SECOND CHANCE BOOK V
KING OF ZAYA
By
R. Richard
EXCERPT
I THINK BACK OVER my life. I was a 71-year-old man living in Averon and waiting in poverty to die. In order to avoid starving to death, I was
planning a bank job. Instead, I got an
unlikely bodyguard job that, as with so many other jobs, blew up in my face. However, I did learn how to eat life force as
a result of the bodyguard job. The
eating of life force began to reverse my aging process and I became younger,
instead of getting older. I also became both larger and stronger physically. I
then wound up traveling and acquiring more life force. One other thing I that acquired in my travels
is Kingdoms. I became the King of Fori Novor, mainly by killing
anyone who got in my way, mostly hand-to-hand.
I then imposed my rule on Fori Novor. Once the
people of the islands around Fori Novor
saw what was happening with Fori Novor,
they wanted some of the same. Thus, I
became King of The Islands, including all of the islands around Fori Novor. I then became the King of Zaya,
actually only part of Zaya. However, I killed the old King of Zaya and I'm on my way to being King of all of Zaya. Being King is
not easy, but it's a lot better than being a 71-year-old man waiting in poverty
to die.
One of the reasons that I'm King is that I can
see things better than those about me.
One of the things that I have seen for a long time is that Colonel Dakon Harkand, the Ambassador
from Dorond, is going to marry Norva
Lemni, the Ambassador from the PCP. I'm not the only one to foresee the coming
marriage, but I'm the only one who sees the entire situation.
Since both Ambassadors reside in Ololo, the capital city of
The love birds will plan for a number of high
ranking guests. Invitees will include
the King of The Islands (and Zaya,) the Lady Ayah,
who got Norva set up to be a proper Ambassador, The
Reverend Amash, the High Priest of the Temple of Vorell, the governors of the islands around Fori Novor and a few more high
ranking islands people. At least, that's
who the love birds think will attend.
I call the Lady Ayah from Zaya. I need to check in on what's actually
happening in Fori Novor. I get official reports from the government
people there, but only Ayah knows what's really going on.
Ayah tells me, “Justin! I have big news for you.”
I suspect that I know what the big news is, but
I ask, “What's your big news, Ayah?”
Ayah says, “The Colonel and Norva
have officially set the date! It'll be
the biggest marriage in the history of Fori Novor.”
“Ayah, it'll be the biggest marriage in the
history of Corin.
I'll need you to co-ordinate things.”
“Justin, Norva will
co-ordinate things. After all, it's her
wedding.”
“Who'll be coming to the wedding?”
Ayah says, “Well, of course, the King of The
Islands, several of us here on Fori Novor, several high ranking people from The Islands, oh,
and a few others.”
“Ayah, try the King of Averon,
the King of Zorran, the Prime Minister of Pors, dignitaries from Dorond,
the Prime Minister of the Fleuritian people, several
other Prime Ministers, or whatever, from several advanced cultures and anyone
who hopes to jump on the 'trade with Corin
bandwagon.'”
Ayah says, “Omigod! Justin, are you sure about the various
attendees, particularly the advanced culture people?”
“I got a netmail from
the Fleuritians.
I also got a netmail from the Zorranian government.
I'm talking with people from Averon. There'll be a cast of thousands, well, at
least many hundreds. Unfortunately, Fori Novor just can't support
thousands.”
Ayah sighs and asks, “Justin, where are we going
to put them all? The hotels here are
booked quite a ways in advance with tourists.
We were going to have trouble squeezing in just the few that I mentioned
before.”
“Ayah, in the very near future you're going to
be contacted by the people in Averon who run the
giant cruise ship, 'The Emperor of the Sea.'
The dignitaries will mostly stay on the big cruise ship. The reception will be held on the big cruise
ship, as there's really no place big enough in Ololo.”
“Justin, we can't just tell Norva
where her wedding is to be.”
“Of course not. Norva's wedding will be in the place of her choosing. However, the reception will be on board the
cruise ship, simply because there's no place else in Fori
Novor big enough to hold all of the guests. In the meantime, Norva
will be far too busy to handle all of the details by herself. You'll handle the details, through your
company, at the standard commission rate.
You'll be assisted by my Bank of Fori Novor people. The
greetings will be polite and formal, as one would expect from The Islands. However, there'll be an underlying theme to
the availability of accommodations. The
theme is, 'Money talks, what would you like to say?' There'll be commercial people from both on
and off Corin.
They'll come to wish the two love birds a happy ever after. They'll also come to talk to the King who
controls trade with Corin, The Islands and Zaya. I'll need the
biggest stateroom that 'The Emperor of the Sea' has and several more staterooms
for the Bank of Fori Novor
staff.”
Ayah asks, “Justin, why does all of this trade
stuff have to be part of Norva's wedding?”
“Ayah, Corin is still
officially a primitive planet. Off worlders can't just come here to Corin
to discuss business. However, a wedding
is a different matter.”
“Easy for you to say, what do you think that Norva will say?”
