The Tiger-Headed Horseman Read online

  But his question remained unanswered; the voice had disappeared again. Tengis determined to carry on into the darkening gorge. What little light remained came from far above. Natural ice sculptures loomed down overhead from long-frozen waterfalls. The gorge narrowed and narrowed and began to descend more steeply to the point that the only way to walk was in the icy stream itself. Tengis continued onwards, both hands feeling their way along the side of the icy gorge. Several hundred metres ahead of him Tengis could see that a bright light was shining from the middle of the gorge. He picked up his pace. He had no sense of danger; he just wanted to be nearer to the light and away from this murky and desolate prison.

  As he neared the light, Tengis saw that it marked the end of the gorge. His pace quickened. Beyond the corridor the ground opened up into a large open wasteland. The area was wide enough to allow in enough sunlight to grow sparse vegetation but was otherwise surrounded by steep cliff faces that rose up into the mountains. At the opposite side of the opening from the gorge Tengis noticed that the ground rose slightly. He was unable to see what was there. He finally exited the gorge and hopped across several large rocks that formed a path across a forbidding-looking pool that seemed to mark the destination of the backwards-flowing stream.

  Climbing up the small rise, Tengis froze mid-step. Further ahead, at the far end of the clearing, the cliff landed sheer into the ground. Tengis stared at the stone, his mouth drying and his heart racing; in front of him stood a natural chasm hewn into the rock face. It was a cave entrance exactly like he had seen in his dream. It penetrated into abject darkness and was just large enough for a young man to walk through.

  Excitedly, Tengis hurriedly searched for wood to make a torch. He pulled up dried or dying vegetation that surrounded the water's edge and tied the lengths of grasses around a larger stick. He had kept some of the sticks he had used to create fire the previous night and was glad for having done so. He prayed that this would work. He was apparently in favour with the gods and within minutes he had himself a large flaming torch. There was no telling how long he would need the torch to last, so Tengis had made it especially large. He stuffed the remaining dried grasses into his pockets and lifted the torch with both hands. Blinking slowly, he moved towards the darkness.

  It took Tengis several long seconds before his eyes became accustomed to the gloom, but his torch looked as though it would serve him well. Holding it out in front of him, he walked forwards into the unknown.

  ‘This is it!’ whispered a voice. It wasn't quite the voice in his head. Somehow the noise seemed further inside him.

  Tengis ignored it and crept onwards. Inside the cave entrance the roof rose upwards into unseen darkness. He found himself standing in what seemed to be an enormous hollow cavern. As he moved forwards, the light from his torch began to glow brighter and brighter. The grotto became more and more apparent to him. Its walls appeared to glow and sway with the torchlight. Tengis moved closer to inspect them. Staring at the rocky walls, Tengis could see that there was another material embedded into the rocks. In some places he could make out dots the size of pinpricks; in other places the material was larger than a plate. Whatever it was, it reflected the torchlight brilliantly. Tengis had no idea what it was but it was definitely the sun-drenched metal he had seen in his dream the night before.

  Moving to the centre of the cavern, Tengis fixed his torch into the ground using a few larger stones as buttresses. He ran back outside and found as much wood and grass as he could. He built piles of wood within easy reach and used some to create a substantial fire in the middle of the grotto. He wanted to see the whole space. He wanted to see what it was he had found. It made no sense to him yet but Tengis knew that this was something important. This was something that would help him fulfil his destiny. By stoking the fire, Tengis got the flames to rise high into the cavern and their light licked and flickered at the glowing material all around him.

  Tengis sat and waited for the voice inside his head. It would surely come. He wouldn't have to wait long.

  ‘You did it!’ said the voice in his head. The voice sounded mildly surprised. ‘I am impressed. You really are as good as we thought you were.’

  ‘What on earth is it?’ asked Tengis. ‘It's beautiful.’

  ‘It's power!’ said the voice.

  ‘What do you mean?’ asked Tengis. ‘It looks like rock or metal or something. How can that be power?’

