Chapter 259: Khalid

"Grain shall return to the Earth, die there, and finally decompose for the new growth of another life to begin."

-        Egyptian Proverbs

"No! Admiral! Do not shoot! It is no wild horse! It is an imported horse from Egyptus for the cavalries! Do not kill it! Why would you want to kill your own weapon admiral!" 

The man wept and cried kneeling in front of the horse carcass weeping and crying with tears dropping on to the soil that looks like it has condensed in to a deluge of rain droplets. The howling and screaming of the man echoed across the woods scaring away the crows and owls. The surrounding environment became completely quiet with only the cracking sound of the light torches can be heard. Even the surrounding horses lowered their head looking like they are mourning for their just deceased same breed pal. 

"What is this man talking about?!" A little bit shocked Antonius asked the surrounding men, but no one could offer him an answer. Antonius had to leap down the horse, pulling the rugged man up from the dirt and bombarded him with a chain of questions. "Get him up! Stop crying! Why? What problem do you have with this horse? Does it belong to you? Do you understand Latin? Or Greek?" 

The man wiped his eyes with the dirt stained linen robe and nodded, then before Antonius could ask he howled with all the frustration and grievance. ""Admiral… Admiral! This horse, it could have been used to arm up one more cavalry under your command charging against enemies… But now…But now…. But now!" 

Antonius is startled and blinked his eyes, it took him a few seconds to understand this broken Greek tongue from the man. Seeing this man life this Antonius knew that there must be some fishy things going on that he does not know to make this man behave in this uncontrolled state. With enough patience he touched the back of this man soothing his emotions and asked again. "Relax, now, tell me in clear words, what was you saying just now?" 

"That horse you just killed! Admiral! That is not a wild horse! It is a war fighting horse kept in the herd transported here just two days ago from Egyptus, capable of being the best mount for a Mamluk cavalry!" 

"A war horse?" Antonius frowned. "But Alexios said that it is a wild horse? Alexios? Alexios where are you? Never mind… I no longer need it, fine just leave it like this and lets go."

"Admiral! My lord! Your highness!" The man suddenly kneeled down again bearing his foot on Antonius' boot and pleaded. "I know that it is very inappropriate for me to say this… But, but! There is a reason why you Rumelians are always getting defeat after defeats on horse backs, humiliation after humiliation from the Ottoman Turks!" 

"What reason is it?" 

The rugged man continued in a rapid tone. "The Ottoman Turks love their horse, they treat their horses like their wife, their sons, their partners in battle. While for the Rumelians, they neither treasures even their best horses, nor do they love their own country which nourished them putting on rebellions and revolts literally inviting foreign powers on to your land… This is why, Rumelians have always been losing to the Ottoman Turks in cavalries when you people treat your companions in war with such inappropriate attitude, and when you lose in cavalries on land, you lose the entire battle, and when you lose the entire battle, you lose your entire country!  My lord!" 

The words sent a shock wave through Antonius' mind being so impactful that Antonius stopped in his foot thinking about it. After a while Antonius sighed throwing his bow and quiver down to the blood soaked muddy dirt, and ordered softly to the man whose fore head is still on Antonius' boot. "Come, stand up, stand up and talk to me, I get what you mean." 

The man stood up on his feet and not dared to look at Antonius. 

"Come, my boy, elaborate more, what advice can you tell me about horses and cavalries?" 

"Admiral, have you forgotten the fact that cavalries are the decisive factor that determines a battle? And when you are reading history, have you not read the part how you Rumelians have always ended in civil wars against other Rumelians creating weakness and blood shed among yourself tearing your country apart, and creating opportunities after opportunities for your enemies, even me as an outsider cannot stand how you Rumelians are so disunited, and now when I think about it, please admiral, we don't need to treat these animals like wife, but at least treat them like valuable assets." 

"No, I have not forgotten." Antonius sighed and threw his whip on to the ground. "What idea do you have in mind?" 

"Admiral, I heard that you are going to put these horses as logistics purposes carrying loads and wagons?" 

"Yes." 

The man complained in a trembling tone. "That is not how an efficient war horse should be treated! We should treat it like our wives, taking care of it with all of our hearts and minds, feeding it the best crop and wiping it clean every day, just like how you sea faring Rumelians treat your ships! And you definitely should not make them carry loaded wagon carts, if you do that, in a few years time their hooves will be worn out, manes detached, teeth dropping one after another and the horse shall not be able to gallop again." 

Antonius remained silent for a while and nodded, then he put his hands on the man's shoulders and turned him facing his direction and scrutinized his face. "I have not asked, who are you?" 

The man dared not answer and lowered his face. 

"Admiral, I know who he is." A cavalry came forth and answered. "His name is Khalid, a Kipchak Mamluk slave from Asyut, Egyptus, in charge of feeding and taking care of our horses. Aye, and he truly treats our horses like wife, I can see it from his eyes when he is doing work. Rare seeing him talk so much though." 

"Khalid..Khalid…." Antonius gave this man another pat on the back. "I have remembered you… How did you become a slave though?" 

"I was once a freed slave soldier under my Sultan Sayf ad-Din Jaqmaq, and was involved in the operation to free the Island of Rhodes from the evil crusaders bringing it back under the glory of The Mighty Allah, but when my troops left the island I was left over there because I had an injury from an arrow by the Crusaders which penetrated my left hand." 

The man, Khalid, showed Antonius that gruesome scar on his left hand that looked like a bunch of worms crawling and conjured together. 

"Then I was taking prisoner by the evil crusaders of Rhodes, they made a slave again and sold me and the other Mamluk slaves to a bey in Anatolia, and then I was gifted to you by Sultan Orhan together along with the horses." 

An idea came up in Antonius' mind as he continued thinking about Khalid's words. 

"Come, lets go, we got to get back to the city before the sky totally darkens down." Antonius went back hoping on to his horse. "Khalid, do come with me, I got matters to discuss with you later." 

"Yes, admiral." Khalid hurriedly bowed but still asked reluctantly. "What about this horse, admiral, what are you going to do about it?" 

"The horse…Give it a proper burial, like how we bury our deceased warriors." 

"What should we write on the tomb stone admiral?" 

"Tomb stone…" Antonius thought for a while. "On it write that 'Here lays a comrade that is killed by Antonius De'Recci mistake, and he has learnt his mistake through the words of master Khalid'." 

Hearing this another roll of hot tears rolled down the scarred face of Khalid uncontrollably. 

…

The group of people went back to the Acroypole of Thessaloniki safely in the darkness, with no bandits, no accidents, no monsters or werewolf of the night like those story plots of a novel. 

Khalid sat still in the guest room of the government building waiting anxiously as the admiral sat opposite him, clenching his robes and his body shivering uncontrollably from that sheer nervousness. He has now regretted from doing those excessive actions and saying those radical words to the admiral just now, as he has realised the dramatic difference in social statues; One is an admiral ruling tens of thousands of people, while he is just a slave here feeding horses.

"At ease, at ease buddy." Antonius stood up a poured a cup of mead for Khalid and pushed it towards the trembling man. "Here, drink it, this shall make you feel a little bit better." 

Khalid nodded and gulped down the cup of mead feeling the sour and sweet aroma flowing across his tongue, and continued gulping it down greedily having not tasted the flavor of alcohol for a decade now.