Ben wakes up with the first rays of sunlight, not that everything is illuminated yet that morning. He quickly heads towards the slope road, the only way in or out of the Hill of the Free, towards Vemen, the town that lies just at the foothills. It was still early in the morning, but there was still an insistent silence all around. This silence persisted once I had walked down the tree-lined path, with its golden and red leaves on the flagstones of that descent.
While Ben was inspecting Vemen, Kramer, to the far northwest, slept peacefully in a comfortable bed, large and yet dreary, like a king.
Side and side, guarded by young women in light armor, standing firm, armed. An antique clock hanging on the wall seemed to be the most moving thing in that enclosure. Kramer smiles and opens his eyes, and wakes up.
Wrapped in silk cloaks, worthy of a divinity, she rises with great calm. His red hair, tousled, he arranges it a little with his hand. He gets up and as he walks, they follow him, guarding him. Dark, high walls. Oil paintings portraying Kramer as a messiah, in a paradisiacal countryside, wrapped in silk and accompanied by the girls in their light armor, adorned those walls.
In other vertical paintings, he is alone, looking at the sky, receiving light from the clouds. They all accompany him to a throne of dark polished stone, where he sits while Rafaela takes a basin of water, places it in front of him, and with silent enthusiasm, proceeds to wash his feet, closes her eyes, and kisses them slowly. Glowen pours him wine in a golden cup, bowing.
Meanwhile, Kramer carefully reads some old books. In total there are 8 young armored women present: Rafaela, Glowen, Jem, Kat (the young woman who accompanied Kramer on Hare Hill), and then there was Britt, the youngest of them all, very slim with very white skin, abundant blonde hair pulled back and very large eyes, also characterized by having metal retainers in her teeth.
There was also Britt's older sister, Brenda, with very similar features, but only a couple of years older. The seventh girl, was, Valentina, yes, the teenage daughter of Vanessa, Ben's neighbor. Easily recognizable by the colors of her light armor, deep red leather and black harness and guards. The others sported combinations of black on green, green on black, and red on black (red from the protectors not on the suit). The eighth, Renata, was a mysterious young blonde with very abundant wavy blonde hair, and very intense light blue eyes, in a tight-fitting almost blue metallic leather dress, with red protectors. All her hair was to one side, like a big bun. She is a bit more serious and focused than the others.
Valentina had not told her mother Vanessa what she was really doing, and Vanessa thought her daughter was in a safe place for academic purposes. Kramer had managed to barricade himself in an abandoned fortress, a castle, practically on the borders of Lebrassia. Surrounded by thick forests, this location was found after crossing some wooded hills from Vemen in a northwesterly direction.
Kramer builds something. He slept a lot, always escorted by at least two of the girls, with a long gun on his shoulder. Then he would lock himself in a large special room, to which he alone had access. For many hours. While at least two of them guarded the door from the outside. Black flags waved in the fortress.
Kramer was the leader of a mysterious cult, which apparently revolved around him. It had serious messianic overtones. The girls were being trained by Kat, who apparently had previous military training. Early in the morning, on a normal day, the girls would go on morning marches through the grounds of the black castle, always in their uniforms, each with their own colors. Occasionally, Kramer would join the march headlong, trotting in an overdressed, joking smile, sporting his impeccable silk robes. He was also seen wearing military fatigues of dark green cloth combined with olive green, and high leather boots. Sometimes with light armor. Among the military rites, they also carried black banners with the red seal.
They didn't lack food, or implements, the organization had managed to have everything within reach. Kat was strong with the girls, during the training, although not too much, they didn't really look like real military exercises, they were something quite a bit softer than the real thing.
The girls wore their light armor permanently, which they only changed for comfortable dresses, practically at bedtime. They had to be prepared at all times in case the castle was attacked. No one else was allowed to enter the place on Kramer's orders. Training included instruction in the handling of firearms, including cannons, mortars, machine guns and howitzers. The black castle has wooded gardens to the south and west, and is completely enclosed by a dark wall that encloses the perimeter like a square. The gardens are crossed by a main road, like a short cobblestone avenue. The chores of food preparation and gardening were distributed in Kat's order, unless Kramer wanted something very specific, such as a particular young lady to bring a dish from the kitchen to his quarters.
Kat had a strong character, and is the one who usually intercedes between Kramer and them. They also had blackberries, raspberries and strawberries growing wild in the gardens, as well as apple, peach and pear trees.
They also had a goat, which they had nicknamed Ben. Curiously, it was jet black, like Ben's hair. This one was in a stone and wood pen, behind several of these plants, and with vines of falling orange flowers.
