The Fireseed Wars

"He isn't. Sargos is one of the Daemons close allies. As far as we know from the survivors' accounts, there was no sign of any Hostigi at the Siege of Pynros. However, one thing is clear, the nomads were using Hostigi fire-seed and guns against Tarr-Pynros. And now Tarr-Marnos is under siege."

Archpriest Timothanes jumped up. "These attacks must be put to an end, Your Divinity! The very walls of Styphon's House are beginning to crumble!"

Anaxthenes smiled to himself. These fools are playing right into my hands. For a moment he almost missed Archpriest Roxthar-but only for a moment.

He arose and raised his arms towards the ceiling. "It is time to temporarily end the fight against the Daemon Kalvan until this barbarian influx is ended. I have already drafted orders to Grand Commander Aristocles to abandon the Siege of Thagnor City and move his men back to Tarr-Ceros and the western marches."

"But won't that allow the Daemon Kalvan to rebuild his army and attack us again?" Archpriest Dracar asked.

"The siege has fared badly. The Daemon and his army arrived in Thagnor by ship long before the Grand Host and were able to erect massive earthworks around the City of Thagnor; the city is now surrounded with walls that are almost impervious to gunshot. One of the Daemon's lieutenants, Prince Sarrask, defeated the Army of Greffa, while the Daemon Kalvan secretly moved his army into Grefftscharr, laying siege to Greffa City. After the city fell, he made one of his lieutenants the new King of GrefFa."

This news was met with shocked silence.

Archpriest Danthor lowered his head and Anaxthenes responded with a nod. The gray-haired Archpriest rose and said, "If this report is true, King Theovacar has lost his capital. This will bind him to our cause for as long as it takes to depose the False King of Nos-Hostigos."

Anaxthenes nodded; he couldn't have phrased it better himself. Danthor was becoming one of the linchpins of his rule.

"Yes, King Theovacar will be soon be our blade against Kalvan. Meanwhile, Grand Commander Aristocles will soon receive orders to recall the Grand Host from Thagnor so that he is to see to the defense of the outer marches. This will be the Order of Zarthani Knights' top priority until the barbarians are driven out of the Sastragath and across the Great Mother River. When they are tamed and Hos-Agrys is truly ours, then we will create an even larger host with bigger and better guns to destroy the Daemon."

"Yes, yes!" the Archpriests shouted as one.

"Kill the Daemon Kalvan! Kill the Daemon Kalvan! Kill Kalvan! Kill Kalvan!"

II

Grand Master Soton was in his headquarters, a former manor house, when the Archpriest Grythos, still in rags, slunk into his private chambers. Soton shook his fist in anger, shouting, "Where are my Knights, Grythos?"

The Archpriest just shook his head with a crestfallen look on his face.

He had trusted Grythos with the most important task in Hos-Agrys, outside of the siege itself, and the Archpriest had failed. It appeared that too much high living and political in-fighting had spoiled the former Knight Commander for work in the field. If it hadn't been for Styphon's Voice's order that Grythos was to be the new Agrysi regent, he would have sent him slinking back to Balph.

Grythos, whose left arm was bent outward from a poorly-healed sword blow, pleaded, "Grand Master, I did my best. We must have fought every outlaw band in Hos-Agrys. Someone had spread the word that we were Investigators and every farmer, serf, peasant and townsman's hand was raised against us! If you should blame anyone, it would be Roxthar."

"The Investigator is a dagger buried between my ribs, but he is not responsible for every failure that Styphon's House encounters."

"Grand Master, it would have taken a real army to reach Salis Village. I myself took a bad head wound and my arm was broken in two places; the bones had already grown back together before I could find a healer."

"That is the price of battle. But you didn't just fail to reach the heir; you lost all of the other heirs to the Throne of Light! Do you know what that means? Now, we may have to let the traitor Demistophon continue his rule because we don't have a legitimate claimant. It's only Lytris' Own Luck that the Agrysi haven't figured out what we were up to."

"I never thought the Agrysi were capable of fighting like Kalvan's wardogs!"

"It's not all their fault, Archpriest" Soton said, with open contempt. "You knew better than to fight unknown opponents on a battlefield of their choice. I heard all about it from one of the survivors, one of your sergeants. You came to them not knowing who they were. It's very possible they were Hostigi deserters or mercenaries in the pay of Duke Mnestros, an outright Dralm-lover and Hostigi ally. Now, your incompetence as a commander has left me no choice but to leave the siege and lead an army into Hos-Agrys to fetch the boy you couldn't capture."

"I could command the siege in your absence, Grand Master."