Chapter 23For the first time since Hawklan had left there had been serious dissension among the Orthlundyn.
None could deny the vulnerability of their country as revealed by the visit of Dan-Tor and the subsequent slaughter of the High Guards by armed Mandrocs. And most agreed readily to the restraints placed on their ordinary lives by the need to build up sufficient skill at arms to mend this weakness. However, no small part in this agreement was played by Gulda’s organizing skills, which ensured that these restraints were modest and reasonable and that, for the most part, few had had to leave their homes and farms for any length of time.
Now, however, with the proposal for wholesale movement of almost all training into the mountains, the disruption promised to be considerable and, unex
