Lord Marak smiled through tight lips as he also pulled a paper from his pouch and wordlessly handed it to Katzu. Katzu read the agreement thoroughly and placed it on the table before him. “Lord Marshal Grefon,” Katzu stated, “this document grants to Lord Marak complete and unequivocal control over all of Fardale with complete authority. I am afraid that the Lords Council can not recognize your claim to represent Fardale.”
“I know what the document states,” spat Lord Marshal Grefon. “I wrote the document, but Lord Ridak has superceded it with my authorization.”
“I am afraid he has not, Lord Marshal Grefon,” Katzu said while shaking his head. “The pronouncement given to Lord Marak does not allow for him to answer to any Situ authority concerning Fardale. While his Vows of Service may bind him to Lord Ridak in other matters of the Situ Clan, nothing Lord Ridak can do has any bearing on Fardale. As far as Fardale is concerned, Lord Ridak has no say at all.”
“Well, Lord Ridak has instructed me to remove Lord Marak from Fardale, if I feel he has overstepped his abilities,” declared Lord Marshal Grefon. “You leave me no choice, Marak. I would rather have had a straight answer out of you, but I now revoke your authority to be Lord Of Fardale.”
Katzu shook his head and held up his hand to stop the conversation. “I do not think that you grasp the meaning of my last statement, Lord Marshal,” Katzu interrupted. “You have no authority over Lord Marak at all. None. I do not care what papers Lord Ridak gives you. Lord Marak owes no allegiance to you. Lord Marak may be bound to Lord Ridak through his Vows of Service and Lord Ridak may chose to exercise his options in that regard but, even if he does, it will have no effect on Lord Marak’s relationship with Fardale.”
“Are you saying that Lord Ridak can not choose another Lord of Fardale?” questioned Lord Marshal Grefon.
“That is correct,” answered Katzu. “He may enslave Lord Marak or kill him for violations of his Vows of Service, but Fardale is no longer Lord Ridak’s to control. After examining the documents I consider this a ruling of the Lords Council. If this was not the intent of the person who drafted this document, then that person should never be allowed to draft another.”
Grefon’s face boiled with anger and embarrassment. He had already stated that he drafted the document and Katzu well knew it when he made his sly comment. “I will return to Fardale with you when you are ready to leave, Lord Marak,” grumbled Grefon as he turned and stormed out of the Meeting Chamber.
Katzu looked directly at Lord Marak and spoke in a soft and soothing voice. “You have made a powerful enemy here today, Lord Marak. If you have given Vows of Service to Lord Ridak, as I’m sure you have, you had better tidy up the affairs of your life soon. It does not have the sign of longevity hanging upon it.”
“I’m not sure that I agree with your statement, Katzu,” smiled Lord Marak. “You have already ruled that Lord Ridak has no authority over any aspect of Fardale. My only duty to Lord Ridak is to rule Fardale. As such, it is impossible for him to legally give me any orders at all. If he can not give me any orders, the only way I could break my Vows of Service to him, if I had given any, is to lie to him personally. And I have no need nor desire to lie to him. In fact, I have no need to ever talk to him again.”
Katzu nodded enthusiastically. “Lord Marak,” chuckled Katzu, “when you get done playing Lord of the frontier, you may well have a bright career ahead of you as a mediator for the Lords Council. Your logic is impeccable.”
Chapter 16
Lord Marshal
Lord Marshal Grefon sat impatiently on his horse while Lord Marak held a conversation with Yenga, the Sorgan Marshal. Grefon had heard that Lord Marak needed a mount to return to Fardale and assumed that Marak’s horse must have taken ill on the trip to Watula Valley. It appeared to Grefon that the request for a horse took quite a long time, but eventually a soldier led a fresh mount to Lord Marak and saluted. Lord Marshal Grefon shook his head at the Sorgan soldier’s poor knowledge of procedure. One never saluted another Clan’s Lord. He would have expected more from one of Marshal Yenga’s men.
Marak mounted and started back towards Fardale without a glance towards Grefon, so the Situ Lord Marshal followed in silence. He was not accustomed to being treated so poorly by one of his own officers and Grefon decided he would wait until they reached Fardale to straighten out the ungrateful pup. It might be amusing to dress down Marak in front of his own men.
Marak kept up a fairly good pace and the trip to the border of Fardale did not take long. The first Fardale field that Lord Marshal Grefon saw was quite barren. He shook his head at the size of the task he would have when he took over Fardale. He noticed about a dozen fresh graves in one corner of the field and some of them were very small, as if a grave for a child. On closer inspection Grefon saw the distinctive markers made from the broken head of a hoe, each one scratched with words identifying the lost soul. Not one of the graves was marked with a sword hilt, which indicates the death of a soldier.
Lord Marshal Grefon realized that the Sorgans had attacked this field and killed farmers and children. He wondered what Marak had given up to end the conflict. Grefon’s anger grew as he thought of a Situ soldier giving in to his enemy. Marak should have struck back at the Sorgans with every soldier he commanded, but it was obvious that the Lord of Fardale chose to submit instead. Small wonder Lord Marak did not want Lord Marshal Grefon to know of the settlement he had agreed to. Grefon did not care what Marak wanted, he was determined to find out what Marak had given away from his estate.
A group of women and children working the barren field paused in their labors to wave to Lord Marak and he waved back. Some of workers wore the brown tunic of slaves, but there was nobody guarding them. Grefon was appalled not only at the casual familiarity of Marak’s subjects, but also with the apparent disregard for supervision of Fardale slaves. Any one of these slaves could flee into the woods and never be seen again. Lord Marshal Grefon decided to remain quiet and observe until it was time to confront Lord Marak in front of his men.
The next field Lord Marshal Grefon came to was lush with watula. If anything, the harvest of this field would be greater than any he had seen in Watula Valley and the Sorgan estate was known for its bountiful harvest. Grefon began to think that this field was probably an aberration, but as they progressed closer to the mansion he saw field after field with thriving crops. In fact, the first barren field which Lord Marshal Grefon saw was the aberration. Fardale was flush with watula and would surely have enough grain to meet its contracts, the contracts which Lord Lashendo had stated would be impossible to fulfill.
Each time they passed workers, they waved at Lord Marak and the Fardale Lord waved back. With the estate walls in sight, Lord Marshal Grefon saw soldiers practicing, but the methods they were utilizing were not standard. In fact, their methods were of the same type that reports on Marak had spoken of when he was a Squad Leader. Grefon had credited the young Squad Leader for experimenting with new methods, but actually using these bizarre methods to train an army was another thing entirely.
Some soldiers were crawling through the fields getting dirt all over their yellow and green while others were scampering around as if they couldn’t be easily seen. Lord Marshal Grefon shook his head with dismay over the childish routines he observed. Anyone with a decent pair of eyes would easily see these men coming and they would sacrifice speed to utilize these strange maneuvers.