The Tiger-Headed Horseman Read online

  There was a general murmuring in agreement, although Lily could sense that they were uncomfortable about their numerical disadvantage.

  Elder Chuluun was aware of this, too. ‘Do not worry. We will remain mobile. There is no way Tengis's men can come close to our riders. Our mobility will enable us to readily outmanoeuvre them and take control of the battle. We need to pit what strengths we have against our enemy's weaknesses. Our riders will draw their troops out into the Steppe where our lancers will plough into them.’

  ‘What about the Hairy Hordes?’ asked Danyal. ‘Where do you want us?’

  ‘I want you with the lancers,’ replied Elder Chuluun. ‘You will act separately, as you are always wont to do. I don't want to advise such a robust fighting outfit, but once our riders infantry have drawn the enemy into the Steppe, perhaps the Hairy Hordes could lead the charge into their midst?’

  ‘It would be an honour,’ replied Millie. ‘We will not disappoint you.’

  ‘Although there are likely to be more of them,’ said Danyal, ‘it does sound as though we have the upper hand.’

  ‘Don't undo your bootlaces until you have seen the river,’ answered Elder Chuluun. Danyal scratched his head, though he presumed he had just heard something profound.

  ‘If we are finished, can I take some rest?’ asked Lily. ‘I am exhausted.’

  ‘You have four hours,’ said Elder Chuluun. ‘We march out of camp at six. If my estimates are correct then the enemy will be camped an hour's march from here near the mountains.’

  Lily excused herself as the members of the gathering bid one another goodnight. After Lily had seen to Lucky, she entered the family ger and lay back on the furs that lined the rear of the tent. Within moments she had quickly fallen into a deep sleep. That night she dreamed about Tsara. Her spirit friend assured her that all would soon be well. She also confirmed that it had been she who had helped corral Lily's supporters together; she who had sent the horses and she who would look after her tomorrow during the battle. Although it was to be Lily's first encounter with warfare, the prospect exhilarated her and her dreams were filled with thoughts of her imminent victory.

  At some point during the night Lily awoke with a start. The camp was silent except for the occasional sound of snoring and breaking of wind, though whether human or animal it was hard to tell. As Lily tried to block the noises from her mind she began to hear something else. Something more distant. It was a sound she thought she recognised but wasn't sure where from. The sound was deep and heavy. It did not sound human. The noise pulsed regularly across the plain rhythmically beating time. In between the cadence was something else, something unknown. A throaty blong accompanied the tempo every three or so beats. It was an altogether more frightening noise. The fearsome sound poured across the Steppe into the encampment. Lily pulled the furs close around her and wished that Lucky was keeping her company. Eventually Lily fell back into slumber.

  Lily managed only a couple of hours’ sleep. She was awake and washed long before Elder Chuluun had requested roll-call. She opened a trunk that her father used to store his clothing. Lily had lived next to the trunk all of her life but never actually opened it before. Casting aside camel-hair cloaks and blankets she dug deeper. Eventually her fingers grasped what she was looking for. She pulled out a lacquered boiled leather tunic from the trunk. It would help protect her torso from arrows, knives and swords. From deeper in the chest came a helmet, the top of which was metal but whose lower portion was leather with straps for attaching it to the tunic. With both hands she pulled out metal leggings that formed from tiny overlapping iron plates that looked a little like fish scales. These two had straps for attaching them to the tunic and also footwear. Lily felt around for anything else and to her surprise she touched something soft. Drawing whatever it was out from the wooden container she found herself holding a one-piece silken under-garment. She was utterly lost for words. She had not expected this. She stared at it aghast.

  ‘I am sure you are wondering what that is for,’ asked Elder Chuluun. For a big man he was strangely nimble. He had quietly opened the door to Lily's ger and watched as she prepared for her first battle. ‘It is meant to be worn beneath your armour and boots. If you are shot at distance by an arrow, it is unlikely to penetrate the silk. Even if it penetrates your skin the silk will likely hold. Given Tengis may use poison, this will help protect you, and should you be unlucky enough to be shot, the silk will help the healers extract the arrow safely from your skin. It's quite clever really.’

