Months passed since our first victory. The long neck tribe had been absorbed. Its people were relocated to what would one day be the capital of the new kingdom I was creating. As their transitional period between tribal and civilized went underway, our forces continued to build and expand. With more people, more homes needed to be built. Very quickly, the tribes that bent the knee enjoyed the benefits of my rule. Industry had arrived in a crucible of fire once a proper blacksmiths warehouse was constructed. Day and night shifts for builders created ceaseless working conditions, halted only by rain or some other unforeseen event. No longer would simple grass huts or ramshackle dwellings be enough. My people would have proper homes.
I resigned myself to reside in my tent until all of the major buildings had been constructed. Only when my vision for the future capital was met would I construct a better home for myself. A palace does no one any good if the resources to make it can’t be refined. It was not as if I was living in squalor. I was quite comfortable in my tent. I had everything I required at my fingertips: A map room that charted out the Blasted Lands to crystal clarity, an armor stand and weapon rack so I could equip myself as fast as possible, and of course a bed where I spent my nights. It was during one of those particular nights that I felt a certain urge that all men feel. I told my concubine to wait for me and prepare. After arranging to meet with Octavian, Straden, Brutus and the rest of my council the following morning, I went to my tent. I washed my face in a bowl of water and cleansed myself. I wanted to be fresh and relaxed.
I undid the straps of my chest armor and hung them on the stand. I placed my sword in its proper place and finally came to my bracers. I unstrapped them and once again beheld the scars on my wrists. I know you’re probably tired of hearing me speak of my scars. How do you think I feel,constantly aching every moment of my life up to this point? Sometimes I awake at night after feeling them being driven into my wrists all over again. I’d love to be free of that.
After that brief moment of contemplation, I brushed aside the curtains that separated my bedroom from the rest of my tent. I had thought that my concubine would once again greet me in her usual manner. She’d wear jewelry around her neck that sparkled in the candlelight, a smile that was infectious, and nothing else. She would be fully displayed for me, ready and waiting for my attention. However, on that evening, she wasn’t even laying on the bed. She stood beside the bed covered in her normal robes with someone else. She looked at me with a frightened glance and went to me, grabbing my wrists.
“My lord. Master, please.” She said in a pitiful voice with her eyes large and full of concern. “I have no idea how she got in here. I tried to make her leave.”
I looked up at the woman next to my bed. She was dressed in a thick purple coat. She turned to me and pulled her head back revealing a very familiar face. Cora. I hadn’t seen her in ages and knew that this visit was far more important than I had realized. I looked at my concubine and patted her shoulder.
“Fret not. I will summon you later. Go.”
She took one look at Cora and nodded, quietly moving out of my tent while I continued to keep my gaze on her. I smirked and walked over to a bottle of wine. One of the many luxuries I acquired when we started farming the fruits of the forest. I procured two clay cups and poured ourselves a drink. She had caught me in a vulnerable state. I had no armor on. Only my loincloth gave any protection, and that was simply for my modesty. I took the cups and offered her one. She smiled, her red ruby lips curled as she took a sip.
“I apologize for the wine. It's not aged to perfection yet, but it gets the job done.” I smiled and nodded to her. I raised my drink and then took a sip.
Cora let out a slight laugh before lowering her cup.
“My my. I didn’t mean to disturb you in such a way. Do you wish for me to come back after you’re done?”
I chuckled. “Oh no, no. Please, stay. I prefer having all of my business sorted before I indulge.”
“And here I thought that when you went to Enkoro you were disgusted with all the debauchery going on, yet here you are partaking in a little of your own~.”
“That's different.” I argued before sipping more of my wine. “I’m not out in the streets while I’m doing it; I don’t wallow in a disoriented mound of flesh, and I surely don’t partake in anything in the likes that the citizens were doing.”
She nodded and sighed, taking another small sip of wine into her lips.
“I agree. It's detestable over there. Why do you think I seek to leave it so often? Though the way you reacted, I figured all lustful acts were too much for you.”
