The Assembly of Lords fell quiet as the Emperor prepared to speak. The Emperor began with a smile, but concern soon etched into his face.
“There is much to cover today,” he began, “as this will probably be the last Assembly of Lords meeting before our country is embroiled in a long and deadly war. By now, most of your troops have been to Khadoratung for training. Those that have not must arrive here soon. If you have troops that have not yet been trained, send them. The limit of two cortes per estate has been eliminated. Lord Jamarat has told me of the improvements made by your soldiers. He is extremely pleased, and so am I. You should be proud of your men. They will stand tall for Khadora.”
The Torak noticed more than one smile on the faces of the lords. If anything pleased a Khadoran lord more than gold, it was praise for the strength of his armies.
“I have also heard from many of you this week about your increases in productivity and prosperity,” smiled the Emperor. “You are beginning to learn that free men are much more valuable to an estate than slaves are. For those of you who have not yet seen the improvements, you will soon. I would not ask anything of a Khadoran lord that I would not do myself. I know what your results will be. I also know what the total effect on the country will be. Khadora will be a more united country than it has ever been before in history.”
Again the Emperor gauged the effects of his speech. Not as many lords were smiling as were at his mention of strong armies, but he was pleased to notice that over half of the lords were nodding in agreement. His reforms were slowly being accepted.
“On the matters of religion and justice,” the Emperor continued, “each of our five major cities now hosts a temple to Kaltara and a regional court. I urge the lords of Khadora to start making use of both. I have selected retired Lords’ Council mediators as our first judges. They are men of renowned impartiality, and they will rule on cases according to our laws, and not according to a clan’s status or familiarity. All cases involving inter-clan disputes, should first ask for a settlement from the nearest court. That settlement can be appealed to the Lords’ Council if you feel that the hearing was not fair and impartial. The services of the Lords’ Council mediators will still be available, but there should be less call for them as the court system grows.”
The lords were listening intently and with respect. Emperor Marak smiled inwardly at the change in temperament that had occurred since he became Emperor.
“As for the temples,” Emperor Marak continued, “they still remain unused by many. I know that embracing Kaltara is hard for many of you, but I urge you to try it with an open mind. Our nation grew up spurning religion as a belief of the dimwitted and timid, but nothing can be farther from the truth. Kaltara can carry us to victory over the evil that will soon engulf us, but why should He bother? If Khadorans cannot be bothered to open their hearts to Him, should He spare the lives of you and your loved ones? He might in any event,” Emperor Marak sighed, “but why take that chance? Go to the nearest temple and speak to the priest. Let him educate you on the ways of Kaltara. You have nothing to lose but a few moments of your time. If you are afraid of appearing weak and timid to your neighbors, let me dissuade you from those thoughts. Every member of the Lords’ Council, as well as myself, pray daily to Kaltara. You will not find a weak or timid lord among us.”
Murmurs of surprise rippled through the assembled lords. Many an eyebrow rose at the Emperor’s revelation, and Marak saw the heads of the members of the Lords’ Council nodding vigorously as lords around them asked for verification. The Emperor waited patiently for the noise to die down.
“There is one area of the reforms that has not gone well,” the Emperor declared with a frown. “That is the area of border disputes. While every border between the clans of Khadora has been settled on, the claims on land held by the Chula are still in dispute. I think the reason for this is clear to all of you. When a border dispute occurs between two clans, they can sit down and discuss it between themselves, or with a third party such as a Lords’ Council mediator. This same process has not been used with your Chula neighbors. While many of your claims on Chula lands are relatively minor, some are egregious in extent. That issue must be addressed today.”
Again murmurs rippled through the assembled lords. Many lords turned in their seats to gaze upon the eastern frontier lords, but those lords lowered their eyes and stared at the floor before them.
“There was a lord standing for recognition when I walked in,” the Emperor continued. “I believe it was Lord Padro of the Rican clan. Lord Padro, please come and join me on the stage.”
