Emperor Marak stood on the top of the Imperial Palace in Khadoratung. He gazed out over the capital while his mage, Ophia, wove an air tunnel to Fardale. When she was ready she nodded to the Emperor.
“Lord Marshal Yenga,” greeted the Emperor. “I understand there are matters that demand my attention?”
“There are,” replied Yenga. “Things are happening quickly, and I don’t know how to respond to the requests. I felt much better when you were here in Fardale.”
“Much is happening here as well,” replied the Emperor. “I am needed here and cannot return at this time. What are the problems?”
“The first is not a problem,” reported Yenga. “We have received word from the Chula that Rykoma has found a way to revitalize the fields of Fakara. He and the mages you sent from the school in Chantise have managed to plant several dozen watula fields. Rejji has sent farmers to begin tending to them.”
“That is wonderful news,” smiled Marak. “How soon before there is a harvest from them?”
“Rykoma plans to accelerate the growth,” stated Yenga. “The fields will be flourishing by the time he has another hundred fields planted. I think the food problems of Fakara are soon to be nothing more than a memory.”
“I could not ask for better news,” Marak said excitedly. “What are the problems?”
“Lord Shamino has a guest from Omunga,” the Lord Marshal of the Torak clan began. “He is from the city of Zaramilden, and he has come to buy food.”
“An Omungan in Khadora to buy food?” echoed the Emperor. “The situation down there must be worse than I thought. Both nations have long discouraged trade between each other.”
“It gets stranger,” interrupted Yenga. “There is an emissary from Gatong with Lord Sevrin as we speak. They want to buy food from the Ragatha clan. What should I advise the lords to say to these Omungans?”
“I am hesitant to answer that question,” mused Emperor Marak. “I have not had an update from the Sakovans on the situation down there. I thought they were arranging to feed the Omungans.”
“The Omungans and the Sakovans are at war,” Yenga informed the Emperor. “They believe that the Katana was taken over by a mage. They do not think he is Larst any longer.”
“So that is why StarWind was asking the questions that she asked,” sighed Marak. “This is important news. I should have been told sooner. Have we sent ships to Alamar yet?”
“Not yet,” replied Yenga. “Most of our food has been going to the north to estates that were hit by the locust infestation.”
“I heard yesterday that our mages finally have that under control,” the Emperor said. “Those shipments should be able to be halted now.”
“Should I send the ships to Alamar then?” asked Yenga.
“Not yet,” Emperor Marak said after a pause. “I need to talk to Lyra to find out what is going on down there. I will get back to you shortly with instructions.”
“What about these emissaries from Omunga?” pushed Yenga. “They expect a simple answer to their plea for food.”
“Tell Lord Shamino and Lord Sevrin to delay their answers,” instructed the Emperor. “Have them hold a feast for their guests in honor of the historic visits. Make the feasts lavish with an overabundance of food. I want them to be impressed with the wealth and power of Khadora.”
“So it shall be,” agreed Yenga. “I will pass on your words and await your next message.”
The Emperor signaled for Ophia to break the connection.
“Connect me with StarCity,” requested the Emperor.
“I cannot,” frowned Ophia. “I have never been there, nor have I have ever accepted a message from there. I would not know where to end the air tunnel.”
Marak frowned and nodded his head. “Perhaps you could go downstairs and get me a cup of tea?” asked the Emperor. “Fresh tea. I do not want something an hour old.”
“You are trying to get rid of me,” smiled Ophia. “One can only imagine what you would do up here on your own while I was gone.”
“What are you inferring?” Marak asked with concern.
“Many of my fellow mages have been speculating since the discovery of male mages in Khadora,” replied Ophia. “If there is one, cannot there be others? If there are others, could not one be the man who has championed magic in this country? The lord who has spent hours observing his mages in practice with an understanding eye for the problems that we were facing? Am I wrong to suspect that you know perfectly well how to form your own air tunnel?”
Emperor Marak’s eyes narrowed with concern for a moment and then he began laughing.
