The life of a Mygelan, visitor or otherwise, starts early in the morning.
To start at the beginning of The Egg of Immorality, find chapter 1
here
. To start the Thirst for Power series fresh, please look for
Enchanted
. Thank you for reading and please look up my profile page if you have any questions, concerns, or wish to reach out to me.
The sun broke the edge of the world and bathed the trampled dirt agora with light. Bronetta called out her first order. John did his best to follow Calista's lead as she moved in near perfect synchronization with the rest of the inhabitants of Mygela. The exercises flowed without respite, moving from one stretch to a series of movements designed to put different parts of the body under tension. The smooth transition from one to the next reminded John of an elaborate dance or performance. Until he began to run out of breath and found he was sweating excessively.
He struggled to keep up and considered calling on his infernal reserves for reinforcement. He had more than enough, but he held back. His encounter with the Archon last night had been... odd. He'd been exhausted afterwards an unable to think on it then. Waking up early had been unwelcome too. Thankfully, seeing all of these fit women pushing themselves through exercises wearing only loin cloths roused him.
John hadn't established a connection with Calista. Unlike every woman he'd ever seduced since being reborn in Beytrixxa's service she remained a mystery. His magic could affect her, but he couldn't infect her. He couldn't get past the shell of her body into her soul, no matter how aroused and welcoming she'd been. Something was protecting her... was she a wizard too? Or was she like him?
John called on his magic then and shifted his perception of the world around him. He fell behind the routine and heard a few whispered snickers around him. He ignored them and focused on Calista. Not on how the sweat made her skin glisten in the morning sun or how her full breasts swayed and jiggled with each exercise. He looked past the flexing and relaxing of her thighs, hips, and butt that the simple loin cloth failed to cover. He made his eyes lose focus on her, as a person of great beauty and substance, and instead studied the energies within and around her. How her aura interacted with her and with the world around her.
"You made it further than most for your first time," Calista said, startling him out of his research.
John pulled his focus back. There was something there, some power that was merged with her, but it was not hers. He wasn't quite sure what sort of magic it was due to how subtle it was. "What? Oh... I... sorry, I was distracted."
"By me?" she asked with a knowing smile.
John chuckled and realized the calisthenics had stopped. "Well, I admit, I'm impressed."
"With me," she asked and then made a sweeping hand gesture, "or with all of this?"
"You... and this," he said. He glanced around again to make sure that he was still the only man in the crowd of women and asked, "Are the men standing guard?"
Calista smiled. "Lord John, you are the only man on Mygela."
John's eyes widened. "I... the only one? But... you're all women?"
"We have had men visit before, but they never last," she said.
"What man in his right mind would... would leave a place of such beauty?"
Her lips twisted up in a grin at his hesitation and choice of words. "The type of men we find worthy often find themselves unable to sustain themselves with the responsibilities they are saddled with."
"Oh really? What sort of responsibilities are those?" John asked.
"A full workload as fitting any citizen of Mygela," she said. "As well as fulfilling the special needs many of Mygela's citizens hunger for."
"Oh," John said. "Special needs... I can only imagine."
"You can," she agreed and then winked. "And you did."
John grinned. Without his magic to confirm he had only her words and behavior to reassure him that she'd enjoyed their tryst as much as he had. A commotion amongst the gathered women pulled him out of patting himself on the back and he found they were passing spears and shields through their ranks.
"What is this?" John asked.
"You may step out now," the Archon said. "Please, find a place nearby to watch. We're done warming up, now we drill."
"That was a warm up?" John gasped.
She winked at him again and took the spear and shield offered by the next woman in the formation.
John moved to the edge of the agora and saw the source of the spears and shields that were being distributed. They came from the open buildings around the courtyard. Shields stacked in piles and spears loaded in barrels that were grabbed in bundles and passed down the orderly lines.
"This is amazing," Roxanne said as she jogged over to join him.
Helleen was right behind her. Sadie and Arika approached from his left, with Sadie arriving last. She was red-faced and her hair was plastered to her. She glared at him as she walked up.
"Amazing is one word for it," John agreed.
"They've got quite the society here," Helleen agreed. "All these women and no men though... I'm not sure I could do it."
"I could," Roxanne said. "They really know what they're doing."