Lord Padro twitched nervously as the Emperor called out his name. He tried to sink further into his chair, but the call to the stage could not be refused. Every head in the room turned to watch the Rican lord rise and walk to the stage. Emperor Marak smiled tautly as Lord Padro approached him.
“Lord Padro,” smiled the Emperor, “you asked about motions that were supposed to be presented today. Is that correct?”
“I had heard about motions that were to be presented today,” nodded the Rican lord. “I was curious why they were not presented.”
“I can well imagine that you were curious,” Emperor Marak smiled tightly, “seeing the amount of effort you put into promoting those motions.”
“Me?” balked Lord Padro. “I am certainly interested in the motions, but I had no plans to offer one.”
“Of course not,” smiled the Emperor. “That dirty task was to fall to others to protect yourself.”
“It is not a dirty task to make a motion in the Assembly of Lords,” retorted Lord Padro. “Those motions were to reclaim our country from the reforms that you have forced upon us. There was nothing illegal about the motions. The motions were founded on ancient law, but those laws are still applicable today.”
“I have no problem with ancient laws,” retorted the Emperor, “but your moves were intended to tear down this country at its time of greatest need. While you and your fellow lords were scheming and plotting, the entire city of Duran was annihilated just south of the Kalatung Mountains. Our enemy killed every man, woman, and child found in the city of Duran. There was no talk of surrender. There were no negotiations. There was only a brutal and vicious slaughter.”
Gasps broke out all over the chamber, as the lords understood the meaning of the Emperor’s words. For several long minutes the chamber whirled with talk of the attack and what it might mean to Khadora. The Emperor waited patiently for the noise to subside before continuing.
“The enemy that we face will give no quarter in this war,” Emperor Marak continued. “If there was ever a time in the history of Khadora for the clans to unite, it is now. If there was ever a time to put aside our differences with our neighbors, both foreign and domestic, it is this moment in time. I have spoken with the Sakovans, the Fakarans, the Qubari, and the Chula. Each and every one of them understands the danger that we are all in. Only in Khadora do I see the petty bickering that has gone on for centuries.”
The chamber grew deathly quiet as the lords realized how angry the Emperor had become over the boundary disputes.
“Before we can join with our neighbors to form a defense against Vand and his evil,” declared the Emperor, “we have to resolve our differences here in Khadora. As these claims to Chula land came across my desk, I wondered how we would ever resolve them. It was you, Lord Padro, who supplied the answer.”
“Me?” balked the Rican lord. “What do you mean?”
“Your desire to use our ancient laws to secure land that you know does not belong to you, awakened me to the solution,” replied the Emperor. “I visited and spoke with the Chula chieftain of the tribe that borders your estate. The lands that you are attempting to claim have never been seeded. They have never been harvested, or cleared, or inhabited by any member of your clan. In short, you have no legal claim to the land other than your word.”
“That should be enough,” retorted Lord Padro. “I am a Khadoran lord, not a savage.”
“There is an ancient Khadoran law that you might not be familiar with,” Emperor Marak stated as he signaled one of his Imperial soldiers. “The law is specifically intended to resolve disputes between neighbors, although it has not been used in hundreds of years.”
Excited whispers tore through the lords as they watched an Imperial soldier wheel out a large cart. Positioned on the cart were the weapons of war. Daggers, short swords, long swords, and two-handed swords were set on the cart in pairs.
“The law, Lord Padro,” continued the Emperor as he walked over to the cart and picked up two maps, “calls for a fight to the death to resolve the differences. These maps represent your claims of land versus the claims stated by Grundar, chieftain of the Sookie tribe,” he said as he handed the maps to the Rican lord. “You will notice that there is a huge discrepancy in the maps. That is what you will be fighting for.”
“Preposterous,” snapped Lord Padro as he started backing away from the Emperor. “I will not fight you for my rightful lands. You have nothing to do with this dispute. My claim is not against the Torak clan. You have no right to interfere.”