  ‘As you said, it's beautiful,’ said the voice. ‘People will find it more beautiful than you can possibly imagine. People will kill to possess even a small amount of this. You have it all. That means people will do exactly as you say. You can . . . how did you put it? . . . you can help people to help themselves. You have power over men. They will worship you.’

  ‘But,’ said Tengis, ‘why? We are sitting in a cave filled with shimmering magic in the middle of nowhere about four days’ travel from Baatarulaan. How does that give me any power?’

  ‘We will have to figure out how to take some with you when you return to Baatarulaan,’ said the voice. ‘Just a little will be enough to make people fall in love with its appeal. It will prove more addictive than Khem; it will wield more strength than a dozen Fun Brigades.’

  ‘But it's stuck into the rock,’ said Tengis. ‘How on earth do I get it out?’

  ‘Not everything in life is easy,’ said the voice. ‘I suggest a little sweat and toil. You will find the tools you need in the cavern somewhere.’

  Tengis walked around the room's lengthy perimeter, as the voice told him: ‘I think it was left over there.’ Tengis followed the instructions given to him. In one far corner, amid some rocks and rubble, he found a length of material. As he picked it up and moved it aside, heavy dust fell away to reveal a number of metal implements – a pickaxe, a large hammer, a small chisel and a number of buckets and sieves of varying size.

  ‘What do I do with these?’ asked Tengis.

  ‘Use your imagination,’ replied the voice somewhat tetchily.

  Tengis looked at the various implements. He had never attended the construction class at school; it had always seemed to him below somebody of his intellect. Now he regretted that hasty decision.

  He tried using the tools in a myriad of ways. After several hours, and at the cost of a fistful of blisters, Tengis succeeded in using the pickaxe and chisel to chip away a significant piece of rock. He put it on the ground and set about smashing it into smaller and smaller pieces using the hammer. He placed the smaller rocks in the sieves of varying size and worked away the pieces he didn't care about. Eventually he was left with small nuggets of the sunny substance. He held a large piece up to the firelight. It truly was beautiful. The fire's reflection glistened from its every edge. Its touch brought Tengis a confidence he had never previously known.

  ‘How did you know about this?’ asked Tengis. ‘You knew to guide me here. You knew what was here.’

  ‘I haven't been here for hundreds of years,’ said the voice. ‘I don't think anybody has – in fact, I'm certain of that.’

  ‘But what has this got to do with Chinggis?’ said Tengis. ‘I am linked to him; in fact, I may well be him – you know that. You've hinted often enough. And it was you that brought me here. There has to be some link between this strange metal and Chinggis Khaan.’

  ‘This cave was first uncovered during the age of Chinggis. When it was originally found, the cavern was little more than a hole. The shimmering metal quickly asserted itself as a thing of power and allure. The more that was found, the greater its power grew. Over time, more and more of the precious material was uncovered. The hole became a cave, then the cave became this cavern. The metal became an idol; whoever owned it became a god.’

  ‘Are you saying,’ asked Tengis, ‘that Chinggis and his people found this metal, dug it out and used it to fund the growth of his empire?’

  ‘Hmm,’ said the voice, ‘something sort of similar to that, you will find out one day. Everything will reveal itself in time.’

>   ‘So,’ said Tengis, ‘who does it actually belong to?’

  ‘That doesn't matter, does it?’ answered the voice.

  ‘Of course it does!’ said Tengis. ‘If somebody owns it, then taking it would be theft. That much is obvious.’

  ‘Really?’ said the voice. ‘Look at how beautiful it is. Do you honestly care who it belongs to so long as you possess it? Think about the strength and command it will offer you. There is no man who will be able to stand against you so long as you control the shining metal.’

  ‘I suppose that, so long as I use it for the greater good, then there is no harm in my doing so,’ mused Tengis. ‘If no one has put a claim on it for hundreds of years, then logically no one owns it; finders keepers.’

