The General's Daughter

[Gamemaster]

(Out Of Character: {OOC:} Many of the words are given in both English and the Zekresh language. It is one of many languages in the Empire, but it is the official language used by the government and the military.)


Trayavix fortress (Kast Trayavix)
Trayavix Province (Salan Trayavix)
Zekresh Empire (Vyloran Zekresh)

Day 40, Month 2, Year 41 of the reign of Emperor Cledman VI
(Oron 40, Salgan 2, Adonsik 41 Vylor Cledman VI)


Captain (Gurikan) Danifar walked briskly across the courtyard of the great Imperial Army fortress of Kast Trayavix. He sought out his commander, Lieutenant General (Ekanor Falan) Marivan, the commander of the Trayavix garrison. Another soldier walked behind Danifar. He was soaking wet from the knees down as if he had just waded in water. He had no helmet, weapon or armor. There was nothing to indicate that he was a soldier, but he had told a story to the guards at the gate that was all too plausible.

When Danifar found Marivan, he was standing near one of the storage rooms talking to Sternin, the senior advisor to Governor (Ulor) Tervin, the head of the provincial government of Trayavix province.

"Sir, this man has come down the river bearing grave and urgent news from the North."

Marivan immediately shifted his attention to the bedraggled soldier, "What is it?"

The soldier said, "The Tronds are attacking Serat Shasa."

Marivan said, "We've heard rumors of this and they turned out to be untrue. Did you see this for yourself or did you hear it from a passing merchant?"

"I fought in the battle myself, sir."

"You're a soldier?"

"Yes, sir. My name is Javeen. I am a member of the 1st Kantora Foerfen (1st Foerfen Regiment)."

"Very well. Tell me what happened."

"We were stationed at Kast Vort (Fort Wolf) in Foerfen province. News came that thousands of Tronds had overrun Kast Gorumyva and all of Glantogran Province. Ulor Landyva began stockpiling food for a siege, but before he had enough, news came that the entire army of Aatan had joined with the Tronds and that their combined force was marching towards us at Kast Vort."

"And your brave Ulor Landyva abandoned the provindial capital to the enemy and fled the province without a fight like a coward. I've heard this news already. What happened at Serat Shasa?"

The soldier looked insulted, "Scouts reported the enemy had over 5,000 soldiers."

"I know, but I don't believe it," Marivan said, "Besides, you grant them too much credit to call them soldiers. They are Trond barbarian rebels."

"If that is what you have been told, sir, then it is lies. I fought them myself at Serat Shasa. It's many, many more than that and though some are barbarian warriors, many of them are Imperial Soldiers from the garrisons at Helmarie and Aatan who have joined the rebels. From the walls of the fortress as Serat Shasa, my commander, Gurikan Havuk, counted seven kantoro (regiments) of spearmen marching together with Imperial Army equipment and discipline. His estimate of the total enemy army was more than 10,000 men, a great many of them archers."

"How could they possibly have so large a force? And so many Imperial Army troops? The mutiny in Helmarie involved only a few and the rest were mostly driven out by the Tronds."

"We heard that rumor as well, sir, when the Zekresh officers they drove out came to Kast Vort. I don't think it's true."

"Mind your place, soldier. Tell me what you saw and I'll sort out fact from fiction."

"I saw an enormous army that filled the fields around the city of Serat Shasa. I saw thousands of men who looked and acted exactly like Imperial Army soldiers. So many, in fact, that when they approached from the south, we thought at first that they were reinforcements come to help us."

"They came from the south?" Marivan asked in dismay.

"Yes. It may have been a ploy or some tactic to cut off our retreat and pin us against the junction of the two rivers, but even though the army that drove us out of Kast Vort and to Serat Shasa had come from the north..."

"You don't mean to suggest that the rebels have two armies, do you?" Marivan raised his voice in anger.

"No, sir. It was probably the same army. They may have merely moved past us and crossed the river south of us before advancing on the fortress. They were probably afraid we would ambush them crossing the river in a more predictable place."

"Yes, I concur. What happened next?"

