XLII_I_Garden_of_Even
The Hanging Garden of Fakrid-Imsh was nothing short of magnificent, even more so than the fact that Alkol had suddenly made their boat fly and landed Suakasai and Lagno on the place. Gravity was reversed in these parts. Threads of natural stone bridges protruding from the edge of the continent and twisting into a labyrinth of upside-down paths where the sky would be beneath your feet and the ocean above your head; and what grew upon the soil was no less beautiful. There were flowers of every color, shape, and size; but in each place only those that went well together with harmony stood together. All vegetation rose toward the ocean; as though reaching for a fallen god. As though their heaven was wherever their god was, be it below.
Suakasai, with Lagno grabbing onto his arm, walked southward toward the main body of the continent. They passed a bush of azure and turquoise roses and scared away a flock of white pigeons. They had landed close to the main land, so they had walked only about a kilometer when they reached a vertical twist in their path that gave them a headache, and then gravity was just like it was in any other place.
They saw Veron there, looking at something on the ground. They had not met him yet, of course, but he was definitely Veron. As for what he was looking at, it was something that only Veron saw. Not that it was invisible - anyone could have seen it - but only Veron saw it. It was a message carved out of the soil.
If you have arrived here and are looking for me, I hope it means that you have successfully taken care of your other businesses. I am either at the Fortress of Eve Garden or somewhere in its vicinity playing with my new friend. She's so cute; you'll love her!
Yours and forever, your best friend
There is a writing in the Garden. "There is a writing in the garden." Veron repeated; this time aloud.
I know, he heard a voice echo in his head, I wrote it. And then, he was sure.
"Actually, never mind what I said." He turned to the approaching two. "I don't believe we've met? I'm Veron Riym. If you're headed for the fortress, I can lead the way. You'll definitely get lost if it's your first time."
"You're to kind," said Suakasai, "and it is nice to meet you. I am Suakasai Ario. This is my friend Lagno Ibnagan."
Lagno gave a slight bow which went utterly ignored.
"Shall we depart right away?" Veron asked Suakasai.
"Lead the way."
The continent of Fakrid-Imsh - at least the part which they were walking now - had been named accordingly. These jungles resembled one giant garden for everything about them was so elegantly positioned that seemed unnatural; even though it showed no sign of conscious intervention. Trees that were abundant and tall enough to beautiful and make the scenery beautiful, but not abundant and tall enough to block the touch of heavenly illumination. Gazelles, hares, parrots, and other quadrupeds and birds living in such harmony as though the entire Garden was their comfortable home. There were some trees with pink blossoms that might have been sakura, some with orange ones and some turquoise and others of various rainbow colors here and there, most of whose trunks were elegantly wrapped by ivy of equally diverse colors. Every few dozen steps they would pass small streams of tranquillizingly limpid aqua. Then they walked around a small hill and the fortress rose above their heads. It was at least ten times larger than Suakasai had expected; and Suakasai had expected a lot.
"This is the last bastion of pure orcs." Veron indicated the gigantic fortress with curved, dazzlingly white walls that were decorated with ivy, angelic statues, and trees that, quite literally, gew out of the walls, as well as in roof gardens that were visible on lower roofs. "The fortress is built on the edge of a precipice. Beyond it, there are no safe lands. But as far as the eye can see from this fortress, the view is still beautiful. As far as the human eye can see, at least, according to what I've heard."
"You haven't been there yourself?" Lagno asked, regardless of already being ignored once.
"I have." Veron deigned to answer him.
"But you just said 'according to what I've heard' . . ."
"You go in there and meet whomever you've come to meet, Suakasai. I'll look around for a moment."
As the two went their own ways, Veron also went away westward until he reached a small spring where he found whom he had been looking for. Emerald was sitting naked on the edge of the spring, splashing water with her feed holding a young girl in her arms who was left breast.
"Hello, there!" Emerald smiled at Veron maddeningly beautifully.
"Good morning, Emmy! Is that your new friend?"
"Yes. This is little Arshida. She was hungry; so, after giving her a bath, I thought I'd feed her a little."
"Always so kind."
"True; but this time my kindness is special. She's one of us! Isn't that exciting?!"
"Is she indeed?"
"What are you thinking, Veron?" Arshida asked Veron Ideally, without releasing Emerald's nipple from her mouth.
"Iglesueyan beer is amazing." Veron answered her, also Ideally; though he did not have to.
"What else?"
"These trees are breathing."
"Come on . . ."
"That I'm glad I've met you. And that I wonder how much you know about me; considering you already know my name."
"I know that you're currently the only living dragonborn. I also know - and even you might not know - that you're the only person in history to be simultaneously a source, a medium, and a dragonborn."
"I wouldn't say I didn't know it, but I hadn't really paid any attention to it. It is interesting now that I think about it. But it doesn't make me feel any pride."
"Why do you kill humans? It's not nice to harm what breathes."
"What are you talking about? Intelligent lifeforms become parasites when given to spirits that don't deserve them. They are hurting Mother."
"If you are doing it for Mother's sake, then I can't blame you. But I don't like it. And if you kill the people who have become my new family . . . I won't say that I won't forgive you; but I'll become very lonely. And I'm already pretty lonely."
"I won't. I promise. You're my friend."
"I'm everything's friend."
"I'm your friend too."
"Acknowledged."
"Good fortune!" Emerald interjected physically.
"Who are these people whom you call family, anyway?" Veron said, now physically.
