March South

Inella intended to let her daughters rest and celebrate to their heart’s content. She was going to be practicing her reanimation magic while the others relaxed. Inella shuffled through the corridors of the castle as if she had been there before. Been there many times. But she hadn’t. At this point, she was guessing as she turned corridor after corridor looking for a room to put dead (and then alive) bodies in. She turned another corner and was face to face with Kotsi. “Hello, Kotsi.” Inella said, continuing to move along.

Kotsi followed her with graceful footsteps. “Hello, Inella. What are you about to do? It looks as if you're on a mission.”

“Very observant.” Inella said over her shoulder. “I am on my way to practice necromancy.”

K: “Can I come with you? I’d love to watch.”

I: “Sure, I don’t see how it could hurt.”

K: “Thank you.”

I: “Do you have an interest in necromancy?”

K: “Well, there are certainly elements of necromancy in the voodoo I practice.”

I: “Oh. Tell me more.”

K: “I have the ability to bring rats back to life, and control them, dead or alive. A very handy way to spy, or get an infected bite off on someone. Either way.”

I: “Is that all?”

K: “No, not even close. You wish it was. I can reattach limbs of all sorts. If you lose a hand I can put your hand back on good as new, or, as some people prefer, I could put somebody else’s hand on you; if you’re occult enough I could put something else’s hand on you. Fancy a crab claw, maybe? or an eagle’s talon? Both sturdy options. My ultimate feat is something no one else knows how to do. Something I invented. I made a spell that shrinks and preserves a person’s head. In a way, it’s an immortality spell, because even when the head is detached from the body it still retains thought, memory, and perspective.”

“That’s impressive, Kotsi.” Inella was dumbfounded. “Wow.” She overloaded herself by thinking of all the possibilities.

“Yes, I think so.” Kotsi said. “Would you like to speak to Robert?”

“Who?”

Kotsi opened her shawl to reveal a row of three small voodoo heads hanging from fish wire. Kotsi plucked the middle head off of the suspension and held it closer to Inella. The head had a clump of green hair atop its head. It had one small, beady eye- the other socket was covered with a button. Robert had at least ten teeth. His ears were pierced with golden coins that were bent into drastic curves. His chin had one hair that was black, straight, and less than 3cm in length. Robert’s nose was small and slightly weezing.

“Hello.” Robert said as Kotsi held him up by his green hair.

“I can imagine that this must be hell for you, being a little head that waits in a woman’s coat?” Inella was not easily startled, but she was slow to respond.

“It’s not so bad. I used to be a stable boy and had to smell horse shit all day and night. I would say that being a little head is better than that.”

“Hah.” Inella gave a rare laugh. Kotsi smiled at her.

“I’ll answer any question you have, I’m actually quite wise. Don’t matter how deceiving my looks may be.” Robert said with a smile.

“Alright. My question is: how old are you?” Inella said, her body was relaxed, her stance odd.

“Ah. That is an easy question to answer. I am 65.” Robert said.

“How lovely.” Inella said.

“Would you like to watch Inella work on her reanimation spell, Robert?” Kotsi said, as if a parent was talking to a child.

“Sure, that could be interesting.” Robert said. Kotsi sat down in a room with four black, metal chairs that matched the dark grey walls and the brown floor. Kotsi held Robert up with a bent elbow and pinching chopsticks. Inella pulled out two body bags from the realm of the dead. Her manifestation spell was a cyan light that congealed into a vestibule that the two black bags came through. The bags held the bodies of Felhur and Edmund Tygrowthe. Inella began her work immediately. Working for 6 hours straight, she didn’t even recognize when Kotsi and Robert left. They had given her tips and affirmations at first but had fallen into silence in the minutes before Kotsi walked out of the room to find a bed.

It had rained all day yesterday and in the morning today. Now that it was no longer raining and it was hot out, the air was thick and damp. Inella decided to let the women march tomorrow. Today wasn’t the right day to leave.

