Starblade (14 page)

The Shotar walked the arched corridors of
his palace. The curved dark wooden beams were decorated with rich
green, yellow, and red banners. Light emitted from pyramid crystals
set into tri-claw torches on the walls and threw shadows into
alcoves behind golden embroidered tapestries. The floor was tiled
in gold triangles which were broken up by large oval ox-blood
colored rugs.

Sharr's thoughts lingered upon Frederika. He
was intoxicated by her, drunk on her beauty. Sharr knew tomorrow he
would be without her because Frederika would accompany his daughter
into the market. But when she touched him, his whole world stopped.
He felt an overwhelming need to be with her. Sabina however would
be there to bring him his tea. That also pleased Sharr for she
reminded him of another female he loved long ago…

A wave of pain seized Sharr Khan. He
clutched at his chest and fell to his knees. Inside his chest his
heart ripped. The extent of Falcanian mortality had yet to be
tested, estimated at 300 years without incident. Certainly violence
could take the life of a Falcanian. Generally what killed humans
could kill Falcanians. But old age and disease did not wreak
themselves on the resplendent species, not yet anyway, even though
there were new afflictions they endured and still had to
combat.

Genetic tinkering had its price. Fix one
series of problems and a new category would arise to be dealt
with.

He felt himself pulled into The Phoenix
Heart. The voices of the departed called out to him. His sight
tunneled into a pinpoint of light, a ring of fire, the portal
rotated before him to open up into Char. He knew death awaited him.
In the ring of flame, Sharr beheld a silhouette, the outline of
Ishbol, The Blue Guardian. Among the chaos of sound and light an
unexpected, yet familiar voice spoke his name. Not his assumed
name, but his human birth name. Its sweet trill spoke the
identifier that few would now dare call him by. That alone made the
pain he felt endurable.

“
Roderik!”
said the waves of sound in
Aria's voice.

Even while the pain overtook him, an image
formed of Aria in the Shotar's mind. She wore a gray sweater with a
long black wool skirt. It was one of the outfits that he had liked
to see on her.

She welcomed him with outstretched arms. She
was still beautiful.

“
You've changed, Roderik –”

Aria never had a chance to continue.

Go back!
Thundered the
vibration.
It is not yet time for you to die!

A thunderclap sent the Falcanian ruler back
into his body. In the corridor he righted himself. Sharr Khan
opened and closed his eyes. Had he perhaps over extended himself?
Stress had weakened his heart, an imperfection that he kept to
himself. His personal physician had warned him not to overtax his
body. This night Sharr had engaged in sexual Olympics that even the
most prolific of Falcanian tierkel would have been most surprised
to witness. And Falcanian males were sturdy in such things.

At the edge of his mind, Sharr felt a
familiar prickle. Nadia knew he had gone from his nest and she
sought him out. His mate, a very powerful telepath had found that
the network of Char doubled her abilities and link to him. But he
as master of the Phoenix Heart could conceal himself and his pain
from her. He sensed she could tell things were not entirely
right.

Sharr centered his focus on the far end of
the hallway.

Donned in a black duster cloak, the lanky
figure walked forward. It held a scythe shaped blade at a sling on
its hip. The face of the man remained hidden under the enfolding
hood of his cloak, though its head could be seen to turn from side
to side as it spoke. Behind the dark one, the figure of Atar Kran
followed, arms folded across his chest as he escorted the scythe
wielding man toward his Shotar. The two carried on a pleasant
conversation. Both Atar and the cloaked figure noticed Sharr
Khan.

“T'Saar, Sharr Khan!” Hailed the cloaked
one. “And happy birthday, sir!”

They came over to the stunned Falcanian
leader. The cloaked man removed his hood to reveal a head of long,
spiked metallic purple hair. His ears were drawn-out ellipses, much
longer then the average Falcanians as well as thin, that came to
fine ends which reached a few inches from his head. His long ears
twitched cat like. The man's sharp face and cleft chin were covered
in a rough, closely shaved beard and he smiled pleasantly at his
friend and Shotar. Kvaltar Vron a founding member of the Phoenix
Project and a legend among the Falcanian people, but more
importantly he was one of the Shotar's nearest friends had at last
returned to Vorkrür. Kvaltar was the keeper of the Phoenix Flame.
Even when Sharr himself wavered in its light, the Raven kept the
fire steadfastly burning. It remained a beacon that called
childhood compatriots back to what had once been a lost cause.

