Aakuta: the Dark Mage (50 page)

Fisher swiftly opened the door, slid out of the room, and closed the door again. The guards immediately turned towards him with questioning glances.

“Lord Garic forgot the papers he wanted to show the Emperor,” Fisher shrugged. “Guess who gets the blame for it?”

“Could it be any other way?” chuckled one of the guards. “You had better hurry with them or he will deride you some more when you return.”

“I am in no hurry to return,” smiled Fisher. “Those two are arguing as if they were married. I can never get used to being in the presence of two powerful men arguing. It just isn’t safe.”

“Well I hope he doesn’t ring for us then,” laughed one of the guards. “I would prefer that you return and take the abuse.”

“Thanks a lot,” Fisher said sarcastically as he waved goodbye to the guards and headed for the staircase. “I just hope they don’t come to blows like they did the last time.”

* * *

“Welcome back to Khadoratung, Lord Marak,” greeted Katzu outside the Lords’ Council Chamber. “I heard that things went well on the frontier.”

“Indeed they did,” smiled Lord Marak. “The Jiadin have fled back into Fakara. A few groups of them chose to stand and fight, but they proved to be no match for the armies pursuing them. The bodies of the three lords hosting them have been found dead. Nobody is sure if they committed suicide or were murdered by their own people. I don’t think anyone really cares as long as they are gone.”

“What of Lord Damirath?” asked the mediator. “I heard reports that only his clothes were found. There was no body.”

“That is correct,” nodded Lord Marak. “Frankly, I am not surprised. I believe the real Lord Damirath died a long time ago. Somehow Zygor found a way to take over his body. There is much about magic that we do not know yet.”

“I am sure your mages will soon discover it,” smiled Katzu. “What of Aakuta? I heard he actually helped our side in the battle.”

“He certainly did,” agreed Lord Marak. “I do not know if it was intentional of not, but timing of his arrival was fortunate for us. We were at the point in battle where our losses were about to increase dramatically. There was no sign of his body after the battle. He must have escaped. Some of the fleeing Jiadin spoke of a secret valley in Fakara that was lush with crops and animals. I got the impression that the dark mage was somehow responsible for it. What happened to Mirakotto?”

“That is puzzling,” frowned Katzu. “It appears that Lord Garic and he had a falling out. Lord Garic knifed him in the throat. It must have been a spontaneous act, because Lord Garic did eventually realize what he had done. He committed suicide by jumping from the window.”

“I cannot say that I am sorry to see the two of them gone,” admitted Lord Marak. “They placed their own welfare above that of Khadora. We have no place for such people.”

“I agree,” nodded Katzu. “You had better go in. The other lords have already assembled. We can talk later.”

Lord Marak smiled and nodded as Katzu held the door open for him. He entered the chamber and took a seat with the other four lords.

“Now that we are all here,” smiled Lord Patel, “we can begin. Our only point of business today is to select the next Emperor. Let us try to do a better job than the last time. I open this meeting for nominations.”

Each of the lords looked at one another for a few seconds. Lord Marak smiled and stood.

“I nominate Lord Chenowith,” he said. “His father served Khadora well, and I am sure that Bagora’s son will follow in that tradition.”

Lord Chenowith smiled and rose as Lord Marak sat back down. “Thank you, Lord Marak,” he said. “You honor me with your nomination. I cannot accept, however. I think everyone in this room knows who needs to be our next Emperor. While I think each of us could serve this country well, only one of us has the vision of where we need to go. That person, Lord Marak, is you. I nominate Lord Marak to be our next Emperor.”

“My election to Emperor may be a bit too much for the Khadoran lords to stomach,” warned Lord Marak. “I would immediately issue several edicts.”

“What kind of edicts?” asked Lord Quilo.

“I would immediately banish slavery,” answered Lord Marak. “I would demand that all mages be schooled. I believe we will need their magic when the evil comes.”

“I think the lords will have to swallow those reforms,” shrugged Lord Quilo. “Schooling the mages makes a great deal of sense. Nobody fully understands what they are capable of. As for freeing the slaves, it is only an economic matter. If all clans free them, no particular clan will have an advantage. It will be equal for all.”

