Web of Lands 2

by Brent Tyman

  “You need to learn how to be a gentleman, Ordan. Everyone expects much from a king. No sly comments from you,” Eliandra said before she looked forward and her face turned neutral. I could see that she was trying hard not to let her lips go up in a smile.

  “What are we talking about? Ordan’s gentlemanly balls? I didn’t think you would be so crude, Eli,” Lunara laughed.

  Eliandra responded by summoning a ball of prime and using it to generate a small gust of wind that blew Lunara off her feet for a moment. Lunara laughed harder as she landed a few feet away and rushed to give Eliandra a hug. I could hear some whispering going on amongst the pair, but they were too quiet for me to make out what they said.

  It gave me a sense of pleasure to see the two had become great friends. It would have been awkward if they didn’t get along while in love with me. Tessa still didn’t share the relationship that Eliandra and Lunara had, but it was likely because Tessa liked to keep to herself most of the time. She interacted with the other slaves I had, but seemed only interested in serving me.

  Still, I wanted her to have the same rapport that Lunara and Eliandra had developed; she deserved it. If only I knew more about these types of things, instead of knowing how to gut someone. Although gutting someone was helpful at times.

  Once we reached the gates to the palace courtyard, they opened all on their own for us and we only paused for a moment before stepping through. I spotted Reska as he walked towards us from the palace itself.

  “Ah father, welcome back,” Reska said as he gave me a short bow.

  “It's… good to see you too, Reska. You look different,” I said as I gave him his appearance a look over.

  Reska looked a tad bigger overall, as if he had grew an inch or two. He also sported two horns that sprouted from his head, and his tail was significantly longer.

  Reska grinned at that, and his tail rubbed along the ground behind him.

  “I am glad you noticed. My queen has grown more powerful, thanks to when you visited her last. Not enough to affect my smaller kin, but since I aid her in managing affairs, she saw fit to speed up my growth,” Reska said.

  “My mere presence gives her more power?” I asked in disbelief. I had never heard of such a thing being possible, it just made little sense.

  “Why yes, of course. You two are linked by a bond thicker than blood, flesh and bone. A bond of prime. If I were a human, perhaps I would sing a ballad about it. That is what they like to do, is it not?” Reska asked. I didn’t answer as my mind still churned on what he had just said.

  How could Zelenia gain power just by being near me? Did she take more of my blood somehow without me knowing? She had taken a little before when we met, and the only thing she really did last time was crush me in a hug, I think.

  “What bond of prime?” Lunara asked as she crossed her arms. “If Zelenia has done anything to Ordan…”

  “I assure you, it is nothing but a benefit, but I cannot say more. Perhaps my queen will enlighten you on the details,” Reska said.

  I was just about to ask where Zelenia was when I spotted her as she walked out of the palace. There was none of that sensual swagger I had seen before. She didn’t wiggle her ass at all, in fact. Immediately, my heart felt heavy and I just couldn’t place what was bothering me.

  “Greetings my consort,” Zelenia muttered as she stared at the ground. As I expected, she wore practically nothing as she stood in the courtyard. Her hair covered up her breasts again while her lower half was bare for all to see.

  “Uh,” I said, as my mind was elsewhere. “Are you ready to get going Zelenia?” I intoned as I examined her curves.

  “Not so fast,” Eliandra said, as she motioned for a soldier to come forward. “We need to get you dressed for the occasion. I’ve brought along a multitude of dresses for you to try.”

  “That’s right,” Lunara said as she clapped her hands, “We will make sure you look your best.”

  It seemed Lunara’s earlier suspicions against Zelenia had been forgotten as she saw her forlorn attitude. Zelenia visibly perked up as the soldier took out a dress from a satchel.

  “Dresses? If I must, a queen must look good for her consort,” Zelenia said as her eyes glanced my way.

  “Excellent, come, lets get some distance from the men and see what fits. You come along too, Tessa,” Eliandra said as she took hold of Zelenia’s arm.