"You've already met two of them." Arshida turned around and sat up in Emerald's lap, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Emerald smiled adoringly and kissed her on the top of her head; but, to Veron's surprise, still spoke Ideally. "And even before them being reunited with me."
"Suakasai and Lagno?"
"Correct."
"I might have treated Lagno a bit Harshly. Please forgive me."
"She's kind. She'll forgive you. I forgive you too."
"Thank you. But . . . can you explain to me how they became special to you?"
"A woman . . ." Arshida's eyes became a little wet and she blinked a few times. "A woman tried to kill me after having killed my friend. The murderer's name was Maleka Radhyr, in case you might know her. A flock of crows and some wolves who felt my pain were already on their way to save me; but Suakasai was kind enough to do it first. And I'm not sure they would have arrived in time, if they would have been able to save me if they had. Maleka turned out to be a relatively powerful sourcerer, a kiyla, but Suakasai scared her off with his warden effect. And Lagno convinced Suakasai to take charge of me since I had . . . lost my mother."
"I'm terribly sorry that I made you remember, My Lady."
"Don't be sorry. I'm gald you know me more now. And you don't have to call me 'My Lady'. It is true that I was a princess until quite recently; and it is true that, since the new rulers of the land are usurpers, it would make sense to say I am still a rightful princess waiting to become queen. But I don't really care; I just want to be friends. I won't be able to be your friend if you force me to look down on you."
"I see. Thank you, Arshida."
"Why?"
"For becoming my friend."
"Thank you too." She grinned sincerely.
"Are you mute?"
"Yes," Arshida did not cease her grin, "and deaf."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm glad you know me more. Isn't anything you're glad about?"
"Of course. That you are so kind and lovely. That you are enjoying your place in nature more than most regardless of all that was taken from you. That such an amzing source is now my friend. But I'm still sorry for everything you've lost."
"I'm sorry too," she still did not stop smiling, "believe me, far more than you are. But I'm also glad. This moment is a time of peace; so, let us be happy."
"Of course. Forgive me."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
Arshida then stood up, leaving Emerald's lap and taking her hand. "My dear Emerald, thank you for the nourishment. I'm still a bit hungry; but I'll find something to eat in the Garden. I want to spend time with the denizens too. And I want to give you and your friend some privacy; I know you're too kind to ask for it. Will you kindly help me get dressed? I think I'm dry enough now."
"Of course, love."
Having put her clothes back on, Arshida kissed Emerald on the right cheek, waved at Veron, and left them to their privacy. Emerald herself started to get dressed almost immediately, so it is not what it might have seemed like.
Arshida marched deeper into Eve Garden. In Eve Garden, everything that breathed welcomed this kind source. Even more so than the rest of the world. In eve Garden, Arshida found that she felt at home even more so than she had in her now stolen castle. In Eve Garden, Suakasai who had immediately asked about Arshida upon his arrival at the fortress, now sumbled upon her in the wilds.
Suakasai was behind the deaf girl, and he was not a source; hence she did not sense his thoughts. There was only one source that could sense the thoughts of beings who were not sources themselves.
Arshida was standing, with her index finger in her mouth, beside a gazelle who was breastfeeding her children. After a while, as though the mother had told her that it was finally her turn, she approached gleefully and started to suck her milk.
After a while, she stood up, turned around and noticed Suakasai. After wiping her mough, she kissed the gazelle on the forehead and approached Suakasai, hugged him tightly, then casually released him and continued to march deeper into the Garden.
This time she approached a beehive. Apparently, such natural products were all she ever consumed. It was a very large green behive hanging by a tree with purple blossoms, and it was flooded with active bees of similar green color. Suakasai had not seen such bees before; but he knew that bees tend to protect their hives, and became worried for Arshida. He decided wait a little longer before taking action. Ashida approached the hive casually and started to breathe in a strange rhythm, then put her right hand on the hive and the bees suddenly started to move frantically, some alone her outstretched hand. This alarmed Suakasai into an irrational sense of protectiveness toward a child who was not his blood. Impulsively ready to potentially sacrifice himself, Suakasai through himself at the beehive and made it crumble; but before it could be seriously damaged, one of the tree's larger branches moved on its own and struch Suakasai accoss the chest and sent him flying for a dozen meters before he landed painfully on his loin. He stood up at once and ran toward the tree again, where Arshida suddenly hugged the beehive and looked at him with wet eyes, frowning with hostility and melancholy anger. The bees were crawling all over her body; but none had biten her, and none seemed to have any intention of doing so. And the tree's branches seemed ready to strike, but Arshida did not seem to be in any danger.
That was when Suakasai realized it. Just as the honeybees were part of the beehive, the beehive was part of the tree; and Arshida was also part of them, and they were all part of the Garden. More than anything, Suakasai felt extremely stupid.
"I'm sorry . . ." he stammered, trying to move his lips exaggeratedly, knowing the girl could not hear him, "I was just trying to help . . . I . . . Forgive me . . ."
Arshida, naturally, could not answer him. She just wiped her eyes with the back of her little hands, which she then outstretched and held beneath the hive. After a short moment, a very thick stream of honey emerged from the bottom of the hive and filled Arshida's hands, which she then licked clean, and then kissed the beehive, then the tree, and returned to Suakasai's side and grabbed his right hand with lowered head. As though to apologize for having frowned at him. After a moment, she pulled some seeds out of a small satchel she had been carrying and sowed them by the tree.
