《Mortal》


 Chapter 1

    A creature stood before me. It was much like a panther, its head low to the ground as it studied me, likely deciding if I was fit for prey. The animal''s fur was dark, almost as black as a void, yet the sheen made the light from the luminescent plants in the cave bounce off of it, creating a confusing image of a half-invisible cat. Its whiskers were long, so long they fell and nearly touched the ground with its head held high. Now, as it slowly prowled closer, they glided across the rocky cave floor, helping it move effortlessly forward. It almost seemed to glide on air, its head never wavering from its fixed position, glinting silver eyes locked on me.


    I sat motionless, my back against a wall and unable to process what was happening. Why was I here? Why did I decide to come here? I was simply there to document the cave layout and return the findings to the publisher that contracted me. I had heard a cry from a child, and venutred too deep. I knew better, I knew there were mountain cats that mimicked the sound of a crying child. I''d watched countless videos of mountain lions appearing from their camoflauged hideouts and ambushing the unsuspecting. There was just no way I could take the chance a missing child could be found, even in this remote of an area...


    This cat was nothing like I had ever seen, and its mouth opened to reveal pincer-like mandibles from behind jagged teeth. My heart dropped as saliva dripped from its jaws, sizzling as it hit the floor. What on earth is this thing?


    I glance to my right, where a pool of crystal clear water lay between myself and the opening through which I had entered the cavern. Lumincescent moss coated the entirety of the bottom, causing it to almost look like a glowing beacon. It was the brightest point of the cavern, the mushrooms that glowed throughout the rest of the area being much dimmer.


    It was a stupid move in hindsight, but it was the only thing I could think of. I clenched a fist full of sand off of the ground and slung it in a spray before me. The panther howled as it made contact, shaking its head vigorously back and forth as it pawed at its eyes to get the debris out. I sprung from my position and booked it toward the pool, where I jumped in just as the cat righted itself and was regaining its surroundings.


    Growing up on the coast, I was a strong swimmer and I was good at holding my breath. There was another pool similar to this one farther back the way I had come, and I was almost certain that somehow they were connected. Most cave pools were connected by the same source, and it wasn''t so far that I doubted my ability to make the swim. I just hoped it was far enough to throw the predator off and allow me to escape.


    Unfortunately, I heard a muffled splash as the creature dove into the water. I turned my head to see its black, shining figure awkwardly paddle itself after me. The fear powered my resolve, and I swam as fast and as hard as I could. The fear also began making my heart beat faster, using more oxygen than I anticipated and I began already feeling as if I needed to rush to the surface for air. There wasn''t any turning back, however, for the insect like jaws of some mutant mountain panther awaited me if I did.


    My lungs were burning as I reached what looked to be the deepest point of the pool, where there was a crevice that fueled it. The opening looked large enough to fit a person or two through, and I hoped my pursuer would either run out of air and turn back, or not be able to fit through it with its awkward shape. I used the uneven rocky walls to propel myself faster, my untrained arms screaming at me almost immediately to stop. The sound of my heart racing flooded my ears, and I counted the beats as it got darker and narrower.


    The flashlight I carried with me hung around my neck, and I quickly turned it on and shoved it in my mouth to illuminate my path ahead. At this point, I was struggling to keep cool as I tried not to think about my aching lungs begging for air.


    Quickly, the tunnel began widening and I could see an abrupt upturn, where the other pool certainly was nestled. My hand slipped on one of the rocks I grabbed to propel myself forward, and at that moment I felt a wrenching pain in my ankle, causing me to unclench my jaw and drop the flashlight. I swivelled my head around to see the cat struggling to claw its way through the narrowest part of the tunnel, having swiped me in an attempt to break through. My delay had let me sink enough for the cat to be able to land another swipe on me, claws digging through my jean shorts enough to pin me.


    The cat curled its paw inward and began lowering me closer to its opened, gnawing pincers as I struggled against it to break free. After a few moments, the claws were then digging into my flesh and I knew I would not be able to break its hold. A solemn moment of frenzied thought brought me to the decision to take a breath so I would at least be unconcious while being eaten.


    Suddenly, a bright flash went off right in the panther''s face, causing it to retract its claws in shock and let me go. I swivelled my head back the other way to see a fiery glow, almost like a boulder sized flare, floating towards me. I immediately swam towards it, hoping it would start spewing more light to disorient the cat. Even as the flare offered more light missiles, the panther wildly swiped its claws as it grew angrier, managing to hit me a few more times before I was fully out of its reach.


    The water was quickly heating around me from the projectile flares, and one even grazed my leg as it shot past. It burned, but no more than the wounds I had from the fury of claws. And, finally, my lungs could wait no more. The delay in getting to the surface was enough that I gasped. The water was so warm now, it was warmer than my body, and even as the rest of my body panicked from the lack of oxygen, it filled me with a comforting feeling like an embrace.


    The last thing I saw was a figure emerge from the giant flare, like an angel appearing to take me away.


    Then I was coughing, spouting and heaving water out from my body, gasping over and over like my I couldn''t get air fast enough. Everything about me burned. My lascerations burned, my muscles burned, my lungs burned, my stomach burned from the heaving. It left me so exhausted, I couldn''t bring myself to move for several minutes. Finally, when I felt like I was done being mostly dead, I opened my eyes. I lay on a small patch of grass in a rocky clearing, mountains reaching upwards to the sky immediately before me. Turning my head, there was a steep slope in the other direction that descended roughly 300 feet, a winding path etched into it that lead into a dense forest that stretched as far as I could see. Beyond that on the horizon was a large blazing sun that was beginning to fade below the horizon.


    Then, of course, there was the small group of men staring at me incredulously.


    The first was tall, thin, and tan with graying hair. He looked weathered, and wore a shiny set of solid metal armor. His eyes were uncannily narrow, though his posture let off the air that he was the most vigilant and experienced among them.


    Next was a man roughly the same age, but he looked much less rough. He wore a lose beige robe adorned with several golden tassels, was much shorter, and much fatter. This was a man clearly used to having a desk job, and looked sorely out of place among the other men.


    Then, there were several young men wearing armor similar to the first. They weren''t nearly as shiny or well kept, and the scratches that flecked the metal told me they had seen a lot of action. These men were all rather tall, taller than the first man, and much more muscular. They all had varying skin tones, but all of them had extremely unsettling eyes. They all seemed to burn with a soft glow, some yellow, some green, some blue. But all of their sclera were black, and had varying shapes of horns sprouting out of their heads above their long, pointed ears.


    Then there was the last man. He towered above them all, at least a staunching 6''5", and was the bulkiest. His armor was dark plate, and a fiery glow was slowly receding beneath its joints. His right arm, instead of the plate, was covered from shoulder to his hand in a black rock-like coating. It made it look larger than the other, and the shoulder had a rough, pointy display. His hair was black like his plate, and long. A breeze caused its soft waves to caress his armor. He had horns like many of the other men, that were rough, almost like they were made from the rock on his arm, and that curved back away from his face like a ram. And his eyes were a startling, fiery red set against his black sclera. He was by far the most intimidating of them all.


