“Quite the mess that beast is making out there, my Lady.” Tareia said, looking out the window of the Demora office within the city council building. “Thankfully the creature is headed down to the river, perhaps it wishes to cool off?”
“Be silent Tareia!” Lady Reina Demora spat watching the horrifying scene play out before her.
Tareia let out a soft chuckle and took a sip from the glass of wine in her hand. A fine white just flown in from the vineyards in the west. It was a good thing too, since many of the city’s merchant ships were currently being blasted out of the sky. The creature had no love for a good glass of wine it seemed.
“What the hell is that thing even doing here!” Lady Demora raved, pounding her firsts against the long glass pane of her office window.
“Hmm, who can say?” Tareia said sarcastically, giggling to herself when Reina turned to sneer at her. They both knew who brought the creature into the city, though neither of them could ever prove it.
“Why by the dark lady above would he summon such a thing into the center of the city!” Reina screamed, once again banging her fists against the window. “This is it! I swear I’ll finally kill him for this!”
Tareia shook her head doubtfully. Her niece was completely taken with her new consort, utterly fascinated with the magical and technological power he brought her, and for good reason! Phraum had made the Demoran rivalry with the Styrians competitive again, he took the family’s magical practice to new heights, and he was so very obedient to his mistress, if a bit catty at times.
He was like a fire, one Reina believed she could wield against her enemies, and on herself from time to time, when she felt the urge take her. But fires liked to burn out of control, and it seemed Phraum had finally done just that, spiraling out in tremendous fashion, taking a quarter of the city with him as he blazed on and on.
“Well at lest those crones on the council won’t know who did this, the blame for this shall fall elsewhere.” Lady Demora said, trying to calm herself. “Perhaps on Inter or one our many enemies. Yes, yes! Our enemies, that’s who we’ll blame.”
“And if our goddess decides to give one of the priestesses or the other princesses some divine guidance on their woes? What then?”
Reina bit her lip, losing herself in her anxieties. “No, that won’t be a problem. That thing is from the void, I remember Phraum talking about such creatures, they are beyond divine intervention.”
“Hmm,” Tareia offered in response. She wasn’t so convinced, but the first Princess’s answer was believable. The Azuran people and their pantheon were based mostly in logic and law, and neither were very proficient in discerning the strange and foreign motivations of the creatures that defied such things at their basic levels.
“Oh look, more Inter ships.” Reina said, the barest hint of hope in her voice.
Shimmering into view came black and red Inter-Planar company warships as they appeared in the sky above Nizesa and began descending on the rampaging beast burning through the city. The hovering galleons approached the flaming feline monster now on the bank of the great river Thon that split the city in two and began firing, pelting the beast with balls of flaming metal and white beams of focused heat. The beast let out a ground shaking, ear splitting roar, and sent pillars of sinister orange flames up at the flying ships.
The nimble human warships danced out of the flames path and continued to pepper the monster with artillery, sending the creature running down the riverbank, destroying any of the buildings in its path. More Inter ships appeared, marked by the signature shimmering grey clouds left in the wake of their plane-jumps and joined the assault on the now fleeing monster.
“Look, those are...” Tareia began before she was blinded by a brilliant blue light erupting from the bottom of a few of the newly arrived warships.
The light’s intensity died down, and Tareia was able to see four of the flying ships shower the flaming beast in lines of hot blue light. The orange flames that covered the monster’s body began to wither, shrinking from a roaring blaze into smoking, sputtering flames. The beast turned its flower-like head up to the ships and let loose a few more columns of orange flames, but it was to no avail. The ships were moving too quickly, and the monster’s flames were dying down now, the feline abomination had no chance. It continued to flee, its flames now gone, leaving it looking more like a moving statue than a force of nature. The beams found the creature again and it let out a low bass groan, collapsing as its legs gave out from under it over the roof of a warehouse building. The Inter ships had subdued the beast.
“This will not be cheap.” Tareia said, watching the Inter-Planar warships fly down near the fallen form of the now dormant creature.
“We’ll see what their representative will have to say here shortly.” Reina said, now moving to her desk. “Lady Styria is sure to call a meeting now that the creature is subdued. With any luck, those Inter dogs will demand that creature as payment for their services and we can be rid of the thing, making implicating our family in this debacle all the more difficult.”
