Forest & Kingdom Balance (19 page)

Froggy laid her back in the love seat as he lightly
touched her mind.
“A deep sleep, good.”
He
consoled himself. Once he was sure that she was resting
comfortably, he stood and whispered, “Forgive me My Princess, I
failed you, your parents, and so many others when I was needed
most.”

III

“A way station.”
Yamikura
concluded.

He walked around the three large buildings situated
on the edge of a small valley. The storehouse was empty but the
bunkhouse and stable were fully provisioned. He noted fresh
cordwood had been recently cut presumably to replace what had been
used.
“About four days old.”
He surmised,
“They’re still four days ahead of me.”

It was only late afternoon but the massive peaks
that surrounded the valley had already hidden the sun. He looked to
the wide, well maintained road that ran east and decided that he
could afford to rest there for a night,
“No need
to track them now, just follow the road. It will be a simple matter
to make up the distance.”
He thought.

“Not as simple as you may
think.”
A woman’s voice said calmly.

Yamikura whirled around, sword drawn, but could not
tell from what direction the voice had come. “Show yourself!” He
challenged, but received no response. He withdrew to circle the
perimeter and then moved in to check the buildings. He entered the
stable first and used the four large wagons for cover. He made note
of the details around him as he searched for the woman. When he saw
that there was enough tack to harness eight horses per wagon, he
thought,
“No horses though. They must bring them
in.”

The woman’s voice seemed to answer the question he
did not ask.
“Actually, the horses are out
romping around the other side of the valley. Why lock them up when
they can run free! They’re more than happy to come when
requested.”
Her tone had such a playfulness that Yamikura
almost laughed.

“All right,” he stood out in plain sight, “Enough
foolishness, come out where I can see you and you have my word that
you will not be harmed. He waited.

“Well,”
the voice paused,
“that also may not be as simple as you think. You
see I’m not there. You’re there, but I’m here.”

“Where is ‘here’?” He asked.

“That depends, my here is here but
your here is there and my there is your here. Hmmm? Yamikura, you
really need to be more specific.”

This time Yamikura did laugh. “Ah, a philosopher I
see. I must warn you young woman that I am not unversed in that
art. You may find me a worthy adversary.”

“Mmmm, ‘Young woman,’ I like
that.”
The voice said with contentment. The tickle of joy
that ran up his spine as the voice hummed left Yamikura out of
balance, a sensation he hadn’t felt since he was teenager.

“I’ll tell you what, why don’t you
stable your horse and go to the bunkhouse, it’s been weeks since
you slept in a bed. Please help yourself to whatever provisions you
would like and I’ll join you after you’ve eaten. You have my word
that you will not be harmed or even disturbed. The closest people
to you are the guardsman and the boy as you call them, and you were
correct, they are well ahead of you.”

Yamikura was set further off balance when he
realized that as she stopped speaking he felt her presence leave, a
very strange sensation. As much to calm himself as to confirm that
he was alone, he checked the rest of the buildings. Satisfied that
what she said was true, he then proceeded to the bunkhouse to
prepare a meal. However the first thing he did was to meditate, he
wanted to be perfectly centered and have all his wits about him
when she returned.

IV

“I’m impressed” Kalibra stepped back from the two
slaves and lowered her staff. “Not with your fighting abilities
obviously, I could kill you both before you realized that I had
advanced.” She poured herself some water. “It seems from what
you’ve told me, I must admit that he was correct, you are a
mystery. After four hundred years there really shouldn’t be so many
of your people left, and those who are left, should be nothing but
broken husks.”

After two weeks of workouts in which Simon learned
more about combat each day than he had learned in his life
previously, he was still shocked that she not only taught them to
fight but that she trained Atheria harder than him. He wondered
what was next, they had told her everything they knew about their
history and present day life of the Mindow. This morning they had
finished their discussion of life as a slave dancer. Simon and
Atheria waited in silence to see if Kalibra wanted to talk or
fight.