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    The man with the narrow eyes stomped forward and landed a blow with his fist to the chest of the scary one. "How dare you disobey your orders," he growled.


    Scary man remained stoic, no expression, and offered no response.


    Narrow eyes turned to face the other men. "Disobeying orders is NOT part of the training. You are all servants of the Sanct, and all orders from the Sanct shall be carried out fully or end with death. Do I make myself clear?!"


    The other horned men silently lifted their hands to their heads in a salute, remaining as stoic and expressionless as their larger comrade.


    "In all fairness, sir, uh, I do believe that he was doing his divine duty," the short fat one squeaked.


    Narrow eyes whipped his head around to look at him. "Excuse me?"


    Fat man cleared his throat shakily. "The only reason a divine guardian is to disobey orders is when it directly contradicts the safety of The Divine...and he has never once disobeyed an order in the 50 years he has been servicing..."


    Narrow eyes narrowed his eyes even further. "Are you telling me that you believe this person is ''The Divine''?"


    Fat man hesitated, glanced at me, and nodded his head quickly.


    "This is a woman," narrow eyes stated bluntly.


    "Yes," fatty stated just as bluntly.


    "The Divine is a man."


    Fat man cleared his throat shakily again, pulling out a small, extremely well worn notebook from his robes. "Scripture does not dictate gender, and never mentions that The Divine has to be a man. Just because there has never been a female divine, doesn''t mean--"


    Narrow eyes raised a fist to fatty as if he was going to deck him, causing him to flinch and hold his notebook up in defense. He clenched his jaw and angrily lowered his fist after a moment, and whipped back to face me, as well as scary man who essentially formed a wall between myself and everyone else. "If this is The Divine," he nearly spat. "Let us test it, shall we? You!" He pointed at scary man. "Make a move, and I will kill you where you stand." He then stomped over to me, sneering down his annoyingly pointy nose. I cowered beneath him, which made his smirk grow larger, and he reached down and clenched the collar of my t-shirt and physically lifted me off of the ground by it. Even for someone his size, I was impressed at the ease with which he dead lifted 230 pounds with one arm. It also scared me more than I had been with the cat...


    "What''s your name, woman?" he asked coldly.


    I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out.


    Narrow eyes grunted. "Pathetic." He raised his free hand in a fist, and I clenched my eyes shut in anticipation of a blow. Nothing came but the sudden jolt of me hitting the ground. When I opened my eyes, I was met with a sight of scary man on top of narrow eyes. Flames absolutely poured out of every crevice of his armour as he had narrow eyes pinned with his left arm, his rock arm raised with a blazing ball of hellfire in his palm as if he were going to shove it down his throat. It threw any thought that I had run into a group of cosplayers out the window.


    "Alright, worm, I get the point," he snarled, shoving scary man''s arm off of his chest. Scary man''s flames slowly died down, leaving his plate red hot, but he made sure to position himself between narrow eyes and myself, and not once took an eye off of him, and remained tense. Narrow eyes threw a look of hatred and disgust over at fat man. "I''ll only truly believe it when she''s ordained," he growled at him, taking a position over near the other men. "CHANGE OF PLANS, YOU LOT OF GRAVE DIRT! Every single one of you are to protect the cargo with your lives, and we are to return to Station. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!"


    All of the men, aside from scary man, raised their hands in another salute.


    "Did you not hear me, you sorry piece of spinder shit?" Narrow eyes stomped over to him, putting his face right up to scary man''s. It was almost comical at their size difference, narrow eyes having to stand as tall as possible to even be close to being level with scary man.


    "D-uhm, uh, sir," sputtered fat man, pulling out his tattered notebook again and flipping through the pages. "A divine guardian, once duty is initiated, no longer is obligated to follow an order but given by The Divine..."


    "So, you''re telling me he can follow my orders, but chooses not to?" Narrow eyes clenched his fists so hard, I could hear the metal of his gauntlets creak.


    "With all due respect, sir, Scripture dictates that The Divine is the ultimate authority, and no order shall oversee them."


    Narrow eyes swiped the notebook from fatty and threw it on the ground. "Damn the scriptures!" he bellowed. "Fine! You," he shoved a finger in my direction. "Order him to follow."


    "Sir, you shouldn''t speak to The Divine like th--"


    Narrow eyes grabbed fatty on his mouth, stifling his words, not taking his eyes off of me. "Do it."


    I looked at scary man. Clearly, Scary man was the alpha here, and narrow eyes thinks I''m going to just bark orders at him? All I could muster is an incredulous look at him in response. There was no way anyone could order that thing around. The only other person there even remotely close to being on scary man''s level was him, and even he couldn''t tell him to do anything!


    He seemed to get the hint I was intimidated by scary man, and moved his hand over to scary man''s mouth and used his grip to shake his face roughly. "This is your tool," he said. "That is all he is. You own him. He is nothing without your words. Use him."


    Narrow eye''s words roiled a fire within me. Just ''a tool''? He clearly was a thinking human being. Was this just some cult who trained people to be emotionless husks for disposal? I hated people who used others like their lives didn''t matter. What kind of leader ''uses'' his men like that? "He''s a person," I managed to get out between clenched teeth. "Treat him like one."


    Scary man looked over at me at my words, but his expression remained blank and gave nothing away to his thoughts.


    "Hah! Hardly," narrow eyes laughed. "Everyone knows a Drath is only as good as the service they offer."


    I managed to drag myself into a standing position and hobble a few steps over to him. "Treat him like a person, or I''ll use the order you want me to give him so much to teach you the lesson you clearly need."


    Scary man immediately tensed and grabbed narrow eyes by his chest piece. Narrow eyes backed down and put his hands up in defeat. "Fine, as you say, Your Grace." He nearly spat the last part. Scary man let him go and stepped over to me, taking a place right by my side. The heat that roiled off of him was tumultuous, almost like a furnace. His armor was still too hot to even touch, and I wondered how he didn''t burn up in his suit. He also towered over me, the top of my head barely reaching his chin. I found it hard to believe that a man this truly intimidating ever took an order from anyone.


    "Everyone, move out!" Narrow eyes motioned towards the steep mountain path, and began to lead the way. Fat man waddled behind him, then the other armored men followed suit. Scary man didn''t budge.


    "Ah, should...should we follow them?" I asked him timidly.


    He looked down at me, his face no more readable than it had been before.


    "Uh, okay then," I said sheepishly, taking a few steps forward. I looked back at him, and he had taken a few steps to trail closely behind me. I felt smug with myself. "See? No one has to boss you around anymore. You should stand up for yourself more. You''re allowed to have feelings, too, you know."


    Something about scary man''s expression changed, yet somehow remained perfectly stoic. He regarded me with some form of emotion, just quietly and behind a mask, almost. Apprehension is the best I could make of it, as I''m sure he was entirely unused to being told he''s allowed to be a person. I made a slight frown at him, which made him tense slightly. That made me even more sad. What kind of place did these people come from? This has to be some sort of cult. They way they spoke of scriptures and divinity, I was almost certain it was. How many other people were being treated like this? Were they trapped? Brainwashed?