  Tessa gave me a look as if asking for permission, and I nodded. She grinned at me as she took hold of Zelenia’s other arm. I watched as the four women trounced off towards the palace.

  “Hmm, while those women are off… doing what they do, let me share more knowledge of our species father,” Reska said. It still didn’t feel right when he called me father, but I didn’t mind it either.

  Reska’s idea of sharing knowledge turned out to be me holding either a baby Melask or Ralask in my hand while he droned on about their characteristics. Some of it was impressive, though.

  Both a Melask and Ralask could eventually gain enough prime to talk, if they gorged themselves on other beings. Every single creature here had a link back to Zelenia and she could communicate with any of her children from even miles away. It was both interesting and terrifying at the same time.

  The more I learned about Zelenia and her species, the more curious I became of their past. The only person I knew that had any knowledge of the time during the old Gods reign was Lestia, and she didn’t know much more. Why would the old Gods lock up Zelenia and others like her in deep underground ruins to begin with, instead of killing them outright?

  Unfortunately, Reska had little knowledge of anything that occurred before his birth. That he was a few months old was strange enough to me.

  The women finally came out the palace after what felt like an eternity and my eyes bulged open at what I saw.

  Zelenia wore a silk black dress that accentuated her body perfectly. It was almost skin tight around her chest and shoulders. I could see her creamy cleavage pressed together even from here. A gold necklace rested right between her valley and my heart felt like it had lit itself on fire.

  The bottom of the dress was more like a frilled gown. It was loose, likely to accommodate her black tail and keep it hidden. She was like a perfect blend of sultriness mixed with sophistication.

  Zelenia lit up when she saw my face and grabbed a hold of Tessa’s arm. The pair whispered to each other’s ears and from a normal people's perspective, you could not not even tell that Zelenia wasn’t human. She would blend in well amongst the nobility.

  “What do you think, master?” Tessa asked as the woman neared.

  I simply nodded my head as I kept my eyes on Zelenia. My woman all giggled to each other.

  “I think he likes it Zelenia, I told you,” Tessa said as she looked at the Zegari.

  Zelenia’s eyes met mine and for a moment and I could not look away. Gods, she was beautiful.

  “We should go, the Vulenchian must be expecting us,” I said, more to shift their focus off me.

  I looked over at the men and saw that they were staring at Zelenia too. I narrowed my eyes, and they promptly looked away.

  “Well, this went better than expected,” Lunara said with a grin. Eliandra nodded to that too as her cheeks turned pink.

  “The portal,” I said, and Eliandra stifled a laugh as she summoned an orb of prime.

  “Now Zelenia, what we worked out is that we tell the Vulenchians you are one of my concubines,” I said. “Human kings and nobility apparently have many women they take to bed at night, just like I did in Frostburn. Just refer to me as my king over there and it should not arouse suspicion.”

  “You are my consort,” Zelenia said, and I opened my mouth to correct her but she then grinned at me. “I understand, we are king and queen.”

  Zelenia seemed a tad confused when I mentioned Frostburn, but it seemed like she would not inquire further on that. I wondered if she knew I was from another planet all together.

  Once the portal was ope
n, I saw that Reska wanted my attention.

  “Please bring my queen home safe, father. We would all be lost without her,” Reska said with a small nod. It seemed he wanted to ignore the fact that Zelenia was far stronger than me.

  I nodded to him as I stepped through the portal. The world shifted and twisted as blackness encroached me for a moment before I was met with grassy hills all around me.

  At a glance, Vulenchia seemed just like Fulgrem. There was ripe green land all around me that was perfect for farming and the beginnings of a forest in the distance. I could see a road that led further east, which no doubt would take us to the capital.

  Once the women and soldiers had passed through with no issues, we followed along the path. I mostly kept quiet as I examined the scenery, but the women rarely missed a beat in their whisperings. Lunara and Eliandra kept to themselves, but what I find most surprising was that Tessa seemed to take a liking to Zelenia. I had little idea on what they talked about as they emulated the other pair.

