Prologue

Armand takes a deep breath, then pushes the gold gilded doors and steps in the main reception hall of the new summer palace. The honor guards on each side of the heavy door first tense when he enters unannounced, then sharply stand at attention when they see who he is.

In the hall, nobles of high and low stations, emissaries, courtesans and many other shades of sycophant interrupt their discussion to look at him before resuming their useless intrigues, albeit in whispers for the closest ones.

Some look about to approach him but prefer to stay where they are when they see him standing there scowling. As for him, his gaze embraces the great hall, the rich tapestries, the long tables covered with luxurious wines and delicacies, the collared slaves next to it, ready to serve the thirsty and the hungry, the statues of the Lady of Light, left there by the preceding tenants of the palace, and the new ones of the Bull, overshadowing them, the wealthy and powerful of the Empire and the scantily clad "ladies" accompanying them... All the signs of power together in one place but for the most important one. At the end of the room, sits a heavy throne, empty...

Armand sighs internally, then crosses the room nodding politely to the few powerful enough to deserve it. Not deigning to acknowledge the servant who tries to talk to him, he strides out of the throne room to some long corridors, some steep stairs and finally reaches a closed wooden door that he pushes open despite the guard next to it trying to tell him that the emperor has asked not to be disturbed, he's one of the few who can afford it.

In the room, while the sun has been up for quite a few hours there is only the light of a lone oil lamp. Under the potent smell of incense floats in the air the tang of sweat, musk and sex. Empty wine bottles are strewn on the low tables and the floor amongst discarded garments. In the center of the big room sits a huge bed where Antares, the Emperor himself is sleeping surrounded by five beautiful and naked women.

Armand clears his throat loudly and the emperor yawns before sitting up, his eyelids still heavy. He might not be a young man anymore, but he is still heavily muscled and still has more black than grey in his short hair and beard. An old scar adorns his right shoulder, another one across his torso. Sitting here on his bed, it is obvious that he'd be tall if he stood up, taller than Armand who himself is anything but small. His physique, beefy and devoid of any excess fat, more that of a gladiator than of the most powerful ruler of the known world.

"I thought that you were supposed to come in the afternoon." Says the emperor.

Without a word, Armand walks to the window and opens it, letting the light in and the smells of last night's debauchery out.

"From your attitude I am guessing that it is past noon, right Armand?"

"It is, your imperial majesty."

"Right. You know that you are one of the few who can barge in here like that and expect to keep his head on his shoulders?"

"I expect I have earned that, your imperial majesty."

"That you have, old friend, that you have."

During the discussion, the women have begun moving, and one of them sits up behind the emperor to hug him languorously. There is a stylized bull on her forehead and a stylized flower on her left cheek. Not just a random slattern then but one of his chosen concubines, chosen for her beauty and trained in the art of lovemaking. One of his cows as he has started calling them since people say he’s the Bull incarnate.

Antares laughs and whispers something to her. She smiles, nods, and gets off the bed to kneel in front of Armand before starting to undo the lace in front of his pants. Annoyed, Armand grabs her arm to stop her and she looks up at him, her lower lip trembling.

"But... Master said..."

Armand looks down at her, his gaze taking in her generous forms, her slanted eyes and full lips, her dark skin and golden curls of hair. Very pretty, that's true... He turns to Antares.

"Wait, I remember that one. She was a diplomat, no? Audrey... of Kanera, right?"

"Yes, that's right. But, well, we conquered her country later on, so she wasn't really useful as a diplomat after that. She sucked at it too, she's a wonderful little pleasure doll though, found her true calling wouldn't you say?

More and more of the pretty women who oppose Antares find their true calling in such a way, the prettiest ending up trained and indoctrinated until they to become the Emperor’s fuck doll as is litterally written on their bosom. Still, it is a nicer fate than the one that awaits his male enemies. Since the time of their shared youth, Antares had greater sexual appetites than most, but it has grown more and more during the last twenty years or so. And if Armand agrees with him that women shouldn’t get involved in war or politics, after all it is the creed of the Bull to lead the cowherd, still he is a bit disturbed with his emperor's obsession to turn any girl who catches his interest into nothing more than a pleasure ****. It hasn't always been like that, and it is getting more obvious every year...

"Master. Please... Am I not pretty enough for you?" whines the former diplomat, still kneeling in front of him and bringing his attention back to her and the present.

"Yes, you're a very pretty little ****. But I didn't come here to fuck, I came here to speak with my emperor, at his demands, if I may add."

Antares's laugh booms, filling the room as he stands up, draping the furs from the bed around him.

"Ha! You made the stupid little cunt sad! But you're right, we need to prepare, after all, we'll soon have some very important guests here."

Armand grimaces slightly at the mention of the task that brought him here. A task beneath his rank and that he wouldn't have to perform had he been victorious during the last battle he led...

"All right my slutty little cows, get out of here, men are talking. Audrey, once you’re clean, rested and pretty, you'll go to Armand's place, stay with him tonight, I can see that he likes you. You know what? Take her with you on the road, it will make your travel way more pleasant." Continues the Emperor

The road. He’d rather not think about it, but well, that’s what he’s about to discuss anyway.