    Looking around, re-examining the area, I was nowhere near where I had entered the cave. The topography of the mountain was completely different than the area of Appalachia I had originally come to. I had no idea where this was, or even what direction was north. The rock the mountain was made of didn''t even look the same. I had no choice but to follow these men back to their lair if I wanted any chance of finding my way back. I looked after them as they effortlessly scaled the steep path down into the forest, hesitant to actually follow. I then turned my gaze back to scary man and studied him a moment.


    "You will protect me?" I asked him quietly, almost a whisper.


    Astoundingly, his expression changed to outright determination and he gave a curt nod. Alas! He responds! Step one has been attained in retrieving his smothered personality! Just as quickly though, he seemed to catch himself and went back to being as expressionless as ever.


    Determination filled me. The need to help others got me to this place, and almost killed by a rabid mountain lion. The need to help others was probably going to get me in even deeper from here. Oppression is, however, no joke, and the road to freedom always starts with just a spark. Maybe I could be that spark for these poor people.


    I timidly reached for his hand--the one covered in rock, the metal on the other was still far too hot--and wrapped my fingers around it as best as I could. His hands with the armor were easily three times the size of my own. He looked down at the touch, almost quizzically (I''m sure he had little kind touch), and gently closed his fingers around mine as I started to pull him with me. It felt like he was afraid to put any pressure on me, like he would hurt me if he gripped too hard. He probably wasn''t used to being gentle with anyone, either. The thought made me so sad on the inside...how many people are going to be just like him?


    "Let''s go," I nearly whisper, and we quicken our pace to catch up to the group before they get too far.

 Chapter 2

    We walked well into the night before finding reprieve. The time was spent with me getting ''caught up'' with current affairs from fat man, whose name I learned was Thornton. Narrow eyes, named Constable, was Captain of the Sanct, who are the guard that are trained to protect the Temple of the Divine and its leaders, as well as form the top rank of the military. Thornton was a member of The Council, which were a group of 12 men that governed the land in the absence of a Divine person, and acted as advisors for the Divine when present. They were originally out in the wilderness to complete the final leg of training for some Sanct initiates; a live battle with a dangerous beast of some kind. Each initiate had to hunt down their choice of one of several deadly beasts. If they are able to satisfactorily fell one of the beasts, they pass their exam and become formal members of the guard.


    I also learned the scary man, as well as all the other horned men, had no names. Sometimes a human caretaker may give them a name, but otherwise they were nameless beasts. I questioned why, and was just met with the response of, "They may have names amongst themselves for all anyone knows, but they are not worthy to be officially named unless deemed so by someone who is. They are but servants of the divine, and that''s all they will ever be."


    Subsequently, these peoples'' oppression was so great, they weren''t even allowed to speak! I asked why all of them hadn''t said a word, thinking it was just some military obedience thing. The people around this place thought of them so lowly, that it was an insult for a Drath to utter anything in the presence of a human. It caused me to feel guilty for thinking they all had the personality of a wet noodle. I wondered what kind of people they were behind the mask they were forced to wear¡­


    The moon in the sky was high when we arrived at a sort of cabin deep into the woods. I was exhausted, having had to have been carried by scary man most of the way. The wounds on my legs kept tearing and bleeding, causing me a lot of pain and to lag behind the rest of the group. It made me feel useless and weak, though scary man seemed to have more of a problem with me trying to be independent than letting him carry me¨Canytime I¡¯d ask him to put me down and let me walk, he¡¯d pick me back up after only a moment.


    The cabin itself was huge, three stories tall with many windows. Some windows were dark, others had dim flickering light indicating a flame. What would be the foyer of the cabin was brightly lit, however, illuminating the front of the building like a beacon. Off to one side was a large barn, which was completely dark inside. Surrounding the entirety of the back of the property was a fence reaching up to the second story of the cabin, made out of huge staked logs like what you would see in a medieval fort.


    Inside, the entire first floor looked to be common area. A bar sat on one side filled with tables and chairs, wooden mugs lining a cabinet next to seven large barrels with spouts. The other side had a fireplace, with some comfortable yet worn armchairs and ottomans. Everything was lit by fire-filled lanterns that gleamed unusually bright, though I couldn''t tell if they were powered by gas or candles. I couldn''t see a wick, but I also had trouble believing a place this far in the middle of nowhere had gas lines.


    The very center of the room held a small kiosk, where a young man stood reading a book. He looked up when he heard the door open, and frowned when he saw us.


    "I don''t want any more trouble," he said, holding up his hands. "Please leave."


    Constable, having led our little caravan, crossed his arms and opened his mouth to speak, when Thornton hurried forward and began whispering to him. The man in the kiosk looked at him incredulously when he was done speaking, then locked eyes with me. "A woman?" he asked.


    Thornton nodded, and gestured generally toward me as he said, "And she is injured, do you have any healers about?"


    "I''m afraid not," the young man replied. "I barely have enough hands to gather the resources for the Inn. One of my Drath took a healing course some time ago, I could see if she still has any knowledge in her. It''s better than nothing. In the mean time, here are your keys for your rooms. It''s on the house this time, pending no more broken furniture." He glared at Constable.


    The young man handed the keys over to Thornton and then scurried off, and he began to distribute keys. He handed Constable a key, whom promptly headed up a staircase off to the left without a word to anyone else. He then handed the next key to me, and there was one final key he pocketed into his robe. I looked over at the group of young men, then back at Thornton. "What about them?" I asked.


    "Oh, no, Drath do not need accommodations. They will be fine sleeping on the ground, or in the barn if the horses will have them."


    I gawked at him. "You don''t even give these people a roof over their heads?"


    He gave me a curious look. "You really aren''t familiar with anything here? Where is it you originate from? Or maybe you perhaps have amnesia?"


    "Florida," I answer plainly.


    "Is that part of the Eastern Empire?" he asked quizically.


    I just stare at him blankly, not processing what it is he said. "The what? Do you mean like China or something? Because surely you know which state Florida is, it''s our county''s southernmost state. It''s only several hundred miles from here. Please tell me you''re joking with me."


    "Oh, do you mean the State of Fauna? Their people still follow The Divine practices, so I don''t see how you would have gone this far without being accustomed to our ways¡­¡±


    I just stared at him with an open mouth, trying to think of what to say. I was starting to get a sinking feeling I wasn''t in the United States anymore, or that I inhaled some spores from the luminescent fungus from the cave and was having a seriously realistic trip.


    "Regardless, we can recoup in the morning when hopefully you have rested enough. Your guardian will assist you in getting situated." Thornton then waved away the other young men, who exited out the front to scramble and find their places to rest, and waddled up a different staircase to the right.


    The young man from the kiosk returned at this time with a young woman that looked to be my age, maybe 27 at most. She had the same distinct eyes as the soldiers in our group. They seemed to glow, almost, a soft and gentle blue against black sclera. Her horns were small and wound into compact curls, making me think of cute little cartoon sheep I used to watch as a kid. Her hair was in a short bob, clearly cut hastily and with little skill, and the clothes she wore were so worn, I wouldn''t be shocked if it was the only set she owned. It was abundantly clear to me that EVERYONE saw Drath as beneath them at this point, and they were certainly akin to slaves around these parts.


