The Ascension

The envoy waited, and although a bit impatient, he remained quiet while within Aros. Without express permission from his king, he would not act foolishly. He was arrogant, but not stupid.  In his own opinion, the Kingdom of Teshele was the greatest kingdom in the world, with the greatest king on the throne.  His pride in his country was unshakable.

"Envoy of Teshele. You seem perplexed." The woman at the counter said as she served him a chilled glass of wine and some thick slices of iron tusked boar.

"A little." He said, and speared a slice of the meat with a two pronged fork. Once he tasted it, he was surprised. "Does all pork taste so good in this country?" The woman, an assassin assigned to basically work the front desk of the hall, lifted an eyebrow.

"I take it your elemental affinity is low." She said. "That's iron tusked boar meat." He looked at her carefully.

"You're not joking."

"Why would I? At least five of the goddess's servants can kill an iron tusked boar, not including that massive army her servant commands. Whenever they kill one, they take a slice off the belly and a leg, and send the rest to us to sell." She chuckled. "Our hall can serve our people good quality meat, and make good silver for ourselves, and her."

"Five? Not including her?" He asked, his appetite suddenly reduced by half. "It would take a good five core realm elementalists to kill one boar!"

"And she has five servants, plus the Queen of Death, and that army of hers, who can do it alone." She said, and grinned. "When you see the Queen of Death, try to be respectful, and do not question her Master, or her Master's right to decide anything. Unless you would like to know first hand what it is like to be a zombie soldier." She watched him shiver.

"We, of Teshele, are disdainful of Thules kingdom, and the Silver King. He is a fool who fell for the honey trap as soon as his ass was put on the throne." He snorted.

"However," He swallowed a lump that formed in his throat as he thought about the old country over the mountains. "No one in Teshele feels that way about the Queen of Death. She let our ancestors flee the cruelty of the old country, and we would dishonor them if we showed her any disrespect. If she requires us to show respect to her master, we'll show such respect." The woman smiled.

"It was just a friendly warning, Envoy of Teshele." She said. "Now look out in the room, and see the eyes of my people. Her people." He slowly turned his head and saw many unfriendly gazes.

"If you dared to be arrogant, you would not have lived long enough to meet the Queen herself. We would have sent your head back to Teshele with a request for a new envoy, and one who knows his place." She grinned. "We are quite grateful for her mercy, and the strength she has shown to us." The envoy looked back at her.

"Then why do all those people in the Capital of Thules kingdom still show her such disrespect, and you do nothing?" He asked. She shrugged.

"Aros is her closest trading partner, and as such, only those who do not behave in such a manner are allowed to be here. We've ejected many who tried to come in with their noses in the air." She started to wipe the counter with a last look around the bar.

"If they stayed, they would die, but she doesn't need to reap so many lives to fill the ranks of her army." She said softly. "She prefers peace, and guards it jealously." She pointed.

"You didn't even see the one against the wall, did you?" She said. He turned his head and turned pale. His stomach turned over, while his body started to tremble.

"Why didn't you say anything?" He asked in a hiss. "If I let out even a fraction of our disdain for Thules, would I die?" She smirked.

"You didn't, so you won't ever know the answer to that question." She turned away, and picked up a brush. She went over to the soldier, brushed off the dust, and picked up a sharpening stone. She took his sword off his hip, cleaned the slight amount of rust, and returned it to the sheathe.

"Are you sure it's one of hers? It didn't respond." He said. The soldier lifted it's gaze, and its eyes leaked death elements for only a second, before it was suppressed, and the gaze lowered again.

"As long as there is no malice, the soldiers do not respond. They allow us to take the dust off, sharpen their swords, clean their armor, or even paint it. One of our local artisans even went so far as to paint one of the soldier's armor black." She said with a smile.

"We respect our guardians, and do our duties. There is peace in Aros, and the fool who rebelled in the capital can not take root here." She said, and looked at the zombie soldier with respect in her eyes. She made a simple bow, and a salute with her fist to her chest in front of the zombie soldier.

"They have served the Queen of Death for tens of centuries, with no sign of rebellion. The Queen has done her duty for her Master for thousands of years. Sigh." The assassin said softly.  The envoy frowned.

"You sound a bit envious." He said quietly.

"I am." She said with a fond smile. "Imagine. Serving a good master for thousands of years. No death. Just being a good daughter to the Queen, or a good soldier. Can there be any higher honor for a soldier then to be entrusted to serve for hundreds of years with loyalty?"

The assassin heard a soft laughter, and turned as this laughter tickled her spine, while there was a light whisper at her ear.

'Go, Kiri. She will give you what you desire most.' The assassin stared blankly at the door, and turned towards it.  She was led to the door by the soft whisper at her ear, like a siren guided sailors to their doom.  Fortunately for Kiri, she was not led to her death, but to another form of life.  The whisper was soft, seductive, and stirred something deep within Kiri's heart.  The promise of the bite was in that whisper, and it made her long for it.

"Wait, where are you going?" The envoy asked. The zombie guard lifted its gaze, which stopped him from following, and while it followed behind the assassin. The others within noticed her odd look, and how she was escorted.

There were a few cheers around the hall, as they understood what was going on. This eventually drew the attention of the Hall Master.

"It was bound to happen eventually. Her loyalty has never been questioned, and her devotion to the goddess was nearly insane in its strength." He said, and thumped his fist to his chest.

"Serve loyally, Kiri."

* * *

'Sol.' Nuldeir said with a breath at her ear.

"Master." She said, her own breath ragged. Even having her Master whisper in her ear sent her heart to racing.

'I have a child coming to you. Bring her to your daughters. All of them. She will serve us loyally, and this is her reward.' Nuldeir said.

"Really, Master? A new daughter?" Sol exclaimed. "But why all of my girls?"

'She is already an adult. She must share in all of your pains and pleasures at the same time. I have a purpose for her, and she must endure.' Nuldeir said, and sent the image she wanted completed.

"Oh my. She will be my youngest, and shared among my girls." When she saw Kiri come around the corner, and smiled.

"Master, she is quite attractive. We shall enjoy this a lot."