by Marcus Sloss
When Wong unified the people and peace prevailed a shock developed. From kings down to poor villagers, the populace was used to war. When Emperor Wong’s eldest son demanded a campaign against a King Loron for a late tax payment, a conflict occurred. The two killed each other in a heated argument. Wong made a few mistakes. The first was, even though Wong was a gifted General – he never solidified his rule with countless wives. He had one wife and one son. That was it. So when they died. A vacuum of power was created. The world of Vin was on the precipice of open warfare between Kings again when King Igrad came to a solution.
The council of Kings was established. If an Emperor was found unworthy to continue to rule then the assembly of Kings could remove the sitting Emperor with two thirds votes. Amber said it was tough and tricky, but eventually, her father won the confidence of enough Kings to be the first Emperor of this new system. A lot of his dealings were marriage agreements. Forty of them. Not all his wives were daughters of Kings, some were the offsprings of Dukes. I remembered seeing a portrait of the Emperor around forty women in the estate. I thought it was an exaggerated art piece. Nope, the crazy man had forty wives. I could only fathom the chaos of his palace.
When he was crowned again the population was restless. This time though they had a common foe to war against. The Bandit King Yarsiv, who was stealing trade and pirating ships. It took months to mobilize against the elusive bandit. It was the perfect distraction though to keep the Empire stable, growing, and occupied. The common foe held the Empire together in those early years.
Amber was his second born child. Her elder brother was abusive and a terror. When he turned eight his younger siblings, which were numerous, hated the boy. Amber said everyone tolerated his reign of evil until he beat a three year old brother of hers to death with a torch. There were mutterings and talks of punishment, but her father was not willing to punish his firstborn – for a fight that merely got out of control. She knew the whole situation pained him but that was the crown prince. Well, a few months later a younger sister was strangled over asking too many questions. Emperor Igrad understood this problem was not going away. He convened a trial for the very next day that the crown prince never made it to. That night Amber’s brother fell off his third floor balcony headfirst. There was endless speculation as to the how or the who. The reality was, the entire family sighed in relief at his disposal, for that is what it was.
This made Amber the most sought after hand in marriage instantly. She was run through classes on how to manage estates, balance budget, maintain a house, and even instructed on how to please a man. The last one was verbal lessons only and it made Amber blush in recollection. She reminded me this was her life from seven until fourteen. The daily rotation of instructions never stopped. As the Empire soared in might, she was brought across the lands for young princes to try to woo. It was all extravagant and elaborate.
The fated night the portal spawned, she recalled the palace erupting in commotion. Banners were assembled and armies mustered. The generals sent forth to close the portal with earth mages in their ranks never returned. When more armies were assembled and marched to defeat the enemy, the Emperor became very concerned. They never returned either. Within a year the defeat of the Empire was inevitable. He sent their family away on a quest to find a new land and then parlayed the deal. That was her story.
I listened intently as we flew across the trees, open rolling hills, and the occasional farm. When she finished her story. I told her of my tragic childhood. How I never recalled what my dad looked like. That my mother just vanished one day and I was informed she died. I never even got to see her body, the funeral was a closed casket event. I was an orphan from that day forward but I never gave up. I was determined. Then the ridiculous stupid ouster of me from my Olympic dreams. She asked a few questions… not understanding the culture of the humanity I left behind. Even as I explained it a few times, she still did not get it, and in the end, I agreed it was silly. Then she got to learn of Madam Mastermind. This she could rationalize. A powerful computer sentient vs limitless Horde armies and instant portal travel. She got that, me being rude and someone else hanging themselves was beyond her though. I then told her of all my battles. Amber was interested and attentive. She did mention I risked a lot for strangers. I made sure she understood it was the way I operated. I was doubtful to change. I was not the leader that constantly attended meetings like King Horus did. I told her of Pipi and Bella.
