Richard Tuttle - Island of Darkness

“I have,” replied Lyra. “Larst and I have met secretly for over six months on a regular schedule. We worked together on a plan for peace. It was not a month ago that I promised Larst that I would send food to the Omungan cities. I proposed the building of three roads through the Sakova to aid Omungans with their travel. We had agreed that the Omungans and Sakovans would work side-by-side to build those roads. I last spoke to him the day before he was chosen to be Katana.”

“How can that be?” questioned the general. “If what you say is true, you must have done something terrible to provoke him.”

The crowd was growing restless as Lyra spoke privately with the general. People began to shout because they wanted to know how the Omungans could work with the Sakovans to supply food to Alamar.

“We have done nothing to provoke him,” declared Lyra. “There is another explanation for his turnabout, but now is not the time to discuss it. I am about to make a public offer to you and Mayor Reaker, General. Think hard about your answer before you give it.”

Lyra immediately turned away from the general and walked to the edge of the table. She held both hands high above her head and the crowd instantly fell silent.

“People of Alamar,” Lyra shouted, “I said there was a way that we could work together in solving your problem of food scarcity. I am prepared to continue sending caravans of food to Omunga with only one condition.”

“What condition?” shouted several people.

“The condition is that General Manitow guarantee the safe passage of my people to and from the Sakova,” declared Lyra. “I ask nothing else of the people of Omunga. We will deliver the food for free as long as we are allowed to.”

The crowd roared with approval. The cheering reverberated for blocks as people relayed the Star’s words to those who were not close enough to hear it for themselves. The cheering and shouting continued for many minutes before it finally petered out.

“You know I can’t guarantee that,” scowled the general as he walked up behind the Star. “I trusted you, and now you are starting a riot.”

Lyra turned to face the general. “I have done nothing of the kind,” countered Lyra. “Listen to your people, General. Do you hear any threats being shouted? Or do you hear a starving people weeping for joy?”

“Oh, they are happy now,” retorted the general, “but they won’t be when they find out how you tricked them. You won’t even have time to get another caravan into this city before General Romero arrives.”

“I certainly will,” assured the Star. “Six wagons will be here tomorrow. What happens after that is up to you. If you are going to let the Katana starve your people, I suggest you wait until their bellies are full before you tell them that. Shall we go to your office? There are some things I would like to discuss with you and Mayor Reaker.”

General Manitow gazed out at the cheering crowd and shook his head. He felt he was too angry to speak civilly to the Star of Sakova, but getting her off the streets seemed to be a prudent approach.

“Very well,” he nodded curtly. “We shall go to my office.”

The general jumped down from the table in front of the mayor. He extended his hand to the Star like a gentleman and nudged the mayor to follow. The crowd parted for the Star, some citizens bowing as they would for the Katana. Others cheered as she walked by, and still others tried to reach out and touch her. The crowd surged after them as the general led the way to the headquarters of the Imperial Guard. As the general mounted the steps, a man called out to him.

“We didn’t hear your answer, General,” the man shouted. “They only relayed the words of the Sakovan. Will you give her the guarantee?”

“We are going to discuss it,” snapped the general.

“Discuss it?” shouted another man. “What is there to discuss? She is offering to give the citizens food. If you don’t guarantee it, perhaps you and your soldiers should start getting your food from Okata. There won’t be enough here for us to share with you.”

The general grumbled under his breath and stormed into the headquarters. The mayor waited for Lyra to enter before following. The general strode along the corridor and into his office. By the time the mayor and Lyra arrived, the general was already seated behind his desk. The mayor offered the chair before the desk to Lyra and then dragged another one over for himself. The general saw a soldier walking past the door and ordered him to close it.

“A very elegant speech,” the mayor stated to break the silence.

“Elegant?” snapped the general. “Just what do you propose I tell the citizens when Romero arrives? Or better yet, what are you going to tell them, Mayor Reaker? This city will erupt into full scale rioting. All of my men will be busy trying to keep order in Alamar.”

“Does that mean that they won’t have time to come to the Sakova to murder your innocent neighbors?” posed Lyra.

“Enough,” shouted the general. “This is not some game we are playing here. You are fast losing whatever sympathy I had for your troubles. You have shown a careless disregard for the very people that you say you are trying to save from starvation. Romero’s men will not stand for the citizens rioting. He will kill them.”

“What will you do when he starts to kill them?” Lyra scowled. “Will you stand by and watch them die?”

General Romero slammed his fist down on the desk in a fit of rage. The veins in his head bulged and his mouth contorted grotesquely.

“It is a valid question,” Mayor Reaker said calmly. “What can we do when General Romero starts to mistreat our people?”

“He wouldn’t find it necessary to deal with them if I had things under control,” snapped the general. “If she hadn’t stirred them up with false promises, there would be no problem to deal with.”

“My promises were not false,” Lyra said softly. “I am not trying to harm these people, General. I truly want to help them. What would you do in my place?”

The general calmed down as he thought about Lyra’s question. His veins dampened, and he sighed in frustration.

“I am fortunate not to be in your position,” admitted the general. “With all that is going on, why are you so concerned about the people of Alamar? You should be preparing to defend the Sakova.”

“We are preparing our defenses,” declared the Star of Sakova, “but I do not look forward to killing thousands of Omungan soldiers. If only their leaders would listen to reason, their lives can be spared.”

“Meaning people like me?” frowned the general.

“I certainly hope not,” answered Lyra. “I was referring to people like the Katana and his trio of bloodthirsty generals. Romero, Didyk, and Valdey have been pursuing a war with the Sakovans for some time. How it advances their agenda, I do not know, but I do know that General Didyk was just in Khadora recently. Perhaps there is treachery behind his treachery. I cannot know for sure.”

“Didyk in Khadora?” questioned the general. “Why in the world would he go there? Never mind. Didyk is not the problem here. You made an accusation in the marketplace before. You said that the Katana might have a reason for turning away from peace. What did you mean?”

“As I said before,” replied Lyra, “I have had meetings with Larst before he became the Katana. We had a true agreement of purpose between the two of us. Our last meeting was the day before the Katana was chosen. I offered to build three roads through the Sakova as part of the pending peace agreement. He was excited about it. He intended to bring it up at the Katana’s Council meeting the next day.”

“Perhaps he was feigning excitement?” interjected Mayor Reaker.