“Andreya, please bring up an image of thatmaster sorcerer just before he blasted, and nothing else,” Isaid via our connection.
“Honored One, the sorcerers break up theirforces into seven ranks. They are prospect, student, apprentice,journeyman, elite, master and grandmaster. Each level isexponentially stronger than the previous level. We do not have acount of their total forces but we know there are six mastersorcerers and one grandmaster who make up their ruling council.This man here is one of seven known to be on their ruling council.As you saw, his power is far greater than any of the others and hedoes not care how many of his own troops die, as long as he wins.The hard truth is that the Empire presently has nothing that canstand against him, and he is but one of seven,” I explained.
“Vydor, what about the Black Adders?” heasked.
“Honored One, they fought hard and well,killing many of the sorcerers, but when this one and the other sixarrived on the scene, they were outmatched and almost all of themwere killed.”
“Vydor, you said that you found a way toblock their hallucination attack, so we should be able at least toprevent what we saw in your first video?” asked the chairman.
“Yes, I did, but it requires a very strongmind and a dedication that I would say fewer than ten percent ofthe Imperial forces can muster,” was my reply. I let that sit for abit. I needed to prepare myself for the hard part: our resignationand request for recognition as a separate nation. Every life in theEmpire depended on me pulling this off; I dared not fail. I wastempted to reach out with my powers and force the situation to playout the way it needed to, but a voice deep down inside me that Ihad not heard in a very long time cried out against that. I couldbarely hear it, but I knew it was right.
“Honored One, if this was the end of myreport, it would be a sad day indeed for the Empire, but there ishope to be found. We successfully contacted a second group ofaliens, known as wizards, and through them we learned much aboutthe sorcerers, namely that they are currently locked in a very longand closely-matched war with the wizards. It seems that thesorcerers are in our realm looking for some new weapon which theybelieve is here, and they believe that weapon will grant them theneeded edge for victory in their realm.”
“The enemy of an enemy is a friend,”commented the Emperor with a smile.
“Well spoken, Honored One. A representativeof the ruling Council of Wizards who simply goes by the name Mantiscontacted us. He is the one who showed us how to create the shieldthat just saved your life, and how to fight a sorcerer likeLarath.” I paused here to think about what I should say next.However, before I could formulate my thoughts, the Emperor stoodand raised his scepter. I knew that meant he was about to speakofficially and whatever he decreed would be law.
“I have heard enough. I can see how the restof the story plays out. Do not be surprised, there are after allseven of you,” he said with a smile, and then a serious look cameover his face.
“By the power vested in me, I hereby grantVydor, Kellyn, Andreya, Jerran, Gafar, Darnath, and Luke honorabledischarge from their positions in the Imperial forces, and releasethem from their citizenship. Let the record show these men andwomen are worthy of the highest honor and respect for theirdedicated service. So let it be written, so let it be done,” hedeclared.
“The High Command witnesses this declarationand shall obey,” came the reply from the chairman, who looked veryconfused.
“By the power vested in me, I hereby grantofficial recognition to the Council of Wizards for our realm as ledby Grandmaster Vydor, and his ruling council comprised of MasterKellyn, Master Andreya, Master Jerran, Master Gafar, MasterDarnath, and Master Luke. I also grant full ally status to saidcouncil and commit the full resources of the Empire to supportthem.”
“The High Command witnesses this declarationand shall obey,” came the reply from the chairman, who looked likehe had finally caught on.
Well, he might not have been my childhood godany more, but he sure could still shock me! This really made nosense. How did he make that leap so fast? I wondered if it would beconsidered proper for me to grill him a little about this.
He sat down, indicating that his officialruling was complete. I promptly said, “Thank you, Honored One, yourgenerosity and insight is without measure.”
“High Command, please leave us. I must speakand plan our defense with the Council of Wizards,” ordered theEmperor. It was a mostly forgotten custom that the Emperor directlyhandled planning with allies, mainly because the Empire hadassimilated all of its allies, but the High Command seemed toremember it since they left without complaint.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Once they were gone, the Emperor laid hisscepter down next to his throne and said, “Please relax, we areequals now. No need for such formality.”
Jerran took that as a cue to telekineticallylift some chairs and bring them to us. We all sat in them, and Ilowered my hood. It seemed the Emperor wanted to talk aboutsomething but was worried about how we would take it.
“I owe you all an apology, it seems,” hestarted. He seemed really distraught. “You see, many years ago Iordered the Black Adders to be formed and all who showed promise tobe sent to Arken IV. The official reason, as you know, was todiscover and perfect a defense against their powers, but thatrapidly changed.”
He paused there, and I could feel thesurprise ripple through everyone. What could he mean? I did notdare interrupt him. I just sat in silence.
“I was warned almost half a century ago aboutthis threat, and I was told their first move would be on Arken IV.At the time my plan was simple. By packing that planet with peoplewho had what I thought to be great power, it would make our Empirelook much stronger than it was, and hopefully deter any attack. Ifthat failed, I believed the Black Adders would be able to defeatthe invasion. To that end I expanded our search for anyone withpower and made the base a permanent residence for them. It seems Igrossly underestimated the power of our new enemy, and a lot ofgood people died because of it.”
He stopped there and seemed to be waiting fora reaction. I could barely think for my surprise, but I managed tosay, “Who warned you?”
He smiled. “Mantis, of course.”
That sneaky old fool! He could have told usthat, but no; he probably enjoyed how worried we were over allthis. In fact, I would not have been surprised if he was watchingus at that moment and laughing.
“Mantis is also the one behind you, Vydor,”he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“While the situation on Arken IV wasdeveloping, Mantis contacted me again. It was the first I had heardfrom him since his original contact, and he insisted that I assignyou to the Dragon Claw and send the fleet in.”
“So he has been behind all the oddcoincidences, then,” I said. “That ties up so many loose ends.” Irealized then that I had inadvertently stopped using the Emperor’sformal title. I was truly speaking to him as if he was one of myshipmates, not my god. Then a crushing thought rocked my world. Ifthe Emperor was not a god, who was? I did my best to put thatthought away for later. I had more important business to attend toin the present.
“I take it that he also told you of his planto make us the Council of Wizards for this realm?” I asked.
“No, that much I guessed by your show ofpower,” he said with a grin. “I must say you did very well. You hadHigh Command ready to follow you to war. Though I have to ask, whywould a wizard hit someone on the head with his staff instead ofusing a more civilized blast?”