Goddess of Evolution

[Pahrak Model ZX]

The Queen of War’s throne was made of polished steel, with crimson cushions that spilled over the sides of the seat and armrests.  On its high back was her emblem—a sword impaling a shield—outlined in red.  It sat at the end of a long, windowless hall made of ancient gray rock, next to a rack of swords and maces and spears and such which all gleamed with a calm, thinly-veiled eagerness.  Two torches hung on the wall behind the throne, creating an orange aura around the Queen and making the seat itself shimmer with ominous intent.

 

The hall was wide enough that the light from the torches lining both sides of it did not make it all the way to the center, drawing attention to its sides.  Not an inch of wall was bare.  Shields, swords, pieces of armor, bows, banners, pelts.  Dozens of each manner of trophy could be picked out even at first glance, just in case a visitor would be too frightened to take a second.  It was all kept as clean as possible; a few near the door bore permanent blood stains, but that was unavoidable.

 

War sat upright, hands hanging off the ends of the armrests, her feet flat on the floor.  Even now she was in full armor.  She glanced to her left, the side opposite the weapon rack: a wooden pedestal with leaves of gold wrapped around its edges sat just beyond her reach, and upon it rested a twelve-pointed crown nearly identical to the one she wore.  The crown on display, however, depicted a mountain on one side, the emblem of the Queen of the Land.

 

The iron doors at the far end of the hall swung open.  Two guards stepped in, moved to either side, and proceeded down the hall, each with a hand on their weapon.  Between them came a woman with dark blonde hair that fell onto the shoulders of her brown travelling cloak, which was just a shade darker than her tan skin.  Flashes of red armor could be seen beneath the garment as she moved.  War’s eyes wandered up to the crown she wore, and the teardrop-shaped symbol it displayed.

 

The visitor dragged her feet across the stone floor, muttering, “Man, it’s cold in here.”

 

She cupped one hand in front of her mouth and exhaled a brief puff of flame.  As she rubbed both palms together, she looked up at War and smiled.

 

“War, thank you ever so much for having me.  I know you must be busy organizing and reorganizing your precious collection—I really appreciate that you’ve taken some time out for me.”

 

War inclined her head.  “Not at all, Queen of Fire.  It is a rare treat to see other Queens come to me.”

 

Fire stopped a few feet from the throne and rubbed her shoulder.  “Indeed.”  She squinted.  “It’s so dark in here, I can barely see you.”

 

She snapped.  The torches all flared with new life, growing to twice their normal size and making the hall a bit brighter.

 

“There, that’s better.  I think this body’s eyes are starting to go.  And so young, too!  Perhaps I should re-evaluate my lifestyle and take more precaution next time.”

 

War stared silently.

 

“…Here I thought it curious you had no jester, and now it all makes sense,” Fire said.  “I should’ve expected it, really.  Perhaps public executions are what get you smiling instead?”

 

A minute passed.

 

“It really is cold in here,” Fire grumbled.

 

“My apologies for your discomfort,” War said.  Her expression had not changed, and her tone was less than sincere.  “I’m afraid we’ve done all our climate will allow.”

 

“For me?  You shouldn’t have.  I’ll complain either way.”

 

Fire stretched.  The guards jerked a bit, and she chuckled.

 

“I suppose that’s all the formalities I can bear.  The real reason why I’m here is in regards to Land’s crown.”

 

War cocked her head.  “Oh?  How unexpected.  If anyone, I expected her wife to come see me about that.”

 

“Oh, she wanted to.  She was ready to just lay waste to Kenzaria and leave your crown buried in the rubble, actually.  But we’ve…talked her down.”

 

War blinked.  “We?”

 

Fire shrugged.  “Irrelevant details.  I wouldn’t want to bore you.”

 

“…Thank you for your consideration.” War rose to her feet. “You were a bit vague.  What is it exactly that you want?”

