Star of Sakova

by Richard S. Tuttle

  “How is Malafar?” RavenWing asked.

  “How the blazes did you find out already?” asked StarWind. “We just left his room.”

  “Jostin did not know where to find the manacles,” grinned RavenWing. “Will he live?”

  “Perhaps,” StarWind said. “LifeTender is doing what she can, but she said he was close to death. We wanted to ask about the spell Lyra used. Have you ever heard of a spell that can bind another who is trying to cast against you, even to the point of the attacker destroying himself? Is there such a spell?”

  RavenWing tugged on his ear as he sorted through the volumes of information in his mind. Slowly he nodded his head. “There is,” he answered.

  “Well that clears up the mystery a bit,” StarWind stated. “Someone must have taught it to her.”

  “If someone taught her this spell,” RavenWing interjected, “they did it several thousand years ago.” He smiled at StarWind’s reaction before he continued. “There is recorded in our histories a tale about the mage contests of the olden times. The story tells of a practice the Sakovans used to use to select their mage leader. Those brash enough to think they deserved to rule would compete in magical warfare. They would alternately attack and defend themselves. The favored method of defense was the Holding Spell, but only one with enormous power would try to use it. If you were successful, your opponent would die trying to break it. If, however, he managed to break it, you would be left with no time to defend yourself because the spell effected a trance-like state on the caster. The success of the spell depended upon raw energy force. The stronger opponent always won.”

  “What happened to the spell?” asked Temiker. “You said it was used thousands of years ago, but you indicate that it is no longer known.”

  “Quite true,” validated RavenWing. “The spell lost its allure to the Sakovan people because they started losing a lot of mages in the contests. If a contestant was second best, he died. Then if the leader died, they no longer had their second choice to choose from because he had previously succumbed to the Holding Spell. In short, people stopped using it and teaching it. Remember, we were not a warring nation back then and there was no other use for such a spell.”

  “But surely it was written down somewhere,” objected Temiker. “She could have read it perhaps.”

  “No,” answered RavenWing. “Many libraries were destroyed during the Omungan invasion. All of them actually. Most of our history had to be rewritten from people’s memories. If that spell were written anywhere, I would know of it. I was the Head Historian before I became the leader, a task I would not mind taking up again.”

  “No one has taken the job since you left it,” remarked StarWind. “You seemed to continue keeping the records yourself anyway.”

  “Then how did Lyra know the spell?” inquired Temiker doggedly.

  “Only Kaltara knows,” smiled RavenWing.

  The three mages remained in silence for a long time, each pondering the resurrection of the Holding Spell. “Then Lyra has more raw power than Master Malafar,” StarWind said finally breaking the silence.

  “Yes,” agreed Temiker, “and that means that we should be very careful with her training. “We must ensure that she does not harm herself trying to channel such energy.”

  “She appears to be handling it quite well,” smiled RavenWing. “The measure of how much more power she has than Malafar can be measured by how long it takes for her to recover. She may be confined to bed for days if they were close in strength.”

  “Then I should cancel the strategy meeting and find someone to talk with Lord Marak in her place,” reasoned StarWind. “Is that a task that you could do, RavenWing?”

  “Only if the Star requests it,” RavenWing declared. “Do not make her decisions for her just because she is in bed. You need to consult with her first.”

  “You are right,” nodded the Sakovan spymaster. “I will speak with her now so that she need not be disturbed anymore today.”

  RavenWing stared out the window lost in thought and did not reply to StarWind’s farewell as she left the room with Temiker in tow. She moved leisurely through the corridors and up the stairs, pondering the puzzle of Lyra’s knowledge of the ancient spell. They stopped outside Lyra’s door and StarWind knocked softly. When there was no reply, she knocked harder.

  “Open the door,” suggested Temiker. “Let’s make sure that she is all right.”

  StarWind nodded and eased the door open. Temiker heard StarWind’s deep gasp and pushed past her into the room. “She’s gone!” he exclaimed.