"At first, we thought it was an Imperial Army force, but then we saw the hordes of thousands upon thousands of barbarian warriors coming up behind them. The civilians in the city saw this also and began to flee easterward in terror, taking only what they could carry or merely dropping everything and running or riding horses out of town. At that point, Ulor Landyva commanded all the soldiers from Foerfen to attempt to flee eastwards as well."

Marivan scoffed.

The soldier looked down in shame, "We had no choice. Ekanor Falan (Lt. Gen.) Koling, our provincial commander, was there and he ordered us to run and try to get away before the enemy besieged the fortress. So we ran. Yet the enemy had already nearly cut off our last route of retreat before we got out of the gate. We found ourselves overtaken and embattled. Just two kantoro (regiments) of troops from Foerfen with no help at all from the local garrison. We were engulfed by an enemy army so massive it was like we were two pebbles dropped into the sea."

"Did you at least fight bravely then?" Marivan asked.

"We fought, some bravely, some not. We were not in formation. We had come out of the fortress gate in a narrow column, running and losing all order in the process. We had no hope. Most of us were cut down by arrows before we could even strike a blow on the enemy."

"Proper use of a shield can protect you from arrows," Marivan said as if he were lecturing new recruits.

"They were coming at us from all sides. Also... some of us had dropped our shields while running."

"How came you to survive?"

The man's shoulders dropped as if in defeat and a pained expression came to his face, "I fled. I know you will call it cowardly, but that was what I was ordered to do and there was never more reason to obey an order than on that day. I broke away from the others and ran towards the river that runs along the north side of the city of Serat Shasa, flowing in from the east until it meets the North River. Most of the enemy followed the main group and I outran the others by tossing aside my spear and armor. They chased me to the river's edge, but seeing me swimming out into the river, they gave up. I floated down the river until I was swept into the North River and continued there until I gained the opposite bank. There I waited for hours, trying to determine what was happening and what I should do. I saw an enormous column of smoke. I could not clearly see where it was coming from so I climbed a tree. Then what I saw confirmed my fears. The enemy had set fire to the city of Serat Shasa. The whole place was afire. Then I began walking downriver until I met up with some fishermen who agreed to take me here to bring you this news. We stopped along the way at Kast Ulmuk to inform the garrison there."

Marivan considered this, "Is that all?"

"Yes."

"How long ago was this?"

"Three days ago."

"I see. Danifar, assign this man to the 2nd Kantora. You are both dismissed."

The Ulor's advisor, Sternin, had heard all this. Marivan looked at him and then gestured to the storage areas, "I think the issue we were discussing has taken on a new urgency. Instead of merely assuring adequate food for the troops, we need to be stockpiling food for a siege. Militarily, Trayavix is the most important place in the whole North River Valley. It is here that the river meets the sea. Since there are almost no roads in the lands north of here, most trade is by the river. Much of the revenue of the provincial governments depends on taxes on trade, as you know, but that isn't the most important reason. Even with the river current against them, ships can move troops up the river far faster than they can march. Even now, if Serat Shasa holds out, we might be able to bring food and reinforcements to them by water. The fortress sits on the river bank, the better to assure a supply of fresh water in the event of a siege."

"Reinforcements to Serat Shasa? You only have two kantoro here. Half the garrison force hasn't returned from the south yet. Who could you afford to send?"

"I know. I don't propose to send troops from this garrison. I have news that the Imperial Army is sending a large expeditionary force here to put down this rebellion. I look for the sails of their ships every day. They could arrive at any time."

Sternin looked at Marivan strangely and said, "That may serve us well in dealing with the rebels, but it might not be good news for you."

"Yes, I know," Marivan said, "I am in a very difficult situation these past two months because of my role in the Crisis of the Regents. This won't make it easier."

"The Ulor thanks you for your loyalty and your service."

"Is there anything he can do to protect me when the expeditionary force arrives?"

"I don't think so. The special authority the Lord Chancellor granted to Ulors during the Crisis of the Regents to command Imperial Army troops in their provinces has been superceded by the express wish of the Emperor that the Lord Chancellor and his government should leave the affairs of the army to the generals."

