“Will they allow it?” asked Lord Patel. “I thought their greatest fear was that humans would go to Elvangar.”
“That is one of their fears,” nodded Marak. “It is also one of the reasons that I want to go. We could host an elven delegation in Angragar and map out the best way for the elves to help us, but that would only involve a handful of elves. I want all of the elves to see a human and realize that we hold nothing but friendship towards them. I think it is important to make sure that the elven people stand firmly in support of this war. Once the elves commit to come to our aid, we cannot afford for them to back out. That would be disastrous.”
“Have they responded?” asked Lord Patel.
“Not as of yet,” Marak shook his head. “I am sure there will be much discussion before they answer my request, and there should be. I am content to let them work out their domestic problems among themselves.”
“What about the Fakarans and the Sakovans?” pressed Lord Chenowith. “Their involvement is already certain. How will we coordinate with them?”
“That question has not been answered yet,” frowned the Emperor. “In fact, I want this council involved in that debate. I mentioned before that I was bringing some special visitors to Khadoratung tonight. The Star of Sakova and the Astor are among them. It is time for you to meet them. There is a subject that I have not broached with you yet. It is the vital question of what happens if I die before this war is over.”
“What does that question have to do with the visitors?” asked Lord Chenowith.
“A great deal actually,” answered Emperor Marak. “While it will fall to this Lords’ Council to select a new emperor, it will be either the Star of Sakova or the Astor that you will need to follow for the duration of the war.”
“I do not understand,” frowned Lord Jamarat. “Neither of them are Khadoran.”
“That is correct,” agreed Emperor Marak, “but they have both been chosen by Kaltara to wage this war. It will be hard for this council to do what is right in the event of my demise, because it will require you to subject the Khadoran nation to foreigners. What you do after the war is a matter for you to decide, but until the war is ended, you must follow the path of Kaltara. That means bending to the will of the Star and the Astor.”
“What if they don’t agree?” asked Lord Jamarat. “This is confusing.”
“They will agree,” declared the Torak. “They are following Kaltara’s will. They cannot disagree.”
“You do realize what you are asking?” questioned Lord Chenowith.
“I do,” nodded the Emperor. “I said that it would not be easy. Your own countrymen will call you traitors for your actions, but that is how it must be if you desire to save the Khadoran people.”
“I do not see a problem as long as we can trust the Star and the Astor,” interjected Lord Patel.
“How is that?” asked Lord Quilo. “You don’t see a problem with giving up our sovereignty?”
“Not really,” shrugged Lord Patel. “If a pact is made among the members of this body, the rest of Khadora need not know that the Star and the Astor are leading us. One of us will rise to Emperor and do what is necessary.”
“I can live with that,” nodded Lord Chenowith, “providing we have confidence in those chosen by Kaltara. I look forward to meeting them.”
“If one of us is to rise to replace Emperor Marak,” declared Lord Faliman of the Aritor clan, “shouldn’t we decide that now? Informally, of course. It would forestall any bickering in a time of war.”
“I think asking the Emperor for his preference would be in order,” nodded Lord Kiamesh. “I am willing to agree to his choice.”
The other lords quickly agreed and called for the Emperor to specify his replacement.
“My first thought is one of hesitancy,” admitted Marak. “Each and every one of you is qualified to be Emperor, and each and every one of you has supported me fully. My second thought is that it might be a good idea. Nothing can get in the way of friendship more than the thirst for power, and friendship is what I see in the members of this council. You lords have progressed greatly since I have known you. I am proud to call each of you my friend. My choice is a difficult one, but one that I think you will agree with. In honor of his father, one of the greatest emperors ever to lead Khadora, I would select Lord Chenowith.”
The others lords cheered in agreement and Lord Chenowith rose and offered a humorous bow.
“In all seriousness,” Lord Chenowith said “I am touched not only by your faith in me, Emperor Marak, but even more by the acceptance of my fellow lords gathered here today. Now that we have your wisdom to guide us upon your death, let’s not discuss the expiration of your office again. You have too much work to do to be allowed to die.”
The other lords laughed heartily, and Marak joined in, shaking his head and smiling.
“I truly meant my words,” Marak said seriously after the laughter died down. “Any one of you is capable of leading Khadora, and the sad fact is, it might be that none of us survive the coming war. Always look out for and take care of one another, for it is this friendship that will save Khadora. Working together we have accomplished in a short time what others said was impossible. Let’s keep doing it.”
“Speaking of what we have accomplished,” frowned Lord Patel, “what are we going to do about the remaining boundary disputes?”
“That is a serious problem,” answered Emperor Marak. “There is a quiet revolt taking place among the lords. It is a revolt against the new reforms, but I think it centers on the boundaries that are still unresolved.”
“A revolt?” asked Lord Quilo. “Do you mean armed resistance?”
“No,” clarified Marak. “At the Assembly of Lords tomorrow some lords intend to rouse support for a motion to abolish the reforms.”
“They seek to overrule the Emperor and the Lords’ Council?” gasped Lord Kiamesh. “That is unheard of.”
“Actually,” replied the Torak, “it is not unheard of, merely rare. There is an ancient law on the books that allows the Assembly of Lords to recall a member of the Lords’ Council. With sufficient votes, the Assembly of Lords could recall every member of the Lords’ Council and install new members. There is even a mechanism for recalling the Emperor, although it must be shown that the current Emperor is working against the welfare of the country.”
“And if the Assembly of Lords decides what is good for the welfare of the country,” Lord Chenowith continued the logic, “they could remove you from power.”
“Exactly,” nodded Marak. “Now, I do not take this as a serious threat, because I do not believe that the rebels hold sway over sufficient votes to cause any of this to happen, but the dissension removes the cohesion that we have worked so hard at building.”
“Who are these rebel lords?” asked Lord Quilo.
“Here is what I believe to be a factual accounting of what is to happen tomorrow,” explained Emperor Marak. “The four clans that hosted the Jiadin will present the motion to recall one of you. When the motion is made, other clans will immediately back it, hoping for an upwelling of support from lords that have been cultivated by the real rebels.”
“The real rebels?” prompted Lord Faliman. “Who are they?”
“Three southern frontier clans,” answered Emperor Marak. “The Seth, Rican, and Disina clans are behind the motion. It is no coincidence that each of these clans has an unresolved border dispute concerning the Chula.”
“What can we do about it?” asked Lord Patel. “I understand that they will not get the votes necessary, but it introduces the thought that not all reforms must be implemented. Once that is made clear, we will have a much harder time driving Khadora to where it needs to be.”
“You are correct,” nodded the Emperor. “I think I can deal effectively with the real rebels, but the hard part is stopping the motion from even being brought up in the first place.”