Inella had both Felhur and Edmund up and awake. Currently Felhur was teaching Edmund combat techniques. Edmund had never really been a fighter. Felhur himself had written a little joke on a scrap of paper that said Edmund was too rich and pasty to have ever been in the military. Well, he had been rich, and he had been pasty. Now that he was a zombie his skin was purple and yellow like cabbage and egg yolk. Felhur had his burly arms underneath Edmund’s armpits, and he was wiggling his fingers in front of Edmund’s eyes in communicative symbols. Inella paid them no mind. She was working on one of the abducted boys. Her reanimation spell had to be perfected. Inella knew that at some point cheap tricks would no longer be an option. She had to have the reanimation spell ready before that day. She was not worried. Only determined. She hitched her sleeves higher on her arm and worked with a second wind of invigoration.

In a room down the hall, far away from Inella: Moira and Adda. They were holding hands in small clothes and tenderly laying atop the sheets. They whispered words into each other’s ears. Laughed (usually). It was a giggle of a laugh, a manic, hectic, accelerating thing that ended as suddenly as a response can be thought up. Imagination. Inside jokes. Goofiness. They kissed a little, stopped and talked, and then kissed some more. Eventually they went to bed.

In another room in the stone hall was June and Lyndross. They were not laughing. They were arguing. A heated exchange of words back and forth. Jabs on the body, verbally. “It has to be this way.” “No.” “Yes, it does.” “Says who, you?” And then they were quick to disrobe themselves and resolve their argument non-verbally. And fast asleep after the act, cuddling naked under a sideways blanket.

And up the stairs Nehaynosh sat, her back aching. She felt her age like weight in her body. She could touch it, hairs on her head. “Oh, all praises to the spirits who protected and guided our girls. Our women were not harmed. Miraculous!” It was not easy for her to sleep. Her feet were cold and her neck was hot. Her feet were hot and her neck was cold. It didn’t matter which way she held the blanket. She turned over and stuck one leg out. “Perfect.” All of the rooms were gray cubicles of stacked stone. The only difference in design was material. Rugs in one room, carpet in another. Chairs and a table, or a tea set. A room with dolls for a child. A child that was dead. And who was mourning her?

The rooms had different dimensions as well, smaller, or bigger, wider, perhaps. But, no. You wouldn’t really be able to tell if you went in and looked. Maybe you’d notice if you saw the discrepancy between a room on the smaller end of the spectrum and a room on the larger end. Maybe.

When Nehaynosh woke up, the first thing she thought about was checking in on Inella. She put on a pot of tea to boil and cooked an egg to bring to Inella. Bustling down corridors, looking. Eventually using a spell to locate Inella. Now, for someone like Nehaynosh, using a spell carelessly could put a strain on mana for the entire day or longer, so she tried not to use spells frivolously. Inella had little mana herself after the battle, and not resting long enough before practicing her necromancy hurt as well. Lyndross was recharged. June was recharged. Inella was working with fumes. She put Felhur and Edmund to sleep, wrapped up the boy who had been kidnapped, and opened the realm of the undead to let the three bodies float in and settle down fair. Nehaynosh walked in and gave Inella the eggs before she poured a cup of tea out.

“Be careful, it’s hot.” Nehaynosh poured herself a cup and blew on it. The tea kettle had a bronze handle with two wooden lengths. The spout was 4 inches long.

“Thank you.” Inella said and continued without visually acknowledging Nehaynosh. “I can feel my progress.” A mouthful of eggs off the fork tips. Swallow. “I can also feel my mana draining. I haven’t been this low since the fight at the caves.”

“Aye, that was a hard day.” Nehaynosh smiled. She could smile about the memories of battles past, but would have to wait on smiling for the many battles to come.

“To think that we would reroute our revenge against Ko’fell, find easy victory in the North, and still have Ko’fell on the brink of political collapse because an archer has picked off half the farmers and nearly all of the soldiers.” Inella took another bite of eggs and let Nehaynosh speak.

