“As if you have anything to worry about,” scowled Lord Padro. “I was the one who spoke to the eastern lords. If they spilled their guts, it would have been my name that they revealed. I am beginning to feel ill.”
“But all of the lords that we convinced to vote for the motion will blame us,” frowned Lord Sydar. “One of us must present the motion.”
“Go for it,” retorted Lord Padro. “Stick your head on the chopping block. I will be busy trying to find a way to hold onto my land as defined by the boundaries that I submitted. Let the rest of you fend for yourselves.”
Lord Sydar fidgeted as he weighed the risks of making a stand. Lord Patel still stood at the edge of the stage, his eyes roving over the crowd to see if anyone else wished to speak.
“If there are no further calls to speak,” Lord Patel stated loudly, “I shall turn this meeting over to the Emperor.”
Lord Patel waited a few moments for someone to rise. No one did as Lord Sydar sunk lower into his seat. The Nordon lord turned and bowed low to Emperor Marak. Patel then left the stage and took his seat in the Assembly of Lords.
Emperor Marak had looked as if he was merely fidgeting as his hands moved, but he had woven an air tunnel to listen to the conversation occurring in the rear of the chamber. He smiled broadly as Lord Patel left the stage. He dropped his air tunnel and stepped forward to speak.
Chapter 19
Of Neighbors and Spies
The Assembly of Lords fell quiet as the Emperor prepared to speak. The Emperor began with a smile, but concern soon etched into his face.
“There is much to cover today,” he began, “as this will probably be the last Assembly of Lords meeting before our country is embroiled in a long and deadly war. By now, most of your troops have been to Khadoratung for training. Those that have not must arrive here soon. If you have troops that have not yet been trained, send them. The limit of two cortes per estate has been eliminated. Lord Jamarat has told me of the improvements made by your soldiers. He is extremely pleased, and so am I. You should be proud of your men. They will stand tall for Khadora.”
The Torak noticed more than one smile on the faces of the lords. If anything pleased a Khadoran lord more than gold, it was praise for the strength of his armies.
“I have also heard from many of you this week about your increases in productivity and prosperity,” smiled the Emperor. “You are beginning to learn that free men are much more valuable to an estate than slaves are. For those of you who have not yet seen the improvements, you will soon. I would not ask anything of a Khadoran lord that I would not do myself. I know what your results will be. I also know what the total effect on the country will be. Khadora will be a more united country than it has ever been before in history.”
Again the Emperor gauged the effects of his speech. Not as many lords were smiling as were at his mention of strong armies, but he was pleased to notice that over half of the lords were nodding in agreement. His reforms were slowly being accepted.
“On the matters of religion and justice,” the Emperor continued, “each of our five major cities now hosts a temple to Kaltara and a regional court. I urge the lords of Khadora to start making use of both. I have selected retired Lords’ Council mediators as our first judges. They are men of renowned impartiality, and they will rule on cases according to our laws, and not according to a clan’s status or familiarity. All cases involving inter-clan disputes, should first ask for a settlement from the nearest court. That settlement can be appealed to the Lords’ Council if you feel that the hearing was not fair and impartial. The services of the Lords’ Council mediators will still be available, but there should be less call for them as the court system grows.”
The lords were listening intently and with respect. Emperor Marak smiled inwardly at the change in temperament that had occurred since he became Emperor.
“As for the temples,” Emperor Marak continued, “they still remain unused by many. I know that embracing Kaltara is hard for many of you, but I urge you to try it with an open mind. Our nation grew up spurning religion as a belief of the dimwitted and timid, but nothing can be farther from the truth. Kaltara can carry us to victory over the evil that will soon engulf us, but why should He bother? If Khadorans cannot be bothered to open their hearts to Him, should He spare the lives of you and your loved ones? He might in any event,” Emperor Marak sighed, “but why take that chance? Go to the nearest temple and speak to the priest. Let him educate you on the ways of Kaltara. You have nothing to lose but a few moments of your time. If you are afraid of appearing weak and timid to your neighbors, let me dissuade you from those thoughts. Every member of the Lords’ Council, as well as myself, pray daily to Kaltara. You will not find a weak or timid lord among us.”
Murmurs of surprise rippled through the assembled lords. Many an eyebrow rose at the Emperor’s revelation, and Marak saw the heads of the members of the Lords’ Council nodding vigorously as lords around them asked for verification. The Emperor waited patiently for the noise to die down.
“There is one area of the reforms that has not gone well,” the Emperor declared with a frown. “That is the area of border disputes. While every border between the clans of Khadora has been settled on, the claims on land held by the Chula are still in dispute. I think the reason for this is clear to all of you. When a border dispute occurs between two clans, they can sit down and discuss it between themselves, or with a third party such as a Lords’ Council mediator. This same process has not been used with your Chula neighbors. While many of your claims on Chula lands are relatively minor, some are egregious in extent. That issue must be addressed today.”
Again murmurs rippled through the assembled lords. Many lords turned in their seats to gaze upon the eastern frontier lords, but those lords lowered their eyes and stared at the floor before them.
“There was a lord standing for recognition when I walked in,” the Emperor continued. “I believe it was Lord Padro of the Rican clan. Lord Padro, please come and join me on the stage.”
Lord Padro twitched nervously as the Emperor called out his name. He tried to sink further into his chair, but the call to the stage could not be refused. Every head in the room turned to watch the Rican lord rise and walk to the stage. Emperor Marak smiled tautly as Lord Padro approached him.
“Lord Padro,” smiled the Emperor, “you asked about motions that were supposed to be presented today. Is that correct?”
“I had heard about motions that were to be presented today,” nodded the Rican lord. “I was curious why they were not presented.”
“I can well imagine that you were curious,” Emperor Marak smiled tightly, “seeing the amount of effort you put into promoting those motions.”
“Me?” balked Lord Padro. “I am certainly interested in the motions, but I had no plans to offer one.”
“Of course not,” smiled the Emperor. “That dirty task was to fall to others to protect yourself.”
“It is not a dirty task to make a motion in the Assembly of Lords,” retorted Lord Padro. “Those motions were to reclaim our country from the reforms that you have forced upon us. There was nothing illegal about the motions. The motions were founded on ancient law, but those laws are still applicable today.”
“I have no problem with ancient laws,” retorted the Emperor, “but your moves were intended to tear down this country at its time of greatest need. While you and your fellow lords were scheming and plotting, the entire city of Duran was annihilated just south of the Kalatung Mountains. Our enemy killed every man, woman, and child found in the city of Duran. There was no talk of surrender. There were no negotiations. There was only a brutal and vicious slaughter.”
Gasps broke out all over the chamber, as the lords understood the meaning of the Emperor’s words. For several long minutes the chamber whirled with talk of the attack and what it might mean to Khadora. The Emperor waited patiently for the noise to subside before continuing.