“Tsk, tsk,” smiled Lady Mystic. “Your manners could use some improvement, Shamal. You are correct about my removal from the temple, but you forget that I am Vand’s daughter. A father’s ire does not last forever. Are you really so anxious for me to list you as one of those who was rude to me when I was temporarily in disfavor?”
“I do not think that was what Premer Shamal was inferring,” Premer Cardijja quickly came to his friend’s defense. “You know that appearances in Vandamar are always important. While your disfavor might be temporary, the Emperor would frown upon our friendliness to you at this time.”
“I do understand,” smiled Lady Mystic. “It is a game that we all must play at one time or another. I will admit that it is punishing to be outcast as I have been. I think I have learned my lesson well these past few weeks. I shall never make my father angry again, and I understand your caution as well. I will just walk with you to the docks to await your ships. That will not be sufficient to activate my father’s rage.”
The premers nodded glumly and allowed Lady Mystic to walk with them. There was little to be gained by ostracizing her when she might well stand alongside Vand once again.
“This is an exciting time to be alive,” Lady Mystic said cheerily to Cardijja. “We are finally taking the war to the infidels. I would love to be on one of those ships, but father fears for my safety. As if I couldn’t take care of myself,” she added with a chuckle.
“You would make a fine addition to the mages,” smiled Premer Cardijja, “but you would have more fun with Shamal’s armies. I am afraid there will be little of interest for mages in Fakara. The savages have abandoned all of the cities. There is nothing but dusty plains left.”
“That does sound boring,” frowned Lady Mystic. “That is not my idea of a fun war. I envision more of a ruthless battle against enemy mages, where the might and power of the Motangans sends the enemies running in fear.”
“You do have quite an imagination,” chuckled Premer Shamal. “Seriously though, reports talk a lot about Khadora’s newfound use of mages. I am slightly concerned about what might be waiting for us there. The Chula are one mystery that we have been unable to get any information on. They are cause for concern.”
“Perhaps the Chula will not align with the Khadorans,” shrugged Lady Mystic.
“Perhaps,” agreed Shamal, “but I must plan as if they will. Maybe Clarvoy will find out on his trip to Khadoratung. I have asked specifically for information about the defenses that I will run into. Without that knowledge, we are going to be fighting blind, and that is not the way to fight a war.”
“Clarvoy will discover their secrets,” Lady Mystic assured the premers. “There is no one finer at his craft in the entire world. Perhaps I will come to Sudamar next week for a visit, Shamal. I would like to talk to your mages about being included in the invasion. Their recommendation along with yours would do a lot to influence my father. I would like to fight in Khadora.”
Premer Shamal stopped walking and turned to face Lady Mystic. He frowned and shook his head.
“I do not wish to be rude, Lady Mystic,” the premer from Sudamar said, “but I have probably already revealed more than I should have. Were you not the Emperor’s daughter, I would fear that I had made a treasonous mistake. Do not bother to come to Sudamar. There will be no time to impress my mages with your talents. Stay here and earn your way back into your father’s grace.”
Premer Shamal turned abruptly and walked off. Lady Mystic’s mouth opened wide in a feigned display of shock at the treatment afforded her by Shamal.
“Do not take it personally,” Premer Cardijja said consolingly. “Shamal is under a great deal of pressure, as we all are. The fact is, our fleets will be long gone by next week. If you truly wanted to fight, you should have made your case some time ago. Our ships will be loaded tonight. Forgive Shamal for his rudeness.”
“I shall,” smiled Lady Mystic. “I know that you two are good friends, and I would not want anything disparaging said about either of you. You have both served my father well. Good luck on your voyage to Fakara. I hope Vand has given you the tools required to assure victory.”
“Three hundred thousand of them,” grinned Cardijja. “Fakara will be ours within the week.”
Lady Mystic waved as the premer walked towards the ship that would return him to Eldamar. As soon as he was onboard, she turned and hurried to the jungle clearing.
