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Chapter 15

The Martaban River was reliably deep, swift, and clean, which was one reason Vadal City had become such a densely populated place. That easy access to water for drinking and commerce came with a cost, as demons sometimes liked to swim upriver to raid. So as in most of the other cities in Lok, men of status always built their homes away from the water, while the workers got the stretches useful for their industries. And after everything good was used up, then the casteless quarters were built on the unwanted bits that were left over. That way when a demon did occasionally raid this far inland, little of value was lost.

Because nobody ever cared about losing some non-people.

That concept had always bothered Thera, but it had always been the way things were. Stick the casteless in the mud. If the demons eat them, no great loss.

Across the continent most of the casteless quarters lay empty because of the Great Extermination. Those who hadn’t been murdered had fled and were hiding away from the eyes of the wrathful Law. In Thera’s travels over the last year, she had seen many heartbreaking examples of this, with row upon row of shacks, once vibrant and full of life, left abandoned and vacant.

Vadal was a stark contrast to this because the Great Extermination had been stymied here. In fact, the quarters along the Martaban were overflowing, as many of the casteless who escaped other houses had sought shelter here. When it became known that Vadal wasn’t following the Capitol’s bloodthirsty command, the number of untouchables here had swelled by ridiculous numbers.

The quarter before her now was so overcrowded that disease outbreaks were almost inevitable. When the issued barracks had proven insufficient, the casteless had built more. When they’d run out of land, they’d built upward, until some of the tottering structures were three or even four stories tall. These expansions were mostly constructed out of bits of refuse discarded by the higher castes, wood found drifting down the Martaban, and various materials the casteless had managed to steal from the workers. Thera had to marvel at the ingenuity it took to build a town out of trash, even as she cringed at the thought of what would happen to them if Vadal was ever hit by a strong earthquake.

It was the nature of Vadal that even the poorest of the poor here still lived in a colorful world. The casteless in other lands always seemed drab and gray, but these northern lands were so bountiful that even the cast-off rags the untouchables scrounged to wear were still bright with different color dyes. Even dirty, they were still bright. And it wasn’t just their clothing. Flowering vines crawled up every structure. From how shoddy the workmanship of their garbage houses seemed Thera assumed the structural integrity of those vines might be the only things keeping the multistory shacks from falling over. All the greenery gave the place an odd sort of chaotic beauty, like a wild sprawling garden had consumed a town. The natural perfume of so many flowers was almost enough to overcome the stench of the overflowing shit trenches. Obviously, the whole men took their drinking water from upriver.

“There are so many of them,” Ashok stated as he looked out over the bustling mobs.

“Here, sure. They weren’t so lucky everywhere else.”

The Sons’ camp was on the west side of the city, not too far from the largest casteless quarter in Vadal, perhaps even in the whole world. It surely was the biggest left around nowadays! What better place to see the celebration? By Thera’s insistence only Ashok had accompanied her. She still had many enemies in this city, not because she’d ever personally wronged—or even met—any of them, but because of what she represented. No matter how much the presence of a rebel witch angered proper society, she doubted anyone would dare try anything against her as long as she had fearsome Ashok by her side.

As the two of them walked across the sandy open area at the entrance to the quarter, the nearby casteless took note of their arrival and things subtly changed. A nervous quiet quickly spread. The fishers quit throwing their nets into the river. Children were abruptly silenced and then herded out of sight. Though they’d mostly been spared from the Great Extermination here, the casteless were still used to being brutalized and mistreated. Strangers caused fear. Especially in a time when so much overcrowding begged for a culling in the name of public health.

To avoid being recognized on their trek across the city she’d kept her hood up. Ashok’s face had remained hidden beneath that big straw hat he’d taken a liking to. Yet somehow everyone still realized who they were. The casteless certainly had a gift for spotting things that were beneath the notice of the Law-abiding.

The whispers began. It’s Fall. The whispers spread. The Voice!

Their fear changed to something entirely different as Thera pulled back her hood to reveal her face.

