“How did he gain such control over the land?” Lara wanted to know.

“The Dominus at the time was a particularly kind man, and Usi is said to have bewitched him,” Magnus Hauk replied.

“We must see that does not happen again,” Lara murmured.

“It will not,” the Dominus said in a hard voice.

The next morning Corrado joined Magnus Hauk and Lara. Sitting together they explained all that had happened in the last few months, and why it was going to be necessary to raise a military force to protect Terah.

“But we are craftsmen and traders by nature,” Corrado protested. “We know naught of war.”

“So you are content to be conquered by Hetar?” Lara said to him. She knew she would hear this same protest over and over again once they met with the headmen from the many villages located along the shores of the seven named fjords.

“Well, no,” Corrado said slowly, “but is there not another way?”

“We are only proposing to defend ourselves from attack,” the Dominus answered.

“We will initiate no hostilities ourselves, but we must be prepared in the event hostilities are initiated by others, Corrado. And once that happens it will be too late unless we are prepared for it. Pitchforks and hoes in the hands of farmers and craftsmen will not stop an invading force. We need weapons, and we need men trained to know how to use them. The weapons can be made over the winter months, and we can train the men then, too,” Magnus Hauk said.

“Women are capable of fighting, too,” Lara told them. “I will train a force of women in swordsmanship and staff.”

Both her husband and Corrado looked horrified at her words.

“Magnus!” Lara glared at him. “You know I can fight.”

“Aye, you can, but Terahn women have never been warriors,” he replied.

“Oh really? What would you have called Geltruda, the woman who destroyed Usi? Was she not a warrior? A heroine? Women are every bit as capable as men, my lord Dominus, but if you wish to cut your fighting force in half then do so. Andraste and I, however, will fight by your side should it be necessary,” Lara told him.

“Will Hetar send women warriors into battle?”

“Nay, they will not,” Lara said. “Do you wish to be as stupid as Gaius Prospero who believes that women are only good for pleasures, childbirth and housekeeping?”

“We will invite women to join in protecting Terah, but we will not compel them to do so,” Magnus Hauk decided, and Lara kissed her husband’s cheek in approval.

“I would not allow Sirvat to join such a force,” Corrado said.

“Sirvat must make her own choices,” Lara said quietly. “She is a member of Terah’s ruling family, and will decide where best she may serve our homeland.”

Corrado raised a quizzical eyebrow. “You are Hetarian,” he said.

“I am Terahn,” she told him. “I could not choose where I was born, and actually I was born in the faerie realm, Corrado. My loyalties, however, are Terahn. Not because I am now its Domina, but because it is where my heart is.”

To her surprise her husband’s captain of captains stood, and knelt suddenly at her feet. Looking up at Lara he said, “Forgive me, Domina. I am a fool.”

“But only sometimes,” Lara replied with a smile, and she held out her hand to help him rise to his feet again.

Both men laughed aloud, and the Dominus said, “Let us continue to talk so we may decide what is to be done. I thought to send messengers to the headmen of all the named fjords, and to the headmen of each of the villages inviting them to the castle. When we have assembled them all we will tell them what has transpired, and what we must do to protect Terah.”

“We will want Arik and Kemina at these meetings, too, for they represent the religious orders, and it is the Great Creator who will guide us in what we do now,” Lara noted.

The two men nodded.

“Archeron was brave to warn us,” Lara said.

“Will we have time to prepare ourselves?” Corrado wondered.

“Gaius Prospero will want to know more about us before he decides on a course of action,” Lara remarked thoughtfully.

“How will he learn what he needs to know?” Magnus asked her.

“He will send someone,” Lara said. “First he will ask permission for a Hetarian vessel to enter Terah. You must refuse him, my lord. Then he will request permission for his emissary to come to Terah upon one of our ships. You will send back a reply asking why he wants to send an emissary to Terah.”

“Will he not become impatient with all this back and forth?” Corrado wondered.

“Nay, for it is very Hetarian to query and bargain over an important matter such as this. It will not seem odd to the emperor at all. If you simply told him yes or no and refused to negotiate further then he would find himself suspicious. But this Hetarian habit will give us all the time we need to build up a defense against our enemies,” Lara said. “And since the emperor’s emissary will only be allowed to visit the castle on this first sojourn, we can fortify it and the area around it so that we will look very well defended to his eyes. Eventually we will have to allow him to see a village or two, but by then we will be truly well armed and ready.”

“The old watchtowers on the coastal heights,” Corrado said. “They should be rebuilt, and manned. We need an early warning system.”

“I had forgotten about those,” the Dominus replied. “That is an excellent suggestion, Corrado. I will leave that task to you. You may have whatever you need.”

“Would your headmen be frightened of small faeries?” Lara asked her husband. “I could ask my mother for a dozen or more faeriepost messengers. They use them in Hetar, and they are very useful for carrying messages quickly. We could make them a home here in the castle, and for now only we would have them although later on I believe each village headman should possess two of these tiny creatures each. You want to hold your meeting before the Icy Season sets in, and we could call the headmen more quickly if we had faeriepost,” Lara explained.

“I have seen these creatures,” Corrado said with a chuckle. “The Coastal Kings have sometimes used them to communicate with our vessels when we are anchored for trade. They are most efficient, my lord Dominus.”

Magnus Hauk nodded. “We must use whatever advantage we have,” he said. “Do whatever you need to do, Lara, and bring Terah faeriepost.”