They also had a shooting range among the gardens. It was a sort of wooden building with a golden thatched roof, a newly built hut, where there were targets for the girls to practice their marksmanship with the firearms. Britt, the youngest, with a metal brace for dental correction, was assigned the task of carrying the heaviest gun. It consisted of four huge guns, two on each side, supported by a frame with an automatic ammunition magazine on its back. It was quite a heavy weapon, and Kat often ordered him to carry it and train with it equipped. "They match you very well with those metals in your mouth, you are the chosen one to receive the honor this mighty weapon bestows."
When Britt practiced target practice with her quadruple barrel, the power that emerged from those four tubes was so great that there was nothing left to observe after the shot. She would place her delicate hands on the anatomically shaped black push buttons that the system incorporated on each side, remove the safety and press both red buttons on the push buttons at the same time, and with a great roar, four incandescent projectiles would rage and leave a trail of light gray smoke behind, toward the target, of which there was virtually nothing left.
Britt watched as her older sister, Brenda, used a more conventional, and comfortable to carry, automatic rifle. She often felt confused, sometimes she felt special, sometimes guilty. She saw how Brenda, in position on the ground, her gun seemed an extension of her body, how the curved wooden handle followed the curves of her anatomy. But she wasn't the only one who felt insecurities, Glowen, often, in private, was uncomfortable with her figure, which, though curvaceous, was overweight. She had a beautiful face, and beautiful skin very fair, like snow, and her face stood out with her short, jet-black hair. She watched herself in a mirror, that day, as she detailed her own look and cherry red lips, she was the only one who had that silhouette in that place.
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When suddenly, the wooden door opens and to her surprise, it was Kramer. She blushes with great sorrow. Kramer stands behind her, hands always behind her, both looking at the mirror, and says "you have a truly beautiful face, you know that, you shouldn't doubt what you are, or feel uncomfortable, if you are with me, in this place, you need not fear anymore."
Then he proceeds and says, "I have something for you," Glowen blushes even more, and watches as Kramer slowly shows him what he had hidden. It is a gas mask, black, satiny, completely covering the face, fastened at the back by straps, and, in front, it is breathed through a large filter, a tube that looks like a large strange nose. Two circles with glass allow you to see.
Glowen is incredibly confused, she doesn't understand why Kramer is asking her to hide the only thing that makes her feel safe, her face. Kramer stares at her behind the mirror, his hands on her shoulders, his shoulders covered with the blue-green metallic synthetic leather. She silently accepts, while he continues to smile. He puts it on and fastens the buckles. And you can see, as her figure is completely accentuated, her curves are highlighted by the reflections on her suit, and her joints covered by black protectors, and half of her body by a jockstrap and a tactical belt of the same color, as well as her military boots.
She looks carefully at herself, and Kramer asks her, "Don't you look beautiful? From that day on, Glowen wore that gas mask most of the time. When she took it off, she kept looking at herself in the mirror, trying to find some answer, but not finding it. Britt, before going to bed, also saw in the mirror, how her shoulders and waist were hurt by the weight of the excessive weapon that was assigned to her, being the smallest and most delicate of all. She also saw her metallic dental appliance, she was the only one who had something like that in her mouth.
Kramer slept a lot, many hours during the day and night. And some days when he didn't sleep, he spent the whole time in that room. The girls slept together, in the barracks, inside the castle. However, there were private rooms, which could be used depending on Kramer's or Kat's orders. Kat slept in one such room at all times, next to an internal spiral staircase with a stone window onto the gardens, from which hung golden and orange vines, which were everywhere in the castle. Rafaela often made use of one of these private rooms. Jem was very close to Kat, and they were often seen secreting from a distance.
Kat and Renata were the only ones who used swords. And finally, Valentina, who had good physical skills, was instructed like most of them in the use of rifles. She was devoted to the cause, and spent her days in a private room, reading old books that Kramer personally provided her with, taken from the castle's private library.
Dinner was held at a large rectangular wooden table, where everyone could sit comfortably. Kramer always sat in the center, and after a few words, and raising his glass, they proceeded to eat.
Kramer in his words, acclaimed: "Let us drink to me, the son of man, the first, and I am the first of the new, and you, the mothers of the new, the new gods who will populate the unreachable east, body and soul, for I will lead you to victory, when the barn doors open, the march will be unstoppable. You my dear future mothers, who will give birth to the new humanity, and who will receive the seed of the red star for me, will leave this intermediate world to go to the east, the elven land of light, and the new men will prevail thanks to you. For this world shall cease to exist when the barn doors open, in a storm of darkness and fear, and the failure of the first men, shall bury them in their misery."
