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Divine Strength: Prelude


Pahrak Model ZX

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The young man glared down at the chains around his wrists.  Two knights grabbed his arms and dragged him forward, pausing as the wooden double doors were swung open from the inside.  Beyond was a long hall with walls made of gray stone, with seven windows on either side to allow plenty of sunlight in.  Between each window hung a banner made of white cloth and displaying an emblem: a sun with its center divided into seven equal parts.

 

As he was led down the center of the hall, the armored feet of his escorts scraping along the floor as they went, his hateful gaze combed over those assembled, picking out something detestable in each and every one of them.  This knight was clearly arrogant; that spellcaster, too well-dressed; those standing closest to the walls must be cowards; and all of them were so dreadfully, disgustingly pleased with the situation.

 

The elites of Bivor are such filth.

 

At the end of the hall, beneath a banner three times as wide as the others, was a simplistic throne made out of iron.  It bore no decoration whatsoever—it was barely fit to be called more than a chair.  The only trait possibly worth noting were the velvet cushions attached to the back and seat, making it more comfortable for the one who sat upon the throne.

 

That one—she was there now, sitting up straight, looking at him with a mix of irritation and, if he was right, boredom—that one, he turned his most malicious gaze upon.  In the face of this, her expression did not change in the slightest.

 

The knights halted a short distance before the throne and bowed their heads for a moment.  One of them announced, “As you have commanded, Your Majesty: the leader of the recent attack, Riniyon, has been brought forth for judgment.”

 

The Queen chuckled softly.  She gave a small smile and said, “I don’t believe I said anything about judgment, exactly.”

 

Angered by this, Riniyon growled.  “Do you mock all your captives, Queen of Light?”

 

Her smile faded.  Now with a very serious expression, the Queen rose to her feet, straightening out her long pink gown as she did so.  She took a few steps forward and looked directly into Riniyon’s face.

 

“I meant you no offense, Riniyon.  Merely, I wished to be clear that I have not called you here for the sole purpose of condemning you.  I am more interested in answers.”

 

He ignored her, glaring up at the crown she wore.  The golden ornament glimmered in the sunlight, and the diamonds embedded in its twelve points shone so brightly he could not look at them directly for very long.  On its front, just above the Queen’s forehead, was the same emblem seen on the banners, the ancient symbol of Light that had come to represent this Queen and her queendom.

 

“You founded an independent nation about five years ago, as I recall,” the Queen continued.  “I remember you quite adamantly refused to form alliances with myself or any of the other Queens.  I thought nothing of it at the time—it could be seen as admirable, in a way, that you wished to remain independent.  However…I see now that the cause of those actions is the ill will you bear towards we Queens.”

 

Riniyon snorted.  “You learn quickly.”

 

The Queen narrowed her eyes for a moment.  “Your beliefs are your own.  I will not ask you to justify them.  But I do wish to know what it was that prompted you to launch an attack against my queendom.”

 

With a toothy grin, Riniyon replied, “It is because you were the easiest target.  Your military is far too small for a dominion so out in the open, and it is poorly organized at that.  Also, I had heard rumors…rumors that I now see are true…that your current body is aging faster than is usual.”

 

His eyes focused on the Queen’s lengthy yellow hair.

 

“You—no, all of Bivor had an air of weakness about it.  I saw it as the best opportunity to test out my strength.”

 

“…Strength?” the Queen repeated.  “What made you think you were strong?”

 

Surprised, Riniyon shouted, “What?!  You question my strength?!  My army has laid to waste countless nomads in just five short years!  In all that time, not a single Queen, not even that bloodthirsty demon in the east, made a single move against us, and I know why.”

 

He grinned once again and finished, “It is because you fear me.”

 

The Queen of Light slowly put a hand over her mouth.  Behind it, she was smiling.