  We passed by some human travelers that rested in wagons, and one thing I noticed was that all of them were malnourished to some extent. I could tell that from just a glance. They paid us no mind as we walked by, and Zelenia glared behind us.

  “The humans would make perfect feed for my children, may I kill them, my consort?” Zelenia asked. I pressed a hand to my temple and sighed.

  “No Zelenia, we can’t kill them yet. Once we destroy that crystal, you can tear all of Vulenchia down for all I care. Until then, this plan of ours requires us to blend in,” I said as patiently as I could. Zelenia gave me a smile that I couldn’t help but smile back to, and I looked away before her beauty enraptured me again.

  “How much further is it, Eli?” Lunara asked.

  “I’m not sure, I came by carriage before and I think the route was different. I believe it's been a year since I’ve come here, so I remember little,” Eliandra said.

  “What is the capital like,” Tessa asked and Eliandra let out a sigh.

  “It's best to see it for yourself, it's quite the spectacle,” Eliandra said.

  That made me more interested, and I picked up the pace so we would get there quicker.

  After around an hour of walking along this path, I saw the capital in the distance. Like my capital in Fulgrem, a vast swath of flat land surrounded it on all sides.

  The aspect that struck me most about this city was the color. It looked like they made the entire city out of white marble. The walls, the buildings, the castle. It almost seemed like it shone all on its own, and my eyes wanted me to stop looking at it.

  “Gods, that’s bright,” Tessa complained as she put a hand between her eyes and the city.

  “Yes,” Eliandra said as she did the same. “It’s not so bad once you get close enough, but from a certain distance, it's like this.”

  I could hear a growl from nearby and saw that Zelenia glared at the city with her teeth bared.

  “Cursed humans, I will destroy them all,” Zelenia said as her pointed nails dug into her palms. I saw that blood leaked from her hands and grabbed her wrist to stop her.

  “Zelenia, keep calm. You said you would act your part,” I said. As soon as I gripped her wrist, Zelenia’s head snapped round to face mine, and she stared into my eyes again. I looked down to her palms to avoid being frozen in that stare and saw that the blood evaporated before my eyes. Only smooth skin was left, and I could not spot a wound at all.

  Her skin was soft at its surface, but I could tell that I could only move her arm because she let me.

  “There is still time to give me your seed. A Colalask would be unstoppable here,” Zelenia purred into my ear, a wide smile on her face. Her ability to be angry one moment to sultry the next was impressive. I still had no wish to see this Colalask with my own eyes, though.

  “A tempting offer, but let’s stick with our plan for now,” I urged and she nodded. Her smile dipped a bit, but she took hold of my hand and gave me a look that dared me to see what would happen if I let go of her.

  Suddenly a simple raid of a town appealed so much more to me than this.

  Once we got nearer to the capital, I saw that there was a long line to get in. Eliandra had mentioned this to me before, but it still irradiated me. Although it seemed the line for wagons was far longer than the line for travelers on foot.

  “Are you sure we can’t just declare who we are so they let us in quicker? We waste so much time if we just stand here,” I said as I crossed my arms. My doublet felt tight on my chest and I longed to be out of it and back in my armor. I felt more mobile with plate armor on than this. I was sure it would tear if I stretched for long enough.

  “Haha,” Lunara laughed, “you should try being a commoner in Dunara, Ordan. If you were not a part of my house, then you would have had to wait outside for hours if the Nox weren’t invading. Nobility get an exception sometimes, but more often or not, they have to wait with the rest. It's why nobles get such fancy carriages, so they can relax until they get into a city.”

  I sighed as I looked up at the sun; it felt hot on my skin and we would be here for a while. I glanced over at the wagon line and saw that there were indeed many carriages that looked very extravagant compared to others.

  I also saw that there were a group of men in white robes that checked every carriage that came in further back behind us. I thought they might have been guards at first, but they only ever talked to the driver or looked in the carriage for mere moments before they headed to the next one. Strange.

