The Gift and the Warrior Chedda
In the time of the First Realm, the Region of the Green Forest and the Province of Midpoint around it, didn't exist. The area was part of a vast wilderness known simply as the Deezair Lontan, the Distant Wilderness. After the founding of the Second Realm there was a time of great expansionism and all the wild places of Tare du Maretch were tamed. It was at this time that the Palace of the Green Forest was constructed.
Designed as a Gronmayson, a regal villa, it sat at the centre of a small round valley about a kilometre across. Originally the valley had been filled with water and used as a sport lake with the palace growing almost organically out of the centre of the lake. Two large arched bridges gave access to the palace compound at the centre of the lake.
The Green Forest itself was encouraged to grow right up to the edge of the lake, bringing the possibilities of sport hunting to the door of the palace. And this, for a while was where the Clon Maelyeur, the aristocracy of their day, would come to hunt, fish and relax.
Over the years the Palace has fallen out of favour and the hunting elite has moved onto wilder pastures and more modern accommodation. Now the house is simply a Mayson du Warrior. Ten years ago the local Prince had gifted it to the Palace of Sunsets and now they use it as a permanent base in region.
The lake had been mostly drained in this time and the house now sits on a small hill surrounded by regular, if informal, gardens. What remains of the great sport lake is now a smaller fishing lake that runs along the edge of the Green Forest.
It is not the most elegant of buildings, especially now it no longer gracefully grows out of its lake, but it serves a purpose being now a focus for the Second Prime itself and the other Gifts and Warriors that support this growing movement.
It would be the place from which they would begin forging the new order. From here systems would be trialled that would roll out across the whole of the Second Realm, bringing stability to the lives of all citizens as they passed. And stability was the key. Now that the Second Realm controlled the whole planet it was necessary to allay the fears of the spacing community.
They expected the Prince of Princes to stretch her authority out into the planetary system above Tare du Maretch. This had not happened yet and the space-faring communities took some comfort in her reticence to control them. The Palace of Sunrises would turn its gaze skyward eventually, but not until the planet itself was calm and dancing to the music that it played.
This was not the case at the moment.
The Gift of the Lost Warrior and the Warrior Chedda were putting the first part of that control in place. And it started with a hunt.
"Where?" Damask asked, taking the glasses and scanning the valley below them.
They were standing on a cliff, inside the line of trees, looking down onto a wide river plain. The river was slow and sluggish here, this far from the sea and wide mud plains bordered it before beds of reeds and hardier grasses marched back to the edge of the forest that flanked the river on either side.
"You see the lone Pairn tree straight in front growing on that small boulder island?" Chedda asked.
"Yes."
"Right, follow it directly back to us until you come to that second boulder island midstream, the one shaped like a feyull. Got it?"
"Erm..." Damask said, then: "Yes!"
"Right, track forty-five degrees east from there. A small mud bank surrounded by reeds. The sport is there, drinking water from the river..."
"I see him! What a beauty he is!" Damask cried, then blushed as he realised he had shouted.
"No worry." The Gift of the Lost Warrior said. "The wind is blowing towards us, he did not hear."
Next to the Gift the two great Cairnay whined as they caught the sport's scent on the wind. Absently the Gift reached down and stroked the head of one of the beasts, it came level with its elbow. The Cairnay shook its head, large pink tongue flapping against its cheeks as it did so.
"They have the scent?" Chedda asked.
"They have him on the wind." The Gift smiled. "I fear if we were to let them go now they would leap the cliff to reach him!"
"They are that stupid." Chedda smiled, scratching the head of the second Cairnay.
"Where are the others, do you think?" Damask asked, handing the glasses to another man who eagerly located their quarry. "Are they still together even?"
"Our trackers said they were all together this morning and there is no need for them to change their tactics. They do not know we are following them yet. Although it is getting late." Chedda said.
They had started tracking this troupe of sports before sunrise this morning. Working from an old camp site they had been known to use along to the ridge where they stood now. The trek had been arduous, but also exhilarating. The fever of the hunt had taken them all at one time or another during the day.
This was the second time today they had spotted the troupe. The last time had been across a large clearing about five kilometres east of here. This was the first time they had seen them this close.
Hoping to locate the rest of the troupe, the Gift of the Lost Warrior cast its mind down towards the sport taking water from the river. It could feel his strength and power, that this one was the leader of the troupe was not in doubt. His physical presence gave testament to that, but his mind was also strong, reflecting the strength and agility in his body.
It was because of him and his tactics that this troupe had remained at large for as long as it had. Evading at least two previous hunting parties and the illusive poachers that were known to take sports and beef-ties from this region.
In fact this troupe itself had been poachers up until they had been trapped by the Warrior Graescin two months ago. At their trial it had been decided that their fate would be to become sports. To be hunted and perhaps poached as they had once poached in this forest.
The Gift pushed this one's mind for the rest of the troupe, forcing the sport to think of them. As soon as he pictured the other sports, the Gift followed the images, and it located them back in the forest. Three of them crouched low in the trees.
Where was the fourth?
"Three in the tree line directly back from the one at the river." The Gift thought to Chedda and he scanned the line of trees with eyes and then the second pair of glasses.
"I see them." He said out loud. "Directly back to the forest from the sport at the river then track south about half a kilometre. There are three of them."
"I... have them." The second man smiled. "It would be easier to approach them from the forest, I think. To use the river would only slow us down and perhaps reveal us to them."
"I think you're right, Mahtan." Damask said as he took the glasses and located the others. "Shouldn't there be four?"
"In the trees above the group." The Gift said. "I see him... ah, he is dead."
"It would appear they have returned to one of their food dumps." Chedda said. "We have noticed this when we release troupes of sports into meat-poor parts of the forest. They always select at least one of their own to feed the others."
"Interesting." Damask said. "And ironic considering they will also be food for us by this nightfall."
"But only if we catch them first." Mahtan smiled. "I fear if we remain here too much longer they will take their food and move into the evening gloom."
"You are right." Chedda said. "This trail leads down to the forest about a kilometre south of them. They will have moved by then, but the Cairnay will pick up the scent and lead us to them."
"I like these beasts." Damask said as they moved off along the trail. "Will you sell one to me?"
"Perhaps when they have bred." Chedda said. "These are the only two on the planet."
"In all of creation." The Gift of the Lost Warrior smiled as he slipped back behind the Warrior and Damask to talk to Mahtan.
"Well it has certainly made hunting exciting again!" Damask smiled. "When you are ready to sell one, put me on the list."
"We will." Chedda laughed. "Now, what tactics do you think we should employ once we reach the floor of the valley?"
"And are you enjoying this as much as Damask and my Pahtron?" The Gift asked Mahtan.
The trail was narrow here and had moved back into the forest of Tuyeau. They could walk two abreast, but only just. The Gift now walked slightly behind Mahtan.
"I am." He admitted. "I must admit when the invitation came to us we were unsure. But you have always been honourable with us, despite what happened to your other comrade. And you listen to us."
"It is my job." The Gift smiled. "To listen and to instruct."
"You are a fascinating creature." Mahtan said. "I saw the Gift of the Warrior Graescin, but never spoke with it."
"I belong to a group called the Second Prime." The Gift of the Lost Warrior explained. "We aim to integrate Gifts more readily into our culture. We are a part of it after all."
"There are some who believe you still to be the pets and playthings of the Warriors."
"And do you believe that?"
"Until I met and spoke with you." Mahtan smiled. "You have an aura of power around you that is almost physical."
"We are designed to lead." Lost Warrior explained. "It is just that we have done that from behind our Warriors up until now."
"And no longer?"
"No, no longer. Tare du Maretch has changed, Mahtan. The planet is on the brink of something wonderful. We need to make sure we lead our people into that fully aware of their potential. To do that we must be more visible."
