HUMAN
QUEEN’S AVATAR: BOOK 2
By T.S. ALEXANDER
.
Contents
SYNOPSIS
CHAPTER 1 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 2 (PETER)
CHAPTER 3 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 4 (PETER)
CHAPTER 5 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 6 (PETER)
CHAPTER 7 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 8 (PETER)
CHAPTER 9 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 10 (PETER)
CHAPTER 11 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 12 (PETER)
CHAPTER 13 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 14 (PETER)
CHAPTER 15 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 16 (PETER)
CHAPTER 17 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 18 (PETER)
CHAPTER 19 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 20 (PETER)
CHAPTER 21 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 22 (PETER)
CHAPTER 23 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 24 (PETER)
CHAPTER 25 (PETER)
CHAPTER 26 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 27 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 28 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 29 (PETER)
CHAPTER 30 (ELIZABETH)
CHAPTER 31 (PETER)
CHAPTER 32 (ELIZABETH)
HAILLAR HISTORY
HAILLAR QUEENS – CURRENT AVATARS
HUMAN
This book is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed in this series are fictional and any resemblance with real people or incidents is purely coincidental.
PHOENIX and The Haillar Metaverse are copyright © 2019 by T.S. Alexander, all rights reserved under US and International copyright conventions.
This book or parts thereof may not be reproduced in any form, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise—without prior written permission of the author, except as provided by United States of America copyright law. The use of characters and concepts specific to The Haillar Metaverse is not allowed without author’s written consent.
For permission requests, please contact the author via email at:
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Cover image: Shutterstock, Inc, SSTK-08D8F-01CA, license up to 500,000 copies.
Published via Amazon KDP, March 2020.
Credits: My heartfelt thanks to Bob Springett for the hours spent reviewing the Haillar books and for his valuable feedback. Without him this series would not have been what it is.
SYNOPSIS
She was reborn as a human, but does this mean she really had become one?
For the human crew stranded on Aldeea, the only way back home is to travel deeper into an alien empire. A world of architectural marvels and untamed wilderness, of ancient traditions and unknown peril. A world where humanity’s first contact is increasingly about to become the bargaining chip between two warring civilisations.
At the other end of the Dominion, a new queen ascends. Or an old one is reborn and quenched into the furnace of a sun. A queen who’s neither Haillar nor human but destined to become the bridge between these two races.
In the end, Endeavour’s crew needs to make their choice before it’s too late. Are they ready to welcome an ally who might alter humanity’s path to the stars, or are they prepared to risk our entire species’ annihilation?
CHAPTER 1 (ELIZABETH)
The barks sound even closer than last time around.
I stand still for a moment and tilt my head in a useless attempt to better guess where my pursuers are coming from. No luck. I recognise the general direction well enough, but I'm entirely incapable of figuring out which path they took. The mountainside is riddled with deep ravines and barking is bouncing off the walls creating weird echoes. Or maybe my hearing is less than what it used to be. These days it's hard to say.
I stand and take a few deliberate steps checking for available options. The narrow and intricate canyon I’ve just exited lies behind me, one of several ending up in this stone arena. In front of me I have three main paths to the forest below and a dozen other crevasses that probably lead to nowhere. The challenge is picking the safest route. I'm in no shape to climb down a vertical slope, so I need to find an easier way. My body is supposed to be stronger, but the coordination I'm accustomed to is simply not there. Besides, I ache from a hundred scrapes collected all morning while descending the track.
Another furious bark helps me reach a decision. I take the left descent. It is a longer route with little cover, but it looks to be the safest one. The cover doesn't matter much. The hounds have my scent, and I have no way to hide or double back. Besides, the hunters know these grounds better than I do and they formed three separate teams so they can watch each other's back.
I pick up speed running downhill. Long legs help me move faster than I'm accustomed to, but I run clumsily on the uneven, rocky ground. My chest is heavier and this further messes up with my balance, so I probably look like a drunk reveller on a Festival night. Back muscles are stretched and screaming in protest.
The first team reaches the overhang where I stopped moments ago. I can see only two hunters. No hounds in sight but their barking is impossible to miss. They are too close. Unless I move faster they'll catch me before I reach the shelter of the forest. I draw my last bit of stamina and step up the speed, arms pumping close to my body.
It's a minor miracle I reach the bottom of the slope with my arms and legs intact. I only fell twice, a significant improvement compared to the last hunt. My left ankle is sprained but a drop of Life eka takes most of the pain away. The first pursuers are halfway downhill, while the second team can be heard further up, still out of sight. I find my bearings and notice with glee a mountain spring beyond the next drop. Now I stand a chance of losing the hounds, not to mention quenching my burning thirst.
The drop is roughly twice my height. Not usually a challenge but I'm exhausted and not quite steady on my legs. Despite all this I manage a good jump and land perfectly, standing in the middle of the creek. Only to lose my footing on the treacherous stones moments later and fall heavily on my rump. A dignified pose, befitting of a Sen'Dorien Queen. I raise myself and start navigating the stream jumping from one boulder to the next. As an exercise it works miracles for my sense of balance. If only I wouldn't have to land in the icy water every other leap.
