The Mutant World (54 page)

“My God,” breathed the president.

“Now every nation in the empire is mobilizing their warriors and it doesn’t look good for the Barratian usurper. He is fighting rebellious vassals who would see Prince Tidor or even the on the run bastard, Jawara, on the throne. In fact, with all the children of the dead king alive and safe, this Stragg guy has no claim to the throne at all. And now, while the men of Barrat fight amongst themselves, an army the likes of which has never been seen is massing in the east. A major invasion of the Western Mountains is imminent.”

“From what I’ve been told it was tried before,” said the president dryly. “And the last time with terrible loss of life and no results.”

“This is true,” said Luther. “But the Barratians were the clear victims in these cases and were internally united. This is not the case now. The Barratians will get no aid from the kings or any men from the empire this time. King Roc was a direct descendant of Cato himself and blood kin to most of the major kings as well as the queens. This Stragg person is not. Aside from his brutal mistakes, he has none of the ties of kinship or strength of character necessary to gain the support of the kings.”

“Indeed,” said Vice President Finley, “by killing a man who did have these ties he has achieved just the opposite.

“And the rape and
murder
of a mutant noblewoman,” said Luther, “the mate of a king? The men of the empire are now just as hungry for blood as the women.”

******

Eastern Barratia, One Month Later

Empress Beral III sat in her command tent surrounded by her vassal kings, queens and various allied rulers, chiefs and chieftesses. The tents of her legions were vast and completely covered the plain of Nan and well beyond. The skies above were black with winged mutants. The forests were filled with feral mutants. Large lakes and deep rivers were alive with amphibious warriors from the great lakes or even oceans that had swam up in answer to the empress’s call. Those Barratians who were loyal to the usurper or just determined not to fall under female domination fled before them, abandoning even their strongholds in the foot hills. Others rushed to join the armies of the empress when word reached them that the dead king’s rightful heirs, Princess Sandra and the two princes, Tidor and Pantherus, were among her legions. Most would have joined Beral III’s forces anyway to avenged their well-loved king and his mate or out of sheer hatred and fear of the new king, Stragg. The mountains would be a daunting obstacle for the empress despite her huge numerical advantage and highly motivated warriors except for the fact that many Barratian chiefs who hadn’t already joined her were in revolt and were fighting both Stragg and each other. Stragg was basically a prisoner in the capital with only his own clan and those chiefs who liked his way of thinking. This was turning out just the way the empress had been told it would some weeks earlier.

******

“Prince Tidor,” said Bellasaris, looking at the young man who had barely spoken since he had arrived safely in imperial lands. Tidor was looking into space, opening and closing his hands. He and his mate had been hunted by many of his father’s former subjects for miles though forest and brutal terrain. The little human girl had not complained once, but she had been near to her limit despite having been riding on the fully transformed Tidor’s back most of the time. It had been the same for most of the human slaves who aided them and the mutants of their parties. The mutants, some loyal warriors other former slaves now free of their collars, carried the humans or allowed them to ride on them to save time. They knew they had to move fast and the humans would not be able to keep up, and they wouldn’t abandon them to certain terrible death if the Barratians caught them. The enemy had overtaken them close to the border of The Great Forest Kingdom, where the exhausted refugees finally turned and fought. The battle was savage and the prince and his people fought bravely and well, despite their haggard condition. This would not go unnoticed or unremarked by either the enemy or the Illyrians who would arrive just in time to turn the tide and drive off the surviving Barratians.

“Kinsman,” said the empress, “you have been addressed by the High Elder, former Queen Bellasaris.”

Tidor deep in his thoughts had not heard.

“Apologies, Empress, Great Elder,” said Tidor first to Beral III and then to Bellasaris.

“I understand your pain,” said Bellasaris. “You have suffered a great loss. But we need to know what we are up against. As a Barratian yourself and heir to the throne, we ask you first. What do you think this ‘Stragg’ will do?”

“Stragg is a fucking animal!” spat Tidor in disgust. “His temper and dick rule him not his brain, if that pebble inside of his skull can be called such.”

“Is he an effective warrior? Is he craven or can we expect him to fight?” asked Beral III.

