The Fireseed Wars

Kalvan smiled. I'm so glad we're back on the same page, he thought happily. Things had been bleak before for the Kingdom of Hos-Hostigos; now they were absolutely pitch black. It was do or die time and he meant to see that he and his dynasty kept on living. With no Xentos to restrain her, and Prince Phrames with the Army of the Saltless Seas, Rylla would be free to do that which she did best-drive and conquer. Captain-General Hestophes would lead the van with Prince Sarrask commanding the rear guard. Rylla had a lot of responsibility; half a million Hostigi lives depended upon her judgment-as well as the survival of their dynasty.

Earlier they had divided up the Royal Army-he was taking ten thousand men, including most of the Royal Army infantry, all the light mobile guns and Galzar's Teeth, the brass sixteen-pounder, in case they had to do some serious breaking and entering. The Army of the Trygath got two batteries and the huge thirty-two pounder the gunner's had named The Fat Duchess. For cavalry, he was adding what was left of the Mobile Force, about a thousand horse, and his Life Guard and the Hostigi Heavy Horse, about three hundred of what would have been called men-at-arms or knights back on otherwhen. Rylla got most of the cavalry, the Army of Observation (less the Mobile Force) and all the Princely infantry and horse for her Army of the Trygath, some twenty-five thousand strong. He let her keep the First Hostigos Rifles, the only rifle-armed infantry regiment which combined the survivors of the original First and Second Hostigos Rifles regiments.

Rylla had refused his Tymannian Guard, saying that Xykos and his Beefeaters were more than up to the task of guarding her. They now had a new cavalry regiment, Queen Rylla's Own Horse Guard, to protect her during battle. It had taken half a moon to find a horse large enough to seat Grand-Captain Xykos comfortably-for the horse, that is-only a captured destrier from the Zarthani Knights would do!

He'd had one of the Royal Scribes write up a duplicate list of the men, armaments and provisions he was taking with him so that he could present it to the Nythrosi Ambassador. He was just finishing his tea when Cleon entered.

"The Nythrosi Ambassador has arrived, Your Majesty."

"Thank you, Cleon. Is he in the audience chamber?"

"Yes, sire. I did as you requested. And, I had two of your Guard placed behind the screen as you requested."

After the last assassination attempt a week ago, he wasn't taking any chances. The two men behind the screen would have rifled pistols with the order to kill if there was any hostile move on the Ambassador's part towards his person. After a supposedly friendly Agrysi nobleman had tried to open his breastplate, using a poignard as a can opener, Kalvan no longer trusted strangers or retainers who hadn't been old hands around Tarr-Hostigos. As Rylla liked to point out, the death of Great King Kalvan was worth more than an entire army to the Styphoni! The bounty on his life was one million ounces of gold. Vanar Halgoth and his Bodyguard now frisked anyone entering his audience chambers, public and private. If they didn't like it, they could argue it out with Halgoth. Wisely, Kalvan thought, few chose that course of action.

The Ambassador was sitting in the chair facing the private throne-the Fireseed Thrones were in the public audience chamber-which formerly held Prince Kestophes' chair-of-office. The Prince was restricted to his current quarters, the mansion of one of his Dukes. Kalvan had enough problems without having to listen to underlings who didn't know when or how to shut their yaps. If his attitude didn't quickly improve, Kestophes might find himself leading a rear guard action against the Grand Host-a suicide post if Kalvan ever heard of one.

Ambassador Dykar made a strong visual statement; he was well over a lance in height (about six-foot two back home) and dressed in the latest Urgothi, or Spanish-style, garments as Kalvan called them-he would have represented the height of fashion under Philip II. He wore a high crowned hat and a peapod doublet with a thick ruff neckpiece that would have been called a St. John's Platter back in otherwhen. Dykar bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, it is good to meet you at last."

"Yes, Ambassador Dykar. Please have a seat."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

The Ambassador then passed over his credentials, which explained that he had the power to make treaties and agreements in the Name of the Koynig and the Family of Five. It was more of an open portfolio than Kalvan had expected; Ambassador Dykar was highly placed indeed. Unfortunately, he had no one in his own cabinet who could brief him on Nythros politics or the who's who of the City State."

"I would like to speak frankly here, Your Excellency."

"Anything you say to me, Your Majesty, will go no farther than Koynig Harthmann's ears and those of the Family of Five. You have my word of honor."