Richard Tuttle - Winged Warrior

“It goes to the Chula temple,” warned the Torak. “We will not be entering their library.”

Gunta nodded and opened the door to the closet. He stepped in and closed the door. Marak waited several seconds before opening the door and stepping into the closet. He closed the door and reopened it, stepping out into the small area behind the bookshelves in the temple in Changragar. Seconds later Halman stepped out of the closet.

“Now through to Angragar?” asked Gunta.

Marak nodded and the trio repeated the procedure, coming out in the small area behind the bookshelves in Angragar.

“And on to StarCity,” instructed the Torak.

Gunta nodded once more and stepped through the door bearing the mark of the Star of Sakova. Within moments the three warriors were behind the bookshelves in StarCity. Gunta peered through the spy hole and observed the library. Lyra was standing in the center of the room ushering out the few people who had been using the library. Gunta waited for the Star of Sakova to close the doors to the library before releasing the catch that swiveled the bookshelves.

Gunta led the way into the library as Lyra stood staring at him. When Marak exited the small area, Lyra moved swiftly across the room and embraced him.

“I am glad to see you,” Lyra said softly as Marak hugged her. “How did you arrive so quickly? Were you already at Changragar?”

“There is a new door at Changragar, “ explained the Torak. “It leads to the temple in Khadoratung. Ophia sensed some urgency in your request. Have our air tunnels been compromised?”

“I do not know,” replied Lyra, “but I could not take the chance that they were compromised. We have something very important to discuss, and I do not want anyone to know about it before we discussed it.”

The Star of Sakova led the Torak and his shadows out of the library in StarCity. She led the way through the corridors of the Sakovan palace, sending Jostin to find StarWind and have her meet the group in her office. When everyone had entered the Star’s office, she closed the door and said nothing until StarWind arrived.

“StarWind,” Lyra began after the Sakovan spymaster ahd arrived, “I would like you to brief Emperor Marak on this situation. Leave nothing out.”

“Very well,” StarWind said. “Earlier today HawkShadow discovered a boy roaming around in the forest near the Wound of Kaltara. The Wound is a tremendous canyon that stretches for hundreds of leagues. It is impassable. The entire area around the Wound of Kaltara is desolate and uninhabited. HawkShadow captured the boy and discovered that he was close to death. He had abrasions covering his face, chest and legs. Several bones were broken. The boy incurred these wounds while climbing the Wall of Mermidion.”

“The huge cliffs along the coast?” interrupted Emperor Marak. “I thought they were unscalable?”

“For all intents they are,” replied StarWind. “The boy fell several times, but managed to stay alive long enough to reach the top.”

“Kaltara was surely with this boy,” interjected Lyra. “His name is Kenda.”

“His father should have a talk with the lad,” frowned the Torak, “but why are you telling me about him?”

“His father is dead,” frowned StarWind, “as is the entire population of Duran.”

Marak closed his eyes and sank onto one of the chairs before Lyra’s desk. StarWind waited while the Emperor composed himself. She knew exactly how he felt.

“I am sorry,” Marak finally said. “I suspect that I know where this story is going, but please continue, StarWind.”

“Your assumptions are correct, Emperor Marak,” nodded StarWind. “The boy described a vicious attack on the city of Duran. Half a dozen large ships carried warriors and mages in from the sea. From the description that Kenda gave, it appears that the Motangans used a magical fog to hide their approach. When the fog lifted, it dissipated instantly. The attack commenced at the same time. The Motangans showed no mercy. Every individual was struck down; buildings were searched and burned. The second wave to arrive was a group of mages. Kenda believes that they were brought ashore to search for survivors. The invaders’ intent was to leave no witnesses.”

“How was it that Kenda managed to escape?” asked the Torak.

“Kenda and his friend had decided to climb the Wall of Mermidion the night before,” answered StarWind. “It is a rite that the young pursue in Duran. No one ever succeeds, but there are seldom any serious injuries in the attempts. Typically the boys climb as high as they dare and then return to the city to take their punishment. The boys left the city before dawn. They were several hours up the wall before the fog lifted.”

“And Kenda’s friend?” asked Marak.

“He died,” reported StarWind. “He was seen on the wall and fell victim to a mage’s fiery blast. Kenda kept to the dark crevices, but Motangan soldiers were ordered to search the wall. He had no choice but to succeed in getting to the top.”

“He sounds like a brave lad,” frowned Marak. “Will he survive?”

“LifeTender is on a choka heading out to him now,” Lyra declared. “HawkShadow will keep the boy alive until she arrives. I am sure that he will live.”

“While I have no reason to doubt Kenda’s word,” StarWind continued, “I have sent scouts to verify his story. It is too important an event to take the word of a single boy.”

“A smart move, StarWind,” nodded Marak. “How soon will you know for sure?”

“We will know tonight,” answered StarWind. “I have a ship from Zaramilden heading there. HawkShadow also sent SkyDancer to check by land. She will not be able to enter the city, but she will be able to view it from the top of the Wall of Mermidion.”

“Then I shall stay until we know for sure,” declared Marak. “Let’s discuss what the significance of this event is as if it has occurred.”

“It is the invasion that we have been waiting for,” shrugged Lyra. “No one but the Motangans would attack in so vicious a way.”

“I would readily agree that the Motangans are behind the attack,” Marak shook his head, “but that does not mean the invasion has begun. Aakuta reports that Vand has a thousand ships, or soon will have. Why only send six?”

Lyra frowned and stared at the floor when Aakuta’s name was mentioned. She knew that Marak meant no disrespect to her father, but it still bothered her to have him called Aakuta.

“I apologize, Lyra,” Marak said softly when he saw Lyra’s reaction.

“You meant no disrespect,” Lyra smiled weakly. “It is something that I must get used to.”

“Can you think of any other reason to attack Duran?” asked StarWind.

“Possibly,” answered the Torak. “Vand knows that we use air tunnels to communicate. Perhaps he has found a way to intercept our communications and wants to verify it by monitoring what happens when we discover that Duran has been destroyed.”

“He might just want to see how we move our forces in reaction to the strike,” suggested Gunta. “It would be expected for the Sakovans to reposition their forces towards the east coast of the Sakova, but what would he expect the Khadorans to do?”

“A good point,” Marak nodded. “Between our three countries, we have a tremendous amount of coastline to protect. If Vand can draw our forces to any one particular point, it will make his invasion that much easier.”

“And if we keep our armies where they are,” added Halman, “he will easily break through our lines and get behind us.”

“Exactly,” agreed the Torak.

“There is also the terror aspect of it,” offered StarWind. “You can imagine what this will do for our morale when the people find out that Duran has been totally destroyed.”