The Book of Katarr

by Katarr

Not since the days when a physician named Croaker had led seven people out of the Barrowland had the company been so completely decimated.

This is a Glen Cook Black Company inspired work originally written around 2000, before sites like this existed. It was intended to ultimately link Cook's various fictional world's together - Black Company, Dread Empire, Sung in Blood and Instrumentalities. The characters are all original, and actually named after an online fan group that existed at the time.

I own nothing - Glen Cook is the man!

Dawn. The morning broke, gray and sluggish, which fit my mood perfectly. A light, wet snow had started in the night and was just now starting to cover the branches and leaves of trees that still thought it was summer. If it continued, it might eventually even cover the graves, whose fresh mounds of earth dotted the landscape in front of me. How much snow does it take to cover the remains of eight thousand men?

The battle had gone badly. It had been unusually fierce and unnaturally short. The result of powerful wizards on both sides unleashing incredible forces, of course. At the end, the Black Company had prevailed, but it could hardly be called a victory. Not since the days when a physician named Croaker had led seven people out of the Barrowland had the company been so completely decimated.

The snow was falling harder. It was as if summer had ended all at once, just like the company. No easy transition to fall and winter. One day it is warm, sunny and you are alive. The next, cold, gray and most of your brothers are dead. The suddenness of it all made wonder if I should give up my rudimentary magics and find a different life, away...

"Katarr, get your ass over here!" The quiet was suddenly ruptured by the loud and impatient voice of Ender - the Company standard-bearer.

"You've been staring at those damn trees all morning! Nothing you do now is going to help the dead, so I need you back in the world of the living." I considered his point for a moment.

"Nothing I do now is going to help the living, either." I pointed out. For some unknown reason, something in the battle had sucked all of the mana out of the area. Right now, I couldn't conjure up a fly.

"Well, I'm still alive and I need your help, but it has nothing to do with your chemistry or your magic." He paused until he was sure that he had my attention. "You've spent more time reading the Annals than anyone who's still with us. I need to know if there is some precedent for dealing with our situation."

I started to ask him what the hell he was talking about, but I already knew. With most of the command structure gone, the Company was running on momentum. We had managed to sew up our wounded and bury the dead, but no one had the desire or energy to think about the future. It was time to reestablish the structure and routine...

Ender interrupted my thoughts. "If it's any help, Bulldog has regained consciousness." That was good. Bulldog was one of our top sergeants and the highest-ranking person left alive other than Eldon, who was... "Still in a coma." Ender said as if reading my mind. Eldon, also know as Eldon the Seer, was something of a mentor to me in my attempts to augment my chemistry skills with a magical component. As of right now, neither the doctors nor the wizards could figure out why the coma persisted, especially since there was no sign of any physical trauma.

I knew what Ender wanted to hear. Now that he was awake, we could elect Bulldog as Captain, which would take the burden of responsibility off Ender's shoulders. A young man not yet into his thirties, he had taken charge in the heat of battle when a massive bolt of eldritch energy killed both the Captain and Lieutenant. His quick decisive actions from that point on had carried the day. Considering what he had to work with, it was a brilliant piece of work. Once the dust settled, the remaining Company members had decided to delay electing new officers until everyone could be accounted for. It left Ender in command by default, whether he wanted it or not.

Now, a full five days later, a full quarter of the Company could not be accounted for. They were not among the dead, and had our Annalist survived, he would have been distraught at not being able to record their fate. We actually had a few men trickle in to camp the first three days, but not a single officer. Not a one of them could explain their disappearance.

Traditionally, the Company would have elected new officers and got on with it. For most of the survivors, doing so would mean having to accept that the missing men were most probably dead. Frankly, I didn't think that we were up to it, but I also knew that the longer we delayed, the more discipline and moral would decline. For Ender, it was time to move on and he was ready to force the issue.

I shook the snow off my coat and hat. "I don't know, Ender." I finally said. "I can look through the Annals for a precedent. I'm not guaranteeing anything, but I'll look."

He seemed relieved. "Thanks. You've got until sunset. Company meeting tonight, after chow."

He looked at me patently until I got the message - start looking now. I started to head back to the camp. After about fifty feet, I turned and looked back. Sure enough, Ender was staring out at the cold gray expanse of land. I couldn't shake the feeling that he was talking softly to our brethren. I don't know what was said, but I could see the sorrow in his eyes.

It didn't even take me until lunch. After five hundred years, there is little new in the world. I came up with three different cases that would give Ender the means to force an election of new officers now that Bulldog was active. I spent the rest of the afternoon rereading an interesting bit of Company history. It might contain an answer to a different issue, which I intended to take up with our remaining wizards after the Company meeting - a meeting for which I now realized I was late.

