The Will of Spirits and Men

Great Elder Nebud watched as the chieftains sat themselves down in their respective seats. Hayreddin was seated beside him, looking tense. Nebud tapped him on the shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Hayreddin nodded. "Yes, but have you thought about the total ceasefire demand?"

"Yes, but I don't see how to make that happen," answered Nebud. "We might have to settle for declaring Ain a no combat zone."

Hayreddin looked Nebud in the eye and the old man had to look away, unable to hold the gaze for long. "Elder, I…I may have a way to make it work…but I can't tell you now; all I ask is for your support when you hear it."

Nebud felt apprehensive; Hayreddin had never indicated any such thing during all their discussions. But when he looked up at the young man, he saw that despite being worried, Hayreddin was determined to go through with whatever he had in mind. Nebud nodded in agreement, he would not second-guess Hayreddin after everything he had accomplished thus far.

Nebud stood and began the proceedings once again. "Great chieftains, let us begin once more…"

Once again, they went through the previously agreed upon terms: Ain's status as a no-combat zone, the rotation for the tribes to access the city's water and trade agreements before inevitably circling back to the total ceasefire between the tribes, and Nebud's heart sank at the chieftains' responses.

"This again?" growled Berkhan. "This is pointless; sooner or later for some reason or other we will end up going to war. Let us agree on the damned terms and be done with it!"

Horun bared his teeth. "I'm inclined to agree with the Ber. Ain stays free from our fight; that's enough."

The Kaganagh chieftain jerked his head at Asok. "Even if we do agree on a ceasefire, sooner or later 'some' tribes will find a reason to violate it for their own purpose."

Asok scowled but said nothing.

"The Kaganagh might be a savage barbarian, but he's right," said Wara, sneering at Horun, who growled at him in response. "There's no just no way to enforce a ceasefire. Let us agree on what we already have on the table and stop wasting time."

Kazanah rose. "Though I would like to a total ceasefire; I must accept my fellow chieftains' wishes."

The Taring chieftain's eyes found Hayreddin, and Nebud could see the challenge within them.

"Unless, young Hayreddin has any suggestions on how we could make such a thing happen?" asked Kazanah, his tone clearly indicating that he didn't think so.

Hayreddin stood and glanced at Nebud, who nodded in return. The young man strode forward so that he was at the centre of the room. He took a deep breath and began to speak.

"Honoured chieftains, it is my humble opinion that I may have a way to make a ceasefire work. But as with your attendance on this day, it can only work with your cooperation."

Hayreddin closed his eyes as though steeling himself before opening them once more. "To seal the pact of the ceasefire, I humbly put forward that we found a new settlement composed entirely of people from each and every one of your tribes."

Nebud felt his jaw drop, and sensed that his fellow Elders had the same reaction. The chieftains, even Berkhan and Horun were stunned into silence. Seizing the opportunity, Hayreddin pressed on.

"As for who would govern the new settlement; I humbly suggest that a council composed of the heirs or honoured Elders from each tribe, overseen by a neutral party of the Elders of Ain's choice. An independent security force could be formed with warriors from both Ain and Nuba…"

"You are asking for hostages," said Wara, and it wasn't a question. "That is what you are truly asking for, isn't it?"

Hayreddin paused for a moment. "That is why I suggested an independent security force; to ensure their safety."

"But this is precious!" snorted Wara. "Here I thought you were a naïve child, but it turns out that you do understand how things work out here after all! We give you our heirs, and you ensure their safety as long as we play nice with each other."

"Given the…hostile relationships between the tribes, a form deterrent is needed, yes," answered Hayreddin, sighing.

"Then why bother asking to found a new settlement at all?" demanded one of the chieftains from the four smaller tribes; Ordo of the Hang tribe, if Nebud recalled correctly. "Why not just simply ask for hostages?"

"That's your question?" growled Sovah, the chieftain of the Huraiz. "What we should be asking is what makes you think that we would agree to such a thing at all, Hayreddin?"

Hayreddin looked at each and every one of the chieftains, his gaze lingering on Kazanah the longest before he spoke.

"It is true that this is a form of hostage taking. But if that is all it was, then there would be no need to found a new settlement at all; as Ain would have sufficed. The reason I suggested the settlement is so that we could give all your tribes the chance to learn of each other, to live with each other, cooperate with each other and maybe, one day foster true peace through tolerance and understanding."

Silence followed Hayreddin's words. Eventually, Kazanah spoke up.

"I've always said you were an idealist, Hayreddin. But I am surprised you'd use hostages to pursue such a rosy goal. You'd force us to learn how to live with each other, is that it?"

"Sometimes noble chieftain, the end justifies the means," answered Hayreddin.

A wry smile broke out on Kazanah's face. "Indeed it does."

