The pond danced beneath her fingertips. A school of fish swooned over her hand. She enjoyed watching them swim. Several flocks of birds landed around her and sang harmoniously. She rewarded them with a smile. Nature seemed wondrous at first sight, but horrid things would happen beneath all that spectacle. She knew that very well.

Julia washed her face, the drops of water slowly flowed down her delicate skin. She continued the move with her hands through her short, black hair. It was almost a religious ritual for her. She stretched out. Naked. The morning sun reflected on her wet body. She took an aromatic oil and applied it to her armpits. Her armpit hair shone brightly after it was coated with her special recipe. Her leg hair tickled under the touch. Somehow they gave her a sense of pride.

It was liberating being naked. Far from the male gaze, she could be one with nature. Without a single man around she could finally be free. The druidess clenched her fist. No womon is free until every womon is. That thought was her mission. The worldwide sisterhood.

From the nearby grove, two of her knightess' appeared in full armor without helmets, Rania and Sylva. Rania brimmed with happiness, while Sylva seemed much more reserved.

"Madam Lilith," Rania called out. "We've managed to subdue the last village. The prisoners have been taken to the camp."

"Good work, sisters. As expected of you."

Sylva squirmed at the praise and bit her lip. Julia raised her eyebrows towards her and prodded her to speak.

"Not all of the men were captured. Some of the villagers escaped into the Zelengorya forest. We tried to follow but ran into a group of elves and had to break off the pursuit."

"Curse those damn elves!" Julia turned around in her fury. She breathed slowly for a few moments. It was important to remain calm when making important decisions. "No matter, once we manage to place all of the elven men into camps, and once elven womyn taste freedom, they will join our side."

"But," Sylva continued. "It didn't happen with human womyn. Most of the womyn here still grieve or even fight for their sons, husbands, brothers…"

Rania slapped Sylva on the wrist and gave her a piercing stare.

"Silence! Do not doubt Madam's words!"

"No, it's all right Rania." Julia smiled as if a simple child told her an innocent story. "Yes, it is true that only a small number of womyn joined us. I expected that. All their life they have been dominated by men, and because of that, they have developed a false consciousness where they don't see what is best for them and choose the safety of what is familiar. But once they see crime vanish, once they taste freedom, see how much better life is without men, they will slowly turn around."

"You are right as always. I, Sylva, and other knightess' are grateful for this opportunity that you have offered us. But what should we do with the men in camps? There are too many of them."

"Are there only humans?"

"No, there are elves as well."

Julia sat on the grass and gestured to the other womyn to sit beside her. She lowered her head and spoke in a soft and slow voice.

"Then we need to proceed with the next part of the plan. I don't like hurrying things but events in other countries are bound to affect us as well. We will need to lower the number of males to a more manageable amount. Leave five percent for reproduction and choose some percentage, which proves docile enough, to castrate and use for labor. Without their manhood, they are much easier to control."

"The only issue that is left is your former allies. We've received reports that the Necromancer and the Elementalist have burned down half of Warlock's country," said Rania.

"Yes, they are trying to lure him out of his capital. Kamenar has a place of power with a huge number of aperions. Because of that, it is nearly impossible to defeat the Warlock inside the city. They know that, but the Warlock knows that as well. That's why their plan won't work."

"Should we join forces with the Warlock then?" asked Sylva.

The Druidess snorted. Her victory will never depend on men, nor will she ever stoop so low to ally herself with one. They had to outsmart them at their own game like every womon had to for thousands of years.

"No, if the Warlock wins he will still come for us. Don't be foolish, men will never allow us to be free. They will always try to dominate us."

Sylva shook her head while looking to the ground.

"But they are too powerful. We can't defeat them alone."

"You are forgetting that Madam Lilith is inconceivably powerful as well." Rania approached the Druidess and kneeled in front of her. "Just give the order and Knightess' of Redstockings will annihilate them."

"Your zeal is commendable, Rania. But stupid. If we attack them head-on we would get destroyed. What we need to do is to maintain the balance of power. If the Warlock is losing we will silently support him. If the Elementalist and the Necromancer start losing we must help them without anyone knowing. And once they exhaust each other enough, then we will strike."

"I still don't understand."

