Threat from the West

Where exists life exists the hope to die in honour of your nation. However, despite having that as self-evident truth, Governess Kerla Upala of Cinnabar had no plan to die today. Or in that fashion. She had felt in a trap, and albeit her **** here was without shame, it was also suboptimal. As a daughter of King, even being just a bastard, she should have know better. Her half-brother, the King of Cinnabar Throne, would not profit from her fall.

The West-Central Province of Cinnabar was the hearth of fishing economy, ship-building. Their farms where only surpassed by those on Central and South-East provinces, and the last had been conquered recently. After the Cinnabar King defeat the Iron-Elves of Shadow-Maze and take their Dark Trone.

The Province of Shipyards and rivers was part of the nation for 500.000 years. The most important artisan colleges outside Cinnabar Sit, the Royal Land itself, were here. Some of the oldest and most blessed families of inferior races belonged to this region too.

Normally, the honour to rule the region would be divided in South and North regions, and both would be given to Princesses of Upala, to assume in person or dispose in hands of a champion. The fact was that Lauberg Roebar, her half-brother, the king, had trusted her to keep the position, and to be Governor of this entire region, included the islands under its protection and the plains undersea between them. This insulted many egos, and offended most upala Princesses in the nation.

This trust was not misplaced. Kerla of Upala, the White Admiral, was the most competent administrator among the Provincial Governors, and one of the best military strategists. She was a match for some of her pure-blooded sisters in singular combat, specially if the combat had to take place in the sea. And no one knew the territory bellow those waters better than her. Or the people who live in the region.

Back in those days when the region was conquered her father, the Ancient King, had trusted to her the position of second in command. When her brother, who was the High General felt, the honour to lead came to her. Not to a Prince of Princess of Upala.

She, more than anyone else, should have know better! Or at least, that was what she told herself when the realization of imminent **** emerged in her mind.

Somewhere inside her, one of her vassal minds protested the injustice. The mistake was fully justifiable! Because the wiser among the members of the supreme race, pure blood or not, could have stepped on the same trap.

Winter was the problem.

By the atmospheric conditions of Planet Kallos in current Geological Age, the rivers on two thirds of Cinnabar Sea Coast freeze by the end of the first week of winter. Give or take few days. Their largest port on the north limit of West-Central is isolated by ice as the rivers freeze almost completely.

Some North Islands can be reached by sleds since a week after that.

Not the largest island under the shadow of Cinnabar Throne. This place, rich in valuable wood and iron mines, and the Sacred Island of Storm Songs, where a important Arcanist School is located, both became impossible to reach by the surface.

Some species can still reach those places, swimming under sea, or flying above it. However, the agents Governess Kerla needed to investigate the two important islands. Using arcane spells to brake the barriers she was likely to encounter, if her suspects where correct. Those agents were mostly land dwellers.

She had recently found evidence of a conspiracy. Best case scenario, some Priests in the Storm Temple and high noble families on Ice Ax Island were in collusion with Red Abyss pirates to steal tributes that should have reached the Royal Treasure.

Worse case, this was preparation for a separatist rebellion. Supported by some foreign nation.

Postpone the investigation to spring would mean the risk of lose the clues she had now. Worse than that, there was elements suggesting an attempt to frame Kerla. Magical Treasures of great value missing from the Tempest Song Order and found in places inside some of her personal properties. Secret cultists doing military preparation in hidden camps, who carried her shield, and worshiped statues of her. Suggesting a plan to betray the Cinnabar Throne.

Investigate this, fully, was urgent. Because anyone trying to frame her as traitor would not pause their activities during winter. Spring could be too late to find out which ones of her half-sisters and nieces were involved in that. And expose them.

The White Admiral believed that was a conspiration coming from the guts of Cinnabar Sit. Probably using real separatist movements, and planting false hope among the inferior races in the islands and under sea. All evidence pointed in that direction. She was the target, the risks of success any separatist movements could have, were too small to be taken seriously.

Her spies in all directions didn’t mentioned signs of any large army moving in their direction. Or mobilizing for that. A **** large enough to threaten Cinnabar cannot be improvised in mere months. Or moved across the globe, on water or under it, completely in secret. This “heretic cult” of separatists was spotted for the first time 15 years before, the fact that they had not being captured yet was prove that they had support. Some serious player was behind them. On the same time, the scale of activity suggested a conspiration inside the Royal Family.

Directed against her, personally. Most likely. Not against the throne itself.