The chieftain of the Taring turned to the Elders of Ain. "And what of you, Elders? Would you throw in your support to make this possible?"

Abrah, Koza and Kazo were all still stunned by Hayreddin's proposal and silently they turned to Nebud. The Great Elder rose to his feet. "If it will foster true peace between all of us, then yes, Ain will lend her strength to make this happen."

"It will not work."

Every turned to the source of the deep voice that had spoken. Asok, chieftain of the Kaling stood tall as he continued.

"Since the dawn of time, the desert tribes have ever been at war with each other. It is not just about resources, feuds and hatred. We were made to war with each other, we were made to dye the sands red with each other's blood. It is the will of the spirits that this be so; that it must always be so."

Asok glared at Hayreddin as he continued. "We can declare some areas sacred places where no combat may take place, we can have temporary truces, form temporary alliances but we cannot, no, we must never stop fighting each other. It is this state of constant of war that keeps us strong; that keeps everything in balance."

Asok pointed an accusing finger at Hayreddin. "What you are trying to do here, it is unnatural. It goes against the will of the spirits."

Nebud looked at Hayreddin, wondering how he would respond. To his surprise, he saw a hint of anger marring Hayreddin's fair face. In the last six years, he had never seen the emotion on the young man at all. It sent a chill down Nebud's spine.

"With all due respect, Chieftain Asok," said Hayreddin politely, but there was a hint of anger underlying his voice. "It is true that we endeavour to understand the will of the spirits as best as we can. But they are beyond us, beings so far beyond us, that what their wish for us is a guess at the best of times. You say that it is their will that this state of constant bloodshed must continue, but how do we know this? Perhaps it is their will that we rise above this. Perhaps it through the will of men that the spirits do their work."

Asok bared his teeth at Hayreddin. "You blaspheme!"

"Perhaps I do," answered Hayreddin, turning to the other chieftains. "But ask yourselves, honoured chieftains! Our most revered and ancient Elders, long since departed from this life, have always said that the spirits nurture and guide us all so that we may work to a better future! Ask yourselves if staining the sand red with the blood of your children, your children's children are truly the will of the spirits! The spirits guide us, but ultimately it is the will of men that has seen such tragedies happen! It is only through the will of men, with the blessings of the spirits that we can put an end to this!"

Hayreddin turned to face Asok, and his anger was now visible on his face, causing the chieftain of the Kaling to recoil as though struck. "You say it is the will of the spirits to dye the sands red with each other's blood? I say it is the will of the spirits that we find it within ourselves to put an end to such thinking, and learn to cross the sands together, hand-in-hand, as brothers and sisters."

The chieftains were silent, but Nebud could sense that there was a change in the air and within the chieftains themselves. They were clearly considering Hayreddin's words. Hope flared in the Great Elder's heart.

Hayreddin bowed before the Elders, breathing deeply to calm himself down. "Honoured chieftains, I have offered you a path. It is up to all of you if you wish to take it."

The chieftains stared at Hayreddin silently for a moment before Kazanah stood.

"Such a decision cannot be made lightly," he said. "You have given us an option…a viable option. But we must discuss it with each other."

Kazanah turned to look at Horun and the other chieftains. "All of us."

Horun hesitated for a moment before nodding in agreement. Slowly, Sovah, Ibiz and Umiz followed suit, as did Asok, though the Kaling chieftain was clearly very reluctant. Kazanah turned to his allies and Berkhan slowly nodded, as did Wara and the other four chieftains.

"We will answer you tomorrow," said Kazanah, before turning to the other chieftains. All of them. "If that is acceptable to my fellow chieftains."

They all murmured in agreement.

Hayreddin bowed again. "Of course, honoured chieftains."

When the chieftains had left, Hayreddin slumped into a seat with a groan. A hand grabbed his shoulder and squeezed, causing him to look up. The Elders of Ain stood before him, their faces filled with awe.

"I can't believe you manage to sell them that idea without a war breaking out," said Abrah hoarsely.

"It was a bold move, young Hayreddin," said Kazo, clutching at his heart. "Reckless too."

"Yes, very reckless," said Koza, squeezing his brother's shoulder. "But you have them thinking about it, that's good."

Nebud sat down next to Hayreddin. "You actually have them thinking about it, Hayreddin. When you suggested it, I thought…but you remarkable young man, you have them actually considering it!"

"Do you think they'll accept?" asked Hayreddin quietly.

"I…I don't know," admitted Nebud. "Asok's clearly against it, but the others…all the chieftains willingly discussing peace with each other; this has never happened before, Hayreddin. Who knows that would happen."

"So they can still refuse," said Hayreddin, looking glum, but Nebud clapped him on the back.

"Hayreddin, even if they refuse, you've planted the possibility in their minds. It could possible in the future."

Hayreddin smiled at him, but it did not reach his eyes.