Graced be O gravity, feeding us all. Thank you for taking care of me, cute little honeybees. These seeds will grow into rich flowers whose nectar will enable you to make honey manyfold what you gifted to me. It rains here often enough. I'll be off now. Have a good day, honeyladies and gentlebees!
She then approached Suakasai with lively strides and a pleasant, satiated smile. She took his hand again. Let's go, Suakasai, Suakasai did not hear. But he somewhat felt it.
"Is your tummy full? Shall we go, Arshida?"
She nodded, stroking his hand with her glorious hair.
"I didn't think about returning whene I plunged out of the fortress looking for you. Will you be able to take me back?"
This time she nodded twice, grabbing his wrist with both hands and playfully and somewhat shyly rubbing her face on his arm.
Led through an otherworldly labyrinth of nature by Arshida, Suakasai reached the seemingly unnecessarily large elaborately engraved wooden gate of the Fortress of Eve Garden. The gate opened to quadrangle in which statues and trees were located in four lines of the square on the ground by the walls instead of growing out of the walls. A green-dressed blonde girl was standing in the middle of the yard. Here, too, the white walls glowing under daylight were embraced by the wilds that seemed to have sent ivy for representation. Even here, the palace was become part of the wilds. The green-dressed girl blended into the ivy-covered walls of Eve Garden. They stood at the height of its equilibrium. As though they were an unfractured ruin, having reached the conclusive peace of Repose without having withered.
As though they had risen from the ruins of tall buildings.
Suakasai approached the woman whom he had already met without introduction - for as he had happened across her along with Lagno, he quickly asked about Arsholen and departed before going into the castle any further; though he he had met her further in than where she was standing now - and was met with an unexpectedly belligerent grimace. Before he had the chance to say anything, the green-dressed woman frowned at him and passed by him with animosity. She was Arsholen Hudagorr, of course; but Suakasai did not know that.
You see, before Lagno had departed from Eve Garden to join Suakasai along with Alkol, Arsholen had heard disturbingly obscene tales of the man from her. Then, meeting him for the first time, she still could not have been sure who he was, and had been taken by surprise; but now she had her own reasons to be disturbed by his mere sight. Or mere thought; which was made all the more tangible by the practical realization that the man indeed existed.
Arsholen's feelings toward Suakasai were repressed and denied through a complex channel of two layered jealousy: One which was targeted at all the other girls who were not limited to a particular religious code and could easily have him; and one which was targeted at Suakasai himself, who for the same reason, could easily be with girls who were not she. Her absence was crucial in this complex, and all these feelings reached the surface of her person in the form of a romantic repulse toward Suakasai. This repulse was also present in older priestesses toward those amongst the young generation of girls who had the audacity to be natural; these priestesses would justify their hatred by unconsciously making themselves believe that they were sharing the notions of a deity.
In the case of Arsholen, she was not in love with Suakasai; she did not even have feelings for him; she just knew that he was a man; a beautiful man indeed, but a man in other hands out of her reach.
All right, Suakasai decided to ignore the woman for now, I need to meet with Haklus. And see orcs for the first time.
It was indeed rare for anyone to see an orc unless they themselves were another orc. Eve Garden, the last bastion of pure orcs that was protected by Lady Emerald, was only accessible through Hanging Garden, which itself was accessible by no ordinary means. And the impure lands were too hostile and ill-reputed for most people to bother trying.
Suakasai passed an entrance by the other side of the quadrangle and met Haklus by at the bottom of a staircase. The stairs, as well as the inside-floors in general, were covered by wood so unbelievably polished that looked like marble turned brown with magic.
Suakasai almost did not recognize Haklus. He had expected to see him with the same untidy and long hair and beard, wearing an unbelievably heavy armor that would hurt even to look at; just as would have been expected of his personality. Instead, he saw him with brushed hair and tied beard, though still as long as ever, and dressed in a tastefully buttoned dark-crimson doublet. And he could not resist smiling.
"Greetings, brother!"
Suakasai hugged him before saying anything. "I hope I'm not too late. I have gathered important allies. Oh, a lot has happened . . ."
"I would love to hear all of it brother," Haklus nodded, "and soon I will; but we have to attend to the meeting now. There might be a chance of gathering even more allies."
"Are there orcs in this meeting?" Suakasai said as they ascended the stairway."
"Plenty."
As they walked through a labyrinth of stairways and hallways, Suakasai realized that the Fortress of Eve Garden was one of those magical structures that were larger from the inside than they were from the outside; which meant it was many times larger than what had seemed to him, which was already many times larger than what he had expected, which was already a lot. The 'magice that made this phenomenon possible, namely, was the spatial spell of Upscale. To his surprise, Suakasai still had not seen a single orc.
Then they entered a hall in which Suakasai felt like an insect. Or a bacterium, had he known what it was. And the red-skinned orcs with tall foreheads and tusks of various sizes and shapes whose smallest one was larger than a bear were not the reason.
The ceiling of the circular room was at least three hundred meters high, and, to the human eye, it still seemed to join as one line wit the floor at the other side of the hall; even though it was perfectly horizontal. At least ten thousand orcs were present, sitting on cubic platforms of the same polished wood installed with equal intervals. This room must have received extra magic to be upscaled even compared to the rest of the fortress.