I tell her, “It'll be necessary to restrict
those who can visit Fori Novor
during the time of the wedding. Only
those with confirmed room reservations will be permitted airplane reservations
for Fori Novor. Only those with confirmed boat docking
reservations will be permitted to land on Fori Novor. Only those
with confirmed stateroom reservations will be permitted from off planet. The entire reception will be paid for by the
guests who attend the reception, since there's no way that the Colonel and Norva could possibly afford the extravaganza. Also, there's no way that Norva
will willingly serve as the ringmaster of the circus. Once you talk to her about the problem,
she'll understand. She won't like it at
first, but she'll understand once the whole situation is explained to her.”
Ayah says, “I can see what you mean. It seems that I'll need to handle the
interface with Norva.”
“Ayah, it wasn't by chance I called on the Lady
Ayah to handle the biggest wedding in the history of Corin. The love birds just have to say 'I do!' The Lady Ayah will need to be the ringmaster
of the circus, as there's nobody else half so qualified. I'm depending on you to be able to say 'Hell
no' to some very high powered individuals and get it to sound like, 'We're very
sorry,' but still mean 'Hell no.'”
Ayah replies, “It's going to be a lot of work.”
“I know.
However, it'll, also be a lot of profit for your business during the wedding event and also after,
since you'll get a lot of free advertising during the wedding event.”
“Yes, there's that. I'll be busy, but maybe a little rich. Is there anything else you need me to do?”
I answer, “Yes, three things. First, the King of The Islands and Zaya needs a place on the bride's dance card. The same needs a place on your dance card and
the same also needs some advice on a wedding gift. I was thinking of a silver tea service, made
with the finest silver from the North of Zaya and
with the Zayan royal crest for decoration.”
“I hadn't thought of that last. The wedding gifts from that many people will
be overwhelming.”
I say, “Yes, Norva
should really set up a gift registry with your company to cut down on the
number of duplicates. Of course, the
reception food and beverages won't be a problem.”
“Not on board a cruise ship.”
“I'll leave things in your capable hands.”
Ayah says, “Right. Ah, Justin, you aren't planning on conquering
any new Kingdoms in the next month or so?”
“Don't worry, I
wouldn't miss the wedding of two of my favourite people for the world. Well, maybe for the whole world of Corin, but only for that!”
“Oh, by the way, Norva
wanted me to tell you that the PCP and some sort of organization of the
advanced civilizations has managed to get the Arquellians
to agree to pay for the construction of a Temple of Vorell
on the site of the old
Sea Point church.”
“Excellent!
Please tell Norva how pleased I am. I know that getting the Arquellians
to agree must have been a lot of work for her.”
Ayah says, “I'll certainly tell Norva. I'm also a
bit involved. The High Priest is still
undergoing treatment for the wounds he received during the destruction of the
temple in Alvaro. Several of us have
been assisting the High Priest with the details of the construction of the new
temple.”
“I do appreciate the efforts of all of you who
choose to help the High Priest. I think
that you'll find your efforts repaid by the effects of the teachings of the
temple on the younger people of Fori Novor.”
“I hope so.
There are several new Priests recently arrived in Fori
Novor. On the
surface, they seem like pleasant, dedicated young men, but they do tend to
emphasize a certain aura of violence.”
“The Priests of the Temple of Vorell are savage hand-to-hand fighters. They'll defend their temple literally to the
death. Of course, they train in their fighting
arts. However, they defend only. If they're left alone, they only teach the
wisdom of My Lord Vorell.”
“Yes. I
have noticed changes in several of the younger relatives of my own
employees. They attend informal worship
sessions, although the new temple isn't yet built. They seem to be improved by the instruction
they receive from the Priests. However,
several of the young men wish to become Priests of the
“Don't worry.
I have had some contact with the Priests of Vorell. They're entirely dedicated to the temple and
they'll not train hoodlums. Ah, have
there been any negative comments about the Priests of the new
She asks, “Do you mean the Reverend Amash?”
“Well, the Reverend is a very good man,
dedicated to his work and his beliefs.
I'm hoping that he doesn't see the new temple as a threat to his own
religion.”
“The Reverend is very polite and very correct
regarding the new temple. I suspect that
he may be a bit unhappy that the younger people here in Fori
Novor are trending more toward the
I interject, “Rather than a path straight to
Hell?”
“Well, the Reverend Amash
would never say that, however, he might feel something like that.”
“Give Norva, the
Colonel, the High Priest and the Reverend my best. I'll see all of you again at the
wedding. Oh, will the Priests of Vorell be involved with the wedding reception?”
“I don't know.
I'll have to inquire. Do you
think they might involve themselves?”
“I don't really know. Normally, they confine their activities
strictly to the temple. However, since
they have a temple, largely through the efforts of Norva,
they may seek to participate on some level.
It would be well if they were queried regarding their intentions. They can very effectively serve as a security force. Their art is not all that different from Loro and they can remove troublemakers quietly and
efficiently.”
Ayah says, “Another task for my list.”
“If I can assist you with communications with
the High Priest, just let me know. I
have really had no contact with him, past the conference in Mervon,
but I did see to his hospital care. I
might have some sort of minor influence with the man.”
“I'll keep that in mind.”
I say, “I'll see you at the reception, at any
rate.”
“OK, I'll keep you up to date.”