“Hey, dick head!” A small boy, no older than fourteen yelled to Liam. Liam sat under a tree, he was short and only about 15.
“What the fuck did you call me?” Liam said, slamming his book on ‘weapon making’ shut as he saw the boy smirking at him. Lifting his hand, the black-haired boy revealed a large, freshly made cookie.
“Mum just made these!” the boy yelled to Liam.
“FUCK YES!” Liam said as he hurriedly tucked his book into a small cloth bag before charging down the slope towards the boy.
Together the boys ran down the stone-paved path that wound through the village. Sprinting, they took little regard for their surroundings as they clumsily bumped and knocked into merchants, soldiers and farmers alike. Having no quarrel with the boys, the adults simply waved and laughed. The bright sun, clear sky, and the merry atmosphere was far too good to dull it with such a small transgression.
Grinding his feet to a stop, Liam looked over to see a small, blond girl, maybe a year or two older than them sitting on a bench. She flicked through her book, reading and studying its contents. He always found her like this, her face buried in a book. She was the one who had originally set Liam down the path of reading so intently himself. Sprinting to her side, he kicked her in the shin.
“Katlin has made food!” He cheered as he gave her a kick on the other shin to even out his attacks.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” She retorted as she flicked her blond locks to look at him. Quickly her anger
dissipated as she realised, he had mentioned food from Katlin.
“I know I am!” Liam yelled as he continued down the path and up towards the orphanage.
“Mum made food?” She said excitedly as she scrambled after him.
Viewing from the side, Liam watched this memory. Arran and Lidia. He remembered them well.
“What the fuck do you want?” Liam yelled, watching his past self-run down the street.
“You’re the one who brought me back before, right? Why?” Liam said as he looked behind himself.
There was nothing but a black abyss behind him. He couldn’t make out anything within the darkness. A small trickle ran down the side of his face. Jumping with a start he swatted whatever was tickling him... sweat, only sweat. Looking at his hands, he could see a few trickles of sweat shining. Frowning, he looked up. There was no source of light above him. Moving his hand away from the screen that depicted his memory, he looked again at his hand. It wasn’t the light from the screen.
“Hello?” Liam called again into the darkness. This was stupid. It was just a dream, yet he could feel the hairs on his arms and legs all stand to attention. Like some hand moved over him, picking up each hair.
A footstep echoed through the darkness. Liam kept his eyes locked in the direction he thought the sound to be coming from. Another footstep rang out, then another, then another. Shimmering in the dark, he could see the glint of a red hat. Moving closer, he could see the black suit of the figure. Moving closer again, he could see the reflected light coming off a red mask.
“So, you’re the one those bastard Goddesses have chosen for their amusement? How fucking sad, well for you anyway. Just a little bit of fun for them,” The voice of a man echoed as the figure continued to approach.
“Who the fuck are you?” Liam said as he took a step back.
“Well, you were whining about ambition, and saying you didn’t have any. So, I got a little curious about whether or not that was true. So, I hope you don’t mind but I took a little glance into your memories,” The man said as he continued to walk towards him. Liam took another couple of steps back. The blank red mask of the man showed no signs of emotion or humanity. It completely hid his identity and expression.
“I said, who the fuck are you?” Liam yelled at the man.
“Your cunning, and you’ve killed a person before. Well, two to be exact. Not Amazons either,” Liam felt his heart rise into his throat as he locked his gaze onto where he thought the figure’s eyes to be.
“For the last time, who the fuck are you?” Liam yelled again at the man. Still, the man continued forward.
“I just wanted to meet the person who those self-obsessed, ego-driven, narcissistic bitches have given so many lives to bring back to life twice,” The man said. Seemingly, within only a few seconds, the stranger found himself standing in front of Liam.
“You know I thought you would be some sadistic cunt that matched their egos. But my god, I do see why you are so interesting. An abusive mother who killed your father before running off with some big-shot politician, two best friends who you were...,”
“Carry on and I’ll kill you,” Liam cut the man off. There was a moment of silence before the man let out a small, almost childish laugh.
“And there it is, your true self. That small defenceless self you usually are is just a cope right. Or is it the other way around,” The man said as he placed a finger onto Liam’s chest.
“What do you want?” Liam said his gaze sharpening.
“I only want to make a deal. And learn a little about the human the goddesses have taken such an interest in,” The man continued.
“From what I gather so far, you’re a tad like a coin. You know, like having two sides,” the man said, trying to mimic the accent of Liam’s home region.