 

He thought we feared him?  No, he still thinks that we fear him?  Goodness…I feel as though I should tell him the truth, but there’s no kind way to let him know his tiny kingdom was simply too insignificant to draw attention…

 

“Hahaha, even the Queens fear me!” Riniyon raved.  “Why would I not press that advantage?  Why should I allow you monsters to remain when I have the power to bring about your end?”

 

After a moment, the Queen asked, “You do recall why you are here now, yes?”

 

Riniyon’s enthusiasm faded.

 

“You do recall,” the Queen continued, “that your army did not perform anywhere near as well as you had hoped?  That the ‘weak’ soldiers of Bivor held them off, while you snuck into the castle like a coward to attempt to strike at me?  That I detected you and rendered you unconscious before you launched a single attack against me?”

 

Riniyon gritted his teeth.  “…This…was merely luck.”

 

“Of course.  Regardless, luck was not on your side.  I fail to understand why you still see yourself in a position to make these ridiculous claims.”

 

Clenching his fists, Riniyon said, “Oh, you are about to understand…”

 

He released the energy he had been storing.  The fire magic flowed out from his arms, melting through the chains and singing his escorts’ hands enough to slip free of their grip.  Drawing a wand from his robe’s sleeve, Riniyon lunged forward and yelled, hurling a blast of lightning straight at the Queen.

 

“You are right.”

 

The blast never hit.  White light rushed between the Queen and Riniyon, forming a transparent, solid barrier that blocked the spell.

 

“I do understand now.”

 

Panicking a bit, Riniyon ran, narrowly evading the knights as they tried to grab him again.

 

“You still don’t comprehend how powerful a Queen is.”

 

As the barrier disappeared, the Queen of Light raised one hand.  Riniyon was still running down the hall, somewhat surprised that no one was trying to stop him.  In fact, they appeared to be moving farther away from him for some reason…

 

He had almost reached the door when it happened.  Focused light burst from the Queen’s fingers, lanced down the hall, and struck Riniyon square in the back, knocking him to the floor with a heavy grunt.  He rolled around a bit, too dazed to stand up.

 

The Queen of Light strolled down to where he had fallen.  After kicking aside his wand, she looked down at him and smiled brightly.

 

“I do apologize, but as it turns out, I will be passing judgment today.  Riniyon, I sentence you to life imprisonment.”

 

Riniyon tried to grab the Queen, but the pain wracking his body kept it from obeying his commands.  The Queen turned and walked back to her throne.  After she gave a short waving gesture, knights swarmed Riniyon once more, dragging him to his feet and holding him steady.  A spellcaster approached as well and grabbed his wrists.  Over the course of around a minute, the caster’s magic created new, stronger chains to bind Riniyon’s hands, and then commanded them to tighten to the point where he could barely move them.

 

“You Queens!” he roared as he was dragged away.  “You’re monsters!  All of you!  This isn’t over, Queen of Light!  Do you hear me?!  I swear I shall have my revenge!”

 

The Queen of Light sat back down and waved cordially to Riniyon.  He screamed, but it was cut off as the doors to the chamber slammed shut.

 

***

Many years later…

***

 

The blinds were drawn open.  As sun filled the room, the Queen of Light rolled to her other side, burying her face in her pillow.

 

Ironic…I am Queen of Light, yet my body is averse to the morning…

 

This was not a new phenomenon, of course, but it was one she had yet to fully adapt to.  She had been in her current body for not even ten years.  It was only natural that there still existed a slight disconnect between the two sides of her person, especially given that the body was already well into its second decade of life by the time she had begun to inhabit it.

 

Servants moved about, advising her that it was time to rise.  Reluctantly, and with great effort, the Queen sat up and, after pausing to yawn, exited her bed and got to her feet.  She watched as two servants set about making the bed—not an especially difficult task, as it was only slightly larger than the common size.  She had never seen the need for such grand sleeping arrangements as some of the other Queens were accustomed to.