“It is ironic. Or, maybe it’s simpler than that. Maybe it’s fate. Or destiny. Whichever name you claim. Our mission is to overthrow the corrupt patriarchy of the land. I find the goal to be noble. The freedom of women globally? It has a nice ring to it. I’ve had this thought more than once. Maybe everything is working out so easily in our favor for a reason. Maybe it’s meant to be.” There was a red carpet in the room. It had a gold insignia of four antlers faceted with round cuts of emerald.

“I would not mind if that were the truth, but I will not believe it to be until victory is certain. In the meantime, I have to push myself to the next level. I will destroy the remaining kingdoms with my unrelenting will if I have to. I’ve already outsmarted them by finding unpracticed magic. And since then, I’ve proven I can outsmart them on the battlefield as well.”

Inella’s stomach growled, and she got up to look for something else to eat. Nehaynosh followed her down the hallway- chatting her ear off.

“And for one thing, Lyndross was in June’s room late last night, and I don’t remember her ever leaving. I swear, it’s her trauma that makes her act like this. Angry, sexually promiscuous, untrusting, mutinous. She’s a know it all. Honestly, I think she’s just a fire that has never been put out- not since it was first lit all those years ago. And I heard several of Chief Tufenahei’s men and women go into our doors late last night, and I have to wonder if it was only the women who took the trip with us to Cullah. It’s such a surprise to me. I was never like that when I was younger. But maybe it’s just the fact that I felt so infrequently the feeling that these girls feel daily, the feeling that they will die. Head into a battle, straight into a grave. Fall in a grave, either way. What do you think, Inella?”

“I have never felt like I was going to die nearly as much as you say, but the women with us who are less certain in their magical abilities? Well, I could definitely see them being scared every time they have to fight. I mean, if you are unsure of your ability to defend yourself, that is where fear begins. The kind of fear that is only felt in a battle, or in a situation where you are drastically disadvantaged. Where you are helpless. And what? You think that everyone is horny because they are scared?”

“That’s one way to say it.” Nehaynosh said.

“Well, I don’t know. It might just be that everyone is horny; nothing to do with fear. I think we are the odd ones out, you and I. Myself, I’m too focused, too disinterested in the pursuit. What’s your excuse?”

“The man I loved went and died a real long time ago, so I’ll just say my excuse is that I’m too old, and not that I’m afraid to be vulnerable again. Besides, who is so lucky to have two great loves in a lifetime? I loved a man, and now I love a cause. A cause that will free all women from the prescriptions of harm systemically inflicted by wealthy men. That’s bigger than myself.”

“Hm.” Inella pondered. “I don’t think that being devoted to the cause disqualifies you from having sex.

“Eh, well I don’t really feel like it then.”

“Fair enough.” Inella made a sandwich with strawberry jam and halved peanuts. First bite, mostly crust: 3/10. Second bite, good flavor, nice crunch: 8/10.

The march South started under the hot sun. The green hills of grass, long expanses of wheat, and other crops. A twisting river that was in no hurry. It scrambled up the hill just to fall back down across the road. A small bridge was made. The shoes of the women walking clinked, clacked, and slid across the bolts of the bridge.

A single arrow from an assassin shot down at Inella. Nehaynosh was the one hit by the arrow. The assassin had a longbow, and was perched advantageously high up in the hills near the road that the women were walking. He was wearing a royal blue coat with purple highlights. These highlights were a flare on each shoulder, several pins, and six horizontal bars that split evenly across both sides of the chest. His elk skin quiver was at his waist, only tilted slightly upwards so that the arrows did not spill out. His walking gait was trained to be steady. He had dark black skin and brown eyes. Even Inella knew who he was. Had heard word of his legend. He was the, “Gentleman Archer.” The number two assassin on the continent. A distant relative to King Edobe, the richest king in the land. Some rumored that he was Edobe’s son, or a bastard. But in reality he was a third cousin’s son. Still, he was rich and well trained. He was wearing a black ash ascot. He fixed another arrow. Shot. Inella put up a force field before the arrow could get close to the women.