The stream cuts through the rocky maze and exits the mountain range next to the Whispering Forest, the last leg of my journey. I pull myself out, wet and shivering but content. By now, my pursuers are probably well behind because their hounds absolutely hate swimming in running water. I'm tired, but I will survive. I'm physically young and working on being physically fit.
Time for the forest hide-and-seek.
Two steps later, I'm surrounded by four hunters reining in their muzzled dogs. The third team, the one I lost in the rocky maze. Only I didn't lose them, as they came around to lie in wait at the end of the canyon. The ones chasing me made sure I was led this way. Indeed, they know these mountains better than I do. They knew about the creek and its path to the forest and they only had to circle back and wait for me to enter the woods.
"The hunt is over, My Lady. Every day you push yourself further. For sure the Guard Commander will be pleased."
I tower over the four Haillar dressed in forest hued leathers. They take places around me, an escort of sorts leading me to Brion Sen'Dorien. The same Guard Commander who vowed only a few ten-days ago that he has no intention to beat another Avatar into shape. Ever again.
✽✽✽
"My Lady, you look awful!"
Trust Brion Sen'Dorien to make a queen feel good. The old Commander returned to our holdings two days after my involuntary arrival. I expected the mandatory dres
s down for the death of my Avatar, but it wasn't the case. I should have realised that Brion, being always pragmatic and logical, would better appreciate the end result. The Scourge siege was thwarted. The Haillar troops and colonists survived. On Aldeea, his objection to my plan had been a practical one: the risk of being shot down before hurting the enemy. But the alternative would have been for all of us to die a heroic but ultimately pointless death. In the end a single Haillar had to die. Me. And sadly, half of the humans in one of their landers, including Liz.
The old warrior is watching me wickedly. Despite all his pledges to the contrary, I bet he enjoys tormenting his new student. Even more so when seeing me awkward as a newly born calf while trying to get accustomed to my human body.
I look down at him. For once I enjoy being a head taller than everyone else around:
"Thank you, Commander. I trust you had a pleasant time in the cool shadow of the forest."
Fifty cycles ago, I was a new Avatar and he had become my bodyguard. At that time the training involved just the two of us because he didn't need anybody else to beat me into shape. Now he's too old to chase me around through Dorien's wilderness so he resorts to employing an army of minions. And using dogs.
"It was indeed a pleasant morning, My Queen. And your progress compared to the last ten-day is showing. You are more and more comfortable with the new Avatar and the increase in strength works to your advantage. You need to boost up your agility and speed though, your human body doesn't help you in this respect."
Brion believes that any eka user should be an athlete as well. His view is that eka manipulation is just one of many skills a warrior should master and only fools would limit themselves to a single tool in their arsenal. After barely surviving the dwelkaar and Dioran's interdict field, I tend to agree.
"I'll take a few moments to wash the grime, or at least as much of it as I can, and then I'll join you by the portal".
"Please take your time, Ashar. You are in much need of a bath. In between your unusual appearance and dirt caking your face and arms, I'm afraid your bearing is not very regal".
Behind the usual banter there is some truth in my tutor's words. My looks may be common by human standards but amongst the Haillar my height and girth stand out like a sore thumb. For a regular bystander I am nothing like a queen, but a rather exotic and slightly threatening presence. This is less of an issue here, as by now everybody in the palace knows my new look, but it may become an annoyance on Tao Bellona. Well, we'll cross that eka gate when the time comes.
The hunters activate a portable gate and we return to the Dorien courts, specifically to one of the training grounds. The place is always busy as contingents of household troops, Haillar and Sen'Haillar, run their training by rotas.
"You should also visit the Healers, Elizabeth Ashar," says Brion. "Tomorrow you’ll need to be at your best as you'll face a more challenging circuit. Besides, you'll dine with Reith tonight at your favourite place in the City of Crystals."
Smile Elizabeth Ashar, tomorrow will be worse! But at least tonight will be enjoyable, having dinner at the poshest place on the planet, probably in the entire Dorien province. A strange thought. Being 'posh', is not something I would normally consider.
✽✽✽
I exit the portal at City Central, the main transport station downtown and the most luxurious one. I'm dressed in a robe for a change, a sheath dress in unadorned shimmering silver. Each affinity has a colour, except for Chaos, the ever-shifting rainbow. So, silver should suffice, as I refuse to dress like a walking cascade of hues.
I'm alone. Brion wanted to force a couple of bodyguards on me but I pushed back. I lived for five cycles on Aldeea without bodyguards and survived three assassination attempts. Barely. Nevertheless, Dorien is not Aldeea, and nobody expects dwelkaar in the streets.
Our Guard Commander's concern stems from my unusual looks. None of the people in the City of Crystals has ever met a human, though they see non-Haillar sentients all the time. While most of our Dominion partners are not very comfortable amongst aliens, City Central is the hub of the planet Dorien, one of the six provincial capitals. If one takes a walk in the City of Crystal in the evening, chances are she'll come across most Dominion species before the end of the night.