Tidor spat. “He is a very powerful warrior,” said Tidor, “but other than that he is unimpressive! He has courage, but so does a dog. He will charge recklessly and stupidly with no plan or thought other than to win some great victory and get his hands on loot and the enemy’s women.” Several of the present queens and councilors growled at this.

“Do you agree with this estimation?” said the empress to Princess Sandra.

“Absolutely!” said Sandra. “My brother is quite correct and has nailed that fool Stragg to a tee. However, it is NOT Stragg we should be worried about. The High Elder, Lord Terrence is the one behind Stragg. Despite all of his faults, I sincerely doubt that that fool would have thought to murder my father and take the throne on his own. As for what he did to my mother, I have no doubts whatsoever that the high elder was furious. I believe that the elder has by now realized what a complete moron Stragg is by himself and is now keeping him on a short leash.”

“So you are saying that Stragg will
not
charge in as your brother said he would?” said Bellasaris.

“If it were not for the elder’s presence, yes, Stragg would definitely do something as reckless and foolish as that. But the elder is not so stupid. The Barratians will withdraw into the mountains and fight defensively. They will bleed us from their strongholds and hit us in numbers and then run.”

“Queen Bal,” said the empress, “you have the most experience fighting the Barratians…tell me of them.”

“There are a lot of them,” said Bal. “They are mighty warriors. In ideal situations, for them, they’d come forth rank upon rank like a wave of death, destroying and looting. We Mavie gave up on fighting them head on long ago. But if they fall back into those mountains…” Bal shook her head. “They know those mountains well. Their towns are fortified and they are well-trained and masters of guerrilla warfare. No one who has marched into those mountains, on either the eastern side or the western side, has done well.”

Former Empress Dido closed her eyes and sighed. “As well I know,” she said. “I don’t look forward to seeing so many of our young men dead or taken prisoner in those mountains again.”

Tidor jumped to his feet and semi-transformed. “You didn’t hesitate to mobilize your people to avenge those damned lesbians who helped to murder my grandmother and several of our nobles at that infamous peace party! Now you balk at avenging your own kinsman?! Bah! We don’t need your help! Once I return I’ll rally those Barratians still loyal to the true Barratian bloodline and then I’ll take Dinos down stone by stone and eat Stragg’s heart for dinner!”

“Calm yourself, young prince!” snapped the retired empress. “I said I wasn’t looking
forward
to going to war. I didn’t say I didn’t want to avenge your father. As you say, he was my kin!”

“I wouldn’t be too worried this time,” said Princess Sandra. “Stragg is only popular among a small number of noble families in central Barrat. I don’t think anyone beyond them will follow him. Indeed, you may have Barratian allies this time around and that will make a difference. Actually, I don’t think that even the High Elder can control Stragg enough to avoid him pissing off even many of his supporters. As my brother said, the man doesn’t think! He reacts on any impulse, often violently, and doesn’t think about the consequences until the deed is done. Trust me, this time I wouldn’t count on the same unified and determined resistance in Barrat as when you invaded, Former Empress Dido.”

******

“What is your report,” said Beral III to an Illyrian chieftain.

“The enemy population has either rallied to join us or have retreated into the mountains. There have been some sharp skirmishes with small groups of stragglers, but these warriors were either covering their people’s retreat or young and reckless cubs seeking to gain some little bit of glory against the dreaded Bellasarian Empire.” The chief chuckled and added, “And to catch some Illyrian girls.”

The empress raised one eyebrow and said, “What?”

“It would seem,” said the chief, “that in Barrat, Illyrian girls are said to be the hottest females in the empire…and in every way.”

“Really?” said the empress with a grin.

Several of the Illyrian women present grinned and nodded. The women of other imperial states were a little indignant.

“Obviously, they’ve NEVER seen a Melmorian woman,” said Queen Tabitha.

“You didn’t hurt the youngsters, did you?” said Beral III, trying to control her humor.

“Of course not, Your Highness,” laughed the chief. “They were strong and quite dangerous for warriors just as green as them, but they were up against adult experienced fighters. We easily trapped and subdued them with little injury to ourselves or them. Many of them even got their wish and acquired an Illyrian girl, albeit not in the way they intended.” There was laughter at this. “A number of our females claimed some of them right on the spot and put them in their personal collars.”

The empress chuckled along with several of the other noblewomen present. “Well, they needed to be reeducated anyway,” she said. “I take it they are being
well
treated?”

