At first glance, Nile was struck by the sheer size of Darkhen, the capital of the Ghentii region.
There were no walls surrounding it, no gates guarding it, and no clear borders to it. It seemed to grow out naturally out of the Ghobi desert, a seamless extension. Grains of sand turned into sparsely dispersed huts. The huts grew both in size and numbers, and then morphed into mudbrick structures as the center drew close.
As they advanced slowly, the bustling of life amazed Nile. He was still at the back of the carriage, but Manong put some cushions behind his back for support, so that he can peak and see the city. He was a small village boy, not accustomed to seeing so many people at once. Darkhen was a city of people, all shapes, sizes and colors. It was a miniature world in it itself.
"where are we going?" Nile asked
"I'm taking you guys to see an old friend!" Manong replied to both Nile and the camel, who seemed much more composed than Nile.
They walked through an alley that broke off into the central square, just in front of the steps leading to the temple. In the center was the city market that stretched out until the river. It was so lively and crowded that they were forced to slow down their pace.
Nile was absorbing the city and its people. The merchants, the bakers, the builders, the healers, the clergy, the soldiers, the beggars and the thieves. They all looked so very different. The air smelled different as well. It smelled of fire and animal dung. This place did not make sense to him, and that was exciting. A welcome change of pace after the month or so at the static monastery.
Suddenly, he felt eyes on him, and his heart shivered. A particularly imposing presence, as if looking directly into his being. He looked around, but there were too many people to detect.
"What was that?" he spoke soundlessly
"I don't know, but it saw me" Teher answered
"We can't have that now, can we?" Said Nile, just before a commotion started brewing at the other side of the square.
A procession broke off through the crowd and into the square. A group of soldiers in red walking in 2 parallel lines. Behind them walked a young man in chains. Bigger and a bit darker. He had no shirt, only baggy shorts. His torso and back scarred.
Little by little, the town seemed to quite down to a whisper, as everyone turned their eyes to the scene taking place. The atmosphere was mixed, between disapproval, anger, indifference, curiosity and mockery, a lot of different energies seemed to emanate from the crowd. Manong picked Nile up out of the carriage and on the camel. "Hold tight and follow this one closely" he said. Nile wrapped his arms around the camel's neck.
The procession continued towards the stairs of the old temple. A stone came flying out of the crowd and hit the big man on the back of his head. He stopped. For a second, time seemed to have frozen, and the air sucked out of the sky. Nile felt it again, that nakedness. This was no ordinary man.
After a couple of seconds that felt like an eternity, the man lifted his foot. Time resumed its course, and the air restored and filled the empty space. Even the soldiers seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they continued their advance and started on the stairs.
In front of the temple was a sort of altar, out in the open just after the stairs. Clearly built for dramatic effect and public events. Nile had a bad feeling. He looked around and noticed Manong had disappeared. He was not really surprised.
The man stepped on the altar and sat on his knees. Two soldiers attached his hands from each side to the erect poles. He did not show any resistance. another two that went into the temple earlier came back carrying a big whip. They brought it to who appeared to be the strongest of them. He stood in front of the man on his knees as the eyes of everyone fixated on him. He did not move.
Something strange then happened. A sort of non-verbal communication seemed to take place between the two men. Someone was on his feet holding a whip and the other was on his knees, but there was no doubt which of the two was actually in charge. The man in the baggy shorts took a long inhale and then lifted his head.
"Let's not drag this out any longer shall we?" He said with a wry smile, then screamed theatrically "the people of Darkhen expect a show!"
The man picked up the whip and gave him a resounding lash on the chest. The people started cheering like wild animals.
"What the hell is this place?" thought Nile, eyes wide open.
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