“I do not know why I am always so surprised when one of you figures this out,” he chuckled. “You are all tremendously intelligent and never fail to notice the slightest aberrations. I will forego the tea.”
Ophia grinned victoriously while Emperor Marak wove his own air tunnel to StarCity. When he made a connection he handed the air tunnel to Ophia.
“You need to know the end points of everyplace that I need to communicate with,” he said to Ophia. “I am not ready to let the world know of my capabilities. We will spend some time up here, and I will help you familiarize yourself with them.”
Ophia nodded gratefully and took control of the air tunnel.
“This is Emperor Marak of Khadora,” he said into the air tunnel. “I need to speak to the Star of Sakova.”
“She is not in StarCity,” replied a Sakovan voice. “She has gone to Alamar.”
“Can you contact her?” asked the Emperor. “I need to speak with her.”
There was a long moment of silence. Marak pictured the mages of StarCity weaving another air tunnel to Alamar. It was several minutes before Lyra’s voice came through the air tunnel.
“Emperor Marak,” greeted Lyra. “What is wrong?”
“There are emissaries in Khadora trying to buy food,” Marak explained. “I just learned that you are at war down there. I wanted to know what is happening and how I can help.”
“The Omungans are trying to cut off the Sakovan food deliveries,” reported Lyra. “They are also starting to invade the Sakova. I think I have managed to close our eastern front by neutralizing Alamar. The soldiers garrisoned here will not attack us, and I think the Okata armies that were coming here have turned around for fear of disease. It is a small step, but it will make our struggle a little more manageable. Are your prepared to start sending food to Alamar?”
“I am,” replied Marak. “The locust plague is under control, and there are now growing fields in the wastelands of Fakara.”
“Wonderful,” Lyra said. “We will try to send our caravans to a different Omungan city when your ships start arriving here in Alamar.”
“What about the people of Gatong and Zaramilden?” asked the Emperor.
“Zaramilden is cutoff from the rest of Omunga,” declared Lyra, “as is Duran. The Wall of Mermidion allows for access only by sea from the rest of Omunga. If their people are starving, you should sell them food. It is the proper thing to do.”
“How will that help you conquer Omunga?” inquired Emperor Marak.
“We are not trying to conquer Omunga,” replied Lyra. “We are just trying to avert war.”
“Then you are seeking the wrong goal,” declared Marak. “You need a new strategy. You must gain control over all of Omunga.”
“Why?” balked Lyra. “You have never talked this way before. What has changed?”
“I became the Torak,” answered Marak. “I spoke with Kaltara. Things are much clearer to me now. I fear that we have little time to prepare our peoples, and believe me when I say that the Omungans are to be counted as our people. You must conquer Omunga.”
There was a long silent pause after Marak spoke. He could almost envision the mental turmoil that Lyra was experiencing.
“The attacks on the Sakova will not end,” continued Marak. “They won’t even stop when Larst is defeated. Vand will merely replace him with a new Katana. You must change their government and make that country part of yours. We have little time.”
“I am not a conqueror,” Lyra finally said. “What would you have me do?”
“Get the Omungans to switch sides,” answered Marak. “Do it one city at a time if you must, but destroy what is known today as Omunga. Only then will the Sakovans and Omungans be free to unite and begin preparations for the coming invasion.”
“If I attack Omungan cities,” frowned Lyra, “I will just be confirming the words of Larst and his bloodthirsty generals. The people will see the Sakovans as aggressors.”
“If you must attack, then make sure that you are seen as benevolent and victorious aggressors,” suggested Marak. “I am in a position to help you. I could send armies along both coasts.”
“No,” Lyra replied quickly. “Khadoran armies will be seen as foreigners more so than Sakovans. That is not the way to unite the people. At the proper time, I would like to announce that the Sakovans are allied with Khadora, but no armies at this point.”
“Very well,” agreed the Emperor, “but I can still be of help. Travel to Duran and promise them food if they will switch sides.”
