'Please have mercy on us, Your Majesty. We disgraced your kingdom. We deserve to die!' General Ahn Emis was lamenting on behalf of the rest of the army. He was bowing before K'rar on his throne, the day after his majestic return to his Grand Palace. With him on the palace floor were five other army leaders, two of whom had just arrived. They were not alone in the throne room. Alongside them were the cooperative ministers of the Korah, who made up the rest of the government. This included Trade Minister Ishkeniaz, who had been released unlike the Korah and Garrera. Lady Noor-shan was also present, sitting in the position of the Chief Administrator. Bartle Frere and K'rar's old guard were also present, with about 50 knights standing in and around the hall behind the assembled officials. All including K'rar were clad in their military uniforms. K'rar had stationed them there intentionally to intimidate the officials.
These apologies and congratulations had been going on all day, and it was now approaching the afternoon. Ahn Emis hadn't been the first one to visit. A multitude of other officials and nobles had visited, and were still coming. The news of his return was still buzzing throughout the land. In Chaldea, the mood was even more festive now. The buzz had not died down from the previous day, and was instead more infectious.
While General Ahn was still speaking, K'rar stood up from his throne, causing him to shut up. K'rar walked down the stairs and said,
'This is no time for that. I have already had mercy on you. Rise up.'
'Thank you, Your Majesty!' Ahn Emis prostrated himself, as did all eight military leaders who had been in Chaldea apart from Hatto, who was alive, but still nursing his broken bones.
'Have your garrisons return to their postings. There will still be elements loyal to Garrera. You are the chief of the native army now. Deal with it accordingly.' He nodded to Bartle Frere, who stepped forward as Ahn Emis bowed and prepared to turn away. Bartle Frere handed K'rar a small book, and K'rar went on, 'yesterday's parade showed me a lot of good things. But it also showed me some bad things. For instance the fitness of the army. It seems the Goldorans not only stopped you recruiting more soldiers. They also made sure you sat on your asses and relaxed. If I had had to take this city by force, how did you expect this bunch to keep me out?'
'Thankfully, it did not have to come to that.'
'This book contains the new army rules and guidelines. This is how my armies should conduct themselves. Enforce them quickly and carefully. After a month there will be an inspection in all barracks and bases. Then I will issue new guidelines. Understood?'
'Yes, Your Majesty. I will execute your command right away.'
'No. You stay here until the new government is formed. You will leave after that. Meantime, study those guidelines carefully.'
'Yes, Your Majesty.'
'You are dismissed.'
The men only departed from before him, but remained inside the throne room. K'rar looked around the room at the crowd. Then he began walking down the aisle, studying them quietly. He walked the entire length, and then turned back. They were all watching him in total, tense silence. When he came to Ishkeniaz, he stopped. Ishkeniaz was particularly afraid of him now, as he had seen a piece of him already. K'rar began to speak,
'Which of you men joined this cabinet under Garrera's Korah?'
Almost all of them said they had. In fact, only eleven ministers, when K'rar asked these to sit down, remained standing. Ishkeniaz was sitting down.
K'rar suddenly drew his sword. There was a uniform gasp. But K'rar's blade was on the neck of one of the eleven men, not those sitting. The man was convulsing visibly. He was an old man, perhaps more than seventy years old.
'Your colleagues were all flushed out of the government, yet you stayed, and when you heard I was here, you still didn't flee like many of your friends. Only eleven of you. I will execute you here and now.'
The man began to whimper loudly, but before he began declaring how sorry he was, K'rar said,
'What is your job?'
'I am employed in the registry, my lord. Please…'
'Do not ask for forgiveness. You will not die here,' said K'rar. He then placed the tip of his blade under his chin to make him look up, 'you will earn your forgiveness from the way you handle your job from this moment on. I will be watching you, all of you, at all times. If you make one false step, you will die. Do you understand?'
They all declared their thanks for his magnanimity.
K'rar said,
'You may all leave now.' But he held Ishkeniaz back, until all the officials were gone. He said, 'You. You should be the foremost of all those who will die. But it is a waste of ability, so you will live.'
'Your Majesty,' he bowed, 'I cannot state how thankful I am.'
'Then you will show it. You were the minister of trade and the treasury. Now, I am sure Garrera's officials will have been corrupt, including yourself.'
Ishkeniaz was both afraid and ashamed. With his face downcast, he said,
'Your Majesty. The king…I mean, General Garrera had to allow many of them to be corrupt to keep them in line. I was simply caught in the net, and I could not stop myself.'
