Homo Avatarius: ( Your Consciousness is an Alien ) (6 page)

We stayed as guests of his family for a while, and then Sobutay went back, leaving me there. When we hugged each other, we said goodbye. Sobutay said he would see me when we set off for the campaign to the west.

I was caught off guard by the endless forests with trees that covered the sky, the thick blankets of snow that lay everywhere, the high mountains, and the strange people. It was cold, bitter cold, with sharp wind, frozen water, and short days that surrendered themselves to night at the first opportunity.

Slowly, I grew used to the climate and the place. First, I learned how to keep warm, and then I learned how to find food, set traps, and hunt. All of the life experiences I had gained until then seemed almost meaningless. It had been months since I had held my sword in my hand and I found out how difficult it was to shoot arrows in the cold.

After many failures, I learned that in order to hunt, you had to approach the prey and attack from a distance. When I came across wolf packs, I felt that I was close to my wolf. Then, I reminded myself that it was dangerous to interfere with these animals, who systematically hunted and were brutally cruel. When spring came and conditions improved, I left the company of others, lived on the border and put all the advantages of a community aside. I began to live in solitude and learned my limits.

When one stays alone, he learns how to not be his own enemy. When he realizes his mistakes, he doesn’t judge cruelly, nor does he deny himself understanding. Alone in the forest, I thought things over, discussed things with myself, and wandered around with my memories. My eyes danced in the flames as I thought of those distant from me. I knew I was weak, unprotected, and small in the silence of the forest, but I needed to be there to become aware of that, and, even if I struggled, I had to survive. To do so, I was directed to my basic instincts.

I could only protect myself. There was nothing else, and if there was, it didn’t matter. The existence of others far away, how rich or civilized they were, how they spoke, and what they felt didn’t matter. Maybe all hell had broken loose, and I was the only human being alive in the world. As long as I didn’t see them and wasn’t in contact with them, it didn’t matter how many thinking beings existed in this giant universe.

The West of the South

I had lost track of time.

I didn’t know until I was told by those who arrived to find me that it had been nearly four years since I had left. After saying good-bye to a few friends and a lot of memories, I set off for the south and to the campaign. As I approached the steppes and met those who I had forgotten but who still lived within me, I was still a warrior and a human being, but now I spoke less and lower than before. On the long road south, I talked with my comrades but they couldn’t prepare me for what I encountered.

When I saw the army of hundreds of thousands of people, I became terrified. I delayed as much as I could to face those who knew me, and when I asked to delay for a few days, the soldiers who came with me showed understanding. Finally, the inevitable happened, and I was again among my family and fellow warriors. They accepted me without objection. They were in a welcoming mood and treated everything with enthusiasm due to the excitement of being at war after so many years of waiting.

From the East to the West

Months before, the Shah of the land of Harzem Muhammad plundered a caravan under our protection and killed the messengers we sent there to respond to the situation. Suddenly, the excuse we needed to begin our new campaign had been found.

The Mongol empire, which now extended from China, Korea, and parts of Japan in the east, now longed to extend west. My father would then be the ruler of everything between two seas, and no one would stand against his giant army. It was just a matter of time. A storm was coming down the steppes. We would attack the biggest cities, bring death upon the oldest civilizations, suck the life from within and spit out the remains.

Hearing of our approach, our prey were scared but had no idea the price they were about to pay, a price that went beyond everything they could conceive of in their minds and souls. Those who were most unaware of the scope of the loss and what it meant would be the first losers.

When I came into the presence of my father, I could read it in his eyes that he had missed me. He hugged me tight and talked to me for a long time, and I listened to him. While he told me how much I had grown and how strong I had become. He also rapidly and eagerly told me about the war and the lands to be conquered.

My sister, Alangoya, interrupted when she came running into the tent and hugged me tight. She had become a young woman. She chided me for not being at her wedding, and she dragged me out by the hand without giving me a chance to tell my father good-bye; she was eager to introduce me to her new husband. The tall young man was, to be honest, more handsome than me. When he tried to tell me his name, my sister gave the introduction for him. “This is Tokucar, my husband and the father of my baby,” she said, with her hand on her belly. “He is one of father’s favorite commanders.”

As I tried to tell my sister and her husband how pleased I was to hear the news, my youngest brother, Tuluy, saved me from the situation.

Seeing Tuluy was the best thing that had happened so far. He was a young warrior and no longer a child. He proudly told me what had happened while I was away: he had been given two divisions and had fought in many battles.

Two nights later, the messengers called all the commanders, and we gathered in the big tent in the presence of my father. I finally saw Sobutay and all the childhood memories came rushing back. We greeted each other warmly and tried to talk without attracting much attention.

My father laid the leather map on the ground and pointed out our location and our planned route. He asked questions when necessary but rarely answered the questions of others. As the night gave way to morning, we drank less koumiss and more tea and determined the distribution of tasks.

Cebe and Sobutay would move quickly toward the east, to the Shah Muhammad to press him and force him to fight. They would pass over the Amuderya River with four divisions, no invading, no spoils, no war unless necessary. Tokucar would be a raider, heading toward the southwest, the land of Horasan. He would pass over the Amuderya River, and attack whoever got in his way, spreading terror, plunder, and fire, and intimidating everyone. Cagatay, Ogheday, and the King of Uighur would lay siege to the city of Otrar on the River Siderya and wait with their large force until they captured it.

