War has raged for centuries - god favored against cursed. Tvara of the Arrta vows to avenge her fallen brother by assuming his role as military commander. Raveena, Crown Heir of the Terra, was sent by her brother on a suicide crusade as military general. Each believe they can achieve victory for their respective sides, but battle lines are never drawn clear.
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Warrior of Red and Hell, Lady of Silver and Fire
Characters: Raveena & Tvara (Pages on Ecretdus)
Writing Type: Exclusively for writing by other people Status: This is entirely written by other people, I just dictate the plot |
Sword of Blood and Tears
Raveena raised her sword in the air and screamed a war cry, causing the opponent she was fighting to take a few steps backward. He looked up at her dark eyes fearfully - like a scared little boy. Freckles dotted his pale face, and his eyes were the pale brown color of porridge.
Raveena snorted, gripping her sword in both hands as she advanced on her opponent. The boy raised his sword, his elbows bent so the sword went too close to his chest. He had started out the fight with his spear, but when Raveena had knocked that out of his hand he had swiched to his secondary weapon.
His footwork was terrible as his weapon handling. He stood in place like a tree as Raveena swung her large sword at him.
He parried the first blow well enough, but when Raveena hit him again he barely deflected it. The clumsy maneuver left him off balance, and Raveena brought her sword in an arc a few inches away from his chest. Her sword met his with a clang, and she started to push his weapon to the side. She usually wouldn’t attempt a maneuver that was strength based, but the boy looked weak. Plus, she was feeling cocky.
Raveena easily pushed his weapon to the side, leaving his chest exposed. Raveena bared her teeth at the boy before raising her leg and kicking him to the ground. She didn’t wait long enough to see him fall before turning around to see the next opponent.
She spun around to face the next warrior. This one looked a little more capable. It was a girl with shoulder-length blond hair who looked a little bit younger than her. She was taller then Raveena as well. Raveena was by no means a short girl, but this woman was at least an inch taller. The blond girl grinned at Raveena. Her sword that had been swinging by her side rose up into a defensive position.
The blond hair of the girl reminded Raveena of Rosetta. Rosetta had been Raveena’s friend that she had left behind when she went to the war front. Rosetta had the same pale shade, though it was curlier and longer than this girls. This girls hair was as pale as bones on the battlefield to Rosetta’s honey warm hues, but the blond color was rare enough among Terrans to make Raveena compare the two. Dark features were much more favored among them. Dark hair and tan skin was the norm. Raveena was the archetype of a good Terran with her beautiful dark features.
While the two girls had the same hair, that's where their similarities ended. Rosetta was a kind and compassionate girl. She had been a good friend for a younger Raveena, but she had been an awful Terran. Terran’s were supposed to be born with a lie on their lips and steel in their hands.
Despite her hair color, Raveena’s new opponent looked to be a proper Terra. There was a wicked grin above the other women’s shield. Raveena mirrored that grin as she shuffled into attack position.
Their swords met furiously, both swinging with all their might. Raveena’s overzealous first attack left her flank open, and her opponent took advantage of that. She swung her shield forward, hitting Raveena on her side and sending her stumbling backward.
Both of their shields were made out of layers of bronze, wood, and leather. Raveena’s opponent was wielding a Hoplon, a huge shield about a meter in diameter. It offered more protection but was hard to hold for a long time. It packed quite a punch as it hit Raveena.
Raveena hefted her own shield hight, narrowing her eyes at her opponent. She couldn't be as cocky as she had been with the idiot boy she had been fighting.
Her own shield was a pelte, a much lighter shield. It allowed her to be more mobile on the battlefield. She put her mobility to good use as she circled around her opponent, feet as light as a dancer's.
Both of the women were wielding xiphos, iron swords for close melee combat. The blond girl swung her weapon at Raveena, but it glanced off of her shield.
Raveena took the failed blow as an opportunity to strike back. She hit the women shield and sword, drowning her in a fury of blows. The women was pressed backwards but matched the blows quite well. She looked impressed at Raveena’s skill, even after all the stories she must have heard about the commander. Raveena was always impressing people. She was beautiful and fierce and powerful. Nothing more and nothing less.
Raveena increased the intensity of her blows, something about her thoughts making her angry. Raveena had taken note of a spear that was lying on the ground, abandoned by the idiot boy. The blond women’s brown eyes were fixed on Raveena, and she didn’t notice as she was slowly herded towards the obstacle.
The women stumbled as she tripped over the spear, and Raveena pushed her down, getting the women into a crouched position. The women nearly lost her balance but used her new position for one last maneuver. She kicked one leg out and swept it towards Raveena’s legs, trying to get Raveena to fall to the ground like she had.
Raveena was nearly tripped but had the foresight to jump upwards before the woman could kick her. She landed lightly back on the ground and pointed her sword at the blond girl's exposed throat.
Raveena stood there, arms trembling. If this had been a real battle, she would have plunged the sword into this women’s throat in seconds. Her sword tip would become as red as the cloak she was wearing.
But this was not a real battle. Raveena controlled herself and sheathed her sword, letting the women get to her feet.
“Good fighting.” Raveena sad breathlessly. Her blood was flowing fast, and she couldn’t stop a smile from stretching across her face. She loved the battles, the adrenaline and the power she got from it. It made her feel something. She didn’t know if it was happiness exactly, but it was something.
“Thank you.” The women said, hoping to her feet. She removed her battered silver helmet, shaking her pale hair loose. Raveena’s earlier opponent let out a groan. He was still on the ground.
“That was a good training exercise,” Raveena said, looking to her scribe that was taking notes near the fighting area. She would get him to write down what rewards or punishments her troops got. She would get their names first.
“State your name and legion,” Raveena asked the women.
“Anthea, 2nd legion, calvary, Ma’am.” The girl said, making a fist and bringing her hand to her chest.
Raveena nodded. The cavalry was a very important part of her groups, and this woman was a good fighter. She would be a terror to behold mounted on a horse.
“And you?” Raveena asked, spinning to see the boy on the ground. He was barely out of his childhood and doubtlessly came from peasant stock. She almost felt pity for the boy but stopped herself. That was the ditsy girl who felt too much talking. All Raveena needed to feel was the adrenaline of battle and the rush of a successful lie. That was all any good Terra needed to feel. Anything else was a distraction.
“Flavian, 4rth legion, hoplite phalanx.” The boy said, getting to his feet. The hoplite phalanx were the spearmen of the army. An important force, but not usually the most skilled.
“Cy.” She called out, barely remembering her scribe’s name. “Give Anthea double rations for the day as a reward for her good fighting. Cut Flavian’s rations in half.” Raveena said cooly.
Her troops had been stationed at the same place for far too long. Raveena was itching to move them forward, but she had to wait for reinforcement troops to arrive. All they had to do here right now was spare and drink and eat. These little sparing matches kept people busy, but Raveena longed to sink her sword in a real enemy. The faster she defeated the enemy the sooner she could go home and wreak havoc there.
Raveena looked around at the training area. Other warriors were fighting one on one. The place rang with the song of clashing steel. Raveena sighed, suddenly feeling quite tired. She pressed her fingers to her temple.
“Ma’am, Ma’am” Someone called out. Raveena looked up. A young messenger was looking up at her expectantly, filled with purpose.
“Go one.” She said, trying to sound less tired. She waved her hand as a signal for the messenger to talk, closing her eyes.
“Commander Maximus arrived!” The little thing said, their voice a squeak. The messenger was at the tender age where it was very hard to tell if they were a boy or a girl. “He has set up a tent near your camp and requests your presence immediately.
Raveena’s eyes snapped open at the news. She looked the messenger up and down with a new alertness. This child wasn’t even one of her messengers, It was Maximus’s. She was filled with a mix of excitement and annoyance. An excitement that something was finally happening and they wouldn’t have to stay camped in this godforsaken valley any longer, and annoyance that is had taken Maximus so long.
He hadn’t even gone directly to see her. He had pitched his tent and expected her to come to him. Raveena glared at the messenger though she knew it wasn’t the kid's fault. Still, the kid had the tenacity to call someone else commander when Raveena’s brother, the King of the Terrans, had put her in charge.
She wanted to be the one lounging in her tent receiving visitors, instead of going to Maximus like some peasant requesting an audience. Still, she would need to swallow her pride and go and see him.
Raveena snapped her fingers at Anthea. “Come with me. Cy, you come as well.”
Without waiting for their reply, Raveena stalked off to meet the thorn in her side they called Maximus.
When Raveena had been sent to take over the command of the Terran forces, she had not gotten the full force immediately. She had taken command of the bulk of the forces, but the troops the previous commander had sent to attack the enemies other flank remained out of her reach. Maximus was functioning as a pseudo commander and had willfully taken far too long to rejoin her. She had been waiting for them to rejoin her for the coming battle for nearly a week.
Maximus probably liked the sensation of being powerful. Too bad she was going to rip that away from him. She couldn’t have the men and women wondering who was truly leading them. The next battle was very important. With it they would push their enemy into the rockiest, smallest part of Ecretdus, the island they all called home.
Raveena pulled herself out of her musings and pushed open the tent flap. The tent was made of off-white canvas.
The inside, as Raveena could now see, was decorated lavishly. The man that must be Maximus was sitting on a comfortable looking couch. Two guards surrounded him. He looked up as Raveena entered the room, Cy and Anthea trailing behind her.
Though Maximus’s surrounding were fancy, the man looked anything but. He was not altogether uncomely but he looked like a soldier. He had the rough features of a dangerous man. He looked to be around 5 years older than Raveena herself.
He had the dark hair and eyes of the typical Terran, as well as the tan skin. His eyes glinted with amusement as she entered the tent. Raveena could tell he carried himself with a lot of confidence, something that made up for his rough-hewn features.
“Maximus,” Raveena said simply, planting herself in the middle of the tent. Even if she wasn’t the one sitting on the throne like couch, she looked like a queen.
She was Razuvayeva Avrora, part of the Royal Yurievna clan. She was the daughter of the empress Haveena. She was as beautiful as she was ruthless. She would not be cowed by baseborn scum such as this. She gave Maximus a grin that was deceptively friendly.
“Raveena,” Maximus said, getting to his feet as he stretched his arms wide. “It is so good to finally meet you.” He said. His voice sounded jovial enough but it was impossible to tell if he actually meant it or not.
“And you as well. I’ve heard so many things about you.” Raveena replied, laying the charm on thickly. Men never could tell when she was full of shit.
“And me as well! Please take a seat!” He said, gesturing to the couch across from him. Raveena narrowed my eyes. He nearly sounded as full of lies as she had.
Raveena sat down on the couch across from him, crossing her slender legs over each other.
“I’m happy to see that you’ve made yourself at home in my camp.” Raveena said, putting an emphasis on the “My” but still keeping her tone friendly.
“It's so nice of you to say so! I am very honored at your presence” Maximus said, his display of happiness over the top. his smile was wide enough to swallow someone whole. The laugh line stretching from the edges of his nose to the corner of his mouth was extra pronounced in the dim light in the tent.
Raveena wanted to laugh. The two of them both seemed to be aware of how full of shit they both were. It was like they were in on a private joke. Raveena wondered who would break out of it first.
“I’m impressed about how you defeated the enemy in the west.” Raveena purred, trying one last attempt to be flirtatious. Maximus looked at Raveena like he was seeing right through her. He knew she wasn’t really flirting with him for any reason besides power. “I’m glad you’ve returned to be under my command” Raveena finished, changing tactics.
“It’s good you want me and my men here,” Maximus said with emphasis on the “My” just like Raveena had.
“Yes,” Raveena whispered, cocking her head to the side in the vision of a demure noblewoman. “You going to make a great footsoldier,” she said suddenly, her tone as bright as a songbirds.
“Footsoldier!” Maximus exclaimed, real emotion dripping into his voice. His heavy brows lowered in confusion and he tilted his head to the side.
Raveena started to laugh before she could catch herself. She had kept my composure longer, and won their little game. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand. It had been a while since Raveena had laughed, apart from when she was causing chaos on the battlefield.
Maximus quickly regained his composure, but it was over. The game had been won. Raveena lowered her hand as she addressed him once more.
“No, do not worry Maximus. You are to be my second in the battles to come.”
Maximus raised his eyebrows in surprise, before nodding. The idea had just come to Raveena, but it was a good one. He must have a good strategical mind to have won the battles he had, and he had control over a quarter of her forces. No use angering his men by demoting him.