Though they’d never seen her before, they all knew who she was, either by description or some other sense of things, and a woman shouted, “It’s really her!” And that was enough. Casteless who instinctively cowered upon hearing that whole men were among them now looked up with hope. The mob surged toward them. The children who’d been shushed and sent away came running out of their shacks. Within seconds they were entirely surrounded by a horde of skinny gawkers, trying to get close to their beloved prophet. There were squeals of delight and tears of joy because stories about the return of the Voice had sustained this quarter through dark times. Thera had dealt with adoring casteless before, but never this many at once. This was all the population of the Cove and more. It was an overwhelming press of bodies. Trembling hands reached for her.

Ashok promptly growled, “If you touch her, I will cut off your hands.”

Luckily, the casteless heeded his warning.

In the middle of the clearing was a pile of driftwood with a corroded barrel on top. Thera reasoned that would make a decent enough stand so more of the mob could see her better. Ashok’s scowl was enough to part the crowd for her. He may have been the champion they’d told stories about for the last few years to give them hope, but that also meant they knew not to trifle with him. If Fall said he’d take your hands, then he’d surely take your hands.

She climbed up the pile, made sure she had a stable footing—it wouldn’t do for their prophet to tumble down a pile of garbage in front of them—and surveyed the rapidly growing crowd. They called her the Voice, but her own voice was nothing compared to that booming thing. Thera’s real voice wasn’t even particularly melodic or enchanting like a woman’s should be. The warrior caste of Vane was known for knife throwing, not for their singing, and she lacked Ashok’s attention-grabbing command voice, but regardless, she’d do her best.

“Quiet, quiet. Listen to me, please.”

The crowd fell into a hushed silence, eager to hear.

“It is true. I am Thera Vane. This is Ashok Vadal.”

The casteless went mad with delight. There was cheering and leaping and dancing and crying. Their reaction was so unexpected and passionate that it caused Ashok to twitch nervously at the many sudden movements. Thera was uncomfortable with the attention. Ashok was worried about assassins using this opportunity to launch poison darts at her.

“Calm yourselves and listen!” It took her a few tries, but she managed to get the mob to pay attention again. “Listen!” The clearing gradually fell silent, except for the outer edges, where more and more casteless were rushing up to see what all the commotion was about. They reacted much as the others had when they found out that the Voice of the Forgotten and his warrior were among them. Within minutes a gigantic crowd had formed, packed body to body.

“We heard you’d come here!” a women shrieked.

“The overseers told us it was a lie but I had faith!” proclaimed another.

“It is true,” Thera shouted back. “The Sons of the Black Sword are camped just outside this very city.”

The casteless were ecstatic. “We must rise up and kill all the whole men now!” someone roared. Upon those words about a third of the crowd began chanting for blood and the majority started to panic. Of course, casteless were docile when cowed, but wild once riled up. She looked down at Ashok and spread her hands apologetically, helpless to stop the rowdy mob.

“Heed your prophet’s words!”

That bellowed command did it.

“No, you’re not killing anyone. The fighting against the Law is over.” There was some murmuring at that, as surely they took it to mean the rebellion had lost. “We won. We’re already victorious. How else do you think we got here? I’ve come to give you good news.”

They seemed baffled as to what she was talking about. Of course they didn’t know about Devedas’ proclamation. The criers wouldn’t come here, nobody was going to waste good ink and paper on casteless, and it wasn’t like anyone here could read anyway.

“The Law gave in to our demands. As of today, all of you are no longer considered non-people. You are whole men.”

She’d expected more cheering, but instead all she got was confused looks. They didn’t seem to understand at all. “But the Law still exists?”

“Yes, but it isn’t going to try and kill you anymore. The extermination is over. Not just like it was here in Vadal, but everywhere, in every house, every barracks. The faithful don’t have to worship in secret anymore either. Religion is no longer banned by the Law.”

It was such an ingrained reflex that merely mentioning their secret religion caused all the casteless to glance around nervously, looking for the Inquisitors surely hidden among them. Generations of paranoia was soaked into their bones.

“The Law isn’t going to be unfair to you like it has been in the past. We are making a new way of doing things. There will still be pushback. Many high-status men will hate this change, but they will obey their Maharaja, and we earned his help. The Sons of the Black Sword paid the price for you.” She looked out over a mass of confusion. “Don’t you get it? You aren’t property anymore. You’re people. Real people!”