I traverse the concourse and amuse myself in trying to guess whom Brion set on my tail as I'm not naïve to believe that he took my objections at face value. Almost immediately a suspect stands up, a young man strolling with a careless attitude. Too casual to be genuine. By the time I make it to the promenade, I'm pretty sure of three hidden guards, two men and a woman following me discreetly. Unnecessarily too, as I'm not going to run into any trouble. I barely attract curious glances and if so, it happens mainly due to my striking resemblance to the Haillar rather than my exotic otherness.
The promenade is a far cry from the Citadel escarpment on Aldeea. The red stone houses are replaced by crystal walls shaped in elegant curves. Instead of quiet, rustic taverns I pass tea parlours and richly adorned restaurants. Passers-by are dressed differently, sporting high-quality robes. I even come across exotic fabrics and cuts no doubt imported from other Dorien worlds and races.
My meeting with Reith is in a quieter part of the city, an array of terraces separated by gardens and sheltered by erolia trees. We have our favourite diner, a place we loved from its early days some five hundred cycles ago. The concierge is not surprised to see me, having probably been forewarned.
My sister awaits at our table.
"Greetings, Reith!"
"Elizabeth Ashar!"
Reith doesn’t lose any opportunity to practice my new Avatar's name. Old habits die hard and it will embarrass her to call me Ellandra in public. We sit and order our food, no need to ask about choices as we know the entire menu by heart. I try to catch up with the latest news of the siege while waiting for the food to arrive:
"What's the latest on the Scourge assault?"
Since I was reborn, Reith is nominally the only Head of our House and she will remain so until I fully recover as a Haillar Queen. For the time being my eka is weak, not even master adept level. It will increase a few thousandfold when I go to Ka Loren to drink from the Fountain of Life. Meanwhile, the relationship with the other Houses and the day-to-day affairs fall on the Queen of Order. My only job is getting back into shape, while taking control of my body and mind.
For this reason, Reith is the one staying in touch with the Council while I remain secluded until I can come in front of the entire Conclave as the rightful Chaos Queen.
"We pushed them back everywhere, but three colonies were lost. Nadellonia and Sembir fell during the first day of the assault. Harussa, a kalan world, was raided in the second wave. The cats didn't figure out until the very last moment that the enemy was in their system and by then it was too late to raise the shields in time."
"Our local Chapter?"
"Only four adepts, all incapacitated before the attack began. All dead now."
"Did the enemy try to wipe out any other world? The way they burned Nadellonia."
"No, they were testing the waters. All of the second wave's attacks came as expected, except for Aldeea. The Scourge didn't target any Core world either. After the havoc they made on the very first day the enemy lost badly. Twelve of their mobile stations were destroyed or severely crippled."
Half a billion drones killed, no more than fifty-thousand sentient Scourge. Probably less. Compared to millions we had lost with Nadellonia and with the smaller colonies. Hardly a Dominion victory, even if tragedies were to be reduced to numbers. But Nadellonia's disaster meant more than Haillar losses, it was a different way to wage war. A war we cannot win. A war that can be the end of our race; twelve Haillar queens left standing with no one and nothing to be protected.
We need to turn the tables. I vowed to dedicate this life and the next ones to do it, as many lives as needed.
"I will leave for Ka Loren in ten-days," I say.
"Are you sure you’re rea
dy?"
"I’ll be. My sense of balance is much improved, my mind too. Memories are back in place, most of them at least. We'll see each other at Tao Bellona, sister of mine, right before the Conclave."
A Conclave is a face-to-face meeting of all Avatars, the way we used to meet regularly millennia ago during the samun wars. Nowadays, it only happens on significant occasions such as an offensive, a treaty, or welcoming a Queen back to power. Most of the time, at least. Not thirty days ago, Spy Mistress Yallona Verdid dispensed with such procedure and showed up in a Council meeting as a fully formed Queen.
The food arrives and we start eating while discussing more pleasant topics.
✽✽✽
I wake up sitting on my bed and struggling to breathe.
Another nightmare. Of all the unpleasant aspects brought by the current transition, having vivid nightmares is the one I dislike most. I remember dreaming from time to time, no more nor less than any other Haillar. I don't remember having such vivid dreams though, the feeling of utter terror. I don't remember the blinding light followed by the never-ending fall.
My mind travelled in space thousands of times, always serene, always soaring peacefully. Even when dreaming I used to feel safe. I used to be in control. This complete helplessness is probably caused by my human physique, as humans seemed to be freer with their emotions: love, anger, fear. Thank the Flame we are built differently or else I would have gone mad a long time ago. Some of my memories are much worse than this nightmare, this endless drop into the abyss.
The sleep is gone. I stand and exit on the terrace, letting the wind ripple through my hair. Its touch cools me, and my feelings settle down into a tranquil river emerging from troubled rapids. It's like a metaphor for my Haillar and human souls, one pressing steadily forward for eternity, the other burning like a firestorm bound to last only for a brief moment.
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