"Hah." Mahtan smiled. "I saw that trick you pulled with the Warrior Chedda when we approached that old campsite this morning. You both really were invisible then!"
"It's a... mind trick." The Gift said. "Because The Warrior and I are so close genetically, we can do things like that!"
"Damned useful though." Mahtan smiled. "Shame we can't all have Gifts!"
"If that were to happen then your womenfolk would be a little unhappy, I would wager." Lost Warrior smiled.
"Oh yes." Mahtan laughed. "I had forgotten about that! No, I will keep my wife." He smiled. "Although I think it is she who is ultimately in control of that decision!"
The Gift smiled.
"You will take our plans back to your people?"
"We have a Sayons next week." Mahtan said. "I will put your proposal for the Consay du Clon to the clans then. It is an intriguing concept. The local Prince is in support of this?"
"She agrees in principle." The Gift sighed.
"Ah, then you have been on the end of her tongue as well, I see!"
"Yes." Lost Warrior sighed. "Commerce and trade are what is important to her. Politics is secondary to that."
"This Consay could increase commerce."
"Which is why she has given it her tacit agreement." The Gift said. "It will need to produce results, though, by the end of the year."
"Not long then."
"No."
In front of them the Cairnay suddenly crouched low to the ground and Chedda held up his hand. As one they all slipped off the path and into the trees. The Gift of the Lost Warrior and Mahtan found themselves pressed up against a small Pairn tree with the two ties that were carrying supplies for the hunting party. The tree had created a small clearing about itself and they waited silently here until Chedda gave the next command.
"The Sports are moving this way." The Warrior thought to the Gift.
"They would not take the trail up to the ridge, it is too exposed." Lost Warrior replied. "There was another trail about half a kilometre back, it led back along the base of the ridge, perhaps to a cave they have been using?"
"Then we will make our way there."
"How far from us are they?"
"One, maybe two kilometres." The Warrior said. "The Cairnay and I picked up their scent at almost the same time!"
"I will take Mahtan, Damask and the two ties. You and the Cairnay will hide our tracks, yes?"
"Yes."
"We have a plan." The Gift told Mahtan. "There is a trail we passed further back, we will take this. My Pahtron believes it leads to a cave the sports are using as a base. We will take up position there."
"Lead the way." Mahtan said.
He and the Gift slipped back onto the trail and met Damask. Together the three of them and the two ties fled back up the trail, finding the branch and following this. Behind them the Warrior Chedda and the two Cairnay turned their tracks into those of forest animals.
The new trail was dark and cold as it forced them into single file. It moved down the steep hill opening up suddenly at the base of the cliff. The Cliff that supported the ridge above had split in two and now formed a large wide and dry canyon. On the left the Cliff leading up to the ridge and on the right a jumbled mass of rocks, stones and plants that was so big it had forced the river beyond to loop past this place.
They clambered up this morass and hid themselves in among the boulders. The two ties and the Gift were highest up the slope with the two Clan leaders just below them. Once they were settled they surveyed their position more clearly. The path opened up here into an hour glass shape with the ridge on one side and the pile of boulders and rocks on the other.
A series of small caves climbed down the ridge with a largish opening visible at the base of the cliff. Tracks were visible, sport tracks, leading into and out of this cave. That this was the refuge the troupe had been using was clear to them all and they all took up position with their fuzeel pointing back to the cave.
A whirl of motion later and the Warrior and the two Cairnay ran down the path. The Warrior stopped and he and the two Cairnay looked directly up the morass to the Gift hidden behind a boulder. A moment later and the three of them darted into the cave, hiding themselves in its rear. They would flush the troupe out when they arrived, allowing Damask, Mahtan and the Gift to shoot them as they fled the beasts in their cave.
A hush settled over the scene for a moment, then normal noises returned. The wind blowing musically through the Tuyeau, the river running over and through some boulders in the distance. Birds in the trees on the ridge and occasional scurrying from small creatures in the undergrowth. The breathing of the people and Gift hiding at the top of the morass. And then the sound of footsteps from up the path...
The Gift counted them all. The big sport they had seen at the river was leading them, with the other three following. Two of them were moving slowly, probably carrying their meat for the day. They came into view and the Gift held its breath, relaying the image to Chedda in the cave.
The large male came down the path first. He was tall and broad and carried a makeshift spear. He waited at the mouth of the cave as the others of his troupe made their way into the cave. Two of them were carrying leaf wrapped parcels of what the Gift assumed to be meat. The other came behind them, also carrying a spear.
The leader waited while they all entered the cave then followed them in.
Just below the Gift, both Damask and Mahtan trained their fuzeel on the entrance to the cave. When the sports came running out, they would be moving fast and they would have to react equally as fast to bring them all down.
And then a roar from within the cave. A large, low, deep bark that was made all the more fearsome by the sound echoing around the cavern.
Screams from within and they came out at speed. The little one first, he came through the mouth of the cave and tripped, rolling out of the cave and into some bushes at the base of the morass. He picked himself up and was off down the path to the river before the Gift or his companions could get a shot into him.
The Gift relayed this back to Chedda and the Warrior directed one of the Cairnay after this man. Next came the leader of the group and the other two sports. They ran backwards out of the cave. The large sport standing in the mouth as first one and then the second Cairnay bounded past him. One disappeared down the track after the small sport, the second reared and leapt at the throat of one of the other sports. Modified fangs dripping the tox that would immobilise the prey.
The others on the hill left this sport to the Cairnay and took out the other two with their shots ringing around the small valley. The smaller sport went down at once, but the large sport turned and looked up at the three in the hill. He roared at them and brushed the tox dart from his shoulder before leaping on the first boulder. He was after them.
The Gift stood and aimed its fuzeel at the sport. He stopped dumbstruck, clearly never having seen a creature like the Gift before. The Gift fired and the dart found its mark. This time there was enough tox in his body and he fell back off the boulder into the arms of the Warrior waiting behind him.
"Yes!" Damask shouted, punching the air.
"Magnificent." Mahtan sighed. "I haven't felt that much alive in years! When he started to come up after us! I didn't know what to do! Thank Galaxia you stopped him."
"My pleasure." The Gift smiled as it clambered back down the hill after Damask with the two ties following more cautiously behind.
The Cairnay was sat next to the sport it had brought down, its tox and saliva still running down the man's neck. The four puncture wounds framed his larynx and streaks of blood now also ran down his throat. He was alive, but unconscious.
The second sport lay near to the entrance of the cave. Two darts clearly visible in his arm and shoulder. He was also unconscious. Chedda lay the leader of the sport troupe onto the ground. He too was toxed, but only immobilised. His eyes were still conscious.
"He still thinks!" Damask said. "This sport is a beast!"
"What of the one who fled?" Mahtan asked.
"Grenph!" Chedda called. "Decuptoor et deraytor! Claph, eday!"
The Cairnay sat next to them bounded off down the path and in a moment there was a dragging sound as the two beasts hauled their sport back to the group.
"I have to get me one of them!" Damask said. "They track, they attack, and they fetch! How good is that?"
"I'm beginning to agree with you." Mahtan laughed as the two beasts pulled their prey into the clearing at the front of the cave.
He was clearly dead. His throat was missing and the blood on the muzzle of the first Cairnay, Grenph, showed how that had happened.
"Looks like they have chosen their meat." Damask laughed.
"Help me throw him into the cave. We will leave them with their prize." Chedda said. "Mahtan, can you assist my Gift in stringing these three?"
"As you wish."
Chedda and Damask took one end each of the body and swung him back and forth in front of the cave, finally throwing him into the cavern.
The two Cairnay sat obediently to the side of the Warrior, their heads though were fixed on the body of the sport, rocking back and forth as the man was swung backwards and forwards. Even when the sport was thrown into the cave they waited, heads now trained on the entrance.