  “I do not like the looks of this,” StarWind stated as she entered the room and checked the corners and even opened the hanging closet in search of the Star.

  Temiker spun and raced out of the room, calling to StarWind as he left. “I am going to check with LifeTender. Perhaps she put her in another room.”

  StarWind ran after the mage from Alamar and caught up to him before he reached Malafar’s room. Together they opened the door and barged in. LifeTender turned to stare at them as they entered, but they did not see her as their eyes were focused on the bed. They halted abruptly with Temiker bumping into StarWind as the shock of what they were seeing rattled both of them.

  “He is dying,” LifeTender frowned. “I cannot get his heart to beat regularly.”

  StarWind and Temiker did not respond to LifeTender. Their eyes were fastened on Lyra as she sat on the Malafar’s bed with her hands on his chest.

  “You should be resting, Lyra,” Temiker scolded. “Let LifeTender do what she does best and get back to bed.”

  Lyra did not acknowledge the presence of the new arrivals and StarWind started towards her.

  “It is her father,” cautioned LifeTender. “Let her spend his last moments with him.”

  StarWind stopped and nodded resignedly. “She must rest though,” she stated to LifeTender.

  “She looked well enough to me when she came in,” LifeTender replied. “I think she was just a little faint in the office. Who can blame her after such a confrontation?”

  “No, you don’t understand,” Temiker interrupted, but stopped when Malafar thrashed about on the bed.

  “What is going on?” Master Malafar growled. “How dare you put the manacles on me.”

  Lyra rose from the bed silently and turned to look into Malafar’s eyes. “They were put on you for your protection as well as ours,” she said softly, “and they will stay on until I am satisfied that you are no longer a threat. You have hurt many people with your magic, Father, but most of all you are hurting yourself. I will not allow you do that anymore.”

  “Not allow?” stormed Malafar. “Who are you to allow me anything?”

  Lyra shook her head sadly. “Probably the only person left in this world, who still loves you,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Rest now. I still want you at that meeting tonight. You will attend, and you will listen,” she emphasized. “You may speak if you wish, but I will not dictate that to you. Rest,” she concluded and turned to leave.

  “I thought he was dying?” asked StarWind. “You still want to hold the meeting tonight and have him there?”

  Lyra seemed to notice StarWind and Temiker for the first time since they entered the room.

  “Of course,” she said to StarWind. “It will be good for him to hear the truth finally, instead of the lies he has been taught since childhood. He may even have valuable input after he realizes that we may all die because of his aggressive countrymen.”

  “But what of his health?” argued Temiker. “And your own?”

  Lyra shook her head in puzzlement. “I am fine,” she declared, “and Malafar only needs a bit of rest. The meeting is not until tonight and he will be rested by then. StarWind, ask Lord Marak to meet me in my office please. I have kept him waiting long enough.”

  Lyra strode out of the room leaving StarWind and Temiker looking at each other with puzzled expressions. LifeTender raced to the bed and started examining Master Malafar over his stren
uous objections.

  “I have finally gotten the chance to know Lyra,” Temiker sighed, “and the longer I am with her, the less I appear to know her.”

  “I thought you said he was dying?” StarWind said to LifeTender, ignoring Temiker’s self indulgence.

  “I don’t understand it,” frowned LifeTender. “He was dying. I am sure. Now his chest is hot to the touch, but his heart is beating healthily. She did something to him, but what she did I have no knowledge of. He is as healthy as she said. He just needs some rest.”

  “I have to go get Lord Marak,” StarWind reflected. “Temiker, stay with him. Perhaps he has some idea what happened today.”

  StarWind hurried downstairs and outside. Lord Marak was not hard to spot with his black and silver cape and she hurried over to the practice yard where he was watching a match between two Sakovans.

  “The Star of Sakova would like to see you now,” StarWind said to Marak.

