Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town

by Broquard, Vic

  “Please dine with us barons this evening. I am sure that each of us wishes to personally thank you for what you have done,” he wrapped up the presentation. Of course, everyone also knew that the other barons would be contacting him this evening about constructing more Circles for themselves! After the Zars left, the topic became what most impacted these men: what to do about the foreseen proliferation of new Circles of Ascension and the balance of power.

  Baron Milan offered the first view. “Barons, no matter what we do about this situation, we must follow our three century old tradition. If a new Circle comes into existence and if it has a Duska, he must be proclaimed a baron and given a voting seat on this High Council. To do otherwise is to discard the very foundation on which the Federation of Planets is based! To do otherwise is tantamount to our own destruction!”

  “Point well taken,” Baron Bran Ahern of the forested world of Maeve and a Neutral agreed. “I agree, the rules on which our Federation was founded must be held sacred and adhered to or we will surely fall into a civil war amongst ourselves.

  “But what about the disparity of votes?” put in Baron Aryeh Makeda of the desert world of Chana. “This is a very, very serious problem that we face!”

  “And what about the number of Circles that are allowed to be built on each planet?” added Baron Hajime Yoko of the water world of Asami. “Ought we not assign some limits to the number allowed per planet?”

  Thus, the political maneuvering began in earnest. Zoran was pleased that they all decided that the ancient rules ought to be followed regarding new Circles and barons. At least that much was still sacred. However, the rest was totally up in the air. By dinnertime, nothing had been decided, though many opinions had been tossed onto the table.

  That evening, Zoran and Zdenka dined with the other barons for the first time as their equals. Interestingly enough, the barons chose to sit together, leaving their wives to chat among themselves. With the exception of Kazimir and his allies, the other barons were quite friendly to Zoran, offering him advice, suggestions, and even their help, should he desire it. Many attempted to point out their various unspoken policies of court etiquette.

  Zdenka, on the other hand, found herself fitting in well with nearly all of the baronesses. They were most impressed with her achievement of Archmage, a topic that nearly everyone mentioned to her during the evening. Many asked if Zoran really had achieved that status, Archmage. She dutifully pointed out his use of the Archmage-only spell that he had cast at the funeral ceremony for his mother. That satisfied all challenges. She received numerous requests for her and Zoran to come and visit the other planets in the Federation, all except their enemies, that is.

  Still the enemy baronesses were not unfriendly towards her, as their husbands were to Zoran. Many offered fashion tips. The young Baroness Liu Meerong of Jing, whose husband was allied with Baron Kazimir, flashed her five inch long fingernails deftly. “My dear, it is the height of fashion to have really long beautiful nails. Look at mine, I’ve painted them bright red, such an elegant color. You should let yours grow long as well. Mine are the longest of us baronesses.”

  Baroness Anita Cencion of Alta took a liking to her. She was only a few years older than Zdenka. “My dear, your dress is lovely. I can see the tastes of Marjeta and Ivana in it. Some of us prefer styles like mine. See how much it flairs out, nearly eight feet. And oh, do go for brighter colors, Zdenka. You will look so much more vibrant and radiant in bright colors. Now, your shoes — they are much too conservative! Here, look at my pumps. See the height of my heels? Six inches indeed. They make you taller and far more dainty and graceful. Half of us baronesses are now wearing them. Now we do have to take smaller steps, but we like to think that we are making our spouses slow down and appreciate us all the more.” She rattled on and Zdenka found that she could not refuse accepting a pair from her to try out tomorrow. Indeed, before she knew what she was agreeing too, Baroness Anita had her trying on a whole new wardrobe for tomorrow!

  At last, a large band of musicians entered and the formal dance began. The others in their party now joined them as the tables were cleared and the dance began. Both Zoran and Zdenka became so in love with the dancing that they vowed to acquire their own band as soon as possible. Even Jarka and Karel got into the dancing, though Karel was definitely not a dancer. He put on a brave face for Jarka’s sake. Soon, others began interrupting them, insisting on a dance with either Zoran or Zdenka. By the end of the evening, Zoran had danced with all of the baronesses. He got an earful of suggestions. Why doesn’t he allow her to grow her nails really long which is the latest in fashion? Why doesn’t he get her the latest in dresses and high heels? Would he bring her and come for a visit? On it went.

