“My heart is broken,” cried Lady Mystic, “and you cannot heal it. Go away and leave me alone. Please, go away.”
Xavo stared at the woman. He knew Lady Mystic to be an extremely powerful mage, yet this woman had no resemblance to Vand’s daughter. Her faced carried the stains of a thousand tears, and her eyes were the eyes of the dead. They stared right through you. Her lips quivered in fear, and her legs didn’t have the strength to hold her body upright.
Xavo removed his pack and dropped it on the beach. He sat down next to Lady Mystic and lifted her up until her head rested on his lap. She did not fight or waste her breath by telling him to leave. He reached for the pack and drew it nearer to him. He reached into the pack and withdrew a potion. Bringing the bottle to her lips, he made her sip some of the liquid. Lady Mystic moaned unintelligibly.
Xavo brushed the sand from her face and made her sip some more of the potion. When he had succeeded in getting half the bottle of potion into her body, life began to return to Lady Mystic. Her breathing became regular instead of ragged. Her eyes seemed to be able to focus as she stared up at Xavo’s face.
“Why are you doing this?” she asked
“You need someone to do it,” Xavo shrugged. “Why shouldn’t I be the one?”
“Why should you be the one?” Lady Mystic persisted. “You are the most pompous self-absorbed person that I know. What do you want? What will this act of kindness cost me?”
“I am self-absorbed,” admitted Xavo as he fished in his pack. “I always have been, but who isn’t? One does not have friends on this island; one has competitors. Here, eat this orange. It will do wonders for you.”
Lady Mystic grabbed the orange and began devouring it as if she had not eaten for days, which she had not.
“You didn’t answer my question,” Lady Mystic pointed out. “What do you want with me, and what will it cost me?”
“What I want is some information,” smiled Xavo, “and it will cost you nothing.”
“I knew you wanted something,” huffed Lady Mystic.
“Of course I do,” admitted Xavo. “I never said that I didn’t want something, but I am glad that I came even if you refuse to help me. You would not have lasted much longer.”
“And what would that matter to you?” scowled Lady Mystic.
“Oh,” shrugged Xavo, “I would survive, but I would miss you. You are probably not aware of it, but I have always admired you. In fact, you are the only person on this island that I have admired.”
“Clova chips,” Lady Mystic shook her head. “You have never admired anyone except yourself.”
“Almost true,” smiled Xavo. “What I admired in you were the characteristics that many see in me. You are also self-absorbed and pompous, as you so aptly labeled me a few moments ago. Of course your reasons for being so smug were not only your skill and power, but also the fact that you were Vand’s daughter. I could never compete with that. Yet most people viewed us in the same light. That is why I admired you.”
Lady Mystic frowned as she thought about Xavo’s words. There was a ring of truth in what he was saying, although she had never recognized those traits in herself before, perhaps because she had never honestly examined herself. She began to understand Xavo in a way that had never dawned on her before.
“What is it that you came to me for?” Lady Mystic asked calmly.
“I have been promoted,” declared Xavo. “Vand has named me as one of his disciples. My problem is that I have no idea how to behave as a disciple, and I don’t want to appear foolish by asking someone. I was hoping that you could enlighten me.”
“And you are not afraid of appearing foolish to me?” questioned Vand’s daughter.
“No,” Xavo shook his head. “You are nobody now. You have no standing in Vand’s organization.”
“Brutally truthful,” smiled Lady Mystic. “I like that. That is another characteristic that we share. Am I to assume that your promotion is a reward for killing Aakuta?”
“It is,” nodded Xavo. “Vand was extremely pleased.”
“I can imagine,” spat Lady Mystic. “I will find a way to repay my father for that.”
“Did you really love Aakuta?” asked Xavo. “I mean, I know that you think you did, but you truly did betray him twice. I have a hard time reconciling that.”
Lady Mystic turned from Xavo’s face and stared at the sand for several moments before answering.
