Battle's End and Aftermath

Wara was an able warrior, though he was hardly better than his elite guard. His greatest weapon was his mind; the years of scheming his way to the position of chieftain and the Maru to the status of one the stronger tribes was testament to that.

He had schemed for years to annihilate the other tribes and make the Maru the greatest tribe in the desert. The alliance with the Taring, Ber and the lesser four tribes had been the first step. What stood in the way of his plans were the five tribes allied to Ain; if even as many as two or three of those tribes became allies, they would pose a threat to Wara's plan for Maru supremacy. So he had been careful to nurture conflict between those five tribes while keeping things tenuous within his own alliance.

While he had covered his tracks well, at times he felt that Kazanah suspected him. The Taring chieftain had always made Wara uneasy, probably because Kazanah was the same as him: a warrior in both body and mind. The only difference was that Kazanah's physical abilities as a warrior far outstripped his own. So Wara had feigned deference to the Taring chieftain, patiently waiting for his chance while he secretly made deals with the lesser four tribes, of which only Ordo had proven to be unmalleable.

When the young fool Hayreddin and Nebud had come proposing peace and the Summit, Wara had sensed that his opportunity had come. All the chieftains in one place and with three tribes on his side, he could kill them all. With them gone, Wara would suppress the news of their deaths to sow confusion in their tribes, making them vulnerable enough for him to annihilate.

The alliance with the Kaling was one of the few things that Wara had not anticipated. His spies within the tribe had found that Asok and his spirit-speakers had been uneasy with Hayreddin, seeing him as some sort of daemon. Wara didn't usually give a damn about such nonsense, but in this particular case, he had been able to manipulate the Kaling chieftain's superstition and secure an alliance with them, pretending that he too was concerned about the 'daemon' and its corruption.

Now Wara saw his plan coming to fruition, everything he had dreamed of was now within reach. The enemy chieftains were trapped within Ain, his own so-called allies had weakened themselves during siege and the city would soon be his for the taking. All he had to do was take the last step.

Wara had ordered the first wave of the Maru forces to charge, followed closely by the second wave under his personal command. While the first wave had charged, he led the second wave at marching pace, while he rode his camel for a greater view so that he could react to any surprises. He had also commanded his forces to wipe out the Kaling from the rear along with Ain's defence forces: there was no longer any need for the pretence of an alliance. Victory was within his grasp.

Yet something was off, before the Maru's first wave had even reached the gates, Kaling warriors were charging out the gate. As ordered, the Maru warriors charged right in and slaughtered them. Taken by surprise, the Kaling forces fought back, but without any cohesion.

Wara frowned; had the Kaling charged out of the gates because they realised what the Maru were up to? It was unlikely; Sidura was a hot-headed young fool, too stupid to suspect anything until it was too late. Wara observed the battle as his second wave drew closer, and realised that the Kaling's lack of cohesion in battle was borne of desperation; they weren't fighting to kill, they were fighting to escape. From what?

The answer revealed itself as Wara's second wave got closer: the seven chieftains and their personal elite guard were at the gates, cutting down Kaling warriors ruthlessly. Wara's lips curled into a sneer; so much for the Kaling's legendary ferocity in battle, here they were fleeing their enemies like scalded dogs when the chieftains of their enemies stood right before them.

He watched with approval as the Maru warriors sought to engage them and urged his second wave to move faster; Wara wanted to be there when they fell. He wanted to see the moment of Maru ascendancy with his own eyes.

Instead, he saw what the Kaling had fled from.

Hayreddin stood with the chieftains, fighting far more ferociously than even the Ber and the Kaganagh chieftains. His sword flashed in the sun with each inhumanly fast stroke, reminding Wara of the scattering silver fishes he had once tried to catch as a child in the oasis near his home. Hayreddin was covered in blood from head to toe with a look of such fury on his face that had Wara believing for a moment that he was looking at one of the daemons that the old women in his tribe used to scare children with in the past.

Wara shook his head and regathered his wits. Hayreddin was no daemon, just an extraordinary man with incredible negotiating and warrior prowess. It was shame, if he had been born in Wara's tribe, he would've been an invaluable asset.

"My warriors, there stands the leaders of our enemies!" roared Wara. "Fight on and strike them down! The moment for Maru ascendancy is at hand!"

With a roar, the Maru surged forward. Without hesitating, Hayreddin and the chieftains plunged their way in.

Raising his sword high, Wara heard Hayreddin shout out to rally Ain's defence forces.

"Soldiers of Ain, now is the moment for us to drive the enemy from your home! Think of your loved ones as you fight! Think of the fate that awaits them should you fail! Fight! Fight for them!"

