THE YNGLING AND THE CIRCLE OF POWER by John Dalmas

Elbek looked at Nils in open appraisal, his glance paus­ing only briefly on the Northman’s eyes. “I can believe that,” he said. He gestured upward then, at Svartvinge circling and croaking. “That is a strange bird to use in falconry,” he said chuckling, then returned his attention to Achikh. “And now you will see your brother. Well.”

Elbek glanced about and gave an order, then with the four, started down the road eastward, he and Achikh leading off. The arban let them pass, and brought up the rear.

“As I remember it, Kaidu had already been chosen chief before you left,” Elbek said. “He is chief still. Old people say surely the best since Kutula—better even then Kokchü. Old Toghrul says there is something about chiefs whose names begin with K. Your brother does not rage, but sees widely and judges fairly, as he did among us when we were children and he an older boy. Now a great congress of the tribes is being held, and when it is over, it is possible that the Buriat will have a Great Khan again! If they do, I think it will be Kaidu. He is meeting with the clan chiefs and the heads of the great families today, in the Council Grove. It may be he cannot see you till supper. We will find out.”

“Let us not distract him in council,” Achikh said. “We will tend our horses first, and eat and drink. Then per­haps we will sit in the rear of the listeners.”

They were near enough to the great encampment that now there were numerous bands of horses grazing about, along with small bands of cattle and sheep brought to feed the multitude, the thousands who were at the con­gress. Occasionally men or children would ride near

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enough to examine the strange-looking foreigners from a little distance. Then they crossed one last rise, and before them, by a river, spread the encampment. Here was no array of leather travel tents. Several thousand greased felt gert, large and not large, lay spread in ordered groups. Most had been whitewashed The broad, flat carts they’d been transported on were drawn up in neat ranks.

Elbek took them to the chief marshal, who was an older cousin of Achikh’s, and he in turn had some lesser members of Kaidu’s retinue turned out of their ger to provide proper lodging for the newcomers. A woman was assignee to cook tor them, a meal consisting of beef boiled and beef roasted, of curds, of airag flavored with beets, and of honey-sweetened tea, which seemed to be regarded as a special delicacy. Achikh explained that honey and tea were produced far to the south; and gotten in trade from the Chinese.

Then Mongol clothing was brought for them—silk for Achikh as the chiefs brother, and woolen for his guests. Clearly they’d been worn by others earlier, and not washed, but Baver was much less fastidious these days. They had nothing that fitted Nils; he would wear what he’d come in, dirt and all. Before they changed, water was brought to them, and bowls, though no soap, and they all stripped and washed. The nearby river invited, but they remembered Achikh’s lessons on taboos and lesser injunctions.

When the council adjourned in midafternoon, the four newcomers were taken to the great ger of Kaidu, the chief, where guards took their weapons before they went in.

They entered bent low, especially Nils; the doorway required it. Svartvinge rode through on Nils’s forearm. Kaidu sat waiting on an actual chair, carved from a single great block of wood. At each side of him, others sat on thick felt cushions, while before him, nearly twenty sat crosslegged on the floor mats.

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“Kaidu Long Nose” was the chief’s complete appella­tion, Achikh had told them. On that basis, Baver had expected someone with a long nose, but on New Home or among the Northmen, Kaidu’s nose would have been considered quite modest. Only by Mongol standards was it long.

He d been told of their arrival, and had prepared for them. A cushion immediately next to him was vacant, and there was room for more to sit on the floor in front of him. Baver kept an eye on both Achikh and Nils, for clues on what to do. Kaidu stood up when they entered. The rest turned to look. For a long moment it seemed to Baver that everyone’s attention was stuck on Nils, his size, physique, and eyes, and perhaps on Svartvinge, whom he’d transferred to his shoulder.

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