The Fireseed Wars

"Archpriest Cimon, the one they call the Peasant Priest, tried to help by setting-up food depots for veterans, and, with my coins, the free rations helped me get through the winter. There wasn't enough to go around and a lot of good men were less fortunate. But I was able to keep my lodgings and scrounge up enough food to survive. I traded my last coins for a swaybacked farm horse and some provisions. Then I hired on as a guard for a small trading band and made my way through Hos-Ktemnos and into the Sastragath. There I left the merchant camp and followed the Mother River down to Wulfula where Dalla and I had a wonderful reunion. She left Greffa when King Theovacar spies followed her and arrested several of our partners."

"Why didn't you bring her with you?"

"Too dangerous, Rylla. Besides, she's too busy running the business and trying to salvage as much as she could of our losses. She knows I'll be back as soon as I can."

Rylla just shook her head. "You're as bad as Kalvan. If it wasn't for Demia, I would see him one night a moon quarter!"

Verkan grimaced, as if her words were too near the truth. "At Wulfula Town, I joined up with a big trading caravan on its way up to Rathon. They told me that Great King Nestros was dead and that Rathon was now part of Hostigos! Or Nos-Hostigos as it's now called. You can't imagine my surprise, when I ran into some old comrades at the border and they escorted me into Rathon City where I was presented to King Chartiphon, who was most gracious and anxious for news concerning Old Hostigos. The King gave me new clothes, more gold than I could carry and way more drink than I needed! After a few days' rest and time to recover from my hangover, I was given a good steed, an armed escort and brought here to Thagnor City. And that's the short version."

"Whew! That's Styphon's Own Lot of a story, my friend. You are a very lucky man." Kalvan guessed that the "long" version covered a lot more privation and suffering than Verkan would ever admit out loud. He felt privileged to have men like Verkan under his command.

Verkan gave a wry smile, then nodded.

Kalvan said, "Since you just arrived, you probably don't know that Trader Kostran and your friend Tortha are both in the City."

Verkan shook his head. "Good news. I was worried they'd have trouble getting out of Greffa alive. Theovacar is well-known for pushing a grudge into murder if he's thwarted. It'll take a lot of work to replace the factories and property we lost in Greffa."

"Don't worry about that, Verkan. You'll be well taken care of."

Rylla punctuated that with a "By Dralm's Star!"

THIRTY-FIVE

What had once been a large royal bedchamber on the second floor of the Thagnor palace was now the acting Command Center of the Hostigos military command. Great King Kalvan made a quick head count of his assembled commanders: to his right were General Verkan, Chancellor Mytron, Prince Phrames, Prince-in-Exile Sarrask, Prince-in-Exile Tythanes who looked as if he'd been sucking on a lemon, Prince-in-Exile Pheblon, and King Chartiphon. Seated at his left were Captain-General Hestophes, General Alkides, Captain-General Errock, Admiral Herad, Count Vinaldos, General Klestreus, Baron Tortha, Uncle WolfTharses and a few other staff and line officers.

Queen Rylla sat at the opposite end of the table and directly behind her stood the new Royal Flag of Nos-Hostigos, a double-headed golden halberd on a blue field surrounded by fifteen gold and silver stars. The silver stars represented the 'lost' princedoms of old Hos-Hostigos, while the gold stars represented the new kingdoms and princedoms they now held in the Middle Kingdoms: the Kingdom of Thagnor, the Princedom of Gytha, the Kingdom of Rathon, and the Rathoni Princedoms of Cyros, Hythar and Vysta.To the right of Rylla stood the Royal Banner of Thagnor, a black bull on a red field, while on the left was the blue halberd-head of Old Hostigos on a red field.

This is the meeting, thought Kalvan, where we determine if we can keep these new territories, add to them or whether we retreat even farther into the hinterlands. Of course, if we keep running, we'll eventually run out of places to hide.

Kalvan took a moment to load his pipe and light it before standing. "The roads should be dry enough to use in another moon quarter so I wanted to bring the entire command staff of Nos-Hostigos together for a final staff meeting as this is the last opportunity we'll have to meet together before the campaign, and before King Chartiphon departs for Rathon City tomorrow. I do want to say that I'm very pleased with the additions and improvements King Chartiphon has made to the Rathoni Army and they will play an important part in the spring campaigns.

"Now, would you brief the rest of the generals on your troop dispositions?"