I set my cup aside on a nearby table and then walked around the room to stretch my legs. I took hold of a crude wooden figurine I had carved of a soldier. It wasn’t done yet. The intent was to make something for the map when I launched a full campaign.
“Not at all. In fact, it can be most enjoyable. And it serves a higher purpose.”
“A higher purpose?~” She cocked her eyebrow and gave a slight smirk. “Well I do suppose morale is a factor that needs to be addressed.”
“Oh it's far more important than just morale.” I said as I quickly turned to her, raising a contrary finger up. “It’s about securing the legacy of this new kingdom I’m forging.”
She looked at me with a puzzled look. She crossed her arms and remained silent, expecting me to continue my train of thought.
“I need a uniformed army. One that will be groomed to be the finest warriors the Blasted Lands has ever seen. At an early age they will be brought up to be intelligent and fierce. I will take the lessons I learned from Roharam, and improve upon that foundation.”
She paced around and nodded. She approached my armor stand and admired the armor that was crafted for me. It was an ornate armor made of bronze that was anatomically correct. It featured abs as well as serpentine carvings on the pectorals, combining into a large serpent on the chest. Her fingers traced the contours of my armor.
“So you are planning on breeding your army. That's one way to get new recruits. Shame it would take several years for you to get this army though.” She smiled, having pointed out that small flaw in my design.
I turned around and raised two fingers in the air before I gave her my counter argument. “You haven’t seen my full force yet, my dear. But you’re right. It will take time. But they will be loyal to me. What does it matter if it takes twenty years for an army to come. When it does, they will be loyal to me. To them, Hadrianopolis will be their father.”
Cora chuckled at the mention of the name. “Hadrianopolis? City of Hadrian. Makes sense I suppose.”
“Why shouldn’t it?” I questioned her, crossing my arms behind my back and walking up to her as I gave her an inquisitive glance. “I liberated this village from the Bull and his ilk. I uplifted them from straw huts and gave them homes of stone. Before I die, I will make this not a city of wood or stone, but of marble. That is what I have envisioned for this place, and so it shall be.”
“As ever, you prove to be ambitious and forward thinking. Yet I notice that you’re including yourself as far as concubines and breeding goes. What of the child you give her? Afterall…” She reached forward to touch my body in the same way that she touched my armor. “You strike me as a man who loves his work so much, he tends to get lost in it. It should be something you’ve considered, no?”
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
I stood still and smiled plainly at her, crossing my arms as she touched me. “Does the child have to know that I’m the father? At least with this first generation, their father will be Hadrianopolis and its people. The contrary would be irrelevant.
“I see.” She gently removed her hand from me and then took a glance at my blade. Its reflection was captured in her violet eyes.
I watched her intently before I stood next to her, taking the sword in my hand so I could admire it and give her a closer look.
“Yet you’re not here to talk about sex.”
“If I did…we wouldn’t be talking.” She smiled as he gave me her retort and a sly wink in her eye before she turned to face me. I smiled and put the sword back.
“Then to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”
“I thought it would be in both of our best interests to inform you about what Lak’Ashara is up to. That, and I have a special gift for you.”
“A gift?” I repeated and smiled at her, truly surprised. “Color me intrigued. What exactly is this gift?”
“First, Lak’Ashara. She’s planning something. I don’t know what exactly, and that’s the problem. She usually tells me everything, but the fact that there's something she’s hiding has me concerned.”
Puzzled, I stroked my beard lightly and crossed my arms. “Do you have any theories?”
“I had my friend Gravith try to discover the truth, but he found nothing.”
“Well what can I do? I can’t exactly help without knowing anything.”
“I don't think there's anything you can do.” She corrected me. “It just alarms me that there are things she is keeping quiet from me. I know only so much.”
As Cora began to tell me what she knew, I had a strange sense that someone was listening in to the conversation. I pressed my finger against my lip and then looked around. I listened closely to the thin fabric walls of the tend and tried to discern any noise. I was cautious. I had no idea the true depths of Lak’Ashara’s power. Did she have powers of observation where she could see and hear everything we were saying? Was there a spy here? I pressed my hand against the cloth to try to feel something. A body perhaps? There was nothing. As far as I knew, we were safe.
