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“It is started, then,” Marshal Garouk declared. “Now we shall wait.”

“When do you think they will attack?” queried Lord Lashendo.

“I doubt they have the ability to strike quickly,” mused the Marshal. “It is close to sundown now. I think we should expect them in the morning if they can get it together that quickly. If not tomorrow, certainly the next day.”

“Well, I shall be sure to find my bed early this evening then,” chuckled Lord Lashendo. “I do not want to miss this massacre.”

“That is an excellent idea,” remarked Marshal Garouk. “I will check our defenses one more time and leave an order for an early wake up.”

A pair of kittens wandered through the main gate of Fardale while everyone’s attention was focused on the bloody horse. They didn’t wander aimlessly, nor did they walk across the open stretch of ground before the mansion. Instead, they hugged the wall single file until they reached an old shed and found entry through a damaged wall board. They climbed among the garden implements until they found a high shelf with sufficient room to lie down. There they curled up and went to sleep.

The sun set and gradually more and more of the Situ Clan went to sleep. After a time, the only yellow and green warriors who were awake were those on guard duty. The kittens rose and stretched lazily. Casually, they leaped down from the perch and split up, each taking a different path into the dark night.

One kitten walked around the mansion, avoiding the guards at the doors, until he found the smell of the kitchen and leaped up onto the window ledge. The kitchen was dark and empty and the cat jumped easily to the floor. With an extremely small flash of light, the kitten transformed into a young Chula shaman. The shaman looked around the kitchen and plucked a large meat cleaver from the worktable and padded to the doorway that led to the rest of the mansion. Silently, keeping in the dark, the shaman made his way out into the hallway and began his search for the Lord of the estate.

The shaman wasted no time examining rooms where the doors were placed close together. The Lord’s suite was obvious as there was no other door nearby at all. He gently turned the handle of the door and stepped into the empty sitting room. After a few moments, he found Lord Lashendo asleep in his bed. The shaman did not require the meat cleaver for his task as he had other methods of killing his foe, but the warning had promised that those who sent the next invaders would have their blood flowing upon the ground.

Ever since the Chula had given their warning, scouts, in the form of cats, had kept watch on the estate. The Chula knew who the Lord was and the location of the officers with plumes who commanded the soldiers to invade the Sitari Valley. This shaman’s other targets included the officer with plumes of green and yellow and the officers with the green plumes who lived in a separate building. The other shaman would make the rounds of the barracks, eliminating all of the officers with yellow plumes.

The shaman quickly located Marshal Garouk and left the meat cleaver behind as he once again took the form of a kitten. Dashing through the corridors and hallways as quickly as his four little feet could carry him, the shaman leaped out of the kitchen window and made his way to the building of the green plumed officers. This time the shaman used one of the officer’s swords to decapitate his victims. Having completed his task, the shaman paused and wondered if his partner needed any assistance. He gazed out the window and saw her in the form of a kitten heading back towards the shed. Quickly, he transformed himself and followed her.

At the shed, the kittens transformed themselves into tigers and leaped to the top of the shed. Together they let out a mighty roar and waited for the guards to notice them before leaping onto the wall and jumping down to make their escape. Part of their mission for this night was to make sure the Situ knew who had struck this night and why. Having accomplished their mission, the tigers ran towards the Sitari Valley to report to the others.

The guards noticed the tigers, but their eagerness to chase the tigers into the dark night was nonexistent. One of the guards ran to inform the Marshal about the sighting and ran into the first bit of evidence that the Fardale branch of the Situ Clan was without leadership. Within moments every member of the Situ Clan in Fardale who was capable of waking was awake.

* * *

Marak’s mother, Glenda, stood at the edge of the orchard, apart from the gathered soldiers, watching the ceremony. Lord Marshal Grefon had given the order which excused her from the fields for the short duration needed to attend. Marak stood on the porch in front of Lord Ridak and Lord Marshal Grefon to receive the yellow plume, which marked him a Cortain in the Situ Army. The presentation was short but very solemn. Attaining the rank of Cortain was considered a lifetime achievement and all of the soldiers not on duty were in attendance. Lord Marshal Grefon had already announced the retirement of Cortain Koors with a glowing speech for his long years of service.

As soon as the ceremony was over, Glenda returned to her duties in the field. Marak had arranged to meet with her each evening and would not otherwise interfere with her duties. After congratulations from the soldiers in attendance, Cortain Marak called a meeting of his new Corte. Botal had been quietly elevated to the position of Squad Leader in the Lord Marshal’s office and had taken over command of Marak’s old squad. Squad Leader Tagoro had long followed Marak’s lead in training his men and the purpose of the meeting was to bring Squad Leader Rybak into line with Marak’s philosophy.

The Lord Marshal was correct in his assessment of Rybak and the Squad Leader welcomed his new Cortain with open arms. Any thought of allegiance to Koors was dead and Rybak was falling over himself to praise the leadership skills of his new superior. Rybak’s men seemed genuinely interested in learning and training with the other two squads and the meeting was over quickly. Marak’s Corte was officially off the duty roster for the next two weeks in order to provide him with time to work the three squads into a cohesive unit. Marak ordered Tagoro to lead the three squads to their private practice field and begin integrating Rybak’s squad into the training sessions.

Marak left his men to their practice and went to Lord Marshal Grefon’s study.

“Yes, Cortain Marak,” greeted the Lord Marshal. “What is it?”

“Lord Marshal,” Marak began, “I was wondering if you have any books about the Chula. As long as we have two weeks to prepare, I would like to read about their fighting style and weapons, if that is possible.”

The Lord Marshal laid his papers on the desk and gave Marak an appraising gaze. He never had another Cortain show such initiative about studying an enemy’s methods and wondered if Marak was just trying to impress the Lord Marshal with his industriousness. Grefon stood and walked to one of his bookcases. He quickly selected a volume entitled Indigenous Peoples of Khadora and handed it to the young Cortain. It was a volume he had read himself, just recently, and he planned to take the wind out of the young Cortain’s sails. If Marak thought that Grefon would show him any favoritism because of this trickery, he would soon find out the opposite was true. Lord Marshal Grefon had been dealing with soldiers like Rybak for many years and he did not need to have another one.

“Try this, Cortain,” smiled the Lord Marshal. “It does not contain much on the Chula, but I think you will find it interesting. Make sure you return it before you leave for Fardale.”

“Thank you, Lord Marshal,” replied Marak. “I will make sure it is returned quickly.”