Onslaught (Rise of the Empire Book 6) (18 page)

Anessa looked over the room; bodies and blood lay everywhere. She spied movement at one of the chairs; the Elder she had thrown across the room was crawling on the floor towards the back door. Anessa walked over and grabbed her by her shoulder-length gray hair, pulling her up as she screamed in pain. She put her against a chair and dropped to her knees, looking in the Elder’s eyes.

“It’s all your fault,” Anessa said, her voice empty. “You twisted us, made us believe in lies. Nothing that I believed in is true. I don’t even know who I am anymore.”

The Elder returned her look. “You have destroyed us,” she gurgled.

“You lied to us! You were prepared to allow our people to die for your greed. Whatever you are, you are not what Shara Daim are,” Anessa said. “And I don’t even know what Shara Daim are supposed to be; everything I was taught is a lie. But I do know that I will not allow our people to die to fuel the greed of weak masters. I will find out what it means to be Shara Daim, and I will forge us into something better.”

“We had to,” she wheezed out. “The enemy, they are out there. We n-need to be strong.”

“Did you have to make us age? Did you have to deceive us, and feed us lies? You didn’t make us strong, you gave us false strength. We were as strong as our leaders, and you are weak.”

“We needed to guide.” She paused as she coughed, blood trickling down her chin from her mouth and nose. “We were the only ones that understood the threat.”

“No, you were just greedy. You wanted power to rule, but you didn’t want to take that power for yourselves; you stole it from others, kept us ignorant and complacent. You were weak, and you made us follow you,” Anessa said, disgust dripping in every word. “You turned us into this perversion of what our ancestors were—” Anessa’s voice broke. She took a deep breath and composed herself. “But you may find comfort in the knowledge that we will be strong without you. We will become Shara Daim.”

Anessa placed her hand on the dying woman’s throat and squeezed until she died. She stood up and sent a telepathic signal to Arisak as she moved to the central chair. She moved the body in front of it to the side with the Sha, and sat down in the bloody chair. Her own Shur At was covered in blood and bits of flesh and gore, but she ignored all of it, placing both of her arms along the armrests as she waited.

The large ornate doors opened, slowly bringing light into the room. The first inside were two Va Sun with their Shur At deployed, but without their weapons. Behind them followed Arisak and ten honor guards, with the rest of her Va Sun entering last. All held the Sha, but there had been no death; Arisak had been instructed to keep them from entering, not kill them.

They froze once they noticed the bodies and the blood. Not even her own people had known exactly what she had been planning to do. A part of her hadn’t known either. She had told them only that the Elders would no longer rule. The leader of the honor guard was Jar Sun Tarrasi, a large man with his white hair cropped short and half his face filled with white markings that showed anyone who looked at him his position as the head of the Elders’ guard. The position in the guard had always been highly regarded, but it wasn’t really sought by those who chose to become solely warriors. The guard was filled with third and fourth sons and daughters of rich families, those who had nothing to inherit. They did train to be warriors, like all other Shara Daim, but there had never actually been a need for the guard to protect the Elders. Jar Sun Tarrasi was different; he was an heir to an old family, but still he had chosen to become a guard. Some said that he even had enough power and skill to be a Dai Sha.

Anessa watched as several emotions cycled on the man’s face, from disbelief to rage, shock, and fear. One of the other guards stepped onto a piece of bone that crunched under his feet. He stepped back and immediately turned and threw up over the floor.

Jar Sun Tarrasi looked at Anessa, and finally gathered enough courage to speak. “What have you done?” he asked in a whisper.

“What needed to be done,” Anessa answered him, keeping her voice and face calm, even though inside she was a mess. “The Elders were weak. They lied to us, kept us in the dark so that they could control us and use us for their own gain. They gave orders that would’ve resulted in the deaths of millions of our people. They were not Shara Daim,” she said.

“But they were the Elders!” Tarrasi said. “We owe them allegiance. They must’ve had some plans!”

“The only plan they had was to satisfy their greed for power,” Anessa said, leaning forward. “They were weak; most didn’t even attempt to defend against me. They were not true Shara Daim; they were only pretenders who had committed many crimes against their own people.”