  Marak nodded cheerfully and followed StarWind into the palace where she led him through the maze of corridors to Lyra’s office. She opened the door and waited for Marak to enter. “I will wait for you here,” StarWind said.

  Marak nodded and walked into the room and smiled at Lyra as he approached the desk. “It appears you are feeling better,” he opened. “I am glad that you found the time to speak with me, but if your time is short today, I do not mind waiting longer. I find your city very interesting and warm.”

  “No, I have kept you waiting far too long already,” she smiled back. “I am pleased that you have not taken offense at the long wait. My people speak very highly of you.”

  “Then the feeling is mutual,” assured Lord Marak. “I am impressed with the skills of your people as well as the way they pull together to get things done. I am learning much that I may use when I get back home.”

  “Please have a seat,” offered Lyra, thankful that someone had cleaned the office after the confrontation with Malafar. “I am not sure where to begin,” she confessed. “StarWind was impressed by your man, Fisher, and set up this meeting but I am not sure what it is we are supposed to accomplish.”

  “Perhaps just getting to know each other is enough,” suggested Marak. “I have as much faith in Fisher as you obviously do in StarWind, so I decided to take his advice and make the trip. I am glad that I did.”

  “We do have a common enemy,” Lyra pointed out. “Have you thought about how to deal with them?”

  “Somewhat,” Marak stated. “My need for strategy is not as immediate as yours of course. I did hear about the strategy meeting tonight and I would like very much to attend if that is possible.”

  “I would like that very much,” Lyra agreed. “Perhaps you will have ideas that we lack. Can you think of any way that your armies can be of assistance to us?”

  “My armies are far away,” frowned Lord Marak. “I would not hesitate to offer what I could of their number if I could see a way that they could tip the balance for you. That is one of the reasons I wished to attend the meeting this evening. You must understand that my security in my own homeland is tenuous and that I cannot commit my entire armies to the Sakovans.”

  “Understandable,” nodded Lyra. “I will not ask for help unless it appears that I must have it, but it is assuring to know that you consider our cause worthy of the commitment.”

  “As I said,” smiled Lord Marak, “your people have impressed me. I appreciate a society that values the skills of citizens without regard to their sex or social standing. I fear that the one I live in does not.”

  “And I hear that you are trying to change it,” retorted Lyra. “The Sakovan people will help you as you have promised to help us. We appear to share similar goals and have the makings of a perfect union.

  Marak smiled inwardly at Lyra’s words as he thought of MistyTrail’s subtle hints that he and Lyra would make a perfect union. He looked at the young woman across the desk from him with her blond hair and blue eyes and dressed in a plain brown tunic. She appeared much too young for the position of leader of a nation, but then the same was said about him. Her actions so far had showed nothing but calm determinedness and her people adored her. Shaking his head, he pushed the thoughts out of his mind. Despite the suggestions from the little elf-like Sakovan, Marak had no interest in starting a relationship with anyone.

  “Fisher has told me of the events in Okata and the burning of the fields in Campanil,” Marak said as he returned his thoughts to the purpose of the meeting. “Have there been any more developments since then?”

  “A few,” admitted Lyra. “Wasooki have been killed in Breele, supposedly by Sakovans using stars, and the armies appear to be attempting to surround us, but the worst development is the mood of the Omungan people. We do not think the Omungan government would attack if the people were against it. Clearly the new Katana is trying to gain that support by arousing anti-Sakovan feelings.”

  “That would make sense from his point of view,” agreed Marak. “In that regard, the Omungans are not much different than the Khadorans. Can your stronghold withstand an assault from the Omungan armies?”

  “I don’t know,” Lyra frowned. “As far as we know, they are not yet aware of where the stronghold is. We can last indefinitely in the face of a siege as we have more food grown in the valley than we can consume.”

