend's younger sister, but she seemed to be bracing herself for something. He felt somewhat overwhelmed.
"You don't have to be nervous. I have no intention of doing anything."
Hishaku's body turned toward Tenge. The girl's face, illuminated by the lamp, was close at hand. Her eyes were large and black, and her eyebrows were thin and upturned. For a moment, Tenge's heart fluttered so much he almost forgot everything.
"Why... why are you going to war?"
"Why, you ask? Because the Ishma people are monopolizing the wealth of the south. That's unfair, isn't it?"
"But, you might die."
"I won't die. That's right, I'll bring back plenty of luxuries for you. Jewels, hair ornaments, things made of gold. After all, you went against reason to marry me. What do you want?"
"I don't know."
But I am happy, Hishaku said, her face brightening. Her smile was innocent. Tenge fell asleep satisfied by that smile. He seemed to have been somewhat drunk.
By the next morning, he couldn't afford to deal with things like Hishaku. It was war.
The Wolf clan's available fighting force consisted of 1,600 cavalry of local youths and 700 strong warriors with combat experience. Tenge and Astai joined the very rear of the march. It would take four days to reach Haraltay, the sacred site of the Kutai people and the burial ground of their ancestral spirits. Looking down from the mountain, the Haraltay basin was filled with the encampments and tents of warriors gathered from all over the Kutai regions, forming a makeshift town. The men of the Wolf clan immediately rushed down to begin setting up their own tents.
Sinkuk arrived there. He was accompanied by an unfamiliar person. A stir arose. She was a woman so beautiful it seemed otherworldly.
"What is that hair? It's yellow," Tenge whispered to Astai.
"She's a white woman," Astai replied, appearing equally captivated. "I've never seen one before."
"I am one named Meira of the Holy Saint Andrew Salvation Mission," the white woman said in halting Kosa. "Having been unable to stand by while seeing the persecution of Roman Catholics in the southern country of Handra-Ibina, I have come to offer our assistance to you all. Please, save us Roman Catholics from the tyranny of the Ishma tribe."
It didn't quite click for Tenge. Everyone was likely thinking the same, so all eyes converged on Sinkuk, seeking an explanation.
"With the liberation of the people who worship the Roman God as our righteous cause, we shall take up arms against the Ishma dogs. The important thing is," Sinkuk's explanation continued, "that these white people will provide the necessary weapons as support."
"May the blessings of the Tenshu be upon you all," the white woman, Meira, added.
Tenge realized that "Roman Catholic" seemed to be a religion.
"What about the supplies?" someone asked Sinkuk.
"I have made a contract with the Buma people."
Laughter rippled among his comrades.
What does that mean? When he asked Astai,
"It means we can rest easy," was the reply. "The Buma people are impossibly stingy, but once they make a promise, they don't break it, nor do they defect to the enemy."
"Originally, where is that beauty from?"
"I don't know."
"Lady Meira," Tenge called out without hesitation. "Where have you come from?"
"We have come from far away, from the land of Siddim, to spread the Holy Teachings."
Her beautiful face smiled.
However, even when told Siddim, Tenge had no idea where that was.