Now, I’m going to be doing something a little different here. This is a personal account not from me as what has been the case, but from Cora. The events in question were during my exploits in the jungles. I’ll try my best to ensure that the story is as accurate as possible.

The account begins in Enkaro,the city of pleasure —and I use that word very lightly— during one of the blasted land’s more particular beautiful days. Lak’Ashara was doing one of her more “modest” activities. She laid on her side on a “lounge chair” in front of a pool. She wore her most opulent clothes that were silk and colored a beautiful sapphire blue with golden trimmings. Her midriff was exposed and the wrappings did very little to hide her cleavage. Rather than wear her usual jewelry and her golden mask, she was relaxing that day. She had a bowl that was filled to the brim with large white pearls. They were the size of grapes freshly picked from the vine. She examined the pearl with her dainty fingers.

In one slow and sensual moment she placed the pearl in her mouth and then smiled before spitting it out again. She held it up in front of the women who sat down kneeling before her. Between the women and Lak’Ashara was a pool that was filled with a mixture of milk and honey. Like lap dogs the women waited for their master’s next movement. With one quick flick of her wrist, she threw the pearl into the pool and the women scrambled to get it. It was some sort of hedonistic, decadent game that Lak’Ashara liked to play with her subjects. Whoever got the pearl first would keep it. The women fought hard, pushing and shoving each other to try to feel around and find it. Lak’Ashara derived such pleasure from it that she could have done it all day, forcing scantily clad women to play for her. Meanwhile the men were also in diminished and humiliating positions. That lounge chair mentioned earlier? That was no wood and fabric, but flesh and bone. Two men —two slaves— were forced to lay in awkward positions and be her living furniture.

All they had to wear were the slave collars around their necks and the loin cloths that hid their shame. Their bodies oiled and glistened in the sunlight to suit Lak’Ashara’s desire. Each man was well toned, forced to be in physical perfection and built up like a racehorse. She especially loved to dehydrate them so that their muscles appear more defined and pronounced. All of it was meant to satisfy Lak’Ashara’s perverse pleasure. She used it to force her dominance on all subjects. They were nothing to her but playthings that could be used and would inevitably break.

One of the women hopped out of the pool of milk and honey and presented the pearl to Lak’Ashara. The queen inspected it and then smiled.

“Very good, little one. Very good. It's yours.”

The woman smiled and ran out of the pool, placed the pearl in her bag and then ran back into the pool. Lak’Ashara then presented two pearls and threw them in to begin the game all over again.

Cora entered the chambers and bowed her head while the women in the pool splashed around.

“You summoned me, mistress?” She gave Lak’Ashara a low bow as a sign of respect.

Lak’Ashara turned to face Cora as she held a pearl between her index finger and thumb, casually playing with it by rolling it on her fingers. She giggled to herself before her bright sapphire eyes looked up at Cora and the corners of her lips curled into a smile.

“Indeed I did, Cora. I wanted to get your opinion on something. You see, I’ve been troubled by something.”

“What is wrong, your grace? Anything I can do to help?”

Lak’Ashara bent forward and moved her hair out of the way of her shoulders. A silent command for Cora, as powerful as a sorceress as she was, to lend her fingers to more physical work, massaging her shoulders. Cora obliged and began to rub Lak’Ashara’s shoulders, massaging them to the best of her abilities. The queen leaned into Cora’s fingers as she closed her eyes and relaxed.

“You see…I was relaxing the other day under the sun when word came to me that you had ventured to see Hadrian.”

Cora stopped and stepped back. Many thoughts raced through her mind. Cora had always been so careful when doing her own business.

“You’ve been spying on me…”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

“Spying is such a harsh and ugly word, Cora~.”

Lak’Ashara said as she stood up from her human chair and patted the men on their backs.

“That's enough, boys. Go wander off to some place. Mommy needs to talk to aunty Cora.”

She smiled before taking the bowel of pearls and dumped them all into the pool, letting the girls fight among themselves over the many riches. She walked over to Cora and placed her hands together. “You don’t have to be so surprised. I find him interesting too. His actions with the wastrels entertains me. And yet, what I don’t understand is why you wouldn’t tell me.”

“I don’t need to tell you everything all the time, Ashara.” Cora said as she raised her head up, feeling Lak’Ashara’s fingers on her body.

Lak’Ashara went behind Cora and started to massage her shoulders this time, gently chuckling as she leaned in just a bit closer.

“True. True. I watch him, you watch him, we all enjoy playing our little games, but I know that you’ve actually helped him. You did far more than simply observe, darling. You’ve dipped your finger in the pie and thought I wouldn’t notice.”

