Mad Empress of Callisto

Epilogue The Council of the Three Cites

The Seraan of Soraba spread huge tents amidst the grasses of the Plains of Haratha and we met in formal council within the hour.

Many minor mysteries had now been dispelled, leaving the greater mystery of Kuur unresolved.

Now I understood at last why there had been a merchant caravan on the plains where no caravan had any reason to be. The answer was that it was a military expedition, disguised as a caravan. The guards and the drivers of the wains, the outriders and the caravan beast-tenders were all seasoned and veteran Soraban warriors. And the gross merchant Shaphur was the clever and keen-wined Seraan, or Prince, of Soraba.

Alerted to danger by the insane and imperious demands of the Princess of Tharkol, Prince Kaamurath had dispatched his ablest and cleverest advisor, the master spy Glypto, to the Scarlet City. There, in the guise of a thief, Glypto had gained much intelligence regarding the imperial ambitions of Zamara. It was not, we now learned, pure chance that had led the little “thief” to our sumptuous prison-suite, but Glypto’s desire to discover who we were and why we had been taken captive with such extraordinary care. Thrown in with us by the tumultuous rush of events, he had continued to play his role while observing carefully all that passed, knowing all the while that his Seraan was near, among a company of valiant warriors. And when we had fallen in with the “caravan” Glypto had been taken from us, apparently for brutal interrogation, but actually to give his report to his lord. The bruises he had displayed upon his return were the result of makeup, and his whimpering terror merely the acting of a consummate artist.

For me, the most amusing of all these revelations was the discovery that never once had Glypto actually lied to us about anything of importance!

And he actually was a chanthan, or mercenary adventurer, and the son and grandson of a chanthan even as he had claimed at the time! It was in that capacity that he had first joined the service of the Seraan, who rapidly promoted him to a high position because of his proven merits.

No particular friendship had ever existed between Soraba and Shondakor; but neither had there ever been any rancor or enmity between the two cities. Now that it seemed we had an enemy in common, it seemed natural to join forces against that enemy. In this decision our newfound friend and ally, Zamara of Tharkol, grimly vowed to do her share.

“Only by the narrowest intervention of sheer chance were the wiles of Ang Chan of Kuur exposed before they had caused a vast war to erupt between the cities of Thanator,” she said determinedly.

“I agree with the royal lady of Tharkol,” Prince Kaamurath said in his breathy voice. “The plots of Kuur, which the Prince of Shondakor has just explained, imperil my realm as well as your own. Something must be done to put an end to this menace … .”

“Will the Seraan be willing to undertake war against Kuur?” Darloona inquired. The fat merchant prince puffed out his cheeks as if in indignation, then subsided thoughtfully. For once he was not gobbling sweetmeats and gulping wine: hard, practical, and serious was this Perushtarian monarch, surprisingly different from his brother rulers.

As if he, too, possessed the power to read minds, and had somehow sensed the tenor of my thoughts, he spoke out in thoughtful, measured tones.

“We of Perushtar, I know, are often thought unwarlike, more concerned with our purses than with honor,” he said. “In some measure there is truth in this, but not entirely. There comes a time when only war will serve the needs of the realm; men must be willing to fight against aggression, if there is to be peace. And trade and commerce flourish best when peace exists between kingdoms. Thus, upon my accession, I assembled and trained a host of warriors, which is something no Seraan of Perushtar has done before my reign.”

This was quite true, of course. Previously, the Princes of Perushtar had purchased the service of that host of mercenary warriors, the Black Legion, to fight their battles for them. But since the Ku Thad succeeded in breaking the Legion, the custom fell into disuse, there being no longer any Black Legion to hire. And in another way Kaamurath of Soraba differed from his fellow princes; generally the Seraans of Perushtar are powerless puppets, and the reins of power are firmly grasped by the wealthy merchant clans who dominate the oligarchic state. But Kaamurath had somehow won the support of the great merchant princes, using a coalition of their strength as the base of his power. He was a rare individual in the Perushtarian Empire, and a valuable ally to have with us in any war against Kuur.

“Shondakor agrees,” Darloona said in return, “but will Soraba fight with us, or merely stand by while Tharkol and Shondakor carry the battle alone?”

Prince Kaamurath gave her a long, level look, and then smiled grimly. “Princess, we will stand with you in this endeavor. For no man can say where next the Mind Wizards will seek to spin their plots―mayhap in mine own realm! For that very good and very practical reason, Soraba suggests we take the initiative and carry the war into Kuur itself.”

“But who knows where the kingdom of the Mind Wizards is?” asked Zamara.

“The information I had from the lips of Ool the Uncanny,” I said, “was that the kingdom of the Mind-Wizards is concealed somewhere on the other side of this planet. It is common knowledge that those lands are uncharted and unexplored, doubtless for the simple reason that no travelers have ever been permitted to return from those lands. Thus we may expect to find the Mind Wizards maintain some manner of surveillance over the roads that lead unto their hidden and secret realm.”

“The skies of Thanator are a road no warrior can guard,” Zamara said. “I will place my ships, the Arkonna and the Conqueress, under your command, Prince Jandar, if you will. And I will fill those ships with the noblest and most skilled and valiant fighting-men of Tharkol!”

“To which we will add our vessels, the Xaxar and the Jalathadar,” Darloona added, “which will be manned by the finest warriors of Shondakor. Our combined fleets will comprise the mightiest war fleet upon the planet. Kuur shall reel and crumble beneath our combined assault!”

“And, for my part, I will drain the coffers of Soraba,” said Kaamurath, “to outfit the four galleons of the skies with the finest weapons that may be purchased. Food and drink and supplies of every kind will Soraba give to this expedition, and our most knowledgeable explorers and navigators, map makers and geographers, will be at your command.”

And so it was decided, and swiftly. Never again would we let the cunning yellow men of mysterious Kuur gain the upper hand.

From this moment, although they knew it not, we were at war against them.

For our real enemies had never been ourselves. Tharkol was no enemy to Soraba, nor to Shondakor.

Our secret and hidden enemies all the time had been the Mind Wizards of Callisto!

And now, at last, the veils were stripped away from our eyes, and we saw things clearly. And as I sat there in the tent amidst the Plains of Haratha, I vowed within my heart that never should I rest until this last and greatest threat to the peace of the jungle Moon should be crushed in blood and flame.

I would lead the greatest expedition ever launched across the borders of the known surface of Thanator into an unknown and mysterious world. And there, in secret and shadowy Kuur, I would cross swords at last with my deadliest adversaries―the dreadful and sinister Mind Wizards of Callisto!

And in the battle I would either emerge the victor or go down to a miserable death.