“Kvaltar, welcome home,” greeted the Queen
who came to stand beside her mate. She gave Sharr a concerned look,
but said nothing to him of the feelings she experienced from their
bond. Nadia inspected Kvaltar, looking him over imperiously. “How
was your time in the jungle?” she asked in reference to his
excursion to the Sundarbans.

“Most promising Nadia. Kiralia enjoyed
herself,” Kvaltar replied and felt Nadia’s eyes look deeply into
him. Her telepathic abilities always caused him unease. The two had
a precarious relationship which stemmed from the fact both of them
desired to look after the Shotar in their own manner. Vron was glad
Sharr had at last found a woman to love. But when Nadia entered the
Phoenix Project, she started to rule with a pair of well-sharpened
claws.

“Why are you awake?” Sharr asked his
mate.

“Kitana was concerned. Come back to bed.”
The Queen took Sharr's hand and tugged him toward his lair. “You
can catch up with Kvaltar in the morning.”

“Go on.” Kvaltar grinned, a devious glint in
his eyes. “Do as Nadia wishes. We have more than enough time to
talk.”

Vron had no interest in enduring Nadia's
wrath. He once even witnessed her reduce a Drakorian to a puddle of
mush for not doing exactly as she had ordered. The woman could be a
shrew when she desired to be.

“You can join me for tea in my study,” the
Shotar said.

“Sounds great. Still got those strippers
serving you breakfast?”

“Of course.” Sharr Khan smiled. “Wait till
you see the one tomorrow, a fine creature.”

“I've never doubted your taste in a woman
sir.” Kvaltar knew his friend was very good when it came to the his
choice of the best looking females. His standards had always been
exacting.

“Heard from Shuriken or Lehaja lately?”
Kvaltar inquired of their friends stationed in Kuras.

“I expect a troop report from Shuriken
soon.”

Nadia batted her elegantly long eyelashes at
Atar and Kvaltar as she gave them both a glance that told them she
wished for them to leave so she could bring her mate back to their
nest. “Kiralia, and I should get together soon, been awhile since
we’ve had a girls night out.”

“I’m sure Kiralia would like that,” agreed
the Grand Vizier.

They quickly took the hint. Kvaltar and Atar
nodded farewell, and continued to walk down the hall to leave their
friend in the company of his Queen.

At daybreak, Sitara arrived in front of the
palace gates where Frederika patiently waited clothed in shorts and
a forest green bikini top. She had piled her blonde mane into a
messy bun on her head, tendrils of honey-gold caressed her
cheeks.

The princess wore the female version of a
jodtok, which had been designed for flight and consisted of an
angled midriff baring vest with a fur collar and a pair of
trousers. Her black trousers formed themselves over the curves of
her thighs and the seams of her tri-claw boots blended into the
streamlined outfit. Her tail swayed behind her. The Princess still
bore the Tarik Star that dangled from its headpiece on her forehead
and the OM pendant remained in the crevice of her breasts.

Hands on hips, Sitara smiled at Frederika.
“Are you ready?”

“Whenever you are, Princess.”

“Sitara will do just fine, Frederika.”

Frederika returned the smile. “Sitara,
then.”

Drakorian Guards opened the oval doors to
allow the two girls onto the main Golden Road. Falcanians and
humans moved among the merchants. The princess and dancer examined
various wares which included imported foods and textiles. They
stopped in front of a Falcanian merchant who sold fabric. Sitara
ran her fingers through a gossamer green weave with golden stars
embroidered into it. The merchant couldn't help but recognize his
Shotar's first born daughter.

“Do you like the fabric, Princess?” the
merchant asked.

“I do very much. I'll take three bolts.” She
removed twelve three-pointed tirhra, credits chips from her purse
and handed them over to the artisan. “Have them sent to Narshin
Thryak, please.”

Meanwhile a strange creature in a enclosure
had ensnared Frederika’s impertinent curiosity. She was drawn by
the smell of food to discover a booth that sold milk drinks and
various fried cheese products. Out in the back of the kiosk, she
came to notice some type of goat creature, seemingly intended to
produce on the spot fresh dairy products for the food merchant.