More importantly, Tareia thought, was figuring out why Phraum had summoned the creature into the city in the first place. Though Reina was worried about the Demora family being implicated in the disaster, and rightly so since they were technically responsible, it would almost certainly be impossible to prove they had any involvement in the thing’s summoning. Sure, the council would launch an inquiry that would send the city guard into each of the mage towers, but the wizards of the hand, bolstered by their powerful families would likely prove uncooperative to anyone infringing upon their freedoms. No, trying to find someone to be the actual culprit for the attack would be a fruitless effort for the council, and likely all of the other first Princesses knew it. They’d still pretend like they cared about solving the mystery, and some might actually care, but the person they’d lay the guilty verdict on would be a political decision, based in practicality and self-gain.
“Many people will suffer for this,” Tareia finally said, breaking the silence in the room. Reina nodded, understanding her words.
“We must make sure we are not among them.” The Lady agreed.
An hour later Tareia stood behind Reina at her seat in the council room, part of a circle of thrones that made up the leading council, the ruling power on Ilithir. In the center of the circle of Ladies stood a representative from the Inter-Planar company, a human clad in the strange black suits their pilots wore. Glistening chitinous material hugged the large man’s body, sticking to him like a glove and accentuating his defined musculature. The material fit him so well it made it seem like the armored bits of the suit were also a part of his body, like the exoskeleton of an insect.
Each of the thrones in the council room were raised so that the Ladies could look down on whoever dared to stand before them, but this human was so large he barely had to turn his chin up to regard any of the First Princesses. This clearly unsettled the Ladies, who regarded the strange human with contempt and fear.
“Hello Chief Seo, despite the circumstances its good to see you.” Lady Styria said coolly, breaking the tension building in the chamber. “On behalf of the city, I’d like to thank you and your soldiers for your help in subduing the creature rampaging through the city.” Lady Styria examined the human standing before her for a moment then leaned back in her chair, awaiting the man’s response.
“Yes.” The huge man replied, his face remaining impassive, emotionless.
Lady Styria pulled at the collar of her brilliant shining silver dress and swallowed, unsure if she should be angry or surprised at the man’s response. She settled with the later and simply remained silent, waiting for someone else to negotiate with the strange creature before her.
“Why are you here.” One of the women asked finally. It was Lady Imbaetra, the head of the third most powerful family in the city and the most concerned with trade. She had the most dealings with Inter-Planar amongst the first Princesses and was who the council believed would lead the negotiations.
“We lost a few ships pacifying the chaos spawn. We need compensation.” Seo responded in a monotone voice; his face still devoid of any emotion.
“And why would we compensate you for a task none of us asked you to complete?” Lady Ostra asked pointedly. She was the First Princess of the fourth house, known for its high amount of noble psychics. She herself could read minds, but didn’t dare try her tricks on the human standing before her. The minds of Inter-Planar pilots were treacherous places to get lost in, even for the Lady on the Council.
“Someone on the planet summoned the creature. We know this for certain.” Seo’s face grew serious then and he turned his eyes directly over each of the women in the chamber.
Tareia nearly shuttered when the human’s strange black eyes passed over her, his irises like black holes that wanted to devour every inch of her. A few of the other Ladies in the room shifted uncomfortably in their seats, while others glowered, unappreciative of the accusing glare of the human that stood before them.
“Who? Do you suspect us?” Lady Imbaetra asked.
“I know or I do not know, and in this matter I do not know.” Seo responded. “But I know it was someone on this planet that summoned the chaos spawn, so it is someone on this planet who must compensate the company.”
“Must!” Lady Ostra cried, enraged. “Who are you to tell us what we must do!”
Seo turned to regard the Lady of the fourth family. His emotionless expression met her glower, and the woman balked, leaning back in her chair and shifting her jaw in anger. She understood that Iner-Planar was extremely important to the Ilithirians who lacked any means of traveling to the far reaches of the galaxy or any of the other planes. Her anger and pride would have to be contained, or her family would be destroyed.