“The side the Amazons like - a side that is submissive yet caring. A side that wishes to help people. Then there’s the other. Strong, anger-driven, hateful. Now tell me, does the first side exist because of him?” the man said. Liam tried to move, but his body froze, rooted to the spot.
“You know I already know the answer. A good heart is tainted by a bad life. Listen, here is my deal. You might die again soon, but I’ll bring you back on one condition. Don’t trust the goddesses,” the man’s tone seemed to change.
“To be honest, this is a cycle that has happened before,” Liam’s body snapped around to face the screen again. The image had changed, it showed several large islands.
“Millions of years ago, this planet was populated by Goddess. Deities. They fought for control of the planet. Hundreds of times they fought to the death and the planet came close to destruction. So, the Goddesses made a deal. They created the Amazons and beast-men. They made millions of the fuckers,” The man continued, the screen changed to show battles. Battles between countless Amazonian tribes and nations.
“Again, another cycle was made. A cycle of Amazons killing each other was created. Countless died, but the fighting bred monsters of unimaginable power. These monsters being Amazons as you see them today.” The image changed again to Amazons battling.
“One goddess saw this calamity. She saw that this battling was not really that different from when the goddesses fought. So, she made a decision, she would find something to tip the balance. After millions of years of searching the galaxy, she found one little far-flung planet. One devastated by war and greed, much like her own. As you can guess, this planet was earth, and the people were the humans.” The image changed again, this time to a ship. Long and made of dark metal. An imperial plant mover. Ships that contained entire civilisations ready to colonize planets.
“She found billions of humans leaving the planet in their ships, and all she did was give them a little push in the right direction. Without their knowledge, she led them to her planet and the surrounding planets. She allowed the humans to spread out and take over. Allowing nature to take its course she let the humans spread and colonize until they reached her planet. The planet of the goddesses,” The man moved in front of Liam. Pointing his finger into his chest, he looked Liam in the eyes.
“Nowhere is where you come in. You see it was alright at first. The cycle of Amazons killing each other stopped, much to the annoyance of the goddesses, but due to their pact to not interfere with the world directly, they allowed the fighting to continue. But the goddess of love couldn’t bear to see how the fighting caused so much suffering on both sides. She took sympathy on the humans, so she gave one in every ten thousand a trait. One in ten thousand so that the other goddesses wouldn’t be able to see that she had really done anything,” Liam’s eyes widened as the image on the screen in front of him flicked between pictures of both men and women.
“The trait she gave them was that they were found attractive to Amazons. For example, extreme strength, extreme intelligence, or” the man planted a hand onto Liam’s shoulder, “a good mix of intelligence and kindness, both things you possess.”
“Again, though another cycle began. Humans would be captured by Amazons. Amazons would fall in love with those who possess the special traits. The human would then make some changes to Amazonian society on some island somewhere, but then there would usually be a war over the human that would end in the human’s death and the collapse of that Amazonian society. I think it is obvious to you how you are involved.”
“The new cycle you have been caught up in. You of course have the trait of mild intelligence, but this weird kindness you have gotten from your little friend Arran,” the man finished.
“For some reason though, the goddesses have paid special attention to you. There is something in you, something that I believe that the Amazonian Goddesses think can change the cycle as well. All I want you to know is what makes you so special. Is it in your blood? Is it some kind of trait? Or is it something else? You have a way with words Mr Grey Feather, awkward words, but words and bravery that can sway Amazons. You still have far to go through with mastering this. Learn the mind, learn to lead and I think you can do much. Just remember though, don’t trust the Goddesses.” The man finished.
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“You are the weakest in the room, yet your words have far more power. Learn Liam, learn how to use that to your advantage. Take more actions like you did tonight. It would do you good to use that kind of negotiation. And I think you will find it will make many more Amazons flock to you,” A weight felt as if it was lifted from Liam’s chest as he turned to see the man walking away. He tried to move his legs, but still, it felt as if there were led weights wrapped around them.
“How the fuck do you know this? Who the fuck are you!” Liam yelled, his mind racing as he tried to comprehend what the man had just said to him.
“No matter what you hear, don’t listen to a word those goddesses say. You said you have no ambition, then allow me to give you one boy. Break the cycle, untie the Amazons and humans, and spit in the face of the goddesses,” the man said before disappearing into the darkness.
