“There remains the question of who will command the new army. I believe it can only be”—she pointed to the implacable demon sitting next to his mother—”Yoshef. My reasons are as—”
“No,” said the Mother of Demons. “It must be Kopporu.”
“You see?” whispered Guo. “Did I not tell you?”
Foolish males. As if the Goddess would fail.
There had been no sign in Kopporu’s mantle of her tension. Thus, when the tension suddenly vanished, there was no sign of her relief.
But Ghodha had little of Kopporu’s mastery of shoroku. The Pilgrim warrior’s own mantle rippled with colors. Predominantly ochre.
“I—do not agree, Inudira. At least I must be convinced.”
Ghodha turned toward Kopporu and made the gesture of respect.
“I have the greatest admiration for Kopporu’s capabilities as a warrior, and a battle leader. But I watched the battle with the Utuku. It is a simple fact that Yoshef and his apalatunush caused as much destruction as Kopporu’s warriors, despite their much smaller numbers. And suffered few casualties in so doing—whereas the Kiktu suffered many. For a barba—for a gukuy, Kopporu is an excellent battle leader. Even a great one. But Yoshef is beyond comparison.”
Indira leaned forward.
“I will try to convince you, Ghodha. But it would be better, I think, if Kopporu could convince you herself. Kopporu has said nothing, so far, in this discussion. Out of—not modesty, perhaps, but a desire not to seem self-serving.”
She looked at Kopporu. “But this is no time for such pretense, Kopporu. I know full well that you agree with me on this matter. Explain why.”
Kopporu hesitated for a moment. What she was about to say would, she suspected, inflame some mantles. But Indira’s will was like bronze, as she had demonstrated many times over the past eightweek.
“I also watched the battle, Ghodha. And I do not disagree with your assessment of the relative roles played in it by Yoshef’s people and my own. But the question before us regards the future, not the past. We must be guided by different considerations.”
Ghodha interrupted. “If by that you are referring to the sensitivities of your tribe, I think—”
Kopporu whistled derision. She respected the Pilgrim warleader’s talent, but she was becoming more than a little irritated by her superciliousness toward “barbarians.”
“My people, Ghodha—who include far more than Kiktu—would have no difficulty accepting Yoshef as a commander. They would accept it in the same way that they have accepted Enagulishuc as our common language—and for the same reasons. No, more than accept it. They would feel a great sense of confidence, knowing they were led by the demon who slew the Utuku commander with a single cast of his spear.”
Kopporu drew a deep breath. Here it is.
“But it would be a false confidence. The army would not be stronger with Yoshef as its commander rather than me. It would be weaker.”
Another deep breath.
“Much weaker.”
A small uproar followed. Quickly quelled, however, by Indira’s firmness.
“Explain, Kopporu,” she commanded.
Kopporu held up an arm.
“One. The incredible success of Yoshef’s apalatunush in the recent battle was due primarily to surprise. The Utuku had never seen dem—ummun before. Suddenly, monsters were upon them, fighting in a manner which they had never experienced. The ummun had won half the battle before it even started. But this element of surprise will not last forever. We will enjoy it in the next battle, because no Utuku survived this one. Over time, however, the gukuy of all lands will become familiar with ummun and their battle tactics.”
She held up a second arm.
“Two. The ummun are by no means invincible, or indestructible. You, Ghodha, are impressed by the fact that the ummun suffered few casualties in the battle. I was impressed by that also. But, since I have spent some time now with the ummun, I have been impressed by another fact.
“There are very few ummun. Not more than triple-eighty warriors. It is true, the young ummun will eventually be able to take their place in the apalatunush. And, over time, their numbers will grow. But there will always be far more—far more—gukuy than ummun. Once that fact becomes known—which it will, there is no way to keep it a secret forever—our opponents will understand that they need only kill a few ummun to cripple the apalatunush.”