I wouldn’t join the siege of Utrar. Instead, I would cross over the Syr Darya River and head toward the city of Gurgenc along with four divisions and lay a siege there. With the remaining forces, my father and Tuluy would cross over the Syr Darya River from the south of Otrar and direct the forces to the region of Transoxiana, which would become our headquarters.

The city of Bukhara would be the first attacked. My father was not only a genius of war and command, he was also a master of predicting and shaping the future with necessary interventions. Other military leaders would need much more than a single night to prepare a plan like his, but Genghis Khan was unique.

After the long and tiring meeting, Sobutay and I rode our horses to the meadow to talk at sunrise.

“
Everyone sends you greetings from the land of the forest,” I said. “Actually, it’s my hometown now as you aren’t from there anymore and I stayed for so long,” I said in jest.

“
It must be because a wolf breastfed you when you were a child,” Sobutay replied. “I don’t think you suffered the usual difficulties of being a stranger there. It’s even rumored that you survived a great deal of time in solitude.”

“
How have you spent your days?” I asked.

“
There hasn’t been a proper war for a long time. I was bored like everyone else. I even got married. I was going to invite you to the wedding, but it wasn’t possible.”

“
Who is the poor girl? Do I know her?”

“
Selen. We got married a few months after you left.”

I didn’t know how or why, but suddenly something got stuck in my throat, and I couldn’t swallow. I lost the ability to breathe. I tried to talk as if I was okay, but wasn’t aware of what I was saying.

“
Our Selen …the best choice ever…I wish you happiness. Wish I had been there …congratulations.”

He knew as much as well as I that there were things better left unsaid.

“
I am going back to my army today, and from there I will head east,” he said.

“
I understand,” I responded, regaining my composure. “But don’t forget the promise you made to me in Beijing, when the wolf died. I think I will ask you to keep that promise before this campaign is over.”

“Whatever you want, my friend, but is a promise necessary?”

“
No, no, it’s just that I want my best friend by my side at the end.”

“
Then he will be…let’s race to the camp.”

“
And the loser?”

“
The loser is a loser, what else?” he said as he kicked his horse into a gallop.

Gurgenc

I’d never seen such a fertile land anywhere. Green grass, small streams, low hills, and scattered trees were all around. We moved on toward the sunset for days on roads widened by frequent caravans. We passed through scenery of wide fields and small villages, but all the settlements we passed were empty. Our reputation had preceded us. Save for some plundering, we reached the city without fighting anyone.

The city was built near a giant river, and it was massive. It spread over a wide area and was surrounded by walls so high that birds perched on them. I’d never seen such a sight. Deep moats surrounded the city, and their depths exaggerated the magnitude of the walls. The city was a masterpiece of human construction, and its glory was easily felt.

It took days to settle my army near the water sources of the city. We remained safe outside of firing range while we waited for our forces to gather and I sent a messenger with a carefully prepared warning:.

“
I am the son of Genghis Khan and the one who has the right to these lands. I have shed no blood in your country nor tortured anyone, and, if you surrender, you will join the vast empire of Genghis Khan and be protected. However, if you resist and delay the inevitable, there will be no mercy.”

We waited for a response and soon got it: the head of the poor messenger.

The city was besieged from all sides. The roads were occupied, and the empty neighboring villages and towns were set on fire and plundered. The water sources of the city were blocked, and the waiting process began. Meanwhile, a black tent had already been pitched in front of the city’s gate. Their fate was certain.

I chose to wait for the necessary siege works and equipment. I sent messengers to my father, and my father stated that he would send some of the forces that had already conquered the city of Otrar. After a few months of waiting, a force under the command of Cagatay arrived with siege tools. Our force now numbered one-hundred thousand.

Cagatay’s distant personality and incessant talk always annoyed me. My father clearly had something in mind by sending him, but I gave it little thought. I already knew that I wasn’t the crown prince, but Cagatay wasn’t either. This often caused Cagatay to lose his temper; his behavior was a reflection of his personality.

Without interfering with each other, we besieged the city systematically. Whoever approached the city’s wall was hit by a rain of arrows. Those who managed to approach the trench were roasted by projectiles of hot oil and fire. It was almost impossible to send cavalry close to the gate. Cagatay plundered, set fire to, and destroyed whatever got in his way and added tens of thousands of slaves to his spoils.

In the first light of morning, we dragged thousands of slaves to the fortress and put those who tried to return to the sword. Others were killed by arrows, fire, and stones. Their corpses began to fill the trenches. The slaughter lasted for days. The trenches in front of the fortress became invisible, and the soldiers who guarded the walls ran out of patience. The soil now was full of blood and the dead bodies of their own people.

Day and night, crossbows pelted the walls of the fortress. When we ran out of stones, we used huge soaked logs—soaking the logs made them heavier and deadlier. We used the bodies of the injured and resisting soldiers as ammunition for crossbows. Seeing the flailing bodies of their comrades raining down on them only intensified the hopelessness of those who remained inside the fortress. The stone walls turned red from the blood of those flung against them and the grisly barrage collapsed the nerve of those under siege.

As holes opened in the walls, damaged and weakened after months of pounding, our soldiers, who were thirsty for war, began to spill into the fortress. But the war and struggle inside were the same as outside. Each stone house was its own fortress, and each person was a resisting soldier. Sometimes, it took days to pass through one street and on to the next one. The people who hid in their houses and caves would attack us at every opportunity. It became normal to destroy the walls and even the submerged parts of the city. We set houses on fire and killed those who tried to escape.