'There will be no such incompetence again. I will punish you severely if you are caught. Do you understand?'
'Yes, Your Majesty.'
'I am reinstating Mershak in his Constabulary. He will help you seize the assets of the corrupt officials to the extent of their corruption. Do you understand?'
'Is this my assignment, Your Majesty?'
'Yes. Since you were also corrupt, you will not escape this just because I am giving you an assignment. You will be appointed in my new government, but there will be no salary for you for three months. Do you object?'
Ishkeniaz reluctantly said,
'No, Your Majesty. I accept my punishment.'
K'rar sent him away. He also dismissed Bartle Frere and the 50 knights, and remained only with his original guards and his mother. His mother said,
'Command suits you, son. You make a good king.'
'Why do you say so?'
'I thought you would take the same approach as you did with the Goldorans, and execute them. You cannot trust them, you know.'
'They could have fled, but they stayed. They have a second chance. Once I execute Garrera and his cabal, it should send out a stern message. And some of them are capable men. I cannot kill them all.'
'But whom do you have in mind to replace the Administrators? You were young when you di…when you left us. You didn't know any politicians.'
'Speaking of which,' K'rar said, 'that is precisely what I wanted to tell these men.' He was referring to Ossus, Pliny and Mongoose. They flinched at this revelation, and K'rar didn't miss it.
'Yes. I will have new guards from among my army. You men will not be guards anymore. But you have alternatives. You may retire from all the strife and the politics. You have even served the throne from prison. So, decide wisely. Retire and get a castle and raise your families and herds, or serve in an office. Take your time to think about it. Pliny, this doesn't apply to you. I will need you here.'
'Your Majesty. Your grace is beyond measure,' the men were on their knees.
'You may go.'
'Those are only three men, Your Majesty,' said Noor-shan after they left, 'and with Ishkeniaz, four. But what if they decide to retire?'
'I prefer that they do that.'
'But you need good men whom you can trust. You trust these men.'
'Some of my father's old friends are still alive. Loyal men.'
'You hardly knew them.'
'But you did.'
'Are you asking me to help you collect them?'
'Yes. If we are to form a new government, we will need those men.'
'I'll make a shortlist of the best ten nominees.'
'No. Invite all the nobles and reputable men here. I am not simply appointing men. I am forming a new government.'
'I…I don't understand.' She was indeed confused, 'is it not just a matter of replacing the traitors?'
'It isn't.'
Now she silently sat there, looking at him constantly, until he became unsettled and asked,
'What is it?'
'You have changed.'
'Of course I have, mother. I am not 13 anymore.'
'Thank you for coming back, son. Thank you. Your father would be proud of you. You are destined to better him.'
K'rar's vision was to be the greatest of all the Casparon kings, not just to better his father.
Shaniz, knowing that she would become queen, had set about acclimatizing to the palace. This involved living as a lady in the palace, and not as a Brigadier of the army. This also applied to Bekka, whom K'rar had told that she would live in the palace, as she, too, was a royal. K'rar needed her there, because she, unlike Shaniz, would continue an active military role, something which she wanted. Now, they were both used to living in the palace as royals, so being followed this way and that by court ladies and maids was no big deal. But there were new things they were learning, the least of which was a woman's way of life in the palace. Kishra's reformatory rules had become a tradition, so that even after her deposition, the women inhabitants inside the palace, including Noor-shan, maintained them. There were such things as the Women's Pavilion, a rank system for ladies of the court, ranging from the queen to a chamber maid, among other things. They had to abide by these rules, especially Shaniz. One morning she was aroused from her bed by her attendants long before she had planned to wake, and was told, by her assigned attendant, that it was time for the women's assembly.
'The what?'
'Since there is no queen, the king's mother is the head of the Women's Court. All women in the palace must abide by her rules.'
'Like the assembly?'
'Yes, my lady. We must hurry. Late coming is disadvantageous.'
Shaniz shook her head and sighed. She didn't think much of it. After all, she had a duty to do so as long as she resided in the Women's Pavilion, and she had already began abiding by the rules, knowing she would be the head of the court soon. But that morning was different.