  On her side, the barons pumped her for information. Where does Zoran stand on this issue and that one? Cleverly she sidestepped these by saying, “He’s only just gotten his Circle and is still working to get his own house in order. I’m sure you can explain your position to him far better than I can.” On it went, a delightful evening of dance with strong political overtones.

  Early the next morning, Baroness Anita confiscated Zdenka, “I’m going to dress your beautiful wife up properly. She ought to be wearing the very latest in fashions!” Poor Zdenka was swept away by Anita, though she looked longingly back at Zoran as she was whisked away, Anita chatting all the way. Zoran chuckled.

  Just in time to head down to the morning Council session, Anita returned with Zdenka dolled up in the latest fashions. Her outfit now resembled that of over half of the women in attendance. Her dress did indeed billow out eight feet, reds, yellows, and blues alternated in a colorful pattern that did make her look even more attractive. “It’s these shoes,” she complained. The heels are so high that I can barely walk in them. Please hold on to me! I don’t want to fall down! That would be the height of embarrassment! Go slower. I can only take tiny steps. Supposedly these are the very latest in fashion,” she explained.

  “We are invited to their ballet tonight. It is some kind of music and dance performance, she said. Anita said that the dancers walk and dance on their toes! I don’t see how that is possible, but we are invited. I couldn’t say no. Is that okay?”

  “Sure thing. You do look gorgeous, my love. Besides the slower we go the more time I can spend with you and not those stuffy men and their politicking.” Both laughed along with Jarka and Karel.

  The hours passed with more bickering and arguing among the barons. By late afternoon, two motions finally were agreed to be put to a vote. One suggested that they retain one vote per planet and that those with multiple houses had to come to their own voting consensus. If they could not agree or it was a tie in other words, then that planet’s vote would not count. The other motion was to allow partial votes. If a planet had two Circles and thus two voting barons, then each one’s vote would be a half vote. If one had four, then each vote would be a quarter vote. Either way, Zoran realized, there would only be sixteen actual full votes being counted.

  At long last, the two motions came up for voting. The partial vote motion lost, primarily because of the complicated bookkeeping that would be needed to count votes. Thus, from now on, those planets with multiple Circles and thus barons would have only one vote and they would have to agree on it or their planet’s vote would not be tallied. This sat well with Zoran’s enemies. It was perhaps the best concession that Baron Kazimir could obtain, under the circumstances. Still, with the Adapazan vote now no longer counting, since the two would likely never agree, the balance of power shifted to Baron Milan’s side, by one vote, ignoring the Neutrals, of course. They would still have to be carefully courted to obtain enough key votes, but that was one vote easier now.

  That evening, Baron Alvaro and Baroness Anita came to fetch Zoran and Zdenka to take them to the ballet, along with Karel and Jarka. Zdenka kept an eye on Anita to see how well she managed walking on these terrifically high heels. She was amazed at how graceful Anita actually was, though she said nothing. Th
e ballet was spectacular. None of the four had ever seen anything like it. Men and women dancers did indeed walk, prance, and twirl around on their tips of their toes. The music was enchanting and all four truly appreciated the performance. Zoran and Zdenka began to realize just how much was truly deficient back on Adapazan. Arts were so lacking!

  “We have to bring culture and civilization to Adapazan!” Zdenka exclaimed to Zoran, when they were finally back in their room.

  “Absolutely. Music, dance, ballet — I never knew that these existed before! Our planet must be completely backwards, in the sticks!”

  “No,” Jarka intervened, “Kazimir has been doing nothing but conquering and subjugating our people. Once he is gone, we can then bring Adapazan out of its dark ages.”

  The rest of the week’s meetings were down right boring and mundane. It held little of consequence for Zoran’s group. However, Baroness Anita, encouraged by the enthusiasm of Zoran and Zdenka, took them to other cultural events in the evenings. She took them to a play the next night. A return trip to the ballet followed that and then a choral performance. However, the last night of their stay was the formal dance and once again everyone had to be there. Nothing could keep the four from the dance floor now!