    He motioned her toward me, and she did a deep curtsy for me before timidly approaching. Her eyes and hands simultaneously went to the cuts on my legs. Her fingertips gently caressed the surface of the wounds, like a feather brushing over my skin, but the cut on my thigh in particular made me wince and grunt as she examined it.


    Scary man immediately tensed and let out a loud growl at her, which made her wince and shrink back from me. I put a hand on his chest and pushed to get him to back up, but of course it was like trying to push a brick wall. He didn''t move. "Bro, chill," I said, annoyed. "I''m fine, let her do her thing." I turned back to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "It''s okay, he''s just tired and grouchy. Ignore him."


    The young woman''s eyes flashed to the towering hulk I still felt standing behind me, then back to my wounds that she slowly started to feel again. After a moment, she reached into a small pouch tied to a belt around her waist and pulled out a small glass jar and several strips of fabric. She dipped the fabric in whatever was in the jar and began gently dabbing it onto the cuts.


    It. Fucking. Hurt. Like she was literally rubbing fire into my wounds. I just couldn''t help but let out a loud cry. I immediately felt scary man tense again and I threw my hand back and placed it on his chest to hold him at bay. "It just hURTS, I SWEAR IT''S FINE," I said through an increasingly tight grimace.


    The young lady began working quicker as she noticed scary man becoming more and more unsettled with my discomfort. She finished just as I was sure he couldn''t hold himself back anymore, and he immediately relaxed as she backed up to the man that worked for the inn.


    "It''s not much, but it will keep infection at bay," he said with a crooked grin. "We are at your service, Your Grace. Please let me know if there is anything at all you need." He grabbed a stack of assorted linens from behind the kiosk and handed them to scary man, then bowed and motioned toward the stairs, which I took as our invitation to head to the room I was allotted. I looked at my key, which had a tag on it with letters I couldn''t recognize and the number 4. Seeing as I couldn''t recognize this place''s made up language, I handed the key to scary man and gestured for him to lead the way. He bowed to me slightly and began the ascent to the room.


    The rooms were labelled with the numbers, so in reality I likely could have found the room myself, but the odd lettering on the tag threw me off. Scary man unlocked the room for me and opened the door, stepping aside like a true gentleman to let me in first. I hobbled my way in, taking in the quaint style. It wasn''t a super large room, but it had a decent sized queen bed with comfortable looking dressing, a stand mirror, a bedside table and a large wooden chest that sat at the foot of the bed. I turned to look at scary man, who began closing the door to take his leave.


    "Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold on," I said, yanking the door back open. "Where are you going?"


    He looked at me blankly for a moment, then sat on the ground outside of the room, beside the door.


    "Oh, no, I don''t think so. Get in the room."


    Scary man didn''t move.


    "What happened to ''following The Divine''s orders''?" I asked him snarkily. "I said get your butt in here, I¡¯m not staying in this room by myself.¡±


    He then immediately got up and entered, standing awkwardly in the center of the room.


    I looked over him, a heavy feeling of pity welling up inside of me. He had probably never been offered an actual room before, never had a jolly conversation with someone...all his people ever knew was work and obedience, it seemed. While his armor seemed well kept, his face had small red scars that flecked his skin indicating he was a seasoned warrior. All in all, he was a handsome guy after you got past his intense aura.


    "Do these people treat you badly?" I asked in a lowered voice. ¡°Do they hurt you?¡±


    Scary man looked at me blankly.


    "Listen," I started. "I¡¯m not like these people. You are allowed to speak to me. I WANT you to speak to me. I understand you are used to not being allowed to say anything, but I am asking you to please talk to me. The way these other people are treating you isn''t right. I want to help."


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    There was a long heavy silence as he regarded me and my words, and finally he spoke. "If it is your will, Your Grace, it shall be so." His voice was deep and silky, and it threw me off as I was expecting something more husky or burly. It had a depth that echoed through me, and despite being soft it still boasted a sense of power.


    I sighed in relief that they hadn''t simply cut out his tongue. "Excellent. Let us start with formal introductions, then. My name is Suzanna, what''s yours?"


    "My name is what you will it to be, Your Grace," he said, bowing.


    "No, no, no,¡± I snapped. ¡°One, stop calling me that. I''m not this divine being you think I am. I''m not your queen or whatever. My name is Suzanna. Second, I know you have a name. Not one some random person gave you, your REAL name, the one you got from your mom.¡±


    He kept his eyes on the ground and thought silently before answering me. "My mother called me Valthorix, before I was culled."


    "Oh, that''s a wicked cool name," I said excitedly. "It sounds so mysterious, too. I like it!" I hobbled over to the bed and patted it. "Why don''t you take off your armor and lay down? I''m sure you''re tired."


    Valthorix tried to hide a very confused look at me. "...on the bed?" he asked quietly.


    "Yeah? Where else do people sleep?"


    "My kind are not permitted luxuries," Valthorix stated. "It is forbidden."


    I rolled my eyes. "Theoretically, I am your boss, right?"


    "You are the only authority that exists here, Your Grace. Your will is my bond, your words the only law."


    I clapped my hands together excitedly. "Excellent. Not my pleasure to hear, but I can make that work. So, I''m the boss, I make the rules now, right?"


    He nodded at me.


    "New rule, then. You sleep on a bed."


    He opened his mouth I assumed to protest, but nothing came out. I smirked, knowing there wasn''t any way he could object to an order from the deity he thought I was. I may not like how whipped he was, but I could use that to my advantage until he was able to come out of his shell and stand up for himself. Once that happened, I hoped it would spread like wildfire among all of them and they''d gain their independence.


    "Excellent, now do as I say and get out of that uncomfortable getup and start to relax. And I mean RELAX. You''re not getting up for anyone or anything but yourself." I took the linens he had been carrying and put them in the trunk that sat at the foot of the bed, and noticed a set of towels among them. My eyes brightened and I picked one up, holding it so Valthorix could see it. "Are these for showers? Do they have showers here?"


    "We occasionally have rain showers, yes, but those are specifically for the springs, Your Grace."


    I clenched my jaw. "My name is Suzanna. Where are the springs then? I would like to wash off all this blood." He began walking towards the door, and I tutted him. "I said you''re supposed to relax. Just tell me where they are."


    "Your Gr-Lady Suzanna, it is my duty to protect and serve you. I must not leave your side."


    I rubbed my face in exasperation. "Okay, baby steps then. I''ll tell you what, we''ll go together, and you can wind down in the spring before sleep." With that, I motioned for him to lead the way.


    He brought me downstairs and out a large set of doors that led to the back of the property. I could tell the giant fence was to enclose several hot springs that spanned a few acres of the land so they were strictly for the use of the inn''s patrons. Each spring was partitioned off so every group could have some privacy, and I chose the one farthest from the door. I sat on the edge of the spring and took one of the towels, dipping it in the warm water, and then began to wipe the blood and grime off of my body.