"Monzhe!" Chedda ordered and the two beasts bounded into the cavern for their reward.
"They will eat it all?" Damask laughed as he watched them leap into the dark opening.
"No, but what they leave we will return to the Palace and they can have there. It should keep them happy for a few days."
"At least." Damask smiled. "Now for ours, yes?"
"Yes." Chedda agreed.
The Gift and Mahtan had built a small frame from some poles in the packs the ties had carried for them. The three remaining sports were now hung upside down from the cross pole. The large leader in the middle and the two smaller sports on either side. Ropes bound their feet and lower legs together and their arms to their sides. The two smaller sports were still unconscious, but the large sport was clearly fighting the tox and glaring at them all, trying to will movement into his body.
"You want pictures?" The Gift asked.
"Yes!" Damask smiled.
He and Mahtan stood on either side of the large leader, one each of their arms wrapped around his legs with the other arm wrapped around the legs of one of the smaller sports. One of the ties took a picture with an apparay it produced from one of the pockets in his pack.
"You want us to prepare one of them now?" Damask asked as he began patting down the two smaller sports, checking which had the most meat."
"We should eat something now." The Gift said. "I will call the rest of the party, they will arrange for everything to be taken back to the palace."
"Which one?" Mahtan asked. "The big one is worthy of a feast of his own!"
"We will divide him between the two of you, yes?" Chedda said, coming over and checking him over. "He has enough meat. The Palace will take this one." He added indicating the man hanging to the right of the leader. We will prepare the other now for us and the others, yes?"
"Perfect." Damask said. "What about you, Mahtan?"
"Fine by me. He will make good eating this one. You will send us masks of each of them?"
"Yes." The Gift said, and we will have copies in the Palace as well.
"This one was a good sport." Damask said as he patted the back of the large man. "Very canny, I like that in my sports!"
"Me too." Mahtan laughed, slipping a flask from his pocket drinking some and then passing it to Damask. "We will remember this one for a while, I think. The way he started to come up the hill after we had shot him! Jax, that will be an image I will see in my dreams for a while now!"
The Gift smiled as it slipped a bucket under the head of the smaller of the three sports, then stepped back as Chedda took his two swords out of his own pack. He crossed them and placed them at the base of the sport's neck. there was a metallic slice as he drew the swords back and soon the sport's blood began to flow into the bucket.
Next to him the large sport began to sway as he fought his own battle with the tox.
"We should shoot him again." Mahtan said waving the flask. "He is coming around."
"The Gift smiled and flicked out with its tail. The talon caught the sport in the centre of his chest. He arched his back and then collapsed into unconsciousness as the tox took effect.
"Ouch." Damask said.
"We leave tonight." Selah said, releasing the Gift of the Lost Boy from his arms. "You will be ready?"
"Everything is packed for the journey." The Gift assured him. "All I have left is to finish Taeda."
"Then do it." Selah smiled, slipping off the bed. "It is time this whole affair was ended."
"I agree." The Gift said as it also climbed off the bed. "I will prepare him now."
"You need me to help?"
"No, I can manage this one all by myself." The Gift smiled. "You make sure everything is packed into the drone and sent on ahead."
"Ok." Selah said, coming around and pulling his Gift into a hug. "I love you with my life." He whispered, pulling the Gift into a kiss.
"And my life is your love." The Gift smiled when they pulled apart, completing the quote they had taken as their own. "Now go, before I pull you back onto the bed and make us both really late!"
"I'm going!" Selah laughed as he pulled on his deep red trousers and then hunted around the bed for his boots.
"Next door." Lost Boy smiled as it climbed into its own harness. "We took them off in there."
"Oh yes." Selah smiled, remembering where this session had begun. "I'll see you in a few hours, yes?"
"Yes." The Gift said.
It finished dressing, then sat back on the bed breathing deep of the room and the love they had made here. It would miss this place, but the Green Palace was a better base for them, that was already clear. The Palace of Sunsets belonged to all Gifts, the Second Prime needed a place of its own. A place where they could forge their unique talents.
A place where they could dream the future.
But, as Selah had pointed out, there was Taeda to deal with first. And this time it would be final.
The Gift of the Lost Boy pulled itself to its feet and made its way out of their small suite. Soon it would have a whole Palace to call home, and that made it excited. Lots of rooms to try out with Selah! And what it would do to Selah and have Selah do to itself was what entertained the Lost Boy as it made its way across the Palace to the room in the Tower of Gifting that held Taeda.
Since Taeda had last been conscious here the room had been cleared. Now only the Resurrection Tank at the end of the room remained. All the machinery, the makeshift kitchen, everything had been removed and put away. Taeda would not be repaired this time. This time he would go to his death.
Forever.
"Pahtron?" A tie asked as he came into the room with two others. They were pushing a gurney.
"I need him to remain unconscious." The Gift of the Lost Boy explained. "You can do this and clear his lungs and stomach of matrix?"
"Yes." The tie replied, going to a cupboard and removing some equipment.
"Then take him out." The Gift said.
It stepped back as the ties began their work.
One of them worked the control panel to the left of the tank and in moments the liquid in the tank began to drain. With the equilibrium broken, Taeda's body settled to the bottom of the tank. While this was happening, the other two ties donned rubber leggings and climbed up and into the tank. A tube was pushed into Taeda's mouth and another injected him with some tox that would, the Gift assumed, keep him unconscious for a while longer.
As the matrix drained away, the ties gently lowered Taeda's body onto the floor of the tank and the pipe in his throat began sucking matrix out of him and blowing air into his lungs, forcing his body to begin breathing air instead of the liquid it had become used to breathing. He coughed in his coma and this matrix was also sucked out of him by the tubes.
When his breathing had stabilised the tubes were removed and one of the ties in the tank gave a signal to the one on the outside. The Gift had seen this process himself at first hand. Warm water rushed into the tank, washing any residue of Matrix away from the tank and the man inside.
When the water was drained, the front panel of the tank slid into the floor and the two ties inside the tank climbed out and manoeuvred Taeda's body to the edge of the tank and then onto the gurney.
"He is alive and well?" The Gift of the Lost Boy asked as he approached the gurney.
"His body is functioning as expected." The tie who had remained outside the tank replied.
He was running recorders along Taeda's body, making sure his heart, lungs and other main organs were functioning properly.
"Brain functions?" The Gift asked.
"All responses are normal." The tie replied as he read some data from the scanner now resting on Taeda's head.
He had been in the tank for just over two months. This was important for the next and final phase of the Gift's plans for this man. And now he cast his eyes along Taeda's body appreciatively.
The man was beef!
And that was the point.
In a final flourish, Lost Boy had given Taeda the body of a second year beef-tie. A body sweet and at its prime, ready for the first cull; the meat known as young-beef was produced in this cull. Only larger beef-ties were allowed to live to the end of their third year. They would be culled and sold as mature-beef. Prix-ties were kept for a fourth year, but meat of that quality was reserved only for the Palace of Sunrises and some of the richer Clan Palaces.
Taeda was not worthy of third or fourth year beef.
"Take him down to the holding pens." The Gift ordered. "Prepare him there, call me when you are ready."
"Yes, Pahtron." The first tie said bowing.
The Gift of the Lost Boy smiled as it left the room.
The Gift of the Lost Warrior settled at the table with the other Gifts. They were sitting under a shade house on the lawns to the side of the Palace of the Green Forest. An arena had been marked out with rope in front of them and the Warriors were standing in the middle of this working out the order for the coming combat.
They would be taking part in a contest known as a Lutte. A wrestling match that had three rounds.
"I am taking wagers." Lost Warrior smiled as it helped itself to a glass of cold water from the tray.
It took a piece of fruit and squeezed the sticky juices into the water before sipping it delicately.