“I, nor the company, will force anyone to do anything.” Seo said. “But we will make up for our lost crews and goods. That is simply the way of things.”
The Ladies of the council gave the human a collective nod. Their greatest fear was having to hand over the planet’s precious few warships, so they were glad to simply have to repay the company for damages instead.
“That can easily be arranged.” Lady Demora said, shifting slightly in her seat.
“Perhaps.” Seo replied. Once again he had the council women on edge. “We lost more than a few pilots to the beast. A few nobles will be taken in order to rectify this loss.”
The Ladies muttered amongst themselves, clearly unhappy with Seo’s demands but quickly acquiesced. A few low-ranking princes and princesses were nothing compared to the dozens of warships the company could be demanding.
“When do you want them?” Lady Styria asked.
“Tomorrow. That is when our processors shall be heading back to Ter’an.”
The council women once again began to chatter amongst themselves, until Lady Styria put up her hand, silencing the room. “Tomorrow you will have your flesh and material. I trust this concludes our business?”
Seo nodded and bowed. “Indeed. Have a good day.”
The strange human turned and took a step and was suddenly gone, a small spark of wispy smoke the only sign of his departure.
“Such strange creatures these Inter-Planar pilots.” Lady Azar said after the man had departed, not bothering to hide the disgust in her voice.
“They are powerful creatures and our only means of reaching the rest of the galaxy!” Lady Styria scolded. “We must never lose sight of that; through the Company we exercise the will of the goddess. Our relationship with them is paramount.”
Lady Azar grumbled quietly but didn’t discount the leading Lady’s words.
“The price is steeper than we think,” Lady Imbaetra blurted suddenly, causing all eyes to fall on her. “He may have said nobles, but he most certainly meant heirs. Inter will settle for nothing less than our own daughters. The loss of a pilot is no small thing for the company, and it should illuminate just how pressing the threat of this... ‘chaos spawn’ was.”
“The least of our daughters is still a low price to pay when the other option are warships.” Lady Ostra said boisterously. “So, what if we are out a few young daughters? We could always just make more.”
The council women nodded their heads in approval, all except Reina who placed her chin in her hands and Tareia smiled knowingly. Though Lady Demora had little love for her youngest daughter she was necessary to control Phraum. Without this control, Phraum would become much more unmanageable, and he might lash out against Reina and her other daughters. Sacrificing the older siblings was also out of the question. Even Kara, the youngest after Ashara, held enough sway in the temple and the family’s private army to cause trouble if she were chosen. Though it would truly pain her, Reina would have to give up Phraum’s prized daughter and deal with the consequences.
The council dissolved soon after leaving Reina and Tareia to walk alone back to the Demora office.
“Poor little Ashara.” Tareia whispered into her niece’s ear. Reina tensed up but remained calm. She had to after all, they were in front of the other five ruling families.
Phraum stood outside of his Lady’s quarters, one hand behind his back and the other fiddling with the buttons on his jacket. The Palace was in uproar this evening, hustling about to deal with the fallout of some mage’s catastrophic summoning ritual. A creature of chaos from the abyss, the ruling council had concluded. The conclusion was closer to the mark than Phraum would have liked, but it mattered not. He could not be traced to the creature’s summoning and Sizth had assured him that with the device Ashara had recovered not even Inter would be able to discern who was responsible. Already the living machine was putting the device to use, using it to predict the future and create the engines necessary to enable the Ilithirians to blaze across the stars, like the humans, like the other great Azuran empires.
The mage’s ruminations were interrupted by a muffled “Enter!” from his mistress and he snapped back into reality.
Phraum let out a deep breath to steel himself then gently pushed open the black steel doors to Reina’s quarters. He found his wife sitting on an ornate black and blood red wooden chair near the far end of the room, opposite the massive crimson covered bed he and she often shared. She was glaring at him, chin in hand and hair frayed. She was one of the major leaders on the city’s ruling council and had been up all night and day dealing with the chaos spawn Phraum had sicced upon the city.
“Sit my dear, on the bed.” Reina said, motioning to the silk sheeted bed.
Phraum nodded and headed towards the bed.
“Wait, on second thought come here.” Reina called as her consort got to the front of the bed.
