Chapter Four
It was only a few days after that victory celebration that I discovered the reason for General Turhan’s presence at court. For some time now there had been rumors that the war was not going very well. Our armies had clashed with those of the evil King of Tarzia, who was forging alliances with the eastern clans, and putting up a determined resistance to our expansion. The King was not at all pleased by the military situation; it was said that he might personally take to the field to lead our glorious troops to victory.
Within days of Turhan’s arrival other high ranking officers began to show up at court, thundering in on exhausted horses whose trembling flanks were sheened with sweat. It seems that the army had been ordered to stand down, and take up defensive positions. They