“Duran is only open to the sea,” retorted Lyra. “They are not in a position to attack Sakovans. That makes no sense. They are no threat to us.”
“It does to me,” smiled Marak. “Being part of Omunga probably means very little to the people of Duran since they are so isolated. I think they would switch sides faster than any other Omungan city. When they do, it will be an historic moment. It will be the first city of Omunga to become Sakovan. You can point to it when you try to convince other cities to defect.”
“Ah, I see,” replied the Star of Sakova. “You do look at things differently. Zaramilden is isolated as well. You said that there was an emissary from them in Khadora?”
“There is,” replied the Emperor. “What do you want me to do with him?”
“Send him home,” smiled Lyra as her plan began to form in her head. “Tell him that Khadora will not trade with Omungan cities because their Katana wages war on the Sakovans.”
“Then you will go there and tell them that food will flow into the city if they become Sakovan?” questioned Marak.
“Exactly,” smiled Lyra. “I will take a ship out of Alamar today and head for Duran and then onto Zaramilden. Can you have ships offshore and ready to make deliveries to both cities?”
“I will order it as soon as we are done speaking,” promised Emperor Marak. “What about Gatong?”
“The west coast cities will be harder to deal with,” replied Lyra. “They are not isolated at all. They will fear Omungan attacks if they defect.”
“I hate to say this,” frowned Marak, “but food is your most potent weapon right now. If we agree to sell food to Gatong, it will flow down the coast to Okata. That will only hamper your efforts.”
“I agree,” Lyra said sadly. “I will send my caravans to Fortaka and Gatong to stop them from starving. Hopefully, I will be able to sway those cities as I have done here in Alamar.”
“If it helps,” added Emperor Marak, “I now have the ability to send ships down the western coast of Omunga. I have purchased three ships in Khadoratung. Keep that in mind.”
“I will,” promised Lyra. “I am going to be leaving LifeTender here in Alamar. I will have her contact you periodically with an update of the situation here.”
“I appreciate that,” replied Marak. “I will place mages on the ships stationed off of Duran and Zaramilden. I am sure that you will be able to contact them to start the deliveries. What are you going to do with Larst?”
“I do not know,” admitted the Star of Sakova. “I do not look forward to assassinating yet another Katana.”
“Do what you must,” advised Marak. “There is much riding on your success down there. We must prepare for Vand’s invasion.”
* * *
SunChaser stood before the full-length mirror admiring her reflection. She adjusted her yellow gown slightly as she heard the knocking on the door downstairs. She turned slightly to gaze at her profile and smiled broadly at how the yellow gown highlighted her tan skin.
She made a finally adjustment and muttered under her breath, “Perfect.”
The Sakovan spy heard her servant open the door to admit her guest. SunChaser stepped out of the bedroom and eased the door shut. She listened intently to the sounds coming from the lower level of her mansion in Okata.
“Is Cherri in?” asked the guest.
“Yes, General,” answered the servant. “She is expecting you. Right this way please.”
SunChaser nodded to herself and moved to the top of the stairs. She cleared her throat loudly as she began to descend the stairs to the main floor. As she had planned, the general stopped and turned towards the staircase. He watched intently as the wealthy, young widow in the yellow gown slowly descended.
“General Kapla,” the spy smiled broadly, “you are early.”
“Punctual,” corrected the general with a grin. “You know that I would never be late for a dinner with you, Cherri. My, you look absolutely lovely this evening. I swear that you get more beautiful every time I see you.”
“I imagine that you say that to all of the rich widows in Okata,” smiled Cherri as she reached the bottom step of the stairs.
“There is not another woman in Okata that I would even speak to,” swore General Kapla. “Surely you know that you have captured my heart?”
“You have such a way with words,” Cherri replied with a warm smile as she walked up to the general. “I am so glad that you had time to come tonight. I was afraid that this silly war would take up too much of your time.”