 

“Well, I shall be clearer, then,” Fire said.  “I want to take Land’s crown back to Roche.”

 

“I beg your pardon?”

 

Fire leaned a bit, but her eyes locked onto War.  “I’m not one to repeat myself.”

 

After a moment, War walked towards the crown.  “Such a baffling request.  I killed the Queen of the Land.  I am allowed to possess her crown for one year.  Those were the terms we settled on when writing the laws of our region.”

 

“You are still within your rights.  That’s why I’m here rather than the Queen of Knowledge.”

 

War’s head jerked, throwing her gaze over her shoulder and just short of Fire’s vicinity.

 

Fire suppressed a cackle.  “But, with the deadline coming up so fast, and you apparently being too occupied to send a messenger telling Roche when to expect the crown back, I thought that perhaps I would lend my assistance and make the return trip for you.”

 

War turned around.  “I do hope you will forgive me, Queen of Fire, but I am surprised.  You do tend to usually only take part in matters that concern you.”

 

“Don’t act like I’m not involved already, what with the bait you used to get Gravity away being an attack aimed at my queendom.”

 

The hall began to grow hot.

 

“Ah.  I meant you no offense, of course.  The troops needed to be sent towards a queendom for the ruse to be effective.  I assure you that Pyrada was selected solely for its proximity.”

 

Fire’s teeth showed through a smirk.  “I’m sure you meant that to console me, but that’s actually rather degrading from where I stand.”

 

“My apologies.”

 

“Don’t lie.  You’re too smart for me to fall for it.”

 

War chuckled and returned to examining the crown.

 

“Well, I’m not about to deny it,” Fire continued.  She walked towards War, and the guards tentatively stepped after her.  “That’s why you’re so feared: not only are you destructive in a way no other living thing can emulate, you analyze every possible outcome and plan things out with unsettling accuracy.  Only you would think to draw a Queen away from her domain just to stroll in, say hello, and stroll back out.”

 

“That’s not exactly what happened.”

 

“But it was your original plan, wasn’t it?  You only wanted to make a display, so you could leave deep psychological scars in Roche and eliminate any threat it might pose.  But when Land decided to fight back, things changed.”

 

War said nothing.  Fire paced to the other side of the hall, warming her hands with another burst of flame.

 

“Admittedly, I’m impressed you haven’t pushed your advantage.  A good move for your reputation.  But I can see that you haven’t given up on totally decimating Roche, and that’s why I’m here.”

 

War clenched one fist.  “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

 

Fire sighed.  “I’m being honest.  You could at least return the courtesy.”

 

War looked at Fire’s back as the visitor continued, “You’re clearly in no hurry to return the crown, and the longer you take, the more anxious Gravity becomes, until she finally snaps and charges in here on her own.  Then you’ve got an easy kill due to her emotional instability, a queendom with no Queens ripe for pillaging, and, look at that, it was actually Gravity who made the first move, thus the blame falls on her.”

 

She turned and looked into War’s eyes.  “I’m onto you, War.  And if I am, then do you really think Knowledge doesn’t see right through you?  Do you really think she’ll let you carry out a plan like that?”

 

They glared at each other.  At last, War said, “This is all wrong.”

 

She waved to the soldiers.  They hesitated a bit, but then left the hall, closing the doors behind them.  Fire laughed.  “What, are you going to come after me now?  I’d love an excuse to warm this frigid keep of yours.”

 

“Why do you defend our current system?” War asked.  “This brittle peace we’ve created is ridiculous, and you must know this.”

 

Fire frowned.  “Oh, so you’re resorting to this?”

 

“Conflict is natural.  Bloodshed is the way of the world, the only way for society to move forward.  For instance: in the early days, when we all fought with each other and levelled this entire region, all of our peoples desperately struggled to develop new technology.  Some of it went to the combat effort, some of it found other uses that enhanced the standard of living.  Can you deny that?”