It was a back and forth fantastic conversation until we reached Lakeland. When the griffins landed all three girls rushed for the outhouses in the roost. I was not going to dismount when I locked eyes with a glaring angry Lady Rain.
Shit… Not good.
I left Dina’s back and approached her. “You killed Una, how could you? I miss her so much!” Lady Rain shouted at me. That was only the beginning. She launched into a tirade that I endured. When she beat my chest ineffectively with the bottoms of her closed fists, I never stopped her. Duke Riza had flown home ahead of us with King Aves. The manor was within earshot of the roost and he ran to his irate wife in his pajamas. A few wives trailed behind him.
It took them minutes to calm her down, and I stayed silent. There was little I could do to help. The Duke offered us a room for the rest of the night and I accepted. I wanted to finish the trip in the morning. Lady Ona escorted us to adjoining rooms. Mina got her own and I shared mine with my wives.
As we settled into the bed Velia spoke.
“Amber, are you going to want a child right away? Addilyn and I are trying. Bella is pregnant and Pipi is waiting. I ask because I desperately want to give Gryff a son or daughter. If you do not want his seed I will take it when you couple.” Velia said. She pried the covers back and revealed my erection. I couldn’t help it when they both got naked, I pitched a tent. “He is ready.”
I most certainly was.
Amber snuggled into me while tracing my erection with Velia. “I believe I will join my wives in trying to conceive,” she said.
I was tired yet aroused. It was not a long endeavor. It was incredibly pleasurable as Amber was tight and loved to ride me with her large tits burying my face. I finished in Amber quickly from her thrusts and Velia’s kissing. It was well into the night from our late arrival and I was exhausted from lack of sleep recently. I fell into a slumber with a wife tucked into each arm.
CHAPTER 8
We rose from bed well rested and left Lakeland early the next morning after the sunrise. We politely gave our thanks to Lady Ona and avoided Lady Rain. The flight to Streb passed by fast and I was surprised to see the changes. The fields had been cleared and tilled. The rye seed planted without growth yet. I did notice only one male yakin and the twelve females. The two remaining large wagons had been converted into stables with ramps to let the yakins get under the cover. The wagon with the broken cover was sent away back to the Horde. Runtlets chased rats while workers planted additional seed. The wolves had vacated and the eight foot tall wall had been rebuilt again to cover where the two traded wagons had exited. All in all, it was looking like great progress had been made. I asked the resting griffins if any earth mages were in the village and when I was told no, we continued our flight to Fernlan without landing.
I was in for a surprise when only ten minutes later we slithered through the barrier of Fernlan. I could barely see Zenith on the horizon. This was far bigger than Lakeland, Malvia, and Bavie’s barriers extended. Maybe this was how big Deltan’s protection was. Which reminded me I needed to talk to King Aves about burning Salvoni inside his entrenched palace.
“Dina in and out of the barrier, please. I want to see our new borders.” I said to Dina. Traz and her both agreed it was wise to learn the limits in the air, instead of walking on the ground.
The first epic result was the river. A large portion of the river was now firmly inside a protected space. I could fish, irrigate, and not worry about our water supply becoming clogged or dammed again. This was huge. The western fields coul
d be extended. The northern field and pastures for livestock too. It was crazy how much more land my deal had netted. Assuming I could finish off my end of the bargain to maintain these gains.
I was contemplating how soon I should leave for the north when I spotted Virtue wearing the white, behind him a hundred shaman waited. He was banging on the outside of the barrier and across from him, King Aves watch with hungry eyes. It was funny to see the fifty foot long griffin King towering over the tiny shaman. Still, Virtue pounded away on the barrier. This piqued my curiosity. I had Dina land us not far away. I then ordered both griffins to land the wives and Mina back by Zenith while I talked with Virtue and King Aves.
“Morning human Emperor Gryff, this insect has been demanding your attention for an hour now. Apparently, he learned you left Bavie in the night for home. Ah finally, he stops that insistent pounding. Ask him what he wants.” King Aves demanded with a sour mood.
