Young Lord of Khadora [Forgotten Legacy Book 1]

by Richard Tuttle

  "We used the kitchen because I was familiar with it,” Iscala explained. “Another Air Mage is at the other end to receive the Air Tube."

  "Can they hear us?” puzzled Lord Marak.

  "If we want them to,” nodded Iscala. “Right now we are operating it in only one direction. I thought we might scare the kitchen help if they heard us, but we have tested it out here and it can work both ways."

  "There are actually three different states that the Air Tube can take,” interrupted Klora. “It can be operated in either direction alone, or in both directions at the same time. It is a matter of pressure in the tube. If the pressure is equalized at both ends, it is a two way Air Tube. If you want it to be only one way, you have only to increase the pressure on the talking end or decrease it on the hearing end. Both actions have the same effect."

  "Who created this Air Tube?” inquired Lord Marak. “Was it Iscala or the Air Mage in the kitchen?"

  "I created it,” answered Iscala. “The creating Air Mage must know the location where the Air Tube is to be sent. That is why I chose the kitchen."

  "I did not see you do anything,” stated Lord Marak, “and I was watching you. Was the Air Tube already set up when I arrived?"

  "No, Lord Marak,” Iscala explained. “You can not see anything because there is nothing to see. It is actually a very low level spell and does not require much energy to create. It requires practically nothing to maintain once it is set up, but there must be an Air Mage at each end for the duration of the spell."

  "How great a distance can this be used over?” Marak asked excitedly. “Could we use it from Glendale to here?"

  "We don't know,” admitted Klora. “This is the greatest distance we have tried so far. Theoretically, any distance could be achieved, but there are many things to be considered. If the Air Tube is broken momentarily, there can be a slight loss in what you hear. This could happen if a person or animal breaks the Air Tube by walking through it. It will instantly mend itself, but you will have that slight loss. Over a great distance the Air Tube could be broken many times and the quality of what you are hearing may not be worth the effort."

  "What if something is put in the path of the Air Tube, like a fallen tree?” questioned Lord Marak.

  "That is not a problem,” replied Iscala. “The Air Tube seeks to reestablish itself just as it does when someone walks through it. It may result in a slightly longer delay before the sound continues, but not that much of a delay."

  "Can all of our Air Mages perform this task?” asked Lord Marak.

  "No,” Klora answered. “Only an Air Mage with some water magic can handle the differences in pressure needed to direct the flow of the sounds. It does not require a very advanced Air Mage, though."

  "Excellent,” grinned Lord Marak. “I am going to need three of these special Air Mages right away. All of them need to be familiar with the Meeting Chamber and the room which used to house the Bursar's assistant. Do not choose Air Mages who are required for research, but the ones chosen must be able to perform diplomatic duties. I am going to station one at Glendale and one at Watula Valley. They are going to be my representatives to their respective Council of Advisors at each estate and I do not want the residing Lords to know of their capabilities. We will call them Correspondents."

  "They are to be spies?” queried Klora.

  "Exactly,” smiled Lord Marak. “The third Air Mage will move into the room which used to house the Bursar's assistant. She will become my Correspondent and monitor the other two. Each remote Correspondent will have a schedule for reporting in. I want to monitor everything that goes on at both estates if we can."

  "I'll have your three mages ready for you this afternoon,” promised Klora.

  "Good,” Lord Marak declared. “I also want you to continue researching this magic, Iscala. It would be good if we could send it to places with no Air Mage on the other end."

  "I doubt that is possible, Lord Marak,” frowned Iscala, “but we will try to find a way."

  Lord Marak spent the next hour with Klora discussing how the other research projects were coming before he headed along the path back to the mansion. A black shape appeared off to Lord Marak's left and he immediately veered off the path to meet with Fisher.

  "You are slipping, Fisher,” chuckled Lord Marak. “I saw you before you tried to startle me."

  "Waiting for better than an hour to talk with you left me caring little for the effect of surprising you,” sighed Fisher. “I have bad news to feed you."

  "The Ragatha?” asked Lord Marak.

  "As you suspected,” affirmed Fisher. “Only the numbers are worse than you imagined. Lord Sevrin has pulled troops out of each of the other four Ragatha estates. He is leaving his estates defenseless. He plans to leave little chance for any Fardale victory."