She took a deep breath and stood up. The guard and some of her own Va Sun took a step backwards in fear as she looked at them. She realized that she was still holding the Sha. She took a step forward.

“The Elders doctored history, lied to us about our origins. But that stops now. From today onwards, there will be no secrets among the Shara Daim. From this day forward, the Shara Daim will never again bow to weak leaders.”

Her eyes hardened as she looked at the guard leader. “I was a Dai Sha, the first and strongest of Shara Daim. From this point on, I am a Dai Sha no more; from this day forward, I am taking the reign of the Shara Daim by the right of strength, by blood and death. Just like our ancestors did before we left our homeworld, in a time when strength and blood and death meant more than anything, so do I now take the title of the Kar Daim—the ruler of all. Let any who disagree come and challenge my rule with combat, and all others bow down before me.” Her voice boomed through the room.

Arisak kneeled first, followed by her Va Sun. Most of the honor guards took only a second to decide to kneel, but Jar Sun Tarrasi kept standing and looking at her. Anessa didn’t speak or move; she matched his look, keeping her eyes on him. Then, Jar Sun Tarrasi knelt, as she had known that he would, because even though she had just done something unthinkable, even though he had been taught to obey the Elders, a sliver of who Shara Daim were before the Elders had taken power still remained, and they still followed strength.

“Now, before we tell the new state of things to the Shara Daim, we have a lot of work to do.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

One day later — Shara Radum

Anessa walked up to the chair in what had once been the sanctum of the Elders and was now her throne room. The room was now brightly lit. All but one chair had been removed, along with any sign of what had happened a day before. The room was filled with people, high officials of Shara Radum, the chosen few that had been informed of the events of yesterday. No one outside of the former Elder compound knew anything, except for Anessa’s people and the honor guard.

Last night, after her proclamation, she had had Jar Sun Tarrasi inform the rest of the guard, with the orders to keep it within, which wasn’t really hard as no information left the compound without their approval. She had given all the proof that Garaam’s group had accumulated over the years to Jar Sun and the rest of the guard, cementing their decision to follow her, at least until they found more proof. Then she had taken Do Sun Arisak and Jar Sun Tarrasi to the Elder palace.

No one had been allowed there for centuries; the guard was responsible for keeping all save for the Elders out, and to not allow anyone to leave. They themselves had never entered, as the palace supposedly had its own guard. The palace was staffed with families that had been living there for generations. At least, that had been the rumor.

When Anessa and her people had entered without the Elders, they had been met with attendants, servants, and even guards. However, none of them were like the rest of the Shara Daim. They had no Sha, no concept of the outside world. They had been bred to serve the Elders. Families, living in the palace almost since it had been built, always serving. The things they had found there had made her repulsed, and had convinced her that what she had done was right.

In the chamber of one of the Elders they had found a dungeon with three children chained to the walls, used and abused for who knew how long. She had cursed herself for giving that Elder such an easy death the night before by ripping his throat out; he’d deserved a much harsher death. And once the children had been returned to the families, they didn’t want them, fearing the wrath of their gods. That was what they’d thought the Elders were—gods who never aged and protected them from the outside world. To them, Anessa and her people were the heretics that would be punished by their gods.

If any of the guard had doubted Anessa before, they didn’t now. They had found the Elders’ private records, their archives, and there was the truth. Garaam’s people were right, the Dai Sha that were supposed to become Elders never did; they had always been poisoned and killed, the illusion of the Elders changing maintained.

But the most important thing that Anessa had found was the origin of the Elders. They had been there during the war with the Nazaari. They were scientists that had been working on the device, from a time when not everyone was a warrior in addition to their calling. Her people had found the records from the device, which matched what Adrian had given her. He had been right all along.

There were more of the ‘Elders’ in the beginning, but over time the nine had killed them. They had taken power slowly, over several centuries. They had had the knowledge from the device; it had been easy for them to manipulate.

