Amazonia

  Fear gripped Amazonia with its cold hand as Antonius turned Wysper's head towards her with a smile. "Great Khan, both statements are correct." What? That can't be true. Wysper's body turned forward again as Antonius said, "You see, there is an agent for the Sasnayam empire who plotted to have Az made into a Reaver Knight with a Rune sword filled with such burning hatred towards your people, that she would have willingly embraced becoming a Shadow Knight, who would then lead the legions of the dead towards your encampment."

  "But I don't hate them," Az said, keeping her face in a hard mask. "If anything, I've come to respect Prince Timur and the Tartaros warriors."

  "Of course not," Antonius had Wysper say. "You hate the Sasnayams because I do. You see," her body facing the Khan again, "originally, the spirit of the sword was supposed to be one of your outcasts, a Hajir-someone?"

  "Hajirod?" Antonius nodded, and Khan Khingla snarled, "He was caught in an act of blasphemy against Tengri, and only the intervention of his father prevented me from having him executed by crushing him with heavy stones."

  "According to Lady Jhadra, his rage against you was a terrible thing. The Sasnayam agent gave Lady Jhadra a sizable amount of gold to present a plan to the emperor, in which a Rune sword would be crafted to strike at the Sasnayam empire with Az becoming its Reaver Knight. Lord Paulus was to be the scapegoat, of course, with Az and her Chaldeans supposedly banished and finding their way here to Bukhara, where they would begin their campaign against the Sasnayams."

  "Except the spirit of the sword would be Hajirod."

  "Exactly. Upon reaching Bukhara, Hajirod would have turned Az against you. The two-faced Janus outrider named Redhunter had told his Sasnayam masters, The Storm Lord and his daughter, Ix-Chel, that you were sheltering a Fae necromancer, Lys. Ix-Chel already had a priestess of hers who had learned Ghash-Kimil’s sacred mysteries, including raising Revenants, and she was supposed to offer to teach them to Lys as a way of achieving an overwhelming victory.”

  “Do you know the name of this traitorous priestess?” The girl shook her head no and Khan Khingla said, “Could it have been the undead creature that Lys has under her control?”

  “No, Great Khan. Since the change, when I am the Rune sword, I see the same signs Amazonia does, and the Lich Cermet was a loyal priestess who Ghash-Kimil had killed. Regardless, Lys would have easily learned the lore, and would have turned Az into a Shadow Knight on the orders of Prince Timur, who is known be a warrior of great cunning and no scruples. The Storm Lord supposedly admires him. But once she was changed, Az would have led the dead against you. Your people would have been forced to flee with the Shamblers in pursuit."

  "But the tables were turned on them instead."

  "Because Lady Jhadra does not want the Sasnayams to succeed. Oh, she was more than happy to take their gold, but she had Hajirod killed in a similar manner to the way I died, then gave my corpse to the Direwolves of the arena to tear apart so the agent would not be suspicious."

  Khan Khingla frowned. "Why would this Sasnayam care about you?"

  Wysper's body shrugged. "Because the agent was actually a citizen of the empire, who wanted Lady Jhadra to change me into a girl so he could marry me and become part of the nobility."

  Eurax told me he knew we were plotting something, but claimed he didn’t know what it was. He was lying through his teeth. "Hades' hairy eyeballs," Az spat out. "Eurax admitted he wants Prince Arcadia on the throne, but you’re telling us he actually works for the Sasnayams?"

  Glancing over her shoulder, Wysper's freckled face broke into Antonius' silly grin. "It gets even better. Once the Sasnayams have taken Konstanopolis, Prince Arcadia will be executed for treason and their loyal servant Eurax made governor." She turned back around. "Great Khan, Eurax is a man of depraved appetites who worships the gods by slaking his lust upon children, and would destroy anyone, even a trusted friend, to amass more wealth and power."

  "He sounds more like a monster than a man."

  "You speak the truth, Great Khan. However, he also believes all men and women to be as greedy and depraved as he is, and judges them upon the golden scales of his heart. He thought a Daemo could be swayed by gold and nothing else."

  Khan Khingla leaned back in his chair as an expression of contempt swept across his face. "We know the Daemo well. They find money a useful tool, yet their desires are always for other things. Tell me, what did she plan to use this gold for?"

  "As I understood what she told me at the time, she planned to use it to expand the temple for the cult of the Dragon Queen, and make Konstanopolis their permanent home for Daemo, and for the humans who wish to join—”

  "What?" Amazonia recognized the dangerous edge to Titan's voice. "The Daemo are now luring humans into their cult?"

  "And why not?” A purple haired Daemo female, dressed in wisps of clothing more daring than any Bukharan woman would ever wear in public, took a step forward. “Our queen is far more concerned over converting other Daemo to our cause than gaining human followers, yet anyone is welcome to join. At least we do not pretend she is a goddess.” She turned towards the throne and dropped to one knee. "Great Khan, apologies for this outburst, but I know a good bit more about this plan of Lady Jhadra's that I can finally share. You see, I am Sybil, priestess of Ishtar, and my mistress and Jhadra have been friends for centuries, with contacts all over the civilized world, including the Sasnayam capitol of Tesiphon."

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Khan Khingla began stroking his beard the same way Timur did. "I see. Are you saying that the Celestial Ishtar is still alive?"

  Sybil inclined her head. "Alive and living in Bukhara, disguised as a human mage. My Lady has agents among all the Sasnayam temples, and when Lady Jhadra informed her of the plot against you, Ishtar uncovered the details. The Storm Lord and Ix-Chel knew when Muzen would arrive in Bukhara with all the blood corn he had created, and had the Sasnayam agent…"

  "Eurax," Antonius said after a moment.