 

Moving to the dresser, her servants helped her change from her nightgown into the pink gown she frequently donned.  Such a garment, or some variation of it, had been the focus of her wardrobe in all of her lifetimes—a constant of her appearance no matter what body she inhabited.  Still, her human side could not help but frown.  That side of her had a feeling that the dress was somewhat too extravagant.  It was by no means a gaudy dress, but a more billowy material of a lighter shade had been used in the shoulders and part of the skirt, and black and golden thread hemmed its edges and formed lines around her waist and down the front of her torso.  That alone was enough to fuel the misgivings.

 

Regardless, she wore the gown regularly, and donned it this morning without a second thought.  She then moved to the mirror to examine herself.  Her shoulder-length hair was still a vibrant shade of red, she was glad to see.  Absent-mindedly, she ran one hand through it.  When her hand reached the edge of her crown, the headgear suddenly became translucent, and her fingers encountered no resistance as they passed through it.  They emerged on the other side, and the crown returned to its solid state.

 

The day begins, then.

 

The Queen of Light dismissed her servants and then exited her bed chamber.  As she made her way through the castle halls, she felt the slightest bit dizzy for a moment, and slowed her pace.  If another Queen was sending her a telepathic wave this early, she feared it might be something important.  The sensation passed and a thought appeared in her mind:

 

Light:

 

I just wanted to remind you that the messenger I sent should be arriving in Bivor today.  She’ll have the maps and reconnaissance reports you requested, and, if it’s not too much trouble, I told her to propose some new potential trade agreements.  I’ll let her cover the details.  Also…I don’t mean to be a pest, but you never did tell me exactly what you wanted these reports for.  You did say not to worry, but I’m afraid I cannot help it.  Is there anything you can tell me?

Sea

 

Smiling, Light mumbled, “I knew she wouldn’t stop worrying…”

 

She cleared her mind and called upon her magic, creating the basis for the wave, and then started to compose its contents.

 

Sea:

 

I look forward to hearing the proposal.  Thank you again for sending the reports—it will be much easier to refer to physical copies than to recall information sent by wave.  As for my intention, I will reiterate that it is nothing to worry about, but if you wish for details, I can tell you that it involves the strange occurrences you told me of.  If I am right, it involves someone I wish to deal with personally.  You have the best understanding of the situation, but as that is neutral territory, I fear that if you spend much more time there it will give the impression that you wish to expand your queendom and set some of the others on edge.  The Queen of War has been uncharacteristically quiet for a while now.  I suppose I’m a bit anxious.  If it’s alright with you—and I was planning to ask once I had a more specific course of action in mind—I was hoping to take over the investigation so as to take their focus off of you.  Of course, if you wish for this to be handled differently, I will respect your wishes.  I will let you know when I have reviewed the reports.

Light

 

Deciding to end the message there, she finished structuring the wave and focused on the Queen of the Sea.  The diamonds on her crown sparkled as the wave was transmitted.  Once that was done, she continued on her way.

 

The walk down to the audience chamber was uneventful after that.  The Queen sat on her throne and, beckoning to a robed man standing nearby, asked, “Nesenian, how many audiences are scheduled for today?”

 

The man checked the scroll in his hands as he moved towards the throne.  “Only three, Your Majesty—two property disputes set for this morning, ready to be brought in at your earliest convenience, and one military audience later this evening.”

 

“Hm…this evening, that’s when the scouting party dispatched last week will return and deliver their report, correct?”

 

“Correct, Your Majesty.”

 

“Excellent.  I am ready for my first visitor.  After you let them in, please head to the barracks and request that our soldiers keep themselves unoccupied, as I may call upon them for a meeting today or tomorrow.”

Nesenian bowed and replied, “Of course, Your Majesty.”

 

“Ah, one other thing: if you could find someone, please station an extra sentry at the gate.  I’m expecting a messenger to arrive, and I would like to be informed the moment she does.”

 

“I shall see it done, Your Majesty.”

 

“Thank you, Nesenian.”