    Valthorix stood behind me and just watched, and after a few moments I sighed and gave him an annoyed look. "I told you to relax, my guy. Take the armor off, chill in the water, get some R and R."


    He hesitated, then began stripping. Each piece of armor hit the ground with a loud thud, and I began going back to cleaning all the nasty crud off. Valthorix then passed by me, entering the water, and I realized that he had no actual clothes on under the armor. So he was completely naked. I froze, trying extremely hard not to blush, and tried to think of what needed to be done next.


    "So, uh, they don''t give you anything to pad your skin under the armor?" I asked, slightly shakily.


    Valthorix shook his head. "My flames would char them, it would be a waste."


    I bit my lip. He was going to come out of there at some point, and while he was most certainly a LOT to look at, I wasn¡¯t used to having a live show. I honestly didn''t think he''d get in there butt-naked, but I guess I did say to take the armor off and get in, and that''s exactly what he did¡­


    A woman Drath walked by, carrying a basket full of things that looked to restock the spring alcoves. Soaps, wash cloths, and what looked to be fragrance oil. "Excuse me, do you work here?" I called to her as she passed.


    She craned her neck to look over at who was calling, then quickly scurried over and bowed for me.


    "Am I allowed to ask for a set of new clothes? For him," I clarified, pointing over at Valthorix.


    The woman stared at me blankly, and I could tell my request confused her.


    "He smells," I whispered to her. "I don''t like them when they''re stinky. And we¡¯ll probably need some more of whatever you have there.¡±


    She emptied her basket next to me, did another quick bow and hurried off. I hoped it meant that she would be back with what I requested. In the mean time, I went back to painstakingly cleaning around my wounds, careful not to wipe off any of the medicinal cream that had previously been applied. I also began to make conversation with Valthorix. I wanted to know what this place we were heading to was like. I also wanted to know more about him and his people.


    He spoke of the Temple of the Divine, which was home for The Divine, the members of The Council, and contained the barracks for the Sanct. It also contained a hall where people could come to physically worship The Divine. He also spoke about the sheer size of the city itself; it was the capital of the country, and was one of the largest cities in the world. Many come there seeking salvation or refuge, and it was also the world''s largest trade port.


    When I asked of his life, his family, his past, he simply said he could not remember much. They sell the children of Drath fairly young so they can learn their trade, then get sold again when training is complete to the highest bidder. A long silence had settled when the young woman returned with a mound of worn clothing, though to the touch it seemed like soft and comfortable material. I thanked her and she went on about her duty.


    I tossed some of the soap and a wash cloth over to Valthorix. "Get clean. You''ll feel better and sleep nicely."


    I focused on cleaning myself while he did his thing, and used the reflection of the still water to fix my face and hair. My blond curls were in complete disarray, and had small sections that were matted with some dried blood. As I scrubbed the blood out and tried to smooth the frizz, something about my eyes in my reflection caught my attention. At first, they were just the same bright emerald they had always been. After a moment, the color seemed to swirl and become cloudy. But just like that, they returned to normal. Did that really happen, or was I seeing things?


    I of course finished before he did, even with the painstaking amount of time I took to clean my hair. I took the opportunity to step to the other side of the partition while he hastily clothed himself, and heaved his armor onto his shoulder to haul back to the room. When we got back, I let him pick his spot on the bed, which he unshockingly took up most of, and then took position on the other side and drifted off to sleep.


    At some point, I woke up freezing my butt off. It hadn''t been so cold when we first arrived, but the temperature took a steep drop sometime after falling asleep. The covers were thick, but not thick enough to hold in enough heat, apparently. I looked over at Valthorix, and he seemed to be sleeping soundly. I gently scooted closer to him, and his glorious warmth radiated off of him under the covers that made it like a heated blanket. Nothing makes you sleep better than a cold room and a heavy warm blanket.


    The sun shining into my face woke me up the next morning. I felt like I had slept well, but my legs were so stiff from the wounds trying to scab over. I shifted to get more comfortable and noticed that Valthorix had ended up with an arm around me sometime in the night. As I moved, he removed his arm from around me and regarded me blankly.


    "Thank you for keeping me warm last night," I said shyly.


    He nodded and got out of the bed and began to strip. I immediately threw the covers over my head to give him privacy, waiting until I was sure he put the last piece of armor on to get out of bed myself. He sure wasn''t shy, was he?


    There lay a pile of clothing on the chest at the end of the bed, and Valthorix held his hand out to draw my attention to it. "Are they clothes for me?" I asked.


    Valthorix nodded and held it up so I could see it was a simple dress that looked handmade out of cotton. "The owner of the inn wishes it to be an offering of peace," Valthorix said. "He dropped it off when the sun rose."


    He set the dress down and reached for me, and I could tell he was going to try to assist me in dressing. "No, no, no, I got it," I choked out.


    I did a modest style change, putting the dress on first and removing my old clothes from underneath. After we were both fully ready, we headed downstairs to see everyone over at the bar. The Drath were just standing there, quietly awaiting orders, and Constable was complaining to Thornton loudly about everything he could think of.


    "You''ve nearly wasted the whole day," Constable spat at me.


    Thornton huffed. "Thy Grace was in a terrible state, she needed her rest."


    Constable rolled his eyes at him. "If The Divine is such a highly regarded being, they would be a little more sturdy, I''d think."


    "The Divine is made out to be what we need in our current time," Thornton replied. "Only a handful of Divine have been strong or swift, and they were so because we were in times of war. Be thankful that is not the case now."


    "You could also have woken me up if you were in that much of a hurry to leave," I added. "Or better yet, I would have been just fine if you left without me."


    Constable grunted. "A little late now for hindsight. They made you food. Take it, and let us move. We have several days of travel yet still.¡±


    A Drath woman brought me a large plate with an assortment of of fruit, cheeses and bread, and a small separate plate of cooked meat. The meat was rather bland, and after a bite or two decided I didn''t like the game-y taste it had. I looked up at Valthorix, who had sat himself next to me at the small table we were given, realizing they had not fed him. Of course they don''t feed them either, they probably have to go and hunt for their food like savages¡­


    I transferred the meat onto the large plate as Valthorix seemed to interest himself in another group of male guests that seemed rather rough. They kept throwing us wary glances and muttered amongst themselves, which seemed to agitate him greatly and put him on edge. Once I had the plates arranged to my satisfaction, I pushed the large one over to him, making sure almost all of the food was given to him. I left myself a small piece of bread, two pieces of what looked to be dates, several grapes and a few cubes of the assorted cheeses. He was a growing boy, after all, and it wasn''t like I couldn''t stand to lose a few pounds.


    Valthorix snapped out of his fixation on the other group at the sound of the plate scraping across the wooden table, and looked at me quizzically after he studied it for moment.


    ¡°You need to eat, too,¡± I said quietly. I handed him my utensils since what I left for myself were finger foods.