Armand idly watches the assets of the girls scurrying out of the room. He might not be as obsessed as his Emperor but he has to admit that he has good tastes. However, when he looks up, he sees that one of the girls has stayed there and is dressing herself up. He's about to reprimand her when he realizes who she is.

"Your Highness." He says bowing slightly.

"General." She answers.

She was on the bed? With her father's sluts? Did she... Did they... One of his own daughters? Well, probably better not to think about it.

Rosaline is one of the many daughters of the Emperor, and the only one of the already nubile ones not to have been claimed as wife or concubine already. Since the Emperor has no male heir, his many daughters are in high demand even though they would give no true legitimacy to the throne were the empire's ruler to meet his demise. Now why didn't Rosaline accept her rightful place and chose to stay independent? Well Armand has a pretty good idea about the one responsible for that.

As if summoned by Armand's thoughts, there is a knock at the door and a guard announces the Archbishop of the Bull and the Bishop of the Lady of Light, then ushers them in when the Emperor tells him to do so.

The first one in is a big, pudgy man, not that there isn’t some muscle under all his fat, it’s just quite thoroughly surrounded. He is bald, around fifty years old and dressed in a simple red toga and some leather sandals, that simplicity contrasted by a very heavy golden chain around his neck with a stylized bull medallion.

After him,eyes cast down, a woman enters, wearing the clerical habit of a priestess of the Lady, hiding most of her features. Still, it appears a bit too small for her, hugging her a bit too tightly, making her strangely arousing.

"Your Imperial Majesty. General Armand.” Says the big man, bowing to the Emperor.

"Your Imperial Majesty. General. Your Highness." Says the nun, bowing deeply.

"Ah, Father Garance, Sister Vaernia, good of you to come, now we can begin." Says the Emperor.

He turns to Armand.

"So, first of all. I heard you say that you didn't understand why we bother trying to do things in a diplomatic manner with our juicy little neighbour Lineria. I thought that you didn't like it when we kill too many people? And didn't their army properly spank us when you tried to lead the invasion? Or maybe is it that you want your ****?"

Armand feels his cheeks heating up.

"If I may, your Imperial Majesty, I don't like unnecessary massacres, but the battlefield remains a sacred place for those who follow the Bull. Also, I don't think that negotiating after a lost battle would send the right message to our other neighbours. Finally, I wouldn't say that they spanked us. True, we couldn't establish a stronghold in their land, and it is also true that we had more losses than them..."

"More than twice, I heard." Interrupts Bishop Vaernia.

Armand feels his cheeks burn even hotter. By the Bull, how can he hate that woman so much and still desire her? And what does this stupid female know about war and strategy anyway? Next to her, Archbishop Garance looks as annoyed as Armand.

"Still, that is not the same thing for us than for them. We are the Empire, we have more soldiers than their whole population, probably more than ten times actually. What we lost is a mild inconvenience. What they lost is more than half of their total might. Were we to attack again, I'd wager that they'd abandon the field to retreat to their capital."

“I concur, your Imperial Majesty.” Says Garance quickly. “Diplomacy with mere women would be a disgrace. At least send for the prince, not that fake Queen and her irrelevant so-called bishop. Everybody knows who was the brain behind our defeat.”

Antares appears thoughtful.

"What do you say, Vaernia? Couldn't we do it this way? And just capture the Queen and the priestess? It's true that I don't feel that this game of deception is necessary just to catch me two new sluts. " He finally asks.

Why does he defer to her like that? He's the Emperor!

At first, when the one who is now emperor got the throne of a small country no larger than Lineria and made Armand his general, he didn't even believe in this stupid Lady of Light, the only god they ever needed was the Bull. Then one day they conquered a city with a temple of this Lady of Light and this sister surrendered to him, like many before her. Except that he didn't give her to his soldiers after enjoying her for one night as he usually did with his conquests. This time he kept her close, took her as a counsellor and finally permitted her to spread the Lady of Light's dogma in the Empire, albeit under the bull. Truth be told, This cult targets only the women and actually teaches them their rightful place at the feet of men, while the nuns of the Lady of Light have no authority and are actually nothing more than religious whores. It actually seems quite different from what the cult of the Lady of Light is in other countries, like Lineria for instance where because of their faith the ruler of that country is always a queen. But still, sister Vaernia remains and it is undeniable that she has the Emperor's ear.

"I heard that the countrymen love their Queen and their Bishop, your Imperial Majesty. They won’t surrender and you’ll have to raze the country. As for the Queen and Bishop, they'll never be taken alive, you'll have sacrificed much more than your faithful general thinks is possible to end up with just a ruined country and razed cities to add to your empire, your true prize gone with their ****."

And what about catching two new sluts? This whole thing is only about making the Queen and her Bishop his new toys? That's pushing it too far!

It isn't proper to speak when his Emperor hasn't asked for his opinion, but Armand can't help it.