“Oh,” Emperor Marak smiled as he shook his head and sent another signal to the Imperial soldiers, “you misunderstand me. I am not challenging you to a fight, Lord Padro. That would be exceedingly unfair to you as I am not a party to the dispute. It is Chief Grundar who has demanded satisfaction under our laws.”
An Imperial soldier opened the door at the rear of the stage. A huge bear of a man walked through, his eyes immediately scanning the contents of the room. The man wore nothing but a loincloth and a necklace of teeth. Despite the Chula’s large size, his skin did not quiver and sag when he walked, but rather flexed solidly as he made his way towards the Emperor and the table of weapons.
“Lord Padro,” smiled the Emperor, “I would like you to meet Grundar, Chieftain of the Sookie tribe. He is your neighbor, and it is his lands that you covet. Choose your weapons, and may the rightful claim prevail.”
Grundar smiled and picked up a heavy two-handed sword as if it were a feather. He twirled the weapon around as only an expert could. Lord Padro’s eyes bulged, and his face paled as he stared at the giant and the sword he carried. He slowly backed away until he was in danger of falling off the stage. Emperor Marak’s hand streaked out and grabbed the Rican lord, helping him away from the edge.
“Careful, Lord Padro,” the Emperor said with a smile. “We don’t want you falling off the stage before your bout begins.”
“I will not fight that thing,” Lord Padro said, his arms shaking visibly. “I refuse. You cannot make me fight him.”
“No, I can’t,” shrugged the Emperor, “but he has asserted his rights under our laws. If you do not fight him, you lose all rights to the disputed lands by default. The choice, however, is entirely yours.”
Lord Padro tried to control his trembling body, but he could not. Amidst the jeers and taunts of the other lords, Lord Padro fled from the stage. The Rican lord did not return to his seat, but continued his flight out of the chamber. Grundar sighed and returned the sword to the table. Emperor Marak waited for the noise to quiet before continuing.
“It is not my intention to humiliate others in this manner,” declared the Emperor, “but the claims that have been made against the Chula are wrong. There are lords, and I am not saying that this applies to all of you, who have taken the opportunity of the formalizing of boundaries as an excuse to expand their holdings at the expense of others who they do not know. While that may indeed be in keeping with the traditions in Khadora, it does nothing to further cooperation with an important ally, an ally that we desperately need in the coming battles.”
The Emperor once again signaled the Imperial soldiers, and they opened the door at the rear of the stage. Chula chieftains marched onto the stage and formed long lines across it. When the door was finally closed, over a hundred Chula chieftains stood upon the stage behind Emperor Marak.
“I doubt that any of the lords in this room have ever met a Chula chieftain before,” the Torak said loudly. “That is a shame, because they have much in common with you. Each of them controls a large tribe and has to tend to the thousands of emergencies that always pop up with a large population. They have to ensure that their people are cared for, that they are fed and clothed, and that they have a safe homeland to prosper in. And they must protect their people from invasions and infringements by their neighbors, just as you lords do.”
The lords spoke softly among themselves. Some tried to guess which Chula was the chieftain of which tribe, while others questioned where the Emperor was going with his speech. Emperor Marak stopped talking until the murmurs subsided.
“It is my firm belief that these border disputes must be ended today,” declared the Emperor. “To that end, I have several suggestions for the lords assembled here today. Each of the Chula chieftains has vowed to seek redress under Khadoran laws to protect their lands, but each has also willingly accepted the prospect of negotiations. So there are several choices available to each of you with a remaining border dispute. You can fight for your land under this ancient law, or you can sit down with a representative of the Lords’ Council and your Chula neighbor and work out a peaceful settlement. I would prefer to see everyone take the second option. There will be enough blood shed in the coming days without spilling any here today.”
“Are there any other options?” shouted a voice from the audience.