Their meeting broke up, and when Lara and her husband were alone once more she turned to him and said, “We must tell the new Outlands of what is transpiring. They should have faeriepost as well.”

“Do you want the clan lords at the meeting of headmen?” he asked her.

“Just Rendor who is head of the Outlands High Council,” Lara replied. “This is an ideal opportunity for us to let the fjord dwellers know there are others beyond the Emerald Mountains. The headmen do not have to know that six months ago the plains beyond the mountains were empty. You said the fjord dwellers have never gone beyond their own village lands. They cannot know who or what lies on the other side of the mountains. I had not thought to bring Terahns and Outlanders together yet, but I think now we have no other choice, Magnus.

“You can tell your headmen that the family of the Dominus has always known they were there, but that the people of the clan families have always been hesitant and reluctant to deal with others, for they are peaceful folk. They pay their yearly tribute and keep to themselves. But now, given the danger facing Terah, they have agreed to send their own high lord to your council to offer what aid they may. Dasras and I will visit the mountain gnomes as a courtesy to inform them of the coming peril, and of the fiction we have woven to protect the Outlanders,” Lara concluded.

“Sometimes,” Magnus Hauk said, “I wonder if you are not too clever for me, Lara.” Then he smiled, and ruffled her hair. “I can hope our children will take after you.”

There it was again. The subject of children. How could he think of children when they were in such jeopardy? He had been very shocked by what he had seen in the City, and yet he still did not quite fathom the deviousness of Hetar. Hetar had to be stopped. She would not allow them to insinuate their guileful and aberrant customs into Terah. There was more than one way to conquer a nation. She understood that. She worried her husband did not. She left him to his planning, and sought a quiet place where she might communicate with Ethne.

Her slender fingers caressed the crystal star hanging between her breasts. Ethne, she called silently to the guardian of the crystal.

I am here, Ethne replied.

Lara explained all that had happened, and what her husband was planning. Then she said, But I need faeriepost messengers. Will you go to my mother, and ask her if I may have some? I will see they are very well taken care of here, I promise.

I will go to her, Ethne responded, but tonight you must meet her on the dream plane and ask for this favor yourself, for it is a great boon you seek. I know you have asked her for little in your lifetime, but Queen Ilona would consider it a great rudeness if you did not speak with her about this yourself, Lara.

I understand, Lara said. Please tell my mother that I should appreciate it if she would see me tonight on the dream plane, Ethne. I will tell my husband, and sleep alone.

Wait, Ethne said, and then after several long minutes she spoke again. It is done, Lara, and your mother will be awaiting you.

Thank you, Lara said. Then she went and told her husband that tonight she must sleep by herself so that nothing impeded her journey to the dream plane, and her meeting with Queen Ilona. He nodded reluctantly, but understood her need. They ate together and played two games of Herder before Lara felt it was time for her to sleep.

And when she slept she was almost immediately swept up to the dream plane. It was as always misty in the beginning, and then Ilona appeared. Mother and daughter embraced.

“What is it you need of me?” the queen of the Forest Faeries asked her eldest child. She smiled at Lara, most happy to see her.

Lara explained slowly all that had happened since she had last seen her mother. She told Ilona of the Terahns’ need for the small faeries who served as faeriepost messengers. “There is little if any magic in Terah that I can see,” she said to Ilona. “They have gnomes in the mountains, but they seem to have no faeries, though you have said there are. I have not found them yet. The sorcerer whose shade I destroyed brought magic to Terah, but it seemed to disappear when he was vanquished, Mother.”

“Nay,” Ilona replied. “His magic is still here, but because it is dark magic it hides itself away from the light. You are light, my daughter, and you shine throughout Terah, so it is you who have kept this magic at bay. I will give you several dozen faeriepost messengers, Lara. I know you will see they are well cared for and protected from harm. You had best cast a safety spell upon them when they arrive so no frightened Terahn can hurt them in their own fear,” the queen advised.

“I will, Mother!” Lara promised. “Thank you. Are you well? And my brother, Cirilo? And your consort, Thanos, too?”

“We are all well, Lara,” her mother replied.

“Mother, I saw a dark land,” Lara told Ilona. “Dasras and I were riding over Obscura, and I saw the desert of the Shadow Princes curving to the south, but to the north there was a dark land. Is Terah in danger from it, Mother?”

“There is always danger from the darkness,” Ilona said, and then she began to fade slowly from the dream plane. “Follow your destiny, my daughter,” she called as she disappeared completely.

Lara awoke, and her first instinct was to laugh. The mortal side of her had always resented the inscrutable, and the faerie world was always speaking to her in riddles. She saw it was growing light outside of her chamber window. A new day. She had best prepare a habitat for the faeriepost messengers today. They would quickly be here, she knew. Rising she called to Mila to help her dress, and bring her food. When Lara had eaten she went into the beautiful garden overlooking the fjord. The day was gray, and a faint mist rose from the waters below. A few late flowers offered splashes of color here and there, but the trees were almost all bare of their leaves now. Gazing about her she saw a tall narrow tower on the south side. It soared gracefully into the Terahn sky.

“What are you gazing at?” Sirvat was at her side.

“There,” Lara pointed. “That tower. Who lives in it?”

“No one,” Sirvat answered her. “It was once our grandmother’s quarters when our father was Dominus. She loved the tower because its windows faced south, and it was always warm. She lived to be very old.” Her hands gently rubbed her belly as she spoke.