This is something I had to come to grips with regarding King Aves. He was cordial during meetings, and that was it. Outside of a sit down, drawn out, and boring discussion, the griffin King was an impatient asshole. That was putting it nicely.
I nodded to the massive griffin and approached Virtue who wore the white. I accepted his contract and my armor shifted to white.
“The team is here Gryff, you need your portal installed to fulfill your increased quota for the expanded barrier.” Virtue said and handed me a section of the peace accords that dictated quotas based on barrier sizes. “Clearly written right here.”
The goblin nail highlighted a section of the agreement.
“Well that is interesting, it is written right here. Why are you outside the barrier if it is so well defined?” I queried and got an agitated look.
“We need your approval.” Virtue said with the slightest hesitation. I pulled at the contract magic and sure enough, it did need my approval. It also was not mandatory. My deal with Rakmar did not include a new portal or increased quota.
“Denied,” I said and spun to walk away.
Now the only thing King Aves loved more than being an asshole, was hearing another one in action. That massive griffin rolled onto his back in the most outrageous cackling laughter. The ground shook at this delight.
“You could bring down the entire accords with this rejection Gryff,” Virtue said ignoring King Aves.
“Come translate human,” King Aves ordered and I returned to face Virtue. “You should drop the barriers you worm. My kind hungers to feast on your dead and rid this world of the Horde. I dare you.”
I was conflicted with this and said the wrong thing. “You sure?”
This earned me a paw swipe to the ground. I was planted face first with a thud. Nothing broke, but it was not a gentle tap. I dusted myself off and repeated his words to Virtue. It was prudent I did not scoff at being scolded. King Aves was as close to a god as I had ever met. I should not be questioning him in front of our enemy.
Virtue came to a conclusion. The shamans behind him were in outright anger. Demands, curses, and threats were all said in perfect English. Virtue walked a hundred yards north and waved me over to have a private discussion. When I reached him I realized something. We were the only ones wearing white. The barrier flickered… Griffins poured out of Zenith by the hundreds. The barrier never dropped, it expanded by a hundred yards, increasing in size. The clump of shamans were now inside Fernlan without the white.
The shamans were confused, and the griffins were not. For whatever reason, Virtue unleashed death. King Aves leaped into the middle of the clumped casters with a fervor. The shamans never had a chance. Barriers never materialized being stopped by the mass of the griffin. As fireballs were cast defensively King Aves rotated and spewed fire from his paw. The other griffins were never able to join the fight because it was over so quickly. They swooped down, collected bodies, and returned to Zenith.
It was over that fast. King Aves laughed in glee as the minor damage he received was healed. The large griffin landed beside me with joy.
“I thought as much. Rakmar believed the reports of his dragons turning against his army. I knew better. It is you after all Gryff. I gave him a three page, handwritten report, on how you turned the tide on Earth. He fed it to a stripper. Rakmar never read a single word. Forced that poor shaman dancer to digest my hard work. She was merely a single mom trying to earn some stones. That cyclops is blinded by greed. He is ignoring the facts. It is time for me to flee from you yet again. His situation is untenable. He cannot win here. I see that now. I will write a report requesting we abandon this planet because the danger is too great. There are over a billion Horde cluttered on this planet. The leadership may pull out but it will take decades to cleanse this world.
“Your accords are still intact, I was sent to deceive you and I told Rakmar it would not work, but he still ordered me anyway. I am tired of warring against you. One of a few things may happen after I am gone. But first, let us make a deal. I tell you this information and I get an (I owe you) within reason in exchange. From both of you.”
“I accept” “I accept,” I said twice speaking for both of us.
