Jaaguzannama: A point in time
| Jaaguzannama: A point in time | |
| |
| Original title | Jaaguzannama |
| Language | Common Tongue |
| Author(s) | Gustaaf Vermeylen |
| Genre | Historical narratives |
| Location(s) | Çakaristan |
| (main) characters | Jaaguzan |
| Timeframe | 1722 - 1727 AN |
Jaaguzannama: A point in time is the fifth and last part in the story series Jaaguzannama. It is a sequel to Jaaguzannama: Pax Apollonia.
A new time
"Whahaha! This is not serious, is it?" the Shahanshah said, laughing. The other men at the trapezoid table did not laugh along and looked somewhat nervously towards Jaaguzan. When Jaaguzan saw their faces, he stood up, bent forward and leaned on the table with his hands. "Honourable members of the Majlis al-Shuwraa, surely you don't think I am taking this... plan... this... whatever it is seriously? Greater Floria, what a ludicrous idea! We are going adult with this. There is peace with our neighbours, peace on this continent: Pax Apollonia." Intrusively, the Shahanshah looked at the men, one by one. Then he sat down quietly, gestured for a servant to pour him coffee.
While the coffee was steaming, the Shahanshah asked what was the next matter to discuss. Adarsh Farrah spoke: "Your majesty, the Kaiseress of Shireroth, has issued a decree called 'Restoration of Validity'. It includes that the dissolution of the marriage between Kaiseress Noor and Noah Hallbjörnsson was a mistake. That your mother is recognised as a legitimate child and thus she and her descendants are legitimate in the eyes of Shirerian law. So that you and your mother's other descendants are summoned to Shirekeep." Jaaguzan read the copy of the decree, as if he did not believe the Ataliq's words. "Well," he said, "what is your advice?" The grand vizier said, "Your majesty, this is a big step in recognising that a great legal error has been committed. It repairs the rift in the family." Jaaguzan nodded and said, "We did not ask for this decree, indeed we are surprised at this step. But it is good that we are closing this old breach." The Ataliq said, "Your majesty, this does mean that the Kaiseress requests allegiance and therefore Kaiseress must agree to future marriages." "Well," Jaaguzan began, "I do have a problem with that." The grand vizier responded, "Perhaps there should be some kind of family treaty regulating such matters." "Good," concluded the Shahanshah.
The Ataliq spoke: "The next thing we would like to discuss is the position of the Grand Vizier. His Excellency, Dervish Çelebi, has indicated his wish to step down. Under the Fifth Amendment of our constitution, the position of Grand Vizier remains appointable by the Shahanshah. My question is whether, with the end of the Sanpo war, we cannot go back to an elective Grand Vizier." Jaaguzan replied, "It is of course unfortunate that my brother-in-law wants to quit, but it is understandable." He turned to Dervish: "For you I have a new mission, you get to build Jaihabar and that is why I appoint you Sultan of Jaihabar." Dervish stood up and bowed deeply to the Shahanshah: "By Craitgod, may the Shahanshah reign forever. You honour me greatly with this appointment". "Be it granted to you" replied Jaaguzan. "As for the position of grand vizier," Jaaguzan continued, "according to the cycle of elections, the next election for grand vizier would be on 3.II.1723 AN. But that is too soon to hold orderly elections. It seems better to appoint the next grand vizier." The gentlemen at the table nodded. Jaaguzan said, "Do we have a candidate?"
Dervish said, "In the last elections for grand vizier, I ran against Aytac Kizilkaya, who was still threatening to beat me." The other men at the table chuckled at this candour. Dervish continued, "As a candidate who has a reasonable electorate behind him, then he is fit." Ataliq said, "That election has been seven Norton years ago, that makes me wonder if that electorate still exists." Jaaguzan responded, "We need a driver, not someone who could win elections. I myself was very impressed by the analytical report on the armed forces prepared by Abu Turbati. Would he be a good candidate?" He looked around the table and gathered assenting nods from the men. "Good, then I will send for Abu Turbati."
When time flies
Two green imperial pigeons fly above the palace gardens. They fly around each other, from tree to roof, then back to the lawn. Without a clue about the world, without regard for their surroundings. Jaaguzan sat staring at the birds while his coffee was steaming. He thought about recent times. His children were growing so fast; his eldest son had already turned 15. The disturbing rumour that had come to his ears, that his son was mean. He would rat people off, shoot birds and beat maids. A conversation with his son yielded nothing; he had denied everything.
His wife, his dear Zahra, with whom he is still hopelessly in love. He had already caught her once with more political knowledge than she pretended. She says she has no interest in politics, but still seems to be informed. His concubines wanted more intimacy, to give him more children. But he kept his promise to Zahra. But by and by, he was going mad with his concubines' nagging.
