"Welcome To Barbaria" (closed)

The celebration was raging throughout the large yurt that was the home of Khanis Geegen. Typically, the only people in the 20 foot diameter home so late at night were the warrior chief and his family: five wives, six concubine slaves, and their combined sixteen children.

He had more still living children than that, of course, but they'd come of age and left his home. The eight additional males born from his loins had taken a wife or more and built their own hide-covered yurts to begin their families. As soon as they'd come of age, the twelve female children had been married off to a variety of warriors and other males who had pledged fealty to Geegen, thereby strengthening his bonds within this town and within the other towns and villages scattered across the vast territory under his control.

There had been another 24 children born from the chief's seed who hadn't survived long enough to expand his family. The warrior rarely if ever gave those lost offspring any thought, particularly on a night like this. In fact, he was giving little thought to his living children, concubines, and wives on this night. Most of them had been ejected from their home to make room for Geegen's Dagala and key nitlegi dalchaid -- his army's leaders and the most important and bravest of common warriors -- who were here to celebrate their great victory with music, wine, food, and sex.

The Clan's warriors had very successfully raided and then razed a village that had sworn fealty to Geegen but had then reneged on its demanded tribute. The vast majority of the village's males had been killed, as had many of the women and even some of the children. The rest of the population had been taken into bondage and walked across the steppe back here to Geegen's walled town.

Some of those who had survived the attack and the walk both had not survived the hours that followed. Some would not survive the days or weeks to come.

Many of the females would be given to individual Dagala as personal concubines. Many of the rest would be given to the nitlegi dalchaid as a group, to be raped again and again until there was little left of them but whimpering, limp forms.

Afterward, in no man claimed them as a personal slave, they would be killed, hacked up, and fed to the dogs or simply thrown outside the city walls for the rurals to claim for whatever need they had of them. More often than not, though, they would simply die of exposure and their soul would be claimed by the Great Goddess.

The male captives would be played with as well, but this time by the chief's drunk and still blood thirsty warriors. After stripping the captives to the skin and putting them in the fighting ring, the warriors would bet their wealth -- often things pillaged during the most recent raid -- on such things as how many times a captive could be stabbed before he fell unconscious to blood loss or whether a man covered in oil and set ablaze could reach a pool of water to extinguish himself before burning to death.

The children rarely met such horrific fates, of course. Aside from the herd animals, furs, hide yurts, food stocks, and other such things taken after conquering the village, the youth of the decimated community were the most valuable commodity to be claimed. The youngest would be raised by Geegen's people, disbursed as he decided to those who had served him with the greatest loyalty. They would over time forget their previous lives and become as loyal to their new Khanis as were those people who'd slain their parents on this horrific day.

The older children, who might remember the terror of today's attack and might one day attempt to seek their revenge were sold to other Clans who had sworn fealty to Geegen. There, they would often be worked to their deaths or, eventually, find themselves in the gaming ring to finally meet their end.

This was the way of Khanis Geegen's people. It had been this way for generations, and would likely have continued to be this way for generations more if not for one person. Her name was Janis, and she was the eldest unmarried daughter of the Khanis.

She had been married, up until this latest attack. Her husband, Yanni, had ridden upon the village side by side with Geegan but hadn't ridden out. Janis had been there, too, leading her squad of mounted archers -- all women -- as they circled the village and picked off one armed defender after another in support of the males who had entered the community to engage the rebels face to face.

As the fight was winding down and armed targets were becoming hard for her to find, Janis rode into the heart of the battle looking for her mate. Amidst the death and dying, she came across Yanni and was happy to find him alive and well. Then, out of the smoke swirling about between the burning huts stepped a man who stabbed a large dagger forth into Yanni's body.

Janis froze in disbelief of what she was seeing, then rushed forward to find her already dead husband laying in a heap. She cried out in horror as his blood spread upon her body. One by one, several of Janis's archers gathered around their mistress, to protect and comfort her in her time of grief. One of them knelt opposite Yanni's corpse and pulled back his tunic to reveal the dagger that had jammed into a his rib and spine and couldn't be retrieved.

"Mistress," she whispered with a look of panic in her face. She gestured to the dagger's uniquely designed and jewel encrusted hilt. Leaning in close and in even a lower whisper, she said what she knew Janis had already determined, "It is your father's blade."

Janis didn't want to believe her father would kill her husband, but she knew it to be true. Geegen had been growing increasingly jealous of Yanni's popularity amongst the Dagala and with that had grown fearful that Yanni might attempt to overthrow him. Janis had warned her husband and begged him to reassure her father of his loyalty. That was moot now, though, as his blood soaked into Janis's clothing.

Geegen was Janis's father and Chief, but Yannis had been her husband and lover. The former killing the latter filled Janis's mind filled with the need for revenge, despite Geegen being her father. During the trek back to Geegen's capital city of Khotkona, Janis had conceived of any number of ways to kill the leader of her people and of her family, and she'd had several opportunities to do just that.

The treacherous murder of Yannis wasn't the only thing angering Janis about her father, though. The horrendous tortures of the captives during the day and night of travel to Khothona and during this the first day home again was more dramatically horrific, due to the treachery by the community as perceived by Geegen.

Janis wasn't squeamish in the least. She was a warrior in her own right, having killed dozens of men by bow, sword, and dagger. But the progressively increasing brutality with which the Clan's warriors had been treating the villagers over the last couple of years had reached a tipping point for Janis. And the murder of Yannis had pushed her over the edge.

Janis wasn't a suicidal person, though. She knew that murdering the Khanis, regardless of what he'd done to her life, would be seen as a betrayal of not just her father and family but of her people in whole. She would find herself lashed to a pole, raped by Geegen's Dagala, and whipped to death, not necessary in that order. She would get her revenge, but she wouldn't get it herself.

For two days, as the hate for and disappointment in her father increased, Janis quietly met and conspired with the Dagala and others who her husband had befriended. And tonight, as the celebration raged and minds became sopped with alcohol and bodies already tired from war and travel became even more exhausted by sexual activity, she got her revenge.

Quietly slicing an entrance through the rear of her father's yurt with the very dagger he's used to kill her husband, Janis slipped up behind her father and, pulling out a second dagger as well, began stabbing him all about the neck, shoulders, and chest.

All about the yurt, those Dagala loyal to Geegen and still clear headed and coordinated enough to rise and defend him (which was moot by this point) scrambled for their feet. Unfortunately, those Dagala loyal to Janis were far more clear headed and coordinated and, of course, awaiting the attack. As Janis was still stabbing her blades with great anger into her rapidly dying father's bloodied body, others were being killed all about the structure.

The action was over in less than a minute. When Janis finally ceased her attack on the now very dead Khanis, she was splashed with his blood from the top of her head to the tops of her boots. She looked around the yurt to the faces of those still alive to ensure they were all those who had sworn their fealty to her. They were.

Janis looked to the weapons in her hands. She tossed the unimportant dagger aside and wiped the blood from the blade that had killed her husband and then her father. She stepped around the dead Khanis and in amongst the men with blades dripping of blood, looking into the eyes of each one of them before addressing them.

"Is there anyone here who would like to put their blade in me," she asked as she slipped the dagger into her belt, rendering herself unarmed. She finished, "and claim the Khanaland for themselves?"

Introducing Torva

Torva was laying back in a pile of mounded bedding when he heard a ripping sound at the back of the tent. He peeked past the woman between his knees sucking his cock to see the blade of a knife moving downward through the hide. He pushed the slave away to her genuine surprise. She'd been sucking his cock so long that her jaws and neck were hurting. Torva was yet to fill her mouth with his seed. Now, apparently, it wasn't going to happen at all.

Torva had been a Dagala for 12 of his 28 years of life. Such a position had never gone to a man at such a young age. But Torva had proved himself to be a brave and skilled warrior and archer while still in his early teens. This alone qualified him to lead one of Geegen's squads. Torva's father had been a heroic Dagala before his son, though. Out of respect to the now-deceased man, Torva would likely have gotten the position eventually, even if he'd been a clumsy oaf.

He'd been loyal and faithful to Janis's father his entire life. But Torva had begun recently to question Geegen's leadership just as Yannis had. He hadn't been one of the Yannis's conspirators, though. Despite that, when Janis came to him on the presumption of his involvement, he pledged his sword and the loyalty that came with it without hesitation.

Janis's head peek through the slice in the yurt's side. She caught sight of Torva as he was arching his body upwards to pull his pants back in place. He spoke the code words to alert Janis's conspirators, "We need better ale, better ale is what we need."

In just seconds, the other men supporting Janis were on their feet and armed. Geegen cried out as the first two knife thrusts penetrated his body. A moment later, men were screaming all about the yurt. Some of the men were doing to as cries of war. The majority were doing so as cries of agony.

"Is there anyone here who would like to put their blade in me," Janis asked when it was all done, "and claim the Khanaland for themselves?"

Torva looked around, studying each of the others a quick moment. They'd just assassinated their Khanaland's ruler. Rightfully, Geegen's eldest son, Rolan, was the Khanis's heir apparent. But the men here now had sworn their fealty to Janis, Geegen's eldest daughter. In their eyes, the corrupt and brutal Rolan was no better than his father. They'd backed Janis after she'd explained what she wanted to do with Khothona and the Khanaland.

Torva dropped to one knee, turned his sword point down, and lowered it to stick into the hide floor covering. He looked up to Janis. "I serve Khanis Janis."

He couldn't help but smile, realizing for the first time that the two words rhymed. He bowed his head, then lifted it. "I pledge my loyalty, my sword, and my life to you, mistress."

Janis wasn't surprised that Torva was the first Dagala to speak up. After her husband, Janis loved and trusted Torva more than any person alive. They had grown up together, with only 3 years difference in their ages; Janis was now 25 to Torva's 28. She had worshipped, loved, and lusted for the handsome boy who would grow up to be the bravest warrior she'd ever known. She'd often thought of the two of them together, in bed and in marriage. If she hadn't been the Khanis's eldest daughter, destined to marry for political gain, she and Torva may very well have been wed. Instead, her father had matched her to Yannis, a man she only met on her wedding day, a man who she had initially hated simple because she'd had no choice in the matter, and a man who she would come to love and respect far more than the man who'd given her away to him.

He dropped to one knee and repeated his pledge, "I serve Khanis Janis. I pledge my loyalty, my sword, and my life to you, mistress."

All about the interior of the yurt, the still standing men who had supported Janis began dropping to one knee, each of them repeating Torva's pledge. Janis smiled, partially for the humorous rhyme that Torva had noticed as well but mostly because she was thrilled that this had been successful.

So far, anyway.

There was still a dangerous threat facing them: Janis's eight brothers, including the eldest, who was Geegen's rightful heir. Rolan was older than Janis by two years, which only strengthened his claim to Khotkona and the other towns and villages throughout Khanaland. He was her only elder sibling, let alone older male sibling. And yet, because she was female, the other seven brothers were, by law, in the line of succession before Janis.

It wasn't unheard of for a female to lead the Clan, though, never had such power and position lasted for long. Janis's great-uncle, whose eldest son had been but 9 years old, had been killed in battle. While tradition had dictated that the dead man's eldest brother was to assume power, his wife had been popular with a handful of well placed Dagala, and she had been able to keep control with their help until her son had come of age and come into power for himself.