  The Daemo nodded. "Had Eurax time it so Amazonia would arrive with enough days remaining to set the plot in motion. Originally, the plan was to sneak the raiding party in during the last night of the festival, much like the Greeks used the Trojan Horse to sneak into the city of Troy, until Muzen unexpectedly baited his trap to catch young Greywolf. Having a Shadow-walker made the raid far easier to conceal and gave the plotters a chance to kill the priesthood of Ghash-Kimil in Bukhara as a bonus.

  “Meanwhile, at the main temple of Ghash-Kimil in Tesiphon, the priests of the Storm Lord and Ix-Chel were to swoop in and uncover the Necromantic lore books and other documents indicating that the temple of Yun-Kax knew Ghash-Kimil was practicing necromancy and did nothing to stop them." The Daemo's expression turned sardonic. "They would have been shocked, shocked, over discovering such evil practices, and begun a crusade to raze the temples of Ghash-Kimil while throwing Yun-Kax into disgrace."

  The Khan leaned back on his throne. "But now, my warriors and the Reaver Knight have smashed all their plans into pieces, and I understand that all the temples of Bukhara have been destroyed."

  "Allowing the worship of Inanna and her sister Ishtar to take their place. Great Khan, a unique opportunity lays before you. Both the head priest of the Storm Lord and priestess of Ix-Chel in Bukhara were killed last night before getting a chance to warn their superiors, and all the Storm Lord knows is that something went wrong. Muzen has returned to Tesiphon knowing the other temples have declared war upon him. The Sasnayam Empire will be in disarray for some time, giving you the chance to fulfill your dream of turning your people from a collection of wandering tribes into a nation."

  He frowned. "I fail to see how one leads to the other."

  "Holy war against the Sasnayams." Antonius had Wysper spread her arms wide. "When I was alive, I was passionate about the histories of the empires, not only the Etruscan but the Sasnayams as well. All the satrapies along the eastern border down to the southern sea worshiped the sacred sisters before the Sasnayams imposed their religion upon them. They remember how Yun-Kax fought Inanna in Bukhara's Temple District and threw her down, tossing her body into the charnel pits like so much trash. Send riders bearing the news of Inanna's great victory and a fire will be lit the Sasnayams will find hard to extinguish."

  "Great Khan," Sybil said, "such a holy war can be used to gain everything you desire for your people. The lands east of Bukhara are fertile; seize them, and build your city while your Shadow Knight leads a host of the dead south. Plunder and raze the settlements of all who cling to the false gods, but spare those returning to the fold, and the satrapies of the Sasnayams will overthrow their masters out of self-preservation, if nothing else."

  Khan Khingla was shaking his head. "I will not lead my people into a war they cannot win."

  "We don't have to win it," War-leader Kula growled. "All we've got to do is cause enough chaos for the Sasnayams to sue for peace, and recognize that we own the few city-states we decide to keep."

  The Khan's face darkens like a storm cloud. "Do not tell me you approve of this madness."

  Kula's eyes narrowed. "Great Khan, you know exactly how I feel about your idea of the People settling down. Regardless, I'm your war-leader, which means I'll do whatever it takes to make your idea become real, and I see this as the best chance we've got. You have an army that needs no rations, has no morale problems, and will march in any weather."

  Breathe, Az, and think of a way out of this. "Great Khan, according to Lys, the army can't march forever without regular infusions of the black mana from your necromancers, and they can only get it from the dead, grey trees like the one inside the Ghash-Kimil temple."

  "Az has a good point," Titan rumbled. "Moreover, without scouts and support troops, you will be going into battle blind. And before anyone asks," the edge returning to his voice, "I will leave your encampment forever should you embark upon such a war. Necromancy is like wine to the drunkard, and I have seen more than one proud nation destroy themselves using it."

  "So what would you have us do," Timur snapped, "wait patiently for the next Sasnayam plot against us?"

  "Prince Timur makes a good point," Kula said. "The heart-eater priest told me straight up that their empire will never accept our kingdom upon their eastern border. I say we strike now and strike hard."

  "No." The fear in Amazonia’s heart eased as Khan Khingla's glare swept across the tent. "What happened last night was an abomination, and the only reason I have forgiven it is because the Sasnayams brought this abomination upon themselves. But Tengri himself abhors this blasphemy."

  "Does the Great Khan now speak for Tengri?" The people around Az went totally silent as Timur gave his father a hard look. "I would say Tengri has blessed us for our courage, both in standing against the heart-eaters, and for using what he has put in front of us to bring us victory." He looked around the interior of the tent. "Titan the Ogri tells us that letting Lys use her talents in our service is like giving wine to a drunkard. Tell me, nobles and warriors of the people, have you ever known the Khan of khans or his sons to be anything except men of strong character?"

  Around her, the men nodded and muttered agreement as Timur motioned in the direction of the city. "Last night, my little brother Avitohol stood beside me when the heart-eater soldiers counter-attacked, wielding an Artifact battle-axe and slaying several men much taller than he is."

  "Everyone will be taller than he is," Kula said.

  Laughter rippled through the room as Timur smiled. "Before he fell asleep, he told me his warrior name will be Attila, or 'Little Father'. Great Khan," Timur turning towards Khan Khingla, "if you truly want little Attila to become a king, and not the Khan of khans, then the time is now."