The gathering place was surprisingly spacious for a wine cellar. Surprisingly well-lit too, Ma’li remarked as he could see all the way to the small wooden door at the back from his makeshift podium.
Or was he perhaps so used to the misery from this past deca-rotation that he had failed to step back and truly appreciate how his little initiative had taken flight of late? There were about a hundred chairs placed in front of him for men to gather and listen to him speak about the rights they should be able to enjoy in a just society. It wasn’t that long ago that he could barely muster the courage to voice his radical ideas even in front of his more accommodating brothers back on the Isle of Shamans - Tib’tai. And here he was now - about to welcome a hundred more Alaian males into his fold. Well, into Big Brother’s fold, he should say.
Never in a thousand rotations could he have imagined his life would turn out this way. Back home in Floveria, amidst the vibrant lakes and rivers of the North-Western Water twin he had wished for nothing more than to be the perfect male product of Alaian society - an obedient, pretty little piece of home decor for whichever woman his mother chose to sell him off to.
Then that woman happened… What a fool he was to have fallen so easily into her arms! He had given her his chastity, the one thing that made him valuable to his impoverished aristocratic family, and all for what? A few brief orgasms while she was using his mother’s estate to hide from the authorities? That lustful criminal! Perhaps it was true what they said about young boys falling for bad girls?
Ah, but he shouldn’t be bitter, Ma’li reminded himself with a shake of the head. To a degree, he reckoned he might even be grateful to that storm of a woman who had blown his former life apart. Were it not for her transgression, he never would’ve had his eyes opened to the true suffering of his kind - mankind - on this planet.
He took a look around and noticed the men starting to file in through the cellar’s narrow entrance. They were nervous, that much he could tell, most of them had probably never set foot out this late at night without their wives’ or guardians’ permission or company. Yet here they were and Ma’li was proud of each and every one of them.
The shaman turned to the old clock above the makeshift podium. They should be starting soon. Where was that sly old Storm fox anyway? He should’ve been here by now. Though, Ma’li reminded himself with a sigh, it was a common trait amongst the children of Wind to be tardy, even when those children happened to be male.
He was just about to head to the entrance himself to check on his guest of honor, when the small wooden door creaked open once more. Three East-Wind men filed in, eliciting gasps of awe and agitated whispers from the audience. The newcomers looked weary from travel and, judging by the dust on their shoes and heavy cloaks, they hadn’t had the time to freshen up since their arrival to Arash’sen. Yet despite all this, their exotic beauty shone through enough to take your breath away whether you were female or male.
The tallest man seated the younger two in the front row and stepped onto the podium, giving the Head Shaman there a curt nod.
“You’re late, Master Lee”, Ma’li whispered as he nodded to the newcomer in turn.
“I told you not to call me that… Reverend Brother”, the man replied tersely, adding the honorific almost as an afterthought. “I’m here, aren’t I?”
Ma’li eyed the East-Wind man from head to toe. Was it the lighting or did Lee’s face appear paler than usual? Well, whatever troubles he had faced coming here, he was safe now and that was most important.
“We’ll discuss your lacking attitude later, we can’t afford to waste more of our brothers’ time this late at night.” The Head shaman hissed, as he saw the last few guests arrive. “I trust you know what to do?”
By the looks of him, the Storm fox had prepared a snarky comeback, but had enough tact to bite it back and just nodded instead. Good, Ma’li drew in a deep breath and stepped forward, allowing the yellowish lights hanging from the ceiling to wash over him fully:
“Welcome, brothers! I am truly grateful and proud to see so many new faces despite the late hour of this gathering!” He had amplified his voice with the shamanic Craft just enough so it echoed a bit, grabbing every male’s attention in the room and centering it on himself. “Please do not be concerned - your satcomms and other electronics will be returned as soon as we’re done. This is a precaution as much for my own protection, as it is for yours.”
A wave of whispers rose through the small crowd for a minute and died down again. The faces of the men he could see before him were taut, but firm in their determination to stay and hear him out. He let the smile twisting his dried lips widen, as he spoke again:
“And we all need protection, don’t we, brothers? For we are gathered here today to discuss a grave injustice… Perhaps the biggest injustice in our otherwise great society.” Big Brother paused to bask in the understanding, shining in the men’s eyes. “Even here, in the so-called Free Alliance, are we free, brothers? Or is it the case that the laws are written to remain on the higher-ups datachips so they can pat themselves on the back and win elections?”
He paced around the small podium, trying to look at as many eyes in the audience as he could catch, but also, because it added a sense of urgency to his words.
“Tell me, brothers, are we free? Yeah, our benevolent Ruling over sea and her wise Senate voted into law the Act Against Marital Rape last rotation. How progressive of them!” A few brief, almost shy chuckles erupted from the men before him and he let out a brief bark of a laugh himself. “Does it mean our wives and lovers have stopped taking advantage of us in the night? Or are we still weary accepting a drink from a female for fear it might contain aphrodisiacs or some other substance, designed to make us submit to their desires?” Ma’li stopped just for a second, to catch his breath and racing thoughts. “No, brothers, I stand before you today to tell you that women cannot solve our problems for us! You can’t ask the wolf in the forest to create justice for the small vermin she preys upon, can you? Surface level solutions - that’s all they can give us! For women have never had to face the humiliation we are subjected to every waking moment of every day! They have no idea what it means to have your body constantly judged, evaluated, your demeanor constantly policed - how you sit, how you move, if you smile, Goddess-dammit!”