The blonde leaned in close to the paddock’s
lattice and watched the creature feed from a tall sunburst flower.
Its horns twisted straight up in points toward the sky. Shaggy,
yellow-white fur covered its body. The goat had a long neck like a
giraffe, but was only as tall as a pony. Most unusual about the
creature were the placement of its eyes. Herbivore's eyes were
located on the side of their skulls. This goat however had eyes
that looked forward, like a human, like a predator.

Chills danced up Frederika's spine as she
stood captivated by the strange animal.

“We call it an aag,” Sitara explained and
smiled to herself. She remembered how her father had told her about
how he and Kvaltar Vron had named the beasts. “It’s a play on that
unsettling appearance and one's general shock when you look into
its bizarre eyes!” Thoughts of Kvaltar caused Sitara's own heart to
flutter. Ever since she was young, Sitara had a small crush on him.
She’d heard he had returned to Vanguard. The Shotar would dine
privately this evening with his family and friends and Sitara would
be able to speak with the mysterious scientist and adventurer.

“It’s umm... very... different,” Frederika
blurted out.

“They're fantastic milk producers and they
don’t even need to be pregnant to do so. Plus, the meat is rather
tasty. It’s said a Falcanian can remain hale and whole on vitamin
rich aag milk alone. It is our superfood, packed with all the
nutrients we could ever need.”

It dawned on Frederika that at last night’s
meal, no beef had been served. She wondered if it had been because
of old Hindu beliefs which had entered into Falcanian society.
“What about bovine?”

“None,” the Princess told her. “Space is at
a premium here. There’s no place to graze cows and a certain
residual Hindu revulsion at the idea of consuming cow flesh does
still exist. Not that most Falcanians are anything near being
vegetarian. Such a dietary choice wouldn’t sustain us.”

“Tell me about this festival?” Frederika
asked.

They walked in the direction of the Tahru’s
temple, past jugglers, storytellers, and vendors.

“You’re interested in the Way of Tarik?”

Frederika nodded enthusiastically, perhaps
too enthusiastic? “Exotic cultures always interest me.” she stopped
herself, lest she give away her true reasons for being here.

“The festival commemorates the Telchar
Shanral hero Arntiraas, how he won the Kraris blade from Irkrath's
daughter Falcania. It's a holiday devoted to the idea of
self-evolution.”

“A holiday about evolution. How
extraordinary,” Frederika said.

Now she understood why those Budjah on Mars
had attempted to convert the Falcanians. A religion that held such
teachings could be a threat to the scarlet robed monk's own agenda
to spread their strange sort of monotheism.

“
Self-evolution,
” emphasized the
Princess. “Evolution that is willed as opposed to random
occurrences of nature. Evolution is always such a misleading, often
abused term. More like deliberate, directed jumps, or better stated
to be a directed will-to-power of a state of being.” finally she
put it. “The Tarik seek to become Charis.”

“Charis?”

“The idealized, ascended-Falcanian,” Sitara
explained. “It is our belief that each of us is a potential god and
that like the People Of The Lamp we to shall manifest our
inner-light.”

“Okay.” Frederika bit her lip. “Can you
explain then, why the trappings of religion?”

“What could be more religious, more
spiritual than to evolve both as a person and as a species
Frederika?” Sitara's eyes burned with passion. “The original
meaning of the word religion is to re-link. It need not be trapped
in metaphysics and ritual, though certainly The Way of Tarik is not
without its own rites.”

“Und metaphysics?”

Sitara flinched in surprise. This girl with
all her incredible beauty, also happened to be undeniably shrewd.
“I suppose in a manner of speaking we have our own metaphysics, but
no gods exactly.”

“Meaning what?”

“We have Telchar,” Sitara admitted. “The
Lords Of Char.”

Telchar, Frederika played the word over in
her mind. “Do you consider these Telchar to be real, Sitara? Do you
pray to them?”She had a hard time keeping a grip on her enthusiasm
for the topic. Again, a risk to be too interested.

“For us they exist.” Sitara said no more
about Telchar, forbidden as it was to speak with an outsider about
Char and The Phoenix Heart, or its AI’s. “When young, I sometimes
prayed to Ganesha. My mother’s a devout Hindu. I’ve been known to
go to the great Telhri in the Tahru temple so that I might offer a
prayer now and then. On occasion, even the Telchar answer.” She
paused for a moment. “I mean I guess they do. Everything depends on
what you think is real, I suppose.”