Vaid Empire: Conquest

Vaid Empire: Conquestis a massive fantasy series that aims to mixeroticawith the quality of a published novel. New chapters and artwork are released every month for free, with the completely optional possibility to receive early access on the official Vaid Empire Website. The Series focuses heavily on worldbuilding, story, and characters.

The world of Ayphieal is shattered and chaotic, with kingdoms and tribes of six distinctive races vying for territory amongst themselves. It is only when a young human warrior finally pushes back against the chaos that the world begins to shift towards order.

***

14th of Twic, 19 AVE.

Kingdom of Lian, Near Praith.

Nafalya awoke before the legion. With a hand resting between her thighs, she savored the remnants of her pleasure. A delicate finger dragged between soaking lower lips as she chuckled, already aching for more.

The sun had yet to rise, yet she found herself alone. Expecting to find Hesin beside her, she found only an empty bed with a message cylinder where he should be. Curiosity danced in her silver gaze as she opened it, lips curling into an amused smirk. Directions into the jungle were etched upon the rod inside.

"This game again, master?"she thought to herself. "So be it."

She dressed in her usual skirt, a blade secured in her belt as she calculated the likelihood of a trap. Deciding to proceed cautiously, eager to hunt her prey, she stepped from their tent into the darkness of the jungle. The humid morning air clung to her soft skin. The colossal trees stretched high into the black sky above in every direction, like the legs of monstrous gods.

Silently, her steps made no sound as she crept unseen through the sea of tents that flooded the land, scattered densely between the looming trunks. The sounds of sleeping legionaries echoed around her, and she felt their countless unconscious minds as she focused.

When she finally reached the edge of the camp, far in the distance, she eased. The camp offered safety, surrounded by endless blades loyal to her father's throne. The jungle offered solitude, holding hidden dangers. She preferred the jungle.

Holding Hesin's directions, even her keen eyes were unable to see the tiny symbols in the consuming darkness. Glowing plants littered the jungle, scattered through the trees, each one a deadly invitation, though their light was hardly enough. Two fingers were her solution. Though she had struggled to manifest even the smallest flame, her lightning came forth easily, as if as natural as breathing. A steady arc of electricity crackled quietly between her fingers, the flickering light just enough to reveal the symbols etched into the wood in her grasp.

As she made her way through the trees, she sensed the beasts lurking all around. She carefully avoided their attention when possible and sent others scurrying away with tiny flicks of lightning.

With her mind open, senses seeking, she felt the new life already taking form inside her womb. A new being had been conceived, a new entity coming into existence, the blood and soul of her father mixing with her own. If she survived their infiltration, she'd grant The God Emperor another daughter.

When she saw the first hints of light through the vegetation, she smirked. Approaching carefully, she slipped soundlessly between a pair of smaller trees. Her master wouldn't hear her this time. Bathed in the red light of candles scattered in a rough circle, she saw the image of a cloaked man standing before a figure bound to a tree. Readying her dagger, she crept forth and pressed the blade to the hooded man's throat.

"Well done,"he whispered, his voice metallic. Granted mercy, Hesin's masked face turned to regard her. "You weren't followed."

It was more of a statement than a question, hardly requiring a shake of her head. As she looked past her lover, she saw the bound victim up close. A naked woman, her hands were pulled far above her head, arms and legs tied tightly to the tree. A muffled whimpering begged through her gag, her head wrapped in skintight slinion silk. Only her nose was free to breathe, her identity concealed. "This is rathercurious, master."

The woman squirmed in panic as Hesin caressed her bound form. "To others, yes, but I've seen too many horrors to name. You will too. An eternal empire requires those willing to soil their souls and get their hands dirty to maintain order.Weare willing, aren't we?"

"Of course." She watched the mystery woman tremble. The tree behind her appeared tiny in the shadow of its monstrous brothers all around, though in truth, it would be considered quite large if found in The Human Basin.

Hesin slowly pulled a thin dagger from his sleeve. Long and elegant, the hilt gilded in gold, he offered the white blade. "Your father had it forged before we departed Domani. He's permitted me to keep it until I deem you ready. Last night he made hisapprovalof you clear, and today, I think it's time. You've earned it."

Accepting the dagger, she couldn't conceal a faint grin tugging at her lips. A gift from the two men she was most fond of rested in her grasp, feeling a subtle dampness return between her smooth thighs.

"It was forged with the same internal tunnels as The God Emperor's sword. You'll need it when we enter Praith, and if we survive, you'll have to...do whatever Cendra did to make her own sword share your father's power."

She chuckled at his ignorance, a rare sight from her master. "And the girl?"

A whimper escaped his victim, perspiration from the humid air trickling down her toned form. Hesin studied her from behind his emotionless mask. "A traitor to The Empire."

"Her crime?" Nafalya watched her struggle with amusement.

"Doesn't matter." Hesin regarded the princess with his single eye. "Tonight, we'll sneak into a city we know little about, filled with people more foreign than anyone we've encountered. I need you ready and focused at my side."

Hands clasped behind her back, grip tightening on her new dagger, she offered a deadly gaze. "I'm ready, master."

"You've never taken a life." He patted the bound girl's wrapped cheek, making her writhe. "It's unlikely we'll reach the burial chamber with clean blades. You may have to kill."

Her smirk eased.

"I can't have you hesitate. A single misstep in a critical moment may kill us all. Before tonight, you're going to wet your blade for the first time. Deal with the feeling now, rather than in the heart of a hostile city." He gestured to the young woman. "It's time you joined us fully. It's time you became a Truthseeker."