Not to say she didn’t enjoyed the luxurious signals of status that accompanied her position. The Province was second or third in riches, and had unique flavours to explore. In her time as Governess Kerla had dedicated most her free time to try breed the finest bedwarmer lineages on Kallos. By many standards, she was not far away from total success.

She would never risk accidents, bringing an uncastrated male to her bed. She knew too well her mother’s appetites and how they had left a taint in her blood. Besides, the Admiral’s taste inclined more toward delicate flowers of flesh, anyway. The lads she selected for breeding new generations of servants, and for decorative uses.

For the last 3 thousand years Kerla had been more and more infatuated to a half-elven prize. Product of an accidental crossing between one of her favourite orchids and a bold minotaur merchant. The bull won her lassie in a silly bet, but the terms of their accord allowed her property over the first daughter conceived by the elf.

This horned maid came to her hands as a toddler. She intended to raise her as a pleasure ****. Over the centuries she grew into much more. Lover, confident, apprentice, sometimes even, almost a friend. Iladril, currently, captain Iladril, her second in command. Left in charge of provincial affairs in occasions like this. When pressing matters **** her to leave the provincial capital.

The Governess took more than enough muscle with her, 80 warships full of elven, sharky and minotaur troops. Along with her arcanist magisters, specialist interrogators. She requested the support of Royal Swords, more to show her half-brother she had nothing to hide than for really believe the additional power was needed.

When her mind felt silent, and the arcane-lights inside her cabin died without command, she realized the missing piece in the puzzle.

Kerla Upala of Cinnabar had been so occupied looking for threats coming from her half-sisters, nieces and nephews, from her father’s side. That she never considered the other side of her family.

Her mother had been quiet and distant most her life. Almost all of it.

The shadows of her sister’s tentacles towered above her ship from all directions. White and powerful. That had to be Kirawallay the Albine. The oldest daughter of her mother. Her arcane aura was so powerful and large that it silenced the telepathy and suffocated the spirit of all her fleet.

The Albine was not alone. At least seven other female kraken emerged from the surface after her, attacking other vessels. Arcanists, like the Albine, albeit less powerful. Some had arcane-armours glowing around them. Some used offensive spells.

Smaller krakens emerged too. In the moment the Governess didn’t looked with enough attention to determinate if those were adult males or younger females.

There was no half-upala among them. Those were all pure krakens.

Kerla’s only chance of escape now was to turn into something able to fly, fast and high, to move up. Before her half-sister could catch her.

_Your queen lost her mind! Those waters are too shallow to your kind, sister. And we are surrounded by narrow passages controlled by my troops. You managed to came that far, Kirawallay but you will not leave this place alive, sister._ Kerla challenged.

She was curious about that, but primarily she was seeking to broke the Kraken’s concentration, to create an opening.

_I have no ‘queen’ tiny sister. Our MOTHER is well in control of her mental faculties. We are where we want to be, aberration!! She is know those waters better than you and your upala masters. She knows exactly where she is going.

That caught the Governess by surprise.

_The Red Sorceress is here? Mother, came to my sea, in person!? You are lying, squid! She can’t. Would not…

_You have much to learn, aberration. Shame mother will not allow you the time to do that.

_You should shave, young brother! Look like a goat will not help you catch any girls you know.

_I know! This people take their aesthetic notions from Ancient Rome. Romans associate beards with misery and barbarism, nothing attractive about those things! Women do not feel attraction for it, I suspect homosexual men probably share their taste in that particular, although I cannot say for sure. A smooth face would give me better chances here, that’s evident.

_Hum, I do not know if we have to go that far, Ancient History is usually overkill in conversations like that. Nevertheless, for the sake of argument, lets say you are right. Why do you keep this pussy repellent on your face? Don’t you want to get me a nephew one of those days?

_Since our enlightened Emergency Govern has decided to outlaw reproduction for the next 5 years, due to restrictions in resource and risks of disease. No, I would ratter not became a father right now.

_No one is saying “right now”. Is usually good to stablish some sort of rapport with the future mother of your child. Besides, Pelican City is not imposing any rationing quota for contraceptives that I am aware of!

_I like my face better with a beard, Manuela. That is the answer for your question, if you didn’t figured our yet. Makes me feel older, and less like a lost child trying to guess what nightmarish place is this. Situation is, not what we expected it would be, you know. If I wanted to find comfort in romance, or even just casual sex, that would not be too difficult. I suppose. I am the only brother of our Treasure Secretary, the potential for misappropriation of food supplies alone should get me half the pretty women in this wreckage pile masquerade as City. I only need to insinuate the possibility…

_You, do, not, fucking ever, even…

_Besides, I am in the younger end of our population. And one of the 23 surgeons in this universe specialized in cyborg-implants. In a population above half millions. With 89% of people who have some non-trivial cyborg-implant. Between that and my tactical training as soldier, I am confident. My market value in this isolated drop of civilization is enough to compensate any ugliness.