  After the dance, Barons Milan and Viktor dropped by Zoran’s room. “Word with you nephew,” he began. Zoran offered them a seat and they all gathered around the two older men.

  “Okay, mission accomplished. However, now come Kazimir’s countermoves. We’ve sent out spies to Dorum and to his other allied planets in hopes of getting some advanced knowledge of their next move.”

  “So it is not done yet?” Zdenka reacted a bit unnerved.

  “Not by a long shot. He has two targets now: Zoran and Lida. If he can somehow have Lida killed, he can name a new heir. However, with your recognition, he has much larger worries, which we feel takes the pressure off of Lida. Our money is on their attempting to somehow take you out, Zoran. If you die, then by our own rules, your Circle is up for grabs. That is, it must have a Duska. If you are eliminated, he will try to install someone else, such as Baron Bogdan’s son Strom, for example. Only then will he be highly likely to come after Lida with his full might.”

  “Yes, but surely they won’t mount an all-out assault on us? It took him a whole couple of years to build up and make his attack on Sholov Province. Either way he goes, there are three more provinces between his lands and Brn,” Zoran pointed out.

  Baron Viktor replied, “We’ve considered this. Yes, overland directly — yes, it may well take him several years and at a terrible cost, considering our promised armies and your use of dragons. It is my best guess that he has weighed that cost and found it prohibitive. He is not a complete fool. The best advice that I can give you is to stay alert for other actions. Perhaps a Shadow Walk of an army directly to the gates of Brn. Perhaps a number of assassins. His objective is not necessarily the capture of your Circle but rather your death, Zoran. Please stay alive. All depends upon your outliving Kazimir. He knows this too.”

  “Yes, he knows that we know this,” Milan picked up the discussion. “Hence, we are going to arrange to make him believe that we are planning an assassination of him. He has spies in our lands as well, as do his allies. We intend to make sure that they learn of some assassination plots against his life. Don’t worry; we are not about to really assassinate Kazimir, but he doesn’t know that. Our objective is to make him paranoid about attempts on his life, directing much of his energies off of you, Zoran. We’re trying our best to indirectly aid you.”

  “Bottom line,” he finished up, “is stay alert to all manner of unusual ways that they could get to you. We don’t believe that it will be an overland assault, marching through three other provinces to get to you. That’s what we are saying. And for heaven’s sake, if anything does come up, let us know immediately. We will help you in any way possible.”

  “Thanks uncles. We really appreciate all that you are doing for us and for my twin sisters,” Zoran admitted freely. “Someday, perhaps I can repay you.” Both men smiled, indeed both knew that day would come. They were politicians, after all, powerful ones at that. The men shook hands and left.

  No sooner had they gone than another knock on their door startled them. Zoran opened it to find Baron Alvaro standing there. “Baron Archmage Zoran, Baroness Archmage Zdenka. My wife and I would like to give you some parting presents — a small token of our friendship. You see, just because we are Neutral does not mean that we are your enemies. On the contrary, we just do not want to get involved in interplanetary conflicts. If you will come with me and bring along Archmage Karel and Mage Jarka, Baroness Anita is waiting for us. Oh yes, you should also bring along your General of Security as well.” He had a twinkle in his eye.

  Dutifully, the small group followed the Baron down many corridors and finally out into the large courtyard where Anita was waiting for them. “Ah, so good to see you once more, Baroness Zdenka. Alvaro and I wanted to give you some parting gifts to remember us by, and we do so hope that you will come and visit us as soon as you can, though we know right now you face many problems at home. From me to you and your beautiful companion, I have three of the latest fashion dresses like the one you wore and three matching pairs of the new heels as well.” Both women were pleased, though Zdenka still had not gotten used to walking in the heels. They thanked her profusely.

  “Archmage Karel, here are six of the finest hawks on Alta. We’ve heard that you are a master falconer, a small token of our new found friendship.” Karel examined the birds in their cages and was very nearly speechless. No one had ever given him such a royal present before. He shook Alvaro’s hand vigorously.