Janis was hoping that that example would hold here. She was very popular with the Dagala conspirators here in this yurt, and they were very popular with their warriors. If this held, Janis believed she could withstand the pressures that would come to bear when one or more of her brothers demanded the role of Khanis for themselves.

"You know what to do," she told the kneeling men as she also gestured them to rise. "We must secure Khotkona before my brothers hear of what's happened here and bring their armies from the towns they control."

"Khasis," one of the men called out, standing to draw attention. "Please, mistress. Allow us to seek out and deal with your brothers as we have dealt with your father."

"No!" Janis said without hesitation. Then softer, she continued, "No, we will wait to see how each reacts. Rolan is, by law, Geegen's heir. He is unfit for the role, and my brother's know this. We will wait to see whether they support him at Khanis or attempt to claim power for themselves. If they do the latter, if they ignore the law regarding Rolan, then it only strengthens my own claim to power. They can not usurp him and then accuse me of doing the same."

"He is a male," one of the other Dagala reminded Janis. He laughed, adding, "He may not be able to swing a sword well enough, but his swinging cock makes him the rightful claimant to power."

Janis laughed. "Then if he tries to take power, I'll have to cut that swinging cock off and make us even."

There was laughter about the room. Janis looked around the room at the dead, found a particular man, and went to him. She removed a medallion from around his neck and returned to stand before Torva, who she instructed, "On your knees again."

He did as instructed, and Janis placed the medallion's chain around his neck. Stepping back, pulling the yet unused sword from the scabbard on her hip, and pointing it at the man, Janis said with an expected sense of formality, "Dagala Torva of the Khotkona Clan, you are from this day forth Dagala Suprema Loyalina."

Torva had known this was coming; it would be no surprise to him, and Janis wasn't surprised that he reached to take hold of the sword's tip and leaned forward to kiss it. Janis returned the sword to her side, ordered Torva to his feet, and looked to the others. With a smile, she said, "Let's get this done right, Dagala."

They all nodded to Janis and, one by one, departed. They would each go to their companies to explain what had happened, and each company would do as ordered to secure the city. That included one act for which Janis was regretful and yet certain must be done.

"Your company will tend to the companies of these men, yes?" she asked of Torva as she looked about at the Dagala who'd just been slaughtered. "I wish the least amount of bloodshed. Understand?"

All around him, the remaining living Dagala's dropped to a knee as Torva had himself. They swore their loyalty to Janis again, as they had when they'd joined the conspiracy. She told them, "You know what to do."

One of his fellow company leaders asked to deal with her brothers as they had her father. Torva hoped she would change her mind and order her male siblings executed. But she told them firmly, "No!"

What they'd done tonight had been risky. If the now dead Dagala had been less intoxicated, the dead could have included Janis's followers. If they all hadn't had their cocks deep in a slave's pussy or mouth, Torva would have lost men. If they had detected Janis cutting her way into the yurt, the blood spilled would have included those supporting the new Khanis. As it was, the execution of Geegen and his loyalist had been a total success.

What was coming ahead was even more risky, though. They were essentially seizing control of the Khanaland. There was a rightful heir to Geegen. It wasn't Janis. Never mind the fact that Janis was the better person to succeed her father. There were eight others with a more legally sound right to power.

Torva accepted the position of Janis's highest ranking Dagala. Then he listened to her instructions regarding the next step of securing power for her. "I wish the least amount of bloodshed. Understand?"

"I disagree," Torva said with a respectful tone. He bowed his head, adding, "But it will be so, Khanis."

He went out into the dark night. Two warriors approached him from the shadows. They'd been aware of and in support of the plot. Torva wondered whether their support was for him or Janis. He didn't care either way. But with others, this question could be important.

"Geegen is to be stripped, cleaned up, and redressed for the pyre," he told the two warriors. "The others are to be taken to the pyre as they are. Get it done quickly and quietly."

A dead warrior's path to the Great Fire in the Sky was dependent upon reaching a funeral pyre as soon after death as possible. This delivery to the fire was measured in minutes, not days. It was not uncommon for the non-combatant followers of the army to be piling the dead upon hastily built pyres even as the still living of that army were still fighting the enemy within eye sight.

This facet of their beliefs would prove beneficial this day. The last thing Torva or Janis needed was for her warriors or her people to see a dozen brutally executed Dagala. A pyre was still smoldering just a couple of dozen yards away. The dead from the attack on the village had been sent to the Great Fire in the Sky this very day. Torva's men would pile more fuel over the charred remains of the fallen. The fire would be roaring once again before dawn.

All across the town, Janis's Dagala were informing their companies of what had happened. Together, working with Torva, they would move to secure the town. The word about what had happened here tonight would very quickly get out to the towns controlled by Janis's brothers. Those brothers would be coming soon, with their armies. Khotkona had to be ready.

Torva's task was just as important if not more so. He went to his own company to fill them in. They'd been ordered just after sunset to be ready to deploy for a mission. Now, speaking to his officers, he informed them of their task. They were to round up the officers loyal to the dead Dagala. These men would be given a choice: swear loyalty to Janis, leave Khanaland, or die.

"None of you die tonight," Torva told his officers. "Khanis Janis wants the bloodshed to be limited. I vowed it would be so. However, if blood is spilled, it will be theirs and not ours. Understand?"

A squad headed for the each of the yurts of the slain Dagala's officers. No warrior readily accepts the entrance of others into his home without notice or sufficient reason, of course. There was, therefore, resistance. Torva's promise to minimize bloodshed was, therefore, lacking of what she'd hoped for. By the time the sun had risen, another 48 officers and warriors were dead, eight of them Torva's men.

The Great Fire in the Sky rose above the town's walls as the pyre raged. Bodies would continued to be delivered nearly to noon. The souls of those executed in Geegen's yurt made the journey first. Those subsequently killed throughout the morning were added as was more dry fuel.

Torva knew Janis disapproved of the number of warriors killed in the cleansing of Geegen loyalists. But he felt it better to be safe than sorry. By the time Khotkona was secure, the souls of 52 warriors were on their way to the Great Fire in the Sky. 14 of those had been working in support of Janis.

"Two riders escaped from the city, and three men on foot tried to reach the forest," Torva reported to Janis. "We stopped some of them, but not all. Your brothers will know before the end of the day what has happened. We will be prepared for the arrival of their forces, Khanis."

Just as she hadn't been surprised that Torva had been the first to support her, Janis wasn't surprised to find him eager to eliminate anyone and everyone who might be a threat to her. She'd heard him say in other situations in the past, Better safe than sorry, and she would have found it ironic that he was thinking the same thing now.

As the Dagala who'd sworn their loyalty to her and the nitlegi dalchaid who'd sworn their loyalty to them went to work dealing with the elements of Geegen's army that might be a problem, Janis herself dealt with the non-combatants that would be key to her success in taking over the Clan. With her twelve member, all female bodyguard squad, the Valiant, supported by another 30 warriors supplied by Torva, Janis rounded up the seven members of Geegen's Council of Elders, as well as the High Priestess and her three Priestesses of the Elements.

The sun was high by now, and the funeral pyre was roaring. Those in Janis's care showed their surprise at the bodies being thrown into the flames, but their spontaneous inquiries as to the identities of the dead went unanswered until they reached Gegeen's yurt. By the time of the arrival of these exalted members of the Clan, the dead had been removed, as had the hide floor covering and most anything else splattered with blood. That which was of lesser value or could be inexpensively replaced had been thrown onto the fire; the rest had been hidden out of sight for cleaning.

The home of the Clan's leader and his family -- who were being guarded over in other locations -- now appeared rather sparse with the removal of so much of its contents. Janis politely gestured the eleven very important members of the community to sit around the centrally located fire; again, she ignored their inquiries as to what had changed, as well as to why she was calling this meeting as opposed to her father, who was conspicuously absent.

"Khanis Geegen is dead," she said bluntly after she'd quieted down what amounted to the Clan's civilian leadership. Then, just as bluntly, she admitted, "I killed him."

There was as expected a great deal of shock, resulting in a flurry of questions about how this had come to be. Janis explained about the death of Yannis at the hands of Geegen, pulling the weapon the Khanis had used from her kip scabbard to show them. "If my father could kill my husband simply because he imagined him a threat, a threat which I have determined did not exist, what could he have done to any one of you, for speaking out against him?"

She looked to individual faces and reminded them of acts her father and her father's most loyal Dagalas had perpetrated against either them themselves or friends or family for whom they cared. There was hardly a person amongst those in attendance who didn't feel they'd been horribly wronged by Geegen at some point, more often than not with no way to seek amends or, if applicable, compensation for their losses.

"My father was an animal, a rabid monster!" Janis said with a growing sense of anger. "Our great Clan could no longer survive under his leadership, let alone thrive! He had to go. And the only person who could have done what needed to be done was me, his daughter. Not one of his sons, and most certainly not Rolan. This act perpetuated by my eldest brother would have appeared to be nothing more than a brutal overthrow by a power hungry, greedy son."

One of the council members stood and asked with an accusing tone, "But isn't this just a brutal overthrow by a power hungry, greedy daughter?"

One of Janis's Valiant stepped out of the shadows toward the speaker, fearing that a small uprising was about to occur. Janis motioned her to remain in place, a gesture the council member noted. The man added after gesturing to the Valiant's sword, "Are those who speak out against you going to be cut down and thrown onto the pyre, like your father and his Dagala?"

"No," Janis answered quickly. She asked the speaker to return to his seat, and once he had, she explained, "This is not about me and the power you believe I wish to take. This is about the future of our Clan and all those who live in it or who are subjects of it. I am not trying to claim more power for the Khanis. I am trying to lessen that power."

There was obvious doubt and suspicion in what Janis was saying. She went on to explain about how under Geegen, the vast majority of loot and pillage was initially his property, to be distributed as he saw fit, which meant he gave to those who gave back to him.

"How many deserving Clansmen were deprived of what they'd earned simply because my father disliked them?" she asked. The answer was in the eyes of the Council and Priestesses. "How many undeserving Clansmen were recipients of gold and slaves and stock animals and more because they feigned a loyalty to him that he couldn't see was false and potentially dangerous to our people?"

Again, the answer was in the expressions and quietly murmured words of the people sitting about the fire. She went on, "How much wealth was wasted, particularly in men, women, and children captured in battle who were so casually misused and abused and tortured and killed for the pleasure of my father and his Dagalas?"

She looked specifically to the High Priestess, who Janis knew had often been troubled by the excessive violence toward innocents following raids or conquest. "How many lives have been so brutally destroyed for Geegen's delight?"

One of the council members asked, "And what of your brothers? What of Rolan?"

"Will you have him executed as well?" another voice asked. A third offered, "And after Rolan, will you kill another brother, and another, and another, until finally the only child of Geegen left to rule is you?"

Janis considered her words a moment, then answered, "I won't have to kill Rolan or any of my brothers. If you support me."

There were a few seconds of silence before the room slowly became filled with conversation and subsequent debate and heated argument over which Janis was requesting. She stood there in silence, listening; she picked out individual questions, comments, and responses in an effort to gauge which of the 11 were supporters, detractors, or about to pretend to be one while actually the other.

The High Priestess stood and stepped forward, again asking a question that had been pondered earlier. "If any or all of us refuse you what you seek, how will you respond, Mistress? Will you kill them in the middle of the night as well?"

