The yatu did have powers of his own, however, and on the day when Aeshma was released and Kharouf realized the world would be undergoing a great change, he became determined that the change would be for his benefit. Now was the time to achieve the rightful rewards of all his study.
Like most wizards, Kharouf acted with caution. He studied the local situation and realized that a man with a strong army behind him could conquer vast areas in a short period of time. The nearby kingdom of Buryan was ideally suited to his purposes. In itself it was not a great prize, being poor and largely barren, but it would be an easy stepping-stone on his path to greater glories. The Buryani king was old and weak, the army virtually nonexistent—yet the conquest of a kingdom, any kingdom, would gain him a re
