Lord Marak was silent for several minutes. He did not doubt the honesty or patriotism of the mediator of the Lords’ Council, but he wondered if he dared to expose how he had managed to solve his problems. While his methods were within the law, secrecy was paramount for the security of the Torak clan.
“I am willing to enlighten you,” offered Lord Marak, “but only if you vow not to repeat what I am about to say.”
“If you have acted outside the law,” frowned Katzu, “I cannot make such a vow. My first oath of loyalty is to Khadora, and I am sworn to uphold the law.”
“Make your vow, Katzu,” smiled Lord Marak. “While my story is far from the normal conquest of Khadora, my methods have been well researched by the finest legal scholars in Khadora.”
“These scholars already know about the agreements between you and the Sorgan and the Litari?” questioned Katzu.
“No,” Lord Marak shook his head. “They were presented with a hypothetical case. I used my contract with Lord Ridak as a basis for discussion, but the tenets of the law are the same.”
“I will make the vow you request, Lord Marak,” agreed Katzu, “but my conditions remain the same. My oath to Khadora will supercede my vows to you.”
“Fair enough,” declared Lord Marak. “I need for you to understand what is going to happen today with Lord Patel.”
Chapter 19
Tales of Conquest
Lord Marak and Katzu, a mediator for the Lords’ Council, waited for the dawn to arrive as they gazed over the main Nordon estate in the Imperial Valley.
“You know about my situation with the Situ clan, and how I came to be Lord of Fardale,” Lord Marak began. “I had my hands full trying to resurrect a dying estate. There were things I could have done better, like getting to know my neighbors, but there was so much to be done and so little time. I am afraid that I neglected such things.”
“Such things are never done in Khadora anyway,” shrugged Katzu. “The art of negotiation has been dead in this country for many generations.”
“Perhaps,” shrugged Lord Marak, “but I believe in talking before fighting. In any event, Lord Quavry and Lord Burdine hatched a scheme to take Fardale away from the Situ clan. They saw in me a scapegoat that they could use to better their holdings. They filed a grievance with the Lords’ Council claiming that I had violated their borders.”
“Which is what brought things to my attention,” nodded Katzu. “That was a very foolish move on the part of a new lord. If you had your hands full in Fardale, why did you seek to expand?”
“I didn’t,” answered Lord Marak. “The grievances were false.”
“False?” echoed Katzu. “They would not dare to file a false grievance with the Lords’ Council. Did they think I would not notice such a thing?”
“Not exactly,” replied Lord Marak. “They filed the grievance and then Lord Quavry ordered his army to attack a Fardale field near my border with the Sorgan clan. It was an unused field that my freed slaves had requested to use experimentally. It was not guarded, and women and children tended it. The attack was to provoke me into attacking Watula Valley. Had I done so, you would have arrived as the Sorgan clan was destroying the remnants of my army.”
“I cannot believe your tale, Lord Marak,” Katzu shook his head. “While I can easily see Lord Quavry doing such a thing, his marshal, Yenga, would never attack women and children.”
“Yenga did refuse,” explained Lord Marak. “He was enslaved for his refusal. Lord Quavry’s cousin took over control of the army.”
“Very well,” Katzu said. “You indicate that you did not attack in retribution. How then did you solve your dilemma?”
“Actually, I did attack,” grinned Lord Marak. “My armies remained in Fardale, but I went at night and managed to gain access to Lord Quavry’s suite.”
“Alone?” gasped Katzu. “You went alone into the Sorgan mansion?”
“It was the only solution I could find that would avoid bloodshed,” answered Lord Marak. “If my armies did not attack him, Lord Quavry would have sent his forces to destroy Fardale. My only option was to force Lord Quavry to alter his plans.”
“That is bold, Lord Marak,” Katzu shook his head in wonder. “If you had been captured, Fardale would have been his without a fight.”
“Quite true,” agreed Lord Marak. “As it turned out, Watula Valley became mine without a fight. I liked that solution much better.”
“Wait,” frowned the mediator. “What do you mean by saying that Watula Valley became yours? The Sorgan clan still holds Watula Valley to this day. You are losing me.”
“Lord Quavry was in a terrible bind when I captured him,” smiled Lord Marak. “With a Lords’ Council mediator due to arrive, he was in no position to order an attack on Fardale. His false filing would become obvious. I should add that I gave him little choice in the matter. I demanded that he swear Vows of Service to me.”
“His other choices were death or enslavement,” nodded Katzu, “but a lord swearing allegiance to another lord? While that is not unheard of, it usually results in the dissolution of the clan. The Sorgan clan exists to this day.”
“Usually is the keyword,” grinned Lord Marak. “I did not want to destroy the Sorgan clan. The truth is, I wanted a happy and healthy neighbor for Fardale. I made demands of the Sorgan clan. Every person of the Sorgan clan had to personally swear Vows of Service to me. All slaves were set free, and a few other modifications as to how the estate was run, including showing respect for all people.”
“And Lord Quavry agreed to this?” asked Katzu.
“He did,” nodded Lord Marak. “He really had no choice. His life was forfeit, and his son and cousin had been killed. He had no family left to take his place. My demands were reasonable. In fact, the Sorgan clan is far better off today than they were at that time.”
“I agree,” smiled Katzu. “What about the Litari?”
“After I received the vows from the Sorgan,” continued Lord Marak, “Lord Quavry invited Lord Burdine to Watula Valley. Quavry and I presented our case to the lord of the Litari. Burdine also understood that he had no choice. Lord Quavry would be compelled to give evidence against him when you arrived. He quickly agreed to the same terms.”
“So when I arrived,” chuckled Katzu, “you already controlled all of the parties of the dispute. Small wonder you were happy not to have me involved.”
“It does not end there,” said Lord Marak. “Fardale’s last neighbor, the Ragatha, saw my agreement in Watula Valley as a sign of weakness. While they had no idea what happened in the discussions, they were quite sure that I had been forced to give up something valuable to achieve peace. Using an old contract dispute as a basis for conflict, Lord Zawbry of Woodville requested that the Ragatha clan amass for an attack and wipe me out. To make matters worse, Lord Marshal Grefon of the Situ clan promised that they would not make a move to protect me.”
“Did you also sneak into their estate and capture him?” asked the mediator.
“The conflict with the Ragatha was not bloodless,” frowned Lord Marak. “While we managed to keep the losses to a minimum, many a man died that day. Lord Sevrin was surprised, though. He could not understand why the Sorgan and Litari clans were aligned against him.”
“Because he was unaware of your secret alliances,” nodded Katzu. “Very clever, Lord Marak. That is how you managed to obtain Woodville from them?”
“Yes,” answered Lord Marak, “but Woodville is not all I got out of the conflict. The Ragatha clan is also sworn to me.”
“Blessed Khadora!” gasped Katzu. “The Ragatha clan is an old clan and well respected. While not as powerful as the clans of the Imperial Valley, their position on things is often noted.”
“I also control the Situ clan,” added Lord Marak. “After your mediation in Lituk Valley, Lord Ridak sent all of his forces to Fardale to crush me. He was not happy with your ruling.”