    He regarded me with a blank expression for a moment, which I assumed had some sort of mixture of gratitude and amazement, and then proceeded to pick up the entire assortment of cooked meat (which were pre-cut into bite sized chunks) with one hand and shoved it into his mouth. I watched with wide eyes as this man basically inhaled the entire plate of food I gave him in mere seconds.


    After I watched him swallow the last bit of food and stare back at me silently, I looked down at the remaining food I had on my plate, then back at him. ¡°Are you still hungry¡­?¡± I pushed my plate slightly toward him as an offer.


    He put up a hand to turn my offer down. ¡°I can hunt my own nourishment, you need to keep your strength,¡± he said as quietly as possible.


    I gave him a look and made a motion to my entire body. ¡°I''m clearly not starving to death.¡±


    ¡°Females need much more to keep them healthy,¡± he responded. ¡°You may not be as small framed as others, but going without will make you susceptible to illness. Please, eat your strength, Your Grace.¡±


    I shot him a dirty look at the ¡®Your Grace'', and he shrank back slightly.


    ¡°Lady Suzanna,¡± he corrected sheepishly.


    I left out a ¡®pft¡¯ at him and started picking at my own plate, deciding to eat only the cheese and packing the rest into a linen cloth to take with us. Valthorix didn''t seem pleased at the meager amount of food I consumed, but I figured I''d get snackish on the road, and despite the ordeal I''d been through, was not very hungry at the moment.


    Valthorix whipped his head back around at the group of men that caught his attention earlier, and a low, guttural growl bubbles out of him. I followed his gaze to see the men starting to make their way over to us. The most burly of the group led them, and as they got close enough I could smell that they reeked of B.O. and who knows what else. I tried to cover my nose discreetly, and it didn''t help. I ended up leaning into Valthorix¡¯s freshly washed hair and tried to inhale the smell of the soap he used to clear my sinuses.


    ¡°What''s this?¡± He said in a sauntry voice, his stank breath seeming to permeate through the very fabric of existence. ¡°A pretty thing like you being so nice to a Drath? And a misbehavin¡¯ one at that.¡± I could essentially hear a scraping noise as he raked his eyes away from me to fall onto Valthorix, who seemed to be trying to make himself larger as to be a shield between myself and these thugs. ¡°I''d think your trainer would have taught you to respect your masters enough to keep your mouth shut. No one wants to hear the worthless thoughts in that head of yours.¡±


    I leaned away from Valthorix slightly so I could glare at them, making sure to keep his hair over my nose. I wouldn''t be conscious if there wasn''t some sort of filter from the smell. ¡°He had no mad-ter,¡± I said through my clenched nose. ¡°He is his own perdon. And I want to hear hid thought-d. I like him.¡±


    All of them erupted into a caucus of laughter. ¡°My dear, all Drath live to serve the people. We are all his master. If you like, I could demonstrate by ordering him to spread you for me. I can share more interesting thoughts with you than this thing can.¡±


    Valthorix immediately stood, taking my air filter with him, and grabbed the smelly man by his collar. He lifted and slammed him into the table we sat at. The man¡¯s lackeys stared in disbelief as their leader crashed straight through the table and then through the floorboards, now a heap amongst splintered wood. Smelly groaned, signaling he was still alive but likely down for the count.


    ¡°Hey, you can¡¯t assault someone, you dirty quad,¡± one of the remaining men spat. He lunged for Valthorix, followed by the rest of the men. They all tried to grapple him at once, and it was slightly comical to see four average sized men trying to bring down this 6¡¯6¡± tank.


    Grabbing one of the men by the back of his neck, he lifted him effortlessly so that their eyes were level. The man slowly dropped his look of anger as he took in the emotionless stare (of what I imagined to myself as being rage) Valthoric kept his face painted with.


    I leapt up and put a hand gently on Valthorix¡¯s arm. ¡°Please, no more hurting,¡± I said quietly. ¡°Violence isn¡¯t the only answer to anger.¡±


    He looked over at me, not loosening his grip on the man. ¡°No one speaks like that to the Divine,¡± he growled. ¡°They are not worthy.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°That¡¯s what got you mad? I thought for sure it was because they got too close to you with their stank.¡± I patted his arm. ¡°Let him go then. That¡¯s not worth the bill you¡¯re gonna give the ol¡¯ cap for breaking the inn¡¯s table.¡±


    My personal tank reluctantly released his captive, and they scrambled to dig their smelly friend out of the buckled floor boards. They had to literally drag him away, a trail of splintered wood following behind them as it fell off his clothes.

 Chapter 3

    After getting an account from other patrons in the eating area, the innkeeper reluctantly let us off the hook and put the bill on the tab of the rough and rowdy crew. Constable was irate that one of his Drath was so disobedient that he actually put hands on a human that was not an enemy of the empire. Thornton defended him, saying it was his duty to defend my honor in addition to my well being, calling the smelly bunch ¡®blasphemous heathens¡¯. They bickered with each other on the matter until we were setting off from the inn, even getting the horse broker they purchased from involved.


    The one horse they bought was for me, an expense that Constable also loudly complained about but that Thornton said was an invaluable asset; my Drath would be better suited to protect me with free hands than carrying me. Constable retorted with, ¡°What the hell are these other imbeciles for, then? Am I training them to be pillars for the temple??¡±


    ¡°The skill of an initiate in a dire circumstance pales in comparison to one of a seasoned warrior who has trained his entire life to serve,¡± Thornton answered.


    The journey was long. While I had always been a fan of camping, the degree of camping that we endured over the next several days was not at all what I was used to. Thornton and Constable had bed rolls, no one else. There were no tents. We slept in the open. The Drath, aside from Valthorix, hunted and gathered the food for us. Thornton offered his bedroll to me, but I felt that it wasn¡¯t fair for me to have one. I ended up being perfectly comfortable curled next to Valthorix, who was an excellent space heater and not too terrible a pillow if needed. I also discovered that his sweat (or natural scent, whichever it may be) was absolutely enchanting. The further it got from the time he had bathed, the more aromatic it became. It was a sweet, fruity scent that I could hardly believe a body would produce naturally, and I envied it. If only humans could produce such a wonderful smell! Part of me wondered if he doused himself in some sort of perfume while I slept, but I tossed it aside seeing as Drath seemed to be unable to have any such possessions around here.


    I also subtly inspected the scents of the other Drath out of curiosity, and they all smelled quite nice as well. Their scent wasn¡¯t as strong, even though they seemed to work harder than Valthorix and therefore should have had a stronger odor about them, but they were all a wonderful symphony of scents. It made me spend more time on their side of the camp than over by Thornton and Constable, who were in fact becoming slightly smelly.


    Valthorix remained by my side always, and tried his best to make sure there was a certain distance between myself and the other Drath. My time trying to speak to the others and get them to respond was always cut short by him inserting his body between us and ushering me away. The only time I hardly got any peace was when either of us had to use the restroom. I had to convince that man that I would not simply vanish into a puff of smoke if he took his eyes off of me for a moment, even to just have him stand on the other side of a small tree when either of us had to take care of business. If he had his way, I would be in his lap using the restroom. Needless to say, that was not really a kink of mine.