"In that case, I may not long continue to be a general. The orders have already been issued for me to be relieved from command and killed if I resist. If they had anyone in this province who would obey that order, I'd be dead already. So far, they dare not risk an open conflict with me and my troops or the Emperor might consider it a renewal of the hostilities of the Crisis of the Regents after he ordered that all such fighting must stop. But if they have thousands of troops here for some other purpose, it would take very little to arrest me and put this garrison back under Loyalist control."

"I will warn Ulor Tervin. We'll see what we can do, but it probably won't be much. If the rebels are as strong and as close as this latest report, we should be more worried about them than about general Nemt and his expeditionary force. You say you expect Nemt to arrive any day, but I have news that he has only just reached Bakoya Kajak and that most of his troops are coming by land, not by sea."

"WHAT???" Marivan demanded, "That can't be true. They wouldn't be here for months."

"I know. I'll get an emergency allocation from the provincial treasury for supplies for a siege and deliver the funds to your quartermaster."

"Are we supposed to hold off the rebel army with only two kantoro (regiments)?"

"It's all we have. Fear not. If they besiege Serat Shasa, that will buy us time and the fortress of Kast Ulmuk still stands between them and us with far more troops than we have here."

"We've already lost five provinces to the rebels in only a few months. The fact that Kast Ulmuk still stands between us and the rebels is little comfort. They could overrun Kast Ulmuk and the rest of Baaniferan province in a matter of days. Then they'll be here."

"What should we do, then?" Sternin asks.

"Prepare to defend Trayavix with what we've got, what else can we do?"

"Maybe you could send someone on horseback up north to warn us if it starts getting close. Then, if Nemt's Expeditionary Force hasn't arrived yet, we could evacuate by sea."

"Evacuate? You mean flee like cowards. No, but sending scouts is good and perhaps I shall speak to the commander of the Imperial Navy base about keeping us supplied by sea in the event of a siege. For that matter, maybe he can bring some of the Expeditionary Force troops by sea to reinforce us if we are besieged. Now all we need is to prepare to withstand a siege. That means we need a lot of food stored in the fortress before the enemy arrives."

"Right. I'll go to the treasury and get started on that."

[Gamemaster]

Trayavix fortress (Kast Trayavix)
Trayavix Province (Salan Trayavix)
Zekresh Empire (Vyloran Zekresh)

Day 41, Month 2, Year 41 of the reign of Emperor Cledman VI
(Oron 41, Salgan 2, Adonsik 41 Vylor Cledman VI)


Ekanor Falan (Lieutenant General) Marivan stood on the walls of the fortress overlooking Serat Trayavix (Crossroads City) and the delta where the Shasa Tros (North River) met the Lish Folonesh (Western Sea). He could see civilians bargaining in the marketplace, washerwomen washing clothes on the banks of the river. Merchants loading and unloading goods from ships and wagons. Smoke from countless cooking fires rose from the chimneys of the houses of the city as the people cooked their breakfasts.

It was a bright day with hardly a cloud in the sky, but a cold wind blew from the North. There was no sign of any sail approaching from the south. Marivan both dreaded and desperately hoped for the arrival of Nemt's Expeditionary Force.

Almost involuntarily, Marivan glanced down at the buildings beside the fortress that had served as the Imperial Army Regional Headquarters for the North River Region. No one was there now. Two months ago, on orders from Ulor Tervin, Marivan had led the soldiers of the 1st Kantora Trayavix into those buildings and killed every soldier and officer they found including Gurikan Falan (Captain General) Trenyva. Marivan knew there were only about half a dozen men in the whole empire who held that rank and only one man who outranked a Gurikan Falan. That one man was Gurikan Falanorata (Field Marshall) Krulmuk, commander of the entire Imperial Army. Marivan had killed a Gurikan Falan. The army would never forgive that. The government would, especially while the government was led by Lord Chancellor Rubanya Cledman and the Reformist faction. They had applauded the move. Ulor Tervin, the most prominent Reformist leader in the whole region had ordered him to do it and promoted him for it. Still, the army would never forgive, especially not while the army was led by diehard members of the so-called Loyalist faction such as Krulmuk.