They heard clear voices of a conversation from a source too far too be seen: the opposite side of the hall, where the largest orc was sitting on a platform just like every other, with Emerald sitting on his left shoulder, caressing his hair kindly and swaying her calves in the air playfully, and Veron lounging on his lap, right thigh to be precise, and casually playing his harp with his knife which, surprisingly, did not seem to harm the strings.
The large orc's tusks protruded from his upper jaw and had the same shape as that of a mammoth. His voice had the deepest pitch that could be considered natural.
"My Lady Emerald?" said the almost unnatural voice.
"Yes, love?" Emerald bowed forward a little to look at him directly in the eyes.
"May I officially begin now?"
"Yes, please." Of course, Emerald's kindness toward this orc male is that of a motherly kind, for, in case you have not already deduced, even though Emerald has the physical appearance of a fifteen year old girl, she is in fact several million years old
"Thank you . . . My eternal comrades, today we have gathered here on a matter that had haunted our souls for too long a time. The time of our race's redemption might be drawing near. But before we begin, allow me to express my gratitude to our Lady for honoring us with her presence. O great one who wishes to be called Emerald, whose essence gave birth to our race before being detached and transformed into the marvel that is present among us today; I, and all my kind, are humbled before your might and mercy. Thank you for everything."
"Oh, you're too kind, darling!" Emerald lowered her head and, even though she was physically unable to blush, a shy grin was visible on her face. "There is something I must say too. Veron brought me some news this morning; and since there is so many of you and it would pain me if I wasted your time, I would like you to know it right away so that you would be able to take it into account in today's discussions. Veron, sweetheart, would you like to explain it yourself?"
"If My Lady commands." Veron sat up straight from his lounging position. "I don't know how much you people know of the recent events concerning my actions, but I have overthrown my brother and taken hold of Iglesueya, and once I was away on business in Autumn Falls, he returned to find his place stolen, and was killed by my daughter. I didn't witness it for my self, of course; I learnt it up my return to Iglesueya from my daughter's account who said 'I killed Uncle Stan for you, Daddy; are you proud of me or what?' Well . . . I suppose none of you really care how cute she is. At any rate, the only surviving dragon, the green one, with his previous master being dead, formed a bond with my Azalea - that's my daughter, sorry I forgot that you didn't know her name - and is now residing in the Dragon's Keep alongside my daughter to guard the land; but once I signal them, she will arrive along with the green dragon, whom she has chosen to name Spring, in less than a quarter of a single planetary rotation. I myself am a dragon in my own right, and will fight alongside you to the end. I'm confident that I will be able to release the dragons located in your 'impure lands' throughout the process of lifting the curse. One might accomplish the other or the other way around; I don't really know how it works, to be honest, but I'll do my best to the very end. Not only because we have common interests, and that those dragons matter me; but also because of my unparalleled love and respect for Lady Emerald."
I love you too, darling.
"I have finished now; thank you for giving me your time."
"Thank you, Veron dear." Emerald sat up straight and interlocked her hands on her lap. "There is another important turn of events that is no small part of the reason why we have decided on this time in history to take back the free continent. There are two very important individuals amongst us who carry the most powerful warden effects in the world. You have already met one of them, as well as their small army of magnificent might. Honestly, I wasn't certain about this until just a moment ago; but Veron confirmed my hunch by telling me how his knife reacts to both of them. Sir Suakasai, Prince Haklus, would you like to share your thoughts on the situation?"
Although Suakasai was quite nervous and did not even quite know what the situation was, he subconsciously opened his mouth prepared to give a confident speech; but Haklus started to talk sooner than him, reminding him that even so far, he had been the first to speak only as the representative of the prince.
"My noble orcs," Haklus's voice resounded in the hall, "My own motherland is also overrun by demonic tyrants; thus, I sympathize with your tragedy. Along with the men under my command; I will fight with you to the end. Putting my faith in the honor of the orcs, I trust that you will also aid on the day in which I shall fight to free my homeland."
"Taitania," Emerald whispered in the big orc's ear, "This is your decision to make. I believe their help is essential for this task, but I won't force anything on you. You are the rightful leader of these people; you make the decision."
"I trust your judgment, My Lady," he whispered back. "I accept your offer, Prince," he continued aloud, "And now, for our guests' benefit, and for the sake of the young ones who may have received confusing information, and for those who have forgotten; allow me to briefly state the situation in which the race of orcs is entangled, may it also serve as a base for today's discussions. Before the unjust and unholy division of our land, our leaders were chosen by the Sacred Howz gifted to us by our Lady Emerald. Each leader would lead our people for fifty years, and then shed their own blood in the Sared Howz. One by one, other orcs of the highest fame and honor based the respect they had won amongst their people would also pour their blood in the reddened howz; whosever blood made the Howz return to its original color, would be appointed the next leader. My uncle Xazaroth, with his fifty years come to an end, through the same ritual, made it known that I was the next rightful leader; only to then slaughter my whole family to keep his position . . ."
"It was Raznaxard's intervention . . ." Emerald interjected with lowered head, "I'm sorry I couldn't do anything . . . He is too powerful for me."
"You must not apologize to us, My Lady. Without you, we would not have existed in the first place."
"Which makes me all the more responsible; for which reason I intend to stand with you to the end, whatever the end may be."
"Eternally you shower us with kindness, My Lady . . .