The chief laughed and said, “Aye! And I do believe they were not disappointed in the reputation of the women of Illyria.” Again there was laughter.

“I think your people have been having all the spoils…and
fun
for too long,” laughed the Tabonese Queen. “We’ll show these guys that Illyrian girls are overrated compared to the other women of the empire.”

There was a cheer from the other queens and chieftesses at this. Several of the kings and other high ranking men laughed as well, but the Barratian Princes, Tidor and Pantherus, were not among them.

“Enjoy the fun while it lasts,” said Tidor grimly, “but I promise you, once you enter those mountains, or even possibly the foothills, you’ll be up against more than overeager and inexperienced boys.”

Prince Pantherus nodded and said, “The men who run will turn and fight once the terrain is to their advantage. And then you’ll see that war here is not the same game as it is in the empire.”

“I assure you,” said the empress grimly, “
we
can become every bit as ‘Real’ in war as any Barratian, or did you not hear of the battles during Dido’s invasion? Indeed, there are veterans of that war right here.”

“My brother and I meant no disrespect, Empress,” said Tidor. “We but wished to remind our noble allies that the real war has not yet begun.”

The empress looked at the two glum young men and closed her eyes. They were undoubtedly the same age as the boys taken by her warriors. Tidor especially would have found these women making light of his people offensive. Although practically a baby, Tidor had already earned a name for himself as an effective warrior and war leader. But he was the son of a king and therefore had been trained at his father’s knee for war since he could walk. The youths taken captive were but green amateurs and an embarrassment to Barrat. This war and what the princes knew would be its ending was a very bitter pill to swallow, especially for a Barratian, but the boys were right. The real fighting had yet to begin. That is why Beral III and the high council made certain that Princess Sandra was sent back to Illyria. When this was over the Barratian society would never be the same again.

******

CHAPTER TWENTY
THE SAVAGE MOUNTAINS

T
he empress’s war hammer turned two Barratian warriors into a bloody splash of meat, bones and internal organs and sent several more sturdily made warriors flying. A huge warrior leaped at her, but was caught in midair by High Lord Talos who then flung him into a pack of screaming Barratians knocking them down like bowling pins. Then bringing his mace down in a sickening crash, limbs and other body parts flew everywhere. Roaring in fury, he spun around to see his wife now separated from him and fighting several enemy warriors who had pounced on her in numbers. Heedless of the spears and other weapons bouncing harmlessly off of his polished stony hide, he smashed his way to her side.

******

The Bellasarians had entered the mountains in force some weeks ago and were now indeed facing ferocious and determined resistance from the Barratians. Two fortified towns had already been taken, but only after savage fighting the likes of which most of these Bellasarians had never seen. Bands of raiders harried them and winged snipers were a constant threat, but thanks to the Bellasarians own flyers and the heavily forested mountains, these mutants could not make any significant damage on the invaders. Truth to tell, because of the countless thousands of the Bellasarians, they could take losses in the hundreds with no real effect on their forces.

The empress’s forces had entered a large valley called ‘Cartagena’ and decided to make camp there. Prince Tidor and Prince Pantherus were nervous. Despite the severe fighting so far they had been expecting much worse. Ironically, Queen Bal and the warriors who had fought in Queen Dido’s invasion agreed. But the empress waved off their concerns. From the signs of battle and the Barratians who had joined her, she knew that the Barratians were fighting amongst themselves now. They were resisting bravely enough, but as individual tribes or clans, not as a unified people.

The valley was large, abundant with game and well-watered. Many of the villages encountered had welcomed the Bellasarians, others were abandoned. It wasn’t hard to figure out whose side they were on, or more accurately, were not. Still, Beral III and her commanders held a little celebration for Queen Bal’s and Prince Pantherus’s sake. Many Mavie women, some of whom had been slaves in Barratia for at least a hundred years, were freed and reunited with their kin. Many of these women had children, grandchildren and even great, great grandchildren by the Barratians. Bal was pleased and offered them places in her legions, but also warned that no brutality would be allowed and that the old Mavie way was dead for good. When this was over, Mavieland would be changed for the better…and Goddess willing, Barrat as well. Much to Queen Bal’s surprise, the women were pleased by this. Although slaves, most of these women (especially once they had begun to bear their captors’ children) had been treated like mates. They had no say in Barratian society, but they were decently treated and their children were all born free. Indeed, most of their young saw themselves as Barattian and, surprisingly, some of the former Mavie as well. But not all Mavie freed were so happy. Some Barratian clans treated women like chattel, even the free ones, and a Mavie slave wasn’t even considered human, much less mutant. Chief/King Stragg’s clan was one such clan and it was mainly these people who were fighting the hardest now. The women freed from these clans hated their former masters, but also recognized their blame in creating these bastards. They too were pleased that all of this would change the region…hopefully for the better. It damn sure couldn’t get any worse.