Phraum closed his eyes for a moment, understanding what he was in for, then quickly turned around and faced Reina. She tilted her chin downwards and motioned for him to come closer. Phraum obeyed, stopping only a foot away from his mistress.
“On your knees my love, right here in front of me.” Reina said, her tone even.
Phraum nodded and got down onto both knees, his eyes cast down to the floor. He stayed there for what seemed like an eternity, awaiting Reina to speak or strike, feeling her eyes hot on his body all the while.
“So, tell me my darling consort, why are you here this evening?” Reina said, breaking the silence. She reached her hands down to Phraum’s head and ran her fingers through his hair.
The consort shivered under his mistress’s touch, his body glad for the comfort but still on edge in anticipation of the looming pain.
“I imagine because of the creature that was roaming through the city all of yesterday.” Phraum said evenly, careful not to explicitly implicate himself.
“Correct!” Reina said, patting Phraum’s head. “Now, tell me, why was such a creature roaming the city streets all by its lonesome with no supervision and no prior warning to me or the council?”
Reina’s ministrations grew firmer, occasionally her hands would softly, but firmly, tug at a lock of hair. Phraum felt fear rising in his gut but maintained his composure, he was prepared for this.
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“Perhaps the mage that let loose the creature,” Phraum began, trying hard to keep his tone even. “Had no other option but to let it run free for the sake of his goals.”
“Hmm,” Reina said, squeezing Phraum’s head between her hands. She paused, pretending to think over his words for a moment. “And what, pray tell, could this mage’s goals possibly be?”
“That chaos spawn had a particularly powerful ability, mistress. It could glimpse the future.”
Reina’s ministrations stopped suddenly. Phraum fought down the urge to smile, he could dance out of this predicament if he played his cards right.
“It is possible that the mage that summoned the creature had no other way to study it than to release it.” Phraum said.
Reina forced Phraum to look up into her eyes and ran a long, black painted fingernail down his cheek, drawing a bit of blood. Phraum felt his head suddenly jerk around as Reina pulled sharply on his hair.
“Is this true?” Reina asked finally, her tone deadly serious. If Phraum lied to her here she would skin him alive.
“Yes, there was no other way.” Phraum said, and it was true. He needed the beast to rampage through the city so Sizth could collect ample data on the creature, and he needed a distraction that would allow Ashara to secure the Premonition Index.
“It’s a shame the sorry mage wasn’t powerful enough to understand the creature in the first place.” Reina said angrily. “It did considerable damage to the city after all.”
Reina held Phraum’s gaze to her, taking in his every reaction, staring deeply into his eyes with a mixture of outrage, intrigue, then finally exhaustion. She wasn’t as angry as before, Phraum could tell, her disapproval was quickly dissolving into fatigue. She had been up for over a day managing the crises, and then up for longer with the rest of the ruling council to work out a deal with Inter Planar and seek retribution against whoever summoned the creature, which she knew was Phraum the whole time.
“You cause me so much grief, my love.” She said before pulling Phraum up and into her chest, hugging him tightly. “But you bring me so much power. I trust you learned something interesting during your little experiment?”
“Perhaps,” Phraum whispered into his mistress’s ear. “If my theory is right, that creature holds the key to understanding Inter-Planar travel, to precognition.”
Reina laughed, and Phraum tensed up, suddenly very confused. This was unlike her, whenever Phraum had previously brought up Inter-Planar travel, and inevitably precognition, Reina had always been interested. She believed learning the secrets to Inter-Planar travel and precognition would put the Demora’s on the top of Ilithirian society and cement her place as first Lady in the ruling council, but now she was laughing at him. She was laughing harder than he had ever heard, laughing like she had gone mad.
“Precognition hmm? Ah well, that will serve us greatly in the time to come.” Reina finally said after her laughter abated.
The pair sat there for a while, Phraum’s head in her lap, Reina running her fingers through his hair while staring out her bedroom window, lost in thought.
“Inter made a demand of us yesterday. They must recuperate the loss of their pilots.” Reina said finally, her eyes still on the moonlight spilling in through the window.
“That will not be cheap, but its better than having make up for the warships they lost.” Phraum said evenly.
