“But would a powerful king be willing to withdraw his forces from his city, leaving it defenseless in the path of the invader, to ally himself with a simple warrior?” Jafar asked. “Prince Ahmad’s title has always been a strong convincing argument before.”
“We shall invoke the name of Oromasd,” Umar said.
“I don’t wish to sound sacrilegious,” Jafar replied, “but there are many monarchs to whom that is not quite enough of a reference. Any fool can claim to be acting in Oromasd’s name; many do, in fact. Whatever traits this Nikhrashi king may have, I doubt that a trusting nature will be one of them.”
“If he cannot see the truth of our cause—particularly in the face of what he must know about these invaders from the west—then he is no fit ally to fight in Oromasd’s army,” Umar declared with