Emperor Marak tried to attach a face to the voice, but the lord had not risen so he addressed his remarks to everyone.
“Everyone on this stage is open to any solution that will end this crisis,” declared the Emperor, “but this issue needs to be put behind us. I want resolution of each claim before we leave here. I am willing to stay as long as it takes to get each and every one of the disputes resolved fairly. I would like to make another point that may have escaped some of you lords who have no disputes. This is a rare opportunity for each of you to get to know the Chula in a way that has never been possible before. I urge you to stay for a while today and speak with some of these chieftains. You may find that our ancient hatred of the Chula is unfounded. You may also find that you have new neighbors that are willing to help you with your problems. This is an opportunity, but you must avail yourself of it to make anything out of it. Lord Patel?”
Lord Patel made his way back onto the stage as Emperor Marak moved to the rear.
“That concludes the agenda of the Assembly of Lords today unless anyone has something to offer,” stated Lord Patel. “Are there any questions or motions?”
It was clear that everyone had questions, but no one rose to state them publicly. Lord Patel called the meeting to a close. The members of the Lords’ Council immediately left their seats and went onto the stage. They mixed freely with the Chula introducing themselves. Except for the stark clothing of the Chula, the scene was reminiscent of a gathering of lords. The members of the Assembly of Lords stood staring at the spectacle in disbelief and whispering among themselves. Within moments, however, some of the lords became curious. At first they drifted closer to the stage in an attempt to catch snippets of conversation, but eventually some of the lords marched up the steps and stood next to a member of the Lords’ Council to hear what was happening. The members of the Lords’ Council did not miss a beat. When they noticed a new face alongside them, they introduced that lord to the next chieftain as if he were an old friend. Within an hour, lords and chieftains chatted freely with each other. Several hours into the gathering, Emperor Marak bumped into Lord Chenowith.
“How are things going?” the Emperor asked Lord Chenowith. “Are the disputes being resolved?”
“They are,” nodded Lord Chenowith, “and in a much better way than any of us envisioned.”
“What do you mean? frowned the Emperor.
“Twenty seven disputes have been resolved in the last hour alone,” answered Lord Chenowith, “and each of them was resolved with the same solution.”
“And what is that solution?” prompted the Emperor.
“The disputed land will be shared equally between the Chula and the Khadorans,” explained Lord Chenowith, “and I do not mean splitting it down the middle. I mean that both Chula and Khadorans will have full access to the land as equal partners.”
“That is fantastic,” brightened the Emperor. “That means that both peoples will get to know one another. Who thought of this?”
“It evolved out of discussions between one of the lords and his Chula neighbor,” replied Lord Chenowith. “I am not sure which ones, but it is such a great solution.”
“It ensures that the Khadorans will no longer be ignorant about the Chula ways,” nodded the Emperor. “This has turned out much better than I had anticipated. What about Lord Padro? I am afraid my treatment of him has created an enemy for life.”
“He was already your enemy,” shrugged Lord Chenowith. “Little can be done to change that, but his co-plotters have agreed to drop their claims against the Sookie. Their attitude was one of having lost a gamble, so I do not think that Lord Padro will be able to sway them in the future.”
* * *
The floor of the throne room in the temple on the Island of Darkness was splattered with blood. Xavo watched where he stepped as he made his way towards the front of the room, lest he slip and look like a fool. The soldiers were dragging a body out of the chamber while the inner circle of the followers of Vand gathered for a daily briefing. Emperor Vand’s dark visage lightened as he looked up and saw Clarvoy enter the room.
“Welcome home, Clarvoy,” smiled Vand as he signaled for the doors to the room to be closed. “What news do you have for me?”
The spymaster’s eyes scanned the room, as they always did, before answering the Emperor.
