Calgary, October 2023
This is the name of the novel written by the English author Colin Falconer. It is a story of two travellers, William of Ausburg and Josseran Sarrazini, who, during the Crusades of the thirteenth century, went from the Holy Land to the capital of the Mongol empire in China. Their mission was to negotiate the alliance between Christians and Mongols against Muslims to regain Jerusalem to Christian hands.
The two men couldn’t be more different. William was a pope’s ambassador who knew Catholic theology and nothing else. He never travelled abroad, spoke only Latin and was convinced that all non-Catholics should be either converted to the true faith or burn in Hell. He was the pope’s ambassador but couldn’t negotiate anything. For that reason, he was assigned a guide, a Templar knight Josseran Sarrazini, who was supposed to do all the work. Jossean had already lived in the Holy Land for five years, knew the Moslem culture, spoke the local languages, and realized that Christians can learn a lot from Muslims. Those two men hated each other at first sight but were stuck together.
The book describes their travel along the Silk Road, which was at that time controlled by the Mongol empire. Consequently, the travellers are exposed to three different religions: Christian, Muslim and Mongol. The last one wasn’t really a religion. Mongols believed in some pagan gods but they only worshiped the conquest and destruction. William was more and more outraged by Josseran’s tolerant attitude towards the locals and became furious when Josseran got involved with a local Mongolian princess. Such a relationship was strictly prohibited by both sites. Templar knights were forbidden to touch women and Mongol princess was expected to marry a Mongolian prince, not a barbarian from the Christian land. The situation got even worse when the Mongol Empire descended into a civil war and the princess’s side lost. The enemy tried to kill her, Josseran came to her rescue and the book ends with them probably drowning in a river. Probably, but maybe not. William is imagining Josseran hiding somewhere, lying in the arms of his witch, wishing for both of them to burn in Hell.
This is how the book ends, but I would like to continue with the narrative. I will presume that Josseran was indeed lying somewhere in the arms of his princess, but this couldn’t last. They were fugitives and their first priority was to save themselves. The princess, whose name is Khutelun, knew the land and found a group of nomads they joined. Her riding and hunting skills, plus Josseran military training were appreciated by the locals and they stayed with them for some time. Eventually, Josseran’s knowledge of languages plus his negotiation ability enabled him to become a guide for the caravans of merchants, and that is where my story begins.
Josseran and Khutelun have been together for two years. He was employed as a guide and interpreter and Khutelun was responsible for hunting and horse keeping. She was a true Mongolian woman, not like the European ladies of the thirteenth century. For now, Josseran and Khutelun were safe but there was no way back to their former life. If Khutelun’s identity were revealed she would be killed and Josseran couldn’t return to his native France either. Williams would denounce him as a heretic and Josseran knew very well the consequences of such a denouncement. They accepted their new life, but it wasn’t easy. Josseran was a Templar knight who swore to fight the infidels for the glory of God and never to touch a woman, and he broke both of those oaths. In his youth he lived in the family castle in France, having servants and being looked after. Now his home was Mongolian yurts and he had to obey the orders of the caravan leaders. For Khutelun the situation was similar. She was the daughter of a warlord and was a real power in the community. Now she was looking after other people’s horses and was hunting for their food. Also, after two years together their passion for each other diminished, therefore it would not be surprising if they started to see their partners as symbols of their degradation. But they were tolerant people who accepted different personalities. One evening Josseran was observing stars with Khutelun and he asked her:
“Do you believe in more than one god?”
“I believe there might be. Who can tell?”
“But there is only one God, who made us, and who made all things.”
“How do you know? Have you been to Heaven yourself?”
“It is my faith. God made the laws which we must obey.”
“And if you don’t?”
“Then we are sinners, and He will punish us for it.”
“So, you have a god who makes you weak, then punishes you for your weakness. Do you not find that strange?”
Josseran did not know how to answer. There certainly was logic in her reasoning. Perhaps there was room for more than just one God, despite what the Catholic religion claims. There are many religions and each one has its own truth.
Khutelun didn’t respect Josseran for his faith but admired his horsemanship and his skill with weapons. This was more important than his beliefs. During the two years, they learned to understand each other, but was that enough to keep them together? They couldn’t go back to their old life, but they had other options. Josseran could become a trader, delivering goods to Europe and Khutelun could stay in one of those caravan’s oases and start a business catering to the travellers. Oases were the sanctuary of peace, untouched by the civil war and she would be safe there. They were thinking about it, and I could leave my story open-ended like the book, but then something happened.
Khutelun was returning from a hunt when she saw a soldier from the caravan escort coming to her.
“Hello princess, I know you. You are Khutelun, a daughter of the defeated chieftain. Did you know there is a price on your head? If I denounce you, I could collect it. But I wouldn’t do it if you give me what I want.”
Khutelun didn’t say anything, and the soldier continued:
"Tonight, when it gets dark, I want you to wait for me right here. We will have a good time and I will forget you are a princess. But if you say a word to your barbarian, I will kill you both."
When Khutelun told all that to Josseran, he just said: “Leave it up to me.” He took some of Khutelun’s clothing and disappeared. When the night came, the soldier went to the specified spot and saw a silhouette of a female body lying in the sand.
“So, you came,” he said.
“Perhaps not,” and Josseran thrust a knife through the man’s heart. Then he took off Khutelun’s clothes and raised an alarm.
“Help, Help, we have been attacked! There are bandits here.”
When other soldiers rushed in, Josseran explained what happened.
“I went for a pee, heard some noise, and saw a bandit attacking the soldier. I ran there yelling, and the bandit disappeared into the darkness. I don’t know how many there were, it was too dark.”
The other soldiers didn't hear any noise and the dead man wasn't supposed to be at that place. Something must have happened here, but they didn’t want to know what. Josseran was an important man, a link between the caravan leader and the traders, and there was no point in steering troubles.
The next evening, while eating dinner, Khutelun was sitting beside Josseran and whispered in his ear: "You still love me." It was not a question; it was a statement of fact. Josseran didn't say anything, he only took his arm around Khutelun’s waist and pressed her towards himself.