Chapter Twenty Six:

Enfeitar Conan sat with a stack of papers in front of him. He was scribbling notes in the margins of one of them. Hana had always told him that he had terrible handwriting. Typically he would respond by pointing out that she couldn't read Genti, so how would she know what neat Genti script looked like.

She missed those small interactions with his wife. Over the last month, he’d spent very little time with his family. He taken to sleeping most nights at the Command Center in the heart of the city. The trip back to his little cottage on the outskirts of the Tenth was a long way to go after a late night war council.

Glancing at the stack of papers he still needed to read, Conan figured it would be one of those nights he bunked on the temporary cot he’d rigged in the other room. When he agreed to be the commander of an army, he’d had no idea how much paperwork would be involved. Right now, he was reading an update on their troop numbers. Three more unum had arrived during the week from various tribes and he needed to assign them a company to fight with. Their current numbers meant that Conan would probably need to promote another soldier to Praefectus, he would need another field commander. He made a note of it.

He was only halfway through reading the next document - a breakdown of the army’s current food consumption - when Stephan, his messenger boy, knocked on the door.

“Come in, boy,” said Conan, hardly looking up from his paper. Stephan quickly hurried to his side and deposited a letter on Conan’s desk.

“Thank you, my boy,” Conan said, ruffling his blond hair. Stephan only smiled. He didn't speak much, but he was an uncomplaining worker and Conan was fond of him. A few times he’d invited the boy to eat with his family at the cottage. Stephan loved those nights, he’d been orphaned at young age and craved a normal family life. Conan seemed to sense this about the boy and did all he could to welcome him into his family. Hana adored him.

When the boy left the room, he scanned the letter. It was by an unfamiliar hand.

“Stephan,” he called. The boy stuck his head around the door jam. “I know it’s late and you are due to go home, but I need you to run and get Enfeitar Navihm. Do you know where he’s staying?” Stephen nodded and disappeared.

“High Commander Conan,” Navihm greeted when he made it to the Command Center. “What is so urgent?” Conan handed him the letter.

“The Ianterrans are coming.”

The next morning, the army of Ianterran wizards and guards were spotted making their way down the river. They had conscripted three Lowlander ships which were now about an hour’s sail from the mouth of the River. When Conan received this update, he sent for Navihm who arrived shortly after with Rose. The Professor was busy creating barricades in the city streets.

“I would like to know everything about who I might be facing,” Conan told Navihm. “I don't know much about Lowlanders as a whole, I know even less about gifted Lowlanders. Is it true that not everyone can use magic?”

“Yes,” answered Navihm. “It is passed on through bloodlines, as it is here, but not every bloodline is gifted magically and not everyone in a gifted family will inherit magical skills.”

“Magic is revered in my country,” Rose continued. “Magical families are most often Gentry or very well off. Magicians are highly respected and are used to being treated as such.” Rose felt it necessary to add.

“The school will probably send a council representative.” Navihm thought that Conan would need to be prepared for what the council was like. Navihm had found the Lowlander’s tendency toward bureaucracy frustrating. “I should warn you that most of the council like discussing all things excessively. They would have received word of the invasion almost two months ago but they are only just arriving.”

Conan listened to all this with his mouth pressed against his steepled fingers.

“So I should be expecting to deal with some difficult people?” said Conan.

“Yes,” said Navihm, cutting off whatever Rose was about to say in their defence. By Genti standards, Lowlanders, especially magical ones, were difficult to deal with. “They are very different from Gentis. The important thing to remember is that they don't mean to be rude; they just have a different culture to us. We need their full co-operation if we-” Navihm was cut off by a knock on the door.

“Come in,” Conan called. Stephan entered, followed by Hue and Professor Calloway. Navihm recognised him from the council meeting he had interrupted back at the school. He groan inwardly. As he recalled, Calloway was the teacher most vocal in his opposition to sending troops. Navihm couldn't imagine a worse liaison.

“Thank you, Stephan.” Conan dismissed the boy. He made sure to speak the common tongue for the benefit of their guests. Hues stepped forward.

“Enfeitars,” he greeted them respectfully. Hue had picked up a lot of Genti customs during his time in the North. Conan and Navihm bowed their head politely in response to Hue’s bow. When the Lowland guard straightened, Navihm stepped forward and embraced him fondly. All the while, Professor Calloway looked on.

“Conan, I assume?” Professor Calloway asked when the two men finished embracing.

“Uh, Professor,” said Hue quietly in Ianterran. “It is polite to use the title ‘Enfeitar’ unless told otherwise. Only friends and family call an Enfeitar by their first name.”

