The Fort by Adrian Goldsworthy

Author:Adrian Goldsworthy [Goldsworthy, Adrian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781789545739
Google: fTb0DwAAQBAJ
Amazon: B08DYF42QL
Publisher: Head of Zeus
Published: 2021-06-09T16:00:00+00:00

A cave near the pass

Just before dawn, five days later

BRASUS SAT AND tried to keep his mind clear of everything. That was never a good sign and he knew it, for the emptiness should come naturally and not be forced. Wise men and old, the truly pure were said to be able to sit or lie and almost at once be empty of worldly thoughts, a vessel waiting to be filled with enlightenment. Once or twice, such peace had come to him, or he thought later that it had, but only when he was weary and a treacherous part of him wondered if that had simply been fatigue.

He opened his eyes and could see the faintest hints of the rocky chamber around him. Dawn was coming outside, the light seeping in from the distant mouth of the cave and soon it would be time to leave this place and take food and drink. His fast had begun two dawns ago, a day before he came to the cavern.

A drip of water plinked into a puddle. He had not seen it when he entered the holy place at sunset yesterday, but all through the long hours of the night the noise had gone on and on. Brasus had not slept, that much he knew, and had only shifted his posture a few times as he sat cross-legged or squatted on the bare stone. He had felt the cold of the rock, his limbs going stiff and then numb, and he had listened to the dripping water while outside the moon rose and the stars turned in the Heavens. Several times he had thought of them and tried to work out how far into the night it was. Some men were said to be transported by their visions into the Heavens themselves and spoke of walking among the stars. His was no vision, but yet more of the thoughts he could not prevent.

Brasus wondered whether he was different, but that was surely vanity, and instead once again wondered whether he was a fraud, pretending to be pure so that others would treat him with honour. The king had been very kind in his words when Brasus had gone to his stronghold, and also in his gestures. He had been permitted to meet his bride to be, the king’s youngest daughter, who had presented him with a tress of her deep brown hair, neatly plaited and tied with a ribbon. One day soon he would learn her name – her real name not the one that was used by others in daily speech – and he would know one of life’s great mysteries. A woman’s path was a different one, but in marriage he would glimpse a little of her world and hope to learn from it.

Thoughts of marriage, of a girl, round-faced with the wide nose and mouth of her family, had come into his mind often, and especially during the night. Brasus was not quite sure whether he had seen fear as well as anticipation in her eyes, and wondered about his own feelings.

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