The Fireseed Wars

Prince Zylannos, the current Prince of Thaphigos, was a crony of Great King Lysandros and a second cousin to the deceased head of one of the former ruling families. Without Lysandros' backing, Prince Zylannos would have lost his crown moons ago, as he was a loudmouthed braggart, and his support among the Thaphigosi nobility was minimal at best. He'd already survived two rebellions by blind luck. Lysandros supported him because he was one of the first nobles to plant his flag firmly in Lysandros' camp after Great King Kaiphranos' death.

After meeting Zylannos at the wedding, Phidestros decided he would do his best to stay as far away from the Prince and Thaphigos Town as he could.

He heard a knock at the door and Arminta's voice, "Can I come in?"

"Yes, my love."

Arminta came in carrying two goblets of winter wine. She gave one to Phidestros and then sat down. "Our wedding was a great success. The family is still talking about it!"

"We had Princes from every major Princedom in Hos-Harphax, including Lysandros' surrogate, Duke Kaphros, who attended with the Great Queen. I was surprised and pleased."

"My husband, you are considered a Great Captain now; they came to bathe in your glory. You are the greatest Harphaxi military leader in living memory. After all, you commanded the army that defeated the Usurper Kalvan! Many of the princes and their nobles were curious and anxious to meet you. Some out of fear, some out of curiosity. But, who would have thought Great Queen Lavena would attend? It was a signal honor."

"I wasn't surprised she was there."

"Why?" Arminta asked. "I've only met her once and not at the best of times."

"Because you were nice to her when you met her at Tarr-Beshta. She's been snubbed a lot by Harphaxi society, just as I would have been had I not the brains to marry you."

Arminta punched him in the arm hard enough that it hurt. "I'm not that important."

"Your modesty is one of the things I love about you, darling. The truth is that Queen Lavena is a young lady in a hostile court, who doesn't know anyone, let alone who's important and who's not. Her husband, who is anything but popular, is a thousand marches away-and may not return alive. She needs all the friends and support she can garner. This was a good place for her to make an appearance: Lavena knew that she'd receive a warm welcome from you, that all the important nobles and ladies in Hos-Harphax would be in attendance and that she could appear gracious by giving you that expensive necklace-and cement her ties to us."

"Indeed, my love! Once could purchase a barony for the price of the diamonds and emeralds in that lovely piece."

"Exactly. I'm certain that was Lavena's plan. Every princess, duchess and baroness in attendance was drooling over it! Now, they'll all be conspiring to win her grace and invite her to family weddings and Name Day celebrations in hopes of a similar gift."

Arminta's face was stricken. "Now, I feel like I've been used."

"Don't look at it that way darling. It's just politics as usual. It comes as natural to Lavena as stalking a mouse is to a cat. You're the unique one in the Harphaxi Court, my love. You actually enjoy helping people and doing things to make the world a better place. In doing so, you also bring out the best in other people."

"Well, that makes me feel better." She gave him a hug.

"Good, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I've grown accustomed to being a cynical bachelor. Looking out for someone else is new to me."

"Well, you're getting better at it, my husband."

He bowed.

"Have you found a place yet to quarter the army?"

"No. I want to stay far away from Thaphigos Town and that bore Zylannos. He was drunk before the wedding, during and after! If he'd put his hands upon your little brother once more, I would have had to pummel him into the next moon!"

"Zylannos is disgusting; I can't believe King Lysandros crowned him a Prince. I must admit, my father hadn't succumbed to your charms until you grabbed that pederast by the scruff of his neck and took him off to the stairway for a good talk. Now, my father believes the sun and moon revolve around you and is telling everyone what a wonderful and powerful son-in-law he has."

"When I saw your father grasping his dagger hilt, I decided it was time to act. I didn't want anything to mar our wedding, or put your father any higher on Lysandros' enemy list."

Arminta nodded. "You're right, bloodshed would have ruined the celebration. But will humiliating Zylannos in public cause you any difficulties in carrying out King Lysandros' orders?"

"Lysandros ordered me to remove the Agrysi threat; that happened the moment word arrived in Thaphigos that I was in the area with an army. At this moment, there are no more Agrysi soldiers in Thaphigos, or Hos-Harphax for that matter. He also ordered me to protect his interests in this area. The King, however, did not ask me to refrain from putting his errant Prince in his proper place."