“Please,” interjected Conan. “Feel free address me as Impraefectus. That is my military title.” Conan must have been following along with Ianterran. Navihm had no idea that he knew the Lowland tongue.

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“Very well,” said Professor Conan.

“Impraefectus, this is Professor Calloway,” interjected Navihm. Calloway hadn't bothered to introduce himself.

“Welcome, Professor.” Conan rose and offered a hand, a Lowland custom Navihm had drilled into him the night before. The Professor’s hand was limp and cold, the opposite of Navihm’s strong grip.

“Before we go any further, I want to talk about where we are going to house my students,” said the Professor. He seated himself in the only seat available, other than Conan’s.

“Of course.” Conan was glad Navihm had prepared him for the Lowlander’s abruptness. “I would like to have an idea of how many I am to be housing.” Conan said. Calloway either ignored or didn't understand that Conan was inquiring about his troop numbers.

“I hope you don't mean to dump my students in tents like the rest of this army,” continued Calloway, obliviously.

“I understand that most of your group is not made up of soldiers and I don't expect to house them as such,” Conan said patiently. “However, I do need a specific number so I can organise housing.”

“Uh,” Calloway hesitated. He clearly had no idea how many people he had brought with him. He glanced up at Hue, who was standing at his right shoulder.

“Two hundred and fifty, Impraefectus,” Hue said immediately. “Almost one hundred and fifty of them are students, ten teachers and the rests are guards.”

“Thank you…?”

“Hue,” Navihm supplied.

“Okay, I will organise for the southern quarter of the city to be emptied and your students and faculty can be housed there. You guards will need to be separated amongst the current army. I do not have the room to house them all in the same place.”

“The guards and my students will be housed in the same place,” Calloway demanded. “Who will protect my students?”

“I understand your concern, Professor,” said Conan, trying to appease the abrupt man. “But my city is perfectly safe. My men are civil and we have guards patrolling at all times. Besides, we simply do not have the room. As it is, the southern quarter is the largest amount of housing we have available. If it concerns you so much, I will organise for an extra patrol around your section of the city.”

“I only trust my men,” said the Professor, stubbornly. “This patrol will have to be made up of the guards I have brought with me.”

“You have less than fifty men, Professor,” Hue pointed out.

“I cannot authorise such a Patrol,” said Conan. “It would put too much strain on such a small force.”

“Impraefectus, it is my force to command.” Professor Calloway rose from his seat. “You do not have to authorise it.” Conan blanched.

“Professor Calloway, I was under the impression that you traveled here to join my army,” said Conan in the politest tone he could manage. “Make no mistake, this is my army. I am sole commander. That is what Impraefectus means. No King or Rei has any authority over me. That is the agreement I have with every man who joins my force; they have sole loyalty to me for the duration of this war. If you do not agree with those terms, I suggest that you leave and take your students with you.”

“You need us,” said the Professor, obstinately. Conan rose from his seat, towering over the Professor, even with a desk between them.

“I need your absolute loyalty. Not this constant negotiation and defiance of my authority. If you are unwilling to give that, you are no use to me.”

“In that case. I leave you to fight this war alone.”

“With all due respect, Professor,” Hue interjected. “You don't have the authority to make that decision. You are here to carry out the council’s wishes. I feel compelled to remind you that the council voted to fight.”

“Thank you, Praefectus Hue.”

“Enfeitar,” Navihm interjected. “That is not a title used in the Lowland countries and it doesn’t quite reflect Hue’s rank amongst the Ianterrans.”

“I am aware of that, Enfeitar.” Conan scribbled a note. “I am promoting Hue to Field Commander. Congratulations Praefectus.”

“Um, Sir! I-” Hue was cut off by Conan, who didn't even look up from his papers.

“You will refer to me as Enfeitar or Impraefectus or Conan. Never Sir.” Hue smiled.

“Yes, Impraefectus.”

“Praefectus, please stay. We need to discuss things further. For the rest of you.” Conan looked directly at Professor Calloway. “That will be all. You are dismissed.” Professor Calloway spluttered but followed Navihm out the door.

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Bonus

Conan and Hana adopt Stephan.

Double Bonus:

Hue's sister doesn't get accepted into the Ianterran School for the Gifted. Her application is rejected and she ends up going to the school in Hallasholm six weeks ride away. Hue goes with her and joins the local army. They are both hugely successful. Hue rises in the ranks quickly and becomes the youngest commander ever.