The snow was still falling when the meeting was called to order. Fortunately, the mess tent had avoided any significant damage, so we were at least dry. I ended up being the last one there, so of course had to settle for a cold meal. Normally, that would have been accompanied by more than a few good-natured jokes concerning my sense of time. This time however, there was a heavy silence hanging in the air. I looked around the room. Bulldog was here, which gave me a smile until I saw Vermilion, our chief surgeon. He had "the look"... another wounded brother gone. That took our roster down to thirty-six men and a single woman. A week ago, we numbered in the thousands.

Ender didn't waste any time getting started. "This gathering is an official meeting of the Black Company, last of the Free Companies of Khatovar. First item, and I know that none of you want to do this yet, but we need to elect new officers." He glanced at me. I nodded and briefly explained what I had found looking through the Annals. I finished with ..."regardless the circumstance, there must be a chain of command. If any of the officers survived, they can assume command when they show up."

"What about Eldon?" someone asked. Besides being our eldest brother, Eldon was also technically an officer, even in a coma.

"Same thing..." I said. "...except for the fact Eldon won't take a command post and you all damn well know that. Besides, you can ask him after we wake him up. If I'm wrong, then he can take command."

"What do you mean, wake him up?" Vermilion asked. The hope of saving a patient after just loosing one was obvious.

"It's a long shot, but I am pretty certain that I found something in the Annals that would explain his condition. Unfortunately, it isn't a quick fix and we don't know what kind of shape he'll be in when he comes out of it. Until then, we still need a Captain."

Ender studied the group as I responded. When I was done, he said "Fine. Let's get on with it." He looked directly at Bulldog, who stood up. "I agree, and I nominate Ender as Captain." This was quickly followed by a chorus of people seconding the nomination.

Ender just stood there, trying to get his mouth working. When it finally did, out came a desperate sounding "WHAT!? I don't think so!" He walked over to the other man. "Bulldog, this is your command. I was only doing it because someone had to."

Bulldog responded by putting his hand on Ender's shoulder. "Look, son. Someone had to and someone did. That's called leadership. If it wasn't for you, most of these men wouldn't be here now, including me." You could see men nodding in agreement throughout the room.

I took it from there. "Ender has been nominated and seconded for Captain. Are there any other nominations? No? Is there anyone who is against Ender? No? Motion carries. Congratulations, Ender, it looks like you're the Captain now."

He glared at me. "You knew about this didn't you?"

I just shrugged. I had been at that battle, too. There was no doubt who the next captain would be, although I couldn't help saying "Well, we figured that you be the person least likely to screw it up."

"Fine. You all want me to be Captain? You got it. But I don't want to hear a single word about it when I do something you don't like!" Ender turned to Bulldog "I want you as Lieutenant. Any problem with that? Too bad. Anyone disagree with me? Too bad again." He glared at the entire room, daring anyone to contradict him. No one did.

"Lieutenant, your first job is to get this group organized. As soon as you are on your feet, I want a report your recommendations for a way to put this Company back together. Tell me where each man can be best utilized and how we should be organized. We'll discuss who will run the various squads and who needs promoting." He said "promoting" like it was the foulest word know to man.

I heard one of the men, name of Rustle say "Damn if he doesn't already know how to delegate!" That got the first good laugh I'd heard out this group in days. It look like electing a Captain was a good first step on the road to recovery.

Ender wasn't done there. "Lieutenant, there is one position that I am going to fill right now. Katarr! Front and center!"

Uh-oh. This was not good. I didn't warn him about what I was certain would happen. I had visions of cleaning up after the horses for the next month. I quick-stepped in front of him. "Yes, sir!"

"In addition to your normal duties as Company chemist and almost-wizard, I am going to assign you the following additional detail..."

Yep. Stables for sure, or pots and pans if he's feeling generous.

"...until further notice, you are now responsible for maintaining the Annals. You will start by recording everything we did here tonight. In keeping with the Company tradition, I will expect your first reading in three nights. In addition to an appropriate reading from a past annalist, you will also give us a reading from the first Book of Katarr. Any questions? Didn't think so."

Damn. He must be really pissed.

The next morning dawn came as mix of golden colors in a clear blue sky. By noon, there was not a trace of snow on the ground. The portent was obvious. We were leaving the old behind and starting over fresh. No matter what disaster occurs, as it always has been, as it always will be, the Black Company endures.

A/N: I have no idea if I will continue this work or not. I'm now back to writing and may come back to this once I have some other stories completed. Thanks for reading! Comments always welcome and try to respond to all of them.