I waited for a moment longer before I gestured to Cora and let her speak.
“Right. Well, I know that she’s throwing some sort of gathering before the year is out. She does so every year, but this time it's different. This one is a far grander spectacle than before. Usually it's her inner circle including myself, but more of her followers are coming.”
I had a question in my gut, but I dreaded asking it. I, however, had no choice. “What usually happens in these gatherings?”
“I’ll spare you some of the more lurid details. Usually there's an orgy, ritual chanting and then a sacrifice. I think that since this one is somehow special, this upcoming meeting will feature a mass sacrifice. I figured you would be interested.”
I crossed my arms for a moment as my eyes lingered on her. I stroked my chin before I turned around so I could sit comfortably down on the bed.
“You’re afraid of what Lak’Ashara needs with all these sacrifices. Ys’Tar is a very demanding goddess I see. What do you suppose she wishes to buy for such a heavy price?”
“I don’t know, but ever since the start of this year, she has become more and more…difficult. Unpredictable even. I fear what she has planned. It’s within both of our best interests that we should do something about it.”
“Indeed. We should.” I crossed my arms again. I felt thirsty so I reached for my cup of wine on the nearby table without having to get up and took a few more sips. “We can work on the details of it as it develops. If there is weight to your concerns, then it's indeed within our best interest to rectify them.”
She nodded and gave a slight bow before she walked over to the pitcher of wine to refill her cup with a small sum. “Thank you. Lak’Ashara underestimates you. She thinks you’re nothing more than a dumb brute. But you have everything so calculated, don’t you?”
I raised my cup in the air at the compliment. I take a final sip before I sit the empty cup on the table. “Now then, what of this gift you spoke about?”
“Oh yes, that. It’s not here yet, but when you see it, you’ll know.” She smiled and set her cup aside and turned to face me once more.
“How?” I asked and stood up from the bed to watch her approach me.
She raised her hand in front of me to show me her ring. “With this. Take a careful look. It’s the violet lotus. I’ve left this mark on your gift. When you see it, you’ll know. Now…I’m afraid I can’t stay here forever. Lak’Ashara will wonder where I am. Care to see me off?”
I nodded. I took a moment to put on my tunic and I followed her out, passed the tent and through the main gates. To my complete lack of surprise, even the guards didn’t remember seeing her enter. Everyone watched her move about as if she had just appeared out of thin air like a specter. I could sense that she took a little pride in that ability as she waved at everyone and gave them a coy little smile. The only sense of surprise I saw in her was when she noticed the Ophidians. The look in her eyes told me plainly that she had never seen their ilk before. Perhaps that was for the best. Once we were outside the walls, Cora turned to face me.
“Well Hadrian, it was nice catching up with you again. I look forward to our next visit. Oh and remember: I’d be very careful with a woman’s heart if I were you. Even concubines have feelings.”
She snapped her fingers. One moment later a large form picked her up and grabbed her before I could do anything. I watched as she was carried off by a large bird, laughing all the way as she vanished into the night. Magic was a strange thing that I didn’t want to deal with. Was the bird some kind of magic construct or did she summon it from some place? That was more of Cao Tzu’s domain.
***
It was a couple of weeks after my encounter with Cora that I found myself hunting. I and a few of my guards had spears as he prepared to hunt some large animals to feed everyone back home. We laid bait on the ground and hid, ready to throw our spears at any moment. We attracted some boar-like creature that waddled its way to the bait. It oinked and trotted around in search of a meal. I had to be very careful. On the boar’s back were sharp quills that resembled a porcupine’s though not as dense.
As it ate, I slowly raised my spear, aiming for the beast’s side. If I could have had the perfect swing I would have struck its heart and it would have been dead before it hit the ground. Yet as I prepared to launch the spear, we suddenly heard yelling. The boar, and thus dinner ran off. Angered, I and my guards ventured towards the noise. Eventually, we found the source of the noise as the yelling grew louder. From a distance we couldn’t figure out what it was, but as we approached it sounded like a fight. Peeking behind some trees we saw the carnage in front of us.