They were also once part of a group advocating the total destruction of the Nazaari. According to the records, the war had started after they had received the Sha, and the device. The leaders of the time had wanted more resources, and had provoked the Nazaari, starting the war that they’d known they would win. With the knowledge from the device, it had been easy, but the Nazaari had surprised them and managed to destroy the device before they were wiped out. The group that was in power then slowly doctored the events, and the ‘Elders’ took over power with the help of the data they controlled. They had poisoned the Shara Daim against other races, perverted what they once were.

The Shara Daim had always been warriors, but once they had lived in peace with Nazaari—they had even trained together, helped each other. According to the old records that they’d found, there were once even yearly contests organized where both Shara Daim and Nazaari competed. Anessa had found the proof she needed to convince the rest of the Shara Daim that what she had done was necessary. And with it, she would change the Shara Daim, forge them into something better.

Now Anessa looked over the people assembled in the ‘throne’ room. They had been given the data after her people found it, and then they had been brought to the Hall of Ages and told about the change in leadership. She had given them time to study the data, and now they would decide whether they wanted to bow to her or challenge her.

She waited for the Vallar Havasse to speak, as she had been chosen as the voice of the leadership of Shara Radum. She was an old woman, age clearly seen on her face. A stoic and great speaker, she struck the visage of a true Shara Daim lady. Like all Shara Daim, she was trained as a warrior. Not on the level of a Dai Sha, but still, she understood strength. If Anessa had the support of Shara Radum, she would have a much easier time of convincing the ordinary people to support her, who might resist even with all the proof she planned to release to the public.

“We have reviewed the data you supplied, Dai Sha,” Havasse said.

“Kar Daim,” Anessa corrected. She did not intend to give any ground. The Shara Daim would be hers, one way or another. Protecting her people was the only thing she cared about. As long as she lived, she would not allow anyone weaker than her to lead.

Havasse gave her a look filled with steel, her face as unmoving as Anessa’s own. Then, Havasse looked away and sighed; she turned and looked around at the faces behind her. A great majority of them were scared, of Anessa, presumably. Anessa understood their fear.

Finally, Havasse looked back at Anessa. “I will speak truthfully with you. We came here with no intention of accepting your rule. We thought to bully you in giving the power over to us. But I see now that that will not happen. These idiots behind me are scared of you, but they are more scared of change.” Anessa heard a couple of gasps from behind Havasse, but she ignored them, keeping her eyes on the older woman who continued speaking.

“The Elders lied; everything we accomplished since we left our homeworld was built on a lie. We thought that we were better than anyone else is, superior in every way, but the truth is far from that. We who control our trade and commerce know very well that that is a lie,” Havasse said sadly. “Our economy is weaker than that of other empires our size. We don’t trade with other races nearly enough to satisfy our size. The only area where we excel is the military, and only because every citizen of Shara Daim is a soldier. But you know that even our Legions aren’t undefeatable.”

Havasse shook her head, her two long gray braids swinging lightly behind her. “The Elders and their lies crippled us with their teachings, filled us with false arrogance, so much so that it was only a matter of time before we crumbled. The Erasi attack might yet break us, especially since their orders left us vulnerable.” She locked her eyes with Anessa’s again determinedly. “Even with all the lies of the Elders, they have not been able to erase what we truly are deep down. So I will not follow our plan. Shara Daim are warriors, we believe in strength. And we must change if we are to survive.”

Havasse lowered her old body to a single knee with a grace unbecoming her age, and then she looked up. “I will have you lead us, Kar Daim.”

Anessa allowed herself a small smile as the rest of the room followed suit and dropped down to their knees.

***

Two months later — December; Year 56 of the Empire — Shara Radum

Anessa let out a moan of pleasure as the man beneath her moved in unison with her. She put her hands on his chest, feeling the hard muscle there and noting the difference in their skin color. In the back of her head, she found that strange; Shara Daim didn’t look like that. But it didn’t matter. The strange brown eyes looked up at her as she shook in ecstasy.