“Help get Nehaynosh healed. He can’t do anything but run.” Inella said with a firm command. Lyndross had been walking with June, talking. Not arguing this time, just talking. Lyndross chose to pursue Gentleman Archer without being asked. June gasped. She quickly recovered though. Lyndross gave her a look that conveyed she would return.

Up in the hills, Gentleman Archer was running as Inella had predicted. Gentleman Archer had huge muscles, and a long stride that carried him fast as he sprinted away.Lyndross was faster than him with a speed spell. It was only a matter of time before Lyndross caught up. Gentleman Archer was not completely overcome by the gained speed as he ran down a hill opposite of where the women were. He tottered to the side, but his feet did not fail, but that didn’t matter at all. Gentleman Archer tried to pull a fast one on Lyndross by turning on her with a shot, but she easily deflected it by swatting the arrow to the side with a wall of air. Her next spell was a thick spear of flame that shot through him and exploded on the ground in the pattern of a nine-tailed fox. His body was worthless now. Lyndross admired the beauty of the seared pattern for a moment before extinguishing the flames. She saw Gentleman Archer’s thoroughly burned body. It dawned on Lyndross that Inella would have wanted to use him for her little zombie collection. The woman should just collect rocks- it’d be a less smelly hobby.

Lyndross reduced the body to ash and blew it away. Then a wild thought came to her. What if Inella was having sex with the dead bodies? No. Although she doesn’t have a partner, so maybe… no, no. Unless… No. No. Lyndross laughed out loud in the green cradle of four hills meeting. She sloped the hill near the road and rejoined the other women. She had stopped laughing, but she was still smiling. Lyndross found June immediately. What did she want? Maybe it didn’t matter, she was having enough fun not to worry.

“What?” June said with a meanness posted on her brow. An invisible anchor that dragged the eyebrows down towards the eyes.

“Huh?” Lyndross was distracted; her eyes were laughing still.

“What are you smiling about?” June whispered, trying to be inconspicuous.

“Oh, you don’t want to know.” Lyndross giggled a little bit.

“Well, of course I want to know. I mean, what could possibly be so funny? Didn’t you just kill someone?”

“Yes, I did kill the Gentleman Archer. What a beautiful man. Well, he was beautiful before I burned him into a disfigured eternity. Ash.” Lyndross puckered her lips and emulated a blowing sound. “Poof. Gone.”

“And is that funny to you?”

“No, no. That’s not what’s funny. I’ll tell you if you're going to be this persistent.” Lyndross said. Inella was walking towards Lyndross from the front of the train. Inella wanted to know what happened. Needed to.

“Lyndross, you will speak with me presently.” Inella commanded. She grabbed Lyndross by the wrist and took her to the side. “What happened between you and Gentleman Archer?”

“He tried to shoot me, and I used a fire spell so powerful that he was vaporized. I realize that this upsets you, since you want to make him a zombie, or whatever it is you’re doing. I am sorry that I shut the door on that possibility. I did not have the intention of slighting you.” Lyndross said in a mostly polite tone.

“Yes, alright then.” Inella said and walked back up to the front of the train. Several women had come together to heal Nehaynosh. She was doing well from what Inella could observe. Nehaynosh was talking, smiling, nodding. Gesturing. Yes, she was fine.

“So anyways, Inella has all those zombies with her, and we don’t know what she does with them. The thought only crossed my mind.” Lyndross said to June. June laughed, putting her hand over her mouth, but consequently still becoming conspicuous. The mirror was shattered.

“That’s all? That’s it? All you were thinking of was Inella fucking a corpse?” June said, shaking her head. “That’s so random, but that’s definitely something that would cross my mind. I think everyone works that way for the most part. We all have dirty thoughts. Yours are just extremely gross.”

“Wow, I feel attacked.” Lyndross said sarcastically. Then she punched June lightly in the arm. They laughed. Then they walked in silence for a while. “What are your dirty thoughts, then?” Lyndross had a subtlety to her tone, a limp vibration.

“Put me on the spot, okay. Well, lately they have all been about you.” June said, blushing.

