Satai Neroon of the Grey Council stood in the doorway, watching closely as a brown-cloaked figure walked slowly and silently from the training building toward the temple. The warrior's sharp eyes missed nothing; he saw the respect and awe on the faces of the Anla'shok whom the figure passed, the reverence of their bows... Despite himself, Neroon was unable to feel angry at what he saw - for he too shared that same respect. And, if he were to be completely honest with himself, he had to admit that he also shared a bit of that awe.
The Star Rider wasn't sure when his attitude toward the Earther approaching the temple had changed, except that the first stirrings of respect had begun during that disastrous trip to Babylon 5 last year. At first, he had deliberately provoked the other man, hoping that the Earther could be goaded into responding violently, and convince Delenn, and thus the Council, that the humans - and this human in particular - were not worthy of their interest. It hadn't worked that way, however; in fact, he had only succeeded in bringing Delenn's censure upon himself.
And then Bramner's body had been stolen, and Neroon had blamed Sinclair; but it had been Delenn all along. And Sinclair's behaviour during the entire sordid mess had been more than worthy of respect. But Neroon had managed to convince himself that that had been because Delenn was guiding him, and had not been Sinclair's true nature. And when Sinclair had been implicated in the attempted assassination of Jenimer, Neroon had congratulated himself on his insight.
He had, however, realized very quickly that Delenn and Jenimer were right in believing in Sinclair's innocence, but not wanting to admit it to himself, he had continued to put obstacles in the human's way. He still hadn't wanted to believe that the Earther was as sincere as he appeared.
But Neroon had been raised a warrior, and warriors judged one by one's actions. And all of Sinclair's actions indicated that he was exactly as he appeared to be: an honest man who believed completely in the sanctity of life.
<Perhaps,> Neroon thought absently, as he watched Sinclair stop by a trainee and speak to her for a moment, <I finally understood when he took the sha'neyat... He almost killed himself in order for the ceremony to be correct. That took a great courage... and a great respect for our traditions.
<I think that must be when I finally began to truly understand...>
As the trainee bowed respectfully and Sinclair resumed his walk toward the temple, Neroon shook himself out of his thoughts. He didn't care much for forced introspection; it was enough that he now saw the truth of what Sinclair was. He didn't need to go over how it had happened.
The Satai turned to the two other Star Riders with him. One was Trelann, the captain of his personal guard; the other was Shai Alyt Kozorr, who had been trained as Anla'shok, but had left them some twelve cycles ago to return to the Star Riders.
"Wait for us here," he ordered, and then stepped forward to meet Entil'Zha.
Sinclair saw the bow Kathy gave him out of the corner of his eye, and sighed softly. It was bad enough when the Minbari did that; when the one bowing was human, he really felt as though the Minbari were trying to make him something he was not.
Then he noticed a movement by the temple; he was prepared to simply acknowledge the other visitor and walk in, but he stopped as he saw that the 'visitor' was Satai Neroon.
"Satai Neroon," he said, bowing slightly.
"Entil'Zha," Neroon returned, and Sinclair felt a touch of surprise. This was the first time he'd heard no anger or resentment in the Minbari's voice at the title.
"How may I help you, Satai?" he asked, speaking in the language of the warrior caste.
Neroon looked at him carefully, and Sinclair saw the warrior's eyes go to the scar on his cheek, and then move away. "There is someone I wish for you to meet," the Satai replied, gesturing for him to enter the temple.
Sinclair felt confused; he wasn't used to Neroon being so affable, and it made him slightly nervous. But there was nothing he could do except follow.
They walked into the temple, and Sinclair saw two other warriors there, both of the Star Rider clan from their insignia.
"Entil'Zha," the taller one said, bowing low - much as the Anla'shok did. He looked familiar, Sinclair thought, but he couldn't quite place where he might have seen the warrior before. The other warrior also bowed, but only slightly.
Then Neroon stepped forward. "Entil'Zha, I believe that you and Shai Alyt Kozorr have already met... The Shai Alyt left the Anla'shok temporarily before the war with your people, and has recently decided that it is time for him to return."
"Yes, we have," Sinclair replied, bowing back to the Shai Alyt. He remembered the warrior now; Kozorr had been the one to arrest him when it had been thought that he was trying to kill Jenimer. "May I ask what has brought about your decision to return?"
"A matter of belief, Entil'Zha," came the calm reply.
Sinclair wasn't sure he understood, but he nodded in acknowledgement.
"There is another matter, Entil'Zha," Neroon said then, abruptly, and Sinclair turned to him.
"And that is, Satai?"
"The Grey Council, on my recommendation, has decided that Kozorr - and certain others of the warrior caste who were... encouraged... to leave the Anla'shok - are to be your guards."
Sinclair stared at the Star Rider in shock. He knew that by 'guards', Neroon meant an honour guard; but it had never occurred to him that he might have one, despite the fact that it came with his position as Entil'Zha. After all, an honour guard for the important members of Minbari society - of whom Entil'Zha was one - were drawn from the Star Riders, and Neroon commanded the Star Riders.
"My... guards?" Sinclair repeated, his voice strangled, but with the inflection on the words telling Neroon that he understood the meaning.
"You are Entil'Zha," Shai Alyt Kozorr declared. "It is only fitting that you should have guards - ones trained as the Anla'shok are trained. I have already arranged for the other members of your guard to come here; they should be arriving within the next three hours."