“He hates mysteries.” Kalibra walked to the rest
area and sat down,

“Talk, good.”
Simon let out
a breath of relief. He was very concerned for Atheria. She still
limped from the injuries she took several days ago. She was used to
a life of abuse, but Kalibra’s workouts involved an intensity she
had not known before.

“You’ve been honest with me, so I will be honest
with you. I’ve discussed your people with him at length and I still
don’t know his thoughts regarding you. I will tell you though that
he hates a mystery. When he finds one, he wants it solved as
quickly and simply as possible. In your favor is the fact that he
has a much larger mystery to solve. However, if decimating your
people would solve the larger mystery, then he will do so without
hesitation. If the mystery that so captivates him at the moment
does not involve you, then he won’t give your people a second
thought.” Kalibra seemed to dismiss the subject of the Mindow as
closed.

“Atheria, have you ever heard the term Harrier?”

“No” Atheria answered. Her mind filled with the
unrelenting pain that shot from her hip and down her leg.

“Come here. Strip.” Kalibra ordered.

Atheria complied moving stiffly. Once she was naked
before her, Kalibra examined the huge purple and red welts that
stretched from the side of her waist half way down her thigh. “Lift
your knee.” Kalibra’s instructions continued. “Now rotate. Good.
Now give me a side kick.”

With every movement the pain threatened to overcome
Atheria.
“Just do it!”
She ordered
herself.
“I have overcome greater than this and
survived.”
Her concentration focused to a pinpoint
intensity.
“If I am useless to her, then both of
us will be discarded, and if we are given to Deminar than this pain
will be but a tickle compared to what we will go through before we
die.”

“You have no joint restriction and no muscle tears.”
Kalibra looked up from Atheria’s injuries to face her squarely. “If
you were a Harrier in battle, you would not notice so minor an
inconvenience and would be able to fight at your full
potential.”

Kalibra sat back down with a sly smile. “I’ll make
you a wager slave girl. You and Simon perform that throw and back
flip maneuver you described to me. If I see you move flawlessly,
which should be simple since you have no structural damage, I will
call for a healer to sooth your pain. Then we will sit and relax
while I tell you the story of the Harriers.”

Kalibra’s eyes narrowed as her smile widened.
“However, if I see you give the slightest consideration to your
injury, then the three of us will have a real workout. I haven’t
worked up a good sweat since Yamikura left.” She gave the two a
moment’s consideration. “I believe there is a good chance that you
both would survive the workout, I have no ill will toward you, I
just want some exercise. Whether either of you would heal
completely is another matter.”

Simon rose and began to pick up Atheria’s clothes.
“No. I want to see every bit of her as she moves.” Kalibra
commanded as she motioned them to begin.

Atheria met Kalibra’s stare with equal intensity.
“May we have a moment to prepare?” Their mistress nodded her
approval.

The dancers moved the practice mats aside and stood
in the center of the room, their foreheads together. Simon looked
into the eyes of his love. “I think I can catch her unaware while
she’s seated,” he whispered, “if she’s unconscious or dead we’ll be
able to leave the grounds and try to get out of Kingsport.”

“I love you, you silly ass.” Atheria smiled. “We
both know that we have only one chance and it’s up to me to make it
work. Now shut up and let me concentrate.”

Atheria knew that she was no warrior, she also knew
that her skill at dance was unparalleled. She concentrated on a
single thought. Balance. She rose to her toes, legs straight. Simon
moved slowly away as he held her hands to steady her. She raised
her good leg from the floor and leaned forward. Simon released her
and she proceeded with her warm up, balanced only on the toes of
her damaged leg, she allowed her torso to descend until her nose
touched her knee.

Once her stretches were complete, she walked to
Simon. She moved as fluid silk, her gaze was distant and serene.
With out a word, or even recognition of his presence, she moved
Simon to his start position and paced off to hers. Their hummed
melody synchronized instantly, and on the beat they began.