"Why? Why would the cost be so much more? And why is it so important to catch them alive? Doesn't his Imperial Majesty have enough slaves already, who cares about two new ones, even if they used to be a Queen or a Bishop?"

Under her veil, Vaernia smiles, and Armand has to resist the urge to slap her. Next to her, Garance looks at him and holds his gaze, as if to dissuade him.

Vaernia once more replies in place of her emperor, eyes down as if to fake a modesty belied by her words:

"Well, if our Emperor tames them, they will not only bring him pleasure but also many blessings. You see, the Queen and the Bishop are blessed by the Lady of Light. But because of that, the Queen is probably worth a few of your best men. As for the Bishop, she's much more than that. I know for a fact that she hasn't taken the field the last time for if she had you'd know about it. And yeah, they are very prideful so probably wouldn't let themselves be taken alive."

The queen, worth more than one of his best men, preposterous. And what of the bishop taking the field? Not only a woman but a religious one and he’s supposed to be scared of her? However, when Armand thinks back about the battle, he remembers that there was a thin copper haired warrior leading the fight, moving swiftly from one hotspot to another, preventing the linerian troops from faltering. He had appeared very strong. Armand assumed then that it was Aidan the prince, or another unknown high ranking officer, but now that he thinks about it, that warrior did seem kind of feminine. Could that have been the Queen herself? Still, annoyed he looks at Bishop Vaernia with disdain:

"If the Lady of Light is so powerful, why did we conquer you so easily, are you not their match? Did we take the wrong Bishop of the Lady to serve our Emperor?"

Armand hopes to see her flustered, or angry, but she laughs it off.

"Oh Armand, but I never said that I was the chosen of the Lady of Light or one of Her champion! And even if I was, the aspect of the Lady of Light that I worship is one that is happy being under the Bull, as I am happy being under the Archbishop and the Emperor, it is actually not really the same Lady of Light, you see. I can't do what these crazy and uppity zealots can do, my skills are... Different."

Her skills? What are they, apart from spouting nonsense and poisoning the mind of Antares, his Emperor, and also his oldest friend? Armand opens his mouth to retort once more when the Emperor cuts him.

"Enough! You are my councillors, the three of you, stop bickering like little girls over a broken doll. Vaernia, you convinced me. Armand, you had your chance, and you failed. I don't blame you but I believe that Vaernia is right. Sometimes strength has to be tempered by subtlety. So you'll leave tomorrow with an escort to accompany Rosaline to our border where you'll meet with those two holy bitches. Rosaline will then go to Lineria as a hostage while you bring back our dear neighbouring pretty Queen and her cute holy harlot here. And you'll treat them with more respect than you ever gave any girl, even if they are two stupid cunts, is that clear? We wouldn't want them to take offense before they are here with us."

"Yes, your Imperial Majesty." Says Armand bowing.

"Good. Now Garance, Armand, you can leave us. I still have some matters to discuss with the Bishop and my daughter.”

Armand and Garance bow and exit the room. Armand starts striding away when he hears the Archbishop call for him.

“General. A minute of your time if you please.”

Armand stops, then lets the big man lead him in an empty study. After verifying that they are alone, Garance sits in an armchair and gestures to Armand to do the same before saying:

“I see that you don’t like our dear Bishop of the Lady, General.”

Frankly, Garance is better than Vaernia, but not by much. He is obsessed with women being too independent and despite having his own clergy abusing and humiliating Vaernia’s one on a regular basis, he still hates and fears her. Still, he might not be completely in the wrong about her.

“I don’t. Is that a sin?”

“Normally, I’d say that it is. Giving a woman influence enough over you to dislike her is putting her higher than she should be. However, I agree with you that there is something disturbing with that wench.”

“And? You’re the Archbishop. Your God reigns over hers. Can’t you do something about it?”

“Well, she obeys, she shows due respect, I have no reason to scold her more than I already do. The only problem is the fact that the Emperor values her counsel over yours or mine. I actually wonder if her influence on him is completely… Natural… But talking about that would be talking against the Emperor…”

“Yes, which would mean ****, I am aware of that. So there is nothing we can do, can we?”

Garance smiles.

“I don’t believe so. I am working an angle that may, or may not bear fruits, we’ll see. As for you, let’s just say that I am happy not to be the only one thinking that there is something amiss with the Bishop. Now, I believe you are departing tomorrow, I’d better leave you to it. After all, I may not like that sister Vaernia’s influence on the emperor. But she is right about Lineria’s leaders. These two girls are quite famous in neighbouring countries, having them tamed and subservient to him would send a pretty strong message to any kingdom still not in the Empire and teach women not to dream above their condition. Just remember that you have an ally in me if you wish it.”

Having said that, Archbishop Garance stands up and exits the small study. Armand stays there a minute before doing the same. Walking back to his estate, Armand can't help but imagine the fierce Queen of Lineria that he may have seen from afar during the battle, kneeling in front of him like Audrey, the former diplomat did earlier, asking for his manhood. This thought, strangely enough, saddens him almost as much as it excites him...