"The reason that my uncle did not kill me was that he knew he would curse himself terribly by killing the rightful heir, and he only carried out the ritual to find out the one person he could not kill. The individual known as Raznaxard whom My Lady mentioned, had promised my uncle to give him the power that would enable him to rule upon the orcs despite being a usurper, if only my uncle would reestablish the then abandoned and inactive Temple of Bartan. He did so. He revived the temple and became baptized in its blue fire. The fire of that temple has a very powerful tempting effect on the weak mind; to the extent that one would sell their soul to the fire in order to gain its might. Xazaroth made himself a slave to the fire, and as he showed the flame to the rest of our race; almost all of them trembled before its tempting brightness. He tried to tempt me as well; needless to say, unsuccessfully. Of all of our brethren that resisted the temptation, everyone who survived is here now. We are the ones favored by our lady Emerald; and for that we must be honored. But more than that, we have a responsibility to redeem the lands we were unable to protect. Three quarters of our population are old enough for battle. To ensure the continuation of our species in case of defeat, we shall leave the rest behind, and I ask My Lady to remain here and look after our young ones in our absence."
"I will. That is all I can actually do for you. I can't kill anyone; but I will give you my utmost blessing from afar."
"That is more than enough, My Lady. The seventy-five-hundred of us who will fight will divide into five groups of fifteen-hundred and each charge one corner of the pentagon-based pyramidic temple. Our allies, along with me and my elder children, Laitenia and Zarath, will ascend the temple and deal with Xazaroth in person; for he who leads the fire must not be taken lightly.
"I am done. If you agree with the plan, show it to me."
The crowd gave a deafening roar that startled Suakasai. Haklus did not even twitch.
"Once again," said Emerald, once the roaring had calmed down, "I would like to apologize for being unable to fight alongside you in person. That's all for today. Tha gathering is dismissed. Thank you for attending."
Suakasai was expecting the floor to crumble beneath the feet of so many heavy works standing up and beginning to walk at once. It did not.
"Come with me, brother," Haklus put his hand on his shoulder, "I need your help with something."
He led him out of the hall and, through a very large twisting stairway, to a bedchamber.
Ignoring that it had been Haklus to have wanted to tell him something, Suakasai recounted his accomplishments and recent adventures, and only then asked Haklus with what he needed help.
"Have you, by any chance, met a certain lady in green since coming here?"
"I have. She seems to hate my guts."
"Oh; well, she is to be my wife."
"Huh?"
"It was decided by her family upon our unity. She's the daughter of the leader of Orxihaad, and the sister of Ervin Hudagorr."
"Let me guess . . ."
"You guess right. I have attended to my looks for this reason. She seemed to avoid me."
"Well, you do look better now, but . . ."
"Is something still wrong?"
"No, nothing's wrong. Just . . . do you actually like that beard? Or have you simply never felt like cutting it?"
"It just never seemed necessary, if I'm to be honest."
"I see a mirror here. Do we also have the equipment? Let me see . . . Why, yes; we do! Sit down, brother."
Suakasai shaved Haklus's beard altogether and tied his hair into a simple but tasteful half-up-half-down.
"You look glorious, brother."
"I look gay." Now, by 'gay', Haklus simply meant 'happy'; but what you are thinking is probably also correct.
At this very moment, Arsholen was also in no smaller a situation. The Slim Sisters had surrounded her in the bedchamber allocated to her as she was going through her confusing trauma.
"But why do you deny me?" said Shadow, "You know deep down that whatever I command is in fact your own wish; so, why do you deny youself?"
"I know why," said Beam, "I understand . . . It's painful . . . Realization is painful . . . You've lived in denial for so many years, after all. But if you finally accept; the pain you are conscious of now will also cease. Now that you have become aware of the pain, it is time to accept what comes from deep within, and heal it. Don't you agree?"
"It is only once you've accepted your every part," said Saba, "that you can fulfill your potential. I mean, look at me! The reason I can blow in the flute with such eternal breath is that I don't give a shit what anyone thinks of a girl who likes to run and play instead of waiting for a husband! I have my own friends, after all."
"Do not let yourself be enslaved by indoctrination," said Burnt Wings, "You must be led by the light of the world; but you have that light within."
"I need some air," said Arsholen, then stood up from the chair by the mirror and left the bedchamber. She headed for the highest southern terrace she had so far managed to find. It was not the highest; but that was for the best, for the fact that there was something above just as well as below gave a sense of security, not to mention beauty.
Bowing forward and looking at the beautiful but dormantly hostile scenery, with her elbows resting on the railing, she took a deep breath, and she was ready to slowly open her eyes, she heard footsteps which caused them to open abruptly. But she did not turn back.
"How do you feel?" it was Haklus.
"Lonely."
"I'm right here."
"You're right here, but you're far from me. If you came closer, then I might feel less lonely."
Haklus approached her and put his hands on the railing next to hers.
"Even though you're standing beside me, I still feel lonely."
"Well, I'm as close as one could be, am I not?"
"Not really. You haven't even reached me. This body is not me. I am not this hair. I am not this skin. I am the soul that lives within. The true me is inside this mortal form. If you were inside, then I would not feel lonely." Arsholen could hardly believe the words that were coming out of her own mouth.
"Then I will be inside you."
She stopped him with her hand for a second. "Do you want this?"
