“You need some spies to work for you,” offered Queen Alycia.
King Avalar turned and looked at his wife curiously. Slowly, a smile spread across his face.
“How are the magic lessons going with Alahara and Alastasia?” he asked Garl.
“They are exceptional students,” replied Garl. “I only wish that I had more time to offer them.”
“And how do most of the mages in the society feel about the miraculous return of the lost princesses?” quizzed the king.
“There were many questions at first,” answered Garl. “I finally posted Kieran’s prophecies for everyone to read. That answered most of the questions. No one doubts their validity, if that is what you are asking.”
“Not exactly the question I had in mind,” smiled the king. “I have a proposal for the Head of the Society of Mages.”
“Your proposals are always welcome,” Garl replied. “What would you have me do?”
“Accept Princess Alahara and Princess Anastasia into the Society of Mages,” answered the king.
“Into the Society of Mages?” echoed Garl. “They are extremely talented, but this is most irregular. They have the potential to be great mages, but they are inexperienced. They would be ostracized by the other mages. That would be nothing but trouble for the royal family. You do not need that stress at this time. When they have proved they have the proper experience and knowledge, it will be my pleasure to induct them into the Society of Mages.”
“I want the princesses to learn as much magic as they can absorb,” stated the king. “Your time is limited with the reorganization of the Society of Mages. There is no reason that they should not have access to a multitude of teachers.”
“The Society of Mages is not an educational institute,” retorted Garl. “Avalar, you know that I support you in everything you do, but this is destroying a unique organization that dates back to the days of Kieran. I cannot do such a thing.”
“Why are we discussing this now?” asked Queen Alycia. “Is not the mood of the Council of Elders more important? Why get off on a tangent regarding our daughters?”
“Because our daughters have a wealth of experience in discovering the true nature of others,” explained the king. “While they are learning magic from the country’s greatest mages, they will also be learning exactly who these mages are and where they stand. It is a task that Garl cannot accomplish by himself. It is a perfect solution to a complex problem.”
“I see where you are going with this,” nodded Garl. “Each and every point you make is valid. Your daughters have an uncanny sense regarding the nature of people. They instinctively know whom they can trust and whom they cannot. It is so pronounced that I often think of studying it to see if their abilities are magical in nature. Of course, that study is not something that I wish to do at the moment. My task list is full enough now with the reorganization of the Society of Mages.”
“Your plan is brilliant,” Queen Alycia smiled at her husband.
“Brilliant from a logical standpoint,” conceded Garl, “but they are still not eligible for membership in the Society of Mages. They must become accomplished mages first. Then they can apply for membership.”
“But you are currently reorganizing the Society of Mages,” grinned Alycia. “What better time in history to initiate a new type of membership?”
“New type of membership?” frowned Garl.
“Precisely,” Avalar nodded vigorously. “Call it a junior membership if you will, but create a new level of membership for promising students. Propose the idea to the members of the Society of Mages as a way to cultivate future members. Do not mention the princesses by name, but make the proposal generic for all young mages who show exceptional promise.”
“Hmm,” murmured Garl as he rolled the idea around in his head. “Many of the members of the Society of Magic would love to have young students that they can strut before, but I fear that they would tire of the obligation to teach after a while.”
“Make the teaching part of it voluntary,” suggested the king. “Let the members strut and pump up their pride. I would wager that Alahara and Alastasia will convince enough of the mages to tutor them. You should not underestimate my daughters, Garl.”
“I do not underestimate them,” grinned Garl. “They think much like their father and have their mother’s beauty. I will propose your idea to the Society of Mages. I will set a small number for potential junior members, no more than six from the whole country. I will leave the nominating up to the members, so you may need to flex some muscle to get the princesses nominated.”
“I will not be obvious about promoting my daughters for membership,” promised the king, “but I will make sure that their names are on the tips of the tongues of some of your members.”
“Then we have a plan,” smiled Queen Alycia.
“We have a plan,” nodded Garl. “I will propose the junior memberships this afternoon.”
Chapter 4
For God and Country
In southwestern Khadora along the Macara River, two rows of soldiers lined the long road leading to the Rican clan estate. The silver accents of their forest green uniforms glistened in the morning sunlight. Lord Padro, lord of the Rican clan, waited for his guests to arrive on the porch of the estate mansion. His mind wandered as he rehearsed the plan that he would present to the other lords.
Eventually, brilliant streaks of sunlight alerted the lord to movement near the road that ran past the estate. Lord Rican’s eyes rose to see the reflections from the polished pikes of the soldiers nearest the main road. The two rows of soldiers stiffened as a small army turned off the main road onto the smaller road leading to the mansion. Lord Rican nodded in confirmation as he recognized the blue and black colors of the Seth clan.
Turning to the marshal beside him, Lord Rican spoke, “Lord Sydar and the Seth have arrived. Make sure that their host squad is well prepared to accept them.”
“They are prepared,” assured Marshal Juan as he waved a signal to one of the squads stationed nearby.