Wara sneered at such a sentimental speech, but his sneer quickly faded as he realised that the defenders of Ain were rallying behind Hayreddin and the chieftains and that despite their exhaustion, they were forcing the Maru back. With a shout, Wara had his second wave join the assault.

The Maru chieftain stayed back from the vicious melee, his eyes roaming the battlefield, studying every individual development on the battlefield. His warriors were well-trained and he was confident they could overwhelm the defenders. His confidence gradually waned as he saw the defenders not only held off the Maru warriors, they were forcing them back. Wara watched in horror as some of his men began to break and flee, especially the ones who were facing Hayreddin. Wara shouted, trying to rally them, but the situation was deteriorating swiftly.

This was not how it was supposed to go, the Maru was supposed to smash through the exhausted defenders and take the city, but instead, they were being routed.

With a curse, Wara turned to give the order to retreat; he'd have to change his plans with his allies so decimated by the siege, but he was distracted when a cohort of defenders broke through his soldiers and confronted him and his personal bodyguard. It was Kazanah; he and his men were on horseback, valued and rare animals in the desert for their mobility.

"Kazanah," said Wara, gritting his teeth.

"Wara," answered the Taring chieftain with a grim smile. "I suppose things haven't quite gone according to plan for you?"

Wara snarled at Kazanah, but the other chieftain continued, undeterred. "In truth, secretly mustering an army to take out Ain and all of us with it is ingenious. I admit, even though I knew you were up to something, I didn't think it would be something this big. Planting inside collaborators was a nice stroke too, distracting us with the army and opening Ain from the inside."

"It would've worked!" spat Wara.

"Yes it would have," agreed Kazanah. "But it all went to hell because of him, didn't it?"

"Hayreddin," hissed Wara with rage. "I didn't think that idealistic fool could have turned things around this far."

"I admit, neither did I," said Kazanah. "But now look, he has seven chieftains fighting side by side instead of each other, even Berkhan. Perhaps you should have seriously considered his plan."

"Asok might have been a superstitious fool, but he was right when he said it's impossible for the tribes to coexist peacefully," snapped Wara. "You're an intelligent man, Kazanah. Do you really believe Hayreddin's foolish plan would actually work? It will fail. It will fall apart. I did what any other chieftain should've done: take advantage of the situation for the good of my own tribe!"

"Yet clearly the tide has turned against you," retorted Kazanah. "I think it's time to change how we do things out here in the desert, Wara. I will go with Hayreddin's plan."

"Then you're a fool!" shouted Wara, drawing his sword, even though he knew he could not hope to match Kazanah in a straight up fight, especially when the other chieftain was on horseback.

Kazanah's personal guard engaged Wara's and quickly opened a path for their chieftain to charge through. Knowing he could not run, Wara urged his camel forward. The two chieftains exchanged blows; Wara's mount gave him the advantage in height against Kazanah, but the Taring chieftain's mount was for more mobile and their difference in skill quickly became apparent.

Wara was soon struck from his camel and landed in a heap on the ground. He scrambled to his feet and managed to deflect another blow from Kazanah, but the force of it sent his sword flying out of his hands.

The Maru chieftain glared up at Kazanah, unrepentant even in the face of death. All he felt was regret that he had come so close to succeeding.

Kazanah's sword flashed in the sunlight, and Wara's head was sent flying where it would eventually become lost among the melee.

XI XI XI

With Wara and Sidura, the two main commanders dead, the invading force fell apart and was routed. The three remaining chieftains refused to surrender and fought to the bitter end, refusing to believe Hayreddin's promise of mercy. The survivors of the invading force fled into the desert where they eventually died from overexposure or were hunted down by the desert beasts.

With their chieftains dead and the bulk of their warriors destroyed, the Kaling, Maru, Pasa, Parang and Gulda tribes were doomed, subjected to retaliatory attacks that eventually wiped them all out once the seven chieftains in Ain sent word to their own tribes. Hayreddin had tried once more to plead with the chieftains from taking such a brutal action, but while the chieftains had agreed to his plans for peace and cooperation, they would not budge on that particular point.

The Siege of Ain would become a turning point in not only Ain's history, but indeed, Baybar itself. It resulted in the total annihilation of five tribes and shifted the balance of power among the remaining desert tribes and resulted in founding of the new settlement known as Sabaah, the ancient word for 'seven' in honour of the seven tribes that founded it. For the first time in countless centuries, there would be true peace in the desert.

But above all, the Siege of Ain resulted in all of Baybar learning of the man called Hayreddin.

XI XI XI

The months that followed the end of the siege saw a great deal of rebuilding. While the inner parts of Ain had remained unscathed, the residential areas outside the walls and the territories beyond had been virtually wiped out.