"I will not," Janis said without hesitation. She looked about the space, meeting each pair of eyes for a moment. Then, taking a risk she'd told Torva she wouldn't, Janis said, "If I do not have the support of you, the High Priestess, and if I do not also have the support of a majority of the Council, I will leave Khotkona. I will leave Khanaland. I will gather up my supporters, and I will depart."

The room fell into a shocked silence. Council members and religious sect members looked to one another in disbelief. Janis continued, "I will step out and let you speak, and when I return, I will abide by the decision you have made."

Janis turned on the heel of her boot and strode for the yurt's exit, not looking back and not reacting to the discussion that had already begun before she'd even left the eleven's sight. Outside, she found Torva and his company continuing with the burning of the dead. He explained that more than 50 had been killed, including 14 of his own.

"I am sorry for the loss of your men, Torva," Janis said with a sincere tone. Even though she was disappointed that another 38 Clansmen had been killed, she said nothing of it as it would have seemed disrespectful for the lives lost from Torva's loyal followers. Knowing he would be disappointed but feeling he needed to know, Janis told him, "I put my fate in the hands of the Council and High Priestess. They will take some time to make a decision without my father there to bully them. I will give them that time.

"Two riders escaped from the city..." Torva explained, talking about the actions he'd taken and finishing with, "Your brothers will know before the end of the day what has happened. We will be prepared for the arrival of their forces, Khanis."

"Please do, Torva," Janis said. "Our fates depend more upon you and your warriors than it does on those boot licking people inside my father's yurt."

She looked off toward a smaller yurt, saying, "I must inform my mother and the rest of the family of what I've done. I'm not looking forward to this."

Stepping closer to Torva, standing on her toes with a hand on his upper arm for support, and kissing him on the cheek, Janis said, "You have always been my friend, and I have always depended on you. With any luck, neither of us will be dead in the next few days, and that friendship will continue to live on."

With a smile, Janis turned and headed off to the yurt in which her mother and some of the rest of Geegen's extended family had been spending the night.

"I am sorry for the loss of your men, Torva," Janis said.

"They were your men, Khanis," Torva responded quickly. He gave her a nod of respect. "They believed in you, and they died willingly to see you succeed."

"I put my fate in the hands of the Council and High Priestess," she went on.

Torva's face likely betrayed his feelings about this. He and Janis had discussed whether or not to offer the Council a choice or simply disband it. Of course, these were well respected elders in the clan. They would have gathered in secret and made a decision regarding Janis. This was probably for the best.

She said she would give them time to decide. Torva informed her about the riders who'd escaped the city. She spoke of her mother, then neared Torva and kissed his cheek.

About their time together, Janis said, "With any luck, neither of us will be dead in the next few days, and that friendship will continue to live on."

"If I die in the next few days, Khanis," Torva said with a wide smile, "I will expect you to take your life and come join me in the Great Fire. On the other hand, if you should die and I don't, I wouldn't wait up for me. I met a young redhead recently that I'd like to spend some time with before I leave this earth."

Torva watched his friend and Chief depart. Then, he turned back to speaking with the Dagala and other warriors securing the town. The brothers were coming, and Torva wasn't going to let them inside the town's walls without a fight.

Torva spoke of wishing to remain a bit longer so that he could spend some pleasurable hours between the parted thighs of a redheaded slave, or at least that was how Janis's mind filled in the blanks. She held up an extended finger and demanded, "One night with her in your bed, then you come join me in the Great Fire."

She wanted to add where we will spend every night with you between my thighs but didn't. She'd long lusted for Torva, and she was pretty sure he had for her as well. But such interaction had never occurred between them. Maybe with her husband's death, Janis would finally know the joy of being with her first love. Maybe. There was far more with which to be concerned right now.


The slap that flipped Janis's head to one side a bit and stung her cheek intensely didn't came from her mother, of course, but it hadn't come because Janis had killed Geegen. Her mother asked, "Were you thinking about what would happen to us, the Khanis's wives and children? What is to become of us?"

"I will protect you," Janis promised. She'd told her mother about leaving the decision in the hands of the council, and that hadn't gone over well. She explained, "No harm will come to you, to any of you, I promise."

"And if the council, if the High Priestess sends us out into the world?" her mother asked. "What will happen to us out there, without walls and warriors to protect us?"

Janis, her mother, and many of the others argued off and on -- interrupted by a meal and the attention needs of small children -- for almost two hours. She'd gone outside for a moment to send a Valiant to Geegen's yurt to see if a decision had been made. There was no word as of yet. She'd also checked in with her spy, who was monitoring the situation closely. He told her that the Council had made no efforts to send a messenger out for any reason, particularly to take the temperature of the warriors within the town or to lure troops to this town from others in an attempt to displace the new wannabe Khanis.

Finally realizing that she was exhausted, Janis went to her own yurt in late afternoon to get some rest. She was out in less than a minute, but less than two hours later, the Dagalanala -- female leader -- of her Valiants awoke her with news that the Council had made a decision.

"We will not support your claim for control over the Clan, over Khotkona, or over Khanaland," the High Priestess announced when Janis returned to her father's yurt. "You may execute the lot of us if you wish, but keep in mind that some here today did support your claim. You will be killing innocents, which is one of the faults of your father for which you claim to have killed him."

Janis just stared at the holy woman for the longest time, unsure of how to react. She'd been so sure that the people would support her. But then, these were not the people. Janis contemplated for a moment taking her argument to them directly and looking for a consensus amongst them. But the Council had spoken, and even if the people supported her, the people in power would ally with Rolan or one of her other brothers.

"I understand," Janis said. She thought a few seconds, then said I will need the day to organize to leave the city. I will leave at first light."

Outside, Janis tol Torva the news, adding, "We have less than 12 hours to get together as much food and other supplies to sustain us for days, possibly weeks."

She knew Torva would ask where they were going, and she had an answer for him.

"Barbaria."

Torva had been informed about Janis being called to Geegen's yurt. He was standing by when she emerged. He was surprised it hadn't taken but maybe a single minute.

"We have less than 12 hours to get together as much food and other supplies to sustain us for days, possibly weeks."

The new Dagala Suprema Loyalina simply stared at his new Khanis, unsure of how to respond. Janis had warned him of this possibility. But honestly, Torva hadn't imagined she would allow it to happen. Resigned, he asked, "Where will we go?"

He'd half expected her to name one of the towns that had pledged fealty to Geegen but wasn't under the direct control of one of his sons or daughter's husbands. There were only two of which Torva was familiar. But each was walled and might, might, be defensible against an attack by one or more of Janis's brothers.

She surprised him, though, when she answered, "Barbaria."

Torva continued to stare with a surprise expression. Then he laughed. "Barbaria? Are you insane?"

He knew he shouldn't have said such a thing to his Khanis. It was within her right to pull out her knife and sink it into his heart. But he knew that she knew he was speaking to the friend he'd loved all his life and would give his life to protect. And if there was anywhere in this world when he might have to do that, it was Barbaria.

She explained her reasoning to him to the degree of which she, the Khanis, felt necessary. And although he still wasn't entirely convinced that this was the right thing to do, he took a step back from her, bowed respectfully, and said, "I'll begin preparations immediately."

"Barbaria? Are you insane?"

Janis's gaze spun to Torva, and her face was filled with a combination of surprise and anger, but not once -- as he may have been fearing -- did she ever think about cutting his throat open for insubordination and lack of respect. She'd actually somewhat expected this reaction, and if he hadn't expressed his dismay in this fashion, she probably would have been disappointed.

"Yes, I am likely insane," she responded with an honestly concerned tone in her voice. "But I don't see any other option. The High Priestess won't support my claim. The Council will not support my claim. Almost 50 warriors whose swords I needed to keep my brothers at bay did not support my claim and are now burning right there!"

That number hadn't been entirely accurate, as more than a dozen of the dead had fallen in service to her, but Janis knew that for every warrior whose soul was rising to the Great Fire in the Sky, there was likely another one who'd said he would be loyal to her but might be just as likely to stab her in the back at the earliest convenience.

"Barbaria is a wild and dangerous land," she said, not telling Torva anything he didn't know, "but my brothers will not follow us into it. Why would they? The Mountain Folk will likely kill the lot of us, so why bother chasing us into those hills?"

She looked to Torva and read his expression. She smiled, telling him, "Your warriors are the bravest, strongest, most experienced fighters in the world. Our workers, builders, hunters, weavers, miners, they are the best at what they do.
This is why Khanaland is the greatest nation in the world. We can withstand whatever those backward, ignorant heathens can throw at us."

Janis didn't know if she'd convinced Torva, but he showed his respect in a formal bow of his head and told her, "I'll begin preparations immediately."

As her senior Dagala departed, Janis thought back to what she'd said about the High Priestess and Council not supporting her. She called out to Torva, "Stop!"

They each walked toward the other, and with a widening smile, she told him, "I have a better idea."


Before they separated the night before, Janis had ordered Torva and his warriors to further secure the town against threats from within and without. Her own Valiants wandered about the streets announcing a curfew until sunrise, at which time every citizen of the town regardless of status was to assemble in the town square.

For added security, the entirety of the army was called to the square just before sundown, and once they were there, Torva's loyalists disarmed those whose loyalty was questionable. The disarmed warriors were herded into one of the barracks, where they were locked in for the night, under plentiful guard.

The last bit of security was civilian in nature. Janis ordered the Council and Priestesses housed in the Temple for the night and her own extended family back into Geegen's yurt; these two groups were also under guard through the night.

This morning, as the sun rose in from behind the mountains in the east, the Temple bells rang out the signal for assembly in the town square. The Valiants again made the rounds through the town's streets, announcing that anyone found beyond the perimeter of the square by the time the bells stopped ringing would be summarily executed. Thankfully, with the exception of a trio of bedridden souls, everyone followed the order to assemble.

Before she allowed them out of the temple, Janis confronted those who'd spent the cold night huddled in a corner with only a handful of blankets provided for warmth. "Which of you chose to support me, and which of you did not. Do not fear retribution. I will not harm those who could not see me as a good and just leader of our people."

It took a moment to get a response, and when it came, Janis was surprised. The High Priestess informed her, "Not one of us supports your claim, Janis. I'm sorry."

"Not one?" she asked with dismay. "No one? Not one of you?"

She inquired as to whether they were fearful of retribution not from her but from the other Council Members or possibly from the High Priestess herself. Then, "Maybe you fear my brothers and what they will do to you if they learn you backed me over them. If so, I promise you, you may come with me and my loyalist. You need not fear retribution from anyone. Just be honest with me. Not one person here supports what I have done and what I could have done for our people."

Looking into the eyes of those who could bare to look back at her, Janis was certain that some of if not most of the Council and even one or two of the Priestesses of the Elements had actually spoke on her behalf. But none would step up for her now.

"So be it then," Janis said. She stepped aside and swept a hand toward the Temple door, saying, "Please assemble in the town square."

Some, including the High Priestess, wanted to know what was about to happen. When Janis insisted they go outside and some didn't want to go, she pulled from her hip the dagger that had killed her husband and threatened, "Go outside and learn your fate or stay in here and meet it now!"

They all went outside, and by the time Janis joined them, the entirety of the town's population -- roughly 800 men, women, and children, both free and enslaved -- was assembled before a natural rock ledge that ran 50 feet through the mostly empty, central portion of the city; for generations from the highest point about 8 feet above the crowd area, announcements had been made, slave auctions had been held, and heads had been removed with the swing of the ax. Very often when people were called to the Wall, very few knew exactly what awaited them.