For many, the festivities were just what everyone needed. And despite the conditions, the people in the main camp were becoming relaxed and were already falling back into traditional practices, at least for the day. By late afternoon, many of the royal families were far more relaxed than they should have been. And by night…

It was just before sunrise when they hit. Thousands of Barratian warriors appeared and struck the camp. The woods were full of the sounds of battle as the feral guards engaged the attackers. Off in the distance more sounds of fighting could be heard in other parts of the camp, but it would seem that the full force of the warriors had struck at the empress’s great enclosure. Their objective was simple. If they could cut off the head of the beast the body would disintegrate into nothing. The empress knew this too. That’s why she had a huge tent displaying her personal banners in the middle of the main camp, but was personally billeted away from the camp up in the hills, along with her kin in the most inconspicuous garments and lodgings, surrounded by the most powerful mutants in the host. The battle had begun at dawn. The Barratians had taken the bait. It was now late afternoon and the fighting was still fierce, but the Barratians were being overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the Bellasarians and the empress herself and most of the allied queens and kings had now smashed their center. But a certain clan had gambled all or nothing on taking out the empress and it was beginning to look bad.

******

Talos closed with the warriors attacking the empress and smash in one of their skulls, but then a fist the size of his head sent him sprawling. A giant Barratian warrior with the same markings of the warriors who fought through their ranks and engaged the empress’s personal guard had dropped the High Lord of Bellasaria like a bad habit. Talos roared in fury as he jumped to his feet and, sweeping under the giants swing, brought his fist up hard into his solar plexus. As the man crumpled to his knees gasping, great vines sprung up from the ground and ensnared Talos. Another Barratian appeared with greenish skin like a plant.

“Mighty you are indeed, High Lord Talos, but that form is not impregnable. Vines can crush stone given time!” Talos desperately looked over at Beral fighting with a half dozen Barratians. All about her, the fighting was fierce. Talos struggled like a mad man but for every vine he snapped another would take its place. The vines were now around his throat and, true to the Barratian’s words; Talos began to feel his until now impervious skin begin to crack. “Now, Illyrian,” said the Barratian, “you will see why my clan is famed and feared throughout the kingdom!”

“Father,” cried Bella charging onto the scene with Pantherus and a brace of Illyrian and Mavie warriors behind.

“Excellent!” cried the Barratian. “We’ll gain eternal glory by wiping out your entire house and the Mavie bitch all in one stroke! I’ll mount your head on my mantle as a trophy!” The Barratian then threw back his head and laughed.

“Father,”
said Bella telepathically,
“close your eyes!”

With that Bella open her mouth and a blast of venom shot forth spraying the Barratian warrior in the eyes and into his open mouth. The warrior’s laughter turned to howls of pain and, in that moment, the vines weakened and Talos burst free and knocked the Barratian’s head from his shoulders. Not wasting a second thought to the man, he spun around to aid his wife, only to see her subduing one of her attackers while the others were now being driven off by Queen Bal and her warriors. All around as far as the eye could see, the ground was littered with dead, dying and wounded warriors. The Barratians were now in full retreat and limping back into the trees, many carrying wounded comrades. Despite their losses and defeat, they had given a good account of themselves. In the main camp casualties were very high, but the mutants passing themselves off as the imperial family and other nobles of high rank had done their job well and earned great honor for their sacrifice. The survivors would be well-compensated with honors and even titles for themselves.

Beral III handed over her prisoner and rushed to tend to Lord Talos who was thanking a very concerned Bella. She and others were witnessing a very rare sight. Talos was bleeding. Through the great cracks in his polished black stone skin, blood was clearly leaking out. Even the side of his face where the giant Barratian had struck him was cracked a little and bleeding.