* * *
General Manitow stood on the roof of the Imperial Guard headquarters in Alamar. He gazed down at the ruined city and shook his head. The harbor was full of sunken ships and floating bodies. The beach was stained with blood, and the first two blocks of buildings were totally leveled to smoking piles of rubble. The Motangan soldiers were streaming onto the shore, abandoning their hundreds of small boats to float upon the water like flotsam.
There was fighting in every sector of the city, including around the Imperial Guard headquarters, and yet the Motangan catapults still rained fire upon the city. Alamar was officially lost.
“Get me updates on General Addley and General Romero,” Manitow snapped to his mages, “and prepare to sound the alarm to retreat.”
“General Addley reports inflicting heavy casualties on the Motangans,” answered one of the mages, “but he seeks permission to withdraw. The battle will soon be a test of numbers, and that is one that he cannot win.”
“General Romero is already retreating,” declared another mage. “He said that the Motangans landed before his men were in position.”
General Manitow cursed under his breath. “Tell Addley to withdraw,” he snapped, “and sound our own retreat. We cannot stand any longer with a flank exposed. It is time to leave Alamar to the victors.”
General Manitow gazed once more at the harbor as he waited for the mages to prepare to leave. Some of the empty ships that had been using their catapults to pound the city were moving out of the harbor to make way for ships filled with troops. Suddenly, a catapult load smashed into the roof of the building. The general and the mages were thrown to the floor of the roof as a whole section of the building collapsed. The general rose and surveyed the damage.
“You have to leave now,” shouted SilverEdge as he appeared on the roof. “We cannot hold this building any longer. There are just too many of them.”
SilverEdge was a huge Sakovan from StarCity. No one matched him in size or strength except for Goral, who was even larger and stronger. General Manitow nodded as he helped the mages to their feet.
“Head out the back,” shouted SilverEdge. “We will delay the Motangans out front for as long as we can, but I urge you to hurry.”
SilverEdge did not wait for a reply. He raced down the steps and out the front door. In the street in front of the Imperial Guard headquarters, a small band of Sakovans were battling the Motangans, buying time for the mages and the general to escape. Two streets intersected in front of the building, creating three possible approaches that had to be protected. HawkShadow and SkyDancer blocked the street to the north, while StormSong and DarkBlade blocked the south. Goral stood alone facing east, and SilverEdge rushed to join him.
“Just in time,” Goral said to his partner. “Here they come again.”
The Motangans rushed the eastern approach first, and the two giants started swinging their long two-handed swords. Goral’s first swing cut a Motangan soldier in two, while SilverEdge decapitated a man. Seconds later shouting red-clad soldiers rounded a corner and came running towards HawkShadow and SkyDancer. The two Sakovans danced lightly on their feet as they swung at the enemy. As if choreographed, the couple worked their way along the street killing Motangans with every swing. Whenever one’s back was exposed, the other covered it.
“Bring it back, HawkShadow,” shouted StormSong as Motangans charged the southern position. “We also have company.”
HawkShadow issued a curt command to SkyDancer, and the duo broke contact and ran back to their original positions before spinning around and reenga
ging the enemy that had followed them.
StormSong and DarkBlade performed no dance for the Motangans. They stood their ground and used their strength to slay the charging enemies. Many of the Motangans, surprised to see a female fighting, mistook StormSong for an easy opponent. The truth killed them, as the female Sakovan slashed into their ranks.
Motangan body parts piled up in front of the two giants as Goral and SilverEdge held their ground. Goral turned for a quick glance at the roof of the Imperial Guard headquarters and saw that it was empty.
“We are through here,” he shouted as he severed a Motangan’s arm and followed up with a decapitation. “Time to move out.”
All six Sakovans started slowly backing up towards the steps of the Imperial Guard headquarters. They continued to battle the Motangans with every step until all six of them were crowded on the steps.
“Love birds first,” shouted StormSong. “Use your stars.”