Janis made her way to the high point of the rock shelf, looked out upon the nervous looking crowd, and began. She gave a short synopsis of both how she'd killed her father -- without the graphic detail -- and why, then announced, "I will be leaving Khotkona today, never to return. I have been told by the High Priestess and the Council that I will not be accepted by them as the Khanis and am no longer welcome here."

The crowed exploded in a combination of cheers and jeers; Janis could see that it seemed fairly evenly split between those who supported her and those who didn't. She told them the news of where she'd be going, Barbaria, and the demeanor of the crowd changed to one of mixed concern, fear, worry, and -- from those who obviously didn't support her -- calls of such things as I hope they rape you to death or do they still eat traitors for breakfast in the mountains?

Janis ignored the taunts. They actually helped to prompt her toward what she was about to do. The Priestesses and the Council were off to her left. Janis pointed to her right, saying, "Anyone who wishes to follow me into Barbaria, to begin a new life, move to this side."

The crowd stirred, and a few people but not many began moving left of right, depending upon their preferences for their futures. Janis called out more warnings about how the trek to and into the mountains would be fraught with danger but, she promised, worth the risk. "But it is not for the weak of heart, weak of mind, or weak of body. Choose wisely."

The crowd became more animated, with the majority of those assembled moving to her left, toward the Council and High Priest. Janis had been watching individual faces, specific faces, for the choice they made; she was watching the slaves. Without exception, each of them was moving to her left but not of their own free will; they were being herded by their owners, who had no intention of letting these valuable pieces of human property out of their sight.

Janis signaled Torva and the Dagalanala of her Valiants. The male and female warriors who'd encircled the crowd but as of yet remained back began moving into the crowd and separating slaves from their masters. There was fury from some of the latter, but a minor level of threat from those with swords, clubs, and spears ended that, and soon all of the slaves of Khotkona had been separated from their owners and assembled in the middle.

There were now three very defined groups separated below Janis: to the left, noticeably a bit more than half the population of the town, including the rich and powerful and those who simply didn't support Janis or feared doing so; in the middle, the slaves, who amounted to over a third of Khotkona's population; and to the right, the rest, which Janis would come to learn later were mostly the poor, the abused, the downtrodden, and the victims of any number of injustices perpetrated by the largest of the three groups.

The warriors formed up between the group to the left and the group in the middle, and Janis announced, "All of you below me here ... you are now free people."

There was uproar to Janis's left, which led to the warriors pointing their spears and swords at the noise makers. Amongst the slaves, there was a mix of excitement and disbelief. Janis continued, "You have the choice. You may join me and travel to Barbaria. You may join me and leave Khotkona and, at any time you wish, separate off and go anywhere you please, as free people."

She glared down at the High Priestess, who personally owned nine of the slaves now assembled in the middle of the square. Looking back to the involuntary laborers and pointing to her left, Janis said, "Or, you can return to your masters and mistresses and return to your lifes of servitude. Decide now."

What happened next was incredible. Immediately, some of the slaves who'd had servitude so beaten into their psyche began to return to Janis's left, while others with no doubt about wanting freedom moved to her right, and simultaneously members of both groups attempted to talk the members of the other group to reverse their course. There were loud arguments and even some scuffles, but as the tens of seconds passed, more and more of the enslaved joined the people on Janis's right while those going left became fewer in number and obviously reluctant to return to bondage.

In the end, 4 out of 5 of those who'd been in the center of the square had joined with the group that was to leave Khotkona. Janis smiled, happy with what she saw. She looked to Torva with a knowing expression; the fun was about to begin.

She told those who were staying behind that they were to hurriedly return to their homes or your businesses and fill their hand and arms with anything and everything which held value to them. They didn't understand, of course; it was a strange task like nothing of which they'd ever heard before.

Janis looked to the other group and told them that after the first group had done as they were ordered, they, too, would be given an opportunity to fill their hands with all they could carry. She clarified, "Only, you can go into any home and any business to take any loot you wish."

Oh, this caused an uproar on Janis's left which resulted in several objectors surging forth angrily and two of them being stabbed by spears, one of them fatally. Once the crowd had gone quieter at her gestures for silence, Janis gestured a slave over from her right, asking, "You are a foot messenger, are you not?"

He acknowledged that he was, and -- ensuring that the people to her left could hear -- she ordered, "You will run around the town twice. You can do that without tiring, yes? Good. You will run the full circuit around the town walls as fast as you can. When you have finished your first circuit, the bells of the temple will begin sounding, to let you--"

Janis looked to the people on her left as she went on, "--know that the runner has finished half his run. The bells will sound eight times and then cease. When the messenger comes around the west corner of the city walls, the bells will begin sounding again, only continuously this time. When the messenger completes the second loop and enters the gate, the bells will cease ringing, and anyone of you who is not back here where you stand now with your personal treasures will get none of it. So, I advise you to pay attention to the bells."

The crowd to the left was a mix of disbelief and anger, but most noticed that Janis pointed toward the town wall gate and hollered at the runner, "Go!"

The man took off at a sprint, and the lefties became a jumbled mass of those taking off for their homes or businesses and those who didn't move refusing to believe that this was happening. Janis looked down and found the High Priestess and her Priestesses of the Elements standing stoic where they'd been the entire time, but behind them the entirety of the town council had run off toward their homes.

"I see you do not wish to partake of my little game, High Priestess," Janis said with humor.

"You will pay dearly for this betrayal of your clan and your people, Mistress," the other woman said with scorn.

Janis laughed, then -- wishing to see what reaction she would get -- looked to the group on her right; many of the people there were animatedly speaking about where they could loot what from whom. Janis called out for their attention, then reminded them, "We will be walking by foot for many weeks, possibly months. Think of that when you select what you wish to claim. Wooden idols may look valuable but they are hard to eat or sleep on."

She glanced to the High Priestess again, smiled, then looked to the righties again. "I would also like to remind you that the Temple is unlocked and filled with treasures that could easily be traded for food, blankets, and clothing as we travel."

Janis looked back to the High Priestess, finding the anger in her face all too evident. After a long stare down, the holy woman turned to whisper to the three Elemental Priestesses, and a moment later all three of them were pulling up their gowns and sprinting for the Temple.

Torva had seen and been part of a great number of things in his still young life. There'd been too many events to remember them all. But those of the past two days would never be forgotten by him. He'd conspired to usurp a Khanis. He'd assisted in that Khanis's assassination. He, with others, had slaughtered a dozen drunk Dagala, most of whom had their cocks out, being pleasured. He, again with others, had killed three dozen warriors and civilians simply on his suspicion that they could not be trusted. He'd imprisoned entire companies of men on the same suspicions. And during the night, he with other men loyal to the cause had killed a dozen people who'd been sneaking about during the curfew.

And then came today's events.

He and Janis had discussed her plans for the morning last night. He'd shaken his head in disbelief. It was simply marvelous in its design. He'd questioned whether it would work. Now, as it happened, Torva smiled with delight.

The crowd on his Khanis's left had scattered back toward their homes and businesses. The crowd remaining cheered and jeered both as they did. The atmosphere was celebratory. Torva ordered his warriors to ring the perimeter of the square. They stood tight together in foursomes, set a few feet apart. The effect was that gaps between the quartets allowed for the return of the current group of scavengers to return as they'd been ordered without barrier.

After several minutes, a horn sounded from the city wall's parapet walkway. It signaled the runner's first approach to the gate. The town's main road allowed Torva to see the gate from where he stood. A body, the messenger, shot past the gate, the horn sounded again, and the temple bell began it's ringing.

Soon after, the first of those who had rushed off to collect their valuables began emerging from the adjacent city streets. Some clutched candlesticks and other items of gold and silver. Other had sacks or chests of whatever they found valuable to themselves. A dressmaker of Torva's acquaintance and her three children carried armfuls of their life's work. One large man, the Smithy, struggled under the weight of more than two dozen swords, clanging against one another in their scabbards or belt rings.

Then the horn sounded again. And the bell ringing began and did not cease. Those who had not yet returned did so now with great haste. Torva could see the reason for their delayed reappearance. Many had attempted to collect too much, either in quantity or weight or awkwardness. Most labored exhaustively. Some stumbled under their loads. Some obviously feared they would not return in time and began unloading themselves as they rushed back.

Torva and many others watched the gate. And then, the messenger was there. He reentered the town only a few yards before collapsing to the ground. Someone with forethought was there to offer him water. The horn had sounded again from the wall and the bell ringer ceased his efforts. And without delay, Torva orderd loudly, "Close!"

His small groups of warriors dispersed to form a barrier. Behind them were those who intended to stay with their personal treasures. Before them were those who hadn't returned in time. Some tried to penetrate the line but were pushed back. Torva, who was at the line, ordered their hands emptied of their loot. There was resistance, of course. But the warriors dealt with that efficiently with clubs and fists. As they were stripped of most of what they'd retrieved, they were pushed through the line to join their chosen group.

The emotions running through this group and the other were high. Ironically, Janis's left group was very quiet. They were exhausted and spent. Most sat or even laid on the group, clutching all that was theirs now. The second group, however, was jubilant. They knew it was their turn now.

Torva looked past his perimeter of warriors to his Khanis for direction. The second half of her fun was now to begin.

Watching the events unfolding before her were both exciting and heart wrenching for Janis. Khothona had been her home since birth, and while she'd often very much disliked the way her father, his army, and the upper class conducted business -- which had often been torturous and even deadly for the lower class -- it had been her home and she herself had been comfortable and relatively happy here. And now, she was tearing the place apart.

She knew each and every one of the men, women, and children rushing from her left to their homes to save what wealth they had, as well as each and every one of the men, women, children, and slaves of each gender to her right, many of whom were jeering at the first group, knowing that for the first time ever, they had a Khanis on their side.

After the bell ceased its final tolling and Torva dealt with those lefties who hadn't returned in time, Janis gestured for silence below her. She signaled a Valiant atop a nearby wall, who in turn signaled someone out of Janis's view. A minute later, the first of 8 two wheeled carts led by the Valiants began to appear, pulled by mules and heavily laden with bagged or crated food stuffs, hide tents, and more goods that would be needed on the trek to Barbaria.

As they passed between the two groups below Janis, onward toward and through the gate, there were angry accusations of theft from some of those laying or sitting on the ground with their wealth; much of the grain and other goods had come from their silos or warehouses. Janis ignored the uproar and looked to Torva to quell it should it become violent.

Once the noise and dust of the train had passed, Janis looked to the smaller of the two groups, which she could see was excited about their turn at looting the town for wealth. She told them that a second runner -- this time chosen by and from the other group -- would once again encircle the town to set a time limit for pillaging.

"Fill your hands with what you find of value, but remember," she warned. "We are traveling across a vast land to a distant place, enduring many trials and dangers along the way. Be wise in what you choose. You cannot defend yourself against attackers with a golden statue stolen from your wealthy neighbors home, nor can you keep your children warm and in comfort with the beautiful dresses of your master's wife."

Below her, a man called out, "Yes, Khanis, I could! Have you seen the size of my master's wife?"

There was laughter, and the man added, "I could make a tent for ten from just one of her gowns!"