 

Fire thought for a moment.  “I suppose I can’t.”

 

War stepped forward.  “All progression, all advancement, all evolution begins in warfare.  If we do not fight, we do not evolve. If we do not evolve, we grow stagnant.  If we grow stagnant, then we will rot away to nothing.  Peace is the road to our downfall.”

 

She paused.  “Does any of this make sense to you?”

 

Fire smiled.  “I should’ve known you thought of yourself as some kind of hero trying to save the world.  You were always self-righteous.”

 

War’s brows lowered.  “This isn’t about me, Fire: this is about everyone!  I’m not wrong, and you know it!  Look at human history, even before we got here, and you’ll see that the driving force behind all evolution is war!  If I am to carry that name, then it is my responsibility to spur on the development of the human race so that it doesn’t ignorantly fall into its own extinction!”

 

Fire’s eyelids went up.  War stalked down the hall.  “You and the others are so selfish.  All you want is to keep yourselves safe, to avoid getting your hands dirty.  None of you even try to see my point of view.”

 

She laughed.  “But how could you understand?  You are an element.  I am a concept.  The only one who might understand is Knowledge, but she too has chosen to shut her eyes and enforce this grand jest.”

 

Turning around, War said, “What you’re all doing is—“

 

Fire cut her off with a punch.  She didn’t recoil from the blow, but it was enough to shock her into silence.  The other Queen gave her an annoyed look and put one hand on her hip.

 

“Will you just shut up?  This ‘prophet of the end’ act is undignified.”

 

War grabbed Fire by her cloak, but she continued, “I get it, you feel like an outcast because nobody understands your point of view.  You think you’re doing the right thing, but so does everybody else, so there’s no resolution to be found.  But what do you want from me?  To suddenly change my beliefs and side with you?  To feel pity for you, and look the other way just this once?”

 

The torches in the chamber began to burn brighter and hotter.

 

“You should’ve thought of that before you prodded Pyrada.”

 

She batted War’s hand away.  “I couldn’t care less about your glorious vision, and I’m not going to lecture you about the current system either.  Truthfully, I don’t care either way.  For me it’s much simpler.  Land is dead because she wanted to help me, so that puts me in her debt.  I don’t like being indebted.”

 

Fire took a deep breath, and the torches slowly died down.  “Now stop embarrassing yourself and just give me the crown.”

 

War glared, then slowly walked over to where the crown sat.  She grabbed it, and then looked back at Fire.  “I will not forget this.”

 

“Glad to hear it.”

 

***

 

Fire rode across the grassy plains, her horse galloping towards the smog-wreathed volcano looming in the distance.  The diamonds in her crown glittered for a moment as a thought appeared in her mind.

 

Fire:

 

You left before I was put in this new body, so I wanted to send you a wave thanking you.  I was about to go mad sitting on that stool, and it sounds like Gravity was nearing her breaking point as well.  You said you felt indebted to us, but if anything, we are now in your debt.  If there’s anything I can do to repay you, please let me know.  However, we might not get to see you in person in the near future—Gravity has decided that Roche shall be isolated…and that she will see to it that our armies are strengthened.  Can I ask you something?  Do you think War might’ve been right: that we can’t really develop unless we fight each other?  It troubles me.  Regardless, thank you again, and please do keep in touch.

 

Land

 

Fire scoffed.  “Of course she was right—Gravity is proving that.”

 

She rode on.  Eventually, she groaned and composed a reply.

 

Land:

 

Don’t worry so much.  War was just trying to defend her crazy beliefs, and you know she’d say anything to demoralize a potential adversary.  She’s afraid of you, and Gravity, and Roche, so there’s no need for you to be afraid of her.  If she does try to stir anything else up, let me know so I can finish settling my own score with her.  For now, just be with your wife.  She missed you.

 

Fire

 

She sent the wave, and then focused again on reaching Pyrada.  “Ugh, I’m sick of this freezing cold!”