Ulor Tervin had promoted Marivan from Gurikan (Captain) to Ekanor Falan (Lieutenant General) and moved him up from kantora commander to commander of all troops in the province. This was after Marivan had arrested Ekanor Falan Erian, the previous provincial garrison commander and Gurikan Havimuk, commander of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix. All had been on orders from Ulor Tervin, but Tervin could not protect him now. Not from the rebel army in the north, nor the Imperial Army reinforcements coming from the south.

When Krulmuk was sent away to the Overseas Provinces after the Crisis of the Regents, he had given Ekanor Falan Talimuk, previously the Imperial Army quartermaster, the new title of Commander of All Imperial Army forces West of the Eastern Sea. That was the whole empire except for the Overseas Provinces.

Now Ekanor Falan Talimuk was trying to remove Marivan from command and probably also planning to have him killed. Under the circumstances, Marivan dared not entrust anyone with any leadership position in the garrison unless he was absolutely sure he had that man's loyalty. During the Crisis of the Regents, loyalty to the Reformist cause and to Marivan personally had been the all-important criterion for promotion. That was why Marivan had promoted Ekanor Rafareen to Gurikan and made him commander of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix. Rafareen was loyal to Marivan personally, especially after the promotion. The problem was that Rafareen had a drinking problem. The Imperial Army routinely overlooked a certain amount of that, but that was in peacetime. If an enemy army besieged the fortress while Marivan had only two kantoro of troops here, he did not want one of those kantoro, fully half his available troops, commanded by a drunk.

There were no other officers in the 2nd Kantora Trayavix. There had been three, one Gurikan and two Ekanoro. Gurikan Havimuk and Ekanor Garoman had been arrested during the Crisis of the Regents and were still being held prisoner. Ekanor Rafareen had been promoted to Gurikan since he was the only officer left in the kantora and had been a friend of Marivan. There were plenty of competent soldiers who could be promoted to Ekanor, but, Marivan dared not promote any of them to any leadership position because he didn't know if he could trust them not to betray him.

Now, he needed to promote someone all the way from kantor (spearman) to Gurikan (captain). Either that or leave Rafareen in command. Or he could transfer Ekanor Darek from the 1st Kantora Trayavix and promote him to Gurikan. Marivan didn't trust Darek enough. The only other army officer left in the whole province was Ekanor Anigon, the provincial garrison quartermaster. Marivan smiled bitterly to himself. Trust Anigon? A Slythian? Slythians were notorious for treachery. It was probably too much to trust Anigon to be quartermaster. Trusting him to command troops and not attempt to advance his career by arresting Marivan as the Imperial Army HQ wanted, would be foolish to the point of stupidity.

Who then? Marivan realized there was not a single soldier left in the garrison he could trust except Ekanor Danifar who was already commanding the 1st Kantora Trayavix. The problem would get even worse if the 3rd and 4th Kantoro Trayavix ever returned. The two commanders, Gurikan Razamuk and Gurikan Banitanda, were such staunch loyalists that during the Crisis of the Regents two months ago, they had actually deserted from an army led by the Reformist commander, Ekanor Falan Korinyva, and gone to join Krulmuk's forces.

There was only himself and Danifar. No one else. Then Marivan had a thought. There are only two kantoro. Danifar could command one and Marivan could command the other one himself. That would look bad, though. It was bad enough that he had not filled three junior officer vacancies. Commanding a kantora himself to avoid appointing a kantora commander would make it painfully obvious to anyone plotting against him just how little support he had among his own men.

Marivan had another thought. Perhaps he could leave Rafareen in command, but make it clear to him that Marivan was to be the real commander. Half a second later, Marivan discarded that thought. Rafareen's pride could never tolerate that. No Imperial Army officer would accept that without scheming for more autonomy. Maybe someone from outside the army? Marivan could recruit someone into the army and promote him straight to Gurikan. It would anger many, though it might avoid worse problems. But who?

