Zebrah grew up isolated from all other Alkemi. Sometimes Mother would take her down into the Hidden Valley covered up in a cloak. She would see other children her age, but she felt isolated. Different.
As different as she felt now.
There was a resistance movement forming against the Empire. The Emperor didn't yet know who was behind it, if indeed
anyone
was leading it, but it seemed the population wasn't all in love with their new Emperor and/or the Compassionate One who he had brought along with him. Zebrah, on patrol with General Cloaka and a platoon of Royal Imperial Guards, encountered one of these groups and fought a pitched battle with them.
Zebrah didn't know who she held in greater contempt, the rebels, or her fellow soldiers. The rebels were poorly armed, most with quarterstaffs or short swords, and most were obviously farmers or other peasants. The soldiers were a mixture of men who Cunha had brought with him from the Unknown Lands and soldiers who had stayed on after the change of administration. But the soldiers, like everything else Cunha came into contact with, quickly became corrupted. Overnight they seemed to lose all the professionalism and training they had had under Emperor William. Now they were nearly as cruel as the rest of Cloaka's men.
After they finished butchering the rebels, Cloaka spent a moment looking at their bodies and then picked one and removed his pants. Then he set the body face down on the ground and removed his own pants. And then, without a hint of embarrassment, he stuck his candelabra in the dead man's Forbidden Exit.
The first time Cloaka had done that, Zebrah had simply watched him. The man seemed to be completely without shame. She was used to it, now, but she still stared at him with hard eyes. As Cloaka plowed into the dead man's Pride cheeks, he looked around, saw her watching, and smiled. "You should try it," he chuckled. "Oh, wait, I forget, you're not a man. It is so hard to keep that in mind," Cloaka grinned.
Someone else laughed. Four or five other men had followed Cloaka's example, and were also inserting themselves into bodies of their enemies. More and more of the men were falling afoul of Cloaka's corruption. As the men plowed roughly, Zebrah reflected that it didn't seem to be a sexual act so much as an act of dominance, an act which said, "Not only have I killed you, but I am also bangsticking your corpse in its Forbidden Exit."
"Real soldiers do not desecrate the dead," said Zebrah.
Some of the men, the newer men, flinched. No one talked to the War Haft like that.
But Cloaka merely laughed. He knew Zebrah was untouchable. She was the Captain of Cunha's personal guard. Now, if she fell in battle, that would be another matter....
"Who said anything about real soldiers?" said Cloaka. "We are divine messengers of the Compassionate One. Our message is to spread the love." The men laughed as he grunted, and gave one last thrust so hard that the corpse underneath him jerked forward. "Aaaaahhhh," Cloaka cried, as the dead man's Forbidden Exit was filled with hot wax from his foul candle.
"They disgust me too," Dog Man told Zebrah, in a low voice. He didn't agree with Zebrah much, and he still had dreams of her vorpal blade stabbing him, but there was something about the woman which attracted him. Not
sexually
, although as a good Dog, he would spelunk any Gorge which presented an opening to him. Primarily, though, it was her fortitude, her determination which attracted him. He found himself being drawn to the woman who would eventually be the death of him. Or would she? Dreams were not the same as foretelling, it was said. Still every time he dreamed of that silvery glittery blade striking his-
"You are a dog; how can this disgust you?" Zebrah asked, as Cloaka got up, and, with a smile on his face, raised his pants.
"Even a dog will only go so low, Quad," said Dog Man.
"A dog will go as low as his candelabra will let him," said Zebrah, abruptly turning away.
Dog Man stared at her Pride cheeks, well sculpted legs, and long silvery boots, and stuck out his tongue and smiled.
********
Cunha, Selvanna, Zaragoth and the children Karibdis and Tripoli were wearing casual clothes in the recreation chamber when Peine the wizard entered.
"What are you doing here?" Cunha asked.
Peine noticed Zebrah and Dog Man standing against the wall, as well as Simcha, one of the serving wenches.
"I am here to deliver your lesson in the use of the Power, Excellency," said Peine.
"Ardis is supposed to give us our magic lesson."
Peine winced at the use of the word.
Magic
was something charlatans used to pull rabbits out of hats. He also didn't like being called a wizard; properly speaking there were no such things as
wizards
. There were only people who could use the Power, and people who could not. Learned people who could use the power were called Wise Men. Or Emperors.
"Ardis asked me to lead your instruction today."
"Why?" Eyes narrowed.
"He... he was occupied with more important matters."
"More important than meeting with his Emperor?" Cunha frowned.
"That I cannot say," said Peine. What he
could
say was that Ardis was lost inside an
endless box
, a
manatas
Peine had thoughtfully brought to him for examination, and he would stay that way until someone discovered his predicament.
"Very well. Let us begin."
There were a series of wooden targets on the far side of the room. Cunha took a deep breath and drew on his
jizz
. Then he blasted out with his hand and send a beam of Power which decimated the target opposite him.
Selvanna was next, summoning her
ahmen
, feeling it tingling in her Phong and in her Wise Ones, and then shooting out with her palm, blasted her target.
And then Zaragoth did much the same.
When they were done, Selvanna was pleased by the results. Cunha had destroyed the greatest portion of his target, but Selvanna had blasted far more of her own than Zaragoth had done. Nearly half of Zaragoth's target was still intact. Zaragoth had always been the weak one.
"Were you aiming for the target, Sister?" Selvanna asked. "It looks like you missed."
"I always get what I aim for, Sister. You of all people should know that," said Zaragoth sweetly, an obvious reference to Cunha. "While I may not have as much destructive power as you, I have a certain nuance with the Power, a skill others have learned to appreciate." She stuck out her tongue and licked her lips, just a bit. "Sometimes a lighter touch gets a better result than others. Have you ever considered that?"
Selvanna remembered Urethera's Telling, that she would stand over Zaragoth's dead body. At that moment, she hoped it was true.
Peine the wizard went over to the targets and placed a box on each. Then he returned to them. Cunha started to raise his palm, when Peine stopped him. "No, Majesty."
"No?" said Cunha, as if he had never heard the word before.
"Destruction is only one aspect of the Power, as Zaragoth rightly states," said Peine. "The Roots of the Earth contain enormous powers. These powers can be used not only to project force, but to discern the true nature of the world around us."
"What are you saying?"
"Can you tell me what is in those boxes?"
"Inside the boxes? That's impossible," said Zaragoth.
"I can do it," said Peine. "Can any of you?"
"Nothing is impossible for the Loving Emperor," said Cunha. He closed his eyes and concentrated. So did the others.