“I truly did love him,” she said softly. “My problem is that I truly loved my father as well, yet they were starkly at odds with one another. Twice I made what I thought was the best choice. Twice I was wrong. I wish I could have those chances back.”
“Would you truly do anything different?” asked Xavo. “Sometimes we paint a picture of ourselves that is much too rosy.”
“I understand what you are saying,” nodded Lady Mystic, “but of this I am sure. It took me far too long to realize what an animal my father is.”
“Careful,” warned Xavo. “Words of that nature will bring harm upon you. I will forget that I heard them, but you must not repeat them to others.”
“I no longer care,” shrugged Lady Mystic. “Vand has already taken my life from me. He can do no more damage to me. He had better kill me quickly, because I will most certainly kill him if I get the chance.”
Xavo inhaled deeply and swallowed nervously. He shook his head and stared at Lady Mystic.
“I would prefer that you do not say such things,” Xavo said softly. “You may be without status, but I still admire your courage and skill. I am not ready to see you die.”
“Forget it,” Lady Mystic said brusquely as she sat and moved away from Xavo. “Let me tell you what you have come to learn. By the time you leave this beach, you will know all there is about being a Disciple of Vand.”
Chapter 15
War Plans
The large room in the Imperial Palace in Okata was awash in uniforms. General Didyk spread a large map out on a long table, and all of the generals crowded around it. Lyra and StarWind moved through the crowd to stand at the Didyk’s side.
“We had thought that Duran and Zaramilden would be fairly safe from attack because of their remote locations,” Didyk began. “We could not have been more wrong as the devastating attack on Duran shows. On the face of it, the attack on Duran makes no sense from a strategic standpoint, but I suspect that Emperor Marak is quite correct in his assessment. I think Duran was attacked to gauge our response to it.”
“More likely,” interjected General Papper, “it was to test the Khadoran response. Khadora has what might pass as a navy, while Sakovan vessels are mostly fishing boats.”
“Emperor Marak has made quite a show of moving large armies to our border,” declared the Star of Sakova. “It would be impossible for Vand’s spies to have missed it.”
“Yes,” nodded General Papper, “but did he move his fleet? I suspect that Vand’s generals are more concerned with naval battles because their forces will be most vulnerable at that time. If each of those ships carries a thousand men, lost ships will have a large impact on the army that lands on our shores.”
“Not only is it a worry about losses at sea,” interrupted General Smythe, “but reconnaissance as well. The boy from Duran who survived the attack mentioned six large ships that participated in the attack. Those ships were able to successfully cross the ocean, conduct a full-scale attack on a city and depart without us knowing about it. Had the boy not survived, we might still not know about it.”
“So Vand knows that we are not effectively patrolling the sea,” nodded StarWind.
“At least we weren’t at the time of the attack on Duran,” nodded General Didyk. “I think General Papper is onto something, though. If Emperor Marak did not also move his fleet as well as his armies, Vand will know that we do not intend to interdict his ships when he crosses the ocean. I would prefer that he be a little nervous about sailing to our shores.”
“What are you suggesting?” asked General Smyt
he. “Are you saying that we should attempt to make him believe he will have trouble sailing here, although we do not really plan any attacks at sea?”
“I want Vand to have as little knowledge about our plans as possible,” shrugged General Didyk. “We do not have a navy, and it is clear from Marak’s response that he does not plan to use what he has. Therefore, we should make Vand think that he will face a sea battle getting here.”
“And how do you propose that we do that?” asked General Smythe. “You just got finished telling us that we have no navy. Should we send our fishing boats out to sea until Vand’s ships give chase? How do we make Vand think he will suffer a sea battle?”
Lyra held up her hand for quiet as she turned and gazed at General Didyk. “Are you of the opinion that the Khadorans will offer no resistance at sea when the invasion comes?” she asked.
“Judging by Emperor Marak’s response, yes,” nodded General Didyk. “I suspect that when Marak decided to execute a fake response to fool the Khadoran spies, he never even thought about a naval response. If I was one of Vand’s spies, that is what I would have learned from the Khadoran response.”
