Daughter of Xanadu - Dori Jones Yang [74]
By the time the thundering stopped, more than two thousand elephants, all equipped for war, had marched onto the Plain of Vochan. How the king of Burma had achieved such a feat was a mystery. I could not believe that so many of these giant creatures existed in the world.
A scout returned, and I crowded with other soldiers to hear his breathless report. “They are large and fearsome, the largest beasts in the world,” he said. “Each one carries on its back a fortress of wood, well framed and strong, full of archers. At least twelve, maybe sixteen, on each elephant. All well armed.”
I quickly calculated. The archers on elephant-back alone far outnumbered our twelve thousand, and that was only one-third the number of troops the king of Burma had brought to Vochan.
All told, there were indeed sixty thousand Burmese troops. They outnumbered us five to one.
Clearly, the king of Burma was planning the battle to end all battles. We had been caught unawares, with the greatest strength of the Khan’s army a two-month march to the east. There was no time to get reinforcements.
Many of us would not survive this battle. I looked at those around me, whom I had come to know well. How many of us would be trampled to death by elephants, felled by archers, or cleaved in two by swords?
Valor, I repeated to myself. It will take valor to face them. But another voice in my head kept repeating a different word: folly. I tried to suppress that thought.
Standing next to me on the Plain of Vochan, Suren spoke so low no one else could hear. “You and I must leave this place at once.”
I couldn’t believe he would say such a thing. “Why?”
“I have strict orders, from the Khan. You are to return to Khanbalik alive.”
“What?” I was incensed. “You want to flee before the battle has begun?”
“No, I don’t. But you are a woman and cannot die on this battlefield.”
I laughed nervously. “Those are the Great Khan’s orders?”
“Yes. I have sworn to protect you.”
The Khan had allowed me to join the army, but he expected me to flee from battle. Suddenly, Suren, with his broad, kind face, seemed like the enemy. “I’d rather die here than have it told that I fled in fear.”
It was as if Old Master were inside my head, shaping my words. He had molded my beliefs as a child so fully that I saw myself as part of a legend, conscious of a role I was acting. The thought of fleeing did not tempt me.
I could see conflicting intentions on Suren’s face. He had not chosen this assignment. I touched his shoulder. “Together you and I will tell the Great Khan about our first battle. I will assure him that you tried to stop me.”
He smiled uncertainly. But I held my ground.
That night, each company of one hundred met with its commander to receive its orders. Todogen told us that the battle would commence at first light the next morning. Although we were far outnumbered, our skills in battle were unsurpassed, and our archers the best. Even our horses were skilled in war, sturdy and brave.
We had never faced thousands of elephants, but we were not to let them intimidate us. Elephants, Todogen told us, were poor fighters and served merely to inspire fear. When we saw them advancing, we were to hold our ground and begin the battle with no dismay. The elephants’ thick skin was not impervious to metal-tipped arrows. Our arrows flew farther, so we should be able to take down many of the creatures before we were within range of the Burmese archers.
We were to advance straight at the enemy. Each of us had to kill five Burmese soldiers, plus another five for every one of our comrades killed in battle.
Todogen stood tall and shouted his final command: “Remember the words of the Great Ancestor, Chinggis Khan, ‘In daylight watch with the vigilance of an old wolf, at night with the eyes of a raven, and in battle fall upon the enemy like a falcon.’ ”
As he spoke, I could feel thrills of anticipation up and down my back.
That night, after dinner, Marco found me sitting by a fire. “Emmajin Beki. I wish I could convince you not to go into battle tomorrow.”
I laughed.