"And the odds are?" Another Gift smiled as it too reached over and helped itself to some water and fruit.
"Pretty much on Selaban winning the whole Lutte." Lost Warrior smiled.
"What, and not Chedda?"
"Hah, as much as I would like my Warrior to be the hero here, I grew up with Selaban, remember. He has three years on Chedda. He is bigger, stronger and more experienced in these contests."
"So," Another Gift said, "You rate my Warrior and the Gift of the Corsican Archipelago's Warrior higher or lower than Chedda?"
"That is the issue." The Gift of the Lost Warrior smiled. "I know both the Warriors Chaita and Micarn as well. They are both good fighters, but..."
"Clearly they do not have the mass of either Selaban or Chedda." The First Gift interrupted. "This contest is ultimately one of strength. I think also it will come down to Selaban and Chedda."
"Of course you would, Fire Mountains, Selaban is your Gift!" The Gift of the Corsican Archipelago laughed. "I think dexterity will play a major part in this so I will wager now that Micarn will get through to the Evening Set."
"Wager accepted." Lost Warrior said, pulling out a screen and entering some details. "Creds?"
"Are we going either way?" Corsican Archipelago smiled.
"Having doubts?" Fire Mountains smiled.
"Just protecting my money."
"Double-up for both ways." Lost Warrior said.
"Is that even fair?" Corsican Archipelago asked.
"If it gets you to make a definite decision it is!" Lost Warrior laughed.
"Very well, I will wager 100 creds on Micarn making the Evening Set."
"Fire Mountains?" Lost Warrior asked.
"If 100 is our ceiling, then 100 on Selaban to make the Evening and another 100 to say he will win the Lutte."
"Good." Lost Warrior replied. "I will match Fire Mountain, 100 on Chedda getting to the Evening Set and 100 on Selaban taking the Lutte. Silver Meadows, how will you fall?"
"This is a difficult contest." The Gift smiled, sipping some water, then squeezing some more of the vividly red fruit into it before taking some more. "I am not sure." It continued. "Both Micarn and Chaita are evenly matched and I have seen both of them take Selaban when stamina was all that mattered. Chedda is an outsider, I know nothing of his form. "
"But this is a contest of strength." Fire Mountain interrupted.
"Which is why I am putting 100 on Selaban to win." The Gift of the Silver Meadows smiled. "Much more than that I cannot say."
"All wagers are logged." Lost Warrior smiled.
The Gifts looked over to the arena. The Warriors had formed into two teams, Micarn with Selaban and Chaita with Chedda. A soldier from the palace was acting as referee and all had agreed that his word would be final. Micarn and Selaban took the arena first.
This set of the Lutte consisted of three fights for each Warrior. It was known as the Soldier Set since it would be fought clothed as soldiers fought, rather than naked which was the way Warriors preferred to fight. The soldier refereeing this round called out the starting call:
"Chay!"
And at once the two Warriors fell into each other, arms locking around each other's shoulders. This was a battle of strength and points were scored by getting your opponent's shoulders onto the ground. One point was awarded for each three seconds the shoulders were kept down with the round ending when one player scored three points.
Selaban was forcing Micarn backwards, but the smaller Warrior was quick. He suddenly let go of Selaban's shoulders and ducked beneath him. Selaban fell to the floor and Micarn leapt onto his back, holding him to the ground for the required three seconds.
"Point Warrior Micarn!" The soldier called out.
"Yes!" Corsican Archipelago laughed.
"It is just the start." Fire Mountains smiled. "Just the start."
The two Warriors came together again and this time Selaban was a whirl of motion. He gripped Micarn's shoulders and propelled him across the arena building up into a run that saw Micarn, who was being pushed backwards, stumble and then fall. Selaban fell onto him and held him down.
"One point Warrior Selaban!" The soldier called. "One point each the score."
Now the two Warriors locked arms again. As Selaban pushed, so Micarn twisted and they began a frantic spiral around the arena. Clearly previous tactics were not working and Selaban suddenly stopped. With all his might he hauled Micarn into the air, over his head and onto the floor behind him. Micarn slipped on the slick grass and Selaban fell onto him with a shout.
"One point Warrior Selaban! Two points Warrior Selaban, one point Warrior Micarn!"
The Gifts were all straining forward as the two Warriors locked together again. Once more Selaban began pushing and once more Micarn began spinning them around. Selaban attempted his lift again, equally as suddenly and equally as explosively.
Micarn was ready this time and instead planted his feet on Selaban's shoulders, slipping out of his grasp as he did so. Micarn suddenly dropped, his weight now fell completely on Selaban's shoulders as he sat on the Warrior, toppling him and holding him to the ground.
"One point Warrior Micarn! Two points each the score!"
"Now we are playing!" The Gift of the Corsican Archipelago laughed. "Equal points, Fire Mountain, equal points!"
"The set is won on the total of all rounds in the set." The Gift of the Fire Mountain replied. "Selaban can still win even if he loses this round."
"As can Micarn."
"Indeed." Fire Mountain laughed, helping itself to a piece of fruit which it placed whole in its mouth, sucking the juices from it directly.
It placed the rind on a plate.
In the arena, Selaban slipped forward, pulling Micarn into a hug. Then Selaban fell forward, taking Micarn with him, ensuring the smaller Warrior ended under him.
"One point Warrior Selaban! The Warrior Selaban wins the round with three points! Two points Warrior Micarn!" The soldier called.
"Excellent!" The Gift of the Fire Mountain laughed. "For a moment there, Corsican Archipelago, for a moment I thought Selaban would lose the round!"
"I hoped!" Corsican Archipelago laughed. "I always hoped!"
They all smiled and the next round in the Soldiers Set continued. The points from each round in the Set would be added together and the Warrior with the lowest points would leave at the end. In the final tally of the Soldier Set, Selaban won with 9 points, Chedda came second with 8, Micarn had seven and Chaita lost the set with five points.
The Warriors took a break before they started the next set, the Warrior Set. As they rested so they removed boots and trousers. This next set was a traditional Warrior match - and they were always fought naked. This Warrior Set would see each Warrior fight two fights, with the first round being fought between Chedda and Selaban.
They came together almost at once. Each Warrior was equally matched in mass, but Selaban was slightly taller than Chedda. At once they both rolled to the floor, with each Warrior trying to stop the roll on top of his opponent. Finally they hit the ropes with Selaban on top of Chedda. He held his rival there.
"One point Warrior Selaban!" The soldier called.
At once the two locked again, slowly spiralling around the arena. Selaban tried to repeat the trick he had used in the Soldier Set with Micarn and Chaita, he tried to flip Chedda over his shoulder. Chedda, though, was rooted to the ground and as soon as Selaban tried to haul him he slipped low, sliding through the larger Warrior's legs. With speed that made him invisible it was so fast, he span around and leapt up behind Selaban, using his momentum to push the taller Warrior into the ground.
"One point Warrior Chedda! Equal points!"
Again they faced each other, but this time they were not locked together. Instead they circled each other, arms outstretched, each ready to grab the other and force them to the ground. Selaban feinted a few times, but Chedda always darted away. On the third feint, though, he grabbed Selaban's arms, overbalancing the larger Warrior and pulling him straight into the ground, leaping on his back as he fell.
"One point Warrior Chedda! Two points Warrior Chedda, one point Warrior Selaban!"
"Oh, I don't know if I can watch anymore!" Lost Warrior laughed. "It is just too close to call!"
"Maybe we should just go and sit in the house?" Fire Mountain smiled. "I can't call it either!"
In the arena the two Warriors had hold of each other's arm, with their other arm raised behind them in an arc. They span around a central point like this, with each Warrior pulling the other forward in attempt to dislodge him. Their spinning became faster and faster and with each pull they leapt across the arena in one direction or another.