“And what would you have believed if you knew for a fact that Emperor Marak did consider a naval response?” asked Lyra.
General Didyk frowned and stared at the map for a moment. “If I knew that as fact,” mused the general, “I would detail spies to keep a very close watch on his ships. It could be possible that Marak was intentionally trying to deceive me, or that his ships were not in a position to respond. If the second option is closer to the truth, I would want to know where his ships had been, and what they had been doing at the time.”
“Interesting,” mused Lyra as she wondered how close Didyk’s thinking was to the Motangan generals’ thoughts. She knew that Marak did indeed plan a naval response, but she was not going to share that information with anyone. It was one of Marak’s most closely guarded secrets.
“I have the feeling that there is something that you are not sharing with us,” frowned General Papper. “Will there be a naval response to the invasion?”
“As it has already been said,” shrugged the Star of Sakova, “we have no navy. If there is to be any naval response, Emperor Marak will have to initiate it. I am just curious how a trained military mind deciphers the clues of the enemy. You have made me rather curious where Marak’s ships were at the time that he marched his armies across Khadora.”
“They were on the western coast,” answered StarWind. “They were used to ferry the armies back to Khadoratung after their long march southward.”
“And as that was a covert operation,” nodded General Didyk, “I suspect that Vand’s spies did not know that. So Marak did think of the naval option, but was unable to use his ships in two places at the same time. That information should not leave this room. Let us keep Vand guessing.”
“Marak can not hide his ships from the spies,” interjected StarWind. “They may not know the comings and goings of the ships, but which coast of the country they are on is fairly obvious to anyone watching.”
“He could take them over the horizon,” suggested General Smythe. “Unless a spy took a boat out of port, he would not be certain of their location.”
“True,” nodded StarWind, “but what I meant is that those ships had to enter the port of Khadoratung to unload the armies. Even if it was done under the cover of darkness, they were seen. I could well imagine that Khadoratung is crawling with spies. Anyone who knows the extent of Marak’s fleet could easily ascertain that all of his ships were on the western coast at the time.”
“Ah,” nodded General Smythe. “I see what you are saying. It is a long way around the landmass, especially from the Khadoran capital.”
“Where is Vand likely to strike next?” asked Lyra as she wished to move the conversation away from the naval response.
“The two cities at the greatest danger are Zaramilden and Alamar,” declared General Didyk. “Alamar, if he decides to concentrate his forces on us, and Zaramilden, if he is aiming at Khadora.”
“Why bother with Zaramilden if he is going to land in Khadora?” asked General Papper. “His men would have to cross the Kalatung Mountains. That makes no sense.”
“I don’t think he would unload his forces at Zaramilden,” explained General Didyk, “but he would destroy the city so that there was no force on his flank when he attacked Raven’s Point. He might even make another prewar run to take Zaramilden off the map before the real invasion. It is not a city that he needs to conquer as it leads to nowhere, but he cannot afford to spare it either. As Papper pointed out earlier, his forces are vulnerable at sea. He cannot bypass Zaramilden without destroying it, at least not if he is attacking Khadora. If he attacks us, Zaramilden could be spared. It is much too far from Alamar to matter to him.”
“And if we evacuated Zaramilden before the invasion?” asked Lyra. “What would that tell Vand?”
“Evacuate the whole city?” balked General Didyk. “What would you do with the people?”
“What would it tell Vand?” repeated Lyra.
“I am not sure,” shrugged General Didyk. “It might tell him that we expect him to strike at Khadora, or it might tell him that we are not interested in defending it. I can’t be sure.”
“Anyone?” asked Lyra as her head turned to gaze upon the generals in the room.
“If Vand knows anything about you,” offered General Manitow, “it would tell him that you are concerned for the people’s lives. Nothing more.”
“Good,” Lyra nodded and smiled at the general from Alamar. “That is what I was hoping to hear. Zaramilden will be evacuated immediately. Half of the people will be relocated to Gatong, and the other half will go to Fortung. Any problems with that?”
