Boredom. Every year the same. The rot only grows and I truly no longer care. Is there no return for you Yalin? Each time a failed experiment as nothing of your original flesh remains. Boredom. I need diversion in life. Oh. More come to beg for favour and blessing. How tempting to freeze this place and suffocate all inside. I live to wait. Yalin. I’m going to find and kill your ghost. You scrawny boy.

Inside the Palace interior the temperature was cold despite the warm weather being warm, bright and sunny. The powers of the Ice Empress even half-asleep inside her throne room seeped outwards and into the air causing many to dress as though for winter and prepare their bodies through physical alterations and tonics in preparation.

Separate designated rooms and waiting areas were packed as untold number from across the Battlezone Empire had traveled to attend and hopefully attain an audience with the ruler of the entire country who seldom left the confines of her palace except to attend larger Battlezone events.

The event known as Supplication was in theory open to all petitioners and legal laws and restrictions were loosened on for seven days. Slaves, nobles and commoners alike who all sought to petition the sole living goddess of the Battlezone Empire with gifts, talents or prizes which they had won and decided to risk on a chance encounter with the Ice Empress.

Winnings from minor Battlezones events and even fresh flesh creations from the laboratories and and cloning vats where creatures had been merged to create new lifeforms who would only survive for days at most were on display kept in rolling cages. The smell of all the packed bodies, creatures and sweat produced by those wearing winter fur coats and boots on the cold, icy hardened floors of the palace interior was entirely masked by the cold magic from the throne room.

I dream. I sleep. Of you Yalin. Of my loss. Of my anger. Of all of this...meaningless diversion. You once promised me more, that we would become more. We did. And I wait for you. You stupid. Stupid scrawny boy. I dream of you still. The boy in the snows in the woods. The idiot trying to be a hero.

Despite the numbers, security was fairly limited. In theory none should have been bearing arms or weapons, even claws made from flesh and bone in the presence of the Ice Empress but over time standards had become more and more relaxed. There were direct presences to avoid fights between rival groups and those too impatient to wait in line for their turn. The Guards of the Ice Empress looked upon the masses with undisguised mockery. They had resisted the call of corruption which so many had succumbed to since the other living god of their great Empire had left this realm of existence.

The one known only as the Flame Emperor had vanished a hundred years ago. He had reigned for decades after killing the old corrupt Emperor and stopping the cycle of constant conflict between the nobility and the border regions.

This place has grown corrupt in your absence. Your assassins work for payment and protection from the nobles they once slew at your command. Disgusting abominations created through increased desire from events you once claimed would stop all conflict.

The halls of the Palace were crowded as they always were on Supplication Day. The event had simply grown over time and had become a tradition as much as any other had. The first round of gifts had first been given in mourning as individuals had grieved for the loss of the Flame Emperor.

In return those who had first given presents had been rewarded in kind with treasures, positions and other entitlements which had put them on par with rich nobles and merchants. Over time it had only grown in time until the Palace of the Empress of the Battlezone Empire and the immediate surrounding area had become a semi-permanent location for those seeking an audience each year.

I should freeze them all. All their gifts mean nothing. Where is the heat, where is the fire to keep me warm? Where is the passion of life?

Inside the main doors of the Palace stood a small number of Guards of the Ice Empress kept a close eye on the queues reaching out of the Palace doors.

Usually the stronger ones were places inside closer to the throne room where audiences were held. Rumours held it that those who remained in the direct presence of the Ice Empress had become less than human and were unable to leave her direct presence lest their bodies crumpled into shards of ice.

Despite the early morning the numbers remained the same as they would for the next several days. Eventually, those who sought to see the Empress would enter the room for short minutes at a time, present their case and a blessing of pure cold would burn itself into their flesh and they would either rejoice or leave full of bitterness.

In order to accommodate the growing numbers and innumerable gifts for the Ice Empress the single Supplication Day had stretched to seven days in total. One of the most popular cultural events celebrated across the entire empire aside from national Battlezone Events held in the massive stadiums inside the capital city.

Eternal boredom. I’m glad I let myself age. None of them can drool over an old woman.

Those who were religious pilgrims could freely enter without cost any of the many shrines dedicated to both the lost Fire Emperor and the Ice Empress. They had developed over time as those who had sought the divine had entered various states of rapture and filled with religious mania.

The pilgrims were far easier to tell by appearance than any others, they often wore as minimal clothing was possible and openly allowed their bare flesh to suffer from the coldness of the walls and floors. A few of the wealthier ones had altered their own bodies to better withstand the cold and in order to take more ice burns as sacrificial scars.

Each entered room was strictly regulated by one of the Ice Guards who each held a sliver of power granted to them from their living god. Despite their numbers being limited they stopped all interference with the pilgrims due to their own powers.

They could freeze limbs and break the bones of even armoured opponents with little difficulty but at the cost of giving up pure autonomy over their free will according to rumour which had become legend and eventually accepted fact over time.

It was whispered that the Ice Empress could see from their eyes and hear from their ears. Each Guard could be turned into a juggernaut of destruction at the cost of their own life force. There were no living to dared to risk whether the legends were true or not and the pilgrims remained untouched from physical or verbal harm.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The few who still believe are faithful. Would they run rampant if I allowed it? The looks on those who look to me for protection as a totem of the empire. No. Boredom is acceptable.

All who chose to serve the Ice Empress did so out of belief and absolute loyalty to be commanded to fight as she wanted.There were many who wanted a touch of the divine even with limitations. New recruits were often taken from the ranks of faithful pilgrims whose movements were carefully tracked within the confines of the Palace walls.