The rebellion, ah well. The government was so embarrassed about this uprising that they kept it hidden as much as possible. Both from the public, and from him. Several military blunders had been committed, which would severely damage the reputation of the armed forces. He had become so angry with the Vizier al-Harb saying, "After the Sanpo-Çakar War, how much of the image of our armed forces is left?!" The Vizier had submitted his resignation to the Grand Vizier soon after. He shook his head at the thought of this.
•••
"The Shahbanu is not in a position to achieve our goals. If we really want us to rule this country, then in they are a block on our way," said the man in the shadows. The other members of the order muttered among themselves. Suddenly, the man struck the ground with his staff. Everyone was silent. "Whoever doubts my judgement, let him speak. Whoever believes in our way, let him follow my orders," roared the man in the room. With a gesture, a servant handed out letters. Each order member was given his or her own letter. Only similarity was that they were ordered to keep silent to the Shahbanu. When each order member had read his letter, they burned the letter.
•••
Dervish stepped out of the car, a servant handed him his walking stick. Astīr joined him at his side as they looked up at the newly built palace. "By Craitgod, what a beautiful palace!" spoke Astīr in full admiration. Dervish smiled and looked at his wife. "Here, my wife, is where we will live. This is where our twins will be born. May the great Craitgod bless us". "Amen," Astīr replied. Together they walked through the main gate, but Astīr stopped to catch her breath. Highly pregnant, she excused herself. Dervish sent for a wheelchair and continued the tour.
He had had the palace built in the new capital of his sultanate. Now that the palace was finished, only now did he show it to his wife. Gleaming white marble, stained glass in tall windows, Babhki carpets, a pond in the middle of the Great Hall. Astīr was impressed, but soon asked to take her to their bedroom. Tired of all the impressions.
Under the sand of time
"We can use that Sultan of the Sands to our advantage," spoke the man in the shadows. He continued, "The sultan is ambitious. He is planning plans to remove the three headmen from the government. Our man we will protect, but the other two." An attendant responded saying, "Our Banbishn, is she aware of these plans?" The man in the shadows laughed foully and said, "Ah, our Banbishn, may she rule forever". "Amen," answered those present.
"Very well, we will play the game of confusion. The sultan of the Sands is counting on his intelligence about the flight details of the Air Çakar One is correct. He thinks he can hit the plane over the Monalan Parvat. But we have the plane diverted to Jaaguzanbul. Our Banbishn will think her plan will succeed by becoming the new Ataliq. But we make sure we keep control," the man in the shadows said grimly.
•••
"Don't tell anyone, please," a man said in a whisper. "Certainly not," Delara replied. "Your wish to be with the Shahanshah one more time may come true," said the kizlar agha. "How then?", asked Delara, "the Shahanshah exiled us to this palace and has not visited us since then". "When the Shahanshah returns from Shireroth, he will come here," responded the kizlar agha.
"But how can I seduce the Shahanshah? After all, he has promised Zahra not to be intimate with us, with me, anymore," Delara asked. "Not everything I can arrange," replied the kizlar agha, "the Shahanshah will come to you. Zahra needs to be distracted. Then I have some here." He took out a tube of powder from his pocket. "This is ground up viagra. Put that in his coffee and then it's yours," the kizlar agha concluded.
•••
"Now that the shashor is out of the country, we can make a move," spoke the Commander. "Right," replied Hrithik, "only I don't want another debacle like in Maulikpur. We were not discovered then, because we got lucky and someone in the investigation team. That luck doesn't come twice. This calls for a more subtle approach." The Commander was a little disappointed. "But that doesn't mean," continued Hrithik, "that you have to sit idly by. After all, you are going to see that our state is established." Presently, children came running into the room. A nanny ran after them, still shouting, "Children, we had not agreed to this". She was shocked to see the sultan and bowed her head. Hrithik was happy to see his children and said, "You rascals, you must listen to the nanny". Moments later, Hrithik sent his children away. To the nanny, he said, "You stay here". The young lady stood nervously with her head bowed. Hrithik gestured that the Commander too left, he walked around the nanny. Standing in front of her, he used his finger under her chin to lift her face. "You have beautiful eyes," Hrithik said. The nanny blushed.
Time has come
For 22 Norton years, Adarsh Farrah was al Ataliq (regent). He was looking out the window of car as it drove along a mountain road. The road swung as if stuck against the mountain. He saw the landscape and thought of all those years ago. That he was promoted to general by Akbar, the day after the assassination of Hasan, Akbar's brother. After the relaunch of Çakaristan, when the Great Apollonian Empire fell, he was appointed Ataliq. He did want to retire now, only he could not think of a successor that way. That measures from the period of the Sanpo-Çakar War were still in force, he did not like. The Shahanshah did listen politely to his plea, but did nothing with it.