Anessa woke up, her breathing hard and her body hot and drenched in sweat. She lay in her large bed in a renovated wing of the palace, thinking about the dream. She had known that she was attracted to the Human, but what she had felt in the dream went far beyond that. Her mind was a mess. So many things had changed; it wasn’t strange that she was confused. She remembered the dream and immediately felt her body shiver. Adrian was strong, he was smart, he was a great commander, and she had seen his people give him respect. He was also manipulative and prepared to do everything to win. She remembered their fight, how he’d moved. At that moment, they hadn’t really been fighting. It had been more of a dance; they had been completely in sync, lost in each other. She had never felt that way with anyone before. She shook herself off, went to her cleaning area of her quarters, and then returned to bed. Now she was unable to sleep, the same thoughts always coming to her mind unwanted.

She didn’t know who she was, not really. She had always believed that she was a servant of the Shara Daim, that her duty was to follow the orders of the Elders. And now she had taken the reins of leadership from the ones she had been taught to obey without question. She couldn’t allow herself to go down that path of thinking, not now. Because even though she didn’t know who she was, she couldn’t let her people die. It was one thing that kept her from bowing down to the demands of those who didn’t agree with what she had done.

Anessa had brought the Shara Daim under her rule; the relays had spread the word much faster than any ship could travel. She had the loyalties of the Legions; she had been one of the Dai Sha for a long time, and they respected her. There were some who weren’t completely on board with her rule, but for now they were silent, at least in her presence. Anessa had recalled ten Legions to Shara Radum under the guise of reinforcing her rule, but the truth was that six of those Legions were the ones that had refused her orders to defend the Shara Daim from the Erasi, those who hadn’t disobeyed the Elders. None of them argued with her rule now in public—she had too much proof of what the Elders truly were—but it was best to keep them close, perhaps even goad some of them into challenging her and taking care of that problem permanently.

She didn’t have the problem with them following orders; she had the problem with the fact that they hadn’t even argued to the Elders for protection of the people. Being Shara Daim needed to mean more than just following blindly, especially now when she had revealed all. Everyone knew about their true history, both of their ancestors and the history doctored by the Elders.

In the first month, she had been challenged three times over the fact that the Shara Daim had been engineered. But after she had made a point of ripping the third challenger in half in front of all watchers, she had suddenly found herself with no new challengers.

Dai Sha Farran was the most ‘vocal’ one of her opposition, speaking against the changes she was trying to implement in the Shara Daim society. She knew that she needed to deal with him, but he was very respected, and powerful. She could kill him, but she needed him to issue a challenge. And he wasn’t that stupid; he knew that she was much stronger than him.

She knew that she needed to change the Shara Daim. The looking down on other races needed to end, and expansion politics would need to change as well. However, even with all those changes, she would not change who the Shara Daim were at their core: a warrior culture that valued strength.

Now that she had taken rule, her first task was to defend her people. She had given the command of the defense to Garaam, and all save the ten Legions were now on their way to the invaded sectors.

She had ordered every shipyard to begin war manufacturing, to build ships and weapons. But as she had found out, the production rate of the Shara Daim could barely sustain their current needs; they needed more materials, especially now that their limited trade with the Erasi had ceased. She needed to find a new source of materials to build up her war machinery.

There were a few contenders, races, civilizations, empires, large enough to be able to provide them with enough materials. The problem was that none of them would deal with the Shara Daim in good faith. The Erasi had probably already made sure that they wouldn’t trade, and she had no forces available to force their hand.

Which left only one choice—the Empire. She knew that they wanted peace. She could probably get a trade deal with them. But her people couldn’t change overnight; she needed to force them to change. And that meant them interacting with others. But more than a simple trading agreement, she needed help. She was trained as a Dai Sha; she knew that Erasi had more forces, that they already had a foothold in Shara Daim territory that would be hard to take back. The Legions might be able to stop them eventually, but many Shara Daim would die in the meantime, and they might never regain the territory they had lost.

Again, the only ones who might even entertain the possibility of helping them were the Empire. Moreover, she knew that the Empire would want a lot more for help than they would want for simple trade. And that was without the problem she would have with her own people resisting any kind of an alliance. She would need to convince the Empire and her own people to agree. And she knew of only one way that her people would accept help, which was if they witnessed strength.

Anessa smiled in a predatory way as an idea started to form in her mind. It seemed fitting. Adrian had manipulated her once before. Now she would do the same to him, and take care of two problems at the same time.