'I remember some of you from the late king's staff,' the Queen Mother was saying. She had assembled all the ladies of the court, including Bekka, in two rows either side of the hall, in the queen's palace. The queen's palace was the private residence of the queen or Queen Mother, part of the structure of the Women's Pavilion, 'but many of you are new. Anyway, it matters not. I will restore the order and dignity of this court to the way it was before the usurpers invaded the palace. I know, the usurper queen lorded it over you, and used her authority for her own selfish ends. Starting today, those above will be fair to those below, and those below will respect those above. Commands and their execution make up the framework of this court, as in any other institution.'
She paused a bit, and began making rounds around the assembly. Only Bekka and Shaniz were foreigners, so she stopped by them longer than she did the others. Then she asked,
'In Xaxanika, what sort of roles did women play? What literature did you read?' this was directed at Bekka. Bekka said,
'Well there were many. I…'
'It is alright. You will tell me as we go on. What I'm saying is, surely, there were rules, right?'
'Yes, of course, Your Highness. Rules must exist in any society.'
'That is pretty easy for you to understand, as you serve in His Majesty's military. But what I can't put my finger on is what sort of society allows their girl children to do a man's task. Such as wield a weapon.'
Bekka said nothing in reply. K'rar had already explained these things to his mother on the journey from Tyrne. However, K'rar had said nothing of his engagement to Shaniz, and he had told all those who knew to say nothing. Shaniz knew why. The people of her own land had fought amongst each other, so it was not only probable but also highly likely that Korazites would not accept the foreigners easily, even if their king did. And certainly not a foreign ruler, a queen. Nonetheless, Shaniz was not ready for what Her Highness Noor-shan said next,
'Now that my son has reclaimed his throne, there is no better time than now to restore the traditions of the palace. So, I expect you all to be ready to welcome new members of the palace. As in the days of old, the king will choose for himself a head wife, who will become the queen, and three other concubines. Some of the nobles of the land will be arriving soon with their representatives for this.'
The scare was real. Those closest to her did not miss the slight flinch from Shaniz. Even Bekka couldn't believe it. The two shot each other worried looks, and didn't even hear the words the queen mother said last before she dismissed them.
'Shaniz,' Bekka said to her as they exited through the hallway, 'you're about to be involved in a wrangle.'
'Give her some time. After all, K'rar has not yet told her. She does not know we're royals.'
'Yeah. You think once he does so, she will accept? People hang on to their traditions like deities. It almost ruined Xaxanika.'
'Yeah, but also, my father threw tradition in the trash when he allowed me to be with the man I love, and abandon Klaavos' son.'
'And now, you and K'rar are about to fight for your love against his mother. Our circumstances were different. Men can only have one wife. Here, they can have many.'
K'rar was with the Scovian boy Ollinz, and his Alsatian, Targa, in an open park near the west wall of the palace. Amren, the boy's mother, was also now living in the palace awaiting for the role K'rar would give her. They had just completed a chess lesson for Ollinz, and Ollinz was now the teacher, teaching K'rar the dynamics of a Zenji game, football. He was laughing at him for his poor skills, when the knight called Argus came along. Argus was a member of the new palace guard, which K'rar had renamed with the Scovian equivalent term, "Hassendrale". K'rar's Hassendrale was only a few days old. Headed by Jaax, the Hassendrale comprised 130 knights, provisionally, all of them male, mostly those whom K'rar had liberated from the streets of Xaxanika and given a new life, including Argus. He had come to report and arrival.
'It's your man, Kanga. He has returned from Shona.'
'Take him to my chamber. I will meet him there.'
'Yes, Your Majesty,' Argus said. K'rar returned to Ollinz and said,
'I gotta go. You go on and play with Targa.'
'No. I cannot play with the dog. Allow me to play with Sherianne and Rugan.'
K'rar thought for a moment before he allowed it,
'Fine. Go ahead.'
He had Garrera's kids stay in the palace, with their mother to take care of them. Whereas the kids were free to roam about, and had retained their attendants, their mother was not allowed outside of her chambers at any time. If she wanted to see the children, she could see them from the room only. Garrera was on the other hand in the dungeons with his entire administration. He had not seen K'rar's face since the day K'rar returned to Chaldea with his regiment.
K'rar expected to find Kanga with just Lady Esella and Pithadia, so when he saw Helga's entourage, and then Helga, he beamed at her first. It took him no time to recognize her.
'Goodness gracious, you're an old woman!' he was coming toward them. They, too, were silently absorbing his new looks. Helga said,
'You think you have not grown? Look at you!'
They embraced. Lady Esella was shedding tears, and Pithadia kept her head down, standing off from her. Helga said,
'Is it true what your man said? You have been living all these years on an unknown island nation?'
