Fires of Aggar Read Online Free PDF Page B

sorting through all Bryana had told her… and in the end, everything became very simple. Somewhere, sometime on the home world Llinolae had earned the acceptance of two Sisters and she now asked Bryana for help — as an Amazon, Gwyn could not refuse her plea. In this time on Aggar and in their neighboring realm, the Dracoon of Khirla needed help — as a Royal Marshal in the hired service to Ramains’ Royalty, Gwyn must answer the Dracoon’s call.
    Abruptly, she turned back to Bryana. “I’ve still got two questions.”
    The older woman nodded for her to continue.
    “What, if anything, does the Royal Family know of their Dracoon’s plight in Khirlan?”
    “Llinolae believes those in Churv ignore her pleas. Initially, she reasoned the Changlings’ Wars were responsible for their silence, since so many of the Ramains’ resources had to be committed to that defense. Yet now that the Wars are over, she still receives no response.
    “Gwyn, I do not understand this! It made no sense to me nor to Jes that the Crowned Rule shouldn’t at least send her advisors. You yourself are testimony to the fact that the Royal Marshals are still available — have been available throughout the Wars — to aid and advise in all disputes. It makes no sense.”
    Gwyn agreed; there was no reason for the King’s daughter to isolate Khirlan. Unless…? Gwyn asked abruptly, “Did you think to speak with your Sighted contacts in Churv? Can they tell you if the Royal Family is getting anything from the Khirlan Court? The usual records, their tax monies — anything at all?”
    “Yes, I did. Jes had me talk to them. They say, there are regular reports still arriving from Khirlan. There’s been no word nor rumor in Churv that Llinolae is in need of any help, though. I’ve some discrete inquiries being made for us, but it will be a few days before I’ll See more.”
    There was probably nothing more to find in Churv, Gwyn mused. If there was not even a rumor that Khirlan was having difficulty with the Clan, it seemed pretty clear that the reports were being tampered with long before they reached the Royal Family. And that meant Llinolae had a traitor somewhere very close to home — most likely within her Scribes.
    “All right,” Gwyn drew a deep breath, “that answers my second question — what kind of help does she want? Obviously, she needs to uncover the traitor in Khirla’s Court.”
    “No.” Bryana shook her head decisively. “She asks for aid in establishing a new balance with the Clan folk.”
    “A new balance? A peace treaty?” Gwyn scowled and tipped her head aside. “How does she propose going about that? The Clans haven’t acknowledged counsel with anyone in nearly three generations.”
    “She knows. She is proposing one of two things, either a peaceful exchange of land or resources—”
    “It’s bad enough to consider giving the Clan more territory?”
    “Aye, they’ve taken to burning whole villages with their fire weapons, Gwyn’l. The Clans closed the northeast trade route seasons ago. Since then they’ve cut deeper west, strangling off nearly all of the northern exchanges. And last summer, they began to harass even the western routes.”
    “Mae n’Pour, it has become bad. Yet if a peaceful exchange can not be negotiated, what does she hope to try?”
    “She’ll destroy their cache of fire weapons.”
    Gwyn balked at the enormity of that idea. The most audacious attempts in the past had never even discovered the location of the Clan’s armory! Certainly the Council Seers could discern that easily enough, but the Council had always refused to aid in an assault against the Clans. The Council usually refused to aid in any kind of aggressive assault, not just those against the Clan. Instead, the Council kept gently suggesting to the Clan folk that they melt down their alloys and use it for more prosperous trade ventures. But culturally, those fire weapons had become a symbol to the Clan folk of their