* - * - *
They planned until night crept up to them on silent feet. Maximus’s tent had a map on the wall - calling in their trusted advisers and charting out where to best attack the enemy. The enemy they were fighting was powerful indeed. They outnumbered them 10 to 1, but that still didn’t put the odds in their favor. They were dangerous beasts.
A long time ago, Terra had shared Ecretdus with the Erra. The Erra were shapeshifting monsters if the tales are to be believed. They were neither animal nor humans.
The Erra are mostly gone now, but something of them remains in this world. Most say that the remnants of the Erra that where now their enemies where the children of Erra and Terra. It was hard to believe some Terra of old were depraved enough to breed with the Erra, but you never know. No matter what happened, the Erra gave way to another breed of enemies.
The Arrta that they were fighting look god-cursed. There lower bodies our those of animals, and horns protruding out of their head to reach the heavens. Their eyes are those of birds and they had the pale skin and hair that is so unflavoured among the Terrans. But while they look god cursed, they have powers that mark them as blessed, be it by gods or others. They are beings of magic and raw power.
Still, the Terrans have been pushing the Arrta back. Soon they will be passed the first line of defense and move on to fighting the Arrta commander only known as Hellfire.
For now, they were trying to take over the lands of one of the Arrta leaders. The Arrta had an absurd number of leaders in some sort of “High Council.” The Leader they were fighting right now was called Viktoriya. Raveena had defeated most of her clan, and now all her troops had to do was march on her home and claim it for the Terra forces. It was daring but doable. Hellfire was being engaged by other Terran troops at the moment and could offer Viktoriya no help.
They would send a spy to find where Viktoriya was hiding. Raveena would choose who the spy would be in the mourning.
After all the planning was over, Raveena departed from the tent with a yawn. She bid everyone good night and started to head off back to her own tent.
Raveena walked out into the night. The camp was still full of activity, but she wanted to go to bed. Soldiers were sitting around their campfires telling stories. Doublessly some of them were visiting the main tent we had pitched since they were staying in this valley for a while. It was mainly used for drinking and partying. Raveena liked her troops to be alert. She knew she should probably shut the thing down, but she didn’t want to be a hypocrite. She went to that tent often enough. War was an awful thing and sometimes she needed something to dull away the realness of the world.
Still, she didn’t want to do any of that tonight. Sleep was a terrible waste of time, but she needed it. Sleep worked as well as alcohol.
“So, where can you get some good drinks around here?” A deep voice asked behind Raveena. Raveena spun around, hand on the sword on her waist. She loved this sword, even with its idiotically long title. “Slayer of Enemies, Maker of Orphans, Letter of Blood, Writer of tragedies.” was a dark a name as it was long.
Raveena recognized Maximus in the darkness, coming towards her with his hand behind his head. He tossed Raveena a grin that shone in the darkness.
“The big tent,” She said stiffly, pointing to the eastern part of camp. “You would have to be blind not to see it,” she added under her breath.
“You aren’t just going off to be by yourself are you.” Maximus goaded, already looking towards the large tent and the fun that could be had there.
Raveena sighed, still making her way towards her own tent.
“It's alright, I guess you can’t handle the drink,” Marcus said, in a final, last-ditch effort to get Raveena to go with him, It shouldn’t have worked, but Raveena’s pride made her spin around and march over to him.
“I will drink you under the table Maximus.” She promised, jabbing her fingers in his face.
When they got inside the main tent, one of Raveena’s soldiers quickly fixed us both drinks. They sat at the long table Raveena’s people had made out of the wood they found here. It was a very lush valley due to its proximity to the ocean.
“So how did you come to be trusted by the old commander?” Raveena asked Maximus, wincing as the beer touched her lips. It was awful tasting at first. After a couple of glasses, it always tasted better.
“I came from a peasant stock, but the men liked me,” Maximus said, his dark eyes glittering above the cup. “The first attack I was in charge of went very well, so that was a help.” Maximus laughed, obviously looking back on his past. “It was a miracle I succeeded. I was an anger driven idiot back then.”
“And now?” Raveena asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. She was not able to resist the cheeky question.
Maximus laughed, a grin slashing across his face like a knife. It was a true laugh, not the polite snickering of people who wanted to please Raveena.
He acts like himself around me, so he obviously isn’t worried about pleasing me. Raveena thought to herself, finishing her first glass of beer.
“You’re not what I expected.” He admitted, taking another swig from his cup. Raveena held her glass out in front of her as one of the soldiers refilled it.
“What do you mean?” She asked half of her attention on her drink.
“Well, I accepted you to be less… Terran.” He started out. “I thought living in a castle would make anyone soft.”
Raveena snorted, shaking her head. “Oh, that's very wrong. The life there makes you as vicious and manipulative as you can possibly be. It ignores who you used to be and turns you into the perfect warrior.”
“You're less of a liar then I expected. You seem to know how full of falsehoods you are when you talk. For good liers, it comes as naturally as breathing. “
“I’m a good lier,” Raveena argued. “Personally I think we’ve both been in this game too long and can tell when someone is lying to us.”
“That's fair,” Maximus said as someone refilled his drink.
“I’m as warlike as a good Terran,” Raveena added, smiling at Maximus. He smiled back at her. Their smiles looked as animalistic as the Arrta in the flickering torchlight of the tent.
“You can prove that on the battlefield,” Maximus said, his smile becoming even more vicious. “I haven’t seen you fight yet.”
Raveena pushed him playfully, pretending to be very offended. “How dare you doubt me?” She asked. “I can’t believe the gods, with all the particles in the universe at their disposal, decided to arrange all the worst ones together and make you.”
Maximus burst into laughter once more, and Raveena felt a smile playing at her lips. It quickly faded, however. What am I doing? She thought to herself. She had no ulterior motive to flirt with this man. There was nothing he could give her political speaking. She pressed her mouth into a thin line, promising herself not to speak for the rest of the night.
“So, how do you think those animalistic bastards are going to try to defend themselves?” Maximus asked. This triggered about an hour of talk about battle formations and tactics. They both had a good head about these things, and even drunk they could debate them fiercely.
“When in doubt, you have to attack!” Maximus said, pushing his drink across the table to symbolize troops moving forward
“That is such a stupid tactic!” Raveena argued, shaking her head. “you would only do that if you wanted to mess with someone and pretend to be brave.”
“I do like messing with people,” Maximus admitted with a grin on his face. “Even though I can’t seem to mess with you very easily.”
“Maybe if you were smarter, you’d be able to, Maximus.” Raveena laughed, finishing her 5th glass.
“Please, call me Max,” Maximus said. “It sounds much less pretentious. I think my parents thought I would be a typical peasant like them if they named their son a noble name.”
“Max it is then,” Raveena said.
The debate slowly spiraled into different talk as the night went on.
“And then my father said ‘leave this house and never come back’ and I said ‘thats fine I never want to see you again’. But I do want to see them again! I was lying Raveena, and I’ve been lying eversince…” Max slurred, his voice a slow drawl.
“Why is life so unfair,” Raveena said, on a completely different subject then Max. “I've done everything right, yet Coul sits on the throne?”
“That's terrible” Max agreed, shaking his head vigorously. It fell on deaf ears. Raveena was fast asleep, her dark hair hiding her pretty face. Max was asleep not two minutes later.
* - * - *
They both woke back up in the dead of night. The time of night where only the Arrta were awake.
Raveena raised her head, brushing the hair out of her face. The tent was deserted, aside from a women past out in the corner. She pushed Max awake. The man groaned and swatted the air like he was trying to shoo away a fly. Reveena frowned and kicked his shin.
“Qrestial’s beard,” Max exclaimed, invoking the name of one of the many Terran gods as he rubbed his shin.
“We need to get to our tents,” Raveena said, pushing herself to her feet. She felt soberer then she had been a while ago, but she was still unsteady. The beginnings of a headache was beginning to pulse at her temple. “We have stuff to do tomorrow.”
“Gods, your right,” Max said, messing up tussled dark hair as he ran his hand through it. He got to his feet slowly.
They started to make their way out of the tent. When they were nearly at the tent flap, Raveena stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. Max grabbed her before she could hit the ground, gripping her shoulders and turning her towards him.
“It’s alright, I’ve got you.” He said, his deep voice reassuring. He winked at her like they were hiding something. It was an empty room, who were they hiding from.
Raveena looked Max up and down. Though she had first marked him as normal looking, he had a confidence about him that made her want to keep looking at him. Somehow, he seemed to understand her almost more than she understood herself. They seemed to be both in on the fact that life a cruel game. They both knew that they were playing exaggerated caricatures of themselves to survive in this world.
Max tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing at her in a silent question. He smiled at her, and it was such a kind smile. He looked positively unTerranlike at that moment. Before Raveena’s thoughts kicked in, she leaned forward and kissed him. Kissed him like a pretty, ditsy girl that she usually hated.
It was a normal kiss. It was demanding and as passionate as the battlefield, but it was just a kiss. Even so, Raveena drowned in it. She clung onto Max and he held onto her as their mouths pressed together.
Raveena could flirt and kiss to her heart's content. There was nothing to it. She was charming and could always get what she wanted. This was different. What did she want from this? She was feeling something - something she hadn’t allowed herself to feel anything for a long long time. She was a ruthless, battle machine, not someone who could let herself feel.
The last time she had let herself feel anything but hatred for anyone, that person had been killed. It had left Raveena with a hole in the middle of her chest that she could only fill with rage. Gods, she didn’t even know if she felt anything for this man. She just knew that she would be able to. That there was a future where she smiled and laughed and loved someone.
Sometimes when Raveena came into conflict with who she was and who she wanted to be, she just wanted to break down and cry. That would just make her hate herself more. It was a vicious cycle that she didn’t want to fall into, so she took everything in without feeling. She couldn’t allow herself to feel anything now. Feeling lead to empathy, and empathy got you nowhere in this world. Raveena knew how dark this world could be.
She let herself kiss Max for a little bit longer, throwing everything she had into the kiss. Max seemed startled at the intensity of it for a few seconds, before matching it.
She could still be a warrior if she was with Max. Maybe the two parts of her could come together? Maybe the ruthless battle machine and the emotional girl could live together instead of fighting a war within her heart?
No, that was the talk of a fool. All Raveena had known was fighting after her mother had died. Peace was an abstract concept to her.
She finally pushed Max away. He looked down at her with admiration in his eyes. It broke Raveena’s heart to look away from him, but she did. She labeled her cowardice as strength as she took a step backward.
“Goodnight Maximus.” She said, her voice as cold as ever. For someone who wore so much flame red colors, Raveena was very cold.
Max cocked his head to the side. “Goodnight Raveena.” He said. His eyes met hers like he understood her completely and accepted everything, and that scared Raveena to no end.
* - * - *
In the morning, Raveena and Max walked side by side as a show of strength. They were both wearing furs. Raveena had the silver coat of a wolf draped over her shoulders. Maximus had the tan coat of a coyote around him.
The soldiers pressed around them, cheering. They loved them. Raveena knew they didn’t know them, but she enjoyed their praise. Max was grinning ear to ear, his eyes half closed in the bright sun.
“Silence,” Raveena shouted, holding her arm up in the air. The cheering died down to whisper. The crowd seemed to lean in the hear what she had to say. Raveena took a deep breath, standing tall. “Soon, we will attack the monstrosities that squat on our land. The animalistic abominations that have the gall to think they deserve a scrap of our gods-given land.”
The crowd cheered. Raveena respected the Arrta. They are a worthy and powerful enemy, but she needed to defeat them, There was no easier talk to rile up her army than talk of territory and of gods. The Terran were as territorial as they were religious. “First, I will choose a spy to give us the location of the Arrta leader, the Arrta known as Victoriya.” The crowd booed and hissed at the mention of the Arrta leader. After that died down, Raveena could hear the crowd wondering who the spy was going to be. “For this prestigious position, I am choosing Maximus, my second in command. He will do the Terran forces proud.”
The crowd cheered at the mention of Maximus. He looked shocked, his sleepy eyes snapping open. He looked at Raveena curiously, but the curiosity soon changed to a grim recognition.
Raveena gripped his hand, raising it above their heads as the crowd roared. Max stretched his free arm out, telling the crowd to roar even louder. They happily obliged him. Raveena didn’t meet his eyes.
