back to her seat. She had no idea what to say.
“Bryan,” Daniel used his calmest voice, not wanting to terrify the young man—it wasn’t his fault, after all. “Is it possible that you misunderstood? The king couldn’t possibly have meant to remove Dearra as lord of the island.”
“And why not?” Trevor spoke before Bryan had the chance to reply. “She is young. She is inexperienced.
“Daniel, I’m not trying to get on your bad side, but what if the Breken, forgive me, Darius—what if Darius is lying, or just plain wrong? Would it be so bad to put someone else in charge while she grows into her role?”
“And who would that be, Trevor? Are you volunteering for the job?” Daniel glared at the man before him.
“Me? No! I’m a farmer, and I like it that way. It isn’t like that, Daniel. I just think that it would be a mistake to abandon our home. There is no reason to think the Breken will come in any greater numbers than they have before. Even in history, the greatest attack on the mainland never exceeded a thousand enemy warriors.”
“Trevor may have a point,” Rordan said. Rordan was one of Maj’s ship captains, and had been tasked to rule Maj in Hugh’s absence. He was greatly respected, and when he stood in defense of Trevor, people listened.
“Rordan?” Daniel said, completely at a loss.
“Look, Daniel. No one’s trying to usurp Dearra’s authority, but this is a big risk she’s asking us to take.
“I like Darius. I even trust him, but he could have been fooled. We know how the Breken are. If they manage to convince Darius and Dearra of a huge attack and then we leave the island, we could very well be handing everything over to them without a fight. It would be terribly difficult to reclaim the island, even if the king gathered an army to help us do it. There aren’t enough ships on Mirin Tor to bring them, and if we built ships, they would only be able to get through the reef one or two at a time. The Breken would be able to hold us off with a much smaller force.
“We’ve managed to rebuild one more ship of our own. That, with the ship we used to get Phillip back, gives us two. We have lookouts around the perimeter of the island, as always. The signal fires will give a warning if an attack comes from the far side of the island. It makes much more sense to wait until spring and then position our ships, so they can act as an early warning of any Breken approach.”
“Yes, because that worked so well last time we tried it,” Dearra snapped.
“We won’t wait this time, Dearra. After winter has passed, we will go to the ships and stay there. We can rotate the crews by boat as needed, just as we do with the fire guard. Two weeks on and then they will be spelled by another.”
There were nods of agreement from around the room. Dearra was frustrated. Why didn’t they understand? They had to leave. The king needed to be made to see reason.
They don’t understand, because they don’t want to, Brin said. Rordan is making sense, Dearra. He’s wrong, but he’s saying what they want to hear. He is calm, in control, and offering them a future that isn’t terrifying. It is cause for concern that the Breken will be coming, and certainly they are afraid, but if they listen to you, if they believe you, it’s too much. That way takes everything from them. They aren’t ready to face that yet.
“Excuse me.” Aesri rose from her place at the table, but the fact that she stood barely registered, as she was not much taller than she had been when she was seated. “I realize that you do not know me, and I have only just arrived, so we have not been introduced formally, but I feel that I must speak.”
Dearra nodded that Aesri should continue. Every set of eyes was on the petite woman before them.
“My name is Aesri. I met your lady and her companions when they were in Parsaia recently. I have come with some of my brothers and sisters to aid in the upcoming war. I can tell you that
“Bryan,” Daniel used his calmest voice, not wanting to terrify the young man—it wasn’t his fault, after all. “Is it possible that you misunderstood? The king couldn’t possibly have meant to remove Dearra as lord of the island.”
“And why not?” Trevor spoke before Bryan had the chance to reply. “She is young. She is inexperienced.
“Daniel, I’m not trying to get on your bad side, but what if the Breken, forgive me, Darius—what if Darius is lying, or just plain wrong? Would it be so bad to put someone else in charge while she grows into her role?”
“And who would that be, Trevor? Are you volunteering for the job?” Daniel glared at the man before him.
“Me? No! I’m a farmer, and I like it that way. It isn’t like that, Daniel. I just think that it would be a mistake to abandon our home. There is no reason to think the Breken will come in any greater numbers than they have before. Even in history, the greatest attack on the mainland never exceeded a thousand enemy warriors.”
“Trevor may have a point,” Rordan said. Rordan was one of Maj’s ship captains, and had been tasked to rule Maj in Hugh’s absence. He was greatly respected, and when he stood in defense of Trevor, people listened.
“Rordan?” Daniel said, completely at a loss.
“Look, Daniel. No one’s trying to usurp Dearra’s authority, but this is a big risk she’s asking us to take.
“I like Darius. I even trust him, but he could have been fooled. We know how the Breken are. If they manage to convince Darius and Dearra of a huge attack and then we leave the island, we could very well be handing everything over to them without a fight. It would be terribly difficult to reclaim the island, even if the king gathered an army to help us do it. There aren’t enough ships on Mirin Tor to bring them, and if we built ships, they would only be able to get through the reef one or two at a time. The Breken would be able to hold us off with a much smaller force.
“We’ve managed to rebuild one more ship of our own. That, with the ship we used to get Phillip back, gives us two. We have lookouts around the perimeter of the island, as always. The signal fires will give a warning if an attack comes from the far side of the island. It makes much more sense to wait until spring and then position our ships, so they can act as an early warning of any Breken approach.”
“Yes, because that worked so well last time we tried it,” Dearra snapped.
“We won’t wait this time, Dearra. After winter has passed, we will go to the ships and stay there. We can rotate the crews by boat as needed, just as we do with the fire guard. Two weeks on and then they will be spelled by another.”
There were nods of agreement from around the room. Dearra was frustrated. Why didn’t they understand? They had to leave. The king needed to be made to see reason.
They don’t understand, because they don’t want to, Brin said. Rordan is making sense, Dearra. He’s wrong, but he’s saying what they want to hear. He is calm, in control, and offering them a future that isn’t terrifying. It is cause for concern that the Breken will be coming, and certainly they are afraid, but if they listen to you, if they believe you, it’s too much. That way takes everything from them. They aren’t ready to face that yet.
“Excuse me.” Aesri rose from her place at the table, but the fact that she stood barely registered, as she was not much taller than she had been when she was seated. “I realize that you do not know me, and I have only just arrived, so we have not been introduced formally, but I feel that I must speak.”
Dearra nodded that Aesri should continue. Every set of eyes was on the petite woman before them.
“My name is Aesri. I met your lady and her companions when they were in Parsaia recently. I have come with some of my brothers and sisters to aid in the upcoming war. I can tell you that
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