“But we’re not people,” cried a baffled man.

“A dog can’t be a pig,” said another.

There were many comments and shouted questions. “No, no, listen. Your status has changed. We won. You are no longer casteless.”

“Then what are we?” someone wailed.

“You’re free.” They seemed lost at that too. The concept was simply too much for them to take in. What she was saying was too far beyond any idea they’d ever considered before for it to take hold in their minds. “You’ll be free men and women. Not part of the existing castes. No longer anyone’s property, but considered whole by the Law.”

“But how’ll we eat?”

Now it was Thera’s turn to be confused. “What?”

“We’re property of the house. If we’re not theirs, then they’ll not feed us no more!”

“Yeah, Voice! What ’bout our food?”

The casteless she’d commanded had been rebels or refugees, already forced to care for themselves to survive, so Thera hadn’t even considered that aspect. “We’ll figure that out.”

Adoration only went so far, and now the casteless were beginning to panic over potential starvation. Famine was a topic they understood well, as they’d all lived through it at one point or another. She’d come to give them joy, and instead had delivered fear.

Freedom was an abstract concept, far beyond anything most of them had dreamed of before. The casteless she’d collected in the Cove had been those already inclined to rebellion, and the refugees had Keta to guide them toward understanding. Keta had excelled at this sort of thing. Public speaking was extremely difficult for her. This was another reminder how much she missed her old friend, because Keta would have had them enthralled by now, then he’d give an inspiring sermon designed to motivate them into doing whatever needed doing.

Ashok must have been thinking the same thing, because he muttered, “They have no priest to lead them, as we did in the Cove.”

“Our priest is rather indisposed right now.” She kept her voice quiet enough the mob wouldn’t hear her over their cries, but she knew Ashok would. “I don’t get it. Why aren’t they happier? Don’t they understand what this means for them? For their future?” But even as she asked, she knew the answer. She had the perspective of someone raised by warriors, taught from her youth to constantly improve and achieve. Young casteless were taught to be subservient and submissive. Improvement brought attention, and attention brought punishment.

“You spent your life looking up,” Ashok said. “Casteless necks are trained to only look down.”

It was true, and in that moment, she despaired for them. “How in the world do the gods think this rabble is going to defeat an army of demons?”

“Ask the gods. I do not know.” Ashok eyed the wailing crowd with growing disgust. The longer Thera hesitated in addressing each of their hundreds of concerns, the more they began to panic. “Enough!”

The barrage of questions died. The multitude were staring at her, wide eyed and afraid.

“I know this is a lot for you to hear, but have faith, everything will be taken care of. The gods have a plan.” Sadly, Thera had no idea what that plan was, because surely a demon would go through these dregs like a fox through a coop of chickens, but if she told them that there would be a riot. “I must go, but I’ll send priests among you to make sure your needs are met. I promise there will be food. Our priests will help you make your way with this new Law.”

Ashok took her hand and helped her down from the trash pile. “What are you doing? The Fortress Lama knows nothing about this land or these casteless. He would be useless here. There is only one other priest among us.”

“I know.” And Thera cursed herself, because in order to keep the hasty promise she’d just made to Vadal’s casteless, she would have to break the one she had made to Chief Toramana. “Let’s get out of here.”

Still surrounded by casteless, begging for help, shouting their concerns, asking for her to let them hear the Voice. Not her. The real Voice. Thera put her hood back up and let Ashok guide her from the quarter.

The casteless stopped following at the invisible line that marked the end of their assigned territory. Even though they were whole men now, they’d been trained to never step across that border unless an overseer had told them to.

They walked uphill for a time, and as soon as they were free of the mudflat and its prying casteless ears, Thera spoke her disappointment. “We fought so hard for them! I’d expected at least a bit of gratitude. Oceans, I’m such a fool. I should’ve known better.”

“You cannot expect to undo hundreds of years of conditioning in a few minutes, Thera. They are who they were made to be.” Ashok paused and looked down at the sprawling quarter and scowled. “Just as I was.”

Ashok was always scowling, but in that moment he seemed extra troubled. “What is it?”

“I know this place…” He trailed off.

“Could this have been your home?”