* - * - *
Max pushed his way through the bush, his sword hacking away at the greenery. He spat a leaf out of his mouth as he entered the clearing.
He was happy to do this job of spy. Though he personally thought he would be more helpful planning for the battle to come, he could do this as well. Finding out more information about there enemy was important work.
He tried not to think of Raveena. She was reserved when she had sent him away. Almost as if she was annoyed at her own feelings. It was fine though, Max didn’t blame her.
He knew the King’s brother from the tales people told of her. She was supposed to be quite a flirt, but a ruthless killer who always did something for a reason. She had started out the night with a fake smile on her lips, but it had changed after a while. Not being fake was enough to scare any Terran. Max was a lier and a cheat half the time himself. You had to be to survive as a Terran.
She was his commander before she was anything else. Max hadn’t been prepared to let that happen. He had pitched the tent with all intentions of never letting go of his power. Why would he let some girl who had been promoted because of her bloodline take over from him?
Then she had marched into his tent, charmed him, disarmed him, and wrestled the power right out of his hands. Max wasn’t used to that. He had always been the best at getting what he wanted. She had been enjoyable to watch her engage in politics, like a theatrical performance. Someone had said the same thing about him once. It was funny how they matched. He had believed her when she said she was going to demote him to foot soldier. It had made him relieved to be her second in command even when he had been hoping to come away from everything victorious. He had been too busy being delighted with her in the game of wits to notice how much he had lost.
Marcus tensed up as he heard something in the distance. He was deep in Arrta territory now. He was close to where the Terrans thought Viktoriya’s camp must be.
He looked around, dark eyes trying to pick out where the sound had come from. He felt fear coiling in his chest as he felt hands curling around his wrist.
He dropped his sword to the ground when the two Arrta surrounding him turned visible. He opened his mouth to try to talk his way out of things before he was interrupted,
“Oh, don’t let him spew any of his lies.” a cool feminine voice said. Max tore his attention away from the pair of the Arrta holding him and looked at the one in front of him.
Her paws padded lightly on the forest floor. She had the legs of a wolf. The dark grey of her fur gradually got lighter and thinner until it turned to the white skin at her navel. She looked like a normal woman from there until her eyes. Her eyes were surrounded by a ring of yellow instead of a normal colour and were framed by heavy dark lashes. Rising up from her long blond hair were horns. They were dark and curved and stretched out to the tree branches. At the end of her fingers, there were dark talons.
Aside from here inhuman characteristics and pale skin, she could almost be described as beautiful. She had long, curly hair, and a beautiful face. There was something wicked about her smile, however, especially when she looked at Max. He felt like the prey even if she was the one with deer horns.
The Arrta walked towards him. Max shrunk backward, but couldn’t get far with the other two holding him in place. He steadied his breathing as she got closer, making up a plan. He knew he was no match for three Arrta. He was going to die today, so why not go out in glory.
Max prepared to fight like a man possessed as soon as the one that had spoken came in range.
“Do you recognize me?” She asked, stopped a few feet away from him. Max narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out who it was. The Arrta continued talking before he had the chance to say anything.
“I am Viktoriya, an elected member of the council. I am the ruin of you Terrans. You have been killing my people for far too long in your petty human acts of greed. The bloodshed will stop after I subdue every last one of your people.”
“Should we kill him?” One of the Arrta asked. The one gripping Max’s right arm looked to be male. Max knew enough to know that was rare among the Arrta.
“No.. I have a more interesting use for him.” Victoriya purred. He extended her arm out towards Max. Max readied himself to fight, but Victoriya reached right past him. She grabbed something from the female Arrta holding Max on his right side, before backing away and holding up the necklace she had grabbed.
The crystals dangling from the silver string caught the light. Victoriya admired it, her yellow bird eyes narrowing.
Before Max could react Viktoriya threw the necklace around his head. Max struggled for a few seconds, nearly breaking free of the Arrta grip. Then he slumped forward, relaxing.
He looked up at Viktoriya with new eyes. Before he had almost thought her beautiful. Now he saw how foolish his old thoughts had been. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
Her wolf legs were as long as saplings, and she was near as lean. Her ebony horns stretched out as long as her legs and caught the light like the most precious of jewels. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she looked at him. Her features were so fine it was like they were crafted out of marble.
“My love,” Max said, bowing his head to the beautiful women before him.
“Yes,” Viktoriya said. Max could not see the cruelty in her yellow eyes as she said. “Much, much more interesting.”
* - * - *
Raveena stood at the front of her army, looking out at her opponents. Maximus had never deigned to come back with information. He had disappeared without any word. Maybe it was for the best. Raveena’s mother Haveena had told her a story when she had been very young about what would happen if you gave your heart to someone instead of using your love to secure more power.
Her mother had lent down to bring her face level with little Raveena’s, resplendent in her hunting leathers. She had just been about to go out hunting if Raveena remembered correctly.
Her hair had hung over her face, a few shades lighter than Raveena’s. It had been Raveena’s father that had the typical dark Terran look, but her mother had been more Terran in every way. She had lied and schemed and murdered to get to her position.
Raveena had looked up at her with eyes filled with childlike wonder and listed as her mother began a story.
“Once there was a young king who needed to build alliances. This king was smart and cruel and didn’t stop until she got everything he wanted.”
Haveena had grabbed Raveena’s small chin and smiled at her like she was the king in the story. Raveena had giggled as Haveena had continued with her story. “The king had agreed to marry a noblewoman. Her father was rich and powerful and the King needed money for his campaign against the Arrta filth.
Raveena had nodded along.
“But then the king was walking among the people and he met someone beautiful,” Haveena said, her eyes wide. “The King talked to this girl and she talked to him and they fell in love.”
Raveena’s mother had said that with an exaggerated expression of horror on her face. She wiggled her hands like a Arrta. Raveena had frowned. Love sounded terrifying. “She wasn’t of his own blood, but he loved her. He betrayed the noblewomen he was supposed to love and since her Father was so angry, do you want to know what happened?”
Raveena had nodded.
“The Noblewomen's father sent men to the King, and they killed him.” Raveena gasped as her mother grabbed her shoulders and shook her back and forth. It turned to her laugh as her mother smiled. “So remember Raveena, if you need to love something, love power.”
“Can I love you?” Little Raveena had asked. She had been very worried. She loved her mother more than the world.
“Little one, I am power.” Her mother had said with a smirk before going off on her hunt.
That had all been before Raveena’s brother Coul had stuck a knife in her mother’s back. Before her brother had sent her off to hopefully die in the war they were waging against the Arrta.
Raveena refused to die. That would give her brother too much satisfaction.
Raveena assessed her army. They were fighting the Arrta on the flattest ground Raveena scouts found in the hilly Arrta territory. Raveena used the phalanx formation. This was a formation where the front line was a row of soldiers with interlacing shields with spears peeking out through the gaps. This formation always worked best on level ground.
She had forced the Arrta to come to her. After burning their forests and wreaking havoc, Victoriya had been forced to muster her army and bring them to face Raveena.
Raveena was sitting among the Calvary, on the right side of the front lines. She always fought near the front. It was a dangerous position, but it showed the soldiers she was strong and boosted morale. After all, if the important sister of the king was daring enough to be at the front, what did they have to fear.
Raveena’s cavalry was the most important part of her army. Well, the wedge-shaped Phalanx struck at the Arrta in their organized formation, her Calvary punched holes in the Arrta flanks and caused chaos.
She had a large cavalry, with 200 Terrans armed with long swords and light armor.
Raveena’s force was too large for her to give a rousing speech. Only a few would be able to hear here. Most of her soldiers could look at her, however, and she made sure to be the image of a ruthless god. She smiled wickedly at the enemies to show how she was ready, anticipating the fight to come.
She raised her arms and swung it down in a brutal stroke, signaling her army to move out.
With a cry, her soldiers moved forward to crash into the Arrta lines.
The Arrta line was small and disorganized, but Raveena never forgot how powerful they were. She was certain they could win this battle, however.
Raveena spurred her horse forward, riding flanked by the rest of her calvary. The thunder of the horse's hooves on the ground was deafening. You could barely hear the battle cries of the Terran forces over it.
As the Phalynx hit the Arrta head-on, Raveena’s calvary crashed into their sides. Raveena saw a Arrta look up at her with wide eyes before her horse ran into her and trampled her to the ground.
Raveena swung her sword downwards, lopping off the head of a Arrta engaged in battle with a spearman. As different as human’s and Arrta looked, they had the same red blood.
Raveena felt her horse stumble as it hit against some imaginary wall. Raveena looked down as she saw some Arrta deep in concentration holding her horse in place. The Arrta must have placed it under some sort of charm. it was easy enough to charm animals. As she looked down, she saw another Arrta stab her horse in the chest. The horse screamed an animalistic scream as it fell onto its knees. Raveena rolled forward, flipping over her horse as it went down. She flew over the Arrta that had stabbed her horse, pushing herself to her feet before the Arrta had a chance to stab her as well.
Raveena spit out blood, hefting up her sword to face the Arrta across from her. She smiled a bloody smile at the Arrta as the adrenaline ran fast and hot through her veins. The Arrta didn’t smile back, only looked sad yet determined.
Before Raveena could strike, the Arrta flickered out of view. Raveena cursed under her breath. This was one that could turn invisible. Raveena saw the Arrta behind her as she tried to stab her in her back and the effort brought her out of her invisibility. The sword hit her armor as Raveena quickly spun so that the blow wouldn’t strike at exposed flesh. The Arrta disappeared again, but Raveena swung at the space she thought the Arrta would be. She hit only air as she spun around. The Arrta must have jumped out of her range. Raveena changed her tactics, looking down at the ground.
“There,” She thought to herself, narrowing her eyes at a place where the grass was compressed. she strode forward and plunged her long sword into the space where the Arrta should be.
The Arrta became visible as her sword stuck through her. The Arrta gasped as she looked down at her impaled chest. Her taloned hands touched the sword lightly, and then the Arrta collapsed to the ground as Raveena pulled the sword out. She turned her attention to the Arrta who had charmed her horse.
The Spellcaster shuffled backward, mouth moving silently. His leg was wounded, and he didn’t look like he could do much more damage. He looked pitiful. Raveena nearly recoiled at the horror of war, but she steeled herself. She needed to let herself get lost in the rush of adrenaline so she didn’t have to see how bloody and awful everything was. Raveena was normally very pretty, but in the war, she turned ugly indeed.
Raveena could feel the Arrta powers scraping at her mind like claws. She didn’t let any of the thoughts control her, but she could hear them. “Please stop, please stop, please stop.” The Arrta kept repeating as Raveena got closer and closer. “I’ll run I’ll run just please don’t kill me.”
Raveena pushed the Arrta out of her mind as she advanced on him. She pushed him to the ground, pointing her sword at his neck. For some reason, she hesitated for a few seconds.
“Raveena” Someone called from nearby. Raveena looked up to see Anthea fighting her way towards her. The blond female Warrior she had spared with beckoned to her commander as she stuck her sword through a Arrta.
Raveena left the beaten Arrta at her feet to crawl away from the battle. She walked towards Anthea, fighting through Arrta to get to her.
“Commander Raveena, we found the building where Viktoriya is hiding,” Anthea said, gesturing to a building the Arrta were all protecting.
“Let's go kill her,” Raveena said, glaring at the building. Viktoriya wasn’t even fighting among her people. She was letting people die for her as she hid. Raveena’s face twisted into an ugly expression of contempt.
Raveena and Anthea fought their way to the building, pushing past the Arrta. Raveena saw that her forces were prevailing against the Arrta. The battle would be over soon, but first Raveena needed to kill Victoriya.
Raveena approached the door of the building. She took a deep breath and threw herself against it. It splintered, letting Raveena inside the building.
Raveena crept inside on silent feet. Anthea was following her equally stealthily. It was so strange to be in here after the chaos of battle. Everything was quiet and neat.
Raveena crept into the main part of the house, looking straight ahead of her. She raised her sword as she spotted a Arrta sitting on a comfortable arrangement of seats on a raised platform.
There was something even worse that Raveena saw. She saw Maximus.
A range of emotions flickered through her. She was happy to see him at first but then realized why he was with the Arrta.
Raveena stared at Maximus in shock. He had put something on his eyelashes to make them as thick and dark as the Arrta. His clothes were flowing and colorful, the opposite of the hard cut fashions of the Terran people.