  “I have seen the storage facilities,” remarked Lord Marak. “It looks like you could store three years worth of grain alone. The founders of StarCity are to be complimented. You could not ask for a better defensive position than the one you have here. You would run out of meat though and you should consider stocking some.”

  “We are loath to kill more than we can eat,” replied Lyra, “but it might become necessary. You have offered a good suggestion already.”

  “I am sure that your people have already thought of it,” smiled Lord Marak. “Not much seems to escape them. I did not mean my words of admiration as a flippant compliment. I truly admire their efficiency. You have a tough job ahead of you, Star of Sakova, but you also have people who can make it happen as you wish. That is an enviable position.”

  Lyra smiled genuinely, “Lyra is fine. As you can tell by my apparel, I do not stand on formalities. I have heard that you care little for them as well.”

  “Quite true,” Marak chuckled. “The appearances are good when dealing with those outside my own clan though. You should do the same when you deal with the Omungans. While appearances matter little to us, Khadorans and Omungans are impressed by such things.”

  “I will keep that in mind, although I do not expect to be meeting any Omungans I would want to impress,” grinned Lyra. “Do you have any questions about the Sakovans that I can answer while you are here?”

  “Your people have been great at answering my never ending stream of questions,” stated Marak. “There are two requests I would like you to consider though.”

  “Oh,” responded Lyra. “What might those be?”

  “I would very much like to buy a breeding pair of chokas to take back with me,” requested Lord Marak. “They are a fantastic animal and I would like to try raising a herd of my own.”

  “Nobody owns chokas but the Sakovans,” frowned Lyra. “It would lessen our advantage over the Omungans if they ever managed to gain some. While I would like to honor your request, I must discuss it with my people before I can answer. What was the other request?”

  Marak nodded sadly, but he was not offended by Lyra’s refusal, for refusal was what he knew it to be. He had half expected to be turned down, and rightly so. “The only place that I have been refused entry since my arrival has been the mage practice field,” explained Lord Marak. “I would very much like to see a demonstration of Sakovan magic. I have mages on my estates, but I know that magic varies with different peoples. I am curious what Sakovan magic is like.”

  Curious was the word to describe the Khadoran, Lyra thought. Still it was very unlikely that they would ever be enemies. Even if Lord Marak turned out to be a pretender, rather
than an ally, the distance between the two peoples negated the possibility of conflict. “I see no problem with that request,” Lyra smiled. “I could use some practice myself. Will you accompany me to the practice field?”

  “I would love to,” grinned Lord Marak.

  Chapter 34

  Strategies

  “It is said that all mages in Khadora are female,” Marak stated as he walked to the mage practice field with Lyra. “They are divided into four types, Air, Soil, Water, and Sun. My Mother is a Soil Mage.”

  “I heard that your mother was a slave,” Lyra said.

  “She was,” Marak admitted. “I freed her as well as the other slaves I have obtained. Slavery is an abomination. No person should be owned by another. It is one of the practices that I hope to rid Khadora of. Does your magic have varieties similar to Khadoran magic?”

  “Not that I am aware of,” answered Lyra as they entered the mage practice field. “I have been schooled in Omungan magic mostly. I am just learning Sakovan magic so maybe it would be better for me to find someone else to demonstrate Sakovan magic for you.”

  “Let’s proceed,” Marak shook his head. “I am not familiar with Omungan magic either. Perhaps later in my visit you can arrange someone else to demonstrate for me?”

  “Certainly,” Lyra smiled. “How long do you plan to stay?”

  “I hadn’t really thought about it,” laughed Marak. “My intent was just to meet with you along the coast and return the same day, but I find the trip much too intriguing to return just yet. Of course if you wish me to leave,” Marak quickly interjected realizing that he might be overstaying his welcome, “I would certainly honor your wishes.”

  “Not at all, Lord Marak,” Lyra replied quickly. “Your presence here is welcome as long as you wish to stay. I would like to visit your estates in Khadora sometime and see how you live as well and I wouldn’t want my stay shortened.”