Winged Warrior by Richard S. Tuttle

Author:Richard S. Tuttle
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fantasy, Young Adult, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Publisher: KBS
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 15

War Plans

The large room in the Imperial Palace in Okata was awash in uniforms. General Didyk spread a large map out on a long table, and all of the generals crowded around it. Lyra and StarWind moved through the crowd to stand at the Didyk’s side.

“We had thought that Duran and Zaramilden would be fairly safe from attack because of their remote locations,” Didyk began. “We could not have been more wrong as the devastating attack on Duran shows. On the face of it, the attack on Duran makes no sense from a strategic standpoint, but I suspect that Emperor Marak is quite correct in his assessment. I think Duran was attacked to gauge our response to it.”

“More likely,” interjected General Papper, “it was to test the Khadoran response. Khadora has what might pass as a navy, while Sakovan vessels are mostly fishing boats.”

“Emperor Marak has made quite a show of moving large armies to our border,” declared the Star of Sakova. “It would be impossible for Vand’s spies to have missed it.”

“Yes,” nodded General Papper, “but did he move his fleet? I suspect that Vand’s generals are more concerned with naval battles because their forces will be most vulnerable at that time. If each of those ships carries a thousand men, lost ships will have a large impact on the army that lands on our shores.”

“Not only is it a worry about losses at sea,” interrupted General Smythe, “but reconnaissance as well. The boy from Duran who survived the attack mentioned six large ships that participated in the attack. Those ships were able to successfully cross the ocean, conduct a full-scale attack on a city and depart without us knowing about it. Had the boy not survived, we might still not know about it.”

“So Vand knows that we are not effectively patrolling the sea,” nodded StarWind.

“At least we weren’t at the time of the attack on Duran,” nodded General Didyk. “I think General Papper is onto something, though. If Emperor Marak did not also move his fleet as well as his armies, Vand will know that we do not intend to interdict his ships when he crosses the ocean. I would prefer that he be a little nervous about sailing to our shores.”

“What are you suggesting?” asked General Smythe. “Are you saying that we should attempt to make him believe he will have trouble sailing here, although we do not really plan any attacks at sea?”

“I want Vand to have as little knowledge about our plans as possible,” shrugged General Didyk. “We do not have a navy, and it is clear from Marak’s response that he does not plan to use what he has. Therefore, we should make Vand think that he will face a sea battle getting here.”

“And how do you propose that we do that?” asked General Smythe. “You just got finished telling us that we have no navy. Should we send our fishing boats out to sea until Vand’s ships give chase? How do we

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