At one stage Selaban pulled Chedda forward and, instead of resisting the movement as he had done up until now, Chedda used the pull to launch himself straight at Selaban. He flew into the Warrior, his feet striking his chest and knocking him forcefully onto his behind on the grass. In a rush Chedda launched himself at him and Selaban fell backwards onto the grass, laughing as Chedda held him down.
"One point Warrior Chedda. The Warrior Chedda wins the round with three points, one point Warrior Selaban." The soldier said.
In the end Chedda won the Warrior Set with six points with Selaban coming second with five and Micarn losing the set with three points. Chedda and Selaban would face each other in the final set, the Evening Set, which always took place later in the evening after everyone had eaten and rested.
"Dinner will be ready soon." Chedda smiled as he and Selaban came over to the shade house arms around each other's shoulders. "We had a hunt earlier in the week and the chefs are preparing one of the sports we killed."
"You hunt here?" Chaita asked.
"It is what the place was originally built for." Chedda explained.
"I would enjoy that." Chaita said. "When you next plan a hunt let me know. I would join you!"
"There will be one in a few weeks." Chedda smiled. "A celebration for when the Warrior Sadath rejoins us."
"Oh yes." Selaban smiled, swapping Chedda's shoulder for the waist of his Gift. "How is he now?"
"He is out of the tank." Chedda replied, taking a glass of water and draining it. "When he has regained his strength he will come down here."
"I still can't believe Sidian Deserts tried to kill him!" Chaita sighed.
"Or the Warrior Graescin." Chedda added.
"Professor." The Gift of the Lost Clan said as the Professor came into the room. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel... wonderful!" The Professor smiled, using a phrase the Gifts themselves often used to explain their experience of life.
"And the Gift of the Rocky Islands?"
"Is beautiful." The Professor laughed.
"Are you blushing?" Lost Clan smiled at him, coming over and pulling the Professor into a hug.
"Yes." The Professor smiled. "Being Gifted is unlike anything I have ever felt before." He laughed. "To love so intensely. To feed my love to my Gift and then take its nectar in return... magnificent! I designed it to be like this, of course, but to be on the inside of all that work, all that calculation, it is... amazing!"
"And you should have done it years ago?"
"Centuries ago!" The Professor smiled. "But now, now we are here to return you to your love. You are satisfied he is healed now?"
"Yes." The Gift said.
It stepped away from the machines at the side of the tank that were relaying the Warrior's statistics to the screens and looked into the tank itself. Sadath floated perfectly in the middle of the matrix. He looked beautiful, beatific and also so completely wicked and sensual at the same time.
"Judging by your face you are looking forward to his return." The Professor smiled as he summoned some ties to come into the room.
"It has been just over three months." The Gift of the Lost Clan complained. "I have missed him so much!"
There were tears in its eyes.
This time it was the Professor who pulled the Gift into a hug.
"And you will have him back today." He promised. "I told you once, when you were still the human, Traes. I said that the Gift and the Warrior are balanced. You have great need of balance. I can feel the power surging through you even now. I feel your battle with that power."
"It is so difficult." The Gift of the Lost Clan said, stepping away from the professor and pressing its head against the glass of the tank. "I have such anger within me, such hatred!" It turned and looked at the professor. "I could reach out now and bring terror to this city. On my own I could destroy every last human on this planet - and I fear nothing could stop me!"
"Then what holds your hand?" The professor asked. "I designed you and your siblings to have such power."
"He does." The Gift sighed, turning back to the tank and pressing its hands against the glass. "For him I hold back. Because of him I stay my hand. Because every atom of my body craves him I stop and rethink."
"He is your balance."
"Yes. The desire of him is the desire of me. My desire is to be his, to be part of him." The Gift turned again and smiled at the Professor. "It is funny. I read words now, all of the time I devour them, but rarely does the meaning hit me as much as the meaning in that phrase. At last I understand what the Warrior Mencha meant when he wrote that."
"Although he was referring to his own Gift."
"The Gift of the Painted Mountain, yes. I have read its work as well. So sad."
"They lived and died for each other. There was no other way it could be." The Professor sighed.
"And his vision is my dream; of lust and late night love. His speech is my music; the verve to my life. His touch is my cloth; the finest doush. His scent is my aroma; it wraps about me like a fragrant wind. His taste is the flavour of my soul; I am tasteless without him." Lost Clan whispered the words of The Gift of the Painted Mountain.
The Gift had written these words not a month before both it and its Warrior were consumed by the disaster of the Epijanan Earthquake. Their labour had saved thousands in the initial quake and even now their deaths were remembered in the city of Epijana, celebrated in the whole Province. Their lives were now a celebration of all life that took place on the anniversary of the initial earthquake.
"I have attended the Selebrash du Mencha only once." The Professor sighed, coming over and putting his arms around the shoulders of the Gift. "There is no need to go again. A love such as theirs, a life such as the one they lived. It is beyond the imaginings of most humans."
"And I would have that with him, with my Sadath." The Gift of the Lost Clan whispered. "I would have verse and prose written about us, about our love."
"And it will happen." The Professor assured him. "You will lead this planet and its peoples to a glory none can even imagine. You will be as a God, I feel."
"And yet." The Gift smiled. "All I want is to feel his arms around me. To be a part of him once more. That is the only life I need."
"Then let us make it happen." The Professor smiled as the ties came into the room.
He moved over to the panel next to the Tank and began the cycle that would remove the Matrix. The Gift stepped back as the liquid began to drain and the Warrior sank through it. When it was half empty the ties climbed in and gently lowered him to the bottom of the tank. As the liquid drained away even more, the Gift climbed into the tank as well and took the head of its Warrior into its lap.
One of the ties passed pipes into the Warrior's throat as the Matrix drained completely away. Warm water ran into the tank and the Gift signalled that the two ties should leave the tank. When they were gone it used its hands and tail to wash the last of the Matrix from the Warrior's skin into the water.
Still surrounded by the water the Gift gently pulled the pipes from the Warrior's mouth.
"Cough!" It whispered, mouth close to the Warrior's ear.
The Warrior coughed.
"Breathe." The Gift of the Lost Clan said, pulling Sadath up its chest until the man was wrapped in its arms, in its love.
"Love me!" It whispered, and Sadath opened his eyes and looked into the eyes of his Gift.
His love.
"Where am I?" He asked.
"You are alive." Lost Clan said. "I saved you."
"I remember..." He said.
"There was a bomb." The Gift said. "You were injured. We were there, all of us. We brought you here. Saved you."
"I..." The Warrior began as the images and words from the gift merged and he saw what had happened. "Thank you." He said.
The Gift pulled him into a hug.
"How long?" Sadath asked.
"Three months." The Gift sighed. "I thought you were dead!" It screamed, and the thoughts cut into the Warrior's head.
He saw the pain, the fear. Understood the panic, the control.
"What have you all done?" He asked.
"We had to take control of this." The Gift told him. "There was no other way."
"Where is the Professor?"
"He has his Gift. He is here."
"And the Master Warrior?"
"Nothing has changed." Lost Clan told him, pulling him into a hug. "Everything is different." It added.
"And the Second Prime?"
"They are waiting for us, in the Palace of the Green Forest." Lost Clan said. "Come on. I need to love you."
The front of the Tank sank into the floor and the Gift helped the Warrior into a chair.
"I'm so weak!" Sadath laughed.
"But not for much longer, I think." The Gift thought into his head.
He took the chair and wheeled it out of the room and off to their suite.
The Professor smiled.
"Clean this." He told the ties, then left to find his own Gift.
"I don't think Graescin and the Gift of the Sidian Desert actually wanted peace in this region." The Gift of the Lost Warrior said. "Unless we are being extremely naive, I can't see what the problem was. They were all talking tonight, Chedda. Representatives of the Prince and the Clans. Tivians and Troubians."
