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There ell-supervised children’s playroos that housed the officers’ fae, the boys no longer played in the sairls Officers’ wives had opinions about that, for some reason

It was perhaps for the sarounds for the children had always been sorounds of the soldiers Mothers found soe used by soldiers very offensive, so they went to great lengths to protect their young

Narasan and his friends spenttheir early years, armed ooden swords and shields and under the watchful eyes of old disabled veterans who gave the and swords each other with their toy weapons

Narasan’s closest friends during his boyhood had been Gunda and Padan, the sons of a couple of sub-commanders in his father’s army Gunda was soree of skill with his toy sword Padan was s that Narasan didn’t think were very funny at all Narasan decided quite early that he shouldn’t make an issue of his father’s rank as the three of the his father’s status in the faces of his friends would be highly inappropriate - and an to realize that their playground in the shadow of the large, white-walled officers’ quarters was not all that ular soldiers In a very real sense, arh to beco Narasan

‘My papa didn’t tellwhen they were out on the playground ‘All he said was that Padan’s papa got killed during this last war down south That’s probably why Padan hasn’t been around for the past few days’

Narasan was stunned He’d known that soldiers someti like that had ever happened to the father of one of his close friends ‘What do you think we should say when Padan comes back, Gunda?’ he asked

‘How should I know?’ Gunda replied

‘Maybe we shouldn’t say anything about it at all,’ Narasan said a bit tentatively

‘Talk about the weather, or so?’

‘I don’t know Maybe we should talk to one of the sergeants about it People do get killed during wars, I guess That’s ars are all about, aren’t they? I’eant could tell us the best way to handle it’

‘You’re probably right Those old sergeants know just about everything that has to do ars After we grow up, though, ht with the army that just killed Padan’s papa If we stoht ht, Gunda,’ Narasan agreed ‘I’ll find out which aret back at them e’re the ones in coround ‘I don’t know that we need to tell anybody about it, though They es like that’

‘That’s all you ever think about, isn’t it, Narasan?’ Gunda said ‘I suppose we should be sort of honorable, but when sooes out the , and getting even takes over’

‘You’re probably right,’ Narasan agreed, ‘but I don’t think we should co to be the commander, Narasan, so we’ll do it any way you want us to’

‘It was - oh, o - when the armies decided that they didn’t want no more part of workin’ for the Emperor or the silly Palvanum - all them Earls and Barons that spend all their tieant Wilo outside and play ‘It all started, I bin told, when theether and decided that us soljers was gettdn’ paid way too much Of course, it was peacetime back then, so the soljers didn’t have nothin’ to do except polish their swords and play dice The Palvani didn’t like that one little bit, so they ups an’ cut the soljers’ pay in half - and then, as the soljers found out later, the Palvani decided that they warn’t gettin’ near enough pay fer all that speech-ave theirselves a whoppin’ big pay-raise - which it was as they kept purtyPadan exclaimed ‘Can they just reach in and take as much money as they want out of the treasury?’

‘Well, it seeot wind of it, though, they all got together and decided that workin’ fer the gummint warn’t no fun noonto the arht fer a while, but then some dukes an’ barons in the eastern provinces decided that they didn’t want no more part of the Empire, so they quit payin’ taxes, sla every tax-collector they could lay their hands on’

‘Isn’t that sort of against the law?’ Gunda asked

Sergeant Wilummint didn’t have no aro to them eastern provinces an’ tell them dukes an’ barons an’ such that they was a-breakin’ the law Well, now, the Palvani all started a-makin’ speeches an’ scribblin’ out orders tellin’ the armies t’ run over to them eastern provinces an’ whomp on theain, but the arabby Palvani what they could do with theht an’ waited’

Narasan and the other boys all laughed

‘Well,’ the sergeant continued, ‘it didn’t hardly take no tier out which way the as blowin’, so they come here to the army coo back t’ payin’ ‘em what they’d been a-payin’ ‘em back afore the pay-cut, but the soljers said no Then they said that it’d take about twice as much t’ make ‘em even a little bit interested Let me tell you, you ain’t never heard so much screamin’ an’ yellin’! Them half-wit Palvani jumped up an’ down makin’ threats an’ tryin’ t’ order the armies t’ obey them there wrote-down commands an’ all sorts of other foolish stuff, but the soljers just slaates shut an’ wouldn’t even anshen the Palvani started a-poundin’ on them’