  Lily was relieved. She preferred this logical explanation to the others that had been milling around her head.

  Elder Chuluun helped his leader dress for battle. Attaching her leggings to her boots, he looked deep into her eyes and wished her good luck.

  Having forced herself to eat some fried mutton in pastry, Lily sought out Lucky. One of the camp dogs that had been following her began to whimper; Lily threw it a piece of her mutton khuushuur, which was gobbled down gratefully. The dog seemed to nod to her before rushing off in search of more scraps. Lily looked up to see Lucky looking on embarrassed that his fellow animals could act so pitifully.

  ‘Dogs will be dogs,’ said Lily. She poured some warmed oats into Lucky's feed and he began chomping contentedly. As he did, Lily began to prepare her horse. Elder Chuluun had gifted her his own personal horse armour. It was made of the same lacquered leather that covered her chest. She tested the leather and felt comfortable that it was light and supple enough to ensure maximum mobility. Once Lucky had finished his breakfast, she jumped into her saddle. Pulling a warm fur cloak across her shoulders she rode out of camp just as others were starting to wake. The moon began to be usurped by daytime rays of light.

  ‘Choo, choo!’ shouted Lily, kicking Luck's flank.

  Lucky was not used to being told what to do and shot off at an incredible pace given his short legs. Lily knew that Steppe horses, which were shorter than their European cousins, vehemently refused to break stride even when they galloped. When moving at speed she thought they looked as though they were speed-walking at double time. Lily had no fear that they were flying fast, though. If herders were hardy souls, then their horses were far tougher and more resilient than even the armour they wore. Life on the Steppe was difficult enough for the herders who had gers to shelter them from the minus-forty-degrees wintry storms; horses simply had to grin and bear it. Lucky sped on in the direction of the mysterious sounds Lily had heard during the night and which had continued ever since.

  Reaching the top of a rise in the Steppe, Lily stopped. She looked across the plain towards the mountains from where she could still hear the noises of last night. Sure enough, just as Elder Chuluun had predicted Tengis and his troops were camped in the shadow of the crags. There were many tents. Not gers but simple silk-sheet tents. It wasn't the tent material that caught Lily's breath; it was the incredible number of them. Elder Chuluun had said they would be outnumbered but rather than two to one Lily estimated that there were more than ten times as many tents as there were among her people. She scoured the makeshift enemy barracks, taking in everything she could see. There were very few horses, which surprised her, but there were wide wooden walls holding thousands of enormous pikes. The thorny sharp points sat hovering over the white silk tents beneath. Their teeth frightened Lily. The noise continued, though if anything it was even louder. Combing the camp, Lily looked for its source. The steady thudding was coming from enormous drums that were each being beaten by two sturdy soldiers. Blong. The origin of the horrible new noise eluded her momentarily.

  Peering from tent to tent, Lily sought out the horrid din. Blong. Men hurriedly rose, readying themselves for the day that lay ahead of them. Blong. It was a scene not dissimilar to the one she had just left; albeit with a lot more people involved. Blong. Focusing on the centre of the camp Lily noticed one tent that was far larger than the others. Blong. Flying from its roof was a huge flag depicting a lion-headed man riding a noble horse. Blong. As she stare
d at it venom coursed through her eyes. Blong. Adjacent to the tent was a large wooden plinth painted red. Blong. Resting on top was an enormous axle. Blong. Below the axle sung a mammoth bell. Blong. It seemed to be made from the metallic substance Lily had seen Tengis hold aloft in Baatarulaan. Blong. Soldiers clamoured around it enraptured by both the noise it was making and the shimmering substance from which it was made. Blong. The bell's huge clapper swung below ceaselessly, keeping time with the drums surrounding it. Blong. Lily could see no point in the noise other than to wreak terror among those who heard it. Blong. It seemed to be working.

  Lily raced back to her camp as fast as Lucky was able.