Hayreddin had offered to help, but the Elders insisted that he had done more than enough for Ain, asking him to instead follow through on his plans with the remaining seven chieftains. Negotiations had been swift and easy and eventually, the chieftains were ready to return home, promising to send people to found the new settlement once a suitable location had been identified.

Hayreddin saw each of them off personally, and each chieftain left him a gift as a token of respect. Sovah of the Huraiz had given him a jewel-encrusted ceremonial dagger, Ordo of the Hang had promised to send him fifty of their finest camels, Ibiz of the Battuta had given him a chest of gold and Umiz of the Sina had given him a chest of silver. To Hayreddin's horror, Berkhan had given him the skulls of the five best warriors the Ber chieftain had personally killed in his previous battles. Hayreddin had no choice but to accept, planning to bury the poor things once Berkhan was far enough.

Horun had given him one of the finest swords in his possession. It was unornamented, a reflection of the Kaganagh's utilitarian culture.

"You fight very well," Horun had said with a smile. "With a well-made sword, you will fight even better."

"Thank you, honoured chieftain," Hayreddin had answered, bowing as he took the sword from Kaganagh chieftain.

"You know, I believe you still owe me a duel," commented Horun, and Hayreddin had tried to protest but Horun had laughed at the look on his face.

"It's enough for me to have seen you fight," he had said. "You are a great warrior as I had expected. It has been an honour fighting alongside you, young Hayreddin."

As for Kazanah, the Taring chieftain had not brought any gifts for Hayreddin, since he had not expected things to work out so well.

"So tell me, what can I give you for everything you have done here?" the Taring chieftain had asked.

Hayreddin bowed. "Nothing, honoured chieftain. To have the cooperation and friendship of the mighty Taring and their chieftain is more than enough."

"Diplomatic and polite as ever, Hayreddin," remarked Kazanah. "But come, there must be something I can give you. It would be dishonourable for me to be the only chieftain who gave you nothing. Name it, and if it's in my power, I will grant it."

Hayreddin thought about it for a moment. "Actually, there is something."

"Yes?"

Hayreddin smiled. "I don't suppose you could teach me how to brew milu, could you?"

Kazanah threw his head back and laughed.

XI XI XI

With all the chieftains gone, Hayreddin soon sat himself down on the couch in his quarters with a sigh. A great weight had been lifted from his shoulders and his heart, but a new type of heaviness entered.

Hayreddin finally allowed himself to mourn the deaths of everyone who had given their lives to protect Ain.

"Thank you," he whispered. "Thank you…"

Slowly, his thoughts turned to the people that he had slain. As much as he tried, he couldn't recall any individual face; it had all been a blur of faces frozen in terror, the swing of his sword and the spray of blood.

How many, wondered Hayreddin, just how many people he had killed? How many orphans and widows had he created? His mind knew that he had done what was necessary to protect Ain and its people, but his heart…

He stayed like that for a long moment, so deep in his mourning that he was startled when the door to his quarters opened. He turned and saw Isan and Ravenna. His two best friends sat down on either side of him.

"You've done it, Hayreddin," said Isan, smiling. "Just like we said you would."

"I couldn't have done it without both of you," said Hayreddin, returning the smile. It faded after a moment. "The lives lost though...and those five tribes..."

"It doesn't take away from what you've accomplished," interrupted Ravenna sternly. "You can't save everyone, Hayreddin."

Hayreddin bowed his head and Ravenna continued before the mood got darker. "Anyway, there's one matter we need to you to attend to."

Hayreddin looked up in surprise. "What is it?"

He was certain that everything had been handled and dealt with. Had he overlooked something?

Isan was smiling. "Ravenna and I are getting married."

Hayreddin look between both of them for a moment. "I'm sorry, what?"

Isan grinned. "The old goat finally asked me to marry him, Hayreddin! We're getting married, and we don't want to wait until we get back to Nuba, we want to get married here in Ain."

"I...what?" Hayreddin mumbled for a moment before a wide grin spread out across his face. "This-this is wonderful! I'm-I'm a little speechless-but, congratulations!"

"Are you going to keep calling me an old goat even when we get married?" grumbled Ravenna.

"Of course," answered Isan. "I wouldn't marry you otherwise."

"Now, now," said Hayreddin chidingly as he pulled them both close to him by the shoulders. "You two shouldn't be fighting now, you've got your whole marriage ahead of you for that."

Hayreddin chuckled while Isan laughed and Ravenna's lips quirked into a hint of a smile.

"Honestly you two, I'm happy for you," said Hayreddin. "It's about time, too."

Isan smiled back at him and Ravenna finally allowed a full smile onto his face. It was good to receive news that had nothing to do with battle or politics, thought Hayreddin as his own lips turned into a smile, the first carefree one since he had come to Ain six years ago.