“Don’t tell us to smile!” A man at the back stood up and started to chant, as he clapped. Soon, the whole audience was up, stomping their feet, clapping and amplifying the chant.
“I hear you, brothers!” The Head Shaman raised a hand to direct the agitated men’s attention back to himself. “The Matriarchy wants us to smile, wants us to stay quiet and look pretty while women take their fill of this life. That is the grave injustice we are gathered here today to discuss! And I am here to tell you that we can rise up! We can make them listen and we can make a better world for ourselves and our sons!”
Ma’li was feeling the buzz of his own blood rushing through his skull, echoing the exaltation of the men around him, but he made an effort to push it down. Instead, he took a step towards Lee who looked like a bronze statue - unmoving and unmoved this whole time. The shaman placed a hand on the other man’s shoulder.
“But first, we need to learn to speak the Matriarchy’s language. The only language it understands is power.” He gave Lee’s shoulder a light squeeze, before letting go and taking a step back. “This is why I have called our brother from the Eastern Air twin here, for he speaks it quite well.”
The East-Wind man took his cue and closed his expressive dark eyes. For a moment, the whole wine cellar stood still, with bated breath. All of a sudden, torrents of howling wind rushed from the podium, rustling the hair of the first few rows of men. Loud gasps and startled cries erupted from the audience as they all focused on the man, nay, the creature that now stood next to Big Brother. It had its eyes open again, but they were even more terrifying - ice-white, almost sparkling, as if out of this world. The torrents of powerful wind were still there, behind the being’s back, twisting and turning like small hurricanes, or more like fox tails.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
“Demon!” A man screamed and rushed to stand from his chair, toppling it over. The other men, panicked, started screaming in turn. “Abomination! Monster!”
Some of the attendees were already making their way to the wooden door, but before they could reach it, a small tornado rushed past them and materialized into the dreaded creature before their eyes, blocking the exit.
“BROTHERS, PLEASE!” Ma’li screamed over the commotion with the help of his Craft, reaching to the men’s minds in an attempt to calm them. “Please, fear not, come back to your seats. All will be explained.”
A few of the men still looked unconvinced, but Lee just bared his teeth and growled at them. “Smart man”, the shaman allowed himself a half-smile as he saw his audience move back to their chairs. Only then did the Storm fox move to get back to the podium in less time than it took everyone to gather their erratic breath.
“Brothers, I understand your shock and I apologize for rattling your nerves without warning.” Ma’li said and placed his hand on Lee’s shoulder once more. “But I urge you - reconsider. Take a good look at this man. “ They did and it helped greatly that his tails had dissipated behind him and his eyes were back to their soothing dark brown. “He is no monster! Not a demon, nor an abomination, as you’ve been falsely taught to believe! He’s our brother, he’s a husband and a father. His only crime, brothers, is that he is a man with power in a world that wants us to believe that only women should have any!”
“But, he’s a Tailwind!” Another heckler from the back chimed in.
“Aye, that he is…” Big Brother nodded, but didn’t remove his hand from the other’s shoulder. “And what is a Tailwind if not a male windstorm, I ask you? You see he is completely sane and in control of his abilities. Where is this illness we all hear about whenever Gifted males are discussed? Does he look unstable to any of you?”
***********************************************************
Shankh detested spywork. For her this was something that even old men could do - sit around in the ground vehicle, waiting for something to happen. It was passive and it seemed almost surreal for her to be in this position. But the thought of the mission they were on kept her going. Should they succeed, it would raise them to the status of national heroes faster than any open battle ever could.
She felt her lips twist in a tight, smug smile. She was on the damned twin-continents for half a stellar rotation already and if before she felt a slight distaste for this pseudo-culture, which seemed to defy all traditional values of Alaiah, now, when she had lived amongst these women, seen how they’ve lost all sense of honor and decency, hatred for them was burning her up inside like the undying flame of her countrywomen in the North. There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that they should not be allowed to continue their pitiful existence. To her, even the genetic plague which was tormenting them for a while now and surely was caused by the wrath of the Goddess herself, was a small price to pay for their transgressions.
Thinking this way made it all more bearable - the fake name, the fake job and the even faker smile which was almost permanently plastered on her face since she arrived. All of it was for a reason, what’s more - it was absolutely necessary and much as she didn’t want to admit it - she now understood perfectly why it had to be like this.
They had arrived little more than six full rotations of the Air moon ago. There were only five of them, but of course, a larger party would surely be harder to keep hidden. And hidden was after all the key word here. Their orders were to blend in, to observe, without being observed in turn and to report their findings regularly. However, knowing her superiors, Shankh was certain that their intent was not nearly as peaceful as a mere intelligence gathering exercise. Especially with regard to the fact that very soon, the Fire Empress was due to officially announce the engagement of her only son to Her Majesty princess Fekh.