'Wow, straight to the point, eh? There's a lot to catch up on except that, no?'
'Answer it first.'
'Yes,' said K'rar, still holding her hand in both of his, 'when God established the earth, he did not place only Moab on its face. The world is a much larger place. Here, take a seat, please.' He turned to the two maids waiting for orders there.
'What are you doing? Serve the guests something to drink.'
They bowed and scuttled away.
There were lots of tears and hugs here and there. Unlike the princess and Pithadia, who would have changed much like himself, Lady Esella had only increased her years, but not much of her physiognomy had changed. She still had some years of smooth skin before the wrinkles and gray hairs of age formed. Pithadia's face was still downcast when K'rar reached her.
'You will not look at me?' he said.
She timidly raised her face and looked briefly at his face before dropping it again. K'rar was smiling. He waited until she bobbed her head again, and said shakily,
'Your Majesty. It's just that…I have never seen you like this.'
'Like what?'
'We were on the run and in the forest for eighteen months. I have not been in your palace for long.'
'You must get used to it. Lady Esella.'
'My lord?'
'Pithadia's days as a servant girl are over. I need you to tutor her, and prepare her to take a government position.'
'My lord?' Pithadia was shocked, 'my lord, that…'
'Don't waste your breath talking about how you don't deserve it.'
Lady Esella was on the other hand beaming. She took Pithadia by her arms, and said,
'You are no longer a servant. Be happy!'
'And you, Lady Esella,' K'rar was saying, 'you will form part of my new government.'
'My lord. I am at your service until the day I fall.'
'Fabulous.'
'Your Majesty, we did not come empty handed,' said Her Highness Helga, 'to congratulate you on your return, we have brought gifts with us, from my mother and from us.'
'Oh, thank you. Then shall we go see them?'
They spent the next hour listening to K'rar's fantastic story. Much of it sounded like a fairy tale. He was still explaining how he was the fulfilment of a prophecy when Shaniz and Bekka showed up, dressed normally, and followed by four maids in all. K'rar was now in one of the courtyards of the palace, where he had set up an outdoors dinner table, from which his new visitors were partaking.
'We were just told you have visitors,' said Bekka, 'we must greet them.'
'Here you are. Ladies,' K'rar said, 'these are Shaniz and Bekka Santillan. Cousins. Helga, these ones will especially interest you.'
'You think?' said Helga, who was already on her feet and examining Shaniz's hair, I love your hair. I've never seen anyone with your hair color.'
'Thank you,' both girls said.
'But that isn't why they will be of interest,' K'rar said, grimacing at the girly introduction he had just heard, 'these are royal highnesses, like yourself, Helga.'
'That so? You're royal highnesses?'
'Yes, Your Grace,' they both said, and Bekka added, 'I'm the king's niece, and she's the princess.'
'You should have introduced them earlier,' Helga said, to K'rar.
'Well, my apologies. Why don't you three get to know one another, while I take Lady Esella to see her husband?'
'That is great. Perhaps they tell better tales than you,' Helga said.
Shaniz said,
'Before you go, K'rar.' She took him by the hand a few paces away to speak privately, and said, 'your mother. She needs to know.'
K'rar knew what she was talking about.
'We'll tell her as soon as all the dust settles,' said K'rar. This was already the agreed position, so he was merely reemphasizing it, 'what's the matter?'
Shaniz said,
'She called an assembly this morning. She said she'll be preparing your marriage.'
'It's okay. She'll be planning our marriage anyway, it's inevitable.'
'No, that's not it,' Shaniz said quickly, 'she's preparing your marriage to four women.'
'Oh, that doesn't sound good.'
'Yeah, no shit. And the way I see it, we are about to grace another battlefield. Here in the palace.'
'Worry not. We'll deal with it.'
'I'm not sharing you with some girls, K'rar. Not acceptable.'
K'rar acknowledged with a wry smile, and left her to join the other highnesses. As he watched them walk away, he let out a slight sigh. He knew that the least of Shaniz's problems would be to share him.
'Let's go,' he said to Lady Esella.
'I must see his concubine first.'
'The concubine?'
'She compromised him. I cannot help but think that if she never came into our lives, this nation would still be great.'
'Doesn't matter. It worked out for me. I will make my nation great again.'
Kishra had asked to keep Marlo as her attendant. It was her at the door with a eunuch. Neither recognized Lady Esella, but they had a slight idea.
