“You don’t understand LifeTender,” Lyra said as she swung her legs to the floor. “It is all well and good for all of you to say that I am the Star and you are willing to die for me, but it is quite another for Kaltara to tell me who and what I am. I spoke with Him. I must talk to RavenWing.”
LifeTender stared at Lyra with wide round eyes and her mouth gaping open. She frowned again and shook her head. “No,” LifeTender stated. “You are not well enough to move yet. If you must speak with RavenWing, I will have him brought here.”
“You will not,” declared Lyra sternly. She bit her lip and immediately regretted using such a harsh tone with LifeTender. “I am sorry, LifeTender,” she apologized. “I know how painful it is for RavenWing to move and I have already requested his appearance at the strategy meeting. I am alright, trust me. I am no longer dizzy and your root has vanquished my headache. I understand what happened to me now and while I cannot easily explain it, I can assure you that it will not happen again. Have MistyTrail meet me in my office to report on Lord Marak. I will go there as soon as I see RavenWing.”
“What about StormSong’s report?” inquired LifeTender.
“StormSong needs rest more than I do,” answered Lyra. “Let her get some sleep.”
“You still need some guidance with her,” informed LifeTender. “Reporting to you is her duty and she will not sleep until she has fulfilled it. Can you see her before MistyTrail?”
Lyra paused as she tugged a plain tunic over her head and smoothed it down her body. “Certainly,” she agreed. “I want her fully rested before the strategy meeting and I would like to hold it as soon as StarWind arrives, so make sure she gets rest after she reports.”
“StarWind arrived yesterday,” LifeTender reported. “She has been up here several times to see how you are. StormSong would not let anyone but me and her enter, so your father has not been able to see you yet.”
Lyra inhaled deeply as she felt the first tremors of stress fighting for recognition and she banned the unhelpful feelings to a distant corner of her mind. “Very well,” she said calmly. “Have Jostin in my office as well as StormSong then. I will use him to schedule the sequence of interviews. You probably need some rest yourself. Grab it while you can.”
LifeTender nodded and left the room while Lyra finished dressing. Lyra grabbed the mug of water that LifeTender left on the dresser and drained it. She threw open her door and strode purposely down the stairs to RavenWing’s chamber. Without knocking she opened the door and strode in.
“Praise Kaltara!” exclaimed RavenWing. “You had us all worried.”
“Praise Kaltara indeed,” smiled Lyra. “It was Kaltara who caused my unconsciousness. Why did you not tell me?”
RavenWing’s brow creased with puzzlement. “Tell you what?” he quizzed.
“You were the one who told me to go to the chapel and speak with Kaltara,” accused Lyra. “You could have warned me what would happen.”
“I don’t understand,” replied RavenWing. “I told you to pray about your self-doubt. I merely hoped that Kaltara would hear your prayers and answer them. I meant no harm.”
Lyra cocked her head and gazed at RavenWing as if in a stupor. “Then you did not know what would happen to me?” she asked.
“Lyra,” he sighed, “I do not yet know what happened to you. Why don’t you tell me?
Lyra shook her head and sat on the bed at RavenWing’s feet. “He spoke to me,” Lyra explained. “Not just his voice, but sounds and images. So fast, so terribly fast, but I understood them. I knew what He was trying to show me. RavenWing, I was not the Star until He spoke to me. Oh, the mark is genuine, but that is just to let the Sakovan people know who He has chosen. He showed me everything.”
“Everything?” queried RavenWing. “What did he show you?”
“The whole history of the Sakovan people,” informed Lyra. “All of it. I saw the Wound of Kaltara being created. I saw the massacres when the Omungans landed and began slaughtering everybody. The land turned red with Sakovan blood. It was horrible.”
“I never knew there was a blessing from Kaltara required for a Star,” admitted RavenWing. “There is no mention of it in any of our books or scrolls. I want to say that I am sorry for sending you to the chapel to be put through that, but I am not. I am happy that you have received Kaltara’s blessing. Surely you can have no doubt anymore after such a blessing?”
“I have no doubt about Kaltara,” confirmed Lyra. “I still have some doubts about myself, but that is only human. I will deal with it.”
“What else did he show you?” RavenWing asked. “I should record it so the next Star will know what to expect.”
Lyra stared out the window for a long time without responding. Finally she rose and gently gripped RavenWing’s hand. “Record nothing about it,” instructed the Star. “I must go,” she added as she released RavenWing’s hand and exited the room.
When she arrived at her office, Jostin and StormSong were there. She nodded to both of them and entered the room and surveyed the changes that Syman and Antello had made. There were flowers everywhere and gay carefree paintings on the wall. The chairs were covered in a light breezy fabric and a large rug occupied the center of the floor. Only the huge wall map of RavenWing’s remained, as she had requested. She was pleased with the new look and slumped into the chair behind the desk.
“Jostin, I am going to keep you lean today,” she smiled. “I want to see MistyTrail next and then StarWind.”
“Yes, Lyra,” he grinned. “I will get MistyTrail now,” he added as he scampered out of the room.
“Sit StormSong,” Lyra said as she waved her hand towards a chair. “You look wrecked. Thank you for being there for me,” she smiled.
StormSong nodded silently and took the offered chair. Her eyes were dark hollows and her face was drawn and taut.
“I will not keep you long and then I want you off to bed,” opened Lyra. “Give me your impression of Lord Marak. Can he be trusted and do you think there is anything he can do to help us?”
“He is most extraordinary for a man,” reported StormSong. “He is the most highly skilled warrior I have ever seen and yet he is without pride. The title Lord means nothing to him and he will not even notice if you address him simply as Marak. He values honor and courage as I do, so I know he can be trusted. I would not have let him arrive in the city if I thought otherwise.”
“Good,” remarked the Star. “Other than a distant friend, is there anything he can do to help us?”
“I am not sure,” StormSong answered. “I believe his armies to be well trained, but they are very distant. I do not see how they can help, especially when his own footing in Khadora is so unsure. If the Omungans turned to attack Khadora before they were finished with us, then we could work together and attack from both sides, but I fear that will not happen.”
Lyra nodded solemnly and StormSong shifted in her chair. “There is one thing he could offer us,” StormSong suddenly suggested. “It is not much, but it may help. He has different fighting techniques than we do. I do not know how much time we can convince him to spare us, but if he could teach some of those techniques to our people, it would help.”
“Thank you, StormSong,” concluded Lyra. “I will see what I can get out of him. Get some sleep now and thank you again for standing by me. It means a lot to me.”
StormSong nodded perfunctorily and rose. As soon as she left the room, Jostin showed MistyTrail in. “Temiker after StarWind,” Lyra called to him and he waved and dashed off.
“You are feeling better,” chirped MistyTrail as she pranced into the room. “You had us all worried.”
“I am fine,” greeted Lyra. “I trust you have kept Lord Marak occupied while I rested?”
“Of course,” beamed the short Sakovan. “It was easy. He wants to know everything about everything. Even the smallest detail intrigues him. He spent the entire morning with the chokas today. He inspected the gear we use on them and their eating habits and how we groom them. Nothing was too small to catch his attention.”