Twenty Rican soldiers immediately straightened and moved to stand before the estate mansion. Their task would be to host the visiting delegation from the Seth clan. In peaceful times, this duty was considered an honor, but in Khadoran history, few times have ever been truly peaceful, and those few times seldom lasted long. The host soldiers were meant to ensure that the visiting soldiers were carefully watched during their brief stay.
Lord Padro looked up with surprise as he noticed a change of color near the main road. The blue and black uniforms suddenly gave way to uniforms of red and white.
“Lord Woroman and the Disina clan are here as well,” he stated to the marshal. “They must have traveled here together.”
“Does that surprise you?” asked Marshal Juan as he signaled the other host squad to get ready.
“In a way it does,” admitted the Rican lord. “Lord Sydar and Lord Woroman are neighbors, but they have never been particularly fond of each other. The fact that they are arriving together means that they have already discussed the reason for their trip here today.”
“And yet they still came,” remarked the marshal. “That bodes well for your plan.”
The Rican lord pondered silently for several moments before nodding, “It does indeed. If my plan did not have merit, neither one of them would have showed up. This will be an historic day.”
Within moments Lord Sydar reached the steps of the mansion. The host squad efficiently held the horses while the visitors dismounted. Lord Sydar climbed the steps of the mansion without an escort. Lord Rican smiled broadly at the gesture.
“Welcome to my home,” smiled Lord Padro. “I see that Lord Woroman is right behind you. Shall we wait for him?”
“We shall,” nodded Lord Sydar.
The Khadoran lords waited in silence as the first host squad ushered off the horses and escorted the Seth soldiers to an area where they could relax and eat. Rican servants hurried to groom and feed the horses
and bring food and drink for the visiting soldiers.
By the time the Seth soldiers had left the steps of the mansion, Lord Woroman and his Disina escort had arrived. Their host squad also acted efficiently, and soon Lord Woroman had also climbed the small flight of steps without an escort. Lord Padro smiled and greeted the second lord and then led his two guests to the meeting room.
“I take it from your arrival together,” opened Lord Padro, “that you two have already discussed my proposal?”
“To some degree,” confirmed Lord Sydar. “While we concur that our new emperor is leading us down a dangerous path, we do not see the benefit of trying to fight him.”
“Yet you came anyway?” questioned Lord Padro.
“We will give you the opportunity to explain the benefits to us,” answered Lord Woroman.
“We agree that the Chula are our enemy,” interjected Lord Sydar. “You will get no argument from us about that, but to go against the emperor is extremely dangerous. It is said that he has unique ways of dealing with those who get in his way.”
“The point is, Lord Padro,” added Lord Woroman, “we are not prepared to stick our necks out for the chopping block.”
“Are you prepared to accept the Chula as your equals?” retorted Lord Padro. “Are you willing to bow before their radical god, Kaltara? Are you willing to cede land to the savages? Land that is rightfully yours to conquer?”
“If we were,” sighed Lord Sydar, “would we be here?”
“We are willing to listen to your plan, Lord Padro,” interjected Lord Woroman. “That is why we are here. Show us how we can fight these reforms, and you will have cohorts.”
“Provided that your plan does not cost us our lives or estates,” added Lord Sydar.
“Fair enough,” nodded Lord Padro. “Please, sit.”
The three lords sat at one end of the long table in the meeting room. Servants brought in refreshments, and the lords discussed trivial matters until the servants had left.
“Emperor Marak is well known for unique ways of quieting dissent,” Lord Padro began, “as one of you said earlier, but he is also determined to rule according to the law. I believe that is his weakness. As long as we stay within the bounds of the law, he will be frustrated in his attempts to squash our dissent.”
“What can we do in a legal sense?” asked Lord Sydar. “The emperor has made it law that the Chula are to be regarded as allies. He has made it law that our armies must report to Khadoratung for training. He has made it law that our estate borders are frozen in place. What is the sense of ruling a clan these days when all of the decisions are handed down by Khadoratung?”
“You bring up interesting points,” conceded Lord Padro. “Allow me to address them. I think we should graciously accept the training offered by the emperor. It costs us nothing, and it teaches our army the methods of our potential adversary. I see the training as a plus.”
“But our officers are becoming influenced by those who train them,” objected Lord Sydar.
“Not just the officers,” Lord Woroman shook his head. “Even the ordinary soldiers come back from Khadoratung singing the praises of their teachers. For our armies to be efficient, they must not look upon our enemies with favor.”
“Soldiers are impressionable,” shrugged Lord Padro. “Their minds can be conditioned just as easily as the minds of servants. I am sure that we can find troops loyal to us that will visit each other’s estates and tell tales of how bad the trainers in Khadoratung really are. Peppered with enough truth to be believable, they can spread horror stories of the inadequacies of the trainers. Besides, our goal is not necessarily to fight the rest of the Khadoran clans. It is to change the foolish laws that this new emperor has foisted upon us. Perhaps we can even be successful in removing the emperor so he cannot cause any more harm to our clans.”
“What about the Chula?” asked Lord Sydar.