There was more laughter, mixed with jeering from his crowd and foul language and threats from the crowd at which he was poking fun. Janis gestured for silence, then finished, "Fill your hands as you will, and be happy with what you took or regretful of what you didn't. But, as with the others, you have only a limited time. The bells will toll as the first circuit is completed, and when the bells cease ringing the second time, you must be outside the gates to join the trek to Barbaria or you will remain here with those from whom you looted."

Janis could see how that warning affected those to whom she was speaking. She repeated again that they had to be outside the gates on time, barriers which would then be closed. She looked between those on her left and those on her right, then waved a hand out before her and called, "Begin!"

Unlike the first, larger group -- which hadn't been entirely certain that this was truly happening -- this second, smaller group dispersed in an instant. Some of them headed straight for the valuables that had been stripped for the too-slow members of the first group, snatching up anything shiny and pretty; most of the members of this group -- laborers, commoners, peasants, and slaves -- headed quickly toward their own homes or toward the businesses in which they knew they could find not just things of valuable in the future at some marketplace but things that would help them to survive the walk to Barbaria.

Janis looked to the High Priestess and the council members who were not far from her and pointed out, "The looting had begun, and yet you have not dispatched your runner."

Suddenly, those who had once run the town under Geegen's direction were scrambling to select and dispatch a runner. A young man -- the son of a council member -- was being stripped of everything in his hands and of his outer garments, and a moment later he was running for the gate. Janis -- as well as some of the warriors and Valiants -- couldn't help but smile or even laugh at the humorous event.

Janis gestured to a Valiant, who led the Khanis's horse to the rock ledge. Janis mounted the beautiful beast and walked it toward the gate. She gave the High Priestess -- who hadn't moved a hair during all of this -- and gave her a respectful nod of her head.

"I leave Khothona in your hands, Priestess," Janis said. "Take care of it until one of my brothers comes to continue my father's legacy."

Suddenly, one of the Priestesses of the Elements broke from her little grouping of intricately dressed holy women, calling out in desperation, "Please, Mistress! Please! Take me with you. Allow me to join you."

The High Priestess hollered at the girl to return, then gestured the other two Elemental Priestesses to collect her. But with a nod from Janis, Torva's warriors let the younger woman pass through and then leveled their spear points at the other two, stopping them in their tracks.

The Priestess continued to beg to be taken to Barbaria, and after a moment -- and a hard glare at the girl's true mistress -- Janis instructed the girl, "Hurry and collect what you find of value to you. The bells will ring soon."

The girl only looked up into Janis's eyes with a happy expression and said as she pressed a hand to her bosom, "I have all I need in here, in my heart, and in you, Khanis."

She spoke the latter as she pressed her hand to Janis's thigh, indicating and said, "I pledge my loyalty to you."

With that she began walking toward the gate, but -- nearing where Torva stood, watching the encounter unfold -- the girl couldn't help but reach to the ground to pick up two or three or four things that might sell well at a marketplace. She looked back to Janis, smiled, giggled, and said, "Maybe just a little treasure."

Janis laughed with her, then urged her mount forward again. When she reached Torva, she said, "I will await you outside the gate. When the bell has ceased tolling the second time, gather the bell ringer and your men and let's leave this place."

She reached out to pat her Dagala on a muscular, powerful thigh, then again urged her horse forward. After the carts and a few of her Valiants, Janis was the first to exit the town. She watched the runner -- huffing and wheezing -- pass by the first time, signaling the eight rings of the bell.

A couple of minutes after he had run out of sight around the eastern tower, the very first of those leaving Khothona began emerging from the town. Janis had never seen this class of people smile so widely before. Was it that some of them had just increased their wealth significantly? Or was it because they were eager for a new beginning in their lives? Both?

One of the Valiants began instructing those appearing to follow behind the carts, which had already covered a significant distance to the southwest away from the city gates. Janis watched the number of people passing through the gate increasing, almost to the point of a bottleneck. A girl fell but was quickly aided by a warrior standing nearby. An old man couldn't handle the load he'd accumulated inside a blanket, leading to a mounted Valiant asking for the package, telling him he would find it on the rear cart when they stopped for the night.

Suddenly, there was a horn call, and Janis looked to the western tower to see the runner heading their way. She looked to those who'd already passed through the gate and then to the gate itself, through which many more were passing. She knew there wasn't going to be enough time. She spurred her horse forward, finding a gap and entering the town again.

"Hurry!" she called out, repeating the order again, then again. Those who could see and hear her moved quicker, particularly after she called out, "The gate is closing. Hurry or be left behind!"

She looked up to the tower, from which the tolls were continuing, then to Torva, who was directing his men to keep the first group of looters restricted to their little area on the square. She wanted to change the rules of the game to benefit those leaving Khothona with her, but tensions were already high amongst those who felt they were being robbed of their individual and community fortunes.

"When the bell ceases, you come!" she reminded him. "You and your men come. You come with me, Torva."

Janis looked to the crowd to be left behind, and she knew that if they decided to surge forth, to use violence to stop what they saw as so wrong and so legal, that there would be a massacre, possibly resulting in many deaths on both sides. Janis could deal with the death of some of the rich and powerful, a class of which she, obviously, was a member. But her one and only concern was that Torva got out of this town and beyond the gate safely.

She wheeled her horse around and took it back out of the gate. Most of the people leaving Khotkona were outside the city now, but there were still stragglers -- the elderly, the very young with parents, and the lame -- doing their best to reach and pass through the gates. Janis looked to the runner; he was exhausted and barely still on his feet, but he was approaching, and time was running out.

She looked to the town's entrance -- or exit in this context -- and caught sight of an elderly man heavy with possessions, clutching two small children by their hands as he struggled forward. She dismounted from her horse and ran to the man, snatching up the children, one in each hand, and commanding him, "Hurry! Hurry!"

Janis repeatedly told herself versions of Keep the gate open! Keep it open! You are in charge! You are making the rules! Change them! But something inside her told her she would do more harm than good. What she'd done already over the past half day had been so wrong in the eyes of Clan's Law. She couldn't do more and continue to see herself as a lawful leader of men.

She saw the runner so near and knew that only seconds remained. Then there was a cry, and looking back into the gates, she found a mother laying on the ground with her sobbing toddler over her. The bell's tolling had increased in speed and volume; the end was near. Janis ran for the woman and her child even as Torva's warriors were departing the city.

"Go, go!" she hollered at Torva as he brought up the rear of his army. She snatched up the child and literally threw her up into the Dagala's arms, demanding, "Go! I'll be right behind you."

She attempted to lift the woman to her feet, but she wasn't exactly the lightest of females. Suddenly, the load was lightened when a second person lent a hand. Janis's eyes widened at the sight of the High Priestess grasping the ill and weak woman from the other side.

"Hurry, you must leave," the holy woman told her. Together they lifted the woman and rushed for the gate, and once they were outside, the Priestess said with a tone of respect, "I wish you and your people safety on your journey."

Janis smiled to and then bowed her head to the other woman. Then, at the same time, they both looked to find the runner approaching at a quick walk. He was panting and wheezing and begging for water as he neared the gate.

"Stop!"

The messenger came to a halt, expecting that the wannabe Khanis had been the one who ordered him still. But it had been the High Priestess who'd brought his run to a stop outside the gate. She looked through the open barrier to find three more people hurrying for freedom. She looked to Janis with a bit of a smirk, to the runner with a stern glare, and back inside toward the group of stay-behinds who, by now, were screaming bloody murder as they saw their possessions continuing to leave their city.

"Go inside," the High Priestess told the boy as the last of Janis's followers passed through the portal. She gave Janis one last meaningful look before turning and helping the boy inside.

The bells ceased a moment later, and as she waited, Janis watched the bell ringer and the warrior who'd been minding the horses hurry at full gallop out of Khotkona. The gates came closed, and Janis turned her horse to look to the road. She and her people were leaving.

Next stop, Barbaria.

Torva found himself torn between watching the excitement of the second group of treasure gatherers and the anger of the first. His warriors were kept busy with jabbing their spears and swords at those who had already selected their valuables. They felt betrayed that what they hadn't been able to carry was now being stolen by people they felt were lessers to them.

When at last it was time to depart the town, Torva called the commands to his men. They turned to leave, and the crowd they'd been holding back surged forward. Torva spun his horse back toward the advancing civilians, calling to his men, "Guard! Guard!"

They spent the next several minutes pulling back while still threatening the townsfolk with their weapons. His men became more packed as the semicircle tightened, shoulder to shoulder. One at a time, men pulled out and ran for the gate.

"Archers!" Torva hollered from atop his horse to another nearby mounted Dagala.

The officer kicked his horse to speed and hurried out the gate. The bell ringer and the warrior with him rode by Torva swiftly for the gate. By now, there were only twelve spearmen holding back the angry crowd of hundreds. Torva looked over his shoulders anxiously several times. Finally, a squad of 10 or more archers filled the entry to the city.

"Spearmen! Prepare for reverse! Archers down!" Torva called.

Together, the majority of the spearmen acknowledged the command, "Archers down, on command!"

"Notch! Draw!" Torva commanded the archers as he backed his mount out of the line of fire. Finding the archers ready, he commanded, "Spearmen, reverse and down!"

The line of spearmen suddenly turned their backs to the crowd and fell to their bellies. Even as they were hitting the ground, Torva ordered, "Archers, loose!"

Arrows whizzed over the spearmen and found their targets. Screams of agony and the attack itself stunned the crowd. It backed a few steps as a whole. Torva commanded the spearmen to their feet. They were up in an instant and running for the gate. As they did so, they fell into two columns. This opened the crowd do another volley of arrows, which Torva commanded. Again, there was panic in the crowd.

"Archers, withdraw!" Torva commanded, and in less than twenty seconds the last of those leaving with Janis were out of the cities. Torva's warriors pulled the gate closed from the outside. They made quick work of nailing it shut. Oh, the barricade would never hold, of course. But Torva only wanted to delay a counterattack until Janis's people had gotten some distance from the city.

During the fun of the pass many minutes, someone had released the warriors still locked in the barracks. Arrows began raining down on Torva's men. That, for him, was the sign that it was time to depart. He ordered him men away, and in a minute or so, they were were safely out of range of the arrows being shot from the wall.

Torva ensured that his men were able to travel. The injured were put on horses or carts. He caught up with Janis and reported his casualties were light. He rode in silence beside her for a bit, looking this way and that, surveying. Finally, he smiled wide to her.

"You pulled this off, Khanis," he said with obvious approval.

Janis had seen and heard the mayhem taking place beyond the gates prior to its closure. She had hoped to avoid bloodshed, but she knew that Torva and his warriors had done what they needed to protect the people departing the town. When he caught up to her, she did not ask about the death and destruction left behind.

"You pulled this off, Khanis," the Dagala said.

"We pulled this off, Torva," Janis responded, adding, "my friend."

They rode for a while more in silence, surveying all that was ahead of them and only occasionally glancing back to what they were leaving. The gates had been finally opened again just as Janis and Torva -- at the rear of the train -- were passing over the hillock beyond which they would no longer be able to see Khotkona.

"It might be good to leave some archers amongst the trees here to guard our departure, Torva," Janis suggested. They discussed it, and she left the decision to him before saying, "I'll ride ahead. I wish to check on the others."

She urged her ride into a soft canter and gave most of those who she passed a glance and a smile. Every range of emotion could be found in the faces of who were now her people: happiness, fear, anxiety, anger, and -- she thought -- hope. Occasionally someone would call up their thankfulness or make inquiries about the hours and days to come. Janis reassured them that all would be well and that a new and better life awaited them.