“Some of the news is confusing,” admitted Clarvoy, “but there are gems as well. On the confusing end is Marak’s reaction to our attack at Duran. His reaction was fairly swift, but I cannot determine its significance. He made a great show of sending thousands of soldiers south towards Duran, but they never arrived. Our spies lost track of them somewhere around the Kalatung Mountains.”
“They lost track of thousands of soldiers?” frowned the Emperor. “How is that possible?”
“I don’t know,” conceded the spymaster. “I have put extra spies to work in that area to find the lost armies. I will report any progress to you.”
“What else?” frowned the Emperor.
“I have been successful in infiltrating the inner circle of the Star of Sakova,” declared Clarvoy. “Much can be learned from this spy. The city of Zaramilden is being abandoned. The entire population is being evacuated to western coast cities.”
“Interesting,” mused the Emperor. “Is this significant enough to alter our attack plans?”
“I am not sure yet,” replied Clarvoy. “I wish to speak to the generals about this. Using Zaramilden as a base would allow us a complete city between the Khadorans and the Sakovans with easy access denied to both. It has possibilities, but it would require changes to the plans we have already agreed upon.”
“I have faith in you Clarvoy,” replied Vand. “Talk with the generals and report back to me. We will discuss this again at length.”
“I have also learned much about the Sakovan defenses,” continued Clarvoy. “They are hiding the bulk of their armies in the forests beyond Alamar. I have not yet determined the purpose of this, but it is only a matter of time until I do.”
“So there is no plan for them to repopulate Duran?” questioned the Emperor.
“None at all,” replied Clarvoy. “I think the evacuation of Zaramilden verifies that. They are planning on defending Alamar and the west coast.”
“Alamar will fall the first day,” retorted the Emperor. “Find out what those reserve armies are for. I was hoping to crush the bulk of their forces in Alamar. Now it sounds like they will not be there.”
“I will find that out and much more,” promised Clarvoy. “This new spy is the closest we have gotten to the Star of Sakova. It will be a rich vein that can be mined for more information than we dreamed possible.”
“Can this spy kill the Star of Sakova?” asked Vand.
“That is possible,” frowned Clarvoy, “but I would urge against it. Right now we have a source of information that will guarantee the defeat of the Sakovans. If that asset is used to kill the Star of Sakova, it is highly likely that our source of information will be shut down. I do not like being blind, not even for the life of the Star of Sakova.”
“Your point is well taken,” sighed the Emperor. “I do not know what I would do without your services, Clarvoy. You are the one Motangan that never fails me.”
“I always try my best,” bowed the spymaster.
“What of the Fakarans?” asked the Emperor.
“Chaos,” shrugged Clarvoy. “I expected the free tribes and the Jiadin to still be fighting, but that is not happening. It appears that the free tribes have disappeared from the new cities that they were building. The Jiadin now infest Meliban and Taggot.”
“The free tribes are too numerous to disappear,” frowned the Emperor. “Someone knows where they are.”
“Quite true,” replied Clarvoy. “It is said that they have fled to Angragar, but no one knows where Angragar is. I have spies searching all of Fakara.”
“Angragar,” Vand mused troublingly. “That would make sense. It will be the place of the Astor’s last stand. He is fortifying it against our armies and leaving the Jiadin out as treats for our armies. Why should he try to battle the Jiadin when my armies will do it for him?”
“What if we called the Jiadin in to be our allies?” asked Clarvoy. “They accepted the position once before.”
“Oh,” smiled Vand, “we can call them allies, but the Jiadin will die along with the rest. They are all descended from the ingrates who abandoned me long ago. I swore that I would extinguish every one of their spawn from the face of the world, and I shall do so.”
“Still,” suggested Clarvoy, “we can use the Jiadin before we kill them. Let me try to turn them against the Astor one more time.”
“You have my blessings on this matter, Clarvoy,” nodded the Emperor. “Go to Fakara and the sow the seeds of chaos among our enemies. Use one against the other, and let death rain on their families even as they wait for the final judgment that my armies will deliver unto them.”