Swemmel stared out as if he really couldsee the peasants gaping at him from one end of the kingdom to the other. AfterGarivald’s first astonishment and almost involuntary awe faded, he saw howhaggard the king looked. Beside him, Annore murmured, “I don’t think he’s sleptfor days.”

“Probably not since the war started,”Garivald agreed. Then he fell silent, for King Swemmel had begun to speak.

“Brothers and sisters, peasants andtownsmen, soldiers and sailors--I am speaking to you, my friends,” Swemmelsaid, and Garivald was astonished yet again: he had never imagined that theking would address his subjects in such terms. Swemmel went on, now with thefirst-person plural instead of that astonishing, riveting first-personsingular: “We are invaded. The vile hosts of King Mezentio have plunged theirdagger deep into us, and Algarve’s dogs, Yanina and Zuwayza, course behindtheir master. The enemy has stolen much of that part of Forthweg that wereclaimed for our kingdom summer before last. Our own long-held territoryfarther south also groans under the foe’s heels.”

Swemmel took a very visible breath. “Butwe must also tell you that only on our territory have the Algarvians, for thefirst time, met with serious resistance. If a part of that territory hasnevertheless been occupied, let that serve as nothing more than a goad to ourrecovering it. The Algarvians, may the powers below eat them, caught Unkerlantby surprise. Let all Unkerlanters now take the accursed redheads by surprise aswell.”

Garivald raised an eyebrow at that. Hethought King Swemmel had been getting ready for a war with Algarve. ButSwemmel, after sipping from a crystal goblet of water or pale wine, wascontinuing: “Our kingdom has entered into a life-and-death struggle against itsmost wicked and perfidious foe. Our soldiers are fighting heroically againstheavy odds against an enemy heavily armed with behemoths and dragons. The mainforce of the Unkerlanter army, with thousands of behemoths and dragons of itsown, is now entering the battle. Together with our army, the whole of ourpeople must rise to defend our kingdom.