They had left Khothona at mid-morning at a quick pace that slowed a bit as the first miles wore on them. Janis's Valiants ensured water and bread was had by all while Torva's warriors went out ahead to look for dangers, which Janis knew might come in the form of her brother's armies. Children, the elderly, and the infirmed were loaded onto the carts, which burdened the mules but not so much as to prevent them from laboring heroically.

Janis had noticed almost immediately that some of the people were discovering that their treasures were to heavy or awkward to justify their transport. Some discarded things they'd collected or tried to trade them while still en route. Sometimes, the people nearer the rear would snatch up newfound treasures; they would keep them or realize the same about them and drop them once again.

Janis considered pulling a cart back to collect the discards, some of which would be of value at a marketplace in the days to come. She didn't, though; she had filched and stored on one of the carts a fortune in coin from her father's treasury. What difference would a few trinkets dropped on the steppe mean to her?

When Torva caught up and informed her that it was safe to camp, Janis made the decision to do so a couple of hours before sunset. As promised, tents and bedding were made available from one of the carts. A kitchen was quickly set up, and a hot meal and warming drinks were being served from a food line in no time at all.

Off to one side, a few people sitting together and trading soon turned into a legitimate marketplace. Janis saw an opportunity to turn the looted treasures which had little if any value out here in the wild into something that people could use; she sent some of the food, drinks, excess bedding, clothes, and more to the market with her Valiants serving as seller-buyers. By the time the cold and a threatening rain broke up the market, Janis had accumulated two cart loads of jewelry, dishware, art work, and more and had distributed an abundance of items her people could actually use.

Torva set the watches to keep an eye out for dangers -- from Khothona and otherwise -- and Janis settled down in her tent with some of her Valiants and her servants from Khotkona. As the torches were taken outside and the candles reduced in number, Janis invited the slaves and indentured servants closer and told them, "You are all free people now."

The joy was overwhelming, but Janis shrugged it off as being the right thing to do. She ordered them all to bed, and while it took her longer than most of the others, Janis did finally find sleep herself.

"We pulled this off, Torva," the Khanis corrected, adding, "my friend."

Torva smiled at the sound of that. They always had been friends, of course. But her noble rank and his military position had often prevented them from enjoying their friendship. Many frowned on familiarity between the servants and the people they served.

Janis suggested some defense at the train's rear. Torva agreed and rode off to arrange it. It would turn out to be a good idea. Almost immediately, the Council had dispatched a squad to track and perhaps even hassle Janis and her departing traitors. When they rode into the trees on the hillock, Torva's hidden archers attacked. As mayhem ensued, the Dagala's swordsmen came out and finished the men still alive.

"Collect it all," Torva told them. "Arms, armor, clothing. Catch the horse that wandered off. Then, burn them. They are good men doing their jobs. Send their souls to the Great Fire in the Sky."

When sunset arrived, the rear guard was replaced by a smaller night watch. Torva returned to the camp and partook of the marketplace. He traded coin which the civilians could easily carry for things they couldn't. Then he traded those items to Janis's Valiants for socks and underclothing that he could very much use.

After he knew the night watches were set, Torva finally settled down for the night. He was sharing a small tent with three Dagalas. They were currently in command of the night watches. He was out of his uniform and just crawling into his bed when a slave girl named Naoma pulled back the tent's flap and asked to enter. She didn't wait for an answer but instead simply entered. Then, also without direction, she pulled her dress up over her head. In an instant, she wore nothing but a badly worn pair of knee high, soft soled boots.

A few minutes earlier:

Naoma rose slowly and quietly from her bed along the wall of Janis's tent. She'd lain down fully dressed, wearing even her boots; she'd had no intention of sleeping here tonight. She looked beyond the many bodies strewn about the floor of the tent to find the face of the peacefully sleeping Janis, who was sharing her more luxurious bed with a dozen or more of her younger relatives.

Carefully stepping through the bodies, Naoma pulled back the door flap and flinched in surprise at the Valiant standing guard there. Naoma should have realized there would be at least one of the female guards outside the tent and felt silly for being so easily surprised.

"I must pee," she whispered to the woman before passing by and disappearing into the night.

Behind her, Janis had lifted her head to watch the departing woman. She knew exactly where Naoma was going, and she was conflicted as to how she felt about it because she herself had contemplated spending her night there as well. But Janis had more important things than sex with which to deal at this time, and -- to be honest -- Naoma deserved that for which she silently sneaking through the camp.

Naoma had been in servitude to Janis's family literally since the day of her birth. Her mother, Kenya, had been but a girl when her village was attacked by Geegen's forces and added to the territories of Khanaland. Janis's mother had claimed Kenya and put her to work as a house servant. Once Kenya had come of age, Janis's father had put her to work as well, in his bed, of course.

She'd died giving birth to Naomo, her first child, and because Geegen had never shared Kenya with another man -- something he often did with his other lovers, whether wife, consort, or slave -- there was no doubt that Naoma was Geegen's child. This, of course, made Naoma Janis's half-sister.

But Naoma's mother was a slave, not a free woman as had been Geegen's consorts and wives. Thus, Naoma was born a slave as well. And she was never told that she was Geegen's daughter, something made simple by that fact that only two people knew -- Janis's parents -- and neither of them spoke of such things to others.

From the time she could walk, Naoma was performing chores for Janis's mother; her first task as a toddler had been wandering about the yurt and squishing crawly-crawlies under her bared feet. Her work list expanded as she aged into a more capable girl. When she came of age and became a woman, her work began to include taking Geegen's cock into her warm, wet holes, despite being his daughter.

As with her mother before her, Geegen never shared Naoma with another man. Unlike Kenya -- who'd pleasured her Khanis for almost four years -- Naoma had served Geegen only a couple of dozen times before -- just yesterday -- his life like Naoma's service to him came to a sudden end.

Despite being the Khanis's play thing, Naoma had had her eye on one particular male for years, and that male was the same one that Janis had lusted for at various times in her life, too. The two of them had spoken together about Torva dozens of times without Naoma ever realizing that Janis felt the same heat for him.

But without permission from Geegen -- which she was never going to get -- going to Torva or any man for that matter would have meant whipping, followed by being given over to Geegen's officers for their sexual pleasure. But now, with Geegen's death and Janis's releasing her of her bonds, Naoma was free to do whatever she wanted to do with her body.

Tonight, that meant laying naked with Torva.

At his tent, she entered without invitation and -- not believing she would need it -- removed her dress with invite as well. She pulled back Torva's bedding to find him in his underclothes. Without a word, she reached for his cock and began kneading it toward stiffness as she whispered, "I need you inside of me, Dagala."

Naoma grasped Torva's cock and gave it a squeeze, telling him, "I need you inside of me, Dagala."

Torva had never refused a woman the pleasure of his cock before. Many had asked for his company. Not as many as those of whom he'd asked the same, of course. But there had been plenty still. They often had an agenda, and more often than not Torva had known what that agenda was. And yet he'd fucked everyone of them without question. Worry about the reasons after you'll filled her with cum, had been his thinking.

But this was different, and Torva snatched Naoma's hand from his cock and said, "You are a slave, Naoma. You belonged to Geegen, and now you belong to his wife. I cannot partake of you without her blessing."

"You are a slave, Naoma," Torva said, pulling her grasping hand from his manhood. "You belonged to Geegen, and now you belong to his wife. I cannot partake of you without her blessing."

Naoma was smiling wide by the time the man finished speaking. She leaned in and pressed her lips to his in a wet, passionate kiss. Then, pulling back only enough for her mouth to work, she whispered, "The Khanis freed me tonight. She freed all of her slaves. Yes, I belong to Geegen's wife, Janis's mother. But Janis is now Khanis."

She smiled wider. "I am a free woman, Torva. I can fuck who I want to fuck. And I want to fuck you."

If he did nothing to stop her, Naoma would kiss Torva again while working his cock out of his underclothes. Then, employing what she'd been taught by one of Geegen's consorts, she would lover her head to the man's lap and finish that which he'd been enjoying yet hadn't fully enjoyed last night, just before their former Khanis was killed by their current one.

"The Khanis freed me tonight."

Torva just stared at Naoma as she explained about being a free woman and having the right to do whatever she wanted with whomever she wanted. She leaned in to kiss him again. Her hand found his cock once more, too. He only realized the young beauty had pulled his erection out of his clothes when she leaned down to take it into her mouth.

"Oh, Gods," he murmured as he felt her warm, wet mouth consume most of his length. Leaning back, Torva placed his bent elbows on the blanket covering the grass of the floorless tent and moaned again, "Oh, Gods!"

Torva would never have expected such skilled oral treatment from the former slave girl. He knew from experience that Geegen didn't share his women. That meant she'd likely only ever been with him. And rumors amongst those with knowledge was that he'd never been a big fan of oral sex. Now, Torva wondered just how trustworthy the rumor mill was.

It wasn't long before the welling pleasure was too much. Torva's cock leaped inside Naoma's mouth. He groaned out loudly, unconcerned with whether or not nearby campers overheard. He fell back into the bedding as his cock continued to pulse, filling the young woman's mouth. His heart pounded, his body trembled, and his breathing deepened. He was simply overwhelmed with joy.

Naoma's skill with her mouth and hands upon a man's cock -- until now upon Geegen's cock only -- were exceptional. She'd been taught well, and despite the rumors that her former Khanis hadn't enjoyed oral stimulation, she'd used her lips and tongue and gentle fingertips in the way she did now on Torva many a night prior to this. Geegen had had his fill of fathering children by the time Naoma came of age and was ready to accept his sword in her scabbard, so he'd never fucked her between the legs if she'd been in her Moon. He'd still wanted to be pleased by her, though, so, she'd learned to do this!

And it wasn't long at all before Torva was filling her mouth with his seed. Naoma had never liked the taste of Geegen's cum; his diet had included some rich but unusual foods that had contributed to a very strong salty taste that, the first time, had caused her to immediately roll lean away, spit, and then vomit. She could still remember Geegen laughing at the time, telling her, "You will get used to it, girl." She had gotten used to it, yes, but that didn't mean she'd come to enjoy having him empty his balls into her mouth.

Naoma had expected Torva's seed to have the same, strong, disgusting effect on her, so when it didn't -- when it was so much milder on her senses -- she found herself both happily surprised and pumping the man's shaft hard and fast to extend his orgasm. When the thick goo coming from his cock finally ceased, she swallowed hard and went to work licking his shaft and her hands clean. She couldn't help but marvel at how generous he'd been with his seed; one day in the near future, when their relationship had evolved a bit further, she would comment to him on how he could father his own Clan with just one eruption of his manhood.

She wasted no time moving up over the Dagala's groin and working him into her. Torva was bigger than Geegen had been, both longer and thicker, and Naoma's body language, expressions, and sounds likely told the man of both her difficulty in accepting all of him and her delight in the pleasure once she had. She rode him hard and fast again and again over the course of more than three hours, until he'd found his joy twice more and she could no longer count how many times she herself had.

Eventually, Naoma collapsed upon Torva, her heart pounding and her chest heaving, and she begged of him, "Please, Dagala, do not make me leave."

