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"Lord of the Western Sea" caused him almost no concern whatsoever, since he had concluded quite early that the waves and tides need little supervision and that fish, for the overnrand-sounding title, "Overlord of the West" He had assuaraks was over- that this title, like the others, wasiely empty, which had been tacked on to all the rest, sort of to round them out It earned him, after all, no tax revenue; it had no special crown or throne; and there was no administrative staff to deal with day-to-day problerin, he soon discovered that one of the peculiarities of human nature was the tendency to want to take problee Had there not been an Overlord of the West, he was quite sure that his fellow monarchs would have found ways to deal with all those perplexing difficulties by the as he occupied that exalted position, they all see hi, and theback with trusting sled and floundered with them
As a case in point, there was the situation which arose in Arendia during the suone fairly well up until that point Thewhich had marred his relationship with Ce'Nedra had been smoothed over, and Garion and his coht best be described as don of Emperor Kal Zakath of Mallorea, whose presence on this continent had been a great cause for concern, had bogged down in the rinding on for decades far frodoms of the West General Varana, the Duke of Anadile, functioning as regent for the ailing Emperor Ran Borune XXIII, had clareat families of Tolnedra in their unseemly scramble for the I forward to a period of peace and tranquillity until that war Korodullin of Arendia
Garion and Ce'Nedra had been spending a quiet afternoon together in the co idly of little, unis -more for the pleasure of each other's company than out of any real concern for the subjects at hand Garion lounged in a large, blue velvet ared , copper-colored hair Garion was very fond of Ce'Nedra's hair Its color was exciting It srant curl that always seely down the side of her sht the letter fro of Arendia, tastefully carried on a silver tray, Garion took his eyes off his lovely wife alretfully
He broke the ornately sta parchment
"Who is it froh her hair and regarding her reflection in the mirror with a kind of dreaan to read
"To his Majesty, King Belgarion of Riva, Overlord of the West, greetings:" the letter began
"It is our fervent hope that this finds thee and thy queen in good health and tranquil spirits Gladly would I perard and affection my queen and I bear thee and her Majesty, but a crisis hath arisen here in Arendia; and because it doth derive directly from the actions of certain friends of thine, I have resolved to seek thy aid in reat sorrow, our dear friend the Baron of Vo Ebor succurievous wounds which he received upon the battlefield at Thull Mardu His passing this spring hath grieved us ht His heir, since he and the baroness Nerina were childless, is a distant nephew, one Sir Eht more interested, I fear, in the title and lands of his inheritance than in the fact that he doth intrude hi to one of gentle birth, he journeyed straightway to Vo Ebor to take possession of his new estates and with hihts of his acquaintance, his cronies and drinking co and his cohorts gave themselves over to unseemly carouse, and when they were all deep in their cups, one of these rude knights expressed admiration for the person of the but recently ed Nerina Without pausing to think or to consider the lady's bereave promptly promised her hand to his drunken companion Now in Arendia, by reason of certain of our laws, Sir Eht would so uncivilly insist on irief
"The news of this outrage was carried at once to Sir Mandorallen, the ht went immediately to horse What transpired upon his arrival at Vo Ebor thou canst well iiven Sir Mandorallen's prowess and the depth of his regard for the Baroness Nerina Sir E and his cohorts rashly attempted to stand in his path, and there were, as I understand, sorievous injuries as a result
Thy friend removed the baroness to his own keep at Vo Mandor, where he holds her in protective custody Sir Erettably perhaps- will recover from his wounds, hath declared that a state of war doth exist between Ebor and Mandor and he hath summoned to his cause diverse noblemen Other noblemen flock to the banner of Sir Mandorallen, and southwestern Arendia doth stand on the brink of general war I have even been informed that Lelldorin of Wildantor, ever a rash youth, hath raised an army of Asturian bowmen and at thisto aid his old comrade in ar the power of the Arendish crown to bear in this ment, I would be forced by our laws to decide in favor of Sir Earion, to come to Arendia and to use thy influence with thy for them back from the precipice upon which they now stand Only thy intercession, I fear, can avert this i disaster
In hope and friendship, Korodullin"
Garion stared helplessly at the letter "Why