  "But there has been no provocation,” pondered Lord Marak.

  "I think the troops were already moving when Lord Zawbry spoke with you,” guessed Fisher. “Lord Sevrin is probably unaware that there has been no provocation, or he plans on there being one before he arrives with his troops."

  "I wonder if Lord Ridak will come to our aid?” quizzed Lord Marak. “If Lord Sevrin's men attack from the West, he could be caught between Lord Ridak's forces and ours."

  "I did stop by there on my way back,” reported Fisher. “I don't know if he will help, but Lord Marshal Grefon was not there. He has not been seen since he left to meet with the emissary, although nobody was concerned about his absence."

  "The fact that he has not returned would greaten the possibility of Lord Ridak helping,” stated Lord Marak.

  "Lord Ridak might offer to help and then let you die,” reminded Fisher. “You did not exactly send Grefon off happy."

  "True,” admitted Lord Marak, “but if Lord Ridak refuses, Fardale will no longer be a Situ estate. He will either lose it to the Ragatha or he will lose it to me."

  "You can not just keep Fardale for yourself,” protested Fisher. “He may have given you control of it to run as you see fit, but he is still entitled to a share of the profits. If you try to take that away from him, he'll crush you quicker than the Ragatha and he'll have the support of the Lords Council in doing it."

  "I will plan my battle without his help,” insisted Lord Marak, “but he will still be asked to help defend Fardale. If he refuses, I will take Fardale for my own."

  "Even with the Sorgan and Litari Clans, you can not hope to defeat the Ragatha,” ventured Fisher. “If, for some reason, you did win, the same army could not turn around and defend against the Situ Clan. You have too much promise for Khadora to throw your life away, not to mention the lives of all your followers."

  "I will throw nothing away, Fisher,” declared Lord Marak. “The Ragatha are coming no matter what I do. I must plan on defeating them. Lord Ridak will have to wait his turn unless he helps defeat the enemies of Fardale. How much time do we have before Lord Sevrin gets here?"

  "He has to go around both Glendale and Watula Valley,” explained Fisher. “He has been on the march for a week already, so he will be here within the week. That is not much time to prepare your defenses. You must finish harvesting your crop in case they try to destroy it."

  "Yes,” sighed Lord Marak. “There is much to do and little time to do it. I want you to keep me posted on the Ragatha Army. I must know when they are going to attack."

  Fisher nodded and slipped back into the trees. Lord Marak regained the path and hurried back to the mansion. He ordered Lectain Zorkil to inform the Council of Advisors that they would meet in one hour and then headed straight to Marshal Yenga's suite. Lord Marak told Marshal Yenga of the pending attack and asked his advice on how to prepare.

  "Do the Ragatha know that the Litari and Sorgan Clans owe allegiance to you?” the Marshal of Fardale asked.

  "I do not see any way that they could know,” commented Lord Marak. “I was planning on using the Litari troops to attack Lord Zawbry from behind."

  "That is sound strategy,” nodded
Marshal Yenga. “I think the best use of the Sorgan troops would be to flank Lord Sevrin's approaching army. What kind of tricks can your Mage Corp provide us?"

  Lord Marak's eyes opened wide and Marshal Yenga laughed. “You may be able to hide their training from everyone in Fardale,” chuckled Marshal Yenga, “but I know how a Marshal thinks and you think like one of the finest Marshals I have ever known. In your position you need to explore every path available, whether it is a dead end or not."

  "Their battle magic is not perfected,” sighed Lord Marak. “They can create fog to confuse the enemy and provide communications to a central point. They can do more, but I do not wish to show my hand if victory can be obtained without letting anyone know we are using mages."

  "That is a sound philosophy,” agreed Marshal Yenga. “Even fog will allow us to even the odds greatly. If we can get the bulk of their army between us and the Sorgan Clan, we will do great damage with arrows before they know what is going on. Do you plan to appeal to Lord Ridak for help?"

  "I feel that I must,” frowned Lord Marak. “I doubt they will come to our aid, but not to ask for it would be wrong."