“My troops have not been given orders yet,” answered the general. “I doubt that I would be leaving with them in any event. A Minister of Defense does not lead his men onto the field of battle. I have promoted Addley to the rank general. He will be leading my army when it engages the enemy”
Cherri wrapped her arm around the general’s arm and led him into the dining room. General Kapla pulled a chair out for Cherri, and she sat down. He walked around the table and sat opposite her. The servants brought out large trays of fresh fruits and baked breads. The general’s eyes widened in appreciation. The aroma of spicy clova drifted in from the kitchen, and the general subconsciously licked his lips.
“You always have the finest foods available,” he commented. “How do you do it?”
“The rich are not affected by the crop failures,” shrugged Cherri. “In fact, the wealthy are never affected by anything. You should know that.”
“I have never considered myself wealthy,” frowned the general. “Being Minister of Defense does pay well, but certainly not enough to become rich.”
A puzzled look fell over Cherri’s face as she digested the general’s words. While the salary of a minister would not make anyone wealthy, the inside information gleaned from the meetings of the Katana’s Council certainly should. Obviously the general did not act on the information he received from the meetings.
“All of the other ministers are rich,” noted Cherri. “How do they do it?”
“I have never thought much about it,” confessed the general. “How did you previous husband become wealthy?”
“I made him wealthy,” grinned Cherri.
“How did you do it?” inquired General Kapla.
“I made him tell me everything that went on in the Katana’s Council,” explained Cherri. “I used that information to make shrewd investments.”
“But that is treasonous,” retorted the general. “What goes on in a meeting of the Katana’s Council is supposed to be kept a secret.”
“It was not treasonous,” balked Cherri. “How do you think the other ministers became wealthy? They have people make investments for them based on their inside knowledge. It is one of the benefits for them sacrificing their time to rule the country. There is absolutely nothing wrong with it. It is not like they were telling the enemy what went on in the meetings.”
“I guess not,” shrugged the general after a moment’s pause. “I just never looked at it that way before. You are very intelligent to have picked up on that.”
“Calix thought so, too,” grinned Cherri as the servants brought in bowls of wasooki soup. “I made him a very wealthy man. I could make you a wealthy man, too.”
“You could?” the general asked with renewed interest. “I will admit that I have never spent much time thinking about money, but your ability to have fine foods during this crisis is very tempting.”
“And you are doing your best to serve our country,” nodded Cherri. “Why shouldn’t you benefit from the fruits of your labor?”
“How would you do it?” asked the general. “How could you turn the information from the council into profits?”
“Well it depends,” Cherri replied. “Do you remember the burning watula fields near Campanil when Alazar was the Katana?”
“I do,” nodded the general. “Food prices shot up very high then, although not as high as they are now.”
“At that time I would have had you purchase large quantities of watula before the news broke,” explained Cherri. “We could have sold the watula a week later and doubled your money.”
“Amazing,” remarked General Kapla, “but where would we have stored it all?”
“We would have never even seen the watula,” chuckled Cherri. “I would buy it and request delivery be held for a week. When we sold it, we let the new buyer receive it.”
“And you can do such things?” inquired the Minister of Defense.
“I do it all the time,” smiled Cherri. “I like gold very much. Having a lot of it makes me very happy.”
“Then we shall try it,” smiled the general. “I will come here after the next meeting of the Katana’s Council, and we will see if you can find a way to profit from what was discussed.”
“That is wonderful,” smiled Cherri. “It will make me happy to make you a lot of money.”
The servants brought in a whole roasted clova garnished with onions and green beans. The overweight general stared at the cart as the servants rolled it into the room. He closed his eyes in delight and smelled the flavor as the cart rolled by him.
“This is going to be sumptuous,” he commented. “I can almost taste it now.”
“I met some of the wives of the other ministers today,” Cherri said casually as the servants served the food. “They said that many people felt that Larst was not himself since becoming the Katana.”
“I have heard the same,” nodded the general as he placed a piece of clova into his mouth.
