As the weeks past Daine all but forgot about Hizear. He made no other surprise appearances, or at least Daine had not heard of any. Instead Daine was focused on the new herd of ponies that had been introduced in the palace stables. They were from Galla, and proved to be just as stubborn as they appeared. Ranging from dark muddy browns to light chestnuts the mountain ponies were proving to be very difficult, even Stefan was having trouble getting the palace horses to accept them. Daine was spending most of her days tending to the ponies with Stefan, attempting over and over again to encourage them to be friendly, and most importantly attempting to get them to behave for the new batch of Riders.
The war had indeed taken a toll on their numbers. Daine was well aware that many of the finest warriors in Tortall had been either killed or seriously injured and that it would take several years, at least, for their numbers to be replenished. She was also well aware that as a result Tortall was therefore very vulnerable, although she also knew that the other kingdoms were in the same state. Emperor Kaddar had written to her as much.
She had received only two letters from him since the end of the war, but they suggested that Carthak was experiencing enormous difficulties. Daine sighed. She still felt guilty about what had happened in Carthak, and that guilt was never more noticeable that when she thought of the troubles that Kaddar had to deal with, twofold because of her actions when she had visited and because of her involvement in the immortals war. She knew that her decision to the Gods to allow some of the immortals to remain in the mortal realm had been met with disbelief by those select few who knew.
She knew that the general public were confused as to why some of the immortals had vanished and some had remained. And she knew that many of the remaining immortals such as the spidrens would continue to cause havoc so long as they existed amongst mortals. In the letters Kaddar had mentioned that he was going to have to train a permanent force for protection from the immortals, that the armies that had patrolled in the war would have to remain and that he would need to employ additional troops for defense and protection from foreigners and rebels.
Daine smiled at the thought of Kaddar. He was, after all that had happened, a very close friend. And they maintained a volley of letters as best as they could – however because of the distance between Carthak and Tortall, and because of the other responsibilities they both faced, Kaddar had his empire and Daine had her daily duties, they were not able to send enormous amounts of mail. He was a good friend though, and Daine hoped that sometime in the next few years now that the immortals war had ended she would be able to go and see him. This time she would stay very much out of the way!
Hearing a commotion in the yard, Daine looked up from Taffey, the caramel coloured pony she was currently de-knotting. Finishing up Daine cleaned herself up as best as she could before whistling to Kit, the not-so-smallish dragon sleeping in the corner, and together they walked out to see what all the fuss was about. There was a small crowd in the courtyard, and rightly so because in the middle was Prince Hizear who was perched upon one of the courtyard trees. Those in the courtyard displayed a range of feelings – from the fear that some still had of the immortals, to the curiosity of such a large metallic beast in their midst.
Daine turned when she heard the King's voice. "How pleasant it is to see you again" said King Jonathon, striding up the stormwing and dissipating the crowd. Behind him followed a small band of followers including Thayet, Alanna, George, Onua, some clerks, and Numair who searched out Daine and wrapped his arms around her. "Jon's been waiting for the Prince's return" he whispered in her ear, "apparently Hizear has been scouting some very interesting political news." She smiled. It was small things like this, whispering and hugging, that made their relationship so much better than what it had been when they were simply teacher and student mages. Of course, there were other, more private, aspects of their relationship that Daine relished as well.
Together, they followed Jonathon and his companions back into the castle where they were lead to the great hall. The small assembly took seats around the great table and a perch was set up for the Prince. Rustling his feathers, Prince Hizear took his place and turned to the king.
"Your majesty, as you know the stormwings are keen to further establish an alliance with your kingdom. We recognize that your involvement in the war was integral in our victory"
Daine glanced at the king, whose mouth seemed to twitch at the Prince's pompous attitude about 'their' victory.
"In return, I, and my mother Queen Barzha, have agreed to extend a sort of olive branch. I offer you some…interesting information about your neighbors in Saren."
Daine again looked at the king. He did not looked surprised at Hizear's announcement. Neither did Alanna or Thayet, and Daine guessed that they had perhaps been privy to some more private meetings with the stormwing.
"As you know, many years ago the K'mir overthrew the jin Wilima and since then the K'mir leader, Malachi, had been ruling. Tragically King Malachi died during the war, and his son Jaylon has taken his place."
There were murmurs along the table. The king, unsmiling, sat next to Thayet who was absently rubbing her nose and staring at the far wall. The rest of the table simply looked serious. Daine looked at Numair who was sitting next to her. He leant down; "Jaylon is known to be very reckless. He's a far cousin of Thayet's but many are not sure if he will live up to his father Malachi's ability to rule." Daine nodded her understanding and turned back to Hizear.
Since the end of the war he has been recruiting soldiers in Saren – not surprising since there are several rebel groups active presently. However, from stormwing contacts it appears that Jaylon is not content ruling Saren and wishes to expand his kingdom. He has always been…ruthless in his dealings with rebels. Particularly those of the jin Wilima race who he believes are barbaric, and supports this claim citing the death of his father's cousin, and your Queen's mother, the Lady Kalasin. It is believed that Jaylon will try to take Eastern Galla in around a years time." Hizear concluded.
Daine looked at the rest of those at the table who all sat unstirring. Numair reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. It just seemed too fast to her. They had only just finished a war, and now some ningbat of a king wanted to start another!