Talos brushed off the fussing Empress and stalked over to the giant Barratian. To the High Lord’s surprise the man had now shrunk down a bit to about his size, which was still pretty large. To Talos’s shock the man was still
alive
. Closer examination revealed that the warrior was a mere youth, now slowly getting his wind back.

“Collar him before he gets his wits about himself and becomes a problem,” said Talos. Quickly it was done. “Who ARE these guys?” said Talos, Beral examining his wounds again in distress and calling for a healer.

“They are called the Domigodo,” said Queen Bal. Their clan is much feared and respected by us Mavie.

“I can see why,” said Talos rubbing his jaw. He waved the healer away in irritation. Beral looked fit to be tied as she waved the now frightened healer back.

“I will NEVER be slave to your women like you!” snarled the young man. Ironically, at about this time Beral and the healer had once again begun trying to treat the High Lord’s injuries.

“Lady,” snapped Talos in irritation, “will you leave me be! And send that damned healer away!”

“But you’re still bleeding, baby!” cried the miserable empress, forgetting that they were not alone.

“These wounds are not life threatening and I have rapid regeneration! Certainly there are others much more in need than I to be healed.” To punctuate his point, Talos reverted completely to his human state and the cracks appeared as great gashes in his flesh. The empress cried out in horror and nearly fainted. But now, completely flesh, the injuries began to close at an incredible rate and soon were completely healed. The healer looked at his lord and then the empress and hurried away.

Looking back at the defeated Barratians Talos said, “I don’t want to kill you. You and your clan have fought bravely and very well, actually
too
well. I would make you our brothers. But I can’t let you run back to your clan again and return to make slaughter against my people either. Rest now, Goddess willing, this war will be done soon. If not…Well, you’ll have to endure the collars, but other than that, you will be treated well.”

“Please, my lord,” begged the empress, “come away. I…We need to see you examined properly.” Talos looked at his wife irritably, but seeing her standing there crying he couldn’t reprimand her again. He looked at the Barratians who had not been killed and ordered them to be well-treated, but watched closely and collared. He then allowed the fretful empress to pull him away.

The Barratians had been watching this whole drama between the High Lord and his wife with disbelief and surprise this whole time. They had personally seen that woman ferociously turn men into bloody pudding just moments ago. But now…It was like she was an entirely different person.

“Yes,” said a familiar voice with humor, “quite confusing isn’t it?”

The Barratian giant saw prince Pantherus kneeling beside him. The other warriors were looking at him in surprise as well.

“Prince Pantherus?!” exclaimed the youth.

The prince chuckled and nodded. Then he nodded in the direction the empress and High Lord had gone. He sent out his words telepathically,
“What do you make of that?”

The big Barratian shook his head.
“I thought Bellasarian men were kept dogs and their women…Well…”

“Did THAT look like the man was a dog?”
said Pantherus chuckling. The Barratian did not respond.
“I will admit that these females are a bad lot to piss off. But I can personally attest that such women are very, VERY warm and affectionate with their mates. And, believe it or not, Mavie women are as gentle as lambs and almost insatiable in love-play once they bond. Believe me, I know what I’m talking about,”
said Pantherus looking at Bal who was giving orders to her warriors. Then the prince frowned.
“The Bellasarians honor you, but I do not see you in the same light. You think you’ve behaved honorably? How can this be when you fight for a man who murdered his rightful lord then raped and murdered his mate before his blood was cold? They call you noble? I call you traitors!”

“NO! No, My Prince!”
cried the young Barratian.
“We fought to save our people! Stragg and his clan can rot for all we care, but the Barratian people and our freedom was in danger. You call me traitor? You, who have mated with our most hated enemy? You come into your own homeland with alien hordes and…”

“Alien hordes?”
said Pantherus baring his fangs.
“Have you forgotten that these people are my kin?! Since my people would not avenge my parents I had no choice but to call on my kin! Family is all! And as for Queen Bal, it was ‘The Bonding’. What could I have done? By even our laws, Bal and I could not be kept apart. Where is the fault in anything I’ve done?! If you people had aided my brother rather than hunted him, and sent Stragg’s head to Illia right when all of this started, the Bellasarians wouldn’t even be here now!”