Cherri waited patiently as the general chewed his food. She knew the dinner could be a hard setting in which to interrogate someone, as their mind tends to wander to various topics. She was skilled, however, in bringing them back to the topic that she wanted to discuss.
“This is absolutely wonderful,” remarked the general. “I could not imagine such splendor on a plate. Your cooks are to be congratulated.”
“I am sure that they will be pleased to hear of your compliments,” smiled Cherri. “Larst attends the council meetings as the Katana. Do you think he has changed?”
“He has,” nodded the general as he cut another piece of clova. “Especially where the Sakovans are concerned. He was the biggest proponent of peace with the Sakovans when we were searching for the Katana. Now he stands almost alone in forcing war against them. I cannot imagine what set him off on such a rampage.”
“It is a shame,” responded Cherri as the general bit into another piece of clova. “It seems like this war is on, and then it is off, and then it is on again. It makes the people think that their leaders don’t know what they are doing. It is hard for people to have confidence in such leaders.”
“The people have no say in this matter,” declared the general. “Even the Katana’s Council has no say. Larst will permit no discussion of it other than accepting plans for the defeat of the savages.”
“What are the current plans?” Cherri asked innocently. “I heard that General Romero’s army had to retreat from Alamar.”
“He did,” nodded the general, “but not because of the Sakovans. In Alamar the disease is spreading to the people. His scouts saw thousands of graves and huge fires for burning the dead. He could not move his army into such an area. He has been recalled to Okata.”
“So the war is off then?” questioned the Sakovan spy.
“Oh, no,” General Kapla shook his head. “His armies will be rested from their travels while General Valdey’s army invades the Sakova from the west. There is already an advance group of over a thousand men deep into the Sakova. There has been no resistance at all.”
“The Sakova is a large place,” mused Cherri. “Maybe the scouts are looking in the wrong places?”
“It is large,” conceded the general, “but we will find StarCity. We will comb every league of the Sakova until we find it. It will just take some time.”
“But I thought the idea was supposed to be a quick victory to get their food supply?” questioned Cherri. “If it takes too long to find StarCity, won’t the troops go hungry?”
General Kapla’s eyes narrowed as he looked at the beautiful woman across the table from him. “You mustn’t say such things in public,” he warned. “The food supplies are getting very low. In another month, we will not be able to feed the troops. The Katana has sent the mayor of Gatong over the mountains into Khadora to try to buy food. If he is successful, Khadoran food will flow down the entire coast. That will allow us to take our time searching for the Sakovan food supplies.”
“Clever,” smiled Cherri. “What ever gave him that idea?”
“General Didyk proposed it to me,” the general said boastfully, “and I recommended it to the Katana. General Didyk has befriended one of the members of the Lords’ Council of Khadora. He foresaw that we would need Khadoran help in wiping out the Sakovans.”
“How fortunate for Omunga to have had such foresight from their generals,” Cherri said dryly. “Do you think that the Katana is possessed by a magician?”
“Possessed?” echoed the Minister of Defense. “Where did you hear such nonsense?”
“Nonsense?” retorted Cherri. “Surely you know that there are magicians capable of such deeds? I heard about it years ago.”
“You have heard of such things?” the general asked with concern as he pondered the implications to Omunga if the thought were true.
“I have,” Cherri nodded forcefully. “It is a dark art, but who else would seek to ruin a country except a dark mage bent on power?”
“Do you think Larst is trying to ruin the country?” questioned General Kapla.
“I can’t say for sure,” shrugged Cherri, “but if this war with the Sakovans does not go as planned, Omunga may well cease to exist. Remember, General, Omunga has been trying to conquer the Sakovans for a thousand years. They have not succeeded yet.”
“I seem to have lost my appetite,” frowned the general as he pushed his plate away from himself. “The end of Omunga is a most distressing subject.”
“I do not mean to distress,” brightened Cherri. “Let’s talk about something else.”
“Like what?” asked the general.
“How about gold?” grinned Cherri. “It has always been my favorite topic.”