It took Kishra three seconds to recognize Lady Esella, whereupon she almost spat out her own tongue.
'H…how?' she stammered.
Esella walked closer to her. She said,
'Well, His Majesty came back from the dead. Why should I not?' However, Garrera knew of Esella's whereabouts and had simply kept it from Kishra. Esella figured this out, and went on, 'obviously your husband didn't tell you about it.' The two children were both present. Esella stared at them as if they were suffering from an infectious disease. She said,
'His Majesty has given me the authority over your life. You're not so high and mighty now, are you?'
Kishra's face was already crumpling. She was more timid than she let off, and Esella didn't miss it. Kishra slid off her bed and began to sob loudly, and to beg,
'Please, spare my children's lives. They were no part of this. Please.' The girl Sherianne, unlike her brother, understood what was happening. As before, she wept with her mother.
'You have birthed them into stolen royalty,' said Esella, 'they are bound to cause His Majesty unnecessary problems.'
Kishra had words in her mouth, but she couldn't blurt them out to her. She knew there was little chance for Esella's forgiveness, so she instead knelt before K'rar with teary eyes to plead with him.
'Please, Your Majesty. They were not part of this.'
'I'm not the one you should plead with. My problem lies with your lover, and I will kill him with my own hands.'
Later, when Esella went to the dungeons to see her husband, K'rar didn't go with her. He left the palace to check out the four fortresses, one of them outside the south wall of the city, in which his Kaffrarian Knights were now based. Ahn Emis' forces were based in the other two, and were still in charge of the city's defense. The armies that had arrived from other locations to fight against K'rar had all slid right back into his service without any incident, and been reassigned.
Two days later K'rar was in his office with Mershak and Ishkeniaz when his assigned eunuch, Barzillai, informed him that the lords and ladies and scholars he had summoned had all arrived together and were convening in the throne room. He said to him,
'Have Tanihuchi bring his group too.'
'Yes sir.' The Polemian and his wise men of Xaxanika were all present, having been informed to prepare for this event. Only Tanny and a few others were accommodated in the palace's Guest Pavilion, while the rest lived outside the palace, together in a large guest house. Tanny had summoned only a few leaders from among them, already in the palace. K'rar found them in the throne room. The native noblemen and officials knew them now, as did much of the country's populace, and were interacting with them. Stories of K'rar's foreign regiment had spread like wildfire, and the people had inevitably learned of this group and the Nephilim as the builders of K'rar's steamship armada. Only a handful of Chaldeans, though, had seen the ships, having been to Matalma on the east coast, where the armada was docked.
The assembly stood up from their seats or returned to them when the king arrived with Ishkeniaz. He waved them back into their seats. His mother was present, sitting on her chair on the first landing from the top. This was the landing for other royal family members, including concubines or consorts, but his mother was the only other royal apart from K'rar, and was by herself. Also present were Bartle Frere, all the other brigadiers except Admiral Sorcatan, and General Ahn Emis. K'rar would announce not only the new government appointments, but also military ones. Also, Jaax and his Hassendrale hadn't been properly unveiled, so he was present too. Mongoose and company were present too, and so too were K'rar's merchant informants Devchel and Jephthah. On the balcony overhead, Princess Helga, who was not even thinking about returning to Shona yet, sat too, flanked by her Hone attendants.
K'rar had changed the look of the throne. Instead of one that accommodated just him, he had placed a new one for two people, and removed the queen's chair. The new throne would seat both he and the queen. Also, behind the throne he had hanged a long banner from the roof, in the center of which was emblazoned the emblem of Korazin, the eagle. He would soon implement many other changes to improve the grandeur of the palace at large, including a stone statue of a flying Urdian with its wings spread behind and around the throne, so that the monarchs would be literally sitting in its wings. K'rar's travels, especially San Vilgraek, had taught him that his palace was lacking in beauty and majesty, in fact was terrible. When K'rar sat down, he began to address his officials.
'Some of you were here three days ago. I did not tell you, but there will be significant changes in the structure of the government. Listen carefully. Ishkeniaz, read the edict.'
'Yes, Your Majesty,' said Ishkeniaz, who stepped down to the landing just behind the barrier, where the seat of the Chief Administrator would be situated. He unrolled the edict, and began to read, 'Royal Edict of K'rar von Caspar II, king of Korazin.
