SWNOVELS Chapter 13: Yashkirran
Yashkirran paced the room, waiting. Finally, the ambassador returned from Farderland.
“Your Majesty,” he said to Yashkirran, “Tulvarick VI asks for a postponement for a longer period of time.”
“Maveytulag, take him!” Yashkirran cursed, remembering the name of the isters god of battle, war and willpower. “I gave him ten days! Ten! Karhat Tabart Ashtyr!” Now the king used curses, uttering them in ancient isters language.
“Your Majesty, but there is also positive news!” the ambassador said suddenly. “Tulvarik VI, if he is given thirty days to consider the ultimatum, will commit to remove his troops from the southwestern part of the border and allow Kaushmanashtoon’s army to march along the coast of the Outland Sea, thereby opening the possibility of a campaign directly to Norvinoria.”
Yashkirran knew that the northerners would never sign an ultimatum, even if the population of the north consisted of two hundred citizens and Kaushmanashtoon’s army of a million. The unyielding, unwavering beliefs, unperturbed dwellers of the north are a significant problem. The snunorfs are skilled and powerful warriors who know no fear. Espionage was not popular in Norvinoria, because it was impossible to persuade the snunorf to work for the enemy. It is not only that pride and patriotism among the northerners were at a high level in the hierarchy of beliefs, but also that betraying their kinsmen would mean disowning all norvinorians, including their relatives. And living in a desert land, where your origin is very noticeable, where strangers surrounded you, where everyone will know that you are a traitor, not a single snunorf wanted such an exile.
“Great news!.. Now you can go.” The king was in anticipation. Now it was possible to disperse the forces and move to Norvinoria with one army and strike the forest elves with the other. Tonnebeards will then surrender themselves.
Yashkirran thinks, “Tulvarick is not an idiot, he knows when to give in. Well done, tonnebeard! After the war, he’ll get the privileges of the governor. I’ll leave him to rule Farderland.”
“Get Melkath Seydikt,” Yashkirran said to the guard.
Fifteen minutes later, a thin warrior with monolids eyes and two swords behind his back entered the room. His brown eyes, tired of the sand and the sultry dusty stuffiness of his homeland, were slightly clouded. He walked in and bowed.
“Your Majesty,” Melkath greeted the king.
“Gather your troops,” Yashkirran looked at the map, “all your troops and head to the southwest. You will move north along the western road, tonnebeards will provide an easy passage. Don’t kill them unnecessarily, don’t burn villages and cities, don’t loot while they remain neutral. Given the current gift, I even believe that the tonnebeards are almost our allies,” the king grinned.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Melkath said, and was on his way out bowing, as the king called out to him.
“Melkath...” the king hesitated, “I’m counting on you and your soldiers! You’ll reach the border with Norvinoria in about a month. If in forty days you do not receive my order to attack the north, attack on your own.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” said the azdairik and bowed again, but he was in no hurry to leave.
“That will be all,” the king said. And Melkath walked out the door of the king’s small chambers.
Yashkirran emerged from a small building and immediately felt the coldness of the desert. He interpreted the prophecy most accurately, he thought. Isters knew that the dragon would awaken and fly to the star, destroying it, which would subsequently change the climate of his country. The gigantic army that he gathered before the awakening of Gaaldalksirin, he would still send into battle, even if the predictions did not come true. You can’t sow the seed of conquest in the ranks of the military, and then not nurture it. There would have been a riot and he would never have become king.
The previous king of Kaushmanashtoon, Hausafanam II, was a lover of women and a drinker. The weak-willed king, nevertheless, was able to hold the throne for a long time, but Yashkirran dealt with the king with his army. Later, however, he had to disband the army. He was mistaken in thinking that he could get behind the Belt of Twilight. None of his people or creatures had returned in the past twenty years. Why had he waited so long? Yashkirran not only hoped to get the ancient knowledge lost by the oldenmessers themselves, but also sought to understand how his army of different races and creatures could adapt to the current climatic conditions. The orbit of the star’s motion has changed, perhaps as the rotation around its axis of the planet itself... It rains more often in the desert, but the sand could not turn into soil, but the climate. It became much colder in a desert and hotter near the Belt of Twilight. But still, mountains were covered in snow.
Yashkirran walked a little through the rows of clay houses, and then through a giant row of insulated tents, and realized that his soldiers could not hold out for long. He made the decision to march tomorrow. He takes his last deep breath of cool air and is ordered to call the commanders for a meeting.