Asif listens to the alien words, his left foot tapping to the rhythm, obviously enjoying the song. Upon its completion he claps his hands with much enthusiasm.
At the end of the tune Tag says, "Thank you Rhune, you have a lovely voice and Brother Augustus we must get you a tambourine, thank you for your clapping." Augustus smiles sheepishly, "Well, the Lord blesses some of us with certain talents. But he obviously had a different plan for me, and it did not include a career in music. I actually had a beautiful voice as a child, though. You should have seen the face on old Brother Antonio when my voice changed as a result of my...well, coming of age...You would think he had lost some prodigy or something."
"Thank you, Taglio. That was lovely," Rhune replies to him with a smile.
Tag continues, "The lute Rhune, as Asif will know, came from close to his homeland. Only, there it is called the Ud or perhaps Uod?? Is that right Asif? The Moors brought it to Italy, where we refined it by adding the frets you can see here."
"You are welcome. And I didn't know about the lute," Rhune replies first looking at Taglio and then at Asif.
Asif replies with a smile, "My friends much enjoyment do I have of music. My upbringing brought me in contact with many fine musicians from many lands. Indeed Efendi that very song I have heard before. Men even from this land, played before Sultan Salitis al Feisal for he is fine patron of the arts. Indeed blessed am I to be trained in many skills being raised in his court. As son of his Swordmaster and Vizier of Armories I taught many skills as if son of sultan himself. One of these skills being the Ud you speak off. If you mind not, may I borrow your instrument and play a song?"
"Be my guest my friend," says Tag. "It would please me to hear this song of your deity."
"My friends this song is of my homeland. It is a long song, but alas only blessed to sing a small portion of it in your tongue. My friend Francis was helping me translate it, but with my exile it was not complete. (Asif sighs sadly) The song is one of my faith, but I think you will find it pleasing to the ear."
Asif briefly checks the tune of the instrument, and then his hand moving swiftly over the strings (not unlike this swordplay in speed) he begins to play. His singing although less proficient than his playing is full of emotion, the song obviously of some emotional meaning to him.
"How beautiful is your appearance on the horizon of heaven
Oh living Aten who creates life.
When you rise on the eastern horizon
You fill every land with your beauty
You are beautiful and great, gleaming high over every land.
Your rays, they embrace the earth."
Forte suddenly snaps his head up and stares at this fascinating foreigner.
To the furthest limits of what you have created.
You are Re; you conquer them all,
Making them subject to your beloved son.
You are far away yet your rays are upon the earth;
You are on the faces of men yet your paths are unknown.
When you set on the western horizon
The earth is in darkness in the manner of the dead
Who sleep in their chambers,
Their heads covered
And no eye seeing its fellow.
All their Possessions could be stolen,
Even though they are under their heads
And they would know it not.
Every lion comes forth from its den
And all snakes are ready to bite,
For darkness is the only illumination
And the earth is silent,
For he who created it rests in his horizon."
Rhune listens, obviously more intently, to Asif than she did to Taglio. Her deep purple eyes shining brightly and the look on her face is one of admiration. When he finishes, "That was beautiful, Asif," she whispers to him.
"Sad is it Efendi that you can not hear it in the language it was written. It is a beautiful song and that which I sung is only a small part of it. With Taglio here, time may allow me to sing more of it too you. He will enable me to translate it so all of you may understand it. Better still may you one day be able to listen to its full meaning in the tongue of my forefathers..." Asif replies longingly.
"I will take you up on that offer, Asif. In fact if you are willing and we get the opportunity, I would love to introduce you to my teacher. Maestro Lino in the halls of Padua University. He I am sure would love to hear you play. He is somewhat of a music historian and has spent his life committing to the written the verses and ballads of many nations. I feel certain you would have much to discuss with him. That is if our enemies in the church have not burnt his library yet."
"Asif, that was wonderful!" Augustus grins, "Your people have such a remarkable culture, with such richness! Bravissimo!"
"You can sing to me in your language anytime, Asif." Rhune replies.
"Ah if only I could fully do it justice. I can play well enough, but it was my mother who was blessed with the fine voice. I think the mutual love my mother and your kind have for music would make you fine friends. Alas that eventuality is in Aten's hands. Well what of your family Rhune? I know little enough of the family lives of this land, let alone those of elfkind. Are your customs similar or different to those of the Italians?".
Rhune laughs, "Our customs are very different from the Italians. In fact they are very different even from the humans of my own country. We love life. We are a very long lived people for one and we love nature. We tend to live very close to nature. Our villages tend to be one with the area that they are built in. We use a lot of the natural surroundings to build our villages and homes. We love to sing, dance, play music and play. Some of the humans think that we are flighty because of it. But we do have our scholars," she replies to Asif.
When the song is finished, Forte asks Asif, "So Aten is the sun?"