  “General Lavos, please accept this crate of the finest bastard swords on Alta. We both know that such will be most useful for you as you build up your protective forces for the young baron here.” Now it was Janos’ turn to be impressed, and he gave him a hearty thank you.

  “Finally, baron, Alta is horse country. We produce some of the finest mounts in the Federation, though others may dispute our claim. Please accept my donation of six fine mounts. Two are stallions and the rest are mares so that you may breed them, if desired.”

  “Thank you, Baron Alvaro, thank you. Indeed, you may not believe this, but until now, I didn’t even own a horse! These will be very timely and valuable to us. Thank you for your incredible hospitality. I never expected such kindness. If there is anything I can do for you, let me know.” As soon as he said this, he realized that he had been totally setup! This was precisely what the baron had desired.

  “Well, there is one small matter. I have asked Brother Jiri to build us a new Circle of Ascension here on Alta. He has agreed to do so. However, he is not sure how soon he can get to us. If it is not too much trouble, why just give him a nudge that we will really appreciate it as soon as he can build it for us. See, a simple matter. I’m sure that most all of the barons had asked him to build another one for them as well. I suspect that he’ll want to build those for your allies first, so when that is done, we would love to be next in line. And please, come back for a visit any time that you can. Alta has much to offer you. Friends?” he offered his hand.

  “Sure, friends,” Zoran shook his hand. “I’ll chat with Brother Jiri. I suspect that he has already made some promises to others, but if he hasn’t, I will put in a good word for you. Truly, I speak for Zdenka as well; we both have been very impressed with Alta and with you and your wife. We look forward to coming for a visit, once the home front is stable. Thank you again for your gracious gifts.”

  Back in their room, Jarka commented, “Okay, I now know the precise routes that we traveled here and can duplicate them anytime. Say, that’s pretty magnanimous of them to give us all such presents.”

  “Well, he wanted Zoran to attempt to move his request for a new Circle ahead of whatever he may have worked out with Brother Jiri. Small price to pay if anything comes of it. Pure political move,” General Janos replied.

 
; “Well, at least we have made one new baron friend,” Zoran commented. “I am beginning to suspect those that are Neutral are merely neutral in interplanetary conflicts, not necessarily neutral in good versus evil tyranny. That is something that I did not know before.”

  “You will need to study the six Neutrals thoroughly, Zoran,” Karel declared, “before you can make an honest overall appraisal.”

  Chapter 20 Spring’s Problems

  By the 1st of April, Brn was a hive of activity. Already, Aldrick had brokered the move of about a hundred more gold dragons from Voss. Each of the ten warlord provinces now had around ten dragons to protect them. The smaller provinces had fewer, such as Orlovia, as well as the bitterly cold province of Tratky. Larger ones had a few more. In each, one dragon was appointed the leader and maintained communication with that warlord’s Mage. Aldrick secretly maintained contact with all these dragon leaders. Unknown to Zoran, at this time, Aldrick was also acquiring some gold dragons for several other planets, Gladno and Valtr among them.

  The physical shipment of the emergency grain shipments for Tratky was handled by Duke Stefan. Neither Baron Viktor nor Milan wanted to risk Zoran handling the shipment because of rising fears that Baron Kazimir would seize this opportunity to kill Zoran. Indeed, their spies had already begun reporting troop buildups on all of the enemy planets.

  Brother Jiri and Priestess Anezka had not returned from Alta with Zoran. Instead, he went to Gladno with Baron Milan. His objective: build a new Circle of Ascension for him. He hoped to begin construction of Baron Viktor’s new Circle towards the end of the year.

  Archmage Zdenka now had her hands full. Saturday was the spring Picking time once again. All week before Saturday, she was a nervous wreck, according to Zoran. “Have I got the check lists ready, Zoran? How many should I pick? Archmage Nadia suggested that I take only four, but what if there are many good candidates? How am I going to choose them, really Zoran? I know the questions that she used, but what if there are a lot that pass the test? Am I really going to be able to train them, do you think? What am I forgetting?”