Richard Tuttle - 13 Day War

“When it was discovered that the prisoner had died,” added Captain Marez, “the soldiers were to carry the corpse out for burial rather than take him to the king. It was the only feasible way to get Artum out of the keep once we got him inside.”

“Artum would then be fed the pit berries,” interjected Karl, “and the three men would be sent away from the city until after the rebellion.”

“Then I have caused more damage than I could have possibly imagined,” sighed the mage. “I curse this gift of mine. Why couldn’t you have just left me in the battle today? Why couldn’t you have let me die ignorant of my stupidity?”

“It is neither your gift nor your stupidity that is causing the problem,” scowled Captain Marez. “It is your anger. I thought you were making progress with that, but it is over now. We cannot afford to have you around here. If you had kept your head covered, we might have been able to hide you until things died down, but there are precious few mages with fiery hair in these parts. They know who you are, Theos. You have to go.”

“I agree that Theos must leave Tyronia,” Karl frowned, “but you are not being fair to him. What he did today had nothing to do with his rage. Had it been his rage, the confrontation would have taken place far from the city center. Theos made a conscious decision to save Artum from interrogation, and based on similar knowledge to what he had at the time, I would like to think that I would have reacted the same. It took tremendous courage to pit himself against the entire keep, and he put his life on the line to protect the Tyronian Patriots. I think a large part of the fault for today’s fiasco rests in the three of us for not letting Theos know what we were up to. While none of us expected him to get involved, we should have considered the possibility of him stumbling into our little act.”

Althea nodded. “Not rage, but mistaken valor. I agree with Karl. I certainly wish Theos had not gotten involved, but he was brave to do so. The question now is where do we send him? To Waxhaw? Calusa?”

“No,” Captain Marez shook his head. “While he is making great progress on his anger, I think it would be a mistake to place him in another country where the local patriots wear the uniform of the Federation. It is just asking for trouble.”

“That only leaves the horse countries,” frowned Althea. “There are no Federation troops there at all.”

“I will not go into exile and sit out this war,” scowled Theos. “You do not need to take it upon yourselves to plan my future. I started my plan for revenge alone, and I will return to that. Like it or not, I plan to take a lot of Federation soldiers with me on the way to my grave.”

“Leave us,” Karl said softly to Captain Marez and Althea.

Captain Marez looked Karl in the eye and nodded without argument, but Althea donned a hurt expression. Karl stared back with a steady resolve. Althea eventually smiled weakly and followed her brother out of the room.

“If you are going to try talking me out of attacking the Federation,” Theos said when he was alone with Karl, “save your breath. You may be able to teach me how to control my anger, but you cannot make the cause of that anger disappear entirely. I will have my revenge on the Federation for their attacks upon innocent people.”

Karl smiled. “From what I have heard, you got a fair start along that road today. At least one black-cloak is dead and over one hundred of King Mectin’s guard, and you walked away without a scratch. All-in-all, I would consider that impressive.”

“Don’t forget three patriots,” scowled Theos. “I certainly will never forget them.”

“Only two,” countered Karl. “You did not kill Artum, and he knew that he was risking his life for this mission. Theos, do not hold those deaths heavy in your heart. You had no way of knowing what we were doing. You should have been informed. The fault lies with us.”

“A trivial distinction,” sighed the mage. “You didn’t ask the others to leave so that we can commiserate on my failure. If you are planning on trying to get me to give up my path, save us both the time and effort. My mind is made up.”

“Actually,” smiled Karl, “I have something in mind for you. How would you like to be somewhere where everyone wearing a Federation uniform is truly your enemy?”

“You mean like inside a Federation prison?” chuckled Theos.

“No.” Karl shook his head. “I am thinking of Alcea.”

“Your homeland?” balked the mage. “What would I do there?”

“What you do best,” grinned the Knight of Alcea. “Think of it as the two of us changing places for a while. I will work with your people, and you will work with mine. There will soon be sixty thousand Federation soldiers converging on Tagaret, and the Royal Sorcerer was recently killed by a demonkin. King Arik could use your magical talents, and you will have far more targets in one place than anywhere in Zara.”

“And your king would agree to this? Does he know of my struggle?”

“You are doing quite well with that,” Karl smiled, “but I would never speak for King Arik without his authorization. I spoke to him while we were waiting for you to return here. If you find this task acceptable, they are already waiting for your arrival.”

“They?”

“King Arik and Queen Tanya. I think you will like them both.”

“I already have sixty thousand reasons for liking them,” smiled Theos. “I accept.”

Janay, wife of Emperor Jaar, stood on the balcony of Herinak Castle and gazed down at the group of people beyond the city walls. Hundreds of children and adults were sledding in the snow, but her eyes were drawn to a small group of seven. Each of the seven was a resident of the Lair, a special level in the castle that was isolated from the rest.

“Are they having fun?” asked a feminine voice from behind Janay.

Janay turned around and saw an elderly lady enter the balcony. Janay had seen the woman around the Lair ever since her arrival. She did not know who the lady was, but Janay recognized a woman of great culture when she saw one. The woman’s every movement spoke of grace, as if she had been groomed for a throne. Janay looked at her curiously.

“They are indeed having fun,” Janay stated. “I apologize, but I can not remember your name.”

“I have never mentioned it,” smiled the queen as she walked to the edge of the balcony and gazed below. “Names are seldom used here in the Lair. They are not important.”

“Not important, or too dangerous to mention?”

Queen Romani turned and glanced into Janay’s eyes and smiled. “These are perilous times that we live in. Do not be concerned. There is not a person here who seeks to harm you or your daughters. You were brought here for your safety.”

“So I have been told,” frowned Janay, “but I have learned to be skeptical of those who hide the truth from me. Do you know Forshire?”

Janay intentionally left off Forshire’s rank in the Federation army to gauge the response from the mysterious woman.

“I know him,” answered the queen. “He is a good man.” Queen Romani was perceptive enough to realize that Janay was getting too curious. She decided to drive the conversation towards the heirs. She turned away from Janay and focused on the group of seven far below. “They certainly do appear to be having a wonderful time. I am glad that they get along together.”

Janay was not deterred. “They get along quite well. Perhaps too well. Rynda and Billy are becoming quite attached to each other, and I do not feel comfortable when I do not know the true identity of the boys courting my girls.”