The road they were driving on was cordoned off on both sides. The road is not much wider than necessary for trucks. Suddenly, a bang sounded. The column of cars was pelted with stones, rolling down the hill. The column wanted to accelerate, but bigger and bigger stones came tumbling down the mountain. Until one it was an avalanche of stones, pieces of tree and boulders. The whole column of cars was buried under the avalanche and car with the Ataliq in it even pushed off the edge. It rolled metres down the mountain.
•••
"It's Karel," said Karel Kyle, as he picked up the phone. "Karel, can you come to Maulikpur as soon as possible? With your father-in-law, he's not doing well," Gustavus said. "Oh, ummm. Wait a moment," Karel responded. Then he called Shikha, told her what he had just been told. Shikha took over the phone from Karel and asked Gustavus, "Has Parvati been informed yet?" "Yes," Gustavus replied. "Can I have a word with her?", she asked. After the sisters spoke to each other, Karel, Shika and their children left for Maulikpur.
Once they arrived in Maulikpur, at the Raja's palace, they completed the party. The Raja, Shivaji Bhonsale, was lying on bed, breathing with difficulty. Shikha greeted her father, but her face expressed worry. Shivaji said to her, "For every human being, there is a time of going. My time has come." Shikha started crying. Shivaji gestured Karel to come closer. "As you know, there is a succession from the father-in-law to the son-in-law, who is married to the eldest daughter. This is how it has been for a long time, especially for the period when this country was stateless, in The Green. I am the proud father of two daughters and I have no sons. The need for a succession to the son-in-law is not because of statelessness, but because of the lack of a son. This means that you, Karel, succeed me as Raja of Adardesh. I have already asked the other princes of Haritdesh to also accept you as Chhatrapati of Haritdesh. They have agreed to that."
Karel got a lump in his throat and was very emotional. He knew he could become Raja, but rather thought his wife would become the reigning ruler. At birth, he was second in line of succession to the throne of Batavia, but first in line of succession to the throne of Francia a few years later. In Batavia because of his elder sister, but in Francia because of male succession. In Arbor, he was passed by his half-brother, which he did not mind at all. But now, because of his wife, he becomes a reigning ruler after all.
Time for home
Suddenly the alarm went off in the cockpit; an incoming projectile had been detected. Flares were automatically released. The captain immediately diverted the aircraft. Jet fighters were immediately contacted from the communications centre, as the plane had just arrived over home territory. The Shahanshah awoke abruptly to the sudden movement of the plane. He called a servant to find out what was going on. He rushed to his office and was briefed. "Is my wife's plane also taking the same route?", he asked the commander on board. The latter went to find out. Moments later, he had a video meeting with the grand vizier, who said, "Your majesty, your wife is taking a different route. And is just now going to deviate from the earlier plan, so that if that plane was also to be targeted, it will now be foiled. Therefore, it is also better for you not to go to Agra, but to Jaaguzanbul." Hakim pondered and agreed.
The programme of the state visit to Shireroth was interrupted by the death of the Ataliq, Adarsh Farrah. The rest of the programme was to take place in Batavia, but he could not let it continue. Adarsh had served him as Ataliq for so long. To this day, he considers Adarsh's appointment as recognition that as Shahanshah, he did not consider the Akbar period as written-off history. He took issue with the fact that Adarsh had already indicated his intention to retire once. Now Adarsh was dead.
To avoid plunging the Empire into uncertainty, he had quickly decided to appoint his wife as the new Ataliq. Therefore, she did not fly with him on the same plane back to Çakaristan. Temporarily, she would fill that position until a suitable replacement could be found. Now that his plane had been shot at, the feeling crept up on him that the plot to undermine the Empire was much bigger than he had thought. Could Hrithik have more influence than he thought after all?
•••
After speaking to her husband, Zahra sat at the table with some advisers. "The Shahanshah was easily persuaded to go to Jaaguzanbul. A shelling of the Red Fortress is not necessary," said one of them. Zahra nodded in agreement, but said, "Let it happen anyway, just to add to the confusion". The advisers nodded in agreement. "We are diverting to Suryapur, there the attack will lead on that desert sultan".
•••
From a rooftop terrace, a young man aimed his rocket launcher at the Red Fortress. Shot and dropped the weapon. Without looking to see if the fired missile would reach its target, he began to flee. Away from that spot. The rocket flew towards the Red Fortress, where the anti-missile gun reacted alertly. The missile was shot out of the sky. The bang could be heard throughout the city, panic struck immediately. The alarm was raised and immediately the area around the Red Fort was sealed off. Helicopters appeared over the city and soon the abandoned rocket launcher was found. But the gunman had fled and every trace of him was missing.