Slowly Liam blinked his eyes. He then found himself sitting on the edge of a small hill overlooking the Amazon tribes, it was daylight. Was that why he had that dream? He was just scared. All of it was brought about due to fatigue and anxiety of what Morgarina had seen when she went into his mind. But then who was the man?
What the fuck had the man been talking about? It was just subconscious thoughts bleeding into his dreams, right? He had agreed with what the man had said. But what he had said about the goddesses… made almost too much sense to him. As he usually did, Liam tried to push the thoughts to one side. But the man’s words hung with him. Like an axe over his head.
“Just weigh my words carefully,” a familiar voice rang in his ears. Liam snapped his head around. Nothing. No one. He was alone. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Liam came to the conclusion he was going insane.
But whatever that thing had said was right. No matter how much he wanted to say otherwise. If what he said about the cycle was true… Slapping himself on the cheek, Liam managed to suppress the thought. The High Priestess seemed to know a lot about Amazonian history, he quickly made a mental note to ask her about it at some point. For now, though he wanted to solely focus on his one mission, uniting the Amazon tribes of the island.
Sitting along the tree line, Liam looked down to the horde of Amazons that filled the village square. He watched as Kenyanire licked the blood from the neck of another Amazon. The blood was neither of theirs, but instead that of an unfortunate male Amazon who had the displeasure of being caught up in this bloody ritual. Grabbing his leather bag, he tucked it close to his chest. He would wait a while longer until the Amazons had exhausted themselves for the first day before making his escape.
He was on the brink of uniting three tribes, yet still so little had changed. He may have started to alter their diets from eating humans and Boruma over to Chillcali and Tatnak, but still, they ate the male Amazons. Still, the Amazonians ate other Amazonians. Still, they offered blood sacrifices to their twisted and sadistic goddesses, and still, they slaughtered and raped. To this end, he was weak, still weak enough that he wouldn’t dare even start to reach the heights of Arran.
Smirking, Liam leaned back against the tree. Arran, the fucking bastard. One of the best yet most annoying people he had ever known. If only Arran was here instead of him, then these blood rituals would probably all have been stopped. He had seen Arran sway entire crowds with just a few words. Liam looked up to the sky solemnly. If only he could have the confidence and power of Arran. That boy was special, smart, and far better than him.
Hardening his resolve, Liam pushed any negative thoughts from his mind. He was here to do one job, nothing more, nothing less. Untie the Amazons of the island, convince them to stop attacking humans, then convince them to take him home. Maybe only then could he even bring himself to be on the same level as Arran. Liam’s eyes widened as he thought back to when Morgarina had gone through his mind.
How much did she see? Did she see how much he aspired to be like Arran? Did she see how hard he tried to be as nice and accepting as him? A red flush came over his face. God, it was like he was some stupid fanboy or something. His kindness, his want to help, his lust to place himself in harm’s way if he deemed it necessary to save others. All these things were something he had taken from Arran. All these things were traits he had learnt from him.
Goddamn, that man in his dream. He had really messed with his mind. So, this was his ambition? He wanted to be like Arran. Smirking Liam chuckled to himself. Stupid, unbelievable, unrealistic, that’s all this was. It was some damn fever dream that plagued his mind. No matter how many times he said this to himself, he found himself agreeing with the man.
Liam looked at his hands. He thought it stupid, but he planned to take what the man said to heart. In the month that the Amazons were in heat, he would refine his words, learn how to lead from his book on military history, he would build an Amazonian society that would never again threaten humans or each other. Fuck, it seemed that the man really had given him an ambition.
“How easily I am influenced,” he said as he got to his feet. Liam looked down again to the crowd. They seemed very distracted now, so it was probably a good time to leave. After all, he didn’t want to ponder any longer on what the man had said.
“Fucking demon,” He muttered, assuming that was probably what the creature he saw had been.
Carefully he moved through the tree line. The Amazons were far too distracted with their mating, but still, he didn’t want to run the risk of getting their attention. Stopping, Liam looked down onto the crowd of Amazons as they vigorously coupled together. Shivering, he saw Kenyanire and her vines binding a handful of girls. It seemed they were the unfortunate souls she had chosen to satisfy her this mating season.
Poor souls.
Moving forward, Liam noticed Yantraki, Thorn and Morgarina also capturing Boruma for their own satisfaction. More victims of the Amazonian mating season. Liam didn’t pay too much attention to them though as he had only one objective on his mind. He wanted to return to the main village. He had much work to do and since all Amazons were distracted with the mating season, he had a chance to finally get some work done.