He was glad, glad that after all he had done all he would have to give up was money and material, perhaps a few of his senior mages, but that was a small price to pay for what he had gained.
“You know you’re the only person I’ve ever loved, the only consort I’ve ever cared for. My other playthings were so boring.” Reina began, still absent mindedly stroking Phraum’s hair.
The mage simply nodded at the declaration, not sure what to make of it. Not even his own mother had told him she loved him, and now Reina was pouring her heart out to him. Reina Demora, the most vicious and power hungry first Princess on all of Ilithir! Phraum passed his tongue over his teeth, suddenly very anxious.
“It must be love I feel for you, Phraum, because if anyone else had pulled what you just did, I’d boil them alive.” Reina continued. “Do you understand me Phraum? I’d have them killed, I’d kill their whole family, I would torture them endlessly.”
Reina pulled hard on Phraum’s hair now, nearly tearing a few clumps from his head. He looked up at her, not daring to wince, meeting her glowering gaze with no emotion.
“But I will not do that to you, because I love you. I cannot ever lose you.” Reina pulled Phraum in for a deep kiss and he accepted it, allowing her tongue to mingle with his for a while until she pulled back and released him from her grasp.
Phraum shakily rose to his feet and looked down at his mistress, sitting at her chair, her hair frayed, and her dress clothes wrinkled. He had never seen her this tired, this shaken.
“I must give up your daughter, I must hand Ashara over to Inter.” Reina said evenly, her eyes locked to Phraum’s.
The mage nearly collapsed, and his thoughts ran wild. They wanted his daughter? They wanted his one chance to truly move up in this female dominated world, his only real political power in the family? This could not be!
“I have no choice; the council has decreed the lowest ranking Princess in each of the ruling families will be sent to Inter. To work one of their endless contracts to pay for the pilots they lost.”
Phraum tried, and failed to keep his composure, he closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. Oh, poor Ashara, he thought.
“I suppose this works well for you, doesn’t it? I know you have no love for my daughter.” Phraum dared to say. Reina simply nodded.
“I know she is who you wish to supplant me and so she is my rival, but this does not please me either.” Reina replied calmly. “I would not punish you simply to punish you, I’m not so petty and weak. This is all on you my love, and now we all must pay the consequences.”
Phraum swallowed hard, still shaken. She was right sadly, and he had no right to be mad it her. He alone was responsible for Ashara’s fate, and he alone would be adversely affected by it. It was ironic, the only person in the family who cared for her was the one who had ended up damning her.
“Oh, my poor girl...” Phraum whispered, a sickening knot formed in his stomach, and he suddenly felt nauseous. He moved over to Reina’s bed and collapsed, his back hitting the plush mattress first as he felt the world around him grow distant.
Reina just looked at him, head leaned against her fist and a slight scowl on her face.
“To think, I just saved her life only to throw it away in the same motion.” Phraum said aloud, staring up at the ceiling.
“Yes, such vile viciousness. That is why I so desire you.”
Reina crawled into bed beside Phraum, still fully clothed save for her slippers. She rested her head on Phraum’s chest and looked into his eyes, her rust-colored irises mingling with his red rubies.
“It will be okay. This day was going to come sooner or later. I simply could not have had her supplanting me. This is a kindness; you’ve spared me the burden of killing her and you’ve granted her a new life.” Reina buried her head in Phraum’s chest and sighed. “You’ll get over this, and maybe one day she will too.”
Phraum doubted it, but it didn’t matter anymore. He’d made his choice, and he’d live with it. For as much as he cared for his daughter, for as much as he cared for his position in the family, he knew his work was more important.
What a mess, he thought to himself as Reina began to snore softly on his chest.
“How could this happen?”
Four guards marched through the Demora palace, dressed in black armor over blue uniforms. They made their way over the newly carpeted floors and freshly buffed halls until they settled in front of the sixth Princesses door. They gave each other ominous looks and one final nod before the War Priestess in the lead recited an incantation that channeled a tunnel of force through her upraised hands, blowing down the Princess’s door and startling the poor girl who had been sleeping peacefully in her bed.