Marivan wished, not for the first time that he had a son. But he did not. Three daughters, but no son. He had a brother named Malian. Malian surely could do the job. If Malian had joined the army as Marivan had urged him, he would have made a fine officer and could have been entrusted to really command the 2nd Kantora Trayavix. The reason Marivan was so confident that Malian would have made a fine military officer is that Malian had in fact become a fine military officer, only in the Imperial Navy, not the army. Malian was an Ekanor stationed at the navy base at the port of Osim on the other side of the Western Sea. He was too far away to help and probably would not be allowed to leave the base. If he were stationed at the navy base here at Trayavix, Marivan might have been able to arrange for him to be temporarily transferred to the army, but Osim was too far away. It could take a month just to get a message there.

Just then, Marivan saw his wife, Dalna and his youngest daughter, Ilannie, going to the well in the courtyard of the fortress to fill a bucket of water. Ilannie saw her father up on the walls and waved. Marivan waved back. Family normally didn't live in the fortress, but Marivan had moved his own family in two months ago during the Crisis of the Regents and it had never seemed quite safe to have them move back to the house. The political situation was still too dangerous. Ilannie was only 12 years old. The middle girl, Andara, was 16 and already engaged to be married to the son of a local merchant ship captain. Marivan's eldest daughter was Malana. She was nineteen already and if she didn't get married soon she would be considered an old maid. As if Marivan didn't have enough to worry about already with rebels approaching and generals scheming to kill him, he also had to somehow arrange a marriage for his eldest daughter before it was too late.

She didn't make it easy. Malana didn't act all that ladylike. Marivan blamed himself. For much of Malana's childhood, Marivan wasn't an officer yet. He wasn't able to separate himself and his family from the common soldiers because he was one of them. Malana had learned to use a spear as a weapon when she was younger than Ilannie is now. Malana kept pet frogs as a child to compete in the frog racing competitions that Imperial Army soldiers were so fond of. The soldiers were forbidden to gamble, but they did it anyway. Once upon a time they had gambled on horse racing, dog racing, dog fighting, etc., but ever since the generals had ordered them to stop gambling, they had to hide their obsession. It is much easier to hide race frogs than a race horses.

How many times had Marivan caught his eldest daughter behind the barracks with a group of young soldiers racing frogs? He couldn't count. As she grew older, Marivan feared she would end up pregnant by one rowdy soldier or another, but she never did. Marivan's wife Dalna worried that no man would want Malana as a wife unless she got better at cooking than she was at sword fighting and stopped cursing like a soldier.

Marivan and Dalna had done their best to raise their three daughters as proper girls and not as little soldiers in dresses. They had attempted to correct their earlier mistakes in letting their daughters get too exposed to army life. Malana almost entirely stopped cursing and now spent her time cooking and sewing and trying to look pretty as a girl was supposed to do. No longer was she to be seen wielding a wooden practice sword and trading blows with a soldier while a crowd of other soldiers looked on, laughing and placing bets on who would win.

Marivan sighed. There was only so much he could do. Malana had grown up around Imperial Army fortresses, mostly this one. She could try to act like a lady, but it was like she was half lady, half soldier and it always showed through any pretense sooner or later.

For years now, Dalna had despaired that her daughter would never be wed. Marivan had assured her that even if no one else would want a wife like that, she would be a perfect wife for an army officer. Dalna had been appeased at first, but Marivan had not been able to make that happen. He had found several officers willing to marry her, but Malana had objected to each of them for various reasons and the wedding plans had been called off. There were literally hundreds of common soldiers who knew Malana and had asked for her hand in marriage. Marivan had refused to approve of any such match. He wanted his daughter to marry an officer not an ordinary soldier.

"I don't have time to worry about this right now," Marivan muttered out loud. He needed to be paying attention to the looming onslaught of the rebel army, not worrying about how to find a husband for his daughter.

Then suddenly, he was struck by a thought, so unexpected and yet so obvious. He could appoint Malana to replace Gurikan Rafareen! Malana would be utterly loyal to him as only a family member would. Malana had never been in the army of course, but that could be corrected. Imperial Army rules forbade women from joining, but Marivan was already defying their orders that he give up his command. He'd already killed one Imperial Army general and imprisoned another. Defying recruiting rules was trivial by comparison.

The soldiers probably would not respect a woman officer, but then again, there should be no question of her trying to seize the initiative and command the unit without him. She was a familiar face to every soldier in the fortress. In that regard, she would have an advantage over a typical new officer who had bought a commission and come in to assume command without knowing anyone in the whole province.