Asif lays down the instrument upon his lap and bows putting his right hand upon his heart as he does so.
"Yes efendi, the solar disk which rises at dawn and fades at dusk is the visible presence of our god that all may see... The rays of Aten bring life and hope to all who are able to see the truth he offers."
"Wow," muses Forte. "I never thought of it that way. Thank you for the explanation, Asif." He pauses a few seconds, then mutters to himself, "The sun. Wow." He has more questions, but thinks it best not to ask them yet.
"Efendi may I ask you question. All men find their hearts called by some version of truth. What may I ask is yours? The Sultan of the city of Amnara was most tolerant of all religions as well as being great patron of the arts. Not all who dwell in Egypt hold same views of tolerance. Tell me of the truth you where raised in. It will help me to understand the ways of this land."
"Well, my small village is pretty, uh, unchanging. They don't like change, or anything that rocks the boat, so to speak. I think a lot of them don't really have faith - they just follow the same religion their parents do."
"I, myself, am just not that religious. I never felt a need for it, despite my parent's efforts to instill faith in me. I think part of that comes from my father. I mean, he wanted me to be a priest, but I resisted. I think that turned me off religion pretty much. And what you--" he gestures toward the entire party, not just Asif--"tell me about the Bishop, it certainly does not bode well for my view of that particular religion." His faces turn a little red, and he quickly adds "Uh, present company excepted, of course," looking at Augustus.
Augustus waves him off. "Think nothing of it, although...I might add that it is not the religion, but the men who twist it," he says with eyebrows raised.
"That, and the fact that our village priest is deceptive and robs the poor. He collects taxes, and if someone doesn't ask for a receipt, he collects it again! He is a scoundrel." Forte chuckles, "My father once nearly beat him up, because the thief wouldn't give him a receipt for the taxes."
Asif shakes his head with some despair, and growls...
"Ah by the gods such as scoundrel should have his ears cut off, his nose slit, his tongue removed and his filthy hide flogged. Abuse of one's holy calling is the greatest of crimes. One indeed wonders how any god would allow one who speaks his name to act in such a way. It saddens me efendi that such a memory clouds your faith in those who watch us from the heavens".
After a long pause, Forte sums up his own faith. "I guess I really don't know *what* I believe in." He shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe I'll find out someday."
"Yes Efendi fear not that one day your heart will find its chosen path of faith. Happy would I be if all saw the truth of Aten, but forcing others to see our truth is not our way. Rest assured my friend that the Divine will find you. Every man women and child who walks upon this earth is not alone but under the eye of one of those above. We all do the Gods' bidding whether we know it or not. You will find your calling and find peace."
"I certainly hope so," responds Forte, and for the first time in his short life, he actually means it. Instead of just play lip service to this idea, as he always did with his parents, he found himself impressed with Asif's faith. He wondered how one could truly believe such things. And hoped that he himself would find his faith someday.
Forte ponders the issue throughout the journey northward.
Rhune listens with interest as Asif explains about Aten. Her eyes sparkle both at his unspoken talent and his words.
Tag enthusiastically applauds with the others. "I can see you are indeed an accomplished musician my friend, why the presence of the Italian frets has hardly made you miss a note. You must teach me this tune. Perhaps we could even find you an instrument and I could teach you some classical duets from Italy, the music of two lutes together is many times finer than one alone."
Asif smiles at the praise.
"Yes Efendi that would please me much. My swift departure six months ago did not allow me to take much with me. I once owned a fine instrument, imported all the way from Baghdad. I would say it would now be my mother's and twin sister's most significant memento of me. My mother Adira taught both my twin sister Jasmina and I the instrument to pass the long summer hours within the harem while my father was off to war. Now that would be something of beauty my friends, the three of us playing...... (Asif falls silent deep in thought)....it is funny how music can promote love. It was said that it was my mothers ability to play that won my fathers heart and gave her the position of most favored wife. Despite the blessing of only my sister and I, from the union I am sure she was the wife my father most loved!.. Ah but this is unimportant for now, my family is unimportant to you now... What now my friends, what path of fate do we follow this day?"
Rhune leans closer to Asif, "No, my friend, it is not unimportant. I would enjoy hearing more of your family and your sister," she says softly as she lays her hand on his knee gently. Though she knows that speaking of his home tends to make Asif sad, she seems genuinely interested in learning more of his family.
"Another day Rhune I shall speak more of those that I miss but I fear if I start now, we shall not depart this place this day and our friends will be most annoyed with us. Maybe as we ride in the days to come I shall tell you something of my family."
"I would enjoy that, Asif. And I will tell you of my family. Perhaps one day you will get to meet them. They would like you very much," Rhune says with a smile.
Dakath remains silent as the song is sung, he has no interest in joining in with the others.