  ‘Elder Chuluun!’ cried Lily, ‘Danyal, Millie, everybody, come quick.’ She jumped from Lucky, landing in a run of her own. The elders and tribal delegates moved in around her. ‘Tengis is camped near here. Very near. We need to get ready, now!’

  ‘Was there anything else?’ asked Elder Chuluun. ‘Before we send our encampment safely into the Steppe is there anything we need to tell them? Did you see anything of note that might give us advantage over our foes? Do they have any siege weapons?’ Other soldiers began to group around the smaller circle and grow outwards.

  Lily was reluctant to tell them what she had seen but needed to. ‘No, there are no large weapons. However, there are lots of them.’

  ‘We know that,’ said Danyal. ‘Elder Chuluun said that last night.’

  ‘No!’ shouted Lily. ‘There are thousands of them. Each of us will have to defeat ten men if we are to win today. If we are to be victorious, then we have to fight harder and with more ferocity than we think imaginable. We will win. We fight for justice. We fight for what is right. We fight to restore the greatness of our nation. We fight to defeat the evil that has claimed control for too long. We fight for Chinggis Khaan!’ People everywhere began to cheer. ‘Everybody; to your horses. They have come to the Steppe.’

  The soldiers roared their approval. All around, the sound of metal rang out as helmets were strapped on, swords picked up, last adjustments to armour made and above them all the dreadful ‘Blong.’

  ‘Hairy Hordes,’ shouted Danyal, ‘file in behind me.’

  Fifty enormous men with extra-long arms slumped into a semblance of order behind Danyal. Each wore a thick metal helmet and in each fist they carried an enormous curved sabre the size of a small boy.

  ‘Archers, cavalry!’ yelled Lily. ‘You are with me. You know what to do.’

  Over five hundred horsemen shouted their approval.

  ‘Lancers!’ shouted Elder Chuluun. ‘About turn. Ready.’

  Almost four hundred of the biggest men, each heavily weighed down with armour and carrying a razor-like lance and matching sabre, formed units of twenty behind the Elder.

  ‘My friends,’ roared Lily, ‘you have come when asked to defend what is right. You have come to make a stand against the Khadists who have left the comfort of their city and seek to eradicate all that is left that is just in this country.’ Far and wide her supporters bellowed their approval. ‘We shall defend our Steppe whatever the cost may be; we shall fight on plains, rocks, mountains, rivers and in the foothills. We shall never surrender and even if – which I do not for the moment believe – this Steppe or a large part of it were to be subjugated and starving, then our brethren further afield, armed and just, will carry on the struggle until in Chinggis's good time this New World with all its power and might, sets forth to the liberation and rescue of the Old.’

  A thousand soldiers raced across the Steppe towards the mountains.

  ‘Blong.’

  25

  Tengis stood surveying the Steppe that lay out before him. To his right two thousand archers stood ready to rain hellishness upon the enemy. To his left four thousand foot soldiers stood itching to fight. Ahead of them four thousand pike men stood formed in twenty rows, their pikes already dipped to meet their foes. Across the plain stood his nemesis.

  ‘Look at her,’ said Tengis. ‘Who does she think she is?’

  ‘She is just a girl,’ replied Oldortar. ‘We shall make short shrift of them and be back here in time for sundowners!’

  ‘Do not underestimate that girl,’ said Odval, who had accompanied her lover. ‘We women are more powerful than you men believe. You can stand here with your troops and mock her but she is dangerous. What is a joke for a cat will be death for a mouse.’

  ‘Yeah right,’ answered Oldortar, ‘a powerful woman; just like a watery desert. An interesting prospect, possibly imaginative, but definitely non-existent!’

  ‘Quiet!’ demanded Tengis. ‘We must crush these upstarts. They must know who their emperor is and they must learn how to love him, or at least fear him.’

  ‘There are so few of them,’ said Mr Enkh. ‘I calculate you only need to use half of your troops. You could have the others start digging for you. Where was it that you said that substance was? Somewhere in these mountains, wasn't it?’