Ashara quickly scrambled out of her bed and produced a knife and a pistol from under her bed covers. She fired off the guns entire cylinder into the leading priestess’s tough armor to little avail. The woman stumbled back a few steps then came forward again with her three comrades in tow, maces and batons held high. Ashara dashed away from the oncoming women, making a break for her window.
She was stopped dead in her tracks when another priestess finished held out her hand and called, “Stop!”
Ashara froze as a sinister purple aura enveloped her, she fought against the spell with all her will, calling upon her Goddess and imploring her to overcome this lesser woman’s spell. But it was useless, her goddess had favored her attackers and the priestess’s spell held. The four guards surrounded Ashara and began to beat her, striking her again and again with their batons while she was frozen until she felt as if her muscles would burst. Finally, the spell was released and Ashara collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily.
“W-why are you d-doing this!” she demanded.
“Lady Demora demands it.” The leading woman said, pulling Ashara to her feet. “A price must be paid for Inter’s involvement, and you are that price, Princess.”
Ashara kicked and screamed, fighting through the searing pain in her muscles and joints as the four armored women dragged her out of the palace towards a waiting float disc. There, her mother, Phraum and Tareia waited. The four guards dumped Ashara onto the disc, and it began to glow, rising into the air and darting off towards the other side of the city, towards the spires where the airships came and went.
“You can’t do this!” Ashara said to her mother, grasping at her black booted feet. The Lady stepped out of Ashara’s grasp and coldly regarded her.
“I can do as I please girl.” Reina spat.
“Tareia, father, help me!” Ashara begged, looking up at who she believed were her allies.
Tareia shrugged and Phraum gave her a sad look.
“I helped you! I retriev—” Ashara was interrupted by a sharp kick to her stomach from her mother who now hovered over her, a scowl on her face.
“For all your worth don’t ever reveal what you did!” Reina howled down at the young Princess. “Don’t even speak of it, unless you want Inter or the council to skin you alive and toss you into the cosmic sea!”
Ashara whimpered and clutched at her stomach as her mother continued to kick her.
“Please, mother!”
“Silence girl!” Reina howled.
Ashara began to sob, her face down on the cool metal of the float disc. Why was this happening to her? What was happening to her? She could not comprehend it.
Soon the disc arrived at the Needle, the spire the city used as an airport for the flying ships coming and going from Ilithir. Reina grabbed Ashara by her arm and hauled her to her feet, the young Princess felt her torso burn and her limbs ache and she collapsed again.
“Ashara!” Reina hissed, stretching her hand out and casting a healing spell that enveloped the young Princess.
Ashara felt the warmth of the silent incantation pass over her and gradually felt her strength return. Immediately she began to struggle against her mother’s grasp but a few sharp punches to her stomach put an end to that. The princess began to sob again as Reina dragged her over to the piers the Inter ships were docked at and let out a gasp when she saw six other Princesses in similar states of distress standing around a tall human in strange black armor, his helmet under his arm. She was even more surprised when she saw Lady Styria standing behind the man, one of her own daughters crying behind her.
“What is happening!” Ashara managed to squeak out as the four Demorans approached.
“I told you girl, a cost must be paid to Inter. You’re being given over to the company to pay for the pilots they lost. Every Lady on the council must, or we’ll lose our trade privileges.”
Ashara sobbed again, understanding but not believing.
“Stop crying girl!” Reina pulled Ashara forward and pushed her down onto her knees in front of the strange human.
“Suppose that’s all of them.” Lady Styria said, casting a cold glare down at Ashara.
“So, it would seem.” The human replied. He turned and looked down at Ashara, his skin like molten copper and his eyes black and sparkling like the night sky. “Hello and welcome.”
Ashara just stared up at the human, frozen in abject fear. She didn’t know what to make of the creature, and his eyes seemed to peer into her soul, it made her skin crawl.
The human let out a soft laugh. “They’re scared. Oh well, this is the way of things. There’s no helping it.”
The man put on his helmet, which looked like head of a fly mixed with an elephant’s face and gave Lady Styria a nod. He raised his right hand in the air, and suddenly six groups of red uniformed Azurans came out to fetch their new charges. A few of the Princesses, including Ashara, began to protest but a simple wave of the black suited humans hand ceased their struggling. Ashara felt a wave of calm come over her and she found herself welcoming the touch of the man who gently prodded her towards the docked Inter airships.