Meanwhile, Ben was still worried about the safety of the hill, even though the signs of intruders had diminished noticeably. Somewhat uneasy, he decided to go and have a look around to see how things were going outside. There was a little more breeze than usual, the trees swayed and rustled in unison. A dance of multicolored leaves and gold and coppery glitter was falling on Ben. He looked at Vanessa's home, but apparently they weren't playing or hanging out at her house, so he decided to go visit Mrs. Irma.
I look at the bench where Jem, Kramer and he sat for the first time. Made of varnished wood and covered by reddish leaves that have fallen on it, Ben moves some of those leaves and after a sigh, he sits down. He contemplates the Vemen sky, orange, gold, red and blue-gray, reminiscent of a theater curtain, with light rays of light breaking through the majestic gray clouds.
Kramer, in the castle with the young women, they enjoy together a dinner of baked pork, bathed in raspberry sauce and flowers from the adjoining garden, breads, cheeses and local vegetables. The wine came from the castle's own wine cellar, which Kramer managed. For dessert, they enjoyed an almond and raisin tart with sheep's milk.
The castle is surrounded by trees and bushes, as is the whole area itself.
As usual, the young women dispersed afterwards, they sat talking in the gardens of the dark stone fortress. Kramer watched them, he could distinguish them from a distance, as each wore a combination of 2 different colors, between different shades of green ranging from bluish-green almost blue, to olive green, to emerald green, brown, red and black. Light armor was worn practically all the time, even to eat together. Glowen, now, had to wear the gas mask that covered her entire beautiful face, a satin black mask, as well as harnesses, gloves, knee pads, elbow pads, jockstrap and gloves, over the tight-fitting metallic teal suit. Her companions were still talking to her, even though her voice was no longer audible as it came through one of the air filter openings.
Glowen saw how all the others had great figures, slender bodies and beautiful faces and manes. The others knew that Kramer had given the order directly to her, so none of them dared to make comments, tease her or feel sorry for her. Sometimes she felt so overwhelmed, that she would walk away, go behind a tree or wall, take off her gas mask, making sure there was no one on either side, and suck in air very hard. At such times, anxiety tended to overcome her, and often, she would cry. Her character was being squandered, but she could not show it. It was a test, which would lead her to something more transcendent, a very strong test, so why not take a sigh, a pause or rest from this cruel deprivation of her own being?
She turned with her head held high, back to where all the others were, gathered in one of the tree-lined squares of the black castle, socializing and sharing. No one really knew what Glowen was going through, for her, showing herself strong to the others was totally paramount. As she made contact with her companions again, she would boldly join in the conversation, with a forceful tone, for the sake of showing herself strong and in the hierarchy. All the while seeing the tiny waists of all the others, and even the newest, Valentina, who, dressed in scarlet red, with black accessories, flaunted her slender silhouette, bobbing and waving her long golden hair. Or Jem, who also had very long blonde hair, and was dressed in metallic pine green and black
Kramer went to the bedroom next to the barn, inside the castle, where he spent most of his time. He needed a lot of sleep, since, when he woke up, he knew how to continue working on what he was building, a portal.
This doorway was divided into two parts. The first was the barn, a large room, with distributed seating, and at the back, a gigantic antique showcase, all in pale or pastel shades, which is always closed. The latter was the average height of 3 adults. The wall facing the gardens and part of the roof, have windows or mechanized vents, which would open, once the artificial portal is activated, with the aim that the difference in air pressure between the two environments, side and side of the portal, this, and the other world, did not wreak havoc in that room. The second part of the portal was a partially separate rear chamber, where the machinery that would make it possible to operate the magic door was located. It was mainly three gigantic bugles stacked, two below and one above, together, gold-colored, in the manner of a runner, which led to the back of the large antique painted wooden cabinet. On the other side, each of these huge bugles would have a circular area where a "drop of blood" would be attached, translucent, flattened, circular red gems, the diameter of an adult's arm, which would individually empower each of these golden tubes.
Each of these bugles would emit a "magical roar", concentrating on a particular spatial dimension, height, width or depth, respectively. Mimicking a mythical instrument of an ancestral deity, from a higher dimension, said to be able to open doors between different worlds.
Kramer usually worked alone in there, while the girls did whatever outside, usually wasting time or being trained by Kat in the outer spaces of the castle. Kramer had only gotten one of the three red gems he needed to run his system. Blood drops were very hard to come by, as their use, was purely military. They were used, among other things, to lift flying boats, like the one Ben was originally going to board, something he was unable to do because of the unexpected mutiny.
Valentina had settled in quite well to the rhythm of life inside the black castle, while her mother and Ben's neighbor, Vanessa, was completely unaware of all the activities there and the new lifestyle she had adopted. Kramer was particularly close to her.