_You are not ugly, bro. You just cultivate the bad habit of sabotage your own interest! What you lack is common sense, not cuteness points.

_Are you going there, today?

_The 7X-East farm? No point. The images are classified but from what I saw there is little to save from the equipment there. Tractors completely burned, you know. People dead or missing. The crops burned. Was all experimental, anyway, we are not expecting to survive from agriculture here for the next 3 decades. We have supplies to last for five, with some rationing along the way. That is another reason for the prohibition of children, by the way. Is not just the extra-attention they demand. We cannot afford a growing population until we get evidence that we can produce food here. In adequate scale.

_No one should be too mad about it. Biological immortality considered.

_Some people are. Mostly because they don’t trust our govern. Some folks must be walking around, making jokes about misappropriation of public resources…

_I am, sorry. Should not.

_Nah! I am messing with you, of course. Public perception is a serious issue, though. We are in a **** situation here. There is little ground for dissent if we are to survive in this planet.

_You cannot be too harsh on people, sister.

_Why not? They are harsh on me! I accepted a role in our govern as Minister of Finances, not as punching bag.

_Comes with the territory! They need something to blame. No one signed for this. Most people in the Pelican were investing 5 years of their lives in this experiment, knowing they would be isolated from the rest of the Universe, for 5 years, because that was their way to improve their careers. Would be great in their resumes, to be part of the first inter-dimensional travel with living crew. First, they had to endure staying twice the intended time, adrift between Universes. However, back them, there was still the hope of end that travel. Remember the rumour that we could perhaps go back to the same instant we left, just fractions of second after from the point of view of those who stayed back home?

_Of course I remember! It was just one possibility, but most people opted for believe it was more plausible than the others. Because was the most desirable.

_Sure. My point is, when this was a space-ship adrift between Universes, there was still hope. Farfetched as it could be, most the time. We had millions of scientist, working in their teams, developing the projects they came here to develop. They could not leave, but they got more time, and more data to analyse. Those who came with families, most people, were adjusting to the circumstances a little better. However, even those who did not, after a decade, had developed ties with their colleges. Lots of new married couples.

_Yes, I was there.

_But we don’t speak about that anymore. Two years ago, the situation was still pretty much unchanged. Had been for 5 years. For all we knew would be for another 5.000.

_And them we made another attempt to go back. Like we had thousands of times before. Like everybody accepted we had to. No one is less responsible for the consequences just because they were not personally implementing the plan. Neither was I, by the way!

_Sure, sister. Still, you have me! We have each other. To me, you are all family I ever had, in the strong sense of “family”. I know you do not like when I say this, but when the accident happened you were almost adult. I was six. You are the mother and father I remember. As for my niece and her father, if we are being honest, you had not seem them for over 3 years when you decided to sign for a 5 years trip of research. And you said goody to Suki by recorded message. We are not the most common sort of people, sister. Most people who survived the fall, lost their loved ones in the experience. And most of them were still holding to the hope or return to the families they left in our home Universe.

_And, you say that gives them the right to treat your sister as if I was more guilty than they are, for our misfortune?

_That is not what I am trying to say. Perhaps I said something that can be interpreted in that way, but, on the other hand, you made the choice to not understand my point.

_Because you are making excuses.

_I am explaining, not justifying.

_Sounds like! So, didn’t work. We felt in this Universe, and on this planet. Our population dropped brutally from millions to about 50 thousand. Took us months to even find a way out the ship. Just to find out this planet is full of monsters trying to kill us. Those barbaric natives hate us, we cannot communicate with them. Everyone is frustrated with the situation, including the members of Emergency Govern. What would you want us to do? Make up a electoral circus…?

_No, I don’t think anyone wants that. We don’t have the time or the resources.

_Instead, we isolate ourselves. Growing a “keep out!” sigh on our chins. And patronizing the masses.

_The masses…, you say?

_The masses.

_Will you listen my arguments honestly if I start shaving?

_I might.

_Alright. You won!

_Do not count as victory until you and my future sister-in-law set date for the marriage. Counts as a step in the right direction, what is better than nothing.