Hayreddin's Plan
The ancient temple at the heart of Ain had been raised in honour of the spirits; which in itself was unusual. The people of Baybar offered their prayers to the spirits in private most of the time; even the spirit-speakers functioned more as guides; interpreting the will of the spirits as best as they can in order to counsel their people.
The temple at Ain in recent years had hardly seen any use, but it remained in good condition. While it no longer served any practical purpose, it was a historical monument of Ain and its people cared for it greatly.
Now, the ancient temple would serve as the site where the Summit would be held.
XI XI XI
Isan watched the proceedings from the upper floor, where she would not be seen.
The room below was circular, with stepped stone benches carved around an open space. Sunlight streamed in from the open hole in the roof, making the marble floor glow. On one side of the room sat the chieftains of the five tribes facing the other seven chieftains on the other side. The Elders of Ain sat on the stone benches facing the entrance of the room. Pacing the centre of the room was Hayreddin.
If the sunlight made the marble floor glow, then it made Hayreddin radiant as though he himself was the source of the light. Every eye followed him as he addressed the chieftains and the Elders.
The sound of Hayreddin's musical voice carried easily to where Isan was, but the words were lost on her as she was mesmerised by the speaker himself as she leaned on the rail of the upper floor.
"Shame on you, ogling at a boy much younger than yourself," said Ravenna's gruff voice from behind her.
Startled, Isan turned to see the warrior looking at her with the faintest hint of amusement on his usually grim face. Her heart fluttered a little at the sight of him.
"Don't forget why you're here, girl," continued Ravenna, joining her at the rail. "You're supposed to watch and listen to the chieftains and the Elders; see if there's anything off."
"I know that," muttered Isan.
"Good," said Ravenna. "Then stop staring at Hayreddin like some silly love-struck girl."
Despite herself, Isan couldn't stop herself from smirking. "Jealous, are we?"
Ravenna snorted and walked away to continue his patrol.
Isan turned back to watch the proceedings below, taking care not to stare at Hayreddin for too long. Her friend had stopped talking and was now taking a seat. Elder Nebud had stood up and was inviting the chieftains from the tribes to come forward and say their piece.
Horun of the Kaganagh and Kazanah of the Taring both stood and began to talk to each other with Elder Nebud playing mediator. Isan listened; they were repeating the terms of agreement regarding access to Ain's water and the agreement that all hostilities between the tribes were to cease within a certain distance of Ain.
Isan frowned as Kazanah brought up an issue with the latter agreement; what was to stop another tribe from following and attacking another once they were far enough from Ain? Kazanah demanded a total ceasefire between all the tribes. Even from where she was, Isan could see that Kazanah knew it was useless; and was likely doing it to provoke and make a point. She noticed him glance at Hayreddin as he demanded the ceasefire.
Sure enough, Berkhan rose to his feet, bellowing a refusal to such a thing, as did Asok while Horun snorted and said something along the lines of trying to stop a sandstorm. At that point, Wara stood and declared the whole Summit pointless and all the chieftains got to their feet and started shouting. Hayreddin had to shout to get them all to calm down, after which the Elders decided that a break was in order so that everyone could cool off.
Isan frowned; it hadn't even been twenty minutes since the Summit started.
XI XI XI
Isan found Hayreddin brooding near one of the windows looking out at Ain. He turned and nodded his head in greeting as she approached.
"Thoughts?" asked Hayreddin, not wasting time on pleasantries.
"You've got a real problem on your hands," remarked Isan lightly, trying to lighten Hayreddin's mood. She sighed when a frown marred Hayreddin's fair face. "I'm sorry. Well, Kazanah deliberately provoked the chieftains with the total ceasefire demand. He was trying to prove a point to...someone."
"To me," said Hayreddin, nodding.
Isan nodded. "Just what exactly did you two talk about before?'
"Never mind that," replied Hayreddin, shaking his head. "What else do you have?"
"The chieftains are willing to agree not to do battle in Ain and its outlying territories, but they obviously want to continue warring with each other beyond those boundaries," answered Isan. "They're not interested in peace, Hayreddin."
Hayreddin pursed his lips. "That's true to appoint; but I refuse to believe they're completely disinterested in peace."
Isan raised an eyebrow sceptically. "Even Berkhan and Horun?"
"Well I'm–," Hayreddin hesitated for a moment before sighing. "No, alright, you got me there. But not all of them, I'm sure."
Hayreddin paused for a moment, his brow furrowing as he thought hard about the situation. Isan gave him a moment before speaking up.
"Hayreddin, don't you think-," she hesitated for a moment, before ploughing on. "Under the circumstances, don't you think that establishing Ain as a no-combat zone is the best we can get?"
Hayreddin turned away from her to look out the window. Outside, the people of Ain carried on with their lives as though it was any normal day. However, each and every one of them was aware of the momentous event going on; being unable to do anything about it themselves, all they could do was entrust it to the Elders and Hayreddin.
"If they're still free to wage war with each other beyond Ain's territory, who's to say that they won't decide that Ain's no longer off-limits?" said Hayreddin quietly. "War breeds hatred; let it grow and soon no peace treaty can withstand it."
"Well, you have a point there," admitted Isan. "But under the circumstances..."
She trailed off, unable to see any other desirable outcome. The sound of approaching footsteps caught their attention; it was Ravenna. The warrior looked grim as he drew closer.
"Nothing to report," said Ravenna. Seeing the look on Hayreddin's and Isan's face, he scowled. "That bad?"
His scowled deepened when Hayreddin and Isan informed him of the situation. "What do the Elders think?"