“Is that so?” Lyndross was a tiger, swagger in her step now. She had a casual jaw, but was ready to snap down on a sleeping bird.

“Yes, soldier.” June said, snapping into a salute for Lyndross. She quickly put her hand back down and laughed up a storm. Lyndross smirked and then joined June in the laughter.

“I’d better see you in my tent tonight, then.” Lyndross said after a measured period.

“Oh, I wouldn’t have it any other way.” June gave a faltering wink. An unpracticed wink. It was cute. “I have started my period though.”

“When?”

“Maybe fifteen minutes ago? Cramps while I was walking.”

“I’ll give you a back rub.”

“Okay.” June said with a smile.

And then at some point the marching was over for the day. And tents were set up. June didn’t set up a tent. Lyndross did. They talked for hours in the dark shades of the night pierced by vagrant stars. They kissed. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. And to end the chapter? Yes, they both fell asleep smiling.

Baz

The sun was high in the sky past noon. Sweat came into the women’s clothes from the heat and the marching combined. They were just now finally done marching. Baz was on the horizon. Many of the women ogled at the giant stone bridge that connected Baz to Fa’tal. The 40 towers of the bridge all had burgundy roofs, three windows.

“We will set camp here tonight. I want everyone to be rested for this battle.” Inella said to Nehaynosh.

The assistance from the other kingdoms: the soldiers, calvary, wizards, etc. from Milynine, Namelle, and Fa’tal) piled up into tight armored lines. They were stationed outside the gates of Baz. The soldiers of Baz were posted at the parapets- archers in the tower. Baz had a guild of magicians. The guild was having a meeting at a tavern. All the wizards sat drinking/drunk. Laughing. Trying not to think about how they might die. That’s all they could really think of. So they laughed big fake laughs and ran out of breath. The sun was rising.

Lyndross left June in the tent with a kiss laying, standing, moving, and then a final kiss at the door. Wet, pursed lips. Smooch. Lyndross looked out onto the unknowing battlefield, taking in the stamping hooves and standing spears in the distance. To get ready for the fight, Lyndross ate a sturdy breakfast, stretched, and meditated to identify her level of mana. It was a deep well. She was recharged. Lyndross would have a lot of mana to expend, many spells to cast. If it was anything like a typical fight, that would mean that Lyndross would be busy saving everyone else’s ass with counter spells. Lyndross gravitated towards offensive magic- ran in a straight line towards it- but “necessary” was necessary.

The women were chatty, nervous in the morning. Nehaynosh ran a giant pot of oatmeal. A wooden spoon dumped servings into bowls held with two hands. A bowing head for thank you, just a little nod, from each woman served.. “Yes, of course. Of course.” Nehaynosh smiled.

In the enemy camps, two leaders from different kingdoms theorized the battle. “I don’t see the big deal. It’s all women they’ve got. No idea how they could’ve taken down two different kingdoms. It’s disgusting, really. This should be easy. All we have to do is kill that one Inella, she is the only one who is powerful. Our soldiers can handle the rest.” A general with a constantly furrowed brow harrumphed.

“Yes, precisely. You’ve stolen the words from my mouth.” The second general was smug. He turned away from the first general and looked across the battlefield. He made eye contact with Dremeira. Dremeira scowled, turned into a cougar, and stared the man down from a distance. The second general no longer looked smug; he gulped and looked worried for his life. Correctly so.

The battlefield erupted into a horror scope of screaming men and women who were brandishing swords and spells. The sun was blotted out by smoke. Dust was kicked up from the battlefield. Grass torn and dirt exposed, kicked up into clouds. Blinding clouds.

“Help! Woman down.” Dousza shouted. Inella answered the call, blinking across the battlefield.

“Take her back to the tents and have her healed.” Inella said to Dousza. “Here, I’ll make your feet faster.” Inella cast a speedy spell on Dousza who ran off with wheeling feet. Inella turned to face the surge of war. Generals sat on armored horses that trotted in circles on the battlefield while soldiers died. They were tossed aside by flashes of magic- blown away into bits and rubble. Guts scooped out like a carved pumpkin. Blown across a hostile space. Whoosh.