But would the soldiers even obey her orders? Marivan knew the idea of a woman commanding soldiers was simply unheard of. Well, almost unheard of. Lord Chancellor Rubanya had appointed his son, his grandsons and his granddaughter as Uloro of various provinces to replace Loyalist Uloro during the Crisis of the Regents. The granddaughter, Princess Evanit, had even commanded troops at the Battle of Angenmar Paven though she wasn't even in the military. Then again, an Imperial princess commands a certain amount of obedience, especially when her grandfather is the Lord Chancellor of the Empire.

Marivan smiled. So does a general's daughter, and for the same reason. What soldier would dare defy an order from Malana if he knew he would have to answer to her father for such insubordination?

It was a desperate move, but it was the only solution Marivan could think of.

Marivan called out to his wife down in the courtyard, "Dalna!"

When she looked up, he said, "Can you ask Malana to come up here to speak with me."

"Yes, dear," Dalna replied.

After a few more minutes standing on the wall of the fortress contemplating his new idea, Marivan was more convinced than ever that it made sense.

Then, Malana came up the stone stairs to the wall of the fortress and approached him.

"Mother said you asked to see me?" she said.

Marivan nodded, "Malana, I think you know the difficult political situation I've been in for the past two months. I've got as many officers locked up in the dungeon as I have commanding the troops. It's hard to find anyone I can really trust. Now a huge rebel army is approaching us from the North. I just got news yesterday that they have attacked Serat Shasa. If it falls, then Kast Ulmuk will be the only Imperial Army fortress between them and us. There are reports that they may have as many as 10,000 men, many of them former Imperial Army soldiers. I trust Gurikan Rafareen not to betray me, but I don't think he's capable of leading the 2nd Kantora Trayavix in battle. Yet I don't have any man I trust to replace him. I would lead the unit myself, but I'm the provincial garrison commander, I'm not supposed to get bogged down in the details of one kantora even though we only have two in the province at the moment. Here is what I propose. If there is a battle, I will lead the 2nd Kantora Trayavix while Gurikan Danifar leads my old unit, the 1st Kantora Trayavix. I need someone to be the official kantora commander, though. Someone who can take care of the details of running the unit when we're not in battle so I won't be too distracted from my main task. I know that Imperial Army rules and customs have always made it out of the question for any woman to be in the army. As you know, I'm defying them on much more important matters than that already. Besides, Princess Evanit commanded troops at the Battle of Angenmar Paven two months ago. If a woman can do that, a woman can temporarily command one kantora. I want you to join the Imperial Army. I will waive the rule that only men can join. I will immediately promote you to the rank of Gurikan and give you command of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix. I'll demote Gurikan Rafareen to Ekanor for drunkenness and get him out of your way, probably by transferring him to the 1st Kantora Trayavix. If you'll just do what I tell you, we can make this work. I know this is totally unexpected and strange, but it's the only solution I can think of to the problem. We're probably soon going to be in a desperate fight for our lives against an enormous rebel army and I haven't got a single man who is both trustworthy and competent to command the 2nd Kantora. I need you to do this. I don't see any other way. What do you say?"


(Out Of Character: {OOC:} You can go ahead and post your response now.)

[Malana]

"Of course, Father. I'm honoured. I'll follow out everything you command." Malana paused and looked thoughtful for a moment, "But what if the men will not follow me? What then?"

({OOC:} Sorry I can't write more)

[Gamemaster]

Marivan says, "Before you take command, I will inform them that they should consider any order given by you as a direct order from me. If one fails to obey, have him flogged with ten lashes. If a group of them fail to obey or if all of them fail to obey, come to me and I'll deal with it. I'll also tell the other officers about this beforehand. Let us delay this until tomorrow morning to give me time to inform the officers. Then, I shall have the troops of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix assembled, I shall inform them of what is going on and then you can say a few words to them if you'd like."



(OOC: It doesn't look like you needed to write more. Just because my post was long, doesn't mean yours had to be. If your character wants to continue the conversation, you can ask more questions now. If you want to get on with the action, just post a comment that ends the conversation or post an OOC message saying you are through talking. Then I'll post saying what happens next.)