This was starting to go just a bit too fast for Sinclair to absorb. An honour guard... arranged by Neroon?!
Neroon could see a hint of confusion on Entil'Zha's face; not much, but enough to let him know that the human wasn't exactly sure as to what was happening.
"Trelann, Kozorr, leave us for a moment," the Satai ordered. He watched impassively as Kozorr looked to Sinclair for permission. Neroon found himself pleased by that; despite the fact that Kozorr had made his decision to return because of Sinclair's actions, Neroon had been uncertain as to whether the Shai Alyt would accept Sinclair's authority as Entil'Zha. Evidently he had; the fact that he had sought Sinclair's permission to follow Neroon's orders showed that.
Sinclair nodded slightly, and the other two warriors left. As soon as they were gone, Sinclair turned to look at the statue of Valen for a moment, and then turned back to Neroon.
"I do not mean to be rude, Satai," he said, "but I am not certain that I understand how this has come to be."
"You are, by Jenimer's last request, Entil'Zha," Neroon replied. "As Entil'Zha, you have the right to guards; a right that you did not choose to exercise on your own behalf. I, therefore, chose to exercise it for you."
Sinclair paused, and then met Neroon's eyes. "May I speak freely, Satai?"
Neroon had a very good idea of what Entil'Zha intended to say, but preferred to let the human speak it out loud. "Of course, Entil'Zha."
Sinclair took a deep breath. "You don't like me," he said, reverting to English, the language he undoubtedly still felt most comfortable with. "You did not intend for me to become Entil'Zha; we both know that it was only because Jenimer made it his last request that you agreed. Why, then, did you arrange for this guard?"
Neroon studied the human in front of him for a moment before replying. Sinclair's gaze was direct; not as a Minbari would look at one of the Grey Council, but with no hint of disrespect in it. "Because you are Entil'Zha," he replied finally. Confusion flickered across Sinclair's face for a moment, and Neroon realized that he would have to expand on his statement. He switched to the dialect of the religious caste. "To you, being Entil'Zha is not merely an honour or a privilege. It is a duty, and you do not spare yourself any of the burdens that come with it.
"Perhaps what I should have said is that you are truly Entil'Zha. Your actions during and since the ceremony have shown me that Jenimer was correct about you.
"And, as you are Entil'Zha, you must have a guard. All the members of your guard - and several others - were at pains to point this out to me; and I agreed."
Sinclair could only stare at Neroon, flabbergasted. The warrior Satai had done an almost complete about-face from his earlier position, and he was being completely honest about it. Sinclair hadn't expected Neroon to admit that he was wrong; but then, the Star Rider did tend to be bluntly honest.
"Thank you," he said slowly, unsure exactly how to react. "I-I'm not really sure what to say, Satai Neroon," he added slowly.
To his surprise, a faint smile crossed Neroon's face. "I believe it was one of your people who said it was wiser to be silent and thought a fool, than to open your mouth and prove it."
Sinclair chuckled at that. "I believe it was," he replied, a grin crossing his own face. "In that case, I believe I will keep silent."
Neroon's smile widened slightly in response.
Then both men turned toward the door as it opened and Shai Alyt Kozorr entered, followed by a younger warrior also wearing the garb of a Star Rider.
The two warriors bowed to Satai Neroon, and then Kozorr turned to Sinclair. "Entil'Zha, I would like to introduce you to another of the members of your guard. This is Zhedarr from the Anla'shok, presently of the Star Rider clan. Zhedarr," the Shai Alyt motioned to the younger warrior, "this is Entil'Zha."
"Entil'Zha," Zhedarr said, bowing low; and Sinclair had to restrain himself from sighing in frustration as he saw the awed look in the young warrior's eyes. He was getting more and more tired of that look.
As the warrior straightened back up, Sinclair bowed back to him. "It is an honour to meet you, Zhedarr," he said, speaking - as they had - in the warrior caste dialect.
Neroon stepped forward. "I will leave you to get acquainted with your guards," he declared. "I am certain that if you have any questions, Kozorr, Sech Durhan, or Sech Turval can help you with them. Until later," he added, inclined his head, and strode out the door.
"Well..." Sinclair muttered to himself, and then looked at the two warriors facing him. "Have quarters been arranged for you as yet?" he inquired. "If not, let's deal with that first..."
Sinclair lay back in bed and rubbed his forehead, trying to get rid of his nagging headache. It had been a very long day: the meeting with Satai Neroon; meeting his guards - Aliann, Tyrsan and Ethlorr, the other three, had been just as awed on first meeting as Zhedarr; arranging quarters for them; and learning that from now on, any time he left the compound at Tuzanor, he'd be shadowed by them...
At that thought, the pain in his head began to increase in intensity. He did not want guards around him every time he went anywhere - they'd be a nuisance. But from what he could gather, he didn't exactly have a choice.
He sighed softly. It was going to be a good while before he got adjusted to the presence of the warriors.
He shifted, uncomfortable in the empty bed, and felt a phantom pain in his cheek add to the pain of his headache. He raised one hand and brushed it against the scar, and felt tears start to trickle down his cheeks.
Twisting around, he buried his face in the pillow, and let the tears flow as they would.