Inella pulled a spear for each hand out of the realm of the dead in a manifestation. She quickly cut down two soldiers in a coordinated, precise attack. Throw one spear. Dodge to the left. Throw the other. Fireball, fireball.

Lyndross curled bolts of lightning into a wheel and sent it spinning across the battlefield. Soldiers near it melted as they were cut in half. The enemy wizards descended on Lyndross because they confused her for Inella.

“Get her!” One of the wizards said.

“I’ll block her.” Another wizard said as he counter spelled Lyndross. Several fireballs came at Lyndross from every angle before her. She looked directly at the flames, unable to do anything. The light made the center of her eyes glow in reflection. She blinked. Looking again, she felt the heat on her skin now. Decided not to scream. Pure well power kept her wails down. She thought it was all over for her, but at the last second June came down from the sky on a dragon made of air. A dragon that blew a great bellow to extinguish the incoming fireballs. June hopped down from the dragon and picked Lyndross up by the shoulders. The dragon, wrapping itself around the two women in a spiral, tightened up. The long tail of the dragon whipped the wizards outwards. Flying through the air, they landed roughly with thuds and coughs of airless suction.

The dragon was white based on the wind form, but June edited her summoned projection. Starting at the tail, the dragon became a clear blue- a watery shimmer, the fur of the dragon moved like kelp underwater. When the head of the dragon became water it shot three different streams of water at the heads of the mages who had been knocked backwards. The stream enveloped their heads in a globe. Suddenly the dragon became the light blue color of ice, and froze all the water (including the mages). Their heads became popsicles. They died with bug eyed, strangled faces. Then the dragon was red, yellow and orange. It was made entirely of fire. It radiated heat like a beacon of light. All across the battlefield the men saw the dragon and sighed in fear. Their numbers were dwindling.

“I am out of mana in 5, 4, 3…” June counted down as she laid her head in the lap of Lyndross. The dragon roared and flew across the battlefield. It flew directly through soldiers and burned them to a crisp. It flew in a zig zag, back and forth. It ended its flight by slamming into the wall head on. By the time the tail of the dragon hit the wall of Baz, the wall had become molten, melting, oozing, shifting downwards. There was a twenty foot hole in the wall.

Lyndross put a spell of speed on her feet and ran June back to the tents. A kiss on the forehead and Lyndross was right back to the front lines. Lyndross was inspired by June’s effort to save her. The spell she had made was beautiful- a massive display of power. To be out of mana was worse than being exhausted. June had opted into that to save Lyndross, but Lyndross didn’t have time to figure out her emotions. All she could concentrate on was the battle. Lyndross summoned two axes of fire that spanned over half the battlefield. She swung wildly, hitting what was left of the soldiers. Inella had already cleaned up all the wizards. Walking at them menacingly with swords and spears. If they tried to cast a spell, Inella would immediately counter it. As the wizards collectively realized that they needed to access the knives on their belts, it was futile. One mage got the knife out but Inella’s weapon had greater reach. Slash. It was over. Simple and easy. Without anyone to counter Lyndross and her swinging, chopping axes of angry red flame, the battle became one sided. Inella sent the women ahead to liberate Baz.

She looked down at the body of a fallen soldier. His eyes were stuck open in a glassy duo of brown rings. That’s the moment that the third legendary assassin appeared. He came as a shadow cutting in and out with the wind. The fallen soldier’s eyes went from brown to purple as he rose up from the ground. “Agh.” The soldier grunted as it swung a sword at Inella. Inella reactively shot a fireball at the corpse. It burned as it fell flat on its back. It did not coordinate pain with vocalization. It burned in silence. There was only the sizzling sound of flesh melting. The shadow moved out of the corpse and into another fallen soldier. This one charged Inella with its sword held outward. Inella cast another fireball that toppled the second corpse. Her mind furiously worked to figure out what was going on.