[CuriousCat]

Machaka: Turn 13

Cetewayo looked up as the messenger entered.

"Master, a messenger has arrived from Caelum."

"Show him in," Cetewayo replied. He would prefer to host the first messenger of his new reign in the capital. There he could have properly impressed this emissary with his nation's culture and power. Here, in the field, he would have to settle for a display of military power. He was a bit concerned. He had just taken a valuable province which bordered the Caelum Magocracy as well as other, unclaimed provinces on the opposite bank of the river. His nation was not in a powerful position, but he had to recover from this less than auspicious beginning. In order to do that he needed to expand considerably. From the information his intelligence services had gathered he suspected that his was on of the smallest nations in the world. The only way to obtain the resources required to build a viable nation was to expand the borders of the nation. A war with another powerful, united nation would not serve to advance this goal, especially when so many unaligned provinces remained ripe for the picking.

Entering the tent once more, the functionary announced, "The representative of the Caelum Magocracy, the emissary, Chako."

The "man" entered. Of course the word man was not quite appropriate. The "being" was quite tall and rather thin, though not quite skeletal. Of course, the most unusual feature were the wings. The messenger performed the most minimal and perfunctory acknowledgement of Cetewayo's position as the God-King of Machaka.

"Chako is not a Caelumite name," stated Cetewayo.

"It is the Machakan name that I took when I studied your language. I do not expect those who do not speak my tongue to attempt to pronounce my name," replied 'Chako' with more that a little arrogance. He had been instructed not to hide his disdain for these 'people' and their 'culture'.

Cetewayo read the situation properly. He knew that he was being 'put in his place' by this emissary on direct orders from his leader. Such a low level functionary would never dare show such disrespect without explicit direction to do so.

He decided to respond with a bit of irritation himself. "Would you be interested in some Kaf?" he asked.

Chako could not suppress a slight shudder. Kaf was a hot drink that these Machakans drank on a regular basis. Something hot to drink was the opposite of what he wanted. These lands were unbearably hot without imbibing a heated beverage. He could not wait to leave this hell and return to the thin cold air of his homeland. "Thank you, but I would prefer to proceed with our business if you find that acceptable," he replied.

"Ah, yes, your people are not fond of the heat here on the plains are you?" Cetewayo responded, knowing that having this weakness openly discussed would irritate Chako.

"As your own people are not fond of the Cold of my homeland," replied Chako. He continued, "It is to that end that my Lord sends the following message: 'I hope you do not plan on crossing the straights. They would make a great natural border between our nations.'"

Cetewayo was taken aback. He knew that this was the opening salvo in a negotiation, but it was a rather extreme demand. Assenting to such an agreement would constrain his empire to a thin strip and leave his nation absolutely at the mercy of the nation occupying the opposite bank of the river. This would take some thought. "Thank you for the message," he stated dismissively. He continued, "You may return to your icy lands. I will send a messenger with my reply after due consideration."

After the messenger left he pondered the situation. His current position could be seen as threatening. His forces were in a territory that would provide direct access to the Caelumite province of Mukhtadir. Of course, he had no designs on the province. He was much more interested in absorbing the unaligned lands.He would send scouts into the surrounding territories to gain more information. He would take Babu and his army and expand the empire himself. If things went well there, Babu could receive further authority.