'The office of the Chief Administrator shall be replaced by the office of the Lord Chamberlain. Apart from the duties of the Chief Administrator, the Lord Chamberlain shall have other duties as will be explained in the detailed form to be given to all ministries and read to all subjects. The offices of the Administrators are also hereby removed, and will be replaced by the Grand Council of Governors. A governor shall carry out his duties from his or her district, and shall only be in the city when required by law or whenever it is suitable or by command of the king. All reports to the king shall be sent by messenger, bearing the specific seal of the governor. All governors shall have a staff not exceeding 15 officials, including one military officer. The minimum age of a governor shall be 21, and the retirement age shall be 81 years.
'There shall be an Office of the Queen. Notwithstanding the Queen's duties as head of the Women's Court of the palace, the queen shall have the right and duty to settle matters involving women and children from all the land, including legal issues. The queen's seal is also the king's seal. The queen shall have all the authority of the king in his absence or indisposition. Among other things, the queen shall take over the authority of the Religion and Culture Minister.' Ishkeniaz put down the scroll on the table behind him, and picked up another one.
'Military changes are as follows. There shall be one army called the Korazin Army. All private armies are hereby disbanded or incorporated into the Korazin Army. It shall be a standing army. No soldiers or officers shall have any other employment except their duties as soldiers. All promotions and appointments in the army shall be given on merit, and not by birthright. The Minister of War shall be a soldier who has risen to the rank of Lieutenant-General or above. The age of an active soldier shall be between 16 and 45 years of age, not applying to officers. The Korazin Army shall recruit both male and female soldiers. The methods of the Korazin Army shall be the methods of the Kaffrarian Knights henceforth. The Minister of War shall work in close conjunction with the new office of Minister of Pensions, to reward retired soldiers for a period of ten years after retirement. The Minister of War shall also foresee the finances of the Korazin Army, as well as its logistics, training and readiness for war. Hear and obey.
'The Chief Magistrate shall be replaced by the Principal Judge, and the Magistrate's Court shall be replaced by the High Court. Above them, the Court of Appeal remains, but the Court of Appeal shall not be the final appellate court. There shall be a Supreme Court, where parties to a case for specified matters in this edict may appeal a second and final time. All jurisdictional districts shall have High Court Circuits, five districts shall have Court of Appeal circuits, whereas the Supreme Court shall be based in Chaldea, and shall be presided over by the king. Qualifications are set out in detail in the edict.
'There shall be new offices in the king's service. These will include among others the Ministry of Trade and Commerce, which is separated from the Treasury henceforth, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of National Security. The Constabulary shall be called the Korazin Police Force henceforth, and shall follow new guidelines.'
Once he completed the reading of three scrolls, Ishkeniaz went down and joined the rest of the crowd, and K'rar stood up. He snatched one of the two scrolls on the small table by the throne, and read.
'All those whose names are read, step forward.'
He already had the recommendations that Ishkeniaz and his group had made, and he appointed these into the existing ministries. But he stalled the appointments of the governors, as well as the appointments into his new departments, and first read out his military appointments.
'Deputy Commandant, Bartle Frere.' Bartle Frere stepped into the aisle, 'you will command the Korazin Army. You are now General Bartle Frere.' Bartle Frere knew this meant not just the Kaffrarian Knights, but also the native Korazite military. Only K'rar, and Shaniz, whom he knew would become queen, were above him in the chain of command. Bartle Frere drew his sword, pointed it skyward, and took to the knee. All the other former brigadiers except Shaniz, bent the knee too. Bekka was funny to some in the room because she did so in her heavy, civilian garb. Ahn Emis realized almost too late that he, too, had to bend the knee. K'rar added, 'you will work hand-in-hand with General Ahn Emis, and you will make the Korazin Army the greatest in all the earth.' This was already known to the two men, and in fact preparations were already underway, as Ahn Emis had previously been given commands. All his men would have to undergo retraining in tactics and operations, but there was no time to turn them into the standard knight. This was scheduled to begin much later, when a recruitment program similar to the one K'rar had initiated in Xaxanika would start.
Now K'rar began to call on the ministers for his new offices.
'Tanihuchi the Polemian, step forward.' He stepped forward, 'you are the Minister of Education. A nation is made, not by its men of war, but by its men of knowledge. Up to this point, you and the people that I selected to work with you have worked to improve the Kaffrarian Knights. Now, I entrust all learning in the land to you. You and your Ministry will centralize learning following the guidelines that you have already compiled. To the rest of you, just to give you a clue, these will include setting up schools in all of the new districts that will be made known soon. The schools will be separate from religious synagogues, and from this moment on, all young ones will be required by law to attend school.'