Julia gently placed her hand on Sylva's chin and raised her head until they could clearly see her eyes. She then moved the locks from Sylva's face and turned the motion of her hand into a slow caress.

"What do you not understand sister?"

"We will always need men to have children. And what about love… and other things…"

The metal of Sylva's gauntlet brought pain to the Druidess. Julia took it off without any resistance from her knightess and placed Sylva's hand in her lap.

"That is the assumption that always goes unchallenged. That a womon and a man are normal. Back on my home planet, science has shown that womyn can't climax through penetrative sex. Vaginal orgasm is a myth, created to control womyn. So that they could declare womyn frigid when they couldn't have an orgasm while getting fucked by men. Men used everything they could to control us. But you see, there is an organ through which womyn can have pleasure."

Julia pulled Sylva's hand closer to herself, took it down her thighs, and pressed it strongly but gently on her crotch. Sylva held her breath and looked away. The druidess moved her knightess' tender hand up and down.

"Clitoris is the key for womon's satisfaction, and since men naturally feel disgusted when they see it… It means that only a womon can satisfy another womon. And nature made it so that only a fraction of men are essential, the majority are completely unneeded. And soon they will not be needed at all."

Once Julia loosened her grip, Sylva took back her hand. She held her hand like a foreign object and lowered her shoulders.

"What do you mean completely unneeded?" Rania swallowed and straightened herself.

"In my world, technology didn't advance enough to allow womyn to reproduce without men. But here with the gift of magic, I am certain we can achieve the success that eluded us for so long."

"But, you would need someone to experiment on," said Sylva. "Is it fair to do something like that to a sister?"

Stricken with a difficult question, Julia sighed and closed her eyes. It was a tough thing to do indeed."

"Sometimes progress requires sacrifices. It will be a small price to pay in the long run. But there are womyn who deserve such a fate. Womyn, who can't cut ties with patriarchy, who betrayed sisterhood for a man." Julia placed her hand on Sylva's shoulder. "You would never betray your sisters for a man, for a boyfriend?"

Sylva's complexion turned pale, like death drained her into a husk.

"No! I would never. I swear, madam! You gave me everything, I could never betray you!"

Seeing such a passionate defense was comforting. Julia gave Sylva a slight nod.

"Don't worry. I know you would never betray me." A cold, detached expression took over Julia's face as she turned to Rania. "And you? Would you ever betray your sisters for a man?"

Rania blinked twice as her mistress' gaze fell upon her. She tried to utter something but it only turned into a crooked smile as her eyes turned red.

"No… I would never do anything like that. I… I would rather die than betray you."

"Really? Because this little birdie told me a different story." A swallow landed on Julia's shoulder and looked disparagingly towards Rania. "She told me you broke out your former boyfriend from the camp. That wasn't very sisterly from you."

Tears streamed down Rania's face. She threw herself onto Julia's chest and started wailing like a dog.

"I owed him my life. I couldn't leave him… I'm sorry. I've made a mistake. It will never happen again!"

"You betrayed us for a cock?" If the insult wasn't enough, the touch and smell of Rania's armor gave another slap to Julia. She pushed her away like a toddler pushing away disgusting food. "But don't worry. I know it will never happen again. Your body will give us our future."

Before Rania could utter a single word, Julia cast a spell, and a green vine enveloped itself around Rania's body and stuffed itself into her mouth. She struggled, squirmed, tried to scream but eventually lost her battle and her conscience. There was no pity in Julia's look. Traitors never deserved that much.

"Sylva, take her to the Lonely Tower. If her body leads to the breakthrough, I will forgive her and allow her to return. Let's call it her second chance," Julia finished with a smirk.

"Immediately, madam."

The second knightess quickly threw Rania's still body over her shoulder and with a fast pace ran towards the city of Kuyna, leaving Julia alone. She picked up several birds and croaked several times at them.

"Now fly to my old companions and observe their every move. But under no circumstance can they find about you. Do you understand?"

Without a humanly understandable response, the birds croaked back and flew in different directions. Confident in their ability, Julia walked out of the grove. There was too much work she needed to get done and idly sitting by the pond wasn't one of them. Behind her, hundreds of fish floated on the surface and tens of birds lay motionless on the ground.