"I think you are looking too closely at the problem." Chedda said.
He came across the balcony and wrapped his arms around the Gift.
"Ask yourself instead what Graescin and the Sidian Deserts would gain by having unrest here."
"It would draw attention away from something or somewhere else..." The Gift said.
"Exactly. And planting the bomb that almost killed Sadath was part of that, although they moved too quickly with that one."
"Why, we were not a threat then, were we?"
"Potentially." Chedda smiled.
"So what are they hiding?"
"That is what we have to discover. If Graescin and the Sidian Desert were down here stirring up trouble, who was working with them on whatever else they were planning?"
"I seriously need to talk to Lost Clan." The Gift of the Lost Warrior said. "I am not used to all this subterfuge!"
"No, and what with the troubles spreading now to Helias Province, you have to ask yourself if there is a wider conspiracy."
"Stop!" Lost Warrior smiled. "It's late. Our guests have gone to their beds and I think we should do the same."
"You don't want to enjoy the evening anymore?"
"I can think of other ways I would like to enjoy it."
"Such as?"
"Such as having my Warrior take me away to ecstasy!"
"Oh yes. We could do that, couldn't we." Chedda smiled as he nuzzled the Gift's neck.
"Just take me to bed!" The Gift of the Lost Warrior ordered.
"As you command." The Warrior smiled as he picked the Gift off its feet and carried it back through the open doors into their suite.
"I can't wait for the others to get here." Lost Warrior sighed as Chedda settled him onto the bed. "This bed is way too large for just you and me."
"We can be a little more... active, if you like." Chedda smiled as he slipped off his trousers and crawled onto the bed with the Gift.
"That could be fun." Lost Warrior smiled as he and Chedda removed the harness.
Chedda suddenly leapt over the Gift, straddling his love. His quill was hard and as he leant over the Gift's body, he ran it along the Gift's stomach and up his chest. He pulled the Gift into a kiss.
The Gift smiled, it's tail slipping around the Warrior's waist, slipping across his skin as if it were a serpent. Its hands ran along Chedda's body, running over his muscles, pulling him tighter and closer into its body. Then, with all its strength it held onto the Warrior and rolled him onto his back. Now the Gift straddled his love.
Tail began playing across the Warrior's chest as the Gift used its tongue to taste its Warrior. Slipping down neck and across chest from nipple to nipple, biting each one playfully before moving back to the other. Chedda just smiled and groaned with the pleasure his Gift was awakening in his body.
The Gift moved down his belly now, licking the muscles there, tail flicking across his belly button, talon glistening with the tox that would bring more pleasure soon. And then the Gift wrapped its slender fingers around the Warrior's quill and began massaging slowly and gently. Tongue flicking across the head and licking off the pre-cum waiting there before its mouth enveloped his balls. Playing with each one gently and slowly.
Tail now slipped down between the Warrior's legs and began to seek his hole there. It pushed slowly and insistently against him. The tox on the tip lubricating the way before first the talon and then the tail itself snaked inside the Warrior. Chedda gasped, as he always did, when his Gift entered him. A moment later a rush of warmth as the tox began playing with his prostate, wrapping around his balls, slipping up into his brain.
The Gift slipped his quill into its mouth, taking the whole length and lubricating it with its saliva. Then it sat forward and settled down over the head of the Warrior's quill. Chedda smiled again as he entered the Gift and the Gift itself sighed as the Warrior began thrusting into and out of its Prostatae.
The pleasure was shared now, but the release would be the Warrior's first. As the moonlight slipped across the edge of the bed, so he came, exploding into his love. The Gift laughed then, still rocking as the Warrior pumped it with his essence. Then it lay down across the Warrior, pulling him into a kiss.
"You will stay with me?" It whispered as they parted.
"I have no plans on going anywhere without you." Chedda smiled.
The Gift nestled against him, tail still pushed deep into its love as the ecstasy swept across and took it away to its dreams.
"Time to wake up, Taeda."
Taeda opened his eyes. He drew in a deep breath and then tried to speak, nothing!
"You will notice a few modifications this time." The Gift of the Lost Boy said as it walked around Taeda.
They were in a cold concrete room. There was a smell of musk here, strong and invasive. The light was low and no-one else was here, just Taeda and the Gift who had become his tormentor. Taeda could hear noises though, beyond the only door to the room. The light was brighter there as well.
A heavy metal collar had been placed around his neck and it was currently tied to a large metal loop on the wall. He tried to move his body, but quickly realised that he had no control over his muscles at all.
"So," The Gift said coming around and standing in front of him. "You are in my control still." It smiled. "This is the end, Taeda. You will die soon, as you have asked me to do so many times already. Let me explain how, though. You have been in the tank for almost two months this time, I had lots of changes to make to your body. And now, now Taeda, you are a beautiful man."
The Gift held up one of Taeda's arms and Taeda could see the musculature, see the strength in that arm. If only he could control it he would show this Gift, break free of this place - but the tox held him.
"You're whole body is the same." The Gift said. "Let me show you."
It went to a wall behind Taeda, then returned with a large mirror which it placed in front of Taeda. The man wanted to scream, but he could not. He wanted to fight, but he could not. He wanted to run from the image in the mirror. Wanted to escape this place, for what stared back at him from the mirror was the muscled, bulked-up body of a beef-tie!
Finally he knew his fate.
"Now you understand." The Gift said. "Now you know how it will end, the same way as it did for the ties your murdered. We are in the processing plant beneath the Palace of Sunsets. You and several other beef-ties have been brought here for processing. There is a feast tonight, and you are on the menu, Taeda." The Gift laughed then. "First though, first there is something else I need to do. I have grown you to be perfect Taeda. And your hide is also perfect, smooth and flawless."
The Gift smiled then left the room. Taeda tried to fight the tox, but it was too strong. Matched to his bulk perfectly. The Gift had left the mirror leaning against the far wall and the image there mocked him with its beauty. He was beef.
He was beef!
The Gift returned in a moment with another man. The lights came up as they came into the room and the man came straight over to Taeda, began running his hands along his body appreciatively.
"You were not lying, Pahtron." He said to the Gift. "The hide is flawless." He turned Taeda around, and the man's body obeyed as the tox had been programmed to do.
The tanner ran his hands along Taeda's back, down to the top of his legs.
"Beautiful." He mused.
"There is enough hide there?" The Gift asked stepping in to inspect the skin as well.
"You only want one pair, yes?"
"That is all my Warrior needs." The Gift replied.
"Then there is enough." He pulled out a pen and scribbled something onto Taeda's chest. "Instructions for the butchers." He told the Gift. "I need the hide to start from here." He added indicating a point high on the top of Taeda's neck. If I don't remind them they will put the blade guides too low on the neck and ruin everything!"
"This is your area of expertise." The Gift said, looking into Taeda's eyes and smiling. "I bow to your superior knowledge."
"Thank you." The Tanner said. "I will stay with it through the process as well, I think." He added. "My men and I will need to work on it before the butchers get their knives into it. As soon after slaughter as possible."
"Very well. And how long until the hide is ready?"
"If we take it off today I can have it sent to you by the end of the week, jen?"
"Jen." The Gift said. "If you have it marked for my attention and sent to the Tower of Gifting here in the Palace it will reach me."
"Very well. Shall we begin?"
"Yes." The Gift said.
Taeda tried to fight, to pull away, but he was trapped by his fate and the tox running through his spinal column and the primary motor cortex in his brain.
The Gift released the rope holding him to the metal loop in the wall and gently pulled him forward into the next room. Taeda's legs complied and he walked forward. The room they came into was larger. Three other beef-ties were already tied to some metal loops at the other end of the room. One of them was being washed down by some ties.