They moved as in a dream, her flips were precise and
flawless. She turned in mid air with the grace of an eagle. His
catch, her landing, and the transition to their dance were so
effortless that it seemed as though gravity no longer existed. They
ended in their final position as her eyes returned from that far
away place and they shared a brief, tender kiss.

Kalibra walked toward them. She grabbed Atheria by
the chin and looked strait into her eyes. “You! Woman!” A smile
curled on Kalibra’s lips. “I knew it! If you had just been born
fifty years ago in my mother’s realm,” she shook her head as her
smile grew, “the Emperor would have been worm food at your feet,
and I would have never been born.” She released Atheria and turned
to ring the servant’s bell. “What a waste.” She muttered as the
bell rang.

Desiree, the head of household, entered the training
room to find the three of them in the rest area. Atheria was laid
out on the couch with her head resting in Simon’s lap. “You,”
Kalibra called from the side chair, “bring a healer and make sure
they have muscle balms and herbs for pain. Once that’s done, bring
us food and drink, we’ll be here awhile.”

Realm of The Warrior Queen

A hundred generations ago in the central region of
what you call the Far Lands, a rich kingdom prospered. It was the
last arable land that bordered one of the vast wastelands that dot
the interior. The wasteland was so large that few ever tried to
cross it, the handful that returned told of an impassable mountain
range down its center. Trade would take many months to
circumnavigate the dead zone.

As I said, this kingdom had wealth, and wherever
there is wealth you will find greed. No one recalls who started the
war or why, all that is remembered is that the kingdom lost and
every male over the age of ten was put to death. The victors wanted
the land, not the people. The women and children were herded
together with only what they could carry and sent out into the
wasteland.

They moved from one sparse patch of dry grassland to
the next. One young woman named Karenten, the daughter of a village
elder, began to shepherd the people. She circulated among them and
made sure that rations were fairly distributed and the weak were
cared for. Soon everyone looked to her for guidance on what was
later called, “The Search.”

They had lost half their number by the time they
reached the mountain range. Even if they could cross the mountains
without more losses, they would still have as much hardship ahead
of them as behind. Karenten settled her flock in an area below the
mountains that at least had some vegetation and a small water
supply. She chose six of her stoutest sisters and set out to
explore the border between mountain and wasteland.

About a week’s walk south she discovered a break in
the mountain line. It led to a basin larger than all the land of
their former kingdom and was surrounded by vast vertical cliffs.
Her sisters didn’t believe it was worth the time to explore. The
ground was hard and flat with very little grassland. Karenten had a
different vision, all they needed was water and her people would
have the greatest natural fortress in existence.

Among the farm wives and village workers in her
flock, she had also met engineers and builders. She looked to the
snowcaps far off in the distance and told her sisters that they had
everything they needed.

Many more died as they attempted to settle in their
wasteland fortress, none of which were the skilled tradeswomen she
needed, Karenten saw to that. Over time with a little trade and a
great deal of building, the land took shape. In a few years most of
the women capable child bearing had new, very young husbands. A few
years more and the vast mountain reservoirs had been rerouted. The
land bloomed.

Once the land and her people started to thrive,
Karenten knew that what they had found was special. Which meant
that before long they would be challenged. She named herself
Warrior Queen and declared their home Realm of the Warrior Queen.
Her land would never be a kingdom and would never have a king if
she had anything to say about it, and she most certainly did.

She called together those of the survivors who had
fought in the war. The women fighters were known as Harriers, their
task in the war of the old kingdom was to harry and slow the enemy
any way they could. She asked them to search the Realm and find the
strongest young girls. Those that were chosen would be raised and
tested. The few that excelled far beyond the others would become
the core of the Realm’s defense. As the girls grew, the greatest
warriors from across the content were enticed to travel to the
Realm to teach the Harriers their craft. Many great fighting men
chose to spend a few years as a guest of the Realm to share their
skill, and their seed.