HawkShadow and SkyDancer turned and raced into the building. They immediately sheathed their swords and grabbed Sakovan Stars from their pouches. HawkShadow pointed to the Motangans just beyond StormSong and DarkBlade. SkyDancer nodded, and two Sakovan Stars flew through the doorway and impacted into the foreheads of two Motangan soldiers.
DarkBlade faced no opponent and dove through the doorway. HawkShadow and SkyDancer repeated the throwing of stars and killed two more Motangans, allowing StormSong to enter the building.
“Secure the rear exit,” commanded HawkShadow as he and SkyDancer fisted more stars.
DarkBlade and StormSong nodded and raced through the building to the rear door. They threw open the door and stepped into the alley, their swords ready for anything. The alley was empty, and they waited for their friends to arrive. Moments later, the two giants came running out the back of the building.
“We will secure the gate out of the city,” shouted Goral as they sped across the alleyway and through the ruins of a demolished building.
Less than a minute after the giants, HawkShadow and SkyDancer exited the building and ran past. StormSong slammed the door shut while DarkBlade shoved a burning timber in place to jam the door. They turned and ran after their friends as Motangans appeared at both ends of the alleyway.
StormSong saw other Sakovans racing for the exit from the city as she and DarkBlade dodged burning debris. Suddenly, an arrow raced past her head, and she knew that their retreat was cutting things a little close. The Motangan archers should not have been in the vanguard of the attack unless one of the flanking armies had managed to reach the city already. She wondered how many friends were still in the falling city. She immediately began running erratically to foil the archer’s aim. DarkBlade needed no encouragement to do likewise. They slowed down as they approached the gates to let other Sakovans who were ahead of them have time to get through. StormSong’s eyes focused on the gates as she continued to weave as she ran. She saw Goral slam one of the gates shut and prop something against it.
Another arrow sped by StormSong’s ear and imbedded in the gate that Goral had just closed. A shiver raced up her spine as she dashed through the open gate. DarkBlade followed her through and shouted for the gate to be closed. SilverEdge moved to close the remaining gate while Goral bent over to pick up a huge log that had been placed there to secure the gate. He wrapped his large arms around the log and lifted it. As he turned to shove it into place, he saw the gate was not fully closed.
Goral turned and looked for his partner. SilverEdge’s large body was sprawled on the ground, an arrow piercing his neck. His lifeless eyes stared up at Goral. Goral slammed the log into the gate, forcing the gate closed and jamming it from being opened. He groaned as he bent and lifted SilverEdge’s body and threw it over his shoulder.
* * *
The Star of Sakova stood staring at the map in the farmhouse just outside of Breele. Gathered around her were her generals and advisors.
“I thought they would follow us into the Sakova,” frowned Lyra. “Why aren’t they?”
“They are consolidating,” explained General Didyk. “Doralin suffered larger losses to take Alamar than he had anticipated. He will need to heal the wounded and replenish supplies. He might even send for reinforcements.”
“He has no need of reinforcements,” frowned General Manitow. ”His army is larger than anything I could imagine.”
“He has access to supplies at Duran,” frowned Lyra. “I did not think that he would need them so soon.”
“Are the supplies guarded?” asked Temiker.
Lyra’s eyebrow rose as she stared at her uncle. “What if they are not?” she asked. “We cannot get at the supplies there. Your knowledge of geography surely must be better than you are letting on. Duran is unapproachable from the land, and we have a huge fleet of enemy ships sitting off our coast. Why would you ask such a question?”
“For the same reason that I ask any question,” shrugged Temiker. “I hoped to get an answer and expand my knowledge. Are the supplies guarded?”
“I don’t know,” answered Lyra. “When Marak saw the city, three ships were unloading. There were seamen scurrying around the city, but I have no idea if it is guarded. Satisfied?”
“Somewhat,” smiled Temiker as he turned and ushered a sailor forward. “I think you should hear what this young man has to say before you write off the supplies at Duran.”