 

The first audience was a disagreement between two farmers over where the boundary between their land had been drawn; the knight who had responded had hesitated to bring it to the Queen’s attention, but as it was nearly time to begin planting seeds, she had thought it best to get the Queen’s word on the matter quickly rather than wasting time.  The Queen preferred to be the one to settle these disputes, in a way, as her current body had also been a farmer before being selected to be Queen.  She heard both sides of the story, asked about how well off both families involved were, and then had a servant fetch her a map—the line was drawn so that both regions were nearly equal but provided more land for the farmer who had had a less successful harvest the previous year.

 

“I may consider redistribution in the future, pending this year’s harvest,” she told them.  “As for now, I believe this to be the fairest method.  Do either of you object?”

 

The farmer who had received less land did not exactly seem pleased, but he conceded this would still leave him enough land to bring in an even larger harvest, so he did not object to the Queen’s ruling and both parties went on their way.

 

The second audience was with Serin, the spellcaster who the previous Queen had (near the end of her life) tasked with keeping watch over and improving Bivor’s system of education.  Her case was that the children would benefit from more room to study, but in order to expand the school building, they would need to build upon land currently owned by a noble family.  Serin had already approached the head of the family and tried to come to an agreement, but this proposal had been rejected.

 

“Truth be told, they aren’t even using this land for anything,” Serin explained.  “I have seen the family take one or two strolls through the area, but there are no crops, no buildings, no gardens…nothing at all.  If I may speak my mind, I find it a waste.”

 

The Queen nodded thoughtfully.  “I do remember the schoolhouse feeling a bit cramped.  How long do you think the building process would take?”

 

“Well, should we secure the land, I’m sure our carpenters can draw up schematics in a matter of days,” Serin said.  “Building it could take anywhere from a few weeks to a couple of months depending on how many people we have available, and then it will take about another week for me to properly construct the soundproofing magic I’ve been using to lessen distraction—half that if I can get another mage to work with me.  That mage would need to become familiar with the process first, and though there will be plenty of time during the building’s construction, they would need to be selected and begin that study right away.”

 

“And the nobles would not see any results of their sacrifice during this span of time,” the Queen said.  “Hm…I suppose I can see where their discontent may come from.  However, your plans for improving education have met with great success thus far, so I am inclined to agree with you on this matter.  That being said, the nobles must be compensated if they are to give up their land.”

 

Unfortunately, the castle did not have much extra gold to use for this compensation.  The Queen thought a moment before saying, “We shall present them with one of our rare tomes in exchange for the land.  Ownership of details for casting uncommon magic is considered more prestigious than ownership of excessive land—I don’t imagine they will argue.  Once we have negotiated the land, we will contact you and begin implementing your plans, Serin.”

 

Serin bowed in gratitude and exited the audience chamber.  The Queen had a small group of knights and one of the royal advisers take a tome and set off to meet with the noble family in question, and then returned to her bed chamber while she waited for news of the messenger.

 

As the Queen was finishing her mid-day meal, a servant informed her of the messenger’s arrival, so she swiftly returned to the audience chamber.  The messenger was brought in immediately, along with a few other soldiers from her home country who had been sent with her.  Each wore a few plates of silver armor over their green and white tunics, and their tan skin made Bivor’s citizens seem pale in comparison.  They all bowed in respect for the Queen.

 

“Your Majesty, Queen of Light, it is an honor to meet you,” the lead messenger said.  “The Queen of the Sea sends her regards.  We have brought the information you requested.”

 

She motioned to one of the others, who withdrew a few scrolls from her bag and handed them over.  The messenger held them out, and the Queen walked forward, took the gift, and unrolled one scroll to examine its contents.

 

“Thank you very much,” she said, smiling at the messenger.  “All of you.  I know this must seem a rather unusual request.”

 

“Not at all, Your Majesty!  Bivor and Ceandi have always been allies—sharing information such as this is certainly not out of the ordinary.”

