Soul of the Fire

Kahlan swallowed before she began. "Well, centuries ago-maybe as long as two to three thousand years ago- the Haken people came out of the wilds and invaded Anderith. It's thought they were a remote people whose land possibly became unsuitable for some reason. Such a thing has happened in other places, for example when a river's course is changed by an earthquake or flood. Sometimes a formerly productive area will become too dry to support farming or animals. Sometimes crops fail and people will migrate.

"Anyway, according to what I was taught, the Hakens somehow made it past the Dominie Dirtch. How, no one knows. Many of them were slaughtered, but they somehow finally made it past and conquered the land now known as Anderith.

"The Anders were a mostly nomadic people, composed of tribes who fought fiercely among themselves. They were uneducated in things like written language, metalworking, construction, and such, and they had little social organization. In short, compared to the Haken invaders they were a backward people. It wasn't that they weren't smart, just that the Hakens were a people possessed of advanced learning and methods.

"Haken weapons were also superior. They had cavalry for example, and they had a better grasp of coordination and tactics on a large scale. They had a clear command structure whereas the Anders bickered endlessly over who would direct their forces. That was one reason the Hakens, once past the Dominie Dirtch, were easily able to bring the Anders to heel."

Richard handed Kahlan a waterskin. "The Hakens were a people of war and conquest, I take it. They lived by conquest?"

Kahlan wiped water that was dribbling down her chin. "No, they weren't the type to conquer simply for booty and slaves. They didn't make war for mere predation.

"They brought with them their knowledge of everything from making leather shoes to working iron. They were a literate people. They had an understanding of higher mathematics and how to apply it to endeavors such as architecture.

"Their core skill was farming on a large scale, with plows pulled by oxen and horses, rather than hand-hoed gardens like the Anders kept to supplement their hunting and gathering of things growing wild. The Hakens created irrigation systems and introduced rice in addition to other crops. They knew how to develop and select better strains of crops, such as wheat, to give them the best use of land and weather. They were experts at horse breeding. They knew how to breed better livestock and raised vast herds."

Kahlan handed back the waterskin and ate a bite of tava bread. She gestured with the half-eaten tava.

"As is the way of conquest, the Hakens ruled as victors often do. Haken ways supplanted Ander ways. Peace came to the land, albeit peace enforced by Haken overlords. They were harsh, but not brutal; rather than slaughtering the Anders as was the custom of many conquering invaders, they enfolded the Anders into Haken society, even if it was at first as cheap labor."

Richard spoke with his mouth full. "The Anders, too, benefited from the Haken ways, then?"

"Yes. Under direction of the Haken overlords, food was plentiful. Both the Haken and the Ander people prospered. The Anders had been a sparse population always on the brink of vanishing. With abundant food the population multiplied."

When Du Chaillu fell to a coughing fit, they turned to her. Richard squatted and dug through his pack until he found a cloth packet Nissel had given them. Unrolling it, he found inside some of the leaves Nissel had once given him to calm pain. Kahlan pointed out the ground herbs supposed to settle the stomach. He tied some into a cloth and handed the bag of ground herbs to Cara.

"Tell the men to put this in the tea and let it steep for a bit. It will help her stomach. Tell Chandalen that Nissel gave it to us-he can explain it to Du Chaillu's men, so they won't worry."

Cara nodded. He put the leaves in her palm. "Tell her that after she drinks the tea, she should chew one of these leaves. It will calm her pain. Later, if she is sick at her stomach again, or in pain, she can chew another."

Cara hurried to the task.

Cara would likely not admit it, but Richard knew she would appreciate the satisfaction of giving assistance to someone in need. He couldn't imagine how much greater the satisfaction would be to bring a person back to life.

"So, what happened then, with the Hakens and the Anders? Everything went well? The Anders learned from the Hakens?" He picked up his tava bread for a bite. "Brotherhood and peace?"

"For the most part. The Hakens brought with them orderly rule, where before the Anders squabbled among themselves, often leading to bloody conflicts. The invading Hakens had actually killed fewer Anders than the Anders themselves regularly killed in their own territorial wars. At least, so said the wizards who taught me.