Snakes and Ladders-40

Chapter 40

*** Kyte…

I was shocked more than Ilisa was when princess Shaya left me in charge and I could literally see Rafe stop when he heard that and he did a double take. He asked the men with him and he asked some of the men here and he looked at me with that look of disbelief and he smiled afterwards.

“Congratulations, it does seem that you’ve matured and that there was something that went on here that was a major battle.”

I know that smile’s a fake but I nod and I say. “This was far more than political rebels Rafe. It was filled with the dark races and we had a hard fought battle to take this place and even ended up doing battle with some of the traitors that support Lyam here too.”

He frowns at that and that at least is a good sign.

We might have our own politics going on but there’s still something to be said about those that would go that far as to ally with the servants of the C’thull and those leftover beasts and bastards from The Summoning War.

The Summoning War started in essence when our old nobility had ruled with a cold detached and aloof hand and that led to contention with the mage blooded. Now most Sylvan’s can use power to some degree but it’s inborn to us….nothing book learned but things like connection to elements in tiny ways or animals or plants.

Mageblooded are completely different as they have natural power and talent to do amazing things and master forces that are sheer and stunning. Some of those thought that those natural born powers meant they were at the least the equal to the nobility.

Or better.

The nobility disagreed and to top off all of that there were nobles like those from the Highwood family that had magical power in vast amounts and had secrets of crown magic that they held for themselves.

This led to open protests and then our realms getting plagued by monsters.

Things that we didn’t know were summoned through gates until the forces of the royals were thought to be so weakened that The Forsaken a cabal of dark mages that were blacker than black moved en masse to lead attacks that hit every moon and every serious city as they tried a coup.

We are a long lived people with a strange and complex biology, we do not breed overly fast and for such a large space that we occupy in our system we are few.

And in that first start of the war tens of thousands had died mostly innocents too and that started The Summoning War.

Long and bloody and mystical.

It claimed the life of the current High King’s father and his two eldest sons and heirs and it left Lyam and Dorian.

And on his deathbed Old King Jusitane chose Dorian the younger brother to become heir over Lyam.

And Lyam has pressed this affront with those that want power in the nobility…those who didn’t want change.

And he’s embraced the darkest of people and means to get the throne.

And this has been getting worse and worse and bloodier and bloodier and as a house of Skywood I’m caught in between things or I was.

Skywood is the second most powerful of the moons with economics and noble power and it was the seat that Lyam inherited as prince in waiting. He married into house Skywood and he had long courted us all with money and titles and gifts.

There are many that he has bent to hate and fear Dorian who upsets the order of noble title and such.

His children…A dragon rider now…A mage scholar that is building schools for the untitled and a huge free library…the next is a knight and mage but he’s a mage healer…one’s a thief and a smuggler…the lone daughter or once the lone daughter a commander in the stellar navy a force that’s sworn to defend the crown and the republic.

His wife High Queen Aeselani a woman of noble blood and zero property and monies no more than a temple maid and a barmaid from The Holy City sits on the throne with him and she dares to be the affronting woman who might just be the most powerful spell caster that we have seen in the modern age.

And she is also far too exceedingly fond of charity for the likes of too many people and she’s also said to be a subversive…a proponent of something called social democracy?

And now after everything my uncle has ever said and things I’d been told about how precious the balance of power is and how much the nobility are truly needed to steward the moons and even the holy planet I’m here…in temporary command and under rider Shaya.

On the other side of all the things that I was raised.

And then there’s Wren.

Erendae…tall, blonde, large busted and alien Wren.

The alien bit will drive a lot of Lyam’s supporters and court conservatives to a lot of anger once word gets out more and more about her existence.

They won’t like she’s a heroine already.

I’m going to catch nine kinds of hell for losing to her in our fist fight.

And they will still demand that I cross blades with her.

I’m far better than her.

I’m afraid at what they’ll ask of me to try and do to her in that bout.

Sigh…

I head out to see to the new men that Rafe brought and already I’m getting some looks from him to me from them and I was expecting that actually but they will follow my orders as long as he seems to agree.

I don’t like it but these are house troops and others loyal to us.