“There is a low chance dragons will flood this planet. They would be wild and it is expensive. A Horde planetary controller can send untrained dragons to feast on the stubborn inhabitants to generate more dragons. It has been done, wild dragons are common enough. One in a hundred thousand responds well to the whip instead of eating the whip master. As you can imagine that makes trained dragon extremely rare. We did not lie when we mentioned we control hundreds of millions of planets and that there are planets designated for trade hubs.
“Those yeti make great situational soldiers if you can breed them and control them from a young age – you simply point them at a foe. They are hard to kill, large, and can tear into weak formations. We do not know what creator or god placed them on ice planets, but that god liked to sprinkle his creation across ice worlds universe wide. Or maybe they are a natural occurrence. Their meat is a cyclops delicacy, that part was also true. The ice cats are a much desired mount for cyclops and ogres. So desired that they sell for more than dragons at times. Simply because dragons can turn on a master where the cats bond. Rakmar’s eldest daughter died to a dragon incident. An ice cat can carry a full grown ogre if bred right, but that takes lots of time to get them to that size. A cavalry charge of ogres on ice cats is as mesmerizing as it is devastating.
“That lets you get the idea of the value of the southern Vartin Tundra as you call it. It is immensely valuable to the planetary lord. In this case Rakmar. Yet he underestimated you once, and now twice. I will not be around for the third. Back to the dragons. It is easier to purge the world with fire than to deal with the inhabitants. When Vin was conquered the central leadership from high gave orders to dominate and produce. The need for lumber was high, and the war efforts were seeing a shift in food production. The needs of the entire Horde take priority. Well, Rakmar did not have a choice and the halting of our invasion just north of here was a good place to establish the peace accords.
“Well, the peace accords hurt Rakmar more than help him now. I expect him to try to remove the barriers through violations and then burn it all with dragons. Unless a dragon is trained they will not fly into the snow. There are ice dragons but they won’t be herded like fire dragons. They will die before being moved. Trained dragons cost too much to keep sending them to their deaths but he very well may buy some after your deal is completed or he may retire quietly. It depends on if he carries a resentment or if he has other grand plans with his newfound wealth. Will the hundreds of books you are tasked with providing the Vin master help him? Indeed, it very may earn him roughly five hundred trained dragons.”
I whistled at this and figured this was part scare tactic. The griffins were simply too powerful in the air even before they had offensive magic.
“The Horde sent dragons to Vin at the beginning of the war.” Virtue started to say when King Aves interrupted.
“I
would have heard of this.” I translated.
“You sure are impatient. Yes, you should have. Vin was deemed a very rich planet for conquest. The people make great slaves, the southern ice shelf has immense value, and we could get quotas filled. It was a win of many factors. When the Biponi were torn from the skies to crash into the ground from griffins we knew we had an issue with our air power. We have fought air creatures before, the dragons a prime example. Yet, you were unique. The griffins could heal at a distance. We scouted a small settlement of griffins only ten strong to the north of your main nesting area. An isolated expansion. A thousand trained dragons were sent to destroy that nest. Forty survived. It was a massacre. The high command decided we would win the war on the ground, casualties be damned. There were infinite fodder troops to dispose of.”
He paused his information deluge for Pipi. She came walking out with two plates and Vern struggled to carry a slab of meat. I loved Pipi, I was famished and she knew my weakness for food. I was handed a plate, Virtue declined and I got seconds. King Aves graciously accepted his snack and gently rubbed Vern’s head in thanks.
“You want Rakmar to fail?” I asked and King Aves said he thought that was the case also.
“Yes, and well yes. I have warned him. I warned him about this deceit, it was poorly contrived. His loyal shamans demanded the extra quota saying I could convince you. Do not pretend you humans do not have your own internal struggles. I know you do. In this case, Rakmar is being a stubborn greedy cyclops.
“If he has to keep the peace accords up, then he will send another caravan south. This time it will follow a different path. Or he may send five. Regardless he wants those ice cats and yeti. Wild stock fetches a lot of our stone currency.” Virtue said and I raised a hand like a child in a class.