There was discontent against the Sultan's guard among the brothers in arms. The Sipahi and the Akinji had a hard time understanding what they agreed upon, and they held a grudge against the Janissary for his eagerness to go under the servitude of a heathen. Yet they seemed to be convinced when the latter made his argument. One way or another, they needed to obey the lord after all. Despite the glorification of them by the lord, they were the slaves, and he was the master. He could easily force them to labor (with the motivation of enough whips on their shoulders which can kill an ox) however he was trying to avoid lowering the value of his new assets. Hence, it was best to go along with the flow for the time. He finally added, "As the Sultan comes back to avenge the martyrs, we can easily be freed and join under his banner." When he finished his words, the other men were relieved of their grudge.
Months passed, yet the banner of the Sultan never appeared on the horizon. In fact, from all the news they received in small pieces from many unreliable sources, they understood the Khalifa was not doing well. However, they had no time to mourn for their Muslim brothers or cry for the absence of the call they were used to hearing five times a day. Their transition from "honored guests" to slaves was eventually complete in those several months. Even the lord who was greeting them with theatrical ceremonies was now scolding them for being lazy. As a matter of fact, the reality was quite the opposite. The men were working day and night to their exhaustion since they were promised to be sent home if a well for the holding is built, which was almost impossible to do due to the distance of the water basin deep in the ground. As time passed, the job was getting harder rather than easier, so the two of the men were getting more petty. On the other hand, the third one seemed content with his life. After the unending efforts of several months at the beginning, the Janissary was trying his best to finish the task and go home. However, when he perceived the true nature of the work, he understood there was no way home and decided to begin a new life there. First, he figured out the schedule of the lord and all the other eyes who check if they do work. Then he started to take his "breaks," which were taking longer than the work itself, despite the protests of his fellows. He was well assured by himself that there was no way back home, and as once they were the servants of the sultan, now they were the serfs of a Christian lord. Although he was trying to make his fellows realize the obvious truth, the other men were not aware of it at all. Even though he was not holding any grudge against his friends despite all the protests (also cursings and threats that came with it) he endured, men digging below day and night were hating the Janissary. They were naming him a proselyte, the reason for their defeat and demise. A secret Christian who betrayed the Sultan and the Emir-al Muminin. In fact, the Janissary, who was once a devout Muslim, was adopting the local practices as he was used to when he arrived at the feet of the high throne. He thought it was in his best interest to adapt to the conditions of the new reality, and that worked out. First, he was able to flee to the church to join in the Sunday prayer, which to him was just several hours of resting rather than a religious practice, but he was so good at playing his role that the priest believed in his true faith and even started to praise him for "keeping his faith intact during all the years he spent in the court of the heathen Sultan" (which was a lie for two reasons: one, he had abandoned the Christ long ago until it required him to turn to it again, and second, he had never been in the court but rather in the barracks, yet for the priest, it made no difference). Acquiring the favor of the church came with many perks. Now he was free of labor on Sundays (although he had to endure "the nonsense" of the priest as he was claiming when he was with his friends) and other religious days. The local people's perception was shifting for him. At the beginning, they considered the three soldiers as foreign spies worthy of nothing (which was still the case for the Akinji and Sipahi), yet when he was baptized again, his sins were left in the holy water along with the mistrust of the villagers and servants. Now they perceived him as one of their own, a fellow Christian enslaved by the great devil and freed by the grace of God. He was making a great effort to keep that image, and it was paying off well. A new life was shaping for him. On the other hand, the misery of the other two was intense. The ground, which was muggy and slimy, was getting stone hard as they kept digging, and now they were drilling it rather than digging. Their hands were covered in blood and with wounds never healing. The deceiving comfort offered to them was gone now as they got used to being slaves, and the harsh treatment to keep them in line was terrible. Also, the attempts of the Akinji to escape to his home and answer the call of the steppe were not making it any better. While the Janissary was enjoying his new privileges, the Akinji was being tortured for his distinct lack of obedience. The noble blood of Genghis was flowing high in his vessels and causing trouble for all, including the lord, himself, and the Sipahi. Although he had no part in them, he was punished as much as the Akinjis himself. Yet he seemed to be giving no care at all; in his ecstatic condition fueled by the dream of an uncertain hope, he was forcing himself to exhaustion.
댓글