The Wings of Ashtaroth

Chapter 16: Generals: Section III: Kirin

Still, how good it was to be with mere men again, instead of senators and senator's wives. Good, solid soldiers filled the beach, laughing and jeering, shouting and crying. By the sound of retching further off, a few had overindulged in the strong ship's wine that Drenda plied them with when water was scarce.

Kirin took another hearty swig from his flask. The still-frigid water felt like a knife carving a stream in his throat.

"—once saw a dead crab that turned into a serpent, and then all the dead crabs on the beach sprang to life again and became serpents and that's where snakes come from."

At least Kirin was used to chatty friends.

Thought of Yakov only summoned the sight of his glazed eyes as he'd been swallowed by his attackers at the stadium. Kirin blinked, trying to draw himself back to the story Silices was regaling them with.

From one of the fires nearby, an old soldier lobbed a hunk of bread at the back of Silices's head. "Shut up!"

"Watch it!" Silices snapped. "Unless you want your name on my blade by the end of the day."

Supposedly, Silices scratched the names of his enemies into his axe handle, though Kirin suspected the names carved there were more likely the blade's previous owners. Though the bulk of Lorar's fighting men were outfitted with new kit, Varco's century appeared fit only for leftovers.

"Anyway," another soldier hollered from the nearby fire in a thick northwestern accent, "everyone knows snakes come from cows. They suckle at their teats just like calves." He clucked his tongue and cocked his head disapprovingly. "It's what happens when you let your cattle graze on holly."

Kirin was certain snakes came from spilled blood on desert sand—Marianus had written about it in one of his histories—but he didn't bother ruining the soldiers' fun.

"Do you think we'll see any dragons down south?" asked Vasthes.

"Definitely," croaked the westerner from the other fire. "Elephants come from down south, and the elephant is the natural enemy of the dragon. Dragons wait in the rivers for elephants to come by—they thirst for the elephant's chilly blood, you see? And when the elephant wades into the water—snap." He clapped his hands. "The elephant is gone. But it topples onto the dragon and crushes it under its weight, so they both die."

"What's the difference between dragons and snakes?" Kirin asked.

"Dragons have crowns," said Silices.

"No," Vasthes snapped. "Only the king dragon has a crown. That's how the other dragons know he's the king. The difference between dragons and snakes is that dragons have legs."

The angry man who'd thrown the bread turned around on the stone he was using for a seat. "Horsehit. Dragons are just huge snakes. If you really want to get down to it, they usually have at least two heads as well." He spit onto the sand. "But Dragons or snakes, we ought to be careful on the southern shore. The spirit of a place can take the form of a snake, ready to defend its people. If they breathe their venom on you, you'll melt into a puddle of blood and bone, or worse—your organs will grow until you're big as an elephant yourself."

He sounded so confident that Kirin was inclined to believe him.

"How do you know so much about snakes and dragons?" Kirin called to the man over the fire.

The old man turned properly and leaned forward so that his scraggly grey hair dangled to his knees. "Used to ship animals from all over for rich men's menageries. The snakes weren't the worst, but they were close."

Maybe the old man had shipped the beasts Kirin had seen in the arena in years past. It was a strange thought—that between Kirin and this stranger there was some connection.