An involuntary flutter in her chest accompanied the subtle widening of her eyes. Long had she trained to mask her surprise and excitement, yet all she craved hung before her. "Truly?"

Hesin nodded. "You're ready. Take her life and prove it."

She studied her victim as she brought the blade forth. Sensing the young woman's soul did little to reveal her identity, her bonds connecting to no one she knew. She learned only her age, a year younger than Nafalya herself, just beginning her life. "You claim she betrayed us?"

"That's all you need. A Truthseeker's place isn't to judge a target's guilt. When you're ordered to take a life, you do so without question. That's the price of maintaining order. We dirty our hands so ordinary citizens never have to." He cupped the helpless girl's chin. "Her crime could be as large as conspiring to assassinate The God Emperor himself, or as small as stealing food from the legion supply train, and everything in between. Both would endanger The Empire in their own way. You'll just have to trust my judgement in deeming her death necessary."

Nafalya moved closer as Hesin stepped away. Slowly, she brought her blade to the girl's neck. Naked, no uniform nor clothing hinted at her identity. She could have been a commander in the legion, or a simple slave. Fear radiated from her victim's trembling body as the sharp dagger pressed against her skin. A breath slipped slowly from the princess's lips, amused at the faint quiver of her own hand. "Curious."

"No hesitation, Nafalya."

Closing her eyes, she dragged the blade across the girl's throat, cutting deep.

The new dagger ran red as the girl fell limp in her bindings, bare skin staining with trickling crimson. Nafalya stepped back, bearing her deed. The feeling was a quick one, heavy, banished a moment later. A life had ended by her hand. "A strange burden to bear."

"It's one you'll bear over and over and over until it's little more than a whisper," Hesin said, his chest feeling hollow for a single moment. He then chuckled as he offered the edge of his dark cloak. "Here. Wouldn't want to stain your new weapon so soon."

She cleaned the blood from her dagger. "Chimira steel cannot stain."

"All blades stain in their own way." When she was finished, he reached beneath his cloak and unclasped a bundle from his belt. "You'll need this for tonight."

Taking the bundle, she carefully unwrapped the thin white fabric. When she met the face staring back at her, she grinned once more. "Master..." In her hands was a mask identical to Hesin's own, save for the pair of empty eye holes rather than his one. White steel offered no expression, smooth as she ran a finger over the surface.

"I've kept it far longer than the dagger," he said casually, only for his tone to soften. "Few of the Truthseekers I've trained have brought me more pride. It's yours."

Savoring the cold steel in one hand, the other discovered the fabric to be the white robes of a Truthseeker. For years she had trained, struggled, and bled for this moment. A dampness in her eyes shocked her. She seized the emotion squeezing her throat, forcing it down, banishing it deep where it could do no harm. Rather than tears, she offered a smirk, moving aside Hesin's mask to meet his lips. "Thank you."

Few words were required as their gazes met. A silence carried the understanding that other lovers needed long speeches of flowery words to confess. Both would rather cut their own throats than endure such nonsense.

"Come. Get dressed," he said when it was time. "The sun will rise soon, and we have a meeting with the holder of Lalian's leash." Beginning to extinguish the red candles one by one with his fingers, he chuckled. "I wouldn't want to keep Anthara waiting long, else your father mayvisither bed again before we arrive."

"And her?" Nafalya eyed the bound corpse.

"Leave it." Hesin nudged one of the candles with his boot. "The red light seems to keep the beasts away, if only temporarily. Without it, something will make use of the meat before the hour is out."

As her master departed, Nafalya eyed the dead girl a final time. Her first kill hung limply, yet the corpse was more than mere 'meat'. She donned her mask, peering through its eye holes as she felt the metal upon her face. "May your rest never be disturbed."

Turning away, she hurried to catch up like a silent ghost moving through the trees.

***

The first rays of sunlight trickled through the branches far overhead as the group gathered inside The Grand Imperial Architect's tent. Nafalya eyed the treetops above as they blocked out the sky. Absurdly tall, The Grand Pyramid itself could hide beneath their dominating reach. Soon, she knew, she'd climb to their highest branches. The thought brought a tingle to her belly and a smirk upon her royal lips, amused at the challenge.

She was one mask among a dozen as they slipped silently through the entrance. Relinquishing her former skirt, her new robes of white and gold hardly stood out from the others. Concealing little, much of her royal body remained on display, her greatest weapon. A long skirt of thin fabric flowed from her childbearing hips. Boots continued up to her thighs, while a narrow thong hardly protected the prize between her legs. A loose hood complimented her mask, connecting to a short top that loosely draped over the top and outer halves of her breasts, parted in the middle.

A hand rested on the hilt of the new dagger at her belt, while her other hip presented several throwing knives. None regarded her with the respect her royal blood deserved. Instead, she became an anonymous body in the crowd, just the way she liked.

Only the greatest Truthseekers had been summoned by their Grand Master for the task ahead. A lone male among the group, a single black hood in a pool of white, Hesin waited at Anthara's side until all had arrived. Lalian was nowhere to be seen, already setting out to complete additional translated texts for The God Emperor.

"Please, proceed." Hesin gestured to the Lanthian woman. No greeting nor preamble was offered, cutting directly to the matter. They all knew why they had come.

Straightening, a hand holding her pregnant swell, Anthara cleared her