He was lounging on a chair, the vision of glorious boredom.
“Raveena,” Maximus said. His voice was heavy as if he was speaking through a barrier. Nothing stirred in his voice as he said his commander's name. He might as well have said anything.
As Raveena looked up at him, her shock turned to betrayal, and then contempt.
“Do not talk to me,” Raveena said, tilting her head to the side. She was grinning, but it was a hard grin with no humor in it. “You are no true Terran. You abandoned your own kind to join up with the Arrta.”
Raveena walked up to the raised platform where Maximus was sitting. She got within a foot of him. The Arrta near Maximus smiled at her and opened her mouth to speak, but Raveena ignored her. She glared down at Maximus with the fury of a god.
“How dare you become this thing? How could you join up with the Arrta?
She was yelling now, shaking him back and forth. She grabbed onto the necklace, breaking it in her fury.
Max nodded his head, not appearing to care in the slightest.
Raveena curled her lips and turned her attention to more important things. The Arrta near her finally spoke.
“I have a charm on him, dear, to answer your question.” The Arrta said, her voice as smooth as honey. “It amplifies feelings of love. He must have thought me slightly attractive. It's not your fault that he abandoned you so easily.”
Max blinked behind her. He looked slightly confused. The Arrta eyes were fixed on Raveena’s, and she didn’t notice the necklace clutched in her hand. Raveena let the necklace drop to the ground. She had no idea of its significance.
Raveena raised her sword, yelling out a war cry as she tried to swing at the Arrta they called Victoriya. Before her blow could land, she was blown backward.
Raveena felt phantom winds blowing around her throat. She clutched at her throat as the wind dug itself into her neck. She struggled to breathe as she fell onto her knees.
Raveena was sure she was going to die.
I wish I had felt more. She thought to herself, the pain almost too much to take. I wish I had allowed myself to be that emotional girl. What is life for if not feeling things?
Viktoriya eyes were fixed on Raveena.
“Victoriya,” Maximus said from behind Viktoriya. His voice was as soft as a prayer.
“Yes, my sweet,” Viktoriya said, turning away from Raveena. The pressure at Raveena’s throat was still there, however. All she could do was watch.
“I just wanted to say I love you,” Maximus said. Raveena’s eyebrows shot up. He sounded like he was full of shit.
Maximus spread his arms wide as if he was going to give Viktoriya a hug, before plunging his arm towards Viktorias chest. Raveena made out the glint of steel in his hand
Viktoriya leaped backward just as Max struck. The blow only hit her in the arm, but there was a lot of blood. The blow to the Arrta concentration dissipated the winds. Raveena took a deep breath as the air returned to her lungs, gasping on the floor.
Viktoriya screamed, sounding like a great bird of prey. she knocked the knife out of Max’s hand with her taloned hands.
She plunged those hands into his chest, gripping through his light Arrta fashion to dig her talons into his chest, she lifted him off the ground before flinging him across the room.
Raveena sprung to her feet, bringing her sword up as she took Viktoriya to the ground. She dug the tip of the sword into the Arrta neck, staring down at her with eyes as dark as night.
“You are just a scared little girl, you won’t do anything to me,” Viktoriya said, blood seeping from her side from Max’s side.
“That may be true,” Raveena said with a laugh, digging her sword deeper. “There's a part of me that is a ditsy, kind little girl. But do you know what the part of me that's a scared little girl can do? The part of me that doesn’t want to be a monster that tortures and lies and deceives? She can still kill you. Because you are a monster, and I have no pity for you.”
With those words, Raveena dug her sword into Viktoriya’s neck.
She rushed over to Maximus’s side. He was dying. This is why I didn’t allow myself to feel. She knelt at his side. “Maximus, no Max,” She said, looking at the wounded man on the ground. Blood was welling up in the corner of his mouth.
“Do I have a chance at surviving?” Max asked, his bloody lips quirking up in a smile.
“Yes, yes of course you do.” Raveena lied, trying not to look at his bloody chest.
Max laughed. “You're full of shit.” He said.
Raveena eyes softened, and she gripped the hands of the dying man.
Suddenly, Max’s eye turned into something more serious. “Tell them I died like a Terran.” He said with fervor. “Tell them it was a good death.”
“You did, I will tell them” She promised, “I will tell them.”
Max smiled because she was telling the truth. He died with that smile on his lips.
* - * - *
Raveena tapped her finger on the oak table she was seated at. Being in the Arrta camp unnerved her.
It had been weeks since Max died. People had dressed him in Terra clothing, laid his sword across his chest, and laid him out on a boat. The stream Raveena had sent him down lead right to the ocean. The Terra send the dead out to sea like that. The ocean surrounded them and deserved their respect. When Raveena was young it had scared her thinking about all the skeletons laid in boats floating out there. Now that she was older it was oddly comforting to her that Max might be floating among other people.
His loss was a pang in her chest. She felt like an idiot whenever she felt it, but it was there. It wasn’t a pang for what she had lost in the moment, but for what could have happened.
Still, what was done was done. All she could do now was make a better future for her people for her mother’s and Max’s memories.
Raveena stared at the young Arrta commander seated across from her they called the Hellfire. She was a glorious looking Arrta, with long dark hair and long horns. Still, she looked small and normal compared to her companion.
Raveena looked to the full bloodied Erra that was at the Hellfire's side. He was guised as a Arrta for now, but Raveena knew that he could be anyone and everyone. So there is her second in command I’ve heard about. Raveena thought. He reminded her of Max. They seemed to annoy the other in the same way.
He didn’t annoy Raveena, he terrified her. The Erra was young and pretty, but he had a look in his eyes that scared Raveena despite herself. Meeting someone that hated Terrans with such passion would do that to her. Especially with so much time to fuel that hatred. She could feel his desire to kill her from across the room. Raveena wanted to meet his hatred boldly, but something about the Erra made her just want him to leave.
Raveena couldn't even begin to imagine what living that long would do to a person. Raveena knew some old, wise people, but they weren’t close to an Erra (they were known as gods for a reason, and lived almost as long). Erra have the vigor of youth and the wisdom of the ancients. Old age softened some but it made others as hard as a rock. Erra were hard, but they also had the cruel capacity of the young. They were strange, vicious creatures.
It makes sense, Raveena thought to herself. She supposed they would grow tired of being kind. Grow tired of being anything but playful with the young children that made up the other races.
She shouldn’t be here, yet here she was. The war needed to grind to a standstill so Raveena could focus on more important things.
The Hellfire as they called her, exchanged some words with the Erra. The Erra gave her one last hate-filled glare before vanishing from sight.
The Hellfire sat across from her. Raveena could tell the Hellfire hated her almost as much as the Erra but was keeping it in check for the good of her people. This was the Arrta only chance of survival. Raveena’s forces fighting the Hellfire had chipped away most of the young Arrta army, and Raveena had wiped out Viktoriya’s forces.
Raveena looked at the raven-haired Arrta across from her. Someday they would paint the soil with the blood of Arrta and Terran alike, but for now, they would smile at each other across a peace treaty.
“There’s good in you, Raveena, if you honor this treaty,” the Hellfire said, cocking her head so her hair fell to the side.
Yes, there is good in me. Raveena thought. But it is kept under lock and key and it does not come out for the likes of you.
All Raveena communicated to the Hellfire was pleasantness as she smiled.
“I am so happy you agreed to a truce for half a year. I’m really sure this is a great first start. We are really coming together.” Raveena said brightly, a smile plastered onto her face.
The Hellfire nodded.
Raveena felt faintly annoyed. Max could have seen right through her acting in seconds. Raveena shooed the thought away. Of course, she was glad this Arrta couldn’t see that she would turn around and finish her off as soon as her more pressing business was finished.
* - * - *
When the deal was done, Raveena went outside and made a line to the horse that Cy was holding onto. He looked at her with concern. She hadn’t told any of her advisors what she was planning. Cy usually knew everything since he wrote those encounters down as her scribe.
Raveena knew that no one would like the half year truce, but the Terrans could go half a year without bloodshed. Not much longer then that, but half a year was alright.
The Arrta had snatched up the deal. They needed time to rebuild after their defeat. Raveena needed time for what she was doing as well.
She prodded her horse into a gallop, entering a wooded area.
The Arrta were probably prepared for her to go back on her word. The Hellfire wasn’t a fool after all, only hopeful Raveena had sword a blood oath, an important thing for Arrta.
She had crafted up some outrageous story about having her full of blood and how she regretted a lot of the things she had done. Raveena had a lot of regrets, but she didn’t include the war as one of them. Maybe someday, but not now.
Raveena would go back on her word if what she was planning went quickly. She needed her troops somewhere different than the Arrta border.
Raveena knew the Arrta could be trusted. The words they spoke were like laws to them. Raveena felt a bit sad. She respected Arrta, but they would not respect her if she betrayed them. Honesty was their most prided virtue.
Raveena burst out of the tree line. Raveena stopped at the top of the trail before it started zigzagging down the steep hill. It was beautiful country. Dark pine trees stood proudly at the bottom of the hill. Teal colored buckbrush covered the hill, look deceptively low to the ground as the dirt path snakes its way through it. Everything was vibrant and lush.
Raveena clicked her teeth to get her horse moving. It was silly to admire the beautiful land when it would be turned into farmland when the Terran won.
The Terran will win, through our lies and might and deception. Raveena thought.
What would the Hellfire do when they were close to winning? Raveena wondered. Would the fierce girl challenge her to a Ushaan, Raveena thought with a laugh. Max had told her about the ritual. An Arrta he was interrogating had challenged him to one.
The Ushaan was a Arrta ritual invoked when a Arrta betrayed another, such as by lying. It was a brutal fight to the death.
Raveena could imagine the fight between her and the Hellfire. The two of them spitting insults and trading blows. They were both mighty enough women to desire the fate of kingdoms.
She wouldn’t mind fighting the Hellfire. Fighting made her feel alive and she was spoiling for one right now.
Raveena continued down the hill, heading towards her army. She had another battle to win.
* - * - *
“Raveena.” King Coul’s voice was cold as he looked down with amber brown eyes. He was seated on the throne like a god, but Raveena doubted the gods looked as thin and drawn as her brother.
There was no emotion in his eyes. Her brother had always been very meek, and no one had noticed how he had always seemed a bit different than everyone else. He sometimes seemed like he didn’t quite understand how to be human and was just watching and mimicking their behavior. He never could quite figure out emotions. He had never seemed to figure out lying as well. He had always said what came into his mind - always watchful and honest and not much else.
Raveena had loved him though, meekness and all. He was her brother.
“What are you doing back from the war front.” Her brother asked, voice monotone. He took after their mother in appearance. Everyone had always said Raveena took after her father in looks and her mother in personality, and vice versa for her brother. Then Coul had killed her mother and claimed the throne, and everyone had realized he had taken after his mother more than they had thought.
Raveena didn’t say anything, her red-hued sword was right in front of her. The tip was resting on the marble floor of the throne room. Raveena gripped the hilt tightly in her hands.
“You are here to kill me, aren't you.” Her brother said, cocking his head to look her up and down. His amber-brown eyes staid as calm as ever. He had the same expression on his face as when Raveena and him had played chess together as children and she had done a good move. He had expected the possibility, but though another was more likely.
Coul looked around the throne room slowly. “I suppose there is no use calling for my guards, you will have killed them.” He said matter of factly. “Has the army I have given you taken over this city.”
Raveena nodded slowly, looking down at her sword as it glinted in the light from high windows leading up to the throne. Some of her men where outside the door right now, waiting for the deed to be done. she had them spread around all over, spreading the news that there would be a new Emperor of the Terra soon enough.
“I thought you would take longer to defeat or treaty with the Arrta. My mistake. I suppose you might as well get this over with.” Coul said as Raveena started to make her way forward, hefting her sword off of the ground.
“I have one question.” He said as she was a foot away from him. “Do you love me? “ He asked. Raveena heard emotion in his voice for the first time in a long time.
“I do Coul, of course, I do,” Raveena said, her voice breaking as she pointed the sword at his exposed throat. “Just not as half as much as I loved our mother.”
With those words, she plunged the sword forward into Coul’s throat.
He gasped, blood dripping out of his mouth. He clutched at his throat as the sword was pulled out, blocking the wound from view. As if he wanted to look presentable, even in death.
