Sex, Lies and Conquest

Untitled part

Ch-1: First Strike

The two guards on night patrol were truly an unlucky couple. One had welcomed his first child into the world, and the other was there because of an unlucky roll of the dice. The night was hot, and soon it began to drizzle. The guards finished their hourly rounds and sat by the fire, with their hoods raised to shield their eyes from the rain.

"How is your boy?" asked Lorben the veteran of the two.

"Oh! He's beautiful, looks just like his mother and strong as an Ox already..." replied Mogul with the same enthusiasm that new fathers have. "He'll make a General in the army, just you see."

Lorben hawked and spat into the fire, "Don't fool yourself, boy, your son will be like his old man. Walking these borders until his back gives out and have this same conversation with another unlucky bastard who is with him at the time. Don't expect anything from our betters."

Mogul simply smiled, as he knew that Lorben was plagued by the various wars he had fought. His father served during the time of the great conquest, and he took up his father's mantle soon but killed his career prospects for being too cynical and critical of the policies of the army. He was old and was too stubborn to know that he should retire.

"Now, now, Lorben, it isn't a crime to dream now is it?" Mogul asked.

"With the way this war is going, it may just remain that... a dream," Lorben replied in an ominous tone.

He rubbed his hands against the flame and whispered, "Her armies will take back these lands." A steady plume of steam exited his lips as he said these words.

Mogul slapped his back with a laugh, "You're a rather glum old man, come now, I'll treat you to some ale after we are done. A fitting celebration for a new father."

The arrow glided silently and thudded against Mogul's throat and pinned him back against the stone wall. It took a while for Lorben to realize that his companion was dead, and before he could raise the alarm, a large hand covered his mouth and snapped his neck. Lorben was dead before he registered the pain.

The large muscled man covered in rain and mud stood over Lorben's body and examined the immediate perimeter. He signaled to his troops hidden within the darkness, and they silently scaled the walls of the fortress. Before daybreak, a new flag adorned the ramparts and the courtyard, one that carried the emblem of the burning Eagle. The Southern sector now belonged to Jianna.

Ch-2: Celebration

The courtyard was decorated with various torches and tents to accommodate the guests who would be arriving in the evening. The rooms cleared of all the blood and bile of the morning's massacre, and fresh preparations were under way to create a feast fit for the victors of the Southern Front. Jianna watched all this from the balcony of her quarters. She turned around and surveyed the accommodations. It was spacious and opulent, which as expected of a room that belonged to the commander of the Southern sector. Jianna smiled at the memory of disemboweling him in single combat and glanced at the bandage on her arm, "You're getting cocky," she muttered

One of her bodyguards entered her chambers with his head bowed, "The preparations are almost complete my Queen." Jianna nodded and dismissed him with a flick of her wrist.

"Uhhh your highness," the guard continued nervously, "The war council would like to have a word..." he gulped his breath in fright. Jianna was unpredictable and was known to throw guards to her pet beasts if their news angered her. However, today was not such a day.

"Send them in," Jianna said in an even tone and began inspecting herself in the mirror as the guard scampered away in relief.

The robe she wore showed far too much cleavage. However, she felt it was always a good policy to have some of the council members distracted from the proceedings; that way she always had the final say. She waited at the war room table until they finally came into her chambers and took their respective places.