Coffee Time
"Congratulations! Oh great sultan! Chaos is a fact!", spoke the Commander. "What do you mean, is the shashor dead?", asked Hrithik. "No, your Grace, our attempt to bring down the plane over the Monalan Parvat failed. But what I mean is the shelling of the Red Fortress." Hrithik looked strange and said, "I did not order that. There are other forces going on". The Commander handed the Sultan a newspaper, the Agra Times. It read in large print that a missile firing had taken place. The article identified Hrithik as a suspect. The subtitle read: 'Desert sultan raises dust in capital'.
Then the alarm went off and the bodyguards came in. They dragged Hrithik to the shelter while fighter jets flew over. The Commander ordered to shoot the jets out of the sky, but the anti-aircraft guns could not lock the FA-57s. This allowed the stealth fighters to fulfil their mission, dropping bombs on military targets. An ammunition store was hit, giving off a huge fireball. In the communications centre of the shelter, reports came in of advancing Çakari forces to make passes over the Khelaq Mountains. Hrithik stood in the middle of the room and thought, 'It's over'.
•••
For several weeks now, Jaaguzan had been staying in Sahil Sarayı, Jaaguzanbul. He had locked himself in the Mutlaqa and allowed almost no one in. Zahra had visited him, but had refused to bring their children. The palace was where the concubines stayed with their children after they were exiled from Agra. Zahra wanted to persuade her husband to go to Agra together. But Jaaguzan could not be persuaded. Therefore, Zahra returned to the Sheesh Qila in Suryapur. There, she led the attack on the desert sultan. She had ordered the Majlis al-Shuyukh to come over to Suryapur, against the wishes of many members. But she did not want to come to Agra to preside over the meeting, as well as nominate a replacement president. To install the newly elected members anyway, the Majlis al-Shuyukh went to Suryapur.
After a refreshing shower of rain, the weather cleared up. Jaaguzan opened the garden doors, stepped outside. He sniffed the fresh air, which so invigorated him, giving him new energy. He walked through the palace gardens, looking at the flowers and gazing at the sparrows. He sat down on a garden bench, where he was noticed by Delara. She quickly sent for coffee and some treats. When these had been brought, she gave the court ladies another task. This gave her the opportunity to mix the powder, which she had received earlier, into the coffee. She then went to see Jaaguzan.
Jaaguzan was surprised that Delara joined him. He noticed her cleavage as she made a curtsy. He did not look away. Delara had the coffee poured. Together they chatted wax, ate the delicacies. He let her dab up the honey dripping into his beard. Their eyes met, when suddenly Jaaguzan reached for his stomach. He groaned in pain. Delara was startled and grabbed hold of Jaaguzan. He looked up and stammered, "Get the d..." He collapsed in Delara's arms. She could not hold him and leaving her on the ground still held him by his head. Jaaguzan went limp, life leaving his body. Delara screamed for help and cried.
End of a time
For a while, Jaaguzan was laid up in the Red Fortress, where people could walk by and pay their respects. On the first day, Aurangzeb and Zahra held a vigil and all sorts of dignitaries came by. The grand vizier, the viziers, the princes of all the states. Later, Zahra held a reception where ambassadors could also offer her condolences. The media speculated that the concubines and their children were not present. This was overshadowed by the fact that Meera, the eldest daughter of Jaaguzan and Zahra, was seen in Agra. Besides, other members of the House of Alsalam and Vinandy were seen.
On the day of interment, a procession of soldiers dressed in ceremonial uniforms arrived at the Red Fortress. The procession stopped in front of the front gate of the Red Fortress. The big doors of the main gate opened. Solemnly, the coffin containing the deceased Jaaguzan was carried across the bridge to the front gate. Followed by procession of family and dignitaries. A silence fell over this moment when deceased ruler left the Red Fortress for the last time. For 23 years, Jaaguzan had ruled from this place.
The coffin was placed on a wagon and pulled by horses. The procession began, with infantry leading the rhythm on their drums. Elephants whose riders carried large Çakari flags. Followed by more infantry, dromedaries and horses. Then the wagon with the coffin, behind it the family. The dignitaries and foreign guests. Then the population could join and walk in procession to Jaaguzan's final resting place. After a few kilometres, the procession was switched to a moving procession. Jaaguzan had a mausoleum built, but it was further outside the city. It was too far to walk.
Arriving at the mausoleum, the Maqbara-i Jaaguzan, the coffin was again carried by soldiers. They walked solemnly through the garden to the building. Only the family followed the coffin, while others waited outside the garden. In the mausoleum, Jaaguzan was interred in his final resting place. A final ceremony was held, after which the family left the complex through the other side of the pond. Then it was the turn of the rest of the entourage to visit the mausoleum. It was only after a few days that the mausoleum was also opened to the public.