Raveena waited for him to die, then gently lifted him up and took him off of the throne. She laid him on the ground, taking the crown off of his head with light fingers.
Raveena placed the crown in her dark hair and sat down on her bloody throne.
Written by: Kate (#109837) Edits by me
Raveena raised her sword in the air and screamed a war cry, causing the opponent she was fighting to take a few steps backward. He looked up at her dark eyes fearfully - like a scared little boy. Freckles dotted his pale face, and his eyes were the pale brown color of porridge.
Raveena snorted, gripping her sword in both hands as she advanced on her opponent. The boy raised his sword, his elbows bent so the sword went too close to his chest. He had started out the fight with his spear, but when Raveena had knocked that out of his hand he had swiched to his secondary weapon.
His footwork was terrible as his weapon handling. He stood in place like a tree as Raveena swung her large sword at him.
He parried the first blow well enough, but when Raveena hit him again he barely deflected it. The clumsy maneuver left him off balance, and Raveena brought her sword in an arc a few inches away from his chest. Her sword met his with a clang, and she started to push his weapon to the side. She usually wouldn’t attempt a maneuver that was strength based, but the boy looked weak. Plus, she was feeling cocky.
Raveena easily pushed his weapon to the side, leaving his chest exposed. Raveena bared her teeth at the boy before raising her leg and kicking him to the ground. She didn’t wait long enough to see him fall before turning around to see the next opponent.
She spun around to face the next warrior. This one looked a little more capable. It was a girl with shoulder-length blond hair who looked a little bit younger than her. She was taller then Raveena as well. Raveena was by no means a short girl, but this woman was at least an inch taller. The blond girl grinned at Raveena. Her sword that had been swinging by her side rose up into a defensive position.
The blond hair of the girl reminded Raveena of Rosetta. Rosetta had been Raveena’s friend that she had left behind when she went to the war front. Rosetta had the same pale shade, though it was curlier and longer than this girls. This girls hair was as pale as bones on the battlefield to Rosetta’s honey warm hues, but the blond color was rare enough among Terrans to make Raveena compare the two. Dark features were much more favored among them. Dark hair and tan skin was the norm. Raveena was the archetype of a good Terran with her beautiful dark features.
While the two girls had the same hair, that's where their similarities ended. Rosetta was a kind and compassionate girl. She had been a good friend for a younger Raveena, but she had been an awful Terran. Terran’s were supposed to be born with a lie on their lips and steel in their hands.
Despite her hair color, Raveena’s new opponent looked to be a proper Terra. There was a wicked grin above the other women’s shield. Raveena mirrored that grin as she shuffled into attack position.
Their swords met furiously, both swinging with all their might. Raveena’s overzealous first attack left her flank open, and her opponent took advantage of that. She swung her shield forward, hitting Raveena on her side and sending her stumbling backward.
Both of their shields were made out of layers of bronze, wood, and leather. Raveena’s opponent was wielding a Hoplon, a huge shield about a meter in diameter. It offered more protection but was hard to hold for a long time. It packed quite a punch as it hit Raveena.
Raveena hefted her own shield hight, narrowing her eyes at her opponent. She couldn't be as cocky as she had been with the idiot boy she had been fighting.
Her own shield was a pelte, a much lighter shield. It allowed her to be more mobile on the battlefield. She put her mobility to good use as she circled around her opponent, feet as light as a dancer's.
Both of the women were wielding xiphos, iron swords for close melee combat. The blond girl swung her weapon at Raveena, but it glanced off of her shield.
Raveena took the failed blow as an opportunity to strike back. She hit the women shield and sword, drowning her in a fury of blows. The women was pressed backwards but matched the blows quite well. She looked impressed at Raveena’s skill, even after all the stories she must have heard about the commander. Raveena was always impressing people. She was beautiful and fierce and powerful. Nothing more and nothing less.
Raveena increased the intensity of her blows, something about her thoughts making her angry. Raveena had taken note of a spear that was lying on the ground, abandoned by the idiot boy. The blond women’s brown eyes were fixed on Raveena, and she didn’t notice as she was slowly herded towards the obstacle.
The women stumbled as she tripped over the spear, and Raveena pushed her down, getting the women into a crouched position. The women nearly lost her balance but used her new position for one last maneuver. She kicked one leg out and swept it towards Raveena’s legs, trying to get Raveena to fall to the ground like she had.
Raveena was nearly tripped but had the foresight to jump upwards before the woman could kick her. She landed lightly back on the ground and pointed her sword at the blond girl's exposed throat.
Raveena stood there, arms trembling. If this had been a real battle, she would have plunged the sword into this women’s throat in seconds. Her sword tip would become as red as the cloak she was wearing.
But this was not a real battle. Raveena controlled herself and sheathed her sword, letting the women get to her feet.
“Good fighting.” Raveena sad breathlessly. Her blood was flowing fast, and she couldn’t stop a smile from stretching across her face. She loved the battles, the adrenaline and the power she got from it. It made her feel something. She didn’t know if it was happiness exactly, but it was something.
“Thank you.” The women said, hoping to her feet. She removed her battered silver helmet, shaking her pale hair loose. Raveena’s earlier opponent let out a groan. He was still on the ground.
“That was a good training exercise,” Raveena said, looking to her scribe that was taking notes near the fighting area. She would get him to write down what rewards or punishments her troops got. She would get their names first.
“State your name and legion,” Raveena asked the women.
“Anthea, 2nd legion, calvary, Ma’am.” The girl said, making a fist and bringing her hand to her chest.
Raveena nodded. The cavalry was a very important part of her groups, and this woman was a good fighter. She would be a terror to behold mounted on a horse.
“And you?” Raveena asked, spinning to see the boy on the ground. He was barely out of his childhood and doubtlessly came from peasant stock. She almost felt pity for the boy but stopped herself. That was the ditsy girl who felt too much talking. All Raveena needed to feel was the adrenaline of battle and the rush of a successful lie. That was all any good Terra needed to feel. Anything else was a distraction.
“Flavian, 4rth legion, hoplite phalanx.” The boy said, getting to his feet. The hoplite phalanx were the spearmen of the army. An important force, but not usually the most skilled.
“Cy.” She called out, barely remembering her scribe’s name. “Give Anthea double rations for the day as a reward for her good fighting. Cut Flavian’s rations in half.” Raveena said cooly.
Her troops had been stationed at the same place for far too long. Raveena was itching to move them forward, but she had to wait for reinforcement troops to arrive. All they had to do here right now was spare and drink and eat. These little sparing matches kept people busy, but Raveena longed to sink her sword in a real enemy. The faster she defeated the enemy the sooner she could go home and wreak havoc there.
Raveena looked around at the training area. Other warriors were fighting one on one. The place rang with the song of clashing steel. Raveena sighed, suddenly feeling quite tired. She pressed her fingers to her temple.
“Ma’am, Ma’am” Someone called out. Raveena looked up. A young messenger was looking up at her expectantly, filled with purpose.
“Go one.” She said, trying to sound less tired. She waved her hand as a signal for the messenger to talk, closing her eyes.
“Commander Maximus arrived!” The little thing said, their voice a squeak. The messenger was at the tender age where it was very hard to tell if they were a boy or a girl. “He has set up a tent near your camp and requests your presence immediately.
Raveena’s eyes snapped open at the news. She looked the messenger up and down with a new alertness. This child wasn’t even one of her messengers, It was Maximus’s. She was filled with a mix of excitement and annoyance. An excitement that something was finally happening and they wouldn’t have to stay camped in this godforsaken valley any longer, and annoyance that is had taken Maximus so long.
He hadn’t even gone directly to see her. He had pitched his tent and expected her to come to him. Raveena glared at the messenger though she knew it wasn’t the kid's fault. Still, the kid had the tenacity to call someone else commander when Raveena’s brother, the King of the Terrans, had put her in charge.
She wanted to be the one lounging in her tent receiving visitors, instead of going to Maximus like some peasant requesting an audience. Still, she would need to swallow her pride and go and see him.
Raveena snapped her fingers at Anthea. “Come with me. Cy, you come as well.”
Without waiting for their reply, Raveena stalked off to meet the thorn in her side they called Maximus.
When Raveena had been sent to take over the command of the Terran forces, she had not gotten the full force immediately. She had taken command of the bulk of the forces, but the troops the previous commander had sent to attack the enemies other flank remained out of her reach. Maximus was functioning as a pseudo commander and had willfully taken far too long to rejoin her. She had been waiting for them to rejoin her for the coming battle for nearly a week.
Maximus probably liked the sensation of being powerful. Too bad she was going to rip that away from him. She couldn’t have the men and women wondering who was truly leading them. The next battle was very important. With it they would push their enemy into the rockiest, smallest part of Ecretdus, the island they all called home.
Raveena pulled herself out of her musings and pushed open the tent flap. The tent was made of off-white canvas.
The inside, as Raveena could now see, was decorated lavishly. The man that must be Maximus was sitting on a comfortable looking couch. Two guards surrounded him. He looked up as Raveena entered the room, Cy and Anthea trailing behind her.
Though Maximus’s surrounding were fancy, the man looked anything but. He was not altogether uncomely but he looked like a soldier. He had the rough features of a dangerous man. He looked to be around 5 years older than Raveena herself.
He had the dark hair and eyes of the typical Terran, as well as the tan skin. His eyes glinted with amusement as she entered the tent. Raveena could tell he carried himself with a lot of confidence, something that made up for his rough-hewn features.
“Maximus,” Raveena said simply, planting herself in the middle of the tent. Even if she wasn’t the one sitting on the throne like couch, she looked like a queen.
She was Razuvayeva Avrora, part of the Royal Yurievna clan. She was the daughter of the empress Haveena. She was as beautiful as she was ruthless. She would not be cowed by baseborn scum such as this. She gave Maximus a grin that was deceptively friendly.
“Raveena,” Maximus said, getting to his feet as he stretched his arms wide. “It is so good to finally meet you.” He said. His voice sounded jovial enough but it was impossible to tell if he actually meant it or not.
“And you as well. I’ve heard so many things about you.” Raveena replied, laying the charm on thickly. Men never could tell when she was full of shit.
“And me as well! Please take a seat!” He said, gesturing to the couch across from him. Raveena narrowed my eyes. He nearly sounded as full of lies as she had.
Raveena sat down on the couch across from him, crossing her slender legs over each other.
“I’m happy to see that you’ve made yourself at home in my camp.” Raveena said, putting an emphasis on the “My” but still keeping her tone friendly.
“It's so nice of you to say so! I am very honored at your presence” Maximus said, his display of happiness over the top. his smile was wide enough to swallow someone whole. The laugh line stretching from the edges of his nose to the corner of his mouth was extra pronounced in the dim light in the tent.
Raveena wanted to laugh. The two of them both seemed to be aware of how full of shit they both were. It was like they were in on a private joke. Raveena wondered who would break out of it first.
“I’m impressed about how you defeated the enemy in the west.” Raveena purred, trying one last attempt to be flirtatious. Maximus looked at Raveena like he was seeing right through her. He knew she wasn’t really flirting with him for any reason besides power. “I’m glad you’ve returned to be under my command” Raveena finished, changing tactics.
“It’s good you want me and my men here,” Maximus said with emphasis on the “My” just like Raveena had.
“Yes,” Raveena whispered, cocking her head to the side in the vision of a demure noblewoman. “You going to make a great footsoldier,” she said suddenly, her tone as bright as a songbirds.
“Footsoldier!” Maximus exclaimed, real emotion dripping into his voice. His heavy brows lowered in confusion and he tilted his head to the side.
Raveena started to laugh before she could catch herself. She had kept my composure longer, and won their little game. She quickly covered her mouth with her hand. It had been a while since Raveena had laughed, apart from when she was causing chaos on the battlefield.
Maximus quickly regained his composure, but it was over. The game had been won. Raveena lowered her hand as she addressed him once more.
“No, do not worry Maximus. You are to be my second in the battles to come.”
Maximus raised his eyebrows in surprise, before nodding. The idea had just come to Raveena, but it was a good one. He must have a good strategical mind to have won the battles he had, and he had control over a quarter of her forces. No use angering his men by demoting him.
* - * - *
They planned until night crept up to them on silent feet. Maximus’s tent had a map on the wall - calling in their trusted advisers and charting out where to best attack the enemy. The enemy they were fighting was powerful indeed. They outnumbered them 10 to 1, but that still didn’t put the odds in their favor. They were dangerous beasts.
