The Book of Terrus: The Wise and Powerful

Chapter 12 - War and Peace

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Mahir was beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with him. Not anything simple, like a bellyache or a bad habit, no. The king of Goran worried that he was simply not as fit to rule as his forebears had been.

It wasn't that Mahir disliked his lot in life, far from it in fact. His chest swelled with pride even to think about the long line of conquerors, guardians and guides of the realm from which he descended. To wear the crown of Goran upon his brow was an honor which he would never take lightly, ever.

The fact remained though that never before in the history of his proud nation had a king or queen of Goran been beset by impending civil war. O certainly, there would always be the malcontents of a generation; rabble-rousers with no better purpose in life than to make themselves feel important by decrying those of higher station and ability. The unrest in the south was quickly ballooning into more than the local magistrates could handle however. The visit from Enidu LawKeeper of Danitesk had made that plain, in front of the entire court no less. The unblemished reign which the Amentherian dynasty had held over Goran for centuries was beginning to wear visibly thin around its southern edges...on Mahir's watch.

A long huff of frustration finally escaped Mahir, and he slumped forward at his desk. What would his father, King Maheadron have done? What would Queen Iselde before him have done? His eyes slid once again to the missive newly arrived from Moaan, even though he had already read it twice before.

"...two ships lost to piracy between Beson Inlet and the Bay of Torbos in the past week. No reported loss of life, cargo forfeit in exchange for safe passage upon threat of being scuttled. Goods lost include leather goods, raw metal ores and money. Pirates of southern heritage, captaining various small vessels and flying a black spot rampant on white..."

So it seemed that these so called 'Factionists' had turned to the shipping lanes between Moaan and Derbesh as a means of supply. It was not lost on Mahir that there had been no reports of theft from civilian vessels, only galleys bearing the crest of Amenthis. If the eimirs in the east thought that the crown was stinting them on their trade goods...well, even Ellorae's marriage to Lord Rhadu would do little to keep the unruly clansfolk in the fold.

"Trouble from the south, trouble from the east, and now trouble from within!" Mahir ground out aloud to no one in particular. The only answer was a breath of wind from outside which stirred the cloth-of-gold curtains with a hssssssh. The sundial at the window told him it was nearly mid-afternoon. Hithon would soon be waiting for him.

"Trouble, Your Grace?"

Captain Sabin stood in the doorway, posture rigid as was the northern wont. His black eyes watched the king with veiled unease. Few outside of the Captain of the Knights of Amenthis knew of Mahir's troubled state of mind these days.

"Just thinking aloud, Sabin," said Mahir, pulling himself together and leaning back in his chair. "Thinking that this affair with the Obads could hardly have come at a worse time. Could Tomur have not chosen any other year to prove himself false?"

"The matter has been handled quietly and internally, Your Grace. No one save The Knights, the Magicol and your immediate family know the truth of Tomur's sudden 'retirement'. None need suspect anything but strength and a unified front from within these walls."

"The Knights, the Magicol, and my family," Mahir mused. "None of the three of which I trust in their entirety anymore." When Sabin bristled slightly, Mahir soothed his captain with a wave. "I refer not to you, of course, Captain. Still, I fear I must grow paranoid if I am to weather this unstable time with my son's inheritance intact."