“I would also freeze all clan boundaries,” Lord Marak continued. “I will not have boundary disputes causing dissention between clans. If there are boundaries that are currently in dispute, they must be presented to the Lords’ Council within a fortnight. The Lords’ Council will decide upon a final boundary in those cases.”

“An excellent idea,” remarked Lord Patel. “Boundary disputes are the number one reason for warfare in Khadora. We should commission a map of Khadora showing each and every boundary.”

“I will want each estate to have their armies trained here in Khadoratung,” added Lord Marak. “They can send two cortes for training and when those two are returned to them, they can send two more. Eventually, we will have trained every army in the country and taught them how to interact with other armies.”

“So when the times comes,” nodded Lord Kiamesh, “the various clan armies will be able to act like one.”

“Exactly,” agreed Lord Marak. “We will also be able to count on each army to have a sufficient level of skill to handle the tasks we assign. There is another reform that I have thought a lot about lately. We need a system of courts in Khadora. When slavery as a punishment is abolished, it will cause a certain amount of confusion as to what is to be done with lawbreakers. We should have courts that will decide the punishment for each crime. No longer will the clan lord be the sole judge of crime and punishment. Each offender will be given a chance to tell his side of the story. The court will decide on guilt or innocence and specify the punishment.”

“This is a drastic change in our laws,” interjected Lord Chenowith. “Clan lords are used to having the final say in affairs of the clan. There may be riots calling for you to step down.”

“Which is why I warn you against electing me,” sighed Lord Marak. “I see these edicts as necessary to make Khadora into the country we have always wanted it to be.”

“I think the courts could be presented in such a way as to make them appear more favorable,” suggested Lord Patel. “Each clan has in their history at least one tale of wrong justice. If the courts are presented as being able to prevent such injustices in the future, I think it will be accepted.”

“You might also add that the levying of fines will be a punishment,” added Lord Quilo. “A portion of the proceeds can be allocated to the wronged party. Nothing speaks louder to a clan lord that gold.”

“Isn’t that the truth,” chuckled Lord Kiamesh.

“There is one last edict that goes against the very first law of Khadora,” Lord Marak frowned. “The Chula are not to be bothered. This will cause an outcry from some clans because they have been led to believe that all of Khadora’s woes rest on the shoulders of the Chula. The fact is, the Chula have never attacked us unless we first invaded their lands. This fighting must also stop. As the clan boundaries will be formalized, there will be no reason to invade Chula lands.”

“You have presented the reasons why Khadorans have no need to attack the Chula,” frowned Lord Quilo, “but what is to stop the savages from attacking us?”

“I will execute a treaty with the Chula,” offered Lord Marak. “We will each agree to the boundaries of our peoples. Hopefully, we will soon begin trading between the Chula and the clans, and perhaps in time, we will even learn to trust one another.”

“Any other edicts, Lord Marak,” asked Lord Chenowith.

“Not at this time,” sighed Lord Marak, “but I warn you my election will cause problems.”

“There will be problems no matter who becomes Emperor,” declared Lord Chenowith. “I could be easily tempted to take your list of edicts and make them mine.”

“That would please me,” smiled Lord Marak.

“But I won’t,” grinned Lord Chenowith. “They are your edicts, and you should implement them yourself. My nomination of Lord Marak still stands. Are there any other nominations before I call for a vote?”

“There will be no other nominations,” smiled Lord Quilo. “Let’s get this vote out of the way so we can start planning to implement the Emperor’s new edicts.”

“Yes,” grinned Lord Kiamesh, “I can hardly wait to see the faces at the Assembly of Lords when Emperor Marak announces his few small changes. A few of those expressions will be priceless.”

The mood of the Lords’ Council was bright as they voted in the new Emperor. While the meeting officially ended with the election of Emperor Marak, unofficially it continued well into the night. Each of the members of the Lords’ Council began preparing speeches in support of Emperor Marak’s edicts.

The Lords’ Council mediator, Katzu, checked the room periodically. Each time he checked, his curiosity grew as to why the council was still in session. He also wondered why the members were in such a jovial mood. Eventually, he stayed inside the room and listened to what was going on. With a wide grin of understanding, Katzu pulled out a chair and sat down to join in the preparations for a new Khadora.

THE END

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