Xania, not a morning person, and still sore from her fall earlier, merely rolls over and pulls the blanket over her head with a grumble...
Tag looks down and shakes his head, as he seems to be doing often nowadays. "Anyway Aten is now high in the sky, mio amico, let us prepare for the journey." Tag begins to carefully pack the lute away and goes to ready the old black mare for the ride.
"Yes efendi it is time for us to make a move. Destiny waits for no man."
The song concluded, the group makes their last preparations for riding on, in better spirits due to the fine music (excepting Xania, who must have had a rough night).
Rhune rides next to Asif, hunched into her saddle with the cloak drawn about her and the hood up.
Dakath rides at the rear of the group, since his instincts have been telling him they're being followed, he moves forward to the rider in front. "Keep going, I'm going to wait for an hour, to check we're not being followed, if you keep the pace fairly slow I'll be sure to catch up." As if further explanation is needed he says, "Call it instinct." He grins and then dismounts Stenu.
Xania shakes her head. "If you are discovered, your riding is not that great. Not that I wish to point out your weaknesses, Dakath, but escape is a good option to have. Are you sure you can manage?"
"You yourself felt the presence of watchers when we scouted around the cabin," Dakath returns.
"I do not dispute the fact that there are watchers," Xania replies tartly.
Dakath looks confused at her harsh words "Well we need to know just who is taking an interest in our group. Forearmed is forewarned."
Dakath grins "I have no intention of being discovered, this is much better than having unknown pursuers at our backs. I am touched by your concern, I've spent a long time surviving on my own, I'll be fine." As he moves past he places a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Xania shrugs it off, looking at him almost angrily. She nudges Noir up toward the front.
Dakath looks around puzzled at her show of anger. He shakes his head slightly before moving off their trail. He then returns to remove all signs of him having veered off their present course.
He leads his mount some way into the forest. He tethers his horse up before finding a tree to climb and hide in.
Rhune looks at the two of them, and simply sighs. She then nudges her horse next to Asif, "Are you feeling better now?" she asks him.
Asif nods.
"A little efendi. My past, especially at night sometimes hurts me. One day soon I will tell you the tale of why I come to this land"
"I am here anytime you wish to tell me, Asif. You are my friend," she whispers to him softly.
The group makes progress northward. There is something of a trail, not noticed before, which leads northward for several miles. If any creatures have traveled upon it, though, the rain has washed away any sign.
Dakath peers in all directions from his branch (which he is beginning to get used to as a seat), but his wait is not a long one. Looking southward across the swift river, he sees that a group of small figures emerges only minutes after the group has left. In the daylight, he can see that they are clearly goblins. Listening intently, he can see them speaking to each other, but unfortunately does not know the language. However, he can see them clap each other on the backs and laugh, pointing northward. One of them waves. They then return into the woods, though looking hard, Dakath sees that they have just gone into the bush.
While pondering what to do about this sight, Dakath continues to look about, certain that these are not the only observers. Out of the corner of his eye, in the forest near the cabin, he sees a green-clad slight figure move swiftly and silently from tree to tree. Though he tries mightily, he cannot see where the figure might have gone from there, and he sees no further such apparitions, though he looks long and hard.
Now seriously considering heading after the group and telling them what he has seen, Dakath nonetheless waits for the prescribed hour. He sees nothing else, though occasionally glancing southward reveals that the goblins are still there, quietly watching. He climbs down from the tree just in time to confront the enormous horse from the previous night, who has appeared almost magically from the forest to the east. Amazed that he could have missed the approach of such a creature, Dakath looks up to see it stands not twenty feet away. It neighs abruptly and Stenu responds almost immediately. When Dakath attempts to speak, the great beast shakes it's noble head, and Dakath senses that he should hold his tongue. The horses have a brief conversation, and then the monstrous animal comes up right to Dakath, looking him sternly in the eye. It raises one massive forehoof and Dakath knows that it could crush his skull with it's power. It then whinnies loudly, the breeze blowing in Dakath's face. Then it turns and races off to the north. Jacobus sees the other three horses from last night fall in behind it. The creature appears to be heading directly for the rest of the party.
Rhune listens with interest about the goblins and the green clad figure. She listens intently when he starts to talk about the horses and their leader. She racks her brain to see if she can remember stories or legends that her parents or family may have told her about that might relate to these horses.
Rhune has never heard tell of any specific wild horses that match the description of this great beast.
Almost on cue, when he mentions the horses, the three smaller, but still larger by far than Leslie and Forte's warhorses, come lazily cantering up. They stop some distance away from the group. Then their massive leader comes up as well. He whinnies with a strong tone, and the party's horses begin to pull on their reigns struggling against being led. Interestingly enough, Dakath's horse does not do this, but nickers softly to the others. All are fidgeting like mad. The tremendous black creature looks impatiently on.