  ‘That's the spirit,’ said the voice, ‘but remember, if you are going to steal bells, plug your ears. You will be shocked at the amount of influence you now have in your hands and you'd better be ready to face the consequences. Are you clearer about your purpose yet?’

  ‘I think so,’ said Tengis. ‘I just have to dot some is and cross some ts. On our way here we went through most of it. I should probably write it down though in case there is any confusion.’

  Tengis scraped around looking for some slate on which to write. He found several large tablets and sat down to scribe his ideology. He scratched his stubbly chin in contemplation, put stone to slate and began to write.

  The Ten Recommendations

  by Tengis Khaan

  1 You shall have only one belief (and that belief is that the Ten Recommendations are the right and proper thing to believe in and that the owner of the Ten Recommendations tablet is the right and proper person to tell you what to believe in).

  2 You shall not worship false idols (unless they help you keep the faith or understand something really important such as the Ten Recommendations).

  3 You shall not say bad things about the Ten Recommendations or the keeper of the tablet. (He or she does have feelings, you know, and is only trying to help.)

  4 You shall have one day off a week from all work and on that day you shall read and discuss the Ten Recommendations.

  5 Respect your elders (and other people of influence or authority, particularly if they might prove useful in the future).

  6 You shall not kill people. (It really is not nice no matter how rude someone might be – only the keeper of the tablet can decide to murder someone and even then only if it is really, really for the greater good.)

  7 You should only ever have children with people you care for and who care for you. (Moreover, fathers should never ever leave a pregnant woman before the child has been born because that is just plain wrong; as punishment they shall be subject to a penalty equal to that deemed appropriate by the keeper of the Recommendations).

  8 Do not take things that are not yours (at least not without asking beforehand, the only exception being if something has lain untouched for several hundred years, in which case it is to be deemed fair game).

  9 Do not say bad things about other people (unless you think they really deserve it).

  10 Do not be jealous of donkeys, goats or, for that matter, anything because it doesn't get you anywhere. Channel that energy into hard work and maybe one day you will be able to afford a horse. (Important people, however, can be jealous and take what they want by force or other means.)

  Once Tengis had finished carving his thoughts into stone, he lifted them high above his head and read them by the fire-light. He looked at his shadow flickering against the precious metals in the wall. He breathed in, puffed up his chest and liked what he saw. To him it appeared to be a very imperial profile.

  ‘And so,’ shouted Tengis to no one in particular, ‘New Chinggism is reborn!’

  He tucked the tablets under his arm, put out the fire and headed back towards Baatarulaan with renewed vigour. The voice in his head said nothing but sat with a satisfied grin across its beaming face.

  11

  Opening her eyes again, Lily was in the familiar territory of the spirit world. Each time she visited the spirit world she seemed to arrive at the same place. She was standing outside a large gate on a road that ran left and right along the side of a river. Behind her a track wound its way up a mountain beyond the gate. It was a serene, silent and solitary place. Lily almost always felt comfortable here. She knew the feel of the air as its freshness blew down the mountainside into her hair. The smell of the freshwater river flowing in front of her filled her nostrils with a soothing familiarity. She also knew that before long her spirit friend would come and find her.

  Lily set off walking along the river in a direction that could have been east or west; there were two suns in the spirit world. She knew the route would soon bring her to a bridge that spanned only half the river. It had crumbled in some forgotten age and grass grew through the remaining tarmac. No cars had been here as there were no cars in this world to the best of Lily's knowledge. Balmy winds ran through the surrounding hillsides causing the low-lying trees that lined their flanks to chime mystically. Noises of various pitch soothed the air. Lily knew there was some force greater than the wind at play; it was probably some spirit or other whiling away the hours. This sort of thought had initially caused her concern but she no longer thought about such things; such things were normal in this world.

