Arriving home, I was met at the door by Sara Lee. She could see that I was depressed about something and quickly pulled me inside.

“What’s the matter, Theo,” she asked, rubbing the soles of my feet after she had pulled my boots off.

“Everything is wrong,” I said, and I proceeded to tell her of all the days events. She sat and listened, nodding every now and then. When I finished, she looked about the exact same way that I felt: terrible.

“Is there nothing you can do then to stop Bracken? Is the peace you worked so hard to build about to decay?”

“I have no idea, but I feel it is time for a vacation.”

“A vacation? You want to go on a vacation now, when your entire kingdom seems liable to collapse at any moment?”

“Well,” I said, “More of a mercy mission. We need to go to Lufga, and establish a treaty with the new leader of the Ratonga Remnant. Jolovas is a powerful man, and if we allow him and Bracken to get together, it could mean disaster.”

“So you want to beat Bracken to the punch, in other words?”

“Yeah, that’s just about right.”

“Well, Good Luck with that. I am not going to go with you. I will stay here.”

“My love,” I started, but she turned her back to me. “My love, someone wants me dead. If I leave, for just a little while, I may stay alive a little longer.”

“She turned back to me. “You didn’t tell me this before. What do you mean someone wants you dead?”

“They wish to kill me. They already tried. That’s why Silas’ cart was destroyed, nearly killing all three of us.”

“So now you want to keep certain facts from me,” she said. “When I married you, you promised to always be honest with me, but now you’re trying to keep a secret. Why now?”

“I didn’t want to worry you. You need to realize that I have no choice. I must go to Lufga and try to begin relations with the people there.”

She was quiet for a long time, and finally said, “Alright. If you feel that doing this will save your life, and all of Sirgo, then do it. By all means, do it.”

I embraced her. “Do not worry my dear, I shall return alive. I promise.”

--

Since we still had numerous planes throughout all of Sirgo, I boarded one and was soon being whisked off on my way to Lufga, with a stop over in the Eurasia Complex on the way back. I would make good use of my time in the Eurasia Complex, and visit my son Josiah, but in the meantime, I had to prepare for my meeting with Jolovas.

Valir had said that Jolovas was much more radical than his father. I decided to try and use this to my advantage somehow. If I could convince him that the only way to ensure peace was by siding with Bracken, then he would side with me, due to the fact that he liked a good fight every now and then.

A few hours later, I arrived in Lufga and was soon walking down the streets of the capital city, better known as Derget. The palace stood in the distance, waiting for me to arrive and spread my news before Jolovas. My message of peace. My creed.

When I was finally allowed in to see Jolovas, I was surprised at what I saw. The man who sat on the throne was a younger version of Trovoyas. He looked almost exactly the same, the only difference being that he was much larger around the waist.

“High king Theo,” he said with a slight bow.

“Jolovas,” I said, returning the favor.

“Why do you come here? What do you expect to get from me?”

“I want your help. A man by the name of Bracken has come to my attention recently. He wants to remove me from my throne to ensure a full peace over all of Sirgo.”

“A full peace,” Jolovas laughed. “Does he think that he can do such a thing? My people and I live for war, and if need be, we will side with you to fight against him.”

“I had no idea that you felt so strongly for war,” I said, acting surprised.

“Without wars and battles, the Ratonga Remnant would not be here today. You, of all people King Theo, should know this.”

I nodded. I did know this. If not for the help that the Ratonga Remnant had offered in my escape from Sirgo thirty years ago, none of us would have been alive at this moment in time.

I bowed before him. “You have been to kind, Jolovas.”

He bowed back. “I thank you for your visit to our nation. I hope you will take time to see the sights.”

“I will,” I assured him. “This is my first trip here, so I plan on seeing everything before I leave.”

“Good.”