“We will make room for them in Gatong,” answered General Papper.
“Fortung will be ready for them also,” agreed General Smythe. “Will it be done by ship or overland through the Sakova?”
“Those that can travel the distance will be moved overland,” declared Lyra. “The old and infirm will be taken by ship. General Manitow, I would like you to organize those going by ship. Alamar is the closest port.”
General Manitow nodded.
“People from StarCity will organize the overland portion of the trip,” Lyra continued.
“I can send people out to meet them halfway,” offered General Papper. “I know that your people are busy with the harvest. The less time they spend away from StarCity, the better.”
“Thank you, Papper,” smiled Lyra. “That is quite acceptable.”
“What about Alamar?” asked General Didyk. “If Vand’s armies plan on coming to the Sakova, Alamar must be attacked. He has no option on that. How do we plan a defense?”
“That is the crucial question, isn’t it?” frowned Lyra. “I agree that Alamar will be attacked first. In fact, I fully expect Vand’s armies to start at Alamar and work their way around the coast all the way to Gatong.”
“Why around the coast?” asked General Kapla. “He does not know the superstitions of the Sakova. Isn’t he likely to blaze a path across the center of the country?”
“I don’t think so,” answered Lyra. “The Omungans certainly did not when they attacked a thousand years ago, and they were coming from the same island.”
“How could you possibly know that?” frowned General Didyk. “This is not the time for making assumptions.”
“I agree, General Didyk,” smiled Lyra. “I saw the Omungans attack the Sakovans.”
Murmurs spread through the room as the assembled generals looked at the Star of Sakova in disbelief. She laughed softly and shook her head before responding.
“My relationship with Kaltara is rather unique,” Lyra stated. “When I became the Star of Sakova, I was a young Omungan student. I knew nothing of the Sakovan people. I asked Kaltara for guidance, and he gave it. I had a series of visions that showed me the complete history of the Sakovan people. The images flashed by quicker
than I could comprehend them, but they became memories to me. I actually witnessed the attacks and the subsequent slaughters. The Omungan invaders started near Alamar and worked their way around the coast in a circle. When the coast was secured, they turned inland. Fortunately, they never completed their task.”
The room was completely silent for several moments before General Didyk spoke. “No wonder you hate the Omungans so much,” he said. “To have to witness such death and destruction, it makes me ashamed of my ancestors.”
“They were my ancestors, too,” Lyra replied, “and I do not hate Omungans. I was one. What I hated about Omunga was the manipulation of the people for the satisfaction of a few. Besides, none of us are guilty for what our ancestors did. We are responsible for what we have done, and even then Kaltara offers forgiveness to those who seek it.”
Again the room fell silent for several moments.
“Can we count on Vand attacking in the same manner?” asked General Manitow. “That is taking quite a gamble with many lives.”
“That is true,” frowned Lyra, “but we must have a plan, even if we decide to change it later. For now let’s assume that he will attack in the same manner that the Omungans did.”
“Then the heart of the Sakova becomes our sanctuary,” General Smythe pointed out. “That is why you are stockpiling food in StarCity?”
“That is one reason,” nodded Lyra. “The other reason is that StarCity is central to all locations. It is an ideal distribution point.”
“If we mass our armies at Alamar,” posed General Didyk, “and Vand learns of it, he might be tempted to encircle us there.”
“There is a risk of that,” nodded StarWind, “but it can be minimized. The armies can be kept out of sight. If the bulk of the armies are located in the Sakova, we will have no fear of spies. We will allow no one in and no one out. Food and supplies will be delivered from StarCity.”
“And how will we get our troops into Alamar in time to do us any good?” asked General Kapla.
“By delaying the landing of their ships,” answered Lyra. “I don’t want to go into that just now, but we are developing a plan to stall their invasion as their ships near the coast. The real question is what do we do if they overpower us at Alamar?”
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