As she massaged her, Cora could see the girls in the pool of milk and honey become more violent as they were greedily grabbing pearls. Those pearls were more than just something they could use to buy and sell. They were a key to their own personal freedom. Each girl was willing to fight tooth and nail for that. Hair was being pulled, punches were thrown, and even several bites happened. That creamy pool of milk and honey soon had a third ingredient; blood, as the white milk slowly turned pinkish red. Cora hissed a bit as she felt something on her shoulder. She looked down and saw that Lak’Ashara’s sharp nail had cut her. She stepped out from Lak’Ashara’s embrace and looked at her.

“Forgive me, my queen. I’ve obviously offended you.”

“Offended me?” Lak’Ashara repeated as she placed the tips of her fingers over her lips. “Oh no. You haven’t my darling Cora. I just want to make sure that we’re still very good friends. Do you remember before we took Enkaro for ourselves? How we both started with nothing but scraps? Do you remember how every day was a struggle to survive? I still remember how everyone looked down at us like we were worth less than the dirt under their nails. Through all of our struggles, you and I made it through everything.”

Cora thought for a moment in quiet contemplation. It was true that they had worked tirelessly to get to that point. Though Cora remembered that Lak’Ashara was once very different compared to the queen she was at that moment.

“I remember, Ashy.” Cora used an old name that she called her in happier times. “Can we move past this now?”

Lak’Ashara stood there for a moment before she gently and subtly bowed her head in acknowledgement.

“Yes. Of course. I didn’t just want to talk to you about our friendship. There is something far more important.”

Cora raised an eyebrow and placed her hands behind her back and stood at attention. At that time the Slave girls had gathered their things. Those that were content with what they had limped out of the room with their pearls and several cuts and bruises. One girl in the pool was not so lucky. During the mad fight for the pearls one of the girls floated on the surface. Someone had drowned her in the chaos and stolen her pearls.

“I’ve had a vision, Cora. A vision from our lady Ys’Tar. I must move quicker. We must move quicker. Enemies rise against us. They spring from everywhere like weeds that seek to choke out our dreams. After everything we struggled for, we simply can’t lose now. Ys’Tar has a plan for us. Ys’Tar shall provide.”

Cora bowed her head. She understood the gravity of the situation. Like me, Lak’Ashara was burdened by her own goddess. All of us however were kept ignorant of Ys’Tar and Lak’Ashara’s motives.

***

Cora would later come to me and explain everything in detail. She thought that I deserved to know the machinations of Lak’Ashara and how she was becoming more and more unhinged by the day.

“She’s never threatened me like that before.” Cora said as we sat together on the ruined rooftop of a long forgotten building, my camp in the distance. “It wasn’t exactly what she said, but how she said it. Her tone of voice was almost accusatory. She made me feel like just talking to you was like stabbing her in the back…”

I leaned back and looked up at the stars that night. They were incredibly beautiful. They sparkled like gems. In Roharim, it was often said that stars were the glittering jewels in the gods' treasure hoard.

“When some people don’t have attention lavished on them, they see it as a personal attack. They’re not very good friends.”

Cora turned to me and sighed deeply, lamenting about what was.

“She wasn’t always like this, you know? Long ago we were just a couple of young girls. I was a thief stealing bread just to survive. I was out on my own in the streets. Lak’Ashara was a slave girl. Bought and sold from distant lands, changing owners as much as the seasons changed and ended up in the Blasted lands to be part of a depraved man’s harem. Her life was hell…and yet we found each other. I sprung her free and we were on the run. Eventually we both became sorceresses. She became a queen and I, her follower.”

She paused for a moment. Her violet eyes tried to scan the past, attempting to locate where it all started to go wrong.

“Then power began to corrupt her I suppose. Ys’Tar became her obsession. And then anything that wasn’t hers, she wanted. Anything.” She reiterated that last word. A sense of loss was as clear as glass in her voice. Lak’Ashara took something from her and still professed to be her friend after the fact. I hesitated to ask before I decided to leave well enough alone.

“I’m glad you’ve come here, Cora. You chose well. Tomorrow is the big day.” I was referring to the impending attack. We had pushed the Broken Wall tribe back to their ruins. When the sun rose, I would take my final steps into unifying the land. A kingdom created by my own hand, and as Ile’Sethak proclaimed, I would face a foe unlike any I’ve ever fought before. I’ll admit, I was nervous.

“So I heard. Hadrian the conqueror marches. I just want you to be careful, Hadrian. Lak’Ashara’s eyes are on you. Don’t be too quick to make enemies.”

Cora then stood up. She walked to the edge of the roof and then spun on her heel. She gave a small wave before she leaned back and fell backwards off of the roof. I rushed over to the edge only to see her be lifted up by the same creature she had used before. It carried her off into the night and left me alone.

I climbed down the roof and made my way towards my tent. I needed to sleep. The next day would demand all of my focus and strength.