Even as Taeda was fastened into another metal loop the men led the first beef-tie into the next room. The door to this room was a wide arch and the room beyond was in full view of the waiting pen that held them now. A large metal ring stood in the centre of this room and the beef-tie was lifted into this by two ties as its wrists and ankles were strapped into bracelets by another tie.
When they were happy it was secure, and supported within the wheel, a metal crown was placed over the head. This was attached to the top of the wheel by a short metal bar and served to keep the whole head still. Next a necklace was snapped around the base of its neck.
The necklace was in two parts, an upper and lower section. This was the blade guide. When the Processing Wheel moved into the next room, the blades would slice through this necklace, precisely separating the head from the body; killing the beef-tie instantly. The Wheel began to rotate so the head was now facing down. When the turn was complete, the men controlling the wheel injected the beef-tie with some tox and the creature visible relaxed into unconsciousness.
Taeda began screaming again, but nothing came out of his mouth. The ties came back into the holding pen and began washing down the next beef-tie in line. All Taeda could do was stand in line as mindless and compliant as the other beef-ties awaiting their fate.
"I know you want to see the whole thing." The Gift whispered into his ear. "But the next phase takes place in a different room. Still," The Gift added. "You know what happens, don't you? You put five ties through this yourself, didn't you."
The Gift laughed quietly as the next beef-tie was taken into the room beyond and put into another Processing Wheel.
"And the tanner assures me." It added to Taeda, "That your hide will be transformed into the finest leather. Only the best for my Warrior, Taeda, and in the end, you will serve the whole community as is fit. Your body will feed our people and your hide will clothe my Warrior. Thank you, Taeda."
It laughed and then stepped to one side as some men came over with buckets of warm water and began washing down Taeda.
"Careful with this one." The Tanner said as he came back into the room.
He had changed into a heavy butcher's apron and had a pack over his shoulder now, carrying the knives of his trade. Taeda could see some of them gleaming in the low light. The arc of a particularly sharp looking blade stuck out of the side of the pack.
"Its hide belongs to the Gift over there." The Tanner continued. "Damage it and you will have to answer to it, jen?"
"Yes, Pahtron." Both men said as they began to clean Taeda more gently.
"You want to see how it all works?" The Tanner asked.
"I will stay until it is slaughtered." The Gift said. "Then I must be away on other duties."
"Very well." The Tanner said.
He indicated for the Gift to lead the way into the next room and Lost Boy stepped through as the third of the beef-ties was strapped into its Processing Wheel.
"Have you seen a processing before?" The Tanner asked as he came into the room as well.
"No." The Gift admitted. "I know what happens, of course, but have never seen it."
"Most people cannot watch it. They do not like to see their food killed. Never understood that, myself. Are you squeamish?"
"Not at all." The Gift smiled.
The wheel holding the beef-tie rotated and it was injected with the tox. When the injection had been administered, the man controlling the wheel pressed a button and the Processing Wheel slipped along a track in the ceiling through a ribbon door into the next room. A new wheel rolled into the room and locked into the starting position.
A moment later and Taeda was led into the room. His body following the prods and pushes from the men handling him. He was lifted by two of them and attached to the wheel by his wrists and ankles, then his head was secured with the metal crown that was attached to the top of the wheel.
The blade guide was attached high on his neck, just under his chin as per the instructions the Tanner had scribbled on his chest. When it was done, the Tanner wandered over and made sure it was in place correctly.
"Good." He said. "I need to go and prepare myself." He said to the Gift. "Bring the carcass to room 4b after it has been bled." He told the man controlling the wheel.
"Yes, Pahtron." The man said as he injected Taeda with the tox.
Taeda screamed silently again as he realised the final agony and, as the wheel rotated he could see the Gift smiling at him. There had been only saline in the injection given to him. He would go into the processing room fully conscious!
"If you want to see the processing, Pahtron." Another man said holding open a door for the Gift. "You will need to come through here."
"Thank you." The Gift of the Lost Boy said as he walked through the door.
It was a small room with some chairs arranged along a wall looking through a window that itself looked down onto the processing floor. This was a large space that dealt with the processing of beef-ties from the moment of death through the jointing of the beef and the preparation of the different organs. The whole process was automated and could be run by no more than four Toreau-ties.
Already the Gift of the Lost Clan could see the progress of the other beef-ties through this space. The Processing wheel carrying the first of the ties was already laying horizontally with the body of the beef-tie on its back. Knives on the table it lay above began to remove the body from the Wheel by cutting through wrists and ankles with their sharp blades. Its internal organs had already been removed and the chest cavity was open to the room as the body fell onto an automated gurney. This moved off at once to another part of the room where arms and legs would be removed and jointed.
The Wheel carrying the body of the second beef-tie was also horizontal, but it was flipped so it was front down over a large low table. This was the machine that opened the chest and belly to remove all the internal organs. The third beef-tie was still upside down against a wall, with a bucket collecting the blood from the body through the arteries of the severed neck.
The Gift looked back to the start of the processing line as the Wheel carrying Taeda came through the ribbon door and clunked to a halt over a large table. The table opened and the Wheel sank into it, lasers on the table keying to receptors on the blade guide about Taeda's neck. The Lost Boy strained forward to watch the scene. Taeda's back was to him, but that was fine. This was the final moment. His release would come with Taeda's death.
The machines were content, a warning claxon sounded briefly then the blades shot across the table space in less than a second, passing precisely through the blade guide. To the Gift of the Lost Boy it looked as if nothing had happened, but a moment later and the Wheel rose out of the table. Where Taeda's head had been was now a large container on a short pole, collecting the blood that was now draining from Taeda's body.
The Wheel moved over to join the Wheel holding the third beef-tie that was still being bled and, as the Gift of the Lost Boy watched, it fell back into one of the chairs and reached up to wipe the tears that were now flowing freely from his eyes.
Taeda was dead.
Janah was dead.
Everything that had come before the Gifting was dead.
At last...
Freedom.
And one last thing to do, but that would come later, once Taeda had been fully processed.
The Gift stood and left the room.
Sadath stirred as he woke. He was still lying on the bed he had shared with the Gift of the Lost Clan. The Gift itself, sat next to him on the bed working on a screen, its tail was looped around the Warrior's waist. It put the screen on the bed as the Warrior woke, then slipped down and pulled the man into a hug.
"How do you feel?" The Gift whispered.
"Fulfilled." Sadath smiled. "Your nectar is, as always, beautiful."
"And I have so missed giving it to you." Lost Clan smiled, kissing the Warrior on his nose. "Let's hope it gives you some colour! You have become pale from so long in the Resurrection Tank!"
"And some strength!" Sadath laughed. "I still feel as weak as a baby!"
"That will come." The Gift assured him. "A side-effect from being in the Tank. You need to rest when you come out so it saps your energy for a while. You will be back to full strength tomorrow."
"And then I can begin training again."
"Oh, yes." Lost Clan laughed. "I need you to keep your strength up!"
"I bet you do!" Sadath smiled. "What were you working on?"
"Oh, a problem posed by the Gift of the Lost Warrior."
"What has happened?"
"Nothing, but it thinks that Graescin and Sidian Deserts were creating a diversion to keep eyes away from their real work. It wants me to do some snooping around, see who they were working with."
"You think this is the case?"
"I believe it to be so. Chedda and Lost Warrior are finding it easy to implement the political changes we have planned in Midpoint. There is no resistance and little rebellion now, it is as if the people have wanted this all along. It becomes clear that Graescin and Sidian Deserts may have been stirring up or misreporting dissent."
"If that is true you should tell the Master Warrior."
"Not yet." Lost Clan smiled. "I need facts first. I thought Sidian deserts and Graescin accepted their defeat too easily. As if they knew their real work was still hidden."