"I do"
With her right hand, she pulled her dress above to her waist and gathered and held the cloth beneath her left breast. With her right hand, she pulled her underwear down to her thighs. A pleasant brisk breeze caressed her groin. She did not need to disrob any further. For reasons she could not put into words - perhaps she still did not fully know them - even though her urge to do what she had initiated was caused in great part by her attraction to Haklus, all that mattered to her was the act itself. Her breasts and the rest of her legs played no crucial part in that - or even her lips, for that matter. From behind, she grabbed the still fully attired Haklus and attached herself to him, feeling the raging elephant over the garment on her natal cleft. With that mere indirect touch, she could sense the shape and size which corresponded acceptably to the man of her dreams of whom she had unwillingly dreamt of so far. She then tilted her head backwards and, with a regular, literal direct tone, whispered in Haklus's left ear an imperative verb and an object pronoun that excused Haklus to delay no further.
But a golden light enveloped her body before he could do anything. "Ah . . ." she exclaimed, "The warden effect. born to an ancestor's will to protect a descendant. In this case, a forefather is trying to protect my virtue. But I no longer want it. So, I wonder, my beautiful prince; is your will sheer enough to surpass the light? And will you will so?"
She commanded. And so he did. And so she did. As two fires were extinguished, Arsholen finally made use of her lips and kissed him amateurly, and said "You are my favorite transgression."
"Not first?"
"First of this manner, yes. First in general, no; but I wish you were. Which brings me to realize . . . there is another transgression I must ask you to commit for me. My brother . . . he will kill you if he finds out you did this. No, please don't be arrogant; he's to powerful, he will kill you in direct combat. You must backstab him . . . Yes! You must backstab him! Will you do that for me, My Prince? Will you do that for me, my love?"
"Your wish is my command."
XLII_II_Union_of_Extras
"Hello there, Brother."
"Molto!" Suakasai greeted him. "Greetings, Brother. I'm indebted to you . . . for sticking with me for so long . . . for remaining true to your word."
"Well . . . you're actually lucky my word isn't worth shit; or else I'd be here to drag your arse back to the king."
"Your word is worth the world, Brother, when said to the people about whom you truly care. And you wouldn't be able to arrest me with so many people around, would you?"
"I guess you're right," he snorted, "about my word. I would be able to arrest you."
"Veron, darling," Emerald called the demi-human as they stood ready for battle in the backyard of the Fortress, a very large terrace right at the edge of the southern precipice, "I had best preserve my power to protect the young orcs while the elders are gone. Will you be so kind as to assemble our big friends?"
Since the orcs were already there, hearing those words made Suakasai tremble at the thought of what would be considered 'big' even compared to them.
Veron, on the other hand, had his own worries. To be safe, he had signalled her daughter to come to him sooner than the calculated time it would take for Spring to cover the distance; but she had still not arrived even though it had far passed his calculations. He was bothered by the prospect of being ashamed for keeping so many orcs at bay and waste the time in which they could have rested more or prepared more seriously, getting them closer to the next time they would have to sleep or eat. He did not state any of those thoughts, of course. He rather smiled and nodded, then brushed the strings of his harp. These friends were indeed big; for this time the ground actually tremble.
An inexplicably larger number of mammoths entered the southern garden through its northern opening to the rest of the fortress, god knows whence further. What must be made clear here, is that contrary to public opinion, mammoths are actually not that much larger than elephants. These mammoths, however, were allocated to the orcish world, and the ratio of an orc's size to theirs was the same as that of a human to a common elephant.
Come on, Azalea; where are you? Oh, there you are! And not alone . . . Oh, my! That's my girl!
She was riding on the back of Spring, but the one sitting on the front was the Matriarch of The Savage Vault, brandishing her spear and screaming savagely - as was expected of a savage queen. Azalea, dear Azalea, was casually smiling at the beautiful view and frowning a little against the wind, while grabbing onto the matriarch. Veron wondered why a rope was tied to Spring's tail, but not for long. For an army of a hundred of the matriarch's warriors riding fifty flying minions tied to Spring to be able to keep up with the dragon emerged from above the fortress moments after the emergence of the former.
"Daddy!" called Azalea as she energetically disembarked Spring - who had turned out to be only slightly larger than the mammoths - and jumped into Veron's arms, "I've brought reinforcements! Are you proud of me or what?!"
"Greatly, sweetheart." He patted her on the head.
Then the matriarch approached Veron with her armor of bones making a sound that could be considered disturbing or appetizing based on the person hearing it, and struck the ground with the handle of her spear.
"Greetings, Sezliaksya." Veron greeted her, releasing her daughter.
The Matriarch of The Savage Vault grabbed Veron by the groin and said something in her native tongue that no one except Veron who laughed it off seemed to understand.
"It was you . . ." Spring suddenly spoke, addressing Suakasai, "It was you who released Vaseleus . . . She was . . . suffering . . . I thank you . . ."
"Um . . . you're welcome."
"You killed Vaseleus?" Veron suddenly wore a serious expression.
"Does that bother you, sir?"
Veron decided that, with his current rage, punching Suakasai in the face would most probably break his skull. So, he ignored it and moved on to the matter at hand.
"Honorable Taitania," Veron addressed the leader of the orcs, "You mentioned that you would join your allies to deal with your uncle in person. Prince Haklus's small army, will be able to ride the minions. You and your sons, along with the prince, Sir Suakasai, Matriarch Sezliaksya, my daughter and myself will ride Spring. That is for when we reach the vicinity of the temple, of course, for both Spring and the minions need to rest. Before then, we shall all ride the mammoths, and the flying creatures will accompany us without any load at the same pace as the mammoths. Does that sit well with you?"
Zarath, Taitania's daughter, said "Will this steed be able to carry our weight?"
