5. Gujarat

Thine call will go unheeded as I insist on addressing thee as Mrs Black, a bare Celia will not do. Thou knowest me as an old limping man, with barely enough strength to keep himself alive in a plantation, unfit for warring and wholly dependent on the goodwill of a Master. We both look back on this young man, lean again from training in the ropes, proud on his fighting skills, celebrated by his betters for his loyal use of them. It gladdens my heart to know how all thine relations have been spared from the horrors of war, so I beg thee to count thine humble correspondent as a repentant warrior, seeking from the All-Merciful the blessings of worldly peace.

Blind was I then to the ravages Kandee had suffered in their long war when we got there, merry as we all were from being well received as allies in their ranks. The Shayk thought it prudent for me to pass as another one of the fighting force instead of a member of his retinue, that I had become by then. When the banquet that had been offered in our honor,  we were standing in the King's Great Hall for the formal affairs of our visit. Great was my surprise when my eyes crossed with those of old De Graef. Both our semblances were transfixed from surprise to suspicion and a sly smile. After the reception by the King's courtiers of our letters from the Sultana, we started attending to our traveling arrangements. De Graef paid us a visit in our quarters and addressed me in friendly terms and surprisingly in Spanish, a language I had abandoned for long, now the Shayk teaching me his native Gujarati and a little more Arabic too. He related me his disappointment on how my circumstances had prevented me from paying off my debt of gratitude to him. I felt no qualms in telling him the little I had learned from the dealings in the Atxenese court, but I informed him my loyalty lay with Nuradin now, until he seemed fit to free me from it. Knowing that Gujarat was our destination he set me at ease by telling me we were still allies, Gujarat being part of the Great Mogul Empire; to which any other Kingdom on the face of earth pales to insignificance; the Dutch being in friendly terms as allies and commercial partners. He told me he would request from the Shayk his permission for me to carry a private letter to an associate in Gujarat. This would not undo wholly my obligations to him, but he trusted in fate that unbounding me had not been in vain. I enquired about those left behind by me in Bungsu's fortress. He told me they had staged an attempt to escape, where most had been killed. He couldn't account for those whose bodies weren't found. These glum news were slightly enlightened by the result of his negotiations. De Graef helped us find passage in one of the Mogul's trading fleets. We left our Atxenese friends to fight along the Candeenese and set sail, a small company of servants and scholars, in one of the many galleons of this powerful merchant fleet. I will not tire thee with further details of warlike exploits in this leg of my journey, suffice it to say a Portuguese fleet harassed and engaged us twice along this war-torn coast, the locals rebellious to the Great Mogul's power. So it was that, unscathed, the Shayk and I reached the province of Gujarat, the Jewel of the West. The Shayk's family lived in the port of Surat, a major commercial city of the Empire. They set up a lavish welcome to our party, raining on him the finest crafts I have ever seen. The riches of this Most Splendid Empire defies the understanding of a simple traveller. Embroidered silks and blazing jewels dazzled our eyes on every turn of the head. My Master warned me against falling away from the righteous path amidst this luxury and he admonished me to take on a lawful wife and remain in a peculiar condition, bound to him as a scholarly-retainer. I thanked him profusely and engaged myself to this new life. Among his kin I was known as the Atxenese, the name of that realm being of repute along the shores of this sea. During my stay in former domains my countenance did not distinguish me from the natives, my unfamiliarity with their mores being ascribed to my homeland being an unspecified island, a common happenance in that variegated land.
Returning to the Shayk's arrangements for my settling down, I was given a good woman, Misala, a lady-in-waiting to one of his relatives. We married in a simple ceremony, directed by the Shayk himself. I accompanied the Shayk in his travels around the region, visiting other sages. I learned Gujarat had been under his own Sultan before becoming part of the Empire. It seemed clear how the prosperity of the land and commerce had made them soft and ready for the taking of an ambitious foe. The Portuguese and the Dutch had set many factories along this very coast, one of them the recipient of my letter, taking many mercenaries under their banners and making a loyal and strong retinue a rare thing of value for a family like my Master's.