A long time ago, Terra had shared Ecretdus with the Erra. The Erra were shapeshifting monsters if the tales are to be believed. They were neither animal nor humans.
The Erra are mostly gone now, but something of them remains in this world. Most say that the remnants of the Erra that where now their enemies where the children of Erra and Terra. It was hard to believe some Terra of old were depraved enough to breed with the Erra, but you never know. No matter what happened, the Erra gave way to another breed of enemies.
The Arrta that they were fighting look god-cursed. There lower bodies our those of animals, and horns protruding out of their head to reach the heavens. Their eyes are those of birds and they had the pale skin and hair that is so unflavoured among the Terrans. But while they look god cursed, they have powers that mark them as blessed, be it by gods or others. They are beings of magic and raw power.
Still, the Terrans have been pushing the Arrta back. Soon they will be passed the first line of defense and move on to fighting the Arrta commander only known as Hellfire.
For now, they were trying to take over the lands of one of the Arrta leaders. The Arrta had an absurd number of leaders in some sort of “High Council.” The Leader they were fighting right now was called Viktoriya. Raveena had defeated most of her clan, and now all her troops had to do was march on her home and claim it for the Terra forces. It was daring but doable. Hellfire was being engaged by other Terran troops at the moment and could offer Viktoriya no help.
They would send a spy to find where Viktoriya was hiding. Raveena would choose who the spy would be in the mourning.
After all the planning was over, Raveena departed from the tent with a yawn. She bid everyone good night and started to head off back to her own tent.
Raveena walked out into the night. The camp was still full of activity, but she wanted to go to bed. Soldiers were sitting around their campfires telling stories. Doublessly some of them were visiting the main tent we had pitched since they were staying in this valley for a while. It was mainly used for drinking and partying. Raveena liked her troops to be alert. She knew she should probably shut the thing down, but she didn’t want to be a hypocrite. She went to that tent often enough. War was an awful thing and sometimes she needed something to dull away the realness of the world.
Still, she didn’t want to do any of that tonight. Sleep was a terrible waste of time, but she needed it. Sleep worked as well as alcohol.
“So, where can you get some good drinks around here?” A deep voice asked behind Raveena. Raveena spun around, hand on the sword on her waist. She loved this sword, even with its idiotically long title. “Slayer of Enemies, Maker of Orphans, Letter of Blood, Writer of tragedies.” was a dark a name as it was long.
Raveena recognized Maximus in the darkness, coming towards her with his hand behind his head. He tossed Raveena a grin that shone in the darkness.
“The big tent,” She said stiffly, pointing to the eastern part of camp. “You would have to be blind not to see it,” she added under her breath.
“You aren’t just going off to be by yourself are you.” Maximus goaded, already looking towards the large tent and the fun that could be had there.
Raveena sighed, still making her way towards her own tent.
“It's alright, I guess you can’t handle the drink,” Marcus said, in a final, last-ditch effort to get Raveena to go with him, It shouldn’t have worked, but Raveena’s pride made her spin around and march over to him.
“I will drink you under the table Maximus.” She promised, jabbing her fingers in his face.
When they got inside the main tent, one of Raveena’s soldiers quickly fixed us both drinks. They sat at the long table Raveena’s people had made out of the wood they found here. It was a very lush valley due to its proximity to the ocean.
“So how did you come to be trusted by the old commander?” Raveena asked Maximus, wincing as the beer touched her lips. It was awful tasting at first. After a couple of glasses, it always tasted better.
“I came from a peasant stock, but the men liked me,” Maximus said, his dark eyes glittering above the cup. “The first attack I was in charge of went very well, so that was a help.” Maximus laughed, obviously looking back on his past. “It was a miracle I succeeded. I was an anger driven idiot back then.”
“And now?” Raveena asked, raising a delicate eyebrow. She was not able to resist the cheeky question.
Maximus laughed, a grin slashing across his face like a knife. It was a true laugh, not the polite snickering of people who wanted to please Raveena.
He acts like himself around me, so he obviously isn’t worried about pleasing me. Raveena thought to herself, finishing her first glass of beer.
“You’re not what I expected.” He admitted, taking another swig from his cup. Raveena held her glass out in front of her as one of the soldiers refilled it.
“What do you mean?” She asked half of her attention on her drink.
“Well, I accepted you to be less… Terran.” He started out. “I thought living in a castle would make anyone soft.”
Raveena snorted, shaking her head. “Oh, that's very wrong. The life there makes you as vicious and manipulative as you can possibly be. It ignores who you used to be and turns you into the perfect warrior.”
“You're less of a liar then I expected. You seem to know how full of falsehoods you are when you talk. For good liers, it comes as naturally as breathing. “
“I’m a good lier,” Raveena argued. “Personally I think we’ve both been in this game too long and can tell when someone is lying to us.”
“That's fair,” Maximus said as someone refilled his drink.
“I’m as warlike as a good Terran,” Raveena added, smiling at Maximus. He smiled back at her. Their smiles looked as animalistic as the Arrta in the flickering torchlight of the tent.
“You can prove that on the battlefield,” Maximus said, his smile becoming even more vicious. “I haven’t seen you fight yet.”
Raveena pushed him playfully, pretending to be very offended. “How dare you doubt me?” She asked. “I can’t believe the gods, with all the particles in the universe at their disposal, decided to arrange all the worst ones together and make you.”
Maximus burst into laughter once more, and Raveena felt a smile playing at her lips. It quickly faded, however. What am I doing? She thought to herself. She had no ulterior motive to flirt with this man. There was nothing he could give her political speaking. She pressed her mouth into a thin line, promising herself not to speak for the rest of the night.
“So, how do you think those animalistic bastards are going to try to defend themselves?” Maximus asked. This triggered about an hour of talk about battle formations and tactics. They both had a good head about these things, and even drunk they could debate them fiercely.
“When in doubt, you have to attack!” Maximus said, pushing his drink across the table to symbolize troops moving forward
“That is such a stupid tactic!” Raveena argued, shaking her head. “you would only do that if you wanted to mess with someone and pretend to be brave.”
“I do like messing with people,” Maximus admitted with a grin on his face. “Even though I can’t seem to mess with you very easily.”
“Maybe if you were smarter, you’d be able to, Maximus.” Raveena laughed, finishing her 5th glass.
“Please, call me Max,” Maximus said. “It sounds much less pretentious. I think my parents thought I would be a typical peasant like them if they named their son a noble name.”
“Max it is then,” Raveena said.
The debate slowly spiraled into different talk as the night went on.
“And then my father said ‘leave this house and never come back’ and I said ‘thats fine I never want to see you again’. But I do want to see them again! I was lying Raveena, and I’ve been lying eversince…” Max slurred, his voice a slow drawl.
“Why is life so unfair,” Raveena said, on a completely different subject then Max. “I've done everything right, yet Coul sits on the throne?”
“That's terrible” Max agreed, shaking his head vigorously. It fell on deaf ears. Raveena was fast asleep, her dark hair hiding her pretty face. Max was asleep not two minutes later.
* - * - *
They both woke back up in the dead of night. The time of night where only the Arrta were awake.
Raveena raised her head, brushing the hair out of her face. The tent was deserted, aside from a women past out in the corner. She pushed Max awake. The man groaned and swatted the air like he was trying to shoo away a fly. Reveena frowned and kicked his shin.
“Qrestial’s beard,” Max exclaimed, invoking the name of one of the many Terran gods as he rubbed his shin.
“We need to get to our tents,” Raveena said, pushing herself to her feet. She felt soberer then she had been a while ago, but she was still unsteady. The beginnings of a headache was beginning to pulse at her temple. “We have stuff to do tomorrow.”
“Gods, your right,” Max said, messing up tussled dark hair as he ran his hand through it. He got to his feet slowly.
They started to make their way out of the tent. When they were nearly at the tent flap, Raveena stumbled, nearly falling to the ground. Max grabbed her before she could hit the ground, gripping her shoulders and turning her towards him.
“It’s alright, I’ve got you.” He said, his deep voice reassuring. He winked at her like they were hiding something. It was an empty room, who were they hiding from.
Raveena looked Max up and down. Though she had first marked him as normal looking, he had a confidence about him that made her want to keep looking at him. Somehow, he seemed to understand her almost more than she understood herself. They seemed to be both in on the fact that life a cruel game. They both knew that they were playing exaggerated caricatures of themselves to survive in this world.
Max tilted his head to the side, his eyes narrowing at her in a silent question. He smiled at her, and it was such a kind smile. He looked positively unTerranlike at that moment. Before Raveena’s thoughts kicked in, she leaned forward and kissed him. Kissed him like a pretty, ditsy girl that she usually hated.
It was a normal kiss. It was demanding and as passionate as the battlefield, but it was just a kiss. Even so, Raveena drowned in it. She clung onto Max and he held onto her as their mouths pressed together.
Raveena could flirt and kiss to her heart's content. There was nothing to it. She was charming and could always get what she wanted. This was different. What did she want from this? She was feeling something - something she hadn’t allowed herself to feel anything for a long long time. She was a ruthless, battle machine, not someone who could let herself feel.
The last time she had let herself feel anything but hatred for anyone, that person had been killed. It had left Raveena with a hole in the middle of her chest that she could only fill with rage. Gods, she didn’t even know if she felt anything for this man. She just knew that she would be able to. That there was a future where she smiled and laughed and loved someone.
Sometimes when Raveena came into conflict with who she was and who she wanted to be, she just wanted to break down and cry. That would just make her hate herself more. It was a vicious cycle that she didn’t want to fall into, so she took everything in without feeling. She couldn’t allow herself to feel anything now. Feeling lead to empathy, and empathy got you nowhere in this world. Raveena knew how dark this world could be.
She let herself kiss Max for a little bit longer, throwing everything she had into the kiss. Max seemed startled at the intensity of it for a few seconds, before matching it.
She could still be a warrior if she was with Max. Maybe the two parts of her could come together? Maybe the ruthless battle machine and the emotional girl could live together instead of fighting a war within her heart?
No, that was the talk of a fool. All Raveena had known was fighting after her mother had died. Peace was an abstract concept to her.
She finally pushed Max away. He looked down at her with admiration in his eyes. It broke Raveena’s heart to look away from him, but she did. She labeled her cowardice as strength as she took a step backward.
“Goodnight Maximus.” She said, her voice as cold as ever. For someone who wore so much flame red colors, Raveena was very cold.
Max cocked his head to the side. “Goodnight Raveena.” He said. His eyes met hers like he understood her completely and accepted everything, and that scared Raveena to no end.
* - * - *
In the morning, Raveena and Max walked side by side as a show of strength. They were both wearing furs. Raveena had the silver coat of a wolf draped over her shoulders. Maximus had the tan coat of a coyote around him.
The soldiers pressed around them, cheering. They loved them. Raveena knew they didn’t know them, but she enjoyed their praise. Max was grinning ear to ear, his eyes half closed in the bright sun.
“Silence,” Raveena shouted, holding her arm up in the air. The cheering died down to whisper. The crowd seemed to lean in the hear what she had to say. Raveena took a deep breath, standing tall. “Soon, we will attack the monstrosities that squat on our land. The animalistic abominations that have the gall to think they deserve a scrap of our gods-given land.”
The crowd cheered. Raveena respected the Arrta. They are a worthy and powerful enemy, but she needed to defeat them, There was no easier talk to rile up her army than talk of territory and of gods. The Terran were as territorial as they were religious. “First, I will choose a spy to give us the location of the Arrta leader, the Arrta known as Victoriya.” The crowd booed and hissed at the mention of the Arrta leader. After that died down, Raveena could hear the crowd wondering who the spy was going to be. “For this prestigious position, I am choosing Maximus, my second in command. He will do the Terran forces proud.”
The crowd cheered at the mention of Maximus. He looked shocked, his sleepy eyes snapping open. He looked at Raveena curiously, but the curiosity soon changed to a grim recognition.
Raveena gripped his hand, raising it above their heads as the crowd roared. Max stretched his free arm out, telling the crowd to roar even louder. They happily obliged him. Raveena didn’t meet his eyes.
* - * - *
Max pushed his way through the bush, his sword hacking away at the greenery. He spat a leaf out of his mouth as he entered the clearing.
He was happy to do this job of spy. Though he personally thought he would be more helpful planning for the battle to come, he could do this as well. Finding out more information about there enemy was important work.