“Ah, yes,” Lord Padro nodded thoughtfully. “A particularly sticky point for those us who share borders with the barbarians. The law says that the Chula are now allies of Khadora. So what? Have none of us ever had war with allies before? If an ally attacks you, are you not justified in attacking back? And could anyone really expect a victorious clan not to annex those conquered lands into his own estate? If the Chula attack us, they will be the ones who broke the law, not us.”
“So attacking the Chula is not really out of the question,” summarized Lord Woroman. “We just have to make it look like the Chula started it.”
“Precisely,” smiled Lord Padro, “but let us not dwell so much on the warfare aspect of this struggle. Our goal is to return Khadora to the way it used to be. That means removing Marak or making it so his power is ineffectual. I think we can accomplish this through the Assembly of Lords.”
“You mean to debate it?” Lord Sydar asked with shock. “The first lord to stand before that body and criticize the emperor will be branded as a renegade. It would be safer to just handle things here on our own.”
“I disagree with your last statement,” Lord Padro shook his head. “I have laid out ways to get around the laws, but if we merely disregard the laws as things are now, Marak will concentrate his efforts on us. I do not want that kind of attention. You said that the first lord to criticize the government would draw the wrath of the emperor. I think you are positively correct in that assumption.”
“You are contradicting yourself,” frowned Lord Sydar. “Either way we draw attention to ourselves, but you still propose doing it through the Assembly of Lords?”
“In a fashion,” grinned Lord Padro. “I think we should band together and fight this through the Assembly of Lords, but I did not say that we should be the first to bring the issue up.”
“I am confused,” sighed Lord Woroman. “Explain what your plan is.”
“I propose to have a clan start a discussion about the unfairness of these new laws,” explained Lord Padro. “It will not be one of us who starts it, but as soon as it is started, we will immediately join the chorus of those protesting. Once that discussion is fully engaged, there will already be enough doubt about the validity of the new laws. Should one of us, or another clan, then be attacked by the Chula, who then can blame the ensuing fight on us?”
“I see where you are going with this,” Lord Sydar nodded with appreciation, “but what clan would be foolish enough to be the first to speak before the Assembly of Lords?”
“I can think of four clans that would be prime candidates for such a plan,” smiled Lord Padro. “The Vessi, Glamaraldi, Lejune, and Pikata clans come to mind.”
“The four clans that hosted the Jiadin warriors?” asked Lord Woroman.
“Exactly,” nodded Lord Padro. “Of course as soon as they speak, many will write them off as being sore losers in their battle with Emperor Marak, but if we immediately jump in and agree with their complaint before the bickering begins, the complaints will appear to be valid.”
“You have given this a lot of thought,” complimented Lord Sydar. “Seven clans from opposite ends of the country banding together to voice complaints that may very well be common to many other clans. It just might work.”
“Especially if we can get others to jump in with us,” added Lord Padro. “We should not speak loudly about this plan to others just yet, but we should visit with other lords to see where their feelings lie. When it comes time to spring the attack, we will know which lords are likely to support us. We can prime those individual lords to quickly step in and support the complaints.”
“How do we do that without revealing the plan?” asked Lord Woroman.
“Talk to other lords,” suggested Lord Padro. “Just casual conversation at first until you learn where their sympathies lie. If they seem like they might be supportive, mention that you would consider voting against these laws if you ever had the chance. See what their reactions are. We do not need to actually speak of this particular plan to anyone. We just need to get other lords to promise to vote against the laws if given the
chance. Leave the rest to me.”
“What will you do?” asked Lord Sydar.
“I am going to journey to the four clans that we talked about,” answered Lord Padro. “It will be just a neighborly visit to see if they need any help getting their estates back in order. Once I am invited in, I will sew the seeds of dissent and arrange for one of them to ignite the spark.”
* * *
The Imperial Guard marched along the corridor and halted in front of the guards outside the entrance to the Emperor’s suite. The two guards nodded perfunctorily and opened the door. The Imperial Guard marched into the office and halted in front of the Emperor’s desk. Emperor Marak looked up and smiled.
“How do you get away with impersonating an Imperial Guard?” asked the Emperor.
“Marshal Chack and I have come to an understanding,” grinned Fisher. “If he allows me to wear the uniform of an Imperial Guard, I promise not to assassinate any more emperors.”
“Well, that is a relief,” chuckled Marak. “What do you have to report?”
“I am concerned about the Island of Darkness,” admitted the spy. “Now that we know that Aakuta is the one who has been communicating with us, we can have a fair amount of confidence in the reports. The problem is, he has not been communicating since the rescue of the elf king.”
“Do you think he was killed by Vand?” asked the Emperor.
“No,” Fisher shook his head, “at least not yet. After a long period of silence, he finally did communicate recently. He had little to say except for apologizing for his absence. He also set up a keyword as verification that the communication is from him. That concerns me greatly.”
“Why?’ questioned the Torak.
“Because it indicates that he is in some kind of trouble,” explained Fisher. “I tried to put myself in his position to better understand his lack of communications and his recent message.”
“And what conclusions did you come to?” prompted the Emperor.
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