 

The Queen handed the scrolls to Nesenian and sat back down.  “I suppose…well then, the Queen of the Sea said she wished for us to negotiate some trade agreements.  There has not been trouble with our exports, has there?”

 

The messenger stepped back, and a third soldier from Ceandi took the lead now.  “No, Your Majesty.  Actually, we were wondering if you would be open to importing more fish for food or other purposes.”

 

The Queen thought for a moment.  “…I see.  Possibly, but may I ask why?”

 

The soldiers hesitated.

 

“Simply,” the Queen continued, “I know that Sea has always been very particular about her trading.  She keeps the agreements very organized, and tightly manages all of Ceandi’s resources—if she wishes to make a significant addition to the amount exported through one agreement, it makes me wonder if something has happened to one of her other agreements.”

 

“…Her Majesty did not want you to take pity on her,” one of the soldiers finally responded.  “Ceandi’s trade with Arbolana has come to an unexpected halt.  The Queen of Nature has refused to import anything more from us, yet has not given us a reason why.”

 

The Queen of Light grimaced.  “Ah, Nature.  Knowing her, she probably found a way to breed her own fish so that she wouldn’t need to cooperate with Ceandi anymore.  Always looking for more ways to be more self-sufficient regardless of how it might impact the rest of us.”

 

“Still, Your Majesty, the Queen of the Sea does not want you to offer help beyond your means.  We know that the demand for our exports here has not been especially high as of late.  Still, if there is a reasonable way to expand upon our trade, our additional products would be offered to you at half the cost we agreed upon for regular trade—possibly less, if that would affect your decision.”

 

“I see.”  The Queen smiled.  “Well, I’m sure we can find something.  But I’m afraid the best I can offer is about…a 20% increase.  Will that be adequate?”

 

All three messengers were shocked at this.  Clearly, they had not expected her to offer that large a figure.  “Uh…y-yes, Your Majesty!” one of them said.  “That would be wonderful!  Thank you for your generosity!”

 

Following this, the exact details were refined—the additional imports would be brought along with the regular shipments, extra crops would be added to Bivor’s payment, and the agreement would be evaluated again in approximately six months.  The messengers were then shown to their chambers so that they could rest overnight before heading back to Ceandi.  Returning to her own chamber once more, the Queen of Light opened the scrolls and began to comb through their contents.

 

For almost a year now, several strange incidents had been occurring along the coast just north of Ceandi’s border.  Nomads wandering through the area would disappear, with those that survived claiming they had been surprised by an attacker wielding magic.  There were also reports of sudden bursts of light appearing on the horizon, some visible from northern Ceandi and even Bivor’s western edge.  Animals seemed to be fleeing the area as well.  As for what they were fleeing from, no one knew for sure, but the Queen of Light had a hunch.

 

She read through report after report until the sun fell low and her chamber grew dim.  Cupping one hand, she held it about a foot above the corner of her desk and focused, willing an orb of soft light to form so that she could continue.  She left it to hover there and rubbed her eyes.

 

“Come now,” she muttered, “someone must have gotten a decent look…”

 

It was almost time to meet with the returning scouting party.  She had hoped to find the information she was looking for before then, but it seemed she would have to delay putting together her plan until at least the next day.  The Queen skimmed down the remaining length of the scroll in her hands, trying to determine if she could finish it before the audience, but she paused near the end.

 

“One of the surviving nomads gave us a description of what he saw,” it read.  “Just before the onslaught of magic began, he had spotted someone coming up over the hill.  The figure is described as being an elderly man, likely just over five feet tall with fair skin and a head of short gray hair.  He carried a wand that looked well-used and wore dark blue robes bearing a strange crest on the sleeves.”

 

Scribbled in next to these words was a hastily-drawn sigil that appeared to be a sword pointing up and to the left, with some sort of aura surrounding the blade and the halves of a crown cut in two on either side.

 

The Queen clenched her teeth.  It was a crest she was well familiar with, and it was all she needed to confirm her suspicions.

 

“Riniyon.”

 

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