“Those barracks were burned and the inhabitants butchered to contain my secret…but from the way the sun hits the bend of the river here now, the view seems very familiar to me. Kule took those memories, but I think some pieces remain.” Ashok raised his hands and stared at his palms, as if he were seeing a stain there that Thera could not, then he gradually lowered them. “I think this quarter is not my home, but it was built atop the ashes of my home.”

“I’m sorry.”

Ashok shook his head. “I’m not. The conspirators are dead. I’ll not waste any more time on bitterness.”

Despite that assurance, she could tell Ashok was deeply troubled. It hadn’t been much of a life, but it had still been stolen from him. When one had so very little, the smallest treasures mattered even more. “I guess I shouldn’t be angry either. At times I ask myself if it’s all been worth it, but the casteless are who they are.”

Thera heard a baby crying and looked over to see that a young casteless woman was walking down the bank, heading toward the quarter, carrying an infant in her arms. When she saw Thera and Ashok standing there—who from their clothing and demeanor were clearly of some status—she quickly averted her eyes and stepped off the path to give them plenty of room to pass by. She waited there, meekly.

“Since they’ve been taught to never look up, let’s find them a priest who can make their necks stronger. Come on, Ashok.”

At the mention of his name, the young mother risked looking directly at him, and a moment later, she gasped, “It’s you! I know you!” And the way she said that was different from the others—not the reflexive awe of a fanatic, but something more personal. Overcome, the girl burst into tears and went straight toward them.

Thankfully, Ashok recognized this was no threat, and didn’t react as he normally would. Instead, he stood there awkwardly as the young mother wrapped her free arm around him and hugged him tight. It was a strange violation of decorum in a place where that mattered so much. The mother and her baby were tiny compared to Ashok, nearly disappearing into his cloak, and he gave Thera a baffled look as the woman held onto him and began crying.

“What is this?”

“Forgive me, mighty Fall.” She broke away, desperately trying to contain her tears of joy. “I never thought I’d see you again. I’m Twig. You saved my life. Of course you don’t remember me. You’re a great hero and I was nobody and you’ve done so much since then.”

“I do not know what you speak of.”

“It was in the village of Jharlang during the big ice storm. The workers went to drown me in a horse trough—as was their right—only you beat them for me!”

It was rare to see Ashok actually surprised. “You’re the girl who lived in the barn…”

She nodded vigorously. “Yes, yes. You were so kind to us, even shared your food and gave us blankets, then saved me and my brother from the workers who thought we stole.”

Thera remembered that day well, because soon after that Angruvadal had shattered, the Voice had manifested, and she’d ended up being carried off by the House of Assassins. All that had happened because Ashok had revealed his identity when he’d stepped in to save the lives of two young casteless from an angry mob of workers.

“You have grown up.”

“I only got the chance because of you.” Twig bounced her infant to comfort the poor thing, and thankfully the crying stopped. “You took us to Mother Dawn. She blessed us and commanded us to come live with a new family here. We owe our entire lives to you.”

“Thank you, but you owe me nothing. Your life is yours to live,” Ashok assured her, and Thera never ceased to marvel that the best man she’d ever known could be so humble. “Where is your brother?”

She beamed with pride. “Soon as he was old enough, he joined the rebels and fought the exterminators someplace out west. He wanted to be brave, like you. He’s doing for others the same thing you did for us. If not for you, I’d never have gotten a life and it’s been a happy one ever since. I found a good husband. Well, casteless aren’t allowed to marry but you know what I mean, and he loves me all the same.” She held up her baby to show Ashok, proud of what she’d made, and laughed. “This little one would never have got a chance to get born neither!”

To most observers, Ashok would seem as stoic as ever, but it was only because of Thera’s great practice in deciphering him that she could tell this chance meeting had moved him greatly.

“It was nothing,” Ashok assured the girl.

That moment of mercy had been one of the first cracks in the seemingly impenetrable wall of Law that had been built around the man she’d come to love. Ashok said it was nothing, but in reality, that small kindness had been everything. It had been a great step in Ashok’s journey from unthinking weapon to an actual person, and for that, Thera was incredibly thankful.

“Your baby is beautiful,” Thera told her.

“He is strong like the hero we named him after. We named him Fall.”


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