Tanny the Polemian and his colleagues had brainstormed the Hnnnhhfhfhfhfhfhfhfhfh
the idea on their voyage south from Xaxanika, and created a unique, organized system of learning, in which all participants, whether learners or teachers, were part of the same framework of things. Tanny was also in charge of brainstorming new technology to improve not only military but also civilian welfare.
The appointments went on for some time, and at the end of it all, K'rar had named all except the governor positions. It was late, so he announced that this would be done when the meeting reconvened the following morning. He was about to dismiss the session when his mother stood up from her seat and said,
'There is still one matter that needs to be discussed, Your Majesty.' When she got their attention, she said, 'I am sure we all cannot wait for the new queen in her new role. As the Queen Mother, I am in charge of royal nuptials. All your houses of repute may marry four of your daughters into the Royal House, as the custom of our forefathers dictates. You all may begin relevant preparations.'
'You may not,' K'rar said immediately, rising from the throne, and stepping down to stand beside his mother. He took one look at her, and then proceeded to descend the steps, and to take Shaniz's hand. He said, 'I should reintroduce this person to this court. This is Shaniz Santillan. She is first and foremost the princess of the Kingdom of Xaxanika, before she is an army General. She is one of the few people who kept me going, and who encouraged me to return to my people. In the near future, once everything has been put in place, the royal family of Xaxanika will be invited south across the North Sea. Shaniz will be my wife and the Queen, and I will not be marrying more than one wife. This is my wish, and you will all act in accordance with it.' Shaniz was taken by surprise with this, blushing like a tomato.
There was more shock and surprise now than there had been whenever K'rar had decreed something unheard of. The people had no problems with a foreign army, but K'rar knew that he would face stiff opposition for this decision because of its severe cultural and religious implications. Although Korazites were not nearly as religious as Xaxanikans, they certainly cherished their customs, including the custom he was effectively throwing in the trash. K'rar had not hampered the festival to Ashtoreth, but little did they know that she was no longer the god of the Korazites.
'You are dismissed,' K'rar sent them away. The incessant murmur among them could still be heard even after they had exited the hall. K'rar remained only with his future wife, his mother, Pliny, Bekka and Bartle Frere. His mother inevitably launched her protest against this announcement.
'K'rar, what did you just do? This is not acceptable,' she said, shooting Shaniz with a curt, brief glance. Shaniz's hand was still in K'rar's, and she was herself still healing from the abruptness of K'rar's announcement.
'Why not?' K'rar replied.
'Leave us,' she dismissed everyone including Shaniz. When they were out of earshot, she went on, 'this is against the nation's custom. She is not just a foreign woman. She doesn't even hail from anywhere in Moab and doesn't know our customs and rites. Yet you want to make her your only wife?'
'If I remember well, you were father's only wife,' K'rar said.
'The circumstances were against us. They are not against you. I cannot stress the importance of having heirs in the royal family after the tragedy that befell us. If we had more heirs, traitors like Garrera would not have succeeded in their treason. But that is even beside the point. The nation will not accept a foreign queen.'
K'rar successfully hid his disbelief at this comment. He would have countered by teaching his mother that more heirs would not have stopped Garrera, but this was not a political discussion. He said,
'You are originally from Kai yourself. Before Xaxanika came onto the scene, that land was the most foreign in all of Moab, was it not?'
'Are you lecturing me?'
'I will marry Shaniz, mother. I do not need your permission to do so.'
'I am your mother, K'rar! I am in charge of this business, but do not think I am the only one opposed to this rash decision. It is a disgrace to our gods and our rites.'
'Gods, gods, gods. Shaniz doesn't worship Ashtoreth images, mother. Neither do I.'
'What?' now this was a brand new shock, 'you do not what?'
K'rar said nothing. Noor-shan resumed her tirade,
'What happened to you in that unknown land, son? You can even afford to disrespect the gods of your forefathers? That is a curse on yourself and the nation. Have you not learned from the past?'
K'rar just shook his head, and said,
'There is nothing of consequence. There will be no concubines or consorts or whatnot. Why must you unite me with women I know nothing of? Have you any idea the paths Shaniz and I have crossed, or the things we have done to this point? She is the one my heart wants.' He stole away, and left his mother standing there like a pillar.