Torva found himself amazed with the young former slave again and again over the hours that had followed her arrival at his tent. She'd pleasured him with her mouth. She'd ridden him to a second explosion more quickly than any woman before her had. But she wasn't done. It took some time for him to reach his record third orgasm in one night.

But it had been a delight waiting for it. Naoma had achieved her own climaxes to many times that Torva, too, had lost count. His tent mates, at the end of their watch, had arrived during one of the young woman's climaxes. They'd enjoyed the show through the opened flap. Then, with a glare from their superior, they left to find another place to sleep.

When Naoma was finally spent, she collapsed upon Torva and begged, "Please, Dagala, do not make me leave."

"You may stay here forever, Naoma," Torva whispered to her. He tilted her head to engage her in a long, slow, erotic kiss. His hands pulled her petite body hard against his. They roamed yet again over her young womanly features. Torva would never say this to the slave that Naoma had been, but to her now he whispered, "You are the most beautiful creature I've ever lain with."

As they drifted off together, Torva wondered whether or not he could have spoken those words if he'd been like this with Janis. He thought of her as he surrendered to slumber. He'd never been with her like this because she'd been the daughter of a Khanis. She was Khanis herself now. Torva wondered whether that made it less or more likely that he'd ever expend his seed into her.

As she was approaching, Janis couldn't help but notice how quickly the warriors standing at a small cook fire near their superior's tent hurried over to the flap to alert Torva to his Khanis's imminent arrival. She tried to hide her smirk but failed; if there had been any question as to where Naoma had snuck off in the night -- a place from which she did not return -- it was answered for Janis now.

"Please inform the Dagala Suprema Loyalina that the sun is about to breach the sky above," she ordered with a small smile, "and that, regardless of whether my former slave is finished with him or not, it is time for us to get on the road."

The two warriors bowed with extra emphasis, after which Janis turned and walked away, now smiling widely. She was conflicted about what she was certain had happened between Naoma and Torva, just as she had been last night when she'd seriously considered preventing it. But, it was done now, and whatever became of their relationship was between the two of them now.

Torva had never married, and to the best of Janis's knowledge, he'd never fallen in love. Naoma was an incredible woman; she'd been so much more than just a servant to Janis and her family, so much so that if anyone had ever asked if she considered Naoma a friend, she would have said yes. No one had asked, of course, because you didn't ask such questions regarding slaves.

Janis returned to her tent to find most of those who'd slept there gone, off doing the chores typical of any other morning back in Khotkona. Looking at how hard they were working, you would never know that the recently freed slaves knew they did not have to do what they were doing on Janis's behalf.

One of the older women she'd given independence to the previous night was having difficulty with hanging a steel pot of water over the small fire that was sending a billowing stream of smoke upwards to the exhaust hole in the tent's top. Janis hurried to her and took over, to the old woman's surprise.

"You are no longer a slave, Moira," Janis reminded her. "You do not have to do this for me."

"Yes, mistress," Moira said, bowing her head as she had for Janis's family for decades. "I do not have to do this for you. I wish to do this for you."

The former slave's eyes glazed over with emotion. After a single sob, she said, "I wish to serve you until the day I die, mistress, please. Please, do not deprive me."

Janis thought she herself might tear up as well. She hung the pot, dug into a pocket in her dress, and withdrew a small silver coin, pressing it into the woman's palm. "I will not deprive you of serving me, Moira. But you will no longer do it simply because you wish to."

The old woman looked to the coin, then sobbed a second time; she'd likely never held anything more valuable than a Ten Copper in her life, and even then it hadn't been hers but had been payment for goods her mistress had sent her to buy at the market.

Janis kissed Moira on the forehead -- yet another new experience for the old woman -- then asked her, "As a free woman who will from this day forth be paid for her service, would you be kind enough to go out amongst the others and find me some Kaffa Bean. I need to wake up."

The old woman -- now jubilant -- acknowledged the request for the caffeine heavy hot drink and hurried off. A moment later, Naoma burst through the tent's flap; she looked like a horse ridden hard and put away wet. She immediately began to apologize for not being present for Janis's awakening and the tasks that typically followed it, but Janis held up a hand in a stop gesture, silencing her.

"You are no longer a slave, Noama," Janis reminded her. The new Khanis moved to stand immediately before the younger woman and took her upper arms into her hands. "I wish to ask you an important question."

Janis saw panic rising in Naoma's face; the latter opened her mouth to speak, ready to ask forgiveness for her actions with the Dagala for whom she knew Janis had always had deep feelings. But Janis held an extended finger up between them, reminding the younger woman, "You are no longer a slave, Naoma. You may do what you wish with whom you wish."

She hesitated a moment, letting Naoma believe that she meant the girl could fuck Torva or any other man if that was what she wanted. Then, playfully attempting to confuse Naoma about whether or not she'd actually been speaking of her sex life, Janis continued, "This means that you have to make a decision about whether you wish to continue serving me in my home. You are no longer a slave, Naoma. You do not have to bathe me and wash my clothes and paint my toe nails every again if you do not wish to. Do you understand?"

Naoma stared at Janis for a long moment with a questioning expression before finally asking, "What else would I do, mistress? Who else would I serve?"

"You don't have to serve any one else, Naoma," Janis said with a chuckle. "You are a free woman! You don't have to serve any one ever again. Anyone but your own self."

They shared another long moment of silence before Naoma asked, "I know nothing more than service to you and your family, mistress. What would I do?"

The Khanis thought for a moment. "First, you would stop calling me mistress. In here, in my home, you would call me Janis."

Naoma dropped her eyes and flushed. Meekly, she said, "I could not, mistress."

"Try it," Janis said, reaching out to lift the younger woman's chin. Looking into her her eyes, surrounded by a blushing face, Janis repeated, "Try it, Naoma."

The girl smiled, giggled nervously, then whispered, "Janis."

The smile was contagious, and as one spread her own lips, Janis said, "Good. Good. Now, since service to me and my family is all you know, I will allow it to continue."

As she had with Moira, Janis reached into her dress's pocket for coins. In this case she withdrew three Silvers and pressed them into Naoma's palm. "But! You will do so as a free woman. You will spend half as much time in my service as you have before. You will spend your free time, free time, doing and partaking of all those things you ever wanted to do but haven't yet. Naoma, you are a free woman. You will act like one from this day forth. Do you understand?"

Naoma's eyes glazed over, as had Moira's before her. She nodded her head affirming the order, then said, "I understand. Janis."

They shared another smile, and Janis did something she hadn't done since the two of them were little girls, something Janis's mother had witnessed and for which she had whipped both girls with a switch: she moved to Naoma and pulled her into a long, meaningful hug, which the other woman hesitantly but then eagerly responded to by wrapping her arms tightly around the other's torso.

"Okay, then, this is how it's going to be," Janis said after they'd separated. "You will continue to serve me as a free woman and with compensation as we travel to Barbaria. But once we get there, you and I will speak again about your future."

Janis couldn't help but wonder whether or not that future would greatly include the man who'd spent the night fucking Naoma as a recently freed woman. She continued, "If you wish to continue serving me, you may. But if you find another path to follow, you will. Understand?"

Naoma nodded again. They discussed what needed to be done to prepare for the day's trek and got to work.

Torva awoke to the unexpected comfort of a warm woman in his arms. That comfort was accompanied by a solid erection, too. Naoma awoke with him. Seconds later, he was inside her again, fucking her hard and fast. He filled her with his seed yet again. Unlike with other women, he continued to thrust in and out. She hadn't yet enjoyed the euphoria she had caused him.

They were each recovering from their orgasms when a warrior outside announced from outside the entrance flap, "Khanis is coming, Dagala."

There was an immediate sense of panic amongst the pair. Then, they laughed. They had done nothing wrong. Naoma was a free woman. Regardless, Torva pulled his still hard cock from within her. Kissing her softly, he told her, "I'm so happy you came to me last night."

Half an hour later, Torva was clean from a bucket bath and dressed again in his uniform. He met with his Dagala for an update. There had been no further sightings of pursuit. Khotkona had sent a squad out to the sight of the forest battle, though. They'd obviously seen the smoke rising from the funeral pyre. But no mounted scouts or warriors continued farther than the wooded hillock.

It would appear that for now Janis's train of men, women, and children was to be left alone. Torva didn't expect that to last long, though. The slaves alone were worth a fortune. But he suspected that pursuit would be spurred on by something entirely different: retribution for what Janis had done.

All morning, the carts were being reloaded. By the time Torva had given assignments to his Dagalas, the train was ready to move on. It had been perhaps two hours since he'd pulled his cock from Janis's former slave. And in that time, he had neither spoken to or even laid eyes upon her. But that couldn't go on. When it was reported that everyone was ready to head forward, he rode up to where she was tending to the needs of others and dismounted.

"Khanis," he said, nodding respectfully. Movement out of the corner of his eye drew Torva's attention to Naoma. His immediate reaction was to smile and look her up and down. She'd cleaned up as well and donned a beautiful gown. It clung perfectly to the curves upon which his hands had found so much joy last night and then again this morning. He pulled his gaze from her, looked to Janis once more, and announced, "We are ready, Khanis. Just give the word."

The fact that Torva had not reported in with her during the two hours of morning preparations for travel hadn't gone unnoticed by Janis. She was kept busy with other things, though; almost 200 people -- men, women, and children, most of them lower class and slaves but some merchant and even upper class, too -- had followed her on what many still feared would be a failed attempt to establish a new, different, and better type of community.

The fires had been fueled and a hot meal served, and as the others ate, Janis walked amongst them and spoke with them about their concerns. Because of the haste with which she'd taken them from Khotkona, many lacked some of the basic necessities or life, let alone of long distance travel. Many of these people -- particularly the slaves and what many called the gutter dwellers had already had little to their names, and even ten or twelve minutes of free pillaging through the homes of others hadn't gotten them all they needed.

"We will look for good shoes for you," Janis told one barefooted boy, adding, "in the meantime, you ride the back of a cart."

When his mother asked how they could repay her, Janis suggested, "Talk to the camp cooks. Ask them what your son can do for them in the cart to prepare for the noon and evening meals."

It was like this all morning for Janis, dealing with problems that might have seemed small to most people yet were often serious issues to ones affected. She'd left this task to deal with others when she heard a horse approach behind her and a man's boots hit the ground. She knew it was Torva even before he spoke her title, and she knew he was here to report the train's status to her finally.

But she continued speaking to another of the former slaves about issues similar to those about which she'd spoken to Naoma earlier. When she turned, she found Torva and his lover looking at each other with a combination of lust and guilt for feeling it.

They broke their gazes at one another, and Torva looked to Janis. "We are ready, Khanis. Just give the word."

"The word is given, Dagala," she said with a smile. He bowed his head and prepared to turn, but Janis stopped him with a single word, "General."

He donned an expression of confusion, and Janis explained, "My grandfather, when he came to power, imposed ranks and titles used in the language of his mother, who had been the daughter of a Khanis from far to the north. My father had never liked these new words, and -- despite my not liking him much, and killing him, of course -- I never liked them either. I find many of them difficult to roll from my tongue.

"Therefore, we will abandon these foreign words and return to those from the old language. Torva, you will from this point forward be my General. Your Dagala will be called Captains and the men under them Lieutenants. You can make this change, yes?"

It didn't really matter what Torva's answer was, of course; this was going to happen whether he liked it or not. Then, she told them, "I will no longer be called Khanis. This word in my grandmother's language literally means slave holder. I will no longer be known as such. From this day forth, you will call me Lady Janis. Understood?"