As she stepped off the ramp onto the ship, Ashara turned back to her family, for a reason she couldn’t quite decipher in her current state of mind. Her gaze lingered on her father and tears began to well up in her eyes. Phraum sighed, a sad look on his face and the Princess turned away, her heart heavy and allowed herself to be marched down the main deck of the ship to a stairwell that would take her below.
“What’s your name?” the man leading her asked softly.
Ashara looked at him confused, unsure of who she was looking at or what she was doing.
“Your hair...” she responded, taken aback at the sudden realization that the man standing before her had black hair.
The man sighed and the two continued through the crowded confines of the warship’s lower decks. They moved through a few claustrophobic corridors until they stopped in front of an oval shaped metal door. The man pushed the door open and gestured for Ashara to head inside.
“When you remember your name knock on the door. I’ll be right outside.” The strange black-haired man said.
He shut the door and locked it leaving Ashara alone with her jumbled thoughts. She was in a small, windowed room made completely of metal. To her side was a swinging bed currently pushed up against the wall and to her left was a dresser and a mirror hanging above it. Ashara moved over to the dresser and began to examine herself in the mirror.
“What am I doing here?” she asked her reflection. When it didn’t answer the Princess frowned.
She looked out the small circular window of her little cabin and nearly pressed her nose up against it as she felt the airship start to move. She could see another airship right beside the one she was in; docked in the spire and suddenly that ship began to grow smaller and smaller. The city below, the city Ashara had spent her whole life in, also began to shrink, steadily blurring into tiny black dots as the airship climbed higher and higher, until all she could see were clouds and sunlight. After a while, everything began to glow a milky white and brilliant gold as they entered the cosmic sea, it was then that is all hit her.
Ashara had just been sold off to Inter, sacrificed by her family for her father’s ambitions. The Princess opened her mouth to scream, but surprisingly found she didn’t have the energy for it. All she wanted to do was knock on her door and tell the man outside her name. Once she had done so, she pulled the small cot hanging on the wall down and flopped down on it, sighing as she heard the chains holding it aloft clack as they went taut.
“I will make it through this.” Ashara said, conjuring up as much conviction as she could from her slow moving, slightly addled mind.
She closed her eyes suddenly very tired and fell into a deep sleep, not waking until the airship landed on some far-off planet on the other side of the cosmic sea, far, far away from Ilithir.
Epilogue
Sometime after watching Ashara get sent off to only the goddess knew where in an Inter-Planar warship, Phraum and Tareia were ordered to go to the Hand and immediately begin working on unlocking the secrets of the Premonition Index. Phraum marched along in a foul mood ignoring Tareia’s constant jibes and taunts until they finally reached the top of his tower where Sizth had been hard at work on creating a premonition engine.
“Well, that was positively miserly.” Phraum said as he entered his laboratory.
“It was your fault you know.” Tareia teased. “All that trouble over... what even is this?” the old woman walked over to the bench Sizth was working at and examined the new device the machine had created.
What was once a tablet made of hard light and flowing silvery metal was now a floating sphere with a glowing console in its center. Sizth was standing under the silver globe, its eyes closed as it seemed to be telepathically inputting multiple letters into the glowing blue console.
“It’s a power core.” Sizth called out, its mouth unmoving. The little metal creature had spoken through its metal body.
“For the engine?” Tareia asked.
“Correct.”
Sizth continued to telepathically send inputs into the new device, its console flickering with a symbol for every letter the little lizard put in. Phraum cast Tareia a disparaging glance while she was focused on the engine then moved to stand behind Sizth. The mage looked at the console as Sizth delivered letter after letter into the device. Phraum recognized the symbols as Azuran and the words the machine was forming were in one of the older dialects, machine commands the other great Azuran nations had that the Ilithirians did not.
Not for long though, Phraum thought to himself. Soon his nation would have their own way of engineering jump worthy ships, and they would be able to soar across the stars like the other great empires. No longer beholden to Inter or their tentative allies, the Malikites. Phraum let out a sigh as he thought about the great empire they bordered. A male dominated society ruled by an all-powerful mage who became a god after the fall of the great Azuran empire. If only Phraum had been born there, then he wouldn’t have to play these silly games of intrigue with the Princesses, and perhaps he would not have had to give up Ashara either.