  Little concerned Lily here. She had visited hundreds of times and, despite meeting various untoward characters who had frightened her, her fear had been little more than thrilling; there was no danger for her. This was a world where Lily could explore and expand her horizons with carefree abandon. She had her friend to look over her. From what Lily had experienced so far, her friend was an important spirit. Although she guessed that her friend was only about the same age as she was, perhaps a couple of years older, other spirits, regardless of age, tended to kowtow to her.

  Standing upon the bridge, Lily looked across the river to the land beyond. She had never been to that side of the river. Her friend had suggested she stay on this side. Like any young lady, Lily was intrigued by implied danger. Her gaze into the distance was broken by a friendly sound. Three young puppies ran circles between her feet chasing one another. Their mother padded towards her more sedately. There were a great number of stray dogs in the spirit world and mostly they were affable. This family had been here for as long as Lily had visited.

  Lily reached into her pocket and pulled out some scraps from the dinner she had prepared for Lucky and herself. The pups and their mother always seemed so grateful for Lily's kindness and generosity. They couldn't offer anything in return but nonetheless Lily was filled with a curious sense of having done something good and worthy each time she visited. The mother dog barked her appreciation as she led the puppies back down under the bridge. Lily smiled and returned her gaze to the land on the other side of the river.

  Little stirred over there, but then again little stirred on this side either. A few trees swayed gently and a pillar of smoke rose from a small cluster of houses. There was nothing more or less remarkable than on this side of the river. The eerily echoing tones continued to soothe and reverberate around her ears.

  ‘Lily,’ said a quiet voice behind her, ‘how lovely to see you again.’

  ‘Hello,’ replied Lily. She didn't know her friend's name. Her friend always evaded that question. ‘I needed to get away. I wasn't able to think straight and there is so much I need to think about.’

  ‘Well,’ said her friend, ‘we are good at finding solutions here. Let's take a walk.’ She beckoned Lily to follow her.

  Lily obliged without hesitation. Presently, they came to a bench beneath a tree. It wasn't particularly hot but it is always nice to sit under a tree canopy. The branches opened out overhead, their arms trailing down almost to the ground. Once the young ladies were seated, other spirits began to stir. People of and from all ages gently milled around beneath the tree's protection.

  ‘Good afternoon, ladies,’ said a man who looked like a Roman centurion. He was particu
larly handsome and Lily could not help admiring the musculature of his bronzed thighs. The Roman appreciated the admiring looks and flexed his muscles accordingly. The ladies laughed nervously. ‘Such pretty ladies. I do hope you enjoy the day. Would you mind helping me? Which way is the lighthouse? I must get back to Alexandria and see my dear girl.’ The Roman theatrically bent the arm he was pointing with so that his muscles bulged. Droplets of sweat ran out from beneath his armour. He winked and walked off.

  ‘Lovely day for a walk,’ said another man who wore a heavy bearskin hat and red military jacket. Lily thought the hat looked funny and began to giggle.

  ‘You must be roasting with that badger on your head!’ joked Lily. The man in the red jacket picked up his rifle, vigorously leaned it against his shoulder and marched off into invisibility. Her friend shot her a glance that stopped her humour dead.

  ‘We must be respectful!’ said her friend. ‘If you drink the water, follow the custom.’ Lily knew that meant something; most of what her friend said did. It was just that sometimes Lily didn't quite understand what it was that was being said. ‘When you are in the spirit world, value those in the spirit world. You might learn something about yourself.’

  ‘I apologise,’ replied Lily. She knew she was more intelligent than to have acted like the child she used to be. She also wondered what it was that she might learn about herself. That sounded interesting. She was keen to listen to whatever her friend would say next.

  ‘Now,’ said her friend more calmly, ‘what is it that you want to think about?’

  ‘I . . .’ Lily hesitated. She worried that what she was about to say might sound fanciful or downright silly. She needed to know though and curiosity won out. ‘I received a golden box from my elders. In the box I found a message secretly hidden away from all but the most prying eyes. That message appears to have come from Chinggis Khaan. Have you heard of him?’

  Her friend stood up abruptly. She looked displeased and a little startled.