"Well if anyone can uncover what they are doing, it is you." Sadath said as he pulled the Gift closer to him. "But at the moment it is an hour to sunrise. What do you think we should do?"
"Well you have a lot of lost time to make up on!" Lost Clan laughed. "I suggest you start working on making it up!"
"My thoughts exactly!" Sadath said as he rolled onto the Gift and pulled it into a kiss.
Next to them the screen slipped off the bed and onto the floor.
"What is it?" Chedda asked as he came into the room.
Lost Warrior was reading a report on its screen and not looking happy.
"We appear to be moving closer to true motive for Graescin and Sidian Deserts."
"Which is?"
"Not sure at the moment. But we know that their allies control palaces in all the central regions. To the West of Troubian all of the palaces in the Provinces of the Western Marches, Angel Peninsula and Tyler are controlled by their allies. And in the to the East of Troubian all the Palaces in the Provinces of the Eastern Marches, Logan and Michigan Pass are controlled by this group. Lost Clan is calling them the Sidians." It smiled at Chedda.
"Jax!" Chedda said. "That is what? More than eighty regions! And what are they planning?"
"That is what is not clear." Lost Warrior said. "We need to attempt a complete concert, all six of us."
"Why?"
"Because we can slip into the mind of one of the Sidian Gifts, find out what they are planning and, more importantly, when."
"Jen, but that will not happen for at least another two weeks. Is there time?"
"Lost Clan thinks we have time yet. Whatever Sidian Deserts was planning it has been delayed by their betrayal. Now they are off planet for a while it should be even slower."
"But they will return in a month."
"Which is why we need to know what they are planning by then."
"Jen, but I'm worried now!"
"It will be fine." Lost Warrior smiled, putting the screen down and reaching out for its Warrior with hand and tail. "It will be fine. Look at what we have already achieved here."
"Jen." The Warrior sighed, relaxing in the hug of his Gift. "I just wish the others were here with us."
"Lost Boy will be here by the end of the week. And Lost Clan by the end of the week after. We have time."
"That gives us two weeks!"
"Plenty of time." The Gift of the Lost Warrior smiled.
"And in the meantime?"
"We carry on with business as usual."
"Easy for you to say. You are not the one standing in front of the populace trying to reassure them everything is calm!"
"Everything is calm." The Gift noted.
"You know what I mean!"
"It is your job to be judge for these people." The Gift smiled. "Why should that be an issue for you?"
"Because I am the face of the Second Realm." Chedda said. "All my life I have trained for this, but to actually sit in judgement, it scares me!"
"I am here." The Gift said.
"And you should be there with me!"
"Is that wise?"
"You can act as my advisor." Chedda said. "I can still judge, but you can advise..."
"We are trying to be more visible."
"Exactly." Chedda smiled. "Come on, then." He said standing up.
"You want me out there now?"
"Yes." Chedda said. "Help me relieve the boredom, please!"
"Jen." The Gift smiled, pulling him into a kiss. "But only because it is you, you understand."
"Completely." Chedda smiled.
He led the Gift out of the room and back into the hall.
They were in Carsen, the central settlement of the Carsen Peninsula Region, some fifty kilometres north of the Palace of the Green Forest. There was no Palace here so they held court in the Gronsail. A large building that was used to house all the functions of government for the region.
Knowing a Warrior was here everyone, it seemed, had turned out to air their grievances and Chedda had been swamped for the whole morning with border disputes, grazing rights, marriage disputes and petty theft. He was becoming bored of the everyday nature of life out here in the regions!
Having his Gift with him - it would certainly make things more interesting. At least he could look at the Gift and work out what they would be doing later when it all became too boring!
There was a gasp from the audience as the Warrior entered the room followed by the Gift. The whole court was standing as the Warrior entered, but now they remained standing watching as the Gift settled into a seat just below its Warrior on the dais. This was a creature of legend! A creature of mystery and beauty! All had heard of them but very few, less than maybe two of the two hundred in the court had ever seen one. And then never as close as this!
The Warrior was tall and broad, dressed in his ceremonial clothes. Deep red leather trousers, large black belt fastened with a buckle of gold and lead. High black boots that came up almost to his knees, again sealed with alternating bands of gold and lead. Silver bracelets adorned his upper arms and a collar of gold, signifying his rank as Warrior Judge, lay across his shoulders.
The Gift was even more splendid in comparison, despite being less richly adorned. It was tall, taller than the Warrior and only slightly less broad than its Pahtron. Its skin was pale, at once grey, white and slightly luminescent, as if it throbbed with its own energy. It was completely hairless and its head was elongated slightly to make room for the large eyes that dominated the face.
The body was human, although much more slender, almost serpentine in nature. Arms were strong and long and legs were sturdy and equally long. It's tail arched behind its back and, at its tip, a single talon could be seen, sheathed slightly by the tip of the tail.
The creature wore a black leather harness that consisted of a low-slung belt, a collar and a front and back piece. The black leather was a stark contrast to the paleness of its skin. Held in place by loops of sliver, its quill rose up the front of its body. An organ that was at once sexual and also not sexual on this alien body. Beneath the quill a cage of gold wire, lined with red doush, wrapped around and protected the creature's Nectaria.
The tail was connected to the back piece of the harness by a series of leather straps that were attached to golden bracelets on the tail and the front and back pieces of the harness were joined together by the finest silver chains. A silver and gold chain had also been placed around its forehead.
It sat and looked out across the audience, its face expressionless. Beautiful and demonic in the same instance. Was it human? Some believed it was, others that it was one of the other five alien races, come here to study humanity. An angel perhaps?
Perhaps.
For the rest of the afternoon as the Warrior sat in judgement, the Gift remained impassive. Half the audience were concentrating on the Warrior, while the other half concentrated solely on the Gift.
The last case of the day was a complicated one. Land, on Tare du Maretch, belonged not to individuals, but rather to the Clans. The Clan elders would parcel out the land in tenure for set periods of time. There were many and complicated rules that governed the management of land and it was rare that a land dispute within a clan came to a court such as this.
More often, as was the case now, the dispute was between Clans. Arguing over the ownership of land that fell between the boundaries of both Clans. In this case one Clan, the Clan Svensar laid claim to a strip of land that ran along the coast to the north of the settlement. This land gave fishing rights to the sea beyond and the seas around here were rich in meat and other produce.
The land had belonged to the Clan Skavin and was the only access this Clan had to the seas. Through marriage the land was shared between both clans but now the marriage had ended and the ownership of the land had fallen into dispute. The representatives of both Clans handed their final summaries in to the Warrior and he had spent the last half our reading them, then passing them each to his Gift.
At the end he looked out across the room.
"This case appears to be driven by anger, hatred and a desire for retribution on both sides." Chedda said. "It appears to be more about the breakdown of the marriage than the land that was shared as part of that marriage. None of these emotions serves either Clan well and it makes me question the validity of either Clan's claim over this strip of land. Having read the final assessments I can see nothing that offers any clear way forward."
He stopped to look out over the assembled people.
"My Gift here." He added, "Tells me that in cases such as this where neither party is willing to negotiate or consider a compromise, the disputed land is returned into direct management of the Prince of Princes. In making my judgement today I have considered this option as well."
He paused again, then stood to make his final judgement. The audience stood with him, as did the Gift and all other representatives of the court.
"Hear this, in the Court of Carsen, in the Region of Carsen Peninsula, in the Province of Midpoint and in the presence of the people of this region, I Chedda Notus Troubiare, Warrior of the Palace of Sunsets, Judge of the Prince of Princes pass this judgement. The land known as the Sublar Dore, is ceded back to the Prince of Princes and placed under the management of the Consay du Clon. The Consay du Clon will administer this land as they see fit in accordance with their administrative remit. This is my judgement. I am the law. I am Warrior."
He bowed to the audience and then turned and left the room, his Gift followed him.