“Sorry,” Marak whispered, “I am used to describing it to Air Mages who already know that technique.”
After what seemed an eternity of silence, Lyra grinned. “Damned if you are right,” she smiled. “StormSong is destroying the ego of yet another male warrior.”
“You’ve done it?” Marak asked excitedly.
“Indeed I have Lord Marak,” Lyra replied. “I would not have believed it possible. It makes me wonder what else can be done by manipulating air. I do want to come north and spend some time with your mages when this Omunga incident is over. Hang on. Let me try reversing the pressure.”
Lyra grinned suddenly and said, “Anyone who beats StormSong in combat today gets an extra helping at dinner.”
Marak doubled over with laughter and Lyra had to quickly shut the tunnel down before he was heard at the other end. “You spoiled my fun,” pouted Lyra.
“Sorry,” laughed Marak, “but your sense of humor sneaked up on me suddenly.”
Lyra joined in the laughter as the two leaders cast their glance towards the practice yard where everyone was looking about frantically to try and find out where Lyra was hiding.
Absolutely amazing, Lord Marak,” smiled Lyra after her laughter had died down. “How does one visualize it when it extends farther than one can see?”
“It doesn’t really matter,” Marak explained. “Visualize the tube going off to infinity. You will continue to extend your circulation around the tube until it finally reaches the other mage doing the same towards you.”
“Can the tube be obstructed or broken?” Lyra asked.
“Not normally,” answered the Khadoran Lord. “The tube will bend or wrap around obstacles, but it is possible to break it. A sudden shear in the wind is all it would take. A thunderstorm rolling through would certainly do it.”
A sudden thought caught Lyra’s attention. “Can it be used for spying?” she asked.
“It could under certain circumstances,” reflected Marak. “You have to have good airflow between the mage and the victim. It is not going to work through a solid object like a closed door or a wall. An open window would be fine though.”
“I must see that all of our mages learn this,” Lyra declared excitedly. “Now for my end of the deal,” she continued. “I will try to teach you the fog spell, but then I must get ready for the strategy meeting. If this does not work when you return to Khadora, I promise that I will teach one of your mages when I come up.”
“Fair enough,” Marak smiled.
The two leaders spent another hour in the mage field. When they left Marak could repeat the instructions for the fog spell back to Lyra as accurately as she had explained them to him. Lyra left Lord Marak to his own devices as she hurried back to her office and perused StarWind’s report again. Jostin appeared with a tray of food and she nodded her thanks without looking up. After some time, there was a knocking on her door and she gazed towards it as it opened.
“It is time,” StarWind announced. “RavenWing has already been brought into the dining hall. I took the liberty of saving seats near us for Lord Marak, Temiker, and Master Malafar. I hope that is acceptable.”
“Of course,” Lyra agreed as she rose from her chair behind the desk. “That is a good idea. Has anyone shown up yet?”
“The room is packed,” smiled StarWind. “People are lining the walls. They appreciate the chance to hear what is going on and the ability to offer suggestions. The biggest problem will be trying to get everyone who wants to participate into the room.”
“Any problem with getting Master Malafar to attend?” Lyra asked
“Surprisingly, no,” StarWind reported. “Perhaps he was bored in his room.”
“Perhaps,” Lyra replied distractedly while handing StarWind’s report back to her. “Okay, let’s go.”
StarWind led the way and the crowd parted as the Star entered the room. The dining hall was a huge room with a series of long tables with corresponding benches down each side of each table. The tables were interrupted every so often to allow people to pass between tables without having to go to the end of the room. It was a fairly plain room, used solely for what it was designed to do. This evening would be the exception as the Sakovans gathered to find out what was going to be done about the impending Omungan invasion.
Lyra stood at the end of one of the tables where StarWind had reserved seats. The outlanders were already there and RavenWing had been brought in a litter and placed in a bed at the end of the room near Lyra. The crowd quieted and she nodded her thanks for the silence.
“I am pleased to see such a turnout,” Lyra declared loud enough to be heard by all. “Tonight we will all find out where we stand. I have asked StarWind to describe the situation as we know it. If she does not describe something you have heard, then it is probably an unfounded rumor, but feel free to bring up whatever you want. There will be no formality here tonight. I ask only one thing; when someone is speaking, let them speak, regardless of whether you want to hear what they are saying or not. StarWind?”
“Thank you Lyra,” StarWind began. “Here is what we know so far. There is a movement in the Omungan government to wipe us out and then attack Khadora. The Omungan government in the past has been reticent to mount an offensive against an enemy they cannot find, and our strict patrols of the Sakova have managed to eliminate the spies they have sent in. But each time there is an incursion that we do not catch, the Omungans learn more about where we are not. Many years ago we started a campaign to make the Sakova sound like a nightmarish place. This was to keep innocent Omungans from travelling here and has worked for the most part, still the Omungan government gets closer to finding us every year. I state this so each of you is aware that this time our stronghold may indeed be attacked.”
StarWind sifted through her papers and continued, “There have been several events this year that are worth noting. The first was an event that did not appear to concern us, but I think we will agree that it does. The attack on the Academy of Magic brought Lyra into the Sakova, chased by forty Omungan assassins. RavenWing felt strongly enough about this episode that he requested that Lyra be brought here rather than killed as would normally be the case for an intrusion. I think it is safe to say that we are all happy he made that choice.”
Murmurs of affirmation flew through the hall and quickly died when Lyra frowned.
What we found out during the elimination of the assassins, StarWind continued, was that there were another forty to the East also trying to capture her. A party went out to confront them and one was captured. He told us that the leader of their group was a man named Klaarg who worked for someone highly placed in the Omungan government. Therefore, we became alarmed about the intentions of the Omungan government.”
StarWind shifted papers again. “The next episode,” she continued, “was the devastating fire at Campanil. Omungan watula production was destroyed in a deliberate blaze and it was blamed on Sakovans. I knew this was not true, but I went into Campanil anyway to try and find out who did it. I found out several interesting things. I read the official Imperial Guard reports on the incident. More than a few of the people burned in the blaze were not locals, nor were they Sakovans. In fact they suffered from a common malady. They were missing fingers on their left hands. Further investigation discovered that a common game played in sailors’ taverns in Omunga is game called Digits where opponents arm-wrestle each other with the goal of cutting off one of their opponent’s fingers.”
“Another item of interest,” StarWind continued, “was the description of Sakovan stars that were used to kill these people. None of them were five-pointed, which we all know means they were not real Sakovan stars. Further investigation revealed that nobody reported actually seeing any Sakovans, but a large party of Omungan strangers did come into town just before the blaze. The number that left the following day and the number who were dead and unclaimed by locals roughly matched the number that came into town. Their leader was a man named Harac from Okata.”