  "I know Lord Marshal Grefon,” remarked Marshal Yenga. “He will not come to help you. He has visited Fardale more often than any other Situ estate. I assume that he wanted it for his own and now you have it. He will attack the Ragatha after they are victorious, but that will not help us."

  "Will he attack if we are victorious?” questioned Lord Marak.

  "Not right away,” Marshal Yenga answered as he stared out the window. “He will find it hard to believe that young Marak has defeated the five estates of the Ragatha Clan. No, he will try to get more information about the battle and how it was won before he attacks. He is not a Marshal who throws troops into the unknown easily."

  "I need to choose the man I send wisely,” mused Lord Marak. “It must be somebody who can keep his mouth quiet. Lord Marshal Grefon and Lord Ridak will try to pry information out of him."

  "Send Cortain Rybak,” suggested Marshal Yenga.

  "Rybak?” queried Lord Marak. “You do not know what you are saying. Why did you suggest him?"

  "I do not know what has passed between you and Rybak,” noted Marshal Yenga, “but I know he is your man. He feels some deep obligation to you and has volunteered for every hazardous task that has come across my desk. I believe that he feels the need to repay you for something."

  "That may be so,” objected Lord Marak, “but he is not the right man for this job. He feels bad because he was Grefon's stooge when we were sent out here. I know he has changed and I am happy to leave the past forgiven, but not forgotten."

  Marshal Yenga walked to his desk and sat down. After a moment, he looked Lord Marak in the eyes. “Send him,” Marshal Yenga repeated. “That is if he is willing to go. If what you have told me is true, he is the perfect man for the job. He will resent Lord Marshal Grefon enough that he will reveal nothing."

  "I could not send him,” stated Lord Marak. “Even if he did not reveal anything, Lord Marshal Grefon would like to get his hands on him."

  "Who goes to Lituk Valley is not the most pressing problem that we have,” offered Marshal Yenga. “I will leave it up to the Lectains as to who should be sent. What I need to know now is how we can use your Mage Corps to our best advantage."

  "You have a bigger challenge than that,” declared Lord Marak. “I do not want to kill the Ragatha Army. I want to capture them."

  "Capture them?” exclaimed Marshal Yenga. “We will be doing good if we can defeat them. You can't be serious?"

  "Ah, but I am,” smiled Lord Marak. “Lord Sevrin is coming with every soldier he owns. It is much larger than the three Clans I now control. If we destroy his army, we will not have enough troops to safeguard our new Ragatha estates."

  "You plan to take over the Ragatha estates?” echoed Marshal Yenga. “Shouldn't we plan on surviving, first?"

  "If we don't survive,” remarked Lord Marak, “we won't have to worry about the validity of our other plans. If we kill the Ragatha Clan and lose many of our men doing it, Lord Marshal Grefon will march right out here and claim his prize. I will not allow for that in my planning. We have almost a week to work on this. Let's plan to achieve my objectives and see how it goes."

  "We have much less than a week if we are to achieve your goals,” remarked Marshal Yenga. “We will have to do something to even the odds if we are to capture the Ragatha Clan. If I know Lord Zawbry, he will attack first to draw your attention so your men have their backs to Lord Sevrin. He will attack late in the afternoon so the battle does not get too fierce. Lord Sevrin's men will attack at dawn and you will be stuck in between."

  "But I have trained my men to fight at night,” Lord Marak pronounced excitedly.

  "Exactly,” nodded Marshal Yenga. “Let Lord Zawbry start the conflict and bed down for the night. During the night we will encircle his camp and demand his surrender. It would help if one of your men could actually get to Lord Zawbry's tent unnoticed to demand the surrender."

  "With Lord Zawbry's men out of the way,” continued Lord Marak, “we will be facing only one front and they will expect only a third of us."

  "Precisely,” agreed Marshal Yenga. “That will be the hard part. We are going to need something very complicated to capture the armies from the other four estates."

  "We will have to discuss this later,” sighed Lord Marak. “We have a Council meeting to inform the rest of Fardale about the threat. Perhaps they will have some valuable insight."

  * * * *

  "You have been gone a long time,” greeted Lord Ridak. “I trust everything went well with the emissary?"