"I am confident in my might!" Spring unfurled her wings and rose on her hind legs. "Why don't you put a mammoth on my back and see how much I can carry," she then hissed, "not to mention how much I can . . . BURN!"
"There, there, little Springy," Azalea patted the dragon on the side, "calm down, pretty girl."
Considering Azalea's own size, referring to the dragon as 'little' indeed seemed inappropriate; compared to the other dragons, however, she really was relatively small. However, Azalea's usage of the term was in the endearing sense, not the literal; and it did indeed calm down the pretty girl.
"We waste time!" howled Laitenia, Taitania's son, "Everything is ready! Let us depart!"
"My brother is right! Please give the order, father dear; our race lusts for vengeance!"
The impatient crowd of orcs joined in with Taitania's children, howling in unison. This scream of battle might make these people seem savages as opposed to the peaceful beings that they truly are, in harmony with nature. Please take into account the fact that they have been forced out of their motherland, having to watch it being brought to ruin without being able to do anything to prevent it, for the past half a century.
As Suakasai mounted a mammoth with veron's aid, he said "look, I can tell that you're troubled by the fact that I . . ."
"Let's just forget it."
"Good. But I have a question; are we just going to jump off the precipice with these mammoths? I do not know much of these creatures, but even if they survive such a fall, the impact would kill a man regardless."
"They have large legs. They will slow down the descent before they reach the bending limit of their knees. It'll hurt a little; but you'll survive. Don't worry."
Graced be O Gravity, a faint voice echoed in Suakasai' head, killing us all.
Suakasai overheard Haklus talking to a black-heard man. "You and the company join one of the ground units of your own choosing. There are enough of our capable warriors above; but knowing you, you will certainly make a difference there. You don't even need an official title, you simple have the spirit of a commander."
"By your command, Your Majesty."
"Who was that man?" asked Suakasai after a while.
"Gareil Raxnarohg," answered Haklus, "I believe you've met his brother?"
"Yes. I believe he died."
Arsholen, now free from the alarm of brotherly protectiveness, liberally kissed Haklus and said farewell to him.
Lagno approached Suakasai and said "Suakasai, I know I shouldn't have waited until now to say this; but I don't want to join this battle. I don't have any problems with fighting humans, but I'm not remotely confident that I can survive this one. I know it makes me a coward; but forgive me, I'm frankly terrified. Let me sit this one out."
"You will not be forced to do anything," haklus answered instead of Suakasai, almost making him angry, "Stay here and entertain my Arsholen. Just not too much. I mean it."
"I understand, Haklus. I mean it too. I'm not that much lacking in honor."
Asholen smiled, happy that she wouldn't be left completely alone, and took Lagno's hand.
And then they jumped. It hurt much more than a little; but, fortunately, no one died. As they marched in menacing silence, the horizon crimsoned and the scenery gradually stopped being beautiful. They reached the first settlement. It was a watchtower. It had already been mostly abandoned, what with most of them having left to inform the temple of the incoming enemy units; but with the rushing retreat, the large orcs had broken part of the structure and thus trapped three of their own beneath rubble. The modified, blue-skinned orcs were about twice the size of the red ones.
"I'm sorry, my brothers and sister," said Taitania, "I will not kill any orc unless I have to; but if I help you out of the rubble, you will attack us, and we shall have to kill you. Let us just see what destiny holds in store for you."
"Let us join you!" the female screamed, "We will fight with you!"
"Yes," the other chimed in, "we will!"
"Don't leave us here to die!" and the other.
"Forgive me, my kin; we cannot risk any backstabbers among ourselves at such a time . . . Forgive me."
And they passed. Ignoring the begging screams of the blue three.
As the Arx began to set, they saw the temple in the crimson horizon burning blue at the top. As though the menacing red was nature's response to the blue that had contaminated it. They marched for several more kilometers before Taitania gave the order.
"You know your divisions," he yelled, as they were less than a kilometers away from the temple, "Charge!" and about seven thousand and five hundred orcs marched in five group, each at the gate at one corner of the pentagon.
"Let us now see if your dragons claim was true, Veron. It is foreboding that we haven't been attacked still. It means all their forces are concentrated inside the temple. But there is no other way. We must rely on our ground forces, and finish our job above as soon as possible."
"Indeed." Veron nodded casually. "Now, we fly!"
They flew indeed, but what startled was the matriarch's sudden raging scream. So far, she had been silent, probably due to not knowing anyone's language
They flew over the battle grounds. They could already hear screams from each gate.
"Can't this bird go any faster?" screamed Zarath.
"I said she can carry you," answered Veron, "I didn't say you're not heavy."
"Why, you-"
"Don't fly any higher, Dragon. The entrance is there," Taitania pointed to somewhere above the middle of the structure, "no need to takes as high as the Flame."
Veron easily saw the hole indicated by the orc and led the dragon there, the minions and the rest of the army following tied to its tail. They entered the pyramid through the opening.
And there they saw Xazaroth.
"Damn," exclaimed Haklus, "he's almost as big as Padhra."
"He is?" Suakasai looked disappointed rather than surprised.
Behind Xazaroth, three dragons - one red, one yellow, one blue - with eyes shining blue were feuling the blue fire of the temple. In front of him, about a three hundred blue orcs stood in unison.
"Many of us will die here today," said Suakasai.
"Not us," responded Haklus.
"Very unlikely."
"No, I mean not us, not you and me."