"They're leaning towards declaring Ain a no-combat zone," answered Hayreddin.
Ravenna nodded. "I think that's the best deal we can get right now."
He paused when he saw the disapproving look on Hayreddin's face. "Unless you have some sort of plan?"
"I do," said Hayreddin with the utmost reluctance. "It's very...unusual. That's why I didn't tell you and Isan about it; I was worried that you might convince me to drop it."
"With the way things are going, I think you should tell us," said Isan.
Hayreddin nodded slowly. "I was going to suggest – I was going to suggest that we found a new settlement...composed entirely of people from all the twelve tribes. As a symbol of peace and cooperation."
Ravenna and Isan were already looking incredulous. "And just how is that supposed to stop the tribes from going to war with each other?"
Hayreddin sighed. "We have each tribe send an important member; a family member, an Elder...perhaps their heirs?"
"What you are suggesting...you mean hostages?" said Ravenna slowly, his incredulous expression giving way to open shock. "That...this..."
"This is mad," said Isan, her eyes wide. "There's no way the chieftains will agree to it!"
"Not hostages," protested Hayreddin. "Put the people of the tribes together and they can learn about each other, work together...break down barriers between the tribes and foster understanding and peace."
"And I assume you want important members of the tribes involved to deter the tribes from attacking each other out of fear of retaliation?" asked Ravenna.
Hayreddin nodded reluctantly.
"I'm sorry, dress it however you want, but that's still asking for hostages," said Isan. "There's no way the chieftains will agree to it!"
"And if we do put them all in the same settlement," said Ravenna. "What's to stop them from simply killing each other? Forget coexisting and cooperation; that's the most realistic outcome of this plan."
"We establish an independent security force," answered Hayreddin. "We'll recruit the best from Ain and Nuba for this; the guards from Nuba will ensure impartiality and the guards from Ain will ensure that this succeeds."
Isan and Ravenna both exchanged looks, clearly not convinced.
"Well, I suppose in theory that could work," began Isan slowly, but Ravenna interrupted.
"You're assuming that they will eventually get along, Hayreddin. What if they don't, have you thought about that? A lot of these tribes hold grudges against each other; most going back generations. The hatred goes too deep; it's ingrained. Forcing them to live together would be like putting jackals and wolves in the same cage."
Hayreddin looked away and Isan realised that he considered that very thing many times before. He had clearly been turning it over in his head numerous times, trying to find a way to make it work. Ravenna's argument had clearly been running through his mind countless times before even as he opened his mouth to answer them slowly.
"We may not see this plan bear fruit in our time. If their hate has been ingrained for generations, then it will take generations before they are free of it. Perhaps it's already too late for us now, but there's hope in those who come after. That is why we have to plant the seeds for that future and make sure it doesn't fail. If hatred can be inherited, then so could understanding...and maybe one day even love."
Ravenna frowned. "You're being naive, Hayreddin. There's no guarantee..."
"If my father and mother had listened to Beduin, I would not be here," said Hayreddin quietly. "If they had followed the old traditions, I would've been drowned in the sea or buried alive. Forgive me if this sounds arrogant, but if my parents hadn't saved me, Nuba would still be a pirate's playground."
Hayreddin paused and looked Ravenna in the eye. "Perhaps they were being naive when they took in a child who fell from the sky, as it would strain what little resources they had and perhaps anger the spirits. But look at Nuba now, it is all down to that little naivety they had that planted the seeds for change."
Hayreddin grasped Ravenna by the shoulders. "Maybe you're right; I am being naive. But shouldn't we try? Shouldn't we try to pursue a lasting peace?"
Ravenna stared at Hayreddin silently for a long moment before his usually grim face softened slightly. He sighed.
"Alright then, we'll try it," he said. "What do the Elders think about it?"
"I haven't told them, because they would've just said everything that you just did," answered Hayreddin.
"Right," said Ravenna tersely. "Have you thought about how you were going to tell the chieftains?"
Hayreddin nodded. "I have, but I could use any advice the two of you can give me..."
The three of them began discussing it, trying to find a way to broach the idea to the chieftains in the least provocative way possible. As they did, Isan's mind was still wrestling with the idea itself. No one would have even thought of such an idea because they would have instinctively dismissed it as impossible. But Hayreddin had explored it and even found a way to make it work, at least in theory.
Isan found herself staring at the young man as they continued their discussion. Perhaps it his child-like naivety and innocence that allowed Hayreddin to even consider such an impossible idea. He wanted to believe that people were inherently good, and if given the chance, would be able to show it.
Isan smiled a little.
Hayreddin noticed and looked at her questioningly. "Is something wrong, Isan?"
Isan blinked, startled. "What? No, no; everything's fine..."
"Focus, girl," growled Ravenna, poking Isan on the side of the head. "You can stare at his pretty face later."
"I wasn't staring," denied Isan, blushing slightly.
"And you weren't blushing like a little girl either," snapped Ravenna. "Now focus."
Isan's blush deepened as they resumed their discussion, ignoring the smile of amusement on Hayreddin's face and the displeased glint in Ravenna's eyes.
To be honest, I struggled with this chapter...trying to figure out how to force people who've been at war with each other to learn to live together took me a lot of reading time and research...eventually the "hostage" thing came up...so then I thought how would anyone convince anyone to accept that?
Eventually I just thought: F*ck it, Hayreddin's a Primarch. He can probably sell ice to an Eskimo.
I am looking forward to put this political bs in this arc behind me...
Anyways, I apologise if the chapter was a little bit disappointing.