He wanted to produce salt from the seawater using the large iron pots made by the blacksmiths. While he was at it, more out of curiosity, he wanted to see how much of the bathhouse he could make on his own.
After scurrying between the trees and diving out of the sight of Amazons, Liam eventually made it to the dirt path that led back to the village. After checking his bag for what felt like the 80th time, he reassured himself that he had all the equipment he needed. His equipment didn't consist of much. Mostly just some books on architecture and some basic books on science he managed to convince the Boruma to smuggle in for him.
Next, he checked his belt. A large Kukuna knife hung from his waist in a thick leather sheath. Considering how sharp the Kukuna knife was, he decided it was best to go slowly to avoid an accident. Again, he checked his boots, shirt and shoes before setting out on his own, he was eventually ready to go.
Walking down the dirt path he kept a nervous hand on his bag and a twitching, fidgety hand over the hilt of his knife. Whether it was the side effects from the dream he had or the words of the man still lingering in his mind, or maybe it was just that it was the first time he had wandered alone on this Amazonian Island, but Liam found himself constantly alert as his eyes scanned the tree line.
His attempts to stay vigilant were useless though as he failed to notice the figure standing in the tree line. The figure casually leaned against a tree as it watched his movements. Another figure then moved behind the first, this one much taller and much more feminine in appearance.
“I thought I could smell you here,” the second figure said as it approached the first.
“And I thought I could rely on you to do this work yourself,” the first figure said as it turned to face her. The fresh light of day that filtered through the trees highlighted the Red Hat and red mask of the figure.
“Don’t worry, I won't stay for long, this copy of myself only last for a couple of hours anyway,” the first figure continued.
“Why you are watching him?” the second figure said as it also came into the light, revealing her to be the high priestess of Kenyanire’s tribe.
“Just wanted to see what had gotten the apostle of the Goddess of Peace so flustered all of a sudden,” The man said as he turned back to watch Liam as he moved carefully down the path.
“With the right training, I think he could do it. You know, break the cycle,” The man said as he reached into his jacket. Slowly he pulled out a well-crafted wooden box.
“How much did you tell him? Did you tell him the berserker mode has activated,” the high priestess said as she went to grab her knife from its hilt.
“Only a little, but no I didn't tell him about the berserker mode. After all, I didn't want him despising you all just because Yantraki gave him a drop of her blood, making him an immortal. Nor did I tell him the side effects. I also didn't tell him about what happens in the cycle when the human taken in by the Amazons goes into the berserker mode and how it usually leads to their death.” The man continued as he flicked open the wooden box.
“I'm going to kill him, but only once he has united the daughters of the island,” the high priestess said as she now brandished her knife against the man’s neck.
“Why? think that will somehow break the cycle? It didn’t work for Edward, you saw what that did. It only pitted Kenyanire and her sisters against each other. Whether or not you tell him, I'll leave that up to you but trust me, I cannot allow you to kill that boy. If the goddesses are so fascinated with him, then naturally I will find myself enthralled,” the man said as he pulled out a long black stick from the box.
“I have planted the seed of wanting more knowledge into his mind. I'm trusting you to try and make sure he uses this knowledge to its fullest. Cos who knows, he might even save your vulnerable population, fucking demi-goddess,” the man said as he turned and walked towards the high
priestess. He offered the stick out to her, looking closer she could now see it was a chocolate stick.
“You know these humans make some good food, try some, and also try helping him not to become another Edward. Or would you rather I told him the full story about Edward, and how you forced Kenyanire to kill him?” the man said as he offered the chocolate stick to her again.
“You're threatening me? Me, one of the last demi-goddesses?” the high priestess said with absolute disbelief in her tone.
“No dear, I believe the humans of this world call it blackmail.
You make sure the knowledge I have implanted in the boy forges him into a good leader, and I make sure you keep your head,” the man said as he yet again offered the chocolate stick to the high priestess. Reluctantly she took the food from him, knowing that when he had set his mind to something, he usually became hellbent on achieving it. And if making Liam into a leader of both Amazons and humans was what he had set his mind to, she knew that there was no way to stop him.
“I’ll talk to the goddess before the decision,” the high priestess said as she bit into the chocolate stick.
“See, I knew you were smart. Just don’t kill him, please,” he said as he fell forward. On impact with the ground, his body faded to dust before disappearing into the wind.