"You've changed, brother."
"I have? Probably for the better. At any rate, if they hadn't sent most of their forces to defend the gates, they would have killed all of us. They weren't expecting us to enter from here, that's for certain. Just look at them, their dumbstru-"
"CHAAARGE!" Taitania screamed, and charge they did.
"Defend me, my servants!" screamed Xazaroth, taking a heavy step back.
The dragon as well as the minions, as Veron had instructed them, charged directly at the dragons, trying to disrupt their task, without any intention to kill them. Spring, although the smallest among the dragons, could easily take on the blue one, but even fifty minions were not enough to easily outmatch the other two. Well, if it was supposed to be easy, it would have been done long ago.
Haklus and Suakasai both summoned their warden effect, and had to work together for each blue orc; just as Azalea and Sezliaksya had to work together. Veron could work on his own, of course, but he was not human. Just as Taitania and his children were not. As both sides started dying, Veron flew and rained crimson fire upon the blue orcs. They had already been feuled with fire, and could not burn so easily, but the pure dragon fire began to cleanse them, giving them doubt, weakening them.
"It's good to fight with you again, brother!" screamed Suakasai, mad with the rage of battle and with his own light.
"Let us strengthen ourselves in this war," yelled back Haklus, equally mad with the same things, "may the usurpers of the motherland tremble before our might, come the day of our revolution!"
"I'm sorry, my brother!" cried Laitenia, as he cut down a blue orc, "I'm sorry, my sister!"
"Forgive me . . ." cried Zarath, "oh, please forgive me . . ."
"Pains me each sway of my mighty axe as I strike down my brethren," cried Taitania, "may our lady Emerald justify your death as a compensation for your freedom from no better a fate."
"I will kill you today," yelled Xazaroth, threatening desperately, "even if it means my eternal damnation. I will rule the orcish lands or see them burn!"
"Try to survive first, you old fool!" yelled back Zarath instead of her father.
The three red orcs finally reached Xazaroth, dodged the strikes of his horrifyingly enormous axe, and cut his ankles in turn, making him tremble over, and then beginning to climb him, being slowed down by their mostly successful attempts at dodging the abnormally large orcs punches at his own body aimed at the intruders.
#add more battle description
Even though all of their army had died out, it still looked as though they were winning, for their opponents had also almost completely died out. But just as it looked as though they were winning, a loud, creaking sound was heard from a barred gate on the eastern side of the hall.
One of our armies at the gates must have died out and now the blue ones have returned to back up their leader.
That was what most of them thought; and it would indeed have been their demise, had it been true. For after a few more sounds, the door shattered before a battering ram, and Gareil and company jumped out of the gate, along with a pleasant number of friendly orcs. All of Gareil's friends were capable warriors, but Suakasai was specially impressed by Gareil whose movements were basically blurred; made all the more impressive by the fact that he was not using any magic.
I will definitely lose to this man in a face-to-face battle where I don't make use of my light; and might lose even if I do. Note to self: beware of your actions before Gareil Raxnarohg.
Upon the arrival of their back up, all the blue orc except Xazaroth were almost instantly killed. Then they all charged at the leader. It did not take much time. He fell with a pathetic howl.
"Quickly, Veron!" yelled Taitania, "To the Flame! Quickly, before it goes to someone, else."
"On it."
Veron flew toward the dragons and aided Spring in the act of purification. Before long, the blue glow in the eyes of the then hostile dragons extinguished, and then they all aimed their purifying fire at the contaminating flame. Before this confuses you, allow me to explain some things right here: Firstly, Veron's fire is red because he is only part dragon; the fact that blue fire is hotter than red fire was not any different in Aulothanwin. Secondly, although the contaminating flame was the same color as pure dragon fire, its contaminating quality had nothing to do with its color; it was simply a form magically contaminating fire that burnt blue due to being extraordinarily hot. And it was soon extinguished.
Taitania and his children by witnessing it in person, and the rest of the orcs by seeing their adversaries shrink and change color, became aware of their victory and suddenly roared in joy so loudly that literally made the temple tremble.
"It was a terrible battle," said Suakasai to his brother, "but it still seemed suspiciously easy,"
"To you, yes;" Haklus nodded, "but it took these orcs fifty years to get here. They weren't just waitning in the meantime; they were preparing."
Sezliaksia approached Veron and spoke a few sentences in her native tongue. She seemed a bit angry; but more than that, impatient. Excited, even. Then she began, with struggle, to speak in the common tongue, which was basically a modern variant of Arxoloksian. "My people fight for you, die for you; mate with me yet?"
"Of course, Sezliaksia," Veron nodded casually, "just let me catch my breath, will you."
"And what do we do with you?" Azalea stood with hands on her hips next to the freed dragons, "Oh I know! I hereby name the yellow one Summer, the red one Autumn, and the blue one Winter! I'm Azalea; let's be friends!"
Summer, the only female of the three, larger than Winter and smaller than Autumn, reached to Azalea with her head and closed her eyes. Azalea smiled and began to pat her without hesitation.
"Hello, my friend," said Summer.
"Hello, Azalea," said Autumn, also letting her pat him.
"Hello, My Lady," said Winter, doing the same, but seemingly a bit shyly.
From hell itself, Kris J. La'in, King of Kros, who had been watching over the events of Fakrid-Imsh, said "Well, good on you, boys and girls. Ah, well, I've already drained more than enough sin outta that temple; so, I don't really give a fuck."