Phraum dismissed the thought. What happened, happened and there was no changing it. His daughter had simply been a pawn in his game against Reina and he lost his gambit, now he had to make sure this engine worked so he could remain in the family’s good graces. Luckily, his success was all but assured with Sizth at his side. The machine had promised to help Phraum with this in exchange for a front row seat to Ilithir’s great climb to galactic prominence. All he had to do was provide the machine with the Premonition Index and it would do the rest. It was only a matter of time until the Demora family was producing the first ever Ilithirian jump-ships.
Phraum grinned at the thought, all but forgetting about his poor daughter who was no doubt being dragged off into the stars, almost assuredly never to return. She was a worthy sacrifice, the mage wondered if he would ever have another child more important.
“Phraum, come look at this.” Called Sizth from his perch in front of the growing engine.
The mage obliged and leaned forwards to look closer at the console. There, amongst the glowing blue gridlines of the console’s screen, was a map.
“Where is that?” Phraum asked intrigued.
“Its not a where its another device, the golden globe!” Sizth exclaimed. “The thought Index! With it I can make a creation engine. I could be come a machine god!”
Phraum took a step back, his thoughts reeling. A machine god! If Sizth could accomplish such a thing then it cold be an even bigger break through than the jump drives! If Phraum could help the little lizard achieve this goal, then the machine would be beholden to him. He, and perhaps Ilithir if he so desired, would achieve a benefactor that would immediately propel them to galactic prominence. The possibilities were endless!
Phraum looked back to Tareia and gave her a smile. The old woman had heard every word and was now giving the lizard a skeptical look.
“This has to be a joke.” Tareia declared. “Why don’t we start off with the jump drives first hm? Then we can worry about making your lizard into a god.”
“He is not my lizard.” Phraum seethed. “And you’re right. We shall first complete the engine then we’ll seek out this golden globe, if it even exists.” The mage gave Sizth a sly look, then returned his eyes to the growing engine.
After all, how would he even begin to search for this golden globe if he didn’t have a jump worthy ship?
“You’re going to learn some magic. I’ve arranged for Phraum to train you.” Tareia declared, looking down at Maron who sat drunk and depressed in one of the Palace’s many parlors.
Maron looked up at Tareia and sighed, finishing off the remaining liquor in his glass. He felt the warmth of the drink fill his chest and he rose to his feet, finally regarding the old veteran.
“Is such a thing even possible?” Maron asked.
“Yes, and if you don’t have the gift then they’ll give it to you. A psychic will enter your mind and either unlock your latent potential or give you the potential.”
Maron scoffed, such a thing was ridiculous, especially on behalf of a common soldier like Maron.
“Why would Phraum do such a thing?” the young ex-bodyguard asked incredulously.
“Why would I do such a thing you mean?” Tareia said, her tone coy. She walked over to Maron and ran her fingers over his shoulder, eyeing him up like a cat would a mouse. “You seem a good investment, and your last benefactor is...no more sadly.”
Maron winced at that but remained calm. He had heard Ashara had been sent off world for some reason or another, leaving him in a precarious situation. Certainly, his efforts in thwarting the other Princesses’ plans did not endear him to any of their factions, he expected his death to come any day now.
“I’ll do it.” Maron answered after sorting through his drunken thoughts. “It’s a shame though, I liked Ashara.”
Tareia snickered, putting a hand to her mouth. “Really? The girl was almost as insufferable as her mother! But I suppose she had a bit of her father too, that endearing madness in him.”
“Mm.” Maron said not quite following what Tareia was saying, but he didn’t necessarily disagree. Ashara was definitely the most temperamental of the Princesses, but she was also often the nicest. Maron would miss that kindness. “She treated me well at least.”
“And I will also treat you well, rest assured!” Tareia said, reaching up to stroke Maron’s cheek. “No strings attached.”
Maron raised his eyebrow but remained silent. Clearly the old veteran wanted something in return, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it...yet.