He tried not to think of Raveena. She was reserved when she had sent him away. Almost as if she was annoyed at her own feelings. It was fine though, Max didn’t blame her.
He knew the King’s brother from the tales people told of her. She was supposed to be quite a flirt, but a ruthless killer who always did something for a reason. She had started out the night with a fake smile on her lips, but it had changed after a while. Not being fake was enough to scare any Terran. Max was a lier and a cheat half the time himself. You had to be to survive as a Terran.
She was his commander before she was anything else. Max hadn’t been prepared to let that happen. He had pitched the tent with all intentions of never letting go of his power. Why would he let some girl who had been promoted because of her bloodline take over from him?
Then she had marched into his tent, charmed him, disarmed him, and wrestled the power right out of his hands. Max wasn’t used to that. He had always been the best at getting what he wanted. She had been enjoyable to watch her engage in politics, like a theatrical performance. Someone had said the same thing about him once. It was funny how they matched. He had believed her when she said she was going to demote him to foot soldier. It had made him relieved to be her second in command even when he had been hoping to come away from everything victorious. He had been too busy being delighted with her in the game of wits to notice how much he had lost.
Marcus tensed up as he heard something in the distance. He was deep in Arrta territory now. He was close to where the Terrans thought Viktoriya’s camp must be.
He looked around, dark eyes trying to pick out where the sound had come from. He felt fear coiling in his chest as he felt hands curling around his wrist.
He dropped his sword to the ground when the two Arrta surrounding him turned visible. He opened his mouth to try to talk his way out of things before he was interrupted,
“Oh, don’t let him spew any of his lies.” a cool feminine voice said. Max tore his attention away from the pair of the Arrta holding him and looked at the one in front of him.
Her paws padded lightly on the forest floor. She had the legs of a wolf. The dark grey of her fur gradually got lighter and thinner until it turned to the white skin at her navel. She looked like a normal woman from there until her eyes. Her eyes were surrounded by a ring of yellow instead of a normal colour and were framed by heavy dark lashes. Rising up from her long blond hair were horns. They were dark and curved and stretched out to the tree branches. At the end of her fingers, there were dark talons.
Aside from here inhuman characteristics and pale skin, she could almost be described as beautiful. She had long, curly hair, and a beautiful face. There was something wicked about her smile, however, especially when she looked at Max. He felt like the prey even if she was the one with deer horns.
The Arrta walked towards him. Max shrunk backward, but couldn’t get far with the other two holding him in place. He steadied his breathing as she got closer, making up a plan. He knew he was no match for three Arrta. He was going to die today, so why not go out in glory.
Max prepared to fight like a man possessed as soon as the one that had spoken came in range.
“Do you recognize me?” She asked, stopped a few feet away from him. Max narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out who it was. The Arrta continued talking before he had the chance to say anything.
“I am Viktoriya, an elected member of the council. I am the ruin of you Terrans. You have been killing my people for far too long in your petty human acts of greed. The bloodshed will stop after I subdue every last one of your people.”
“Should we kill him?” One of the Arrta asked. The one gripping Max’s right arm looked to be male. Max knew enough to know that was rare among the Arrta.
“No.. I have a more interesting use for him.” Victoriya purred. He extended her arm out towards Max. Max readied himself to fight, but Victoriya reached right past him. She grabbed something from the female Arrta holding Max on his right side, before backing away and holding up the necklace she had grabbed.
The crystals dangling from the silver string caught the light. Victoriya admired it, her yellow bird eyes narrowing.
Before Max could react Viktoriya threw the necklace around his head. Max struggled for a few seconds, nearly breaking free of the Arrta grip. Then he slumped forward, relaxing.
He looked up at Viktoriya with new eyes. Before he had almost thought her beautiful. Now he saw how foolish his old thoughts had been. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen.
Her wolf legs were as long as saplings, and she was near as lean. Her ebony horns stretched out as long as her legs and caught the light like the most precious of jewels. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings as she looked at him. Her features were so fine it was like they were crafted out of marble.
“My love,” Max said, bowing his head to the beautiful women before him.
“Yes,” Viktoriya said. Max could not see the cruelty in her yellow eyes as she said. “Much, much more interesting.”
* - * - *
Raveena stood at the front of her army, looking out at her opponents. Maximus had never deigned to come back with information. He had disappeared without any word. Maybe it was for the best. Raveena’s mother Haveena had told her a story when she had been very young about what would happen if you gave your heart to someone instead of using your love to secure more power.
Her mother had lent down to bring her face level with little Raveena’s, resplendent in her hunting leathers. She had just been about to go out hunting if Raveena remembered correctly.
Her hair had hung over her face, a few shades lighter than Raveena’s. It had been Raveena’s father that had the typical dark Terran look, but her mother had been more Terran in every way. She had lied and schemed and murdered to get to her position.
Raveena had looked up at her with eyes filled with childlike wonder and listed as her mother began a story.
“Once there was a young king who needed to build alliances. This king was smart and cruel and didn’t stop until she got everything he wanted.”
Haveena had grabbed Raveena’s small chin and smiled at her like she was the king in the story. Raveena had giggled as Haveena had continued with her story. “The king had agreed to marry a noblewoman. Her father was rich and powerful and the King needed money for his campaign against the Arrta filth.
Raveena had nodded along.
“But then the king was walking among the people and he met someone beautiful,” Haveena said, her eyes wide. “The King talked to this girl and she talked to him and they fell in love.”
Raveena’s mother had said that with an exaggerated expression of horror on her face. She wiggled her hands like a Arrta. Raveena had frowned. Love sounded terrifying. “She wasn’t of his own blood, but he loved her. He betrayed the noblewomen he was supposed to love and since her Father was so angry, do you want to know what happened?”
Raveena had nodded.
“The Noblewomen's father sent men to the King, and they killed him.” Raveena gasped as her mother grabbed her shoulders and shook her back and forth. It turned to her laugh as her mother smiled. “So remember Raveena, if you need to love something, love power.”
“Can I love you?” Little Raveena had asked. She had been very worried. She loved her mother more than the world.
“Little one, I am power.” Her mother had said with a smirk before going off on her hunt.
That had all been before Raveena’s brother Coul had stuck a knife in her mother’s back. Before her brother had sent her off to hopefully die in the war they were waging against the Arrta.
Raveena refused to die. That would give her brother too much satisfaction.
Raveena assessed her army. They were fighting the Arrta on the flattest ground Raveena scouts found in the hilly Arrta territory. Raveena used the phalanx formation. This was a formation where the front line was a row of soldiers with interlacing shields with spears peeking out through the gaps. This formation always worked best on level ground.
She had forced the Arrta to come to her. After burning their forests and wreaking havoc, Victoriya had been forced to muster her army and bring them to face Raveena.
Raveena was sitting among the Calvary, on the right side of the front lines. She always fought near the front. It was a dangerous position, but it showed the soldiers she was strong and boosted morale. After all, if the important sister of the king was daring enough to be at the front, what did they have to fear.
Raveena’s cavalry was the most important part of her army. Well, the wedge-shaped Phalanx struck at the Arrta in their organized formation, her Calvary punched holes in the Arrta flanks and caused chaos.
She had a large cavalry, with 200 Terrans armed with long swords and light armor.
Raveena’s force was too large for her to give a rousing speech. Only a few would be able to hear here. Most of her soldiers could look at her, however, and she made sure to be the image of a ruthless god. She smiled wickedly at the enemies to show how she was ready, anticipating the fight to come.
She raised her arms and swung it down in a brutal stroke, signaling her army to move out.
With a cry, her soldiers moved forward to crash into the Arrta lines.
The Arrta line was small and disorganized, but Raveena never forgot how powerful they were. She was certain they could win this battle, however.
Raveena spurred her horse forward, riding flanked by the rest of her calvary. The thunder of the horse's hooves on the ground was deafening. You could barely hear the battle cries of the Terran forces over it.
As the Phalynx hit the Arrta head-on, Raveena’s calvary crashed into their sides. Raveena saw a Arrta look up at her with wide eyes before her horse ran into her and trampled her to the ground.
Raveena swung her sword downwards, lopping off the head of a Arrta engaged in battle with a spearman. As different as human’s and Arrta looked, they had the same red blood.
Raveena felt her horse stumble as it hit against some imaginary wall. Raveena looked down as she saw some Arrta deep in concentration holding her horse in place. The Arrta must have placed it under some sort of charm. it was easy enough to charm animals. As she looked down, she saw another Arrta stab her horse in the chest. The horse screamed an animalistic scream as it fell onto its knees. Raveena rolled forward, flipping over her horse as it went down. She flew over the Arrta that had stabbed her horse, pushing herself to her feet before the Arrta had a chance to stab her as well.
Raveena spit out blood, hefting up her sword to face the Arrta across from her. She smiled a bloody smile at the Arrta as the adrenaline ran fast and hot through her veins. The Arrta didn’t smile back, only looked sad yet determined.
Before Raveena could strike, the Arrta flickered out of view. Raveena cursed under her breath. This was one that could turn invisible. Raveena saw the Arrta behind her as she tried to stab her in her back and the effort brought her out of her invisibility. The sword hit her armor as Raveena quickly spun so that the blow wouldn’t strike at exposed flesh. The Arrta disappeared again, but Raveena swung at the space she thought the Arrta would be. She hit only air as she spun around. The Arrta must have jumped out of her range. Raveena changed her tactics, looking down at the ground.
“There,” She thought to herself, narrowing her eyes at a place where the grass was compressed. she strode forward and plunged her long sword into the space where the Arrta should be.
The Arrta became visible as her sword stuck through her. The Arrta gasped as she looked down at her impaled chest. Her taloned hands touched the sword lightly, and then the Arrta collapsed to the ground as Raveena pulled the sword out. She turned her attention to the Arrta who had charmed her horse.
The Spellcaster shuffled backward, mouth moving silently. His leg was wounded, and he didn’t look like he could do much more damage. He looked pitiful. Raveena nearly recoiled at the horror of war, but she steeled herself. She needed to let herself get lost in the rush of adrenaline so she didn’t have to see how bloody and awful everything was. Raveena was normally very pretty, but in the war, she turned ugly indeed.
Raveena could feel the Arrta powers scraping at her mind like claws. She didn’t let any of the thoughts control her, but she could hear them. “Please stop, please stop, please stop.” The Arrta kept repeating as Raveena got closer and closer. “I’ll run I’ll run just please don’t kill me.”
Raveena pushed the Arrta out of her mind as she advanced on him. She pushed him to the ground, pointing her sword at his neck. For some reason, she hesitated for a few seconds.
“Raveena” Someone called from nearby. Raveena looked up to see Anthea fighting her way towards her. The blond female Warrior she had spared with beckoned to her commander as she stuck her sword through a Arrta.
Raveena left the beaten Arrta at her feet to crawl away from the battle. She walked towards Anthea, fighting through Arrta to get to her.
“Commander Raveena, we found the building where Viktoriya is hiding,” Anthea said, gesturing to a building the Arrta were all protecting.
“Let's go kill her,” Raveena said, glaring at the building. Viktoriya wasn’t even fighting among her people. She was letting people die for her as she hid. Raveena’s face twisted into an ugly expression of contempt.
Raveena and Anthea fought their way to the building, pushing past the Arrta. Raveena saw that her forces were prevailing against the Arrta. The battle would be over soon, but first Raveena needed to kill Victoriya.
Raveena approached the door of the building. She took a deep breath and threw herself against it. It splintered, letting Raveena inside the building.
Raveena crept inside on silent feet. Anthea was following her equally stealthily. It was so strange to be in here after the chaos of battle. Everything was quiet and neat.
Raveena crept into the main part of the house, looking straight ahead of her. She raised her sword as she spotted a Arrta sitting on a comfortable arrangement of seats on a raised platform.
There was something even worse that Raveena saw. She saw Maximus.
A range of emotions flickered through her. She was happy to see him at first but then realized why he was with the Arrta.
Raveena stared at Maximus in shock. He had put something on his eyelashes to make them as thick and dark as the Arrta. His clothes were flowing and colorful, the opposite of the hard cut fashions of the Terran people.
He was lounging on a chair, the vision of glorious boredom.
“Raveena,” Maximus said. His voice was heavy as if he was speaking through a barrier. Nothing stirred in his voice as he said his commander's name. He might as well have said anything.