  "Hardly,” frowned Lord Marshal Grefon. “The mediator did not even get to hear the grievance. Marak had already managed to quiet the Sorgan and Litari Clans before the emissary arrived. He must have given them something, but I can not figure out what is was. Marak has proven to be a poor choice for Fardale and he must be removed."

  "He was your choice,” Lord Ridak reminded the Lord Marshal. “Why didn't you just remove him?"

  "I tried,” scowled Lord Marshal Grefon. “The emissary claims the pronouncement does not allow for you to replace Marak."

  "The emissary claims!” exclaimed Lord Ridak. “Who is he to determine internal Situ affairs?"

  "He is the representative of the Lords Council,” corrected Lord Marshal Grefon. “If you try to remove Marak and are unsuccessful, the Lords Council may side with him in any disputes. I know of no precedent for the Lords Council to take up with a sworn clansman, but I do not think it would be wise to test their power."

  "What condition is Fardale in?” quizzed Lord Ridak.

  "They are actually going to be able to fulfill their contracts,” surmised Lord Marshal Grefon. “I do not understand how Marak managed it, but Fardale's watula is as healthy and bountiful as the Sorgan crop."

  "Then Marak has served his purpose,” concluded Lord Ridak. “Recall him at once and I will deal with him."

  "You haven't been listening,” sighed Lord Marshal Grefon. “You have no control over Fardale. The only person out there that you have any control over is Marak and he will not cooperate with you."

  "What are you talking about?” stormed Lord Ridak. “I made Marak Lord of Fardale and I can remove him. If the document I gave to you is not sufficient, I will have another drafted with greater powers."

  "There is no such document that you could draft,” admitted Lord Marshal Grefon. “The pronouncement you signed to put Marak in power gives him absolute control over Fardale. You have only one sworn clansman in Fardale and that is Lord Marak."

  "But you drafted that pronouncement,” protested Lord Ridak. “What was going through your head when you specified that clause?"

  "Marak pressed for it based upon your words in the meeting before its drafting,” explained Lord Marshal Grefon. “I could not put you in the position of going back on your word."

  Lord Ridak clenched his fist and slammed
it down on the table, making the Lord Marshal blink at the seldom displayed fury which had vaulted Lord Ridak into his leadership position in the Situ Clan. “I want Marak's body delivered to me now,” ordered Lord Ridak. “You suggested him for the position. You deliver his body."

  "We can hardly attack our own estate,” reminded Lord Marshal Grefon, “especially after the emissary from the Lords Council has seen the pronouncement. There is a way that we can profit greatly from Marak's position, though."

  "Another of your schemes?” snipped Lord Ridak. “I truly hope for your sake that this one is better than your last. What is it?"

  "We can allow others to do our work for us,” smiled Lord Marshal Grefon. “Marshal Tingo of Woodville was in Fardale when I showed up. The Ragatha Clan is nervous about Marak's potential for cutting them off from the outside. I think that the Ragatha Clan could eliminate our problem for us."

  "Woodville's Army is not much larger than Fardale's,” stated Lord Ridak. “Even if we could get them to attack, it would be an even match and you have told me that Marak is an able strategist."

  "If Marak was facing only Woodville that might be true,” chuckled Lord Marshal Grefon, “but what if he was facing the entire Ragatha Clan?"

  "Lord Sevrin would not dare to bring his forces against Fardale,” protested Lord Ridak. “He knows that he would be faced by the entire Situ Clan."

  "Ah, but would he?” posed Lord Marshal Grefon. “I indicated to Marshal Tingo that Lituk Valley would not raise a hand to protect Lord Marak."

  "I fail to share your jubilant mood regarding our giving Fardale to the Ragatha Clan,” scolded Lord Ridak. “At least, with Marak in control we will get Fardale back when he dies, an event which you will precipitate immediately."

  "You miss the obvious,” smiled Lord Marshal Grefon. “I never promised that we would let the Ragatha Clan keep Fardale. I merely indicated that we would not support Lord Marak. Let Lord Sevrin bring his Army to Fardale and remove Lord Marak from power. We would then be entirely justified in attacking the Ragatha Clan with our full fury. With Lord Sevrin's Army all in one place, his defeat would double the size of your Situ holdings. We would not have to push out our borders at Raven's Point to expand."