And while I’m knighted and I worked damned hard to be so it’s not the respect that I’m being accorded because I’m a woman and there’s a bias there that has only gotten worse over the years since the wars and women had been killed.

And as I said we are not the best breeders out in this universe.

Even here really when you look at things like the Goblins and the orcs that dwell here in the Darklands.

And thanks to our unfortunate dealings with The C’thull we know we’re far from alone in the universe.

And we have a space fleet too for more than just space exploration.

Though again those are crown secrets that rankle many people.

Rafe is actually doing a good job giving orders and he does have a fine sense of command and we’re going over things with the sergeant that he brought with him from Steadfast and there’s supplies that we actually really need here since it looks like we might be staying here in the military way at least for a long time and possibly using it as an in-forest base.

Rations and fresh food as well as potions for a dozen different things like purifying water and the likes and medical supplies and things to set up a small hospital inside and then there’s weaponry.

Fresh arrows and swords as well as new armor that we can use but also things like Starfire pistols and rifles as well as Starburst cannons.

A Starfire is an energy weapon, it’s essentially an ion pulse weapon that is powered by sylvan magi-tech and that we or those with the power to can recharge by pouring mana into it. Pistols have a set power and range and rifles have more and Starburst cannons are bigger and heavier and need a bracing tri-pod but they fire in much bigger and heavier pulses.

We have many sorts of magi-tech weapons but Star-series ones are those that are the ones made for us by The Sylvan navy. They’re deep blue crystal barrels and there’s wires and ward-circuits that you can semi-see inside if it and then the whole thing is done in a white ceramic with filigree of starflowers and the symbol of The Sylvan republic on the handle.

That’s a blue-white planet with The Great Tree on it and there’s silver points like stars around that represent the moons on which most of us live.

I’m looking at dome of these as we’re getting them in. As a knight I’ve learned some of these weapons but I’m not Republic Navy and the use of firearms is very much prohibited. Wartimes only unless you’re in The Republic Navy.

We used to have more, we had a whole era where sidearms were a thing and unfortunately it was well proved that there were more than enough members of our society that were not responsible enough to have such weapons as violence and so called accidents rose to numbers that no one was comfortable with especially in the wake of several mass killings where people just “Snapped”.

The ease of point and shoot lethality turned the tide.

It was one of the few times both the Highwood’s and the conservative families voted together.

I am not used to seeing things like this with so many weapons on this scale. It’s only been a few times in my career actually.

I look to Rafe who is looking over the weapons too and he has a tight look on his face as it’s not our house troops getting these but those sworn here and to the crown itself.

“They’re nice weapons aren’t they?”

He nods. “They are but it’s too easy to see where they go to and who keeps the power here in The Republic.”

“Our elders thought it safer that sidearms and more not be in the hands of everyone that could turn them to doing wrong.”

He’s making a face. “And what happens when the ones with the weapons turn into oppressors? What recourse do we have when the people have no power and through that no voice because all the power is rendered academic by the royals having all of the weaponry.”

“We have weapons and the royals I’m finding aren’t like that.”

He’s staring at me. “These same royals that put women in danger regardless of our population, regardless of how it endangers our whole race? And what good is a sword against a company with blasters when you finally have said too much, too openly?”

I look at him. “Speech is a protected right in The Republic.”

He just looks at me like I’m stupid then he walks away from me. “It’s all well and good for you to be here Kyte it really is given your condition but honestly…they’re swaying you. Filling your head with ideals that aren’t for the good of out race or for Skywood or for your family…think hard Kyte think really hard about just what you’re lending your sword to.”

I’m mad…it’s not like Ai don’t think about this all the time.

I do, I’m a childless woman and for me in my family that’s a waste and it’s a shameful thing for me to be and it’s just the fact of my birth rank that I could go and train for my shield…I’m not marriage worthy since any off spring that my husband would have been of another woman’s…and no house wants me because I cannot give heirs.

I think about family and politics and duty all of the time.

I clench and unclench my hands and watch him go and he’s talking to others and they’re shooting looks at me like…like I’m some stupid and silly girl.

Like I’m not worthy.

Even with disdain.

It makes me feel dirty and everything that I’ve worked and fought for seem small.