The plateau of Adyll was born out of the sea, pushed up through tectonic pressures over a million years ago. To the east, beyond the cliffs where the capital city is located, lies a formidable desert which stretches for hundreds of miles, uninhabite...
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Adyll's nobility gathered in families in the Temple courtyard. The midday heat beat down upon them. Men, women, and children crowded into the space, filling it with terrified whispers and the fetid smell of fear. The stories of the atrocities committed by the Locust King were the stuff of nightmares. But he had promised death if they did not present themselves. Even the unknown was better than death.
Aisha and the other acolytes had been herded into a Temple classroom by one of the priestesses who served as a teacher, along with three armed soldiers from the ranks of the Swarm. The room's eastern wall was open arches that faced the sanctuary courtyard so that they could watch the proceedings below. The acolytes sat silently, watching the crowd gather below them while the sun beat in through the arches making the room almost unbearably hot. There was no breeze. The room was beginning to smell of fear and sweat. It was as if the Locust King had brought the desert heat with him into the mountains.
Aisha's stomach was in knots. She sat cross-legged in front of one of the arches next to Nasreen, who still held her hand as they waited for the Locust King to appear. Aisha did her best to make herself invisible among the other acolytes. She and Nasreen didn't dare whisper to each other now, but their hands clung to each other under the full sleeves of their robes. Aisha looked for Manah in the crowd below, but he was nowhere to be seen. The High Priestess was also missing from the crowd. As was Aisha's mother, who had disappeared into the sanctuary behind the Locust King two hours before. Aisha wondered if she was still living. Birds of prey, sacred to the Goddess circled above. Aisha was not sure if this was a sign of blessing or if the birds had just gathered to eat the city's dead.
Across the courtyard there was movement. The High Priestess stepped onto the balcony to address the crowd, who became immediately silent. "People of Adyll, I present your Queen." She knelt, and the crowd followed.
Aisha strained for a glimpse of her mother on the balcony, wondering if she had been mistreated by her captor. When the Queen stepped onto the balcony she no longer wore the mud stained white gown of surrender and peace, but the Locust's royal colors of red and gold. Her hair was elaborately braided and she wore the golden crown of state indicating supreme authority with its hawk's head and wings. She held her head high in the noonday heat. From this distance, Aisha could not see the dark circles under her eyes or the strain with which she held her mouth, but she could see the Holy Mother kneeling in the shadows behind the Queen.
"My brothers and sisters," Queen Mila addressed the crowd, "noble families of Adyll, our country has been defeated. I come here to present your new ruler, the Emperor Mahleck, King of Locusts, God in the flesh who walks among men. You will do as he says, and you will survive, mayhap even prosper. My husband is dead. As is the Princess Irinya. I am all that remains of the royal house of Adyll, and I freely grant my authority to our conqueror, the God-Emperor Mahleck." She stepped backward to present their new ruler and knelt before him.
Mahleck walked out on the balcony and surveyed the gathering of the nobles below. The people of this country were paler than their desert dwelling cousins the Narim, and their hair color ranged from black to lighter shades of brown and some red. They were dressed in the brightly colored finely spun wool and gossamer silks for which their country was so famed. He left them kneeling before him in silence. None of them even dared to raise their head to view him. The Locust King could see the inhabitants of the temple through the arches as they also knelt. Everyone of importance or influence in this city was here, paying obeisance to the Locust King.
"Rise, Priestess, and crown your God and Emperor," he commanded.
The High Priestess stood and took the crown from the Queen's head, placing it on the head of the Locust King. "All hail, Mahleck, King of Locusts, God among men, Emperor of a hundred lands, and rightful ruler of Adyll. Long live the King!"
"Long live the King," repeated the crowd.
Mahleck stepped forward to address the crowd. "I accept your service and worship as your rightful ruler and God in good faith. You have been led astray into idolatry in your worship of the false goddess you call the Lady. Worship of this demon will be forbidden. All symbols and instruments of this worship shall be brought to this courtyard and burned. Anyone found with these items in the future shall be burned alive as punishment for their heresy. You have the True God in your midst now. There is no need for these children's tales. Your Queen herself has acknowledged my divinity, as has your High Priestess. As God, my mouth defines Truth for all. All heretics and idolaters are worthy of death. But because you were led astray by heretics, I will be merciful and allow you to live in service to me."
He laid his hand on the shoulder of the kneeling Queen, as if to comfort her. She remained motionless, not even flinching at his touch.
"Your sins will need to be purified. As tribute to me each noble family will bring me their children older than twelve summers. The males will be trained in military service and the females will serve my table. They shall be taught in the ways of your new religion and ensure that you will not consider treason. Any child whose family is found to be unclean in their worship or political influence shall be executed along with the rest of the family. None shall be spared. I do not tolerate traitors. Loyalty is virtue."
He turned to the High Priestess, putting a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to kneel in front of him. "Traitors are not to be tolerated, even those whose treachery benefits me. Your priestess betrayed your land, stating she would give me the allegiance of the inhabitants of this temple in exchange for their lives. This is sin, for in doing so she committed treason against the royal family. I am merciful, and will allow her to keep her life. But not her sight."
"NO!" screamed the High Priestess. Two soldiers came onto the balcony, one holding a red hot dagger. One held the old woman, while the other removed her eyes, cauterizing the wound as he cut. The sizzling sound and stench of burning flesh made the Queen want to retch, but she continued to sit unmoving as the High Priestess lost consciousness and collapsed.