She got her responses and ended the conversation with, "Let's get going."


The train set forth once more, with Torva dividing his warriors between scouting ahead, guarding the train, and watching their tail. The road weaved across the mostly flat, arid plateau until midafternoon, then descended along the side of a cliff to an equally arid valley below. They set up camp before sunset, set the guard again, and settled in for the night. Janis spent a few more hours dealing with the people's problems; more relatively worthless goods had been left behind on the road and more of the more useful things -- food, clothes, blankets -- that Janis had pillaged was distributed from the carts to individuals who needed them.

The night passed without incident, and the next day the train was again on the move. This day, though, they left the established road and began crossing the valley, heading toward the distant mountains. Towns governed by Janis's brothers or other Dagala who would likely be loyal to those men were located to the west, east, and north, the latter being that direction from which they'd just come. The mountains to the south were the only place for these rebellious, criminal refugees to go.

The travel became increasing more difficult as that day and the next three passed. The wheels of one cart failed and the cargo was distributed to the other carts or to the backs of the people; some of the contents were casted aside, now simply not worth the effort of transporting. Wolves attacked in the middle of the second night, killing two of the mules and a man who'd tried to intercede before they themselves were killed or run off. Yet another cart was abandoned; the mules were slaughtered and eaten.

They eventually reached the river that separated Khanaland from those lands Geegen had never attempted to conquer, the lands between the river and Barbaria. Janis wanted to cross the river before nightfall, but she was advised that there simply wasn't enough daylight left to get all the people and their property across before nightfall.

They set up camp again and began converting four of the remaining six carts into a larger river raft. One of Janis's Valiants -- a powerful woman who was also beautiful in her way -- swam across the river and received a light line shot to her from another of Janis's Valiant archers. She dragged the light line to get a heavier line across the water and tied it off.

The next morning, the raft was pushed into the water and tested with a light load of things that were more expendable that others. Six warriors took hold of the rope, set their feet, and leaned toward the shore. The effect, of course, was that the raft began to move out into the river. The warriors walked the length of the rope, and when they came to the shore end of the ferry, they released their hold moved to the other end of the craft, grasped the rope again, and repeated.

With great efficiency, the raft -- which was now officially a river ferry -- reached the other shore, where it was quickly unloaded and sent back once again. Janis was concerned with an accident causing too much loss -- in both life and cargo -- so she instructed that each trip be conservative in quantity. It was a time consuming project, so while those on the Khanaland awaited their turn, they fished, hunted the shore and nearby woods, and performed other tasks.

About 50% of the possessions and almost as many of the people were across the river when one of Torva's mounted scouts appeared from over a distant hillock, riding at a full gallop and calling out. "They're coming! They're coming!"

Janis hurried to where Torva and some of his Captains were assembled, discussing what ever military types discuss. She arrived just as the rider did, dismounting his skidding horse, tripping, rolling over, and hopping again to his feet as if it had all been part of the approach.

"It's your brother, Khasis!" he said before remembering what he'd been told this morning and correcting, "Lady Janis. They fly a Khanis banner. It is Rolan's."

He was asked about the approaching force. "At least 60 mounted warriors. Behind them, maybe five miles, a cloud of dust rises into the sky."

Janis knew what that meant: infantry, perhaps dozens or even hundreds. She ordered with urgency, get the rest of the people across the river, now!"

One of the Captains began to point out, "We still have nearly half of the--"

"People first!" Janis cut him off. "Leave the goods. Get the people across first. Now!"

"General."

The word surprised Torva. He'd heard it spoken before, but it was a foreign word. Or, at least, he had thought it was. Janis explained, though. Torva was surprised to learn that that word and so many others had come from their own language. They'd been forbidden by their leaders. How had this come to be?

"You can make this change, yes?"

"Yes, Khanis, I can make this change," Torva said with a long nod of his head.

"I will no longer be called Khanis."

Janis explained about the meaning of Khanis. Torva nodded respectfully again, saying, "Lady."


Days of travel began to become routine for Torva and his warriors. He sent half of his force out before them. They scouted both the road and the countryside to the left and right. A quarter of the warriors kept close to the train. The remaining warriors guarded the rear. Occasional, riders were seen in the distance. Torva was sure these were scouts. What he was unsure of was whether or not they were being followed by a large force intent on wreaking havoc on who they surely considered traitors.

And then that question was answered. At least 60 mounted warriors and possibly dozens, scores, or hundreds of troops behind them. Janis ordered the rest of her people ferried across the river. The rest of their possessions would have to wait.

"It will be done, Lady," Torva said with confidence. He turned to his Captains and barked out orders. The river bank and the ferry operating from it would be defended. Calling to one of his most trusted Captains, Torva said, "Women and children across the river first. The men will guard the ferry while the warriors go out to meet the enemy."

He turned to Janis saying, "I need you Valiants."

And with that, preparation for the arrival of the pursuing force began. Torva sent his warriors out to four locations that provided cover. There was no road for his warriors to block or flank, of course. But the train of people and carts had left a beaten down path behind them. Torva was sure Rolan's army was following that already and would continue to.

He positioned his own archers in flanking positions and Janis's Valiant archers close to this end of the ferry rope. And then, they simply waited.

Behind them at the water's edge, the ferry was quickly filled to the safest capacity possible. As instructed, women and children went first. A few of the infirmed males went as well. But the rest of the men armed themselves and waited under cover at the river bank.

The ferry made the crossing once and returned. It was being loaded a second time then the attacking cavalry came over a distant rise. Torva knew that they would be here before the ferry finished its crossing. He was hidden in a small thicket as he called out, "Archers! Loose"

A couple of dozen arrows shot upward into the sky and rained down upon the charging horsemen. A pair of horses with riders dropped. A handful of riders fell from their mounts as they themselves were skewered. The cavalry reacted with panic, as Torva had hoped. "Loose! Fire at will!"

Another volley of arrows filled the air. After that, the fire was random and steady. It was also effective. More than half the 60 mounted warriors either went down or became ineffective because of the damage done to them or their horses. When the panic was at its greatest, Torva called out, "Infantry! Attack!"

His sword and spear armed warriors appeared from every direction. They surrounded the cavalry and began stabbing and slicing. A handful of riders managed to get away, back the direction from which they'd come. But most had been dismounted, and all were subsequently killed.

Torva looked around, counting. His casualty estimate was perhaps 10. Most than he'd hoped for but less than it could have been. He himself had ridden into the fight and killed or seriously injured at least six men. Blood had sprayed all about him and his horse.

"Gather weapons! Gather our injured and dead. Withdraw to the ferry! We're leaving. Hurry, hurry!"

It was almost thirty minutes later before the attacking infantry reached the point at which their cavalry had been all but wiped out. Again, Torvas archers rained death down upon them. But the warriors had been pulled back to the bank. Another ferry crossing had been made, and the raft was on its way back now.

Torva looked and listened to the men charging. They weren't going to make it. He wasn't going to make it.

Janis listened as Torva ordered his Captains, "Women and children across the river first. The men will guard the ferry while the warriors go out to meet the enemy."

He then said to Janis, "I need you Valiants."

"You will have them, General," she said without hesitation. She looked to Kenda, the leader of her archers; she'd given the skilled female warrior the title of Marshall. It made her subordinate to Torva, which in this case was as Janis had intended. She said with stress, "You will protect this crossing until everyone is across."

The Marshall acknowledged the command and left to organize her archers. Janis rushed back to the crossing to help board the women, children, elderly, and infirmed. She was reluctant to cease the loading when there were still so many left, but the man functioning as Ferry Master begged her to stop adding weight.

"Go, go!" she told him, working with others to hold back the anxious people who wanted to board. She promised, "The ferry will return! We will all cross!"

Some time later -- she didn't know exactly how much later -- she heard Torva call in the distance, "Archers! Loose"

A moment later, the familiar sound of dozens of arrow being released came to Janis. She looked to Kenda and informed her, "I'm going to take a look. Take control here."

"No, Mistress!" the Marshall pleaded even as Janis was pulling a sword from one of the still assembled carts and heading up the bank. Seeing that her Lady couldn't be talked out of it, Kenda ran to join Janis and told her as they ran side by side, "With all due respect, you really need to remember that you are not just a Valiant now. You are Khanis. You are our leader, our Lady. You can no longer put yourself in risk like this."

"I'm not at risk, Marshall," Janis said, smiling. "I have you and Torva to protect me."

When they reached the top of the bank, they found the battle fully underway. Her brother's mounted warriors were disorganized and turning all about, stirring a dust cloud up from the dry, arid landscape. Torva's warriors and archers were all over the enemy and one by one, men and animals fell.

Movement to her left caught Janis's attention, and when she turned her eyes opened wide and her heart leaped in her chest. One of Rolan's mounted riders -- or perhaps a flanking scout, she couldn't know -- was approaching quickly, unseen by Torva's force. The man held a long pike out before him in his right hand and arm; in his left hand was a sword, drawn back.

She set herself, grasping her sword in both hands. She didn't have to think about what she needed to do: staying where she was to strike at him meant the pike would drive right through her body before she ever got a chance to use her sword against either him or his horse; crossing the horse's path to avoid the pike and strike there would put her within reach of his sword, which at the best would mean they both died. Her only chance was to dodge and roll and hope to strike on his second path.

Then, the sound of an arrow being loosed near her head made Janis flinch. Kenda had seen the attacking warrior as well, and with skill she put an arrow deep into his horse's chest. The animal snorted loudly at the pain, lost the footing of its front feet, and at full speed slammed its head and chest into the ground, throwing its rider through the air toward the two women.

Janis was surprised by this and instinctively stepped aside, not wanting to be crushed by the now rolling beast. At the same time, she knew to keep her eye on the warrior, who hit the ground hard, rolled, and then tried to recover and gain his feet. He teetered a bit, then -- still clutching his sword but not his pike -- turned to look for the women he'd been attacking.

Janis's sword swept through the air, and the man's head flew through the air, landing, bouncing, and rolling up to Kenda's feet. They looked at each other, then at the head, then at each other. And unable to contain the relief and surprise, they both laughed.

"That went well, Lady," Kenda joked.

They looked to the battle, finding it winding down. They hurried back to the ferry, preparing for another loading. By the time it reached the north shore and the last of the women, men, and key supplies were being loaded, her brother's infantry were reacting to a hail of arrows.

"Don't die!" Janis told Torva after they'd spoken more about the defense of the ferry landing and -- to her dismay and anger -- that she wouldn't be allowed to remain behind to fight. Suddenly, she moved up to Torva and pressed her mouth to his in a hard, wet kiss. She pulled back again, repeating, "Don't die! That's an order."

Janis waved onto the ferry the civilian men who'd been ready to defend the landing. Her Valiants divided between boarding the raft to guard her and remaining behind to assist Torva. And then the shore was moving away from her. She felt as if she wasn't moving at all; the six men who had been propelling the ferry were now six plus three more and two of the Valiants, and still the foot or so per second that it was crossing the river seemed like no movement at all.

On the shore, a huge force of attackers began cresting the ridgeline above the river. Men screamed out in rage and pain both as arrows sunk into torsos and swords, axes, spears, and other weapons stabbed, sliced, chopped, and more. Janis could see that Torva's forces were surely going to be overrun.