[Gamemaster]

Trayavix fortress (Kast Trayavix)
Trayavix Province (Salan Trayavix)
Zekresh Empire (Vyloran Zekresh)

Day 42, Month 2, Year 41 of the reign of Emperor Cledman VI
(Oron 42, Salgan 2, Adonsik 41 Vylor Cledman VI)


The soldiers of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix are assembled in the courtyard of the fortress of Kast Trayavix. Gurikan Rafareen assembles the men and takes a headcount.

"All 518 men are present, sir," Rafareen reports to Ekanor Falan Marivan who is standing there holding a sword in a scabbard in addition to his own sword that he wears on his belt.

Marivan's daughter, Malana stands beside him. Then, he steps forward two steps to address the men, "Soldiers of the Empire, soldiers of Trayavix. As you may know, an army of Trond barbarians is coming down from the north. We have reports that they have already reached Serat Shasa and attacked it. They are probably going to come here. Reinforcements are on the way. All we have to do is hold out long enough. The time for sitting around doing garrison duty is over. For the first time in our lives, war is upon us. We are going to have to do a lot of things differently from now on. Every spearpoint and sword blade needs to be sharpened. Not tomorrow, not next week, not when you get around to it, but today. Whatever you can do to help prepare for the enemy attack do it today. We'll be hauling food supplies into the fortress to prepare for a siege. I want every man who isn't working on something to volunteer to move those supplies. A few weeks from now our lives may depend on not running out of food while the enemy besieges us. No more gambling. No more sleeping late. No more drinking. Until this war is over, I want the Trayavix garrison to be on its toes, not caught off guard by the enemy."

Marivan looked up at the sky and took a deep breath, "I know that the officers have not all been setting the best example. I hope it will be clear that I am serious about this when I make my next announcement. Rafareen already knows this, but I want all of you to know it. Because Rafareen has recently been drunk while on duty, I have demoted him from Gurikan to Ekanor. As of now, I am relieving him of command of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix and transferring him to the 1st Kantora Trayavix."

The soldiers looked surprised.

Marivan cleared his throat and then continued, "This leaves you with no officers in the kantora. I realize that and I am about to remedy that. Before I tell you who your new commander will be, I also want to tell you that when you go into battle that I plan to personally take command of this kantora and fight with you. I will also be paying closer attention than usual to your activities as we prepare for the arrival of the enemy. Now, when I mention a new commander, I know the first thing you think of is that some puffed up son of an aristocrat with no military experience had his daddy buy him an officer's commission and now he's going to be in charge of your unit. Well that's not going to happen today. I'm not going to explain all the reasons for my choice as to who will be your new commander, so don't even ask. Just be grateful that your new commander is someone who has grown up in army forts and knows the ways of the army a lot better than a typical new commander who purchased a commission. I think you all know her already. Malana is now a member of the Imperial Army and I have given her the rank of Gurikan and command of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix.

The soldiers are stunned. Marivan frowns, "I know women aren't supposed to be in the army, but I've decided to waive that rule in her case. As most of you know, Malana isn't a typical woman. She can wield a sword like a soldier. She knows the ways of the army. I have every confidence that she can be your leader. But that's not why you should obey her. You should obey her because she is now an officer in the Imperial Army and I am giving a direct order to each and every one of you to obey her. Failure to obey her orders will be severely punished. I won't warn you again. Now, as you may suspect, Malana's command of the kantora is intended to be temporary. During her time in command, she has the authority to choose two of you to be her assistants and to promote you to the rank of Ekanor. When the time comes for her to step down from command, she will recommend one of the Ekanors to be promoted to Gurikan and assume command of the unit. If you impress her with your leadership abilities, you can eventually have the job I am entrusting to her now."

Marivan turns walks up to Malana. He hands her the sword in the scabbard that he has been holding this whole time and says, "Gurikan Malana, welcome to the Imperial Army. You are now in command of the 2nd Kantora Trayavix. If you have anything to say to the troops, now would be a good time. If not, your first order may be to dismiss the troops from this assembly."