“Bastard,” she muttered through bites of the chocolate stick. Glancing at Liam, she could see he was already far down the track. Biting her bottom lip, she decided it was best to watch him from a distance. Even though she was a demi-goddess, she still had some Amazonian instincts. Thus, she didn’t want to run the risk of losing herself and giving in to her mating instincts.
Twenty, thirty, maybe even forty minutes later, Liam eventually reached the corpse of the dead warhorse, which was now beginning to rot. Tightening his grip on the knife, he took several deep breaths before continuing forward. Every sound or movement from the tree line was enough to make Liam flinch or snap his neck in that direction to face the presumed enemy.
There was still a strong lingering feeling of fear that maybe one of Kreoilipe’s warriors was still hunting in the area. Keeping to the side of the corpse, he slowly moved around the body until he reached the leg severed by Kreoilipe. The leg looked like a meaty tower building that he would hear about from merchants coming to his village from the cities.
Several large wolves sat around, biting and nipping pieces of flesh from the creature’s leg. His body froze as he noticed these to be similar to the creatures Kreoilipe had summoned. If these were here, that meant… Arms wrapped around Liam’s neck. Grabbing him, the arms held him still as a tongue rang up the side of his face.
Glancing over his shoulder, he looked into the skull mask of Kreoilipe. Her breathing was heavy.
“Good morning,” He muttered as he tried to mentally prepare for whatever the Amazon had planned.
Happy, little, chirps of joy came from her as she happily bit him on the neck.
“Such an adorable, defenceless little creature,” Kreoilipe said, running a knife along his cheek.
“You know, I was going to try and take the skull of the warhorse to add it to my trophies, but I think I have found something far more interesting,” Kreoilipe cackled as she flung him over her shoulder.
“I’m in a good mood today, after all my mating instincts have me craving a nice human. But since you are so important to my sisters, tell me, what can you offer to me?” She said.
Racking his mind for reasons the Amazons went into heat, he thought it might be something to do with their senses being amplified somehow. Ok, what do the Amazons like that could amplify their senses during this time?
“Sit me down, and place your head on my lap,” Liam said, knowing one thing that usually got Yantraki to sleep was head rubs. For a moment there was silence. Probably not having a clear mind (due to the mating season), Kreoilipe quickly complied as she laid Liam onto the ground. Moving over him, she placed her head on his lap, but not before ushering her wolves over to them.
“If you try anything, they won’t hesitate to rip you to shreds,” Kreoilipe said as she nuzzled her head onto his lap. It seemed since it was the first day of the mating season her full “hormonal” instincts hadn’t kicked in yet. Placing a hand onto her soft reddish-brown hair, he started to gently caress her.
“I don’t see why this is so good. I think I would be better to kill you,” Kreoilipe went to move, but Liam forced her head back onto his lap.
“God you're annoying, one second you want me to join you, next you want me to eat me, next you want me to entertain you, now you want to kill me. Just shut up sleep,” Liam said as he began to rub her scalp with one hand and massage the back of her neck with the other. Out of annoyance, she spent a few minutes in silence as she allowed him to entertain her.
The wolves settled down as Kreoilipe drifted to sleep. Quick and uneventful, just how Liam liked most his interactions with the Amazons to go because that way there was minimal chance of him being harmed by the Amazons. Just as quickly as the ambush happened, Kreoilipe and her wolves fell asleep, her head gently nestled on Liam’s lap. Who would think that one who controls the dead would be so easily tamed?
Smiling to himself, Liam carefully manoeuvred from under the Amazon. Leaving her to sleep with the protection of her summons, Liam retrieved his knife and belongings before carrying on his walk back to the village. Once again walking alone on the dirt path, Liam felt far more relaxed after having subdued Kreoilipe.
“Oh fuck,” he said as he looked down at the large vine net on the ground. It wasn’t even covered by leaves to hide it. Sighing, he looked off to the side of the path. Chatter came from the bushes. Boruma, they were the only ones stupid enough to set a trap like this.
Come on out!” he yelled to them, hoping his yell showed them that had seen their trap. More chatter came from the bush as he noticed several people moving amongst the leaves. Yeah, it was definitely Boruma.
“Andreaka?” he yelled into the bush line. Quickly a voice returned and was just as quickly hushed by her friends. Moving to the right, he shuffled around the large vine trap. He had to admit, it was well made, but very badly hidden.
The second he stepped around the trap; a thud sounded from behind him. Turning, Liam was greeted by an Andreaka in red paint, a spear in her hands aimed at Liam.
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