Cam's Connection

Chapter 1 ~Council King Jonathan of Conte chewed his fingernails nervously. It was a bad habit he had acquired in the Immortals War. He had been constantly jumpy back then, never knowing what to expect, when his kingdom was always facing one threat or another. But these had been peaceful times. The fields were green and rich, the harvests were excellent and all of Tortall flourished in its first truly peaceful time in many years. And now the good times appeared to be at and end. Jon was sitting on a soft opulent chair in the barely used war council chamber. But it felt like he had just been banished to the darkest cavern and forced to sit on a metal stool covered in nails. The furniture was dusty and the air had a dank smell to it, because this room hadn't been used for the last 5 years of his reign. Jon didn't want to be here, he wanted to be spending time with his wife, Thayet and their children at their summer home on the coast near Port Caynn. But his most trusted advisor had opened recieved a scroll declaring open war from Tyra. When he'd heard the news Jon had almost cried out in surprise. Tyra had been Tortall's ally for ages! He couldn't recall a time when Tortall had ever been at war with Tyra. In fact Tyra and Galla were about the only other kingdoms Tortall hadn't been at war with since the beginning of his reign. With a chuckle Jon realized he could hardly be called The Peacemaker like his father, the late King Roald. But it was true and know he was sitting with Alanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau, his Champion, Raoul of Goldenlake, the commander of the King's Own, Gareth of Naxen and other important dignitaries. They were poring over a map of the kingdom and its neighbours, deciding a strategy. One of the problems was that it was so unbelievable that Tyra would declare war that no one was sure whether it was a trick or whether it was real. If any nation would have declared open war, they would have expected Scanra or the Copper Isles. Neverthless it was important to ready the nation's defenses and make sure the King's Own and Queen's Riders were in tip-top shape. Alanna spoke hotly. "Why can't we just go and lead a force of riders down to Tyra and attack them? They'd obviously attack us if they had the chance. And besides, we have a much larger navy and army then them. They're just a tiny kingdom." Jon took a deep breath to keep his cool. He had once loved Alanna, and they were still close friends, but she could be so annoying sometimes! She had the tendency to make impulsive decisions without thinking things through but as a king, Jon had learned you had to carefully weigh every option. "We can't just go and lay siege to their capital city. Although we have recieved a declaration of war, they haven't attakced yet. If we attacked now we'd be attacking for no reason without provocation. I've already agreed to put all navy ships on the lookout for invaders and increase Rider patrols along the borders. We'll keep on a defensive stance and if they try anything, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it." Alanna's eyes flashed dangerously and glittered like harsh black opals. "Fine" she said with an angry forced calmness. "This is going to be just like the war with Tusaine when we were squires! They'll win against us on every front and we'll just be defending ourselves, never taking the initiative to fight back for the glory of Tortall. And I must point out, that I think we should at least form a plan of what to do if or when they do attack us." "I agree." Jon said. Alanna looked a little surprised at his reaction, but there was no way she was going to back down on her stance. She was all for fighting in what she believed in. "If they attack us, then we will secure our borders and fight battles we're sure we can win without losing too many knights. You have to remember that every soldier and mage is very valuable. We lost a third of our army to the Immortals War and we're just starting to get back what we lost from new pages and squires" Jon continued. "All right then" said the Lioness. Everywhere around the table there were murmurings of agreement. Raoul left to get the Riders all packed up. "Please send a message to my wife at Port Caynn telling her to bring her riding gear and come to Corus immediately. She will lead a squad of Queen's Own down to the Tyran border to discover what's going on and guard it. Oh, and bring some maids in here. It's filthy". Jon said with great satisfaction. One of the great things about being King of Tortall was that you could order people around. Chapter 2