One of the older Guards with frosty eyebrows and white hair and pale skin chilled to the touch breathed out and touched the hilt of his halberd. His skin stuck to the metal but he ignored the tearing of his flesh as he moved his hand and watched the lines of supplicants move forward steps at a time.

‘Disgusting. All of them get here just cus’ they want the Empress to bless them. Do they think she’s a lucky totem to help ‘em all win better at their own Battlezone events? Or that she’ll reward them for simply making an appearance? Even the nobles are disgusting. What? I don’t care if they hear me. We’re all already dead from the moment we’re born. How we choose to serve matter. Mm.’

He watched one of the professional queue holders waving a sign for offers to take his place. Others were offering potions and tonics to relieve aching leg and foot pain or offering fresh food and drink. There was no shame given to those who chose to take care of their physical health within the confines of the palace and the fur coats and winter style clothing were often reused and sold onwards, the cheaper quality or older ones sold at lower cost and the more expensive ones were cleaned and prepared.

The prepared ones, the elites, nobles and rich merchants had brought mini-caravans with curtain palanquins to rest inside and fleshly slaves from the vats to prepare meals or empty soiled containers of human waste.

The smarter merchants turned a profit by buying the urine and excrement for cheap in the queue or offered free use of portable toilets. Cheap wooden frames with threadbare curtains for privacy and large sealed pots carried on their backs.None of the other Guards responded to the older one and watched the queues move forward mere footsteps at a time in relative silence each holding their own halberd and breathing out chilled air.

‘All of you young ones spend enough time watching the queues during the time of Supplication of the Immortal Ice Empress and you’ll begin to jabber like me. An old trick. Makes queue jumpers and opportunists think we cant see them. Oho, got a pickpocket behind that noble lady in the yellow dress. Seems like he has two hands so a touch of frostburn will teach him some piety. Shame we can’t enforce it. There we go. Old Agger on the other side has got him. Off a side room for a quick chat. He’s lucky, why if the Immortal Flame Emperor was here he’d be a flash of burnt fat on the ground. At least according to what my great-grandfather told me before he melted away.’

Seeing as how none of the younger ones in his group responded the old Guard fixed a grim look on his face and spat on the floor as it crackled with cold. He knew the younger ones kept grim faces on purpose to better facilitate their authority within the walls due to their relatively small numbers compared to the waves of supplicants, pilgrims and hangers on. Within the Palace halls, there were many who sought opportunity. The authority of the Ice Empress had waned and over the hundred years since the death of her beloved Yalin, Palace Servants, Pages and members of her wider court of nobles and elite had built their own power bases within her home.

The Palace Guards in theory held absolute authority over all who entered the doors of the Palace but the Ice Empress had grown tired and remained inside her throne room for weeks or months at a time. The pickpocket who had tried to steal from those in the queue had been pulled out of the lines by one of the Palace Guards and drawn into a side room and given a choice. He had wisely chosen not to target one of the pilgrims, either an individual or a group and had not even tried to attack a Palace Guard.

‘Coward. Even if the fight isn’t fair he could always place a bet on himself and lose a hand and gain a fortune if someone was running their own Battlezone event in the queue. A shame though. You young ones have a lot to learn. Keep your silence then and your frozen faces. The ones of you who live long enough will be like me. Old, cold and bored.’

The cost of running the yearly Supplication alone relied on an income derived from donations, the gifts of the nobles and elites and the charitable tax upon those selling services or caught stealing.And for those who looked for opportunities through criminal enterprise they were sold as fresh slaves. All rights and ownership over their individual personage was negated if they were caught but over time the corruption of the empire and the acceptance of the Ice Empress of the growth in power of the elites and nobles had meant that some rules were bent.

I….I don’t remember the last time I was asleep. Fully asleep. Dreams memories come on me like clouds in air. Then some appear in front of me. Supplicants they call themselves. Fall to their knees in front of an old woman dressed in finery. The looks on their faces...

The older Palace Guard nodded his head at the actions of his colleagues but he knew that the side rooms were usually rented out during the Supplication by those rich enough to afford it and which remained unoccupied by pilgrim groups for dilberate purpose.All actions of the Palace Guards were absolute but they were unable to respond to threats aside from self-defense when an individual or group showed a writ granted by the eternal Ice Empress

If the would-be thief belonged to one of the elite or noble factions then he would face a minor fine at most before being released. Back in the times when the guard had been younger, a simple ice burn in the shape of a hand would have been imprinted upon the thief.

‘We caught him inside the walls of the Palace of the Ice Empress herself and then it’s a matter of chance. What do you think guardsfolk? A catch or release? Bah, all of you are too serious. A few more years as your organs begin to freeze and you’ll be the same. I was assigned one of the Senior Palace Guard due to living for so long.’

The old guard took up his position once more and adopted the same look as those around him. Stern enough to dissuade questions but not hostile enough to directly threaten those in the queues.

At the top of the palace in the coldest parts was the main throne room which had once been divided into two divided areas within. One for fire and heat and the other for ice and chill. One had been closed off and sealed by order of the Ice Empress. None were able enter the chamber except by her direct command and in her presence or that of her Palace Guards.

The massive doors opened by themselves after the previous supplicants had left, each time the sound of ice breaking apart as the doors refroze upon being closed. There was a constant cold breeze coming from within.

Each time the door would open all present in the queue craned their necks to see inside the main room that they had been waiting for. None were able to snatch a glimpse but the old Palace Guard had been in the presence of the Ice Empress.

She was divine but there was a never-ending sadness about her which had contrasted with the description that his great-grandfather had described to him. Once she had smiled and been young before she let herself age.

More to visit. More to see. I was expecting news...a noble. An experiment. A final throw of the dice. Yalin. Scrawny boy.