The Earth nation had prayed for a long time that the Goddess grant them such an opportunity. For the path to the throne of Magmalia would be but the first step. The first step toward restoring Alaiah to her full glory and brilliance. The Air-Water Alliance had proven long ago a failed socio-political experiment. Women here had lost their honour, doubtless seduced by the demonic charms of their men who were walking around with shamelessly loose hair and more often than not less than appropriately dressed, free to saw confusion and distraction into the souls of the stronger sex.
Alaiah’s commandments were clear - women were created to be the protectors and supporters of the weaker males, ladies of the family, true matriarchs, gifted by the Goddess with the power and abilities, necessary to maintain discipline and order both at home and in society as a whole. And of course, any community which denied these natural, basic truths, was headed for its inevitable doom. And the main goal of their little party of five was to act as a catalyst for the utter annihilation of the absurd awian fantasy for “gender equality”.
They were proud of their mission and prayed each afternoon for the Goddess to give them an opportunity to set their plans in motion sooner. According to Shankh, if the Fire Empress had half a brain, she should have ordered her troops to demolish this grotesque attempt at a country long ago, and she should have started with the center of their psychosis - this stain on the face of their beautiful planet, called Syfis. But of course, Tyrannis Pyre was not one of the faithful. Although she had managed to keep to a great extent the traditions of classical alaianism (or at least what passed for alaianism amongst the other three peoples on the planet), she wasn’t exactly immune to blasphemy. For instance, she too held the absurd belief in this supposed “thunder child” or “lightning kid” which was supposed to come forth in times of crisis and would wield power over the only force of nature which the Goddess had denied to gift even the Earth nation with. And doubtless, earth deserved it the most.
In their sacred book there was no Lightning child. There was however a very precise description of what would happen to any woman, who would choose to disregard the Holy law - “And said Alaiah unto Makh and her voice did make the mountains and forests and plains and valleys to tremble: for whichever of my daughters should stray from My Path, and should dishonour My Will, may My Gift be enxtinguished from her blood and her fate be to wander this earth weak and powerless, as the man who first incurred My wrath.”
“Shankh, do you see that?”, Zeb’s voice suddenly shook her out of her reverie.
She narrowed her eyes at the mobile terminal her colleague had turned toward her. It took her less than a minute to realize what the other woman had meant. Syfis might be a wretched place in all sense of the word, but at least technologically, they were rather advanced. Practically every corner was being recorded by at least a few security cameras, which kept track of everything their mechanicals eyes could capture. And they said that Magmalia, and more specifically the Autonomous Province of Earth was too tyrannical and disrespectful of the private lives of its citizens.
This current recording had been made on one of the three glider landing pads in the capitol of AWA. Most of them had mysteriously shut down a few hours ago, but thanks to the valiant efforts of Zeb, who had managed to somehow sneak past the security override of one of them, they could currently use it to see what was going on on one of the main departure pads. Shankh and the others liked to mock Zeb for spending too much time in front of a monitor and to tease her that if she spent the same amount of time with boys, she would have at least three husbands already. Right now, however, only the years of military discipline stopped the older woman from pulling her colleague into a tight embrace for having such a talent with machines.
Shankh reached over and stopped the recording. On the screen, three women could be seen, frozen still in the frame - two taller ones and one smaller, younger girl, all three dressed in simple work outfits. The camera had caught them climbing the mobile stairwell leading up to the belly of one of the smaller gliders on the pad. A weird and unpleasant sensation nested itself in her stomach.
“Could you remove some of the noise and zoom in on their faces a bit?”, Shankh asked, returning the terminal to her colleague.
Zeb simply nodded and for a moment nothing but the clicking of her fingers on the keyboard could be heard. When she turned the monitor to her commander again, the older woman leaned forward and the nasty feeling she had before got confirmed. The lieutenant had even run the women’s faces through the recognition software and her search had come up blank only for the youngest one. The other two however...
“By Alaiah’s name!”, Shankh exclaimed.
No, there was no doubt about it - the software had recognised them alright. So apparently the question wasn’t whether she was wrong or not. The question was rather what exactly was the Ruling over sea doing with one of the most wanted criminal of the past ten years. And even more curious - where by the demons of Kriya were they going?
She needed to find out as soon as possible.
“Call the others”, Shankh barked the order perhaps a bit too aggressively, because Zeb jumped slightly in her seat. “And send forth a cryptogram to HQ with the ID of this glider.”
“Y-yes, ma’am!”, the lieutenant stammers slightly and her fingers started dancing on the keyboard again.
The Ruling over sea… and the woman, whose little terrorist band of hackers had nearly managed to destroy the world order… Whatever had brought these two together, couldn’t bode well for the Earth nation.
But she would find out. At least now they wouldn’t have to simply sit around and wait for something to happen. For that something already had.