As Raveena looked up at him, her shock turned to betrayal, and then contempt.
“Do not talk to me,” Raveena said, tilting her head to the side. She was grinning, but it was a hard grin with no humor in it. “You are no true Terran. You abandoned your own kind to join up with the Arrta.”
Raveena walked up to the raised platform where Maximus was sitting. She got within a foot of him. The Arrta near Maximus smiled at her and opened her mouth to speak, but Raveena ignored her. She glared down at Maximus with the fury of a god.
“How dare you become this thing? How could you join up with the Arrta?
She was yelling now, shaking him back and forth. She grabbed onto the necklace, breaking it in her fury.
Max nodded his head, not appearing to care in the slightest.
Raveena curled her lips and turned her attention to more important things. The Arrta near her finally spoke.
“I have a charm on him, dear, to answer your question.” The Arrta said, her voice as smooth as honey. “It amplifies feelings of love. He must have thought me slightly attractive. It's not your fault that he abandoned you so easily.”
Max blinked behind her. He looked slightly confused. The Arrta eyes were fixed on Raveena’s, and she didn’t notice the necklace clutched in her hand. Raveena let the necklace drop to the ground. She had no idea of its significance.
Raveena raised her sword, yelling out a war cry as she tried to swing at the Arrta they called Victoriya. Before her blow could land, she was blown backward.
Raveena felt phantom winds blowing around her throat. She clutched at her throat as the wind dug itself into her neck. She struggled to breathe as she fell onto her knees.
Raveena was sure she was going to die.
I wish I had felt more. She thought to herself, the pain almost too much to take. I wish I had allowed myself to be that emotional girl. What is life for if not feeling things?
Viktoriya eyes were fixed on Raveena.
“Victoriya,” Maximus said from behind Viktoriya. His voice was as soft as a prayer.
“Yes, my sweet,” Viktoriya said, turning away from Raveena. The pressure at Raveena’s throat was still there, however. All she could do was watch.
“I just wanted to say I love you,” Maximus said. Raveena’s eyebrows shot up. He sounded like he was full of shit.
Maximus spread his arms wide as if he was going to give Viktoriya a hug, before plunging his arm towards Viktorias chest. Raveena made out the glint of steel in his hand
Viktoriya leaped backward just as Max struck. The blow only hit her in the arm, but there was a lot of blood. The blow to the Arrta concentration dissipated the winds. Raveena took a deep breath as the air returned to her lungs, gasping on the floor.
Viktoriya screamed, sounding like a great bird of prey. she knocked the knife out of Max’s hand with her taloned hands.
She plunged those hands into his chest, gripping through his light Arrta fashion to dig her talons into his chest, she lifted him off the ground before flinging him across the room.
Raveena sprung to her feet, bringing her sword up as she took Viktoriya to the ground. She dug the tip of the sword into the Arrta neck, staring down at her with eyes as dark as night.
“You are just a scared little girl, you won’t do anything to me,” Viktoriya said, blood seeping from her side from Max’s side.
“That may be true,” Raveena said with a laugh, digging her sword deeper. “There's a part of me that is a ditsy, kind little girl. But do you know what the part of me that's a scared little girl can do? The part of me that doesn’t want to be a monster that tortures and lies and deceives? She can still kill you. Because you are a monster, and I have no pity for you.”
With those words, Raveena dug her sword into Viktoriya’s neck.
She rushed over to Maximus’s side. He was dying. This is why I didn’t allow myself to feel. She knelt at his side. “Maximus, no Max,” She said, looking at the wounded man on the ground. Blood was welling up in the corner of his mouth.
“Do I have a chance at surviving?” Max asked, his bloody lips quirking up in a smile.
“Yes, yes of course you do.” Raveena lied, trying not to look at his bloody chest.
Max laughed. “You're full of shit.” He said.
Raveena eyes softened, and she gripped the hands of the dying man.
Suddenly, Max’s eye turned into something more serious. “Tell them I died like a Terran.” He said with fervor. “Tell them it was a good death.”
“You did, I will tell them” She promised, “I will tell them.”
Max smiled because she was telling the truth. He died with that smile on his lips.
* - * - *
Raveena tapped her finger on the oak table she was seated at. Being in the Arrta camp unnerved her.
It had been weeks since Max died. People had dressed him in Terra clothing, laid his sword across his chest, and laid him out on a boat. The stream Raveena had sent him down lead right to the ocean. The Terra send the dead out to sea like that. The ocean surrounded them and deserved their respect. When Raveena was young it had scared her thinking about all the skeletons laid in boats floating out there. Now that she was older it was oddly comforting to her that Max might be floating among other people.
His loss was a pang in her chest. She felt like an idiot whenever she felt it, but it was there. It wasn’t a pang for what she had lost in the moment, but for what could have happened.
Still, what was done was done. All she could do now was make a better future for her people for her mother’s and Max’s memories.
Raveena stared at the young Arrta commander seated across from her they called the Hellfire. She was a glorious looking Arrta, with long dark hair and long horns. Still, she looked small and normal compared to her companion.
Raveena looked to the full bloodied Erra that was at the Hellfire's side. He was guised as a Arrta for now, but Raveena knew that he could be anyone and everyone. So there is her second in command I’ve heard about. Raveena thought. He reminded her of Max. They seemed to annoy the other in the same way.
He didn’t annoy Raveena, he terrified her. The Erra was young and pretty, but he had a look in his eyes that scared Raveena despite herself. Meeting someone that hated Terrans with such passion would do that to her. Especially with so much time to fuel that hatred. She could feel his desire to kill her from across the room. Raveena wanted to meet his hatred boldly, but something about the Erra made her just want him to leave.
Raveena couldn't even begin to imagine what living that long would do to a person. Raveena knew some old, wise people, but they weren’t close to an Erra (they were known as gods for a reason, and lived almost as long). Erra have the vigor of youth and the wisdom of the ancients. Old age softened some but it made others as hard as a rock. Erra were hard, but they also had the cruel capacity of the young. They were strange, vicious creatures.
It makes sense, Raveena thought to herself. She supposed they would grow tired of being kind. Grow tired of being anything but playful with the young children that made up the other races.
She shouldn’t be here, yet here she was. The war needed to grind to a standstill so Raveena could focus on more important things.
The Hellfire as they called her, exchanged some words with the Erra. The Erra gave her one last hate-filled glare before vanishing from sight.
The Hellfire sat across from her. Raveena could tell the Hellfire hated her almost as much as the Erra but was keeping it in check for the good of her people. This was the Arrta only chance of survival. Raveena’s forces fighting the Hellfire had chipped away most of the young Arrta army, and Raveena had wiped out Viktoriya’s forces.
Raveena looked at the raven-haired Arrta across from her. Someday they would paint the soil with the blood of Arrta and Terran alike, but for now, they would smile at each other across a peace treaty.
“There’s good in you, Raveena, if you honor this treaty,” the Hellfire said, cocking her head so her hair fell to the side.
Yes, there is good in me. Raveena thought. But it is kept under lock and key and it does not come out for the likes of you.
All Raveena communicated to the Hellfire was pleasantness as she smiled.
“I am so happy you agreed to a truce for half a year. I’m really sure this is a great first start. We are really coming together.” Raveena said brightly, a smile plastered onto her face.
The Hellfire nodded.
Raveena felt faintly annoyed. Max could have seen right through her acting in seconds. Raveena shooed the thought away. Of course, she was glad this Arrta couldn’t see that she would turn around and finish her off as soon as her more pressing business was finished.
* - * - *
When the deal was done, Raveena went outside and made a line to the horse that Cy was holding onto. He looked at her with concern. She hadn’t told any of her advisors what she was planning. Cy usually knew everything since he wrote those encounters down as her scribe.
Raveena knew that no one would like the half year truce, but the Terrans could go half a year without bloodshed. Not much longer then that, but half a year was alright.
The Arrta had snatched up the deal. They needed time to rebuild after their defeat. Raveena needed time for what she was doing as well.
She prodded her horse into a gallop, entering a wooded area.
The Arrta were probably prepared for her to go back on her word. The Hellfire wasn’t a fool after all, only hopeful Raveena had sword a blood oath, an important thing for Arrta.
She had crafted up some outrageous story about having her full of blood and how she regretted a lot of the things she had done. Raveena had a lot of regrets, but she didn’t include the war as one of them. Maybe someday, but not now.
Raveena would go back on her word if what she was planning went quickly. She needed her troops somewhere different than the Arrta border.
Raveena knew the Arrta could be trusted. The words they spoke were like laws to them. Raveena felt a bit sad. She respected Arrta, but they would not respect her if she betrayed them. Honesty was their most prided virtue.
Raveena burst out of the tree line. Raveena stopped at the top of the trail before it started zigzagging down the steep hill. It was beautiful country. Dark pine trees stood proudly at the bottom of the hill. Teal colored buckbrush covered the hill, look deceptively low to the ground as the dirt path snakes its way through it. Everything was vibrant and lush.
Raveena clicked her teeth to get her horse moving. It was silly to admire the beautiful land when it would be turned into farmland when the Terran won.
The Terran will win, through our lies and might and deception. Raveena thought.
What would the Hellfire do when they were close to winning? Raveena wondered. Would the fierce girl challenge her to a Ushaan, Raveena thought with a laugh. Max had told her about the ritual. An Arrta he was interrogating had challenged him to one.
The Ushaan was a Arrta ritual invoked when a Arrta betrayed another, such as by lying. It was a brutal fight to the death.
Raveena could imagine the fight between her and the Hellfire. The two of them spitting insults and trading blows. They were both mighty enough women to desire the fate of kingdoms.
She wouldn’t mind fighting the Hellfire. Fighting made her feel alive and she was spoiling for one right now.
Raveena continued down the hill, heading towards her army. She had another battle to win.
* - * - *
“Raveena.” King Coul’s voice was cold as he looked down with amber brown eyes. He was seated on the throne like a god, but Raveena doubted the gods looked as thin and drawn as her brother.
There was no emotion in his eyes. Her brother had always been very meek, and no one had noticed how he had always seemed a bit different than everyone else. He sometimes seemed like he didn’t quite understand how to be human and was just watching and mimicking their behavior. He never could quite figure out emotions. He had never seemed to figure out lying as well. He had always said what came into his mind - always watchful and honest and not much else.
Raveena had loved him though, meekness and all. He was her brother.
“What are you doing back from the war front.” Her brother asked, voice monotone. He took after their mother in appearance. Everyone had always said Raveena took after her father in looks and her mother in personality, and vice versa for her brother. Then Coul had killed her mother and claimed the throne, and everyone had realized he had taken after his mother more than they had thought.
Raveena didn’t say anything, her red-hued sword was right in front of her. The tip was resting on the marble floor of the throne room. Raveena gripped the hilt tightly in her hands.
“You are here to kill me, aren't you.” Her brother said, cocking his head to look her up and down. His amber-brown eyes staid as calm as ever. He had the same expression on his face as when Raveena and him had played chess together as children and she had done a good move. He had expected the possibility, but though another was more likely.
Coul looked around the throne room slowly. “I suppose there is no use calling for my guards, you will have killed them.” He said matter of factly. “Has the army I have given you taken over this city.”
Raveena nodded slowly, looking down at her sword as it glinted in the light from high windows leading up to the throne. Some of her men where outside the door right now, waiting for the deed to be done. she had them spread around all over, spreading the news that there would be a new Emperor of the Terra soon enough.
“I thought you would take longer to defeat or treaty with the Arrta. My mistake. I suppose you might as well get this over with.” Coul said as Raveena started to make her way forward, hefting her sword off of the ground.
“I have one question.” He said as she was a foot away from him. “Do you love me? “ He asked. Raveena heard emotion in his voice for the first time in a long time.
“I do Coul, of course, I do,” Raveena said, her voice breaking as she pointed the sword at his exposed throat. “Just not as half as much as I loved our mother.”
With those words, she plunged the sword forward into Coul’s throat.
He gasped, blood dripping out of his mouth. He clutched at his throat as the sword was pulled out, blocking the wound from view. As if he wanted to look presentable, even in death.
Raveena waited for him to die, then gently lifted him up and took him off of the throne. She laid him on the ground, taking the crown off of his head with light fingers.
Raveena placed the crown in her dark hair and sat down on her bloody throne.
Written by: Kate (#109837) Edits by me