    I learned more about the history these people called theirs, and discovered Drath were supposedly the offspring of humans and ancient dragons, who fought a war together millenia ago and prevailed. I also got to know Valthorix better. I got permission to call him Val, and got him more used to speaking to me with other humans around. He still refused to utter any words if Thornton or Constable were in any way a part of the conversation, but he would at least speak quietly to me even if they were nearby.


    Val was a sweet soul. He liked small animals, rabbits his favorite. He enjoyed being around children when able, amused by their whimsical games. He liked to cook, and was actually very good at it when you gave him the ingredients he needed to season it; he knew what herbs compliment each other and was able to put the right amount into what he was making to make it just right without being overbearing. By the second night, I refused anything that Constable or Thornton put over the fire and made Val take care of my food. This seemed to please Val, and it definitely pleased my stomach.


    I, in turn, told him about where I came from. I was still convinced it was the world just on the other side of those mountains, where I drove to my work in a car and sat on the couch at home on a cellphone scrolling through useless posts on how to train your cat to press buttons. I told him about society there, about how it should be for people¨Cfor everyone. I told him about how the country I grew up in fought a civil war that resulted in slaves being liberated, which was one of the first dominoes to fall in the fight for everyone around the world to live free. He listened, almost mesmerized, about all the technology we had. TV, trains, motorized boats¡­the more he awed over everything I told him, the less sure I was that this was some secluded society hidden behind a mountain.


    After five days, our group finally crested a hill that overlooked vast plains of golden wheat. In the distance, a city filled the horizon as far as the eye could see in either direction. It solidified my belief I was no longer home. This wasn¡¯t just a small group of backwoods hillbillies trying to bring back the nazis. This was a different world, or a different plane of existence, and I was going to have to give myself a crash course in the customs of a society no one had ever experienced.


    As we approached the main gate, Thornton began spouting as much information as he could about the city of Hearthspire. The concrete wall that encased the city was over 100 miles long, making the city itself span over 850 square miles within the perimeter. It was the largest city in the world. Everything within the walls took centuries to build, and it continued to expand still. Within the outer wall we were entering were farms and plantations. Many miles in was a secondary gate and wall, and within it were homes, businesses and recreational parks. Then, many miles within that, was finally what they called ¡®The Gate¡¯. The Gate had been a collaboration of all neighboring and far away countries that followed The Divine Practices to showcase the capital of their religion. Many decades went into its construction alone, not even including the wall encasing the temple.


    It took another entire day just to reach The Gate. It was the southernmost part of the city, where the temple and its grounds extended out onto a peninsula and was backed by an ocean. The Gate itself was as grand as Thornton boasted; many of its decorations were made of gold and iridescent gems, causing it to glint brightly in sunlight. Atop the center of the entrance was a diamond that, at sunset, caught the light just right to cast the entirety of the city into glitter.


    A small man met us just inside The Gate, and we handed off the horse I had been riding to him. Behind him trailed a group of particularly hideous (I felt bad at the repulsed feeling I got when I spotted them) women collected what meager items were being carried, and they ushered me up a grand staircase that led into the front of the temple. Inside, grand marble statues lined either side of the entryway for quite some time. All were of different people with different accents; one had a man in what looked like the fields of wheat just outside the city, another clad in magnificently intricate armor, there even was one in a huge alcove atop a ship made of wood. One that caught my eye was the one that was centerpieced above an altar that was set in front of hundreds of rows of pews, and spanned the entire stage it sat on. A man and a beautiful woman held hands staring at one another, like you¡¯d see when a couple were being married. Behind the man were hundreds of people carved out of marble in a mural, and behind the woman was a magnificent dragon, its tail wrapped around her legs protectively.


    ¡°That¡¯s the very first Divine,¡± one of the women said when she realized I had stopped following her to gawk. ¡°He allied humans with the dragons and made our nation strong enough to win the war of calamity.¡±


    My eyes lay fixated on the woman, whose beauty was captured so perfectly in the stone. Her dress was heavily decorated in gemstones, and her jewelry was intricately sculpted. ¡°That¡¯s the queen of dragons,¡± another of the women said quietly. ¡°She led her dragons alongside the Divine in glory.¡±


    They pulled me along, and I recessed into my own mind in thought. If the Drath were all descendants of dragons, why were they treated so poorly? It sounded like without them, this society wouldn¡¯t be here today. If a war was called a calamity, everything could have been wiped off of the map if it weren¡¯t for them.


    I looked up at Val, who was continuously scanning the area, not paying much mind to any of us. I smiled at him, thinking how lucky I was to get to know him, and how other humans were missing out, let alone how wrong they were for treating them the way they did. He caught my grin and looked down at me quizzically, and I just widened my smile and thread my arm around his.


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    The temple was huge, and it took some time to come to a hallway lined with several doors. It was just as grand as the rest of the temple, and entering a door led us into a gigantic suite. The bed was a large and regal four poster bed, like you¡¯d see in a royal room from a movie. It was painted gold, with deep purple bedding. I was nearly drooling at being able to sleep in it after having slept in the dirt for almost a week.


    The rest of the room had matching furniture and decor; a couple of dressers, an armoire, a vanity desk, padded antique chairs, and several decorative plants. A doorway on one side of the room led into what these people called a bathroom; it had an actual bathtub in it grand enough for several people, but no pipes attached anywhere for water save for what was clearly a drain plug that ran into the floor. So no running water. There was also a ¡®toilet¡¯, which was a nice decorative bench against a wall with an endless hole in the center. When asked where the hole went, one of the women said there was a tributary made from the ocean¡¯s water that ran beneath the temple, and all of the toilets in the temple deposited their waste into this tributary which swept it away and fertilized the lands they used to feed livestock. One of my predecessors had come up with the toilet concept to combat a sanitary crisis, and a later one used it to fertilize livestock crops to help with a food resource issue.


    ¡°How do you get water for the tub?¡± I asked.


    One of the women grabbed a crevice in a nearby wall and demonstrated that it pulled down into a spout long enough to hover over the tub. After a moment water began gushing out and into the tub, and she pushed the spout back into the wall.


    ¡°There is a reservoir above the temple that houses heated water. When you pull down the spout, the suction pulls water from the reservoir into your spout, giving you water. Just make sure to shut it when the tub is full, we have had many overfill the tub and cause damage.¡±


    She also showed me to a little table that had soaps, towels, wash clothes, and a small metal decorative bucket that I could fill with water from the spout to do quick washes or wash my hands.


    ¡°If you need refills on anything, your room attendant will be more than happy to get you whatever you need.¡± She motioned out the door for someone, and a gorgeous young Drath woman sheepishly walked in, her eyes on the floor. She did a curtsy for me, then stepped aside to let the other women exit. ¡°The council have to ready things for the exchange of power, which will take a week or two. They will keep you in the loop about the timeline, and will make sure you have everything you need for coronation when it comes. In the mean time, relax and enjoy yourself with free roam of the temple grounds.¡± With that, the escort I entered with left, leaving me with the Drath woman and Val.


    ¡°You¡¯re really pretty,¡± I said stupidly to her.


