“From the general?” echoed the officer. “Very well then,” he added after a moment’s hesitation. “Take her to General Smythe,” he added, waving his hand towards the leftmost corridor.
The escorts nodded and herded Lyra off towards the corridor that contained General Smythe’s office. The trio marched along the corridor until they came to a doorway with two sentries posted outside of it. They stopped in front of the doorway, one of the escort’s hands coming to knock on the door.
“Hold there,” ordered one of the sentries. “The general does not wish to be disturbed. Is this an emergency?”
“I would say it is,” nodded one of the escorts. “We were ordered to deliver the Star of Sakova to General Smythe at once. Perhaps that is why he does not wish to be disturbed.”
“The Star of Sakova?” questioned one of the sentries. “Her? She is barely older than a girl.”
“So you think her age should stop us from carrying out the general’s orders?” quipped one of the escorts.
“No, no,” balked the sentry. “Go on in.”
The other sentry knocked quickly and then opened the door. The two escorts guided Lyra into the office. General Smythe looked up with annoyance as the sentry closed the door.
“What is the meaning of this intrusion?” scowled the general.
“The Star of Sakova, General,” announced one of the escorts.
The general’s face softened as his eyes left the escort and lighted on Lyra. He stared at her for a long moment before breaking the silence.
“You two may leave,” the general stated.
The escorts looked at each other with indecision. Lyra pulled her arms free and took one step forward in a dismissive manner. The escorts shrugged and exited the room.
“So you are the Star of Sakova,” opened the general. “I have heard much about you. How do I know the validity of your claim?”
Lyra slid the Sakovan ring off of her finger and held the finger up so the general could see the blue star imbedded in her skin. The light from the window reflected off the star and cast flickers of blue light on the walls of the office.
“That is the mark of Kaltara,” answered Lyra.
“Very well,” nodded the general. “You appear to be rather young to lead the savages.”
“The Sakovans are hardly savages,” countered Lyra, “and Kaltara did not seem to think that my age was a problem. Nor do the thousands of Sakovans who trust me to lead them properly.”
“Their trust in you is not my problem,” replied General Smythe. “I understand that you are seeking to annex Omungan cities into the Sakova.”
“Shouldn’t the mayor of Fortung be present for this conversation?” asked Lyra. “He does rule the city after all.”
“The mayor will do what I say,” replied the general. “I see no reason to involve him at this stage.”
The general had not offered the Star of Sakova a chair, so Lyra remained standing not far from the door. She was a little concerned with the general’s tone, so she kept half of her concentration on the door behind her. She remembered her mistake in Gatong and was not about to repeat it. If the door opened, Lyra would instantly cast the spell that created the blue cylinder of protection.
“I am seeking to annex the cities of Omunga into the Sakova,” Lyra stated. “The Sakovans did not ask for this war, but we are fully engaged in it now. I would prefer to have Omungans join us without bloodshed. That is what brings me to Fortung. I understand that you have had conversations with General Manitow of Alamar.”
“Indeed I have,” nodded the general. “Manitow informs me that the major cities of the east have sworn allegiance to you. I suspect that is due to the food caravans you sent to feed the people. It is a very clever strategy to force people into submission through the use of food. Starving people can hardly resist.”
“Your Imperial Guards halted our caravans to Fortung,” replied Lyra. “Were that not the case, Sakovan food would still be arriving here.”
“There is truth to your accusation,” frowned the general, “but that was not my doing. Those orders came direct from the Katana.”
“Yet you carried them out,” Lyra responded. “Does it not seem strange to you that the Katana seeks to punish the Sakovans by starving his own people?”
“It did at the time,” admitted General Smythe, “but it does not now. Perhaps he was wise enough to see how you would use the food caravans to enlarge your holdings. If his policy had been adhered to, the eastern cities would still be Omungan.”
“Perhaps,” shrugged Lyra. “It is really hard to tell for sure. When a leader cares so little for his own people that he allows them to starve to death, I cannot think of many reasons why people would still want to follow him.”
“The food shortage was to be addressed after the Sakovans were conquered,” explained General Smythe. “Surely you do not think the Katana is so heartless that he would allow his people to starve?”
“I do believe that he would let them starve,” retorted Lyra. “I know Larst much better than you do. I have had several secret meetings with him. We planned a peace between the Omungan and Sakovans that would endure forever.”
“So you say,” frowned the general, “but then you must not have known him well at all. If you had, there would be no war.”
“Not true,” countered Lyra. “If Larst were still alive, there would be no war.”
“What are you saying?” scowled the general. “Do not play games with me.”
“No games, General,” replied Lyra. “I do not have proof that a magician took over Larst’s body the night before he was chosen to be the next Katana, but I know in my heart that is what happened. I can tell you that the historian that has spent so much time with the former First Minister disappeared that very night. I can also tell you that his identity has been refuted. No such historian ever existed according to the cities that he said he came from.”
“Without proof,” retorted the general, “you have nothing that interests me. I will not entertain such thoughts.”
“Who the Katana really is has no bearing on this discussion,” conceded Lyra. “What is important is the fate of Fortung. I have a ship loaded with food just over the horizon. I would like to bring it into port. Would you allow that?”
“A ship of food?” questioned the general. “I was not aware that the Sakova had a navy.”
“It doesn’t,” the Star of Sakova said without elaboration. “Will you allow it to dock so that your people can be fed?”
“What are the conditions attached to the food?” the general asked warily.
“The food is strictly for the people of Fortung,” declared Lyra. “That is the only stipulation. It cannot be used to feed the Katana’s soldiers.”
“My soldiers are the Katana’s soldiers,” the general pointed out. “Do you expect my men to see a delivery of food and not partake in it?”
“Of course not,” smiled Lyra. “I was hoping that your men would owe allegiance to me before this conversation was finished, but I am willing to consider your men to be citizens of Fortung. Is that fair enough?”
“So we cannot ship any food to Okata or Gatong?” inquired the general. “Is that the statement that you are making?”
“Actually,” smiled Lyra, “the forbidden cities would be Okata, Tanzaba, and Campanil. Gatong is a Sakovan city.”
“Gatong is Sakovan?” questioned the general. “That is hard to believe. What did you promise General Papper to get such an agreement?”
“I promised him nothing,” answered Lyra. “I made my case to General Papper and Mayor Robit, and they chose wisely.”
“Bah,” snipped General Smythe. “Papper cares only for himself. Without you promising him something, he would never join with you. In fact, even if he joined with you, I would not trust him. He would just arrest you the first chance he got when your back was turned.”
“I think you misjudge him,” Lyra replied. “He has had every chance to renege on his agreement, and he hasn’t. Do you attribute to him what you yourself would do?”