Lyra frowned at the hint of mystery, but she recognized the sailor as having been on her voyage to Duran and smiled at him.
“Chargo,” greeted the Star of Sakova. “What do you have to tell me?”
“I have a plan against the enemy,” Chargo replied. “I want your permission to execute it.”
“And what is this plan?” asked Lyra.
“I noticed that the Motangan ships are languishing offshore,” explained Chargo. “A bunch of fishermen and shipyard workers were talking about capturing some of them. We could use them to attack the other ships.”
“Or to raid the supply depot in Duran,” interjected Temiker. “Why not liberate the Motangan supplies?”
“That would hurt Doralin a great deal,” nodded General Manitow. “His armies will depend on those supplies.”
“You are just going to swim out to sea and steal a Motangan ship?” frowned Lyra. “You can’t be serious.”
“Not just one,” grinned Chargo. “I think we could get several. We wouldn’t have to swim out. Many villagers brought their boats up to Breele when they heard that the Motangans were coming. We could go down the Maritako River at night and sail up to the huge ships. It would be pretty easy.”
“And what about the crews of the ships?” asked Lyra.
“We could overpower them,” shrugged Chargo. “Some of the crews might even go ashore. We could sail away in the dead of night, and the Motangans won’t even miss the ships until morning.”
“They might not even be alarmed if the ships are missing,” General Didyk interjected. “If no crewman survives to give details, there are many possibilities for missing ships. They could have sunk, returned to Motanga, or gone to Duran for supplies. I think the plan has great merit.”
“And we could use the ships to ferry civilians to Khadora,” added General Manitow. “What have we got to lose?”
“Our people,” frowned Lyra as she shook her head. “How many people are in on this scheme?”
“I have over a hundred volunteers,” replied Chargo. “I could easily get more if I need them. These fishermen are not warriors, Lyra. They will be of no use tromping through the forests fighting the Motangans. This is a way that they can contribute, a way to strike back at the Motangans. They all understand that they might die in the attempt, but they still want to do it. All we need is your blessing.”
“And how will we contact you?” asked the Star of Sakova. “Not one of you can weave an air tunnel. We will never know if you succeeded or died trying.”
“I will go with them,” volunteered Temiker. “I assure you that I can weave an air tunnel.”
Lyra stared at her uncle with disbelief. “You really feel that strongly about this?” she asked.
“I am an old man, Lyra,” smiled Temiker. “I may still be able to wield the power, but I do not look forward to a long campaign of running through the forests. Besides, I think it will demoralize the enemy. We must continue to do what is not expected. I also think there are innumerable uses for a Motangan ship. We can infiltrate their navy. We can impersonate Motangans. We can transport people or supplies, and if need be, we can attack.”
“What if Duran is guarded?” asked the Star of Sakova.
“We will have uniforms from the crewmen that we kill,” answered Chargo. “We will pretend to be from Doralin and tell them that we have come for supplies. We will even let them help us with the loading,” he added with a grin.
“You both are incorrigible,” Lyra smiled as she shook her head. “You have my permission, Chargo, with one condition.”
“Anything,” smiled the sailor.
“Make sure that my uncle is not hurt,” stated Lyra. “The Sakovans still have a need for such old men.”
“He will not be hurt,” Chargo promised excitedly.
Chargo and Temiker left the farmhouse to plan their mission. Lyra watched them leave and then turned her attention to the map.
“How do we get the Motangans to come towards us after they have rested?” asked Lyra.
“You need not worry about that,” replied General Didyk. “They want to come after us. This war is not about gaining territory. They seek to annihilate us. They have to come after us.”
“Then let’s start planning a reception for them,” responded the Star of Sakova. “Who wants to be first to present ideas?”
Chapter 6
Pirates
Premer Doralin sat at the long table in the dining room of Temiker’s schoolhouse in Alamar. It was one of the few buildings in the city that had somehow managed to withstand the bombardment unscathed. General Valatosa stood before the premer, looking rather uncomfortable.
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