  All of us got weird glances from the nearby peasants in line. I gave anyone that looked at my women a sharp glare and they quickly looked away. I wanted to blend in, but that was hard when we had ten men in full black plate armor standing amongst us.

  After a few minutes, a man in white robes rushed towards us and bowed. I recognized him as one of the men that were checking each carriage.

  “Please forgive me, your majesty. We did not think you would be in this line,” the man said. I smirked at that.

  “You know of us?” I asked, and the man nodded as he stared at the ground.

  “Of course. King Ordan Strix, the esteemed king of Fulgrem. The large men gave it away easily. May I ask why you do not have a carriage?” the man said. I shrugged at that and kept my tone neutral.

  “We portaled here, so we didn’t need one,” I said. The white-robed man’s eyes lit up in understanding as he nodded again. At least he didn’t stare at the ground this time.

  “Ah, of course. My apologies, if you would follow me, I will take you to the royal castle,” the man said as he turned on his heels. He hustled past the line of peasants, and I shrugged at my women before we all followed.

  The man made some sharp motions with his hand, and I saw that the other robed men near the carriages stopped their search. They congregated together, and I turned my attention back to my front as we reached the gates of the capital.

  As Eliandra said, as we got closer to the white walls, the shine they produced was much easier on my eyes. Something was wrong though, it just didn’t seem natural. I’ve never seen a material that acted this way. The Dunarans used a metallic black material for their palace, but that was much more plausible than this.

  I heard Zelenia growl softly again and tightened my hold of her wrist. She seemed to calm down after that. I made sure not to look at her. Now was not the time to be lost in her eyes.

  The guards at the gates, who wore those green uniforms that I recognized from the battle, motioned for us to pass. They only gave the white-robed man a passing glance.

  “Welcome to the holy capital of Lunatium, the shining city,” the white-robed man declared with his arms spread.

  “My name is Rali, if it satisfies your majesty. Please keep close as we navigate the city streets. There is a long way to go before we reach the castle proper. I can call for more guards if that would put you at ease?” Rali asked. I couldn’t quite make out his features because of the cowl around his head. He looked fairly youn
g, yet had white hair.

  “No, my own will suffice,” I said and Rali nodded as he motioned towards a busy street in front of us.

  “Come then, if you will,” Rali said as he walked deeper into the city and the rest of us followed.

  Lunatium was just as big as Terorra, my capital. The houses here looked far more pleasing to look at because of that white shine, but otherwise the general vibe was the same. People from all walks of life milled about on the streets as they conducted their business.

  There were more white-robed men that walked the streets, yet the people avoided them as best they could. Some gave them nods of respect, while others had fear in their eyes. These must have been the priests of the faith they all were in. They had a certain swagger in their walk, as if they were nobility.

  I wondered if the nobility of Vulenchia also became priests themselves.

  Rali kept silence as he led us past a variety of streets. Some were busy like a market square, while others were devoid of any persons. The buildings gradually shifted from one-storey houses to manors with several levels to them. I also noticed that the most extravagant buildings of all were these Lunach’s. Where the people prayed to their God, or to the sun. I knew what they were as clear signs outside declared these structures as houses of prayer. Many people shuffled in and out of them regularly and had more activity than any other buildings on that street.

  I breathed a sigh of relief as we got to the royal castle, as I wanted the whole endeavor over with already. The soldiers at the gates gave my own men suspicious glares, but opened the gates when Rali stared at them.

  There were a multitude of carriages parked along the front of the royal castle. Each one just as gaudy as the last. This must belong to all the supposed nobles and ruling class of Vulenchia. I saw quite a few women with silk dresses and gowns make their way into the castle, surrounded by many green uniformed guards. There were men too, but I paid little attention to them.

  “The high priests were pleased with your declaration that you would join Lunarity, your majesty. They wait for you just inside,” Rali said. He motioned towards the stream of nobles that walked inside the castle.