    She blushed beneath her raven hair, and she nervously tucked some behind one of her pointed ears.


    ¡°Oh, right. My name is Suzanna. I, er, give you permission to speak to me and prefer that you do. What¡¯s your name?¡±


    Finally she looked up at me, her ice blue eyes flicking nervously between Val and I. Val curtly nodded his head at her, and she shifted uncomfortably on her feet. ¡°My name is as you wish it to be, Your Grace,¡± she nearly whispered. Her voice was soft and melodic, even in hushed tones. She was so cute! I was sure she had all the guys fawning over her.


    ¡°No, no, no, no,¡± I sighed. ¡°I want your real name. And call me Suzanna, please. I¡¯m not someone special.¡±


    Her eyes flicked back to Val with uncertainty, who nodded again. ¡°I was once called Zythera,¡± she replied quietly. ¡°Forgive my question, Lady Suzanna¡­but are you not a Divine?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that,¡± I said, rolling my eyes. ¡°They say I am, and even if I am, I¡¯m not like them. Where I come from, everyone is a friend, no matter where they come from. You have SUCH a pretty name, by the way, I bet you have many boyfriends.¡±


    She shifted awkwardly again and averted her gaze. ¡°Drath are permitted only to mate with who they are given to.¡±


    I made a face. ¡°What, so you don¡¯t, like, do a courting thing?¡±


    Zythera shook her head meekly. ¡°We simply procreate with who we are told, to keep our population up and supply households with needed help. Most breeders have Drath with desired qualities copulate to produce an offspring with a particular trait.¡±


    I looked at Val with an open mouth, appalled. He nodded his head. ¡°They treat you like livestock!¡± I shouted incredulously.


    ¡°We live to serve,¡± Zythera said. ¡°As the Sanct and the Divine wish.¡±


    ¡°If I am truly this Divine person, I do not wish this at all,¡± I nearly growled. ¡°This society treats all of you worse than dirt, and from what I have seen you are all so strong and talented. You could wipe these people off of the face of the planet! Yet you take all this crap from them!¡±


    ¡°We have our own edict we must follow,¡± Val finally cut in. ¡°It is written in our souls from our ancestors, and we must obey it.¡±


    I snorted. ¡°What, so someone from a million years ago said you had to listen to humans, and now you let them walk all over you?¡±


    They both nodded in unison.


    I rolled my eyes at them and put my face into my hands. Everyone was so backwards in this place, I doubted anyone would be able to make a change.


    We were interrupted by a young man in a nice suit, who stated he was to take me to be ordained, which he explained was a process that was to verify if I was the divine or not.


    ¡°How¡­how is it that you find that out?¡± I asked him uncertainly.


    ¡°It is quick and simple, Your Grace. No worries. There is an artifact we keep in the relic chamber. When you hold it, it will either react to your touch to verify you are the Divine, or it will not. That is all.¡±


    ¡°And what happens when it doesn¡¯t react?¡±


    The young man shrugged. ¡°I assume you will be escorted out of the temple. If you end up not being the Divine, there would be no reason for you to be here at the temple. A Divine Guardian has never been incorrect in sensing his ward, however, and since we know this Drath is in fact this age¡¯s Guardian, there is hardly any doubt that you are the Divine.¡±


    ¡°Whatever you say,¡± I responded, unsure. How could I be something in this world if I wasn¡¯t even from it?


    Val accompanied me as I followed the young man down several halls and a winding staircase. It took some time, but we finally arrived in a large archive room, almost a library of sorts, that also had many display cases with weapons, trinkets and jewelry. In the very center of the room, behind a 360 workstation, was a display case with several locks on it with darkened glass that couldn¡¯t be peered through. Around the station mingled 12 men, one of them I recognized immediately as Thornton. They all wore Toga-Style robes with gold hems, and were bantering as I assume they waited for my arrival.


    When they caught sight of me, their murmuring stopped and they all bowed deeply, and one man broke free and began unlocking the case. As the last lock clicked open, the man backed away and motioned me forward. I uncertainly acquiesced, gently pulling open the front of the case and widening my eyes as I looked at the artifact within.


    It was a large Amethyst encased in intricate golden filigree, making it look like the stone was being caressed by golden waves. It was absolutely exquisite! I glanced over at the 12 men uncertainly, and they all nodded and leaned in, prompting me to take it.


    Gently, I grabbed the artifact with both hands and pulled it out of the case. Despite being metal and stone, it radiated a fiery warmth and even seemed to have a thrumming pulse, like it was alive. As I marveled at it, at how smooth and perfect it seemed, it suddenly began making an audible, low hum. The filigree on the sides started to move, parting to let a pair of golden angelic wings encrusted with more gems fold out. On the bottom, a golden pole started to extend out slowly as well. When the artifact finally seized, its shape had morphed it into an elegant angelic staff.


    Everyone in the room, including Val, then dropped to one knee and unanimously chanted, ¡°Your Highest Grace.¡±


    As a reflex, I made a face. ¡°Stop it,¡± I said. ¡°I hate that. My name is Suzanna.¡±


    All the men rose, and Thornton stepped forward. ¡°Forgive us, My Lady, it is sacred that we greet you appropriately.¡± He pulled out his little booklet and began thumbing through its pages. ¡°I will say, however, the artifact has taken a form not listed in the codex. The Sanct and I must gather and discuss what your purpose may be. You are free to take the temple as you please while we converse and ready the power transfer.¡±


    Thornton gave a curt nod to Val, who turned to the side and motioned for me to exit the room.


    ¡°Do¡­do I need to put this back?¡± I asked, holding out the staff.


    ¡°Oh, no, My Lady. The artifact is to be in the possession of the Divine at all times.¡±


    I glanced over my new toy skeptically and shrugged, following Val back to my room in silence. When we returned, I finally took a long look over Val and realized how tense he was. Zythera entered the room from the bathroom and stopped in her tracks when she saw us, her eyes locking onto the staff I carried. Her face turned from shock to concern, which I took as a hint to be concerned.


    ¡°Okay, what¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked them nervously. They held a long look between one another before returning their gaze to me.


    ¡°The Sanct may not know what your artifact means,¡± Val started quietly. ¡°But we Drath know.¡±


    Zythera moved to one of the bedside tables and opened a drawer, pulling out a little book that resembled the one that Thornton carried. She rushed it to me, flipping to one of the very first pages in the book that had what looked like an image of the main temple mural on it.


    ¡°Yeah, the first divine and the queen of dragons,¡± I said dumbly. ¡°The women that escorted me in told me about the war of calamity.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but look.¡± Zythera pointed a finger to a staff that hovered in between the two of them, slightly behind them. It was a staff that looked exactly like mine. ¡°It is the artifact of the very first Divine, the artifact that had the power to ally the dragons with the humans and overcome the greatest of all hurdles the world can face.¡±


    My heart started to sink. ¡°Does that mean there is going to be another War of Calamity??¡± I asked, nearly hysteric.


    Zythera and Val looked at each other again, holding each other¡¯s gaze for a long time. ¡°We fear that very well may be the case,¡± Val replied.