Several tribal bodies were scattered on the forest floor. I didn’t recognize the armor. It had been from a tribe I had not yet encountered. Their weapons were distinct. Rather than use metal, these warriors used obsidian glass. Frightfully sharp and deadly. Several corpses had been slashed with what looked like their own weapons. The gore was palpable in that area.
Standing in the middle of that fierce battle was a woman clad in armor that I recognized only too well. Her helmet was nowhere to be seen and her face had been bruised and slashed. Her skin was lightly tanned and her short black hair was exposed, some streams of blood trickling down her temple. Her right arm dangled uselessly by her side, broken and limp with many cuts that were like crimson mouths gaping wide and dumb. Her leg was bleeding and had clear signs of having recently been shot with arrows. Her left arm clearly wasn’t her dominant one, yet it gripped onto the head of an obsidian spear tightly like a dagger.
Her chest armor was anatomically correct, though there were no decorations on it. Her battle skirt and leather straps that dangled downward were damaged. Her sandals were caked in a mixture of her blood and the blood of her enemy. Instantly I recognized her for what she was. She was a Roharam woman. It was no wonder she lasted that long. Against her were the three remaining men out of that group. In total, I’d say she fought at least fifteen men. She panted loudly as she clenched her teeth. It was like she was a wild animal that simply refused to die. The anger on her face was striking. She bore her fangs like an angry wolf, ready to strike at her attackers.
The most striking thing I saw about her were her eyes. The brightest shade of sky blue I had ever seen. Her pupils were constricted, full of rage as she panted loudly. Before I could react, one of her attackers charged her with a weapon made of wood and shards of obsidian. She ducked out of the way and rammed the spear up his jaw and kicked him away. Another attacker tackled her, pinning her against a tree she had been using to support her body. Before he could strike, she kicked her legs up and wrapped them around the man tightly before she let out a growl and bit into the man’s neck, ripping flesh off and causing his neck to spray like a geyser.
He tried to kick her off, but she was on him like a leech, using every part of her body like a weapon. The last man standing yelled and charged at her, trying to slash at the woman. She noticed and rolled, moving her legs out of the way so her attacker only slashed his comrade. She kicked the body aside and leapt onto the last man, using her spear head to repeatedly stab him in the nape of the neck. She growled loudly as she was full of rage.
After she made sure that he was dead, She stood up. She planted her back against the tree and breathed heavily. She closed her eyes and tilted her head upward as the rush of adrenalin was wearing off. Yet it wasn’t over yet. The man who had been stabbed in the jaw tried to sneak up on her and strike her when she wasn’t looking. She heard a yell and turned to face her attacker, ready to finish the job, yet she paused in shock. Her attacker did yell, but not from attacking her. He yelled because my sword had just been run through his back and popped out of his chest. He fell to his knees. I pulled my sword out and with one swift stroke, and I lopped his head off.
His head rolled on the mound of corpses until it hit the dirt. The woman saw me and my armor. We looked at each other and both felt a kinship. For once, two children of Roharim had finally met in the Blasted Lands after much hardship. We stared at each other. It was then that I noticed something on the ground. It was her helmet. It was made in the style of Roharim, but not of origin. Her armor was custom, and upon the woman’s helmet I found the unmistakable mark of a violet lotus. Cora’s gift was at last revealed to me.
“Did Cora send you?” I asked her as I cleaned my blade and seethed my sword.
She looked at me very weakly and nodded. “Hadrian…” All of the fight then left her body as she collapsed. I turned to my guards and glared.
“Carry her on your shields. Now!”
Quickly they stammered to pick her up and carry her up on a palate made by their shields. She had little time and had lost so much blood. I refused to let her die. I swore to Ile’Sethak and all the gods that I would not let one of my kinsmen die that day.