  Odval glared at her father. Since he had first set eyes on the glimmering metal he had become increasingly deranged. She had barely spoken to him in the last ten days. Everything he said or did related to his getting hold of some of Tengis's wealth. She knew that her lover was no fool and that his patience would run out soon enough; though not as soon as it did. Without saying a word Tengis pulled his sabre from its scabbard. Without speaking to him or even looking in his direction, he cleanly relieved Mr Enkh of his head.

  ‘Insubordination will not be tolerated,’ said Tengis. He wiped the blood from his sabre on Oldortar's sleeve. ‘Neither shall greed.’

  He looked at Odval. She bit hard on the inside of her lip. Tasting blood in her mouth, she widened her gaze to prevent any tears from welling up. Odval knew that to show emotion at this moment could leave her feeling several kilograms lighter.

  ‘Give us the word and we will attack,’ said Tchoo. ‘See the men? The Leggy is eager to please you.’

  ‘They are eager for this more like,’ said Tengis. He held a huge shard of the glimmering metal substance above his head. To a person every one of his troops ogled the metal and drooled before shouting out inanely. ‘While I control it I control them. Very well, Tchoo, you may start.’

  Tchoo raised his hand; an action that was repeated by more junior soldiers down the ranks towards the pike ranks, most of whom were scarcely fourteen years old and began to march badly forward.

  ‘It is time,’ cried Tchoo, ‘for us to destroy them!’

  ‘A great general once asked whether people should know when they are conquered,’ said Tengis. ‘The general answered “Would you? Would I?” but I simply say: “yes, they should.” He pulled down the visor of his helmet and walked towards his command post overlooking the Steppe below. His Council stood nearby awaiting his orders; all except Mr Enkh who lay with a look of eternal bewilderment upon his face as it looked at the body it recognised lying nearby.

  26

  Tengis's pike ranks marched onwards out of time. In their midst the mammoth bell swung atop a dozen horses who looked particularly unsettled. Elder Chuluun stood watching events unfold. Tengis and his troops were defended to the rear by the mountains. It would be impossible to mount the encirclement attack he had been planning. He knew that the only real chance they had would be to maximise the effect of his cavalry. He watched the pikemen moving in a band away from the craggy shadows into the Steppe. He noted how bunched together they were. The Leggy was nowhere near as well drilled as his own army but there was so many of them he wondered what chance Lily's supporters really had.

  Danyal and Elder Chuluun had little military experience but then again there had been no skirmishes or real fighting in Ongolium since the Khadists had come to power. This was one of their preferred statistics, even if they forgot to mention it was largely due to the complete disappearance for ever of anyone contravening their wishes. However, Danyal and Chuluun were both intelligent, shrewd men. They knew that a day on which a battle was being fought would be noisy. They correctly
surmised that most people really wouldn't be able to hear themselves think, let alone hear themselves sticking a sharp object into another person. To counteract this they had devised an astute means of communication. All signals to their troops would be delivered by a series of banners each with pertinent words embroidered into them in gilt. Green would signify ‘left’, red would mean ‘fight harder’, checks would denote ‘please cause confusion’ and polka dots would indicate ‘please bash the chap on your right on the head and knock him unconscious’. They also insisted that their troops not make a sound while they fought. This had less to do with communication than respect for Chinggis who had, despite many ill-founded rumours to the contrary, always fought in silence.

  Elder Chuluun signalled for Lily to set out with the cavalry (orange flag inscribed ‘Yavyaa’). The Steppe air was suddenly overflowing with the din of thunderous hooves as the Steppe horsemen cantered incredibly quickly towards their enemy. Lily had ridden out with half of her Mangudai cavalry warriors, the others remained out of sight. Save for the occasional cry of ‘choo’ to encourage an irksome horse, the riders remained silent. As they neared the pikemen, the horsemen's silence intimidated the enemy. Yards from the jagged rim of pikes a yellow banner embroidered with the words ‘Zogs Ereg’ was raised. The entire company of horsemen led by Lily stopped and immediately retreated.