War of the Fathers – Interlude Two

This week’s episode features Interlude Two of War of the Fathers. Click here to download it or press play below. Here is an excerpt from the show:

When the doors to the Rarbon council chambers opened, Rend Rahid was greeted by the roar of the crowd and was taken aback by the sound. There was a slight breeze of warm air coming out of the large room, something that only happened when the place was packed. Another surprise in a day that already had too many. Surely a gathering this large couldn’t have been called without his knowing about it?

After a few seconds of thought, he remembered that it had been at least three days since he’d last left his office in the Rarbon palace. How could he have ignored his enemies for so long? It was foolish for him to have allowed himself to become distracted.

Three days was more than enough time for Buiz Jerard to cause Rend trouble. Jerard was a good man that saw the world differently. The two of them had been at odds for many years, but when Rend had won the election to become Ghar, Jerard had been pushed over the edge. Rend knew Jerard was angry, but would he risk the mainframe? If Jerard was willing to do that, Rend had underestimated him.

Rend gritted his teeth, Jerard’s lofty ideals or not, their people and the mainframe had to be protected. Whatever the cost. If Jerard had caught onto the plan to attack the Hunwei, he would use that as justification to make a deal with Araz. Rend took a deep breath, hoping it would calm his nerves. It didn’t. From his vantage point, every seat of the lower level appeared to be full. He imagined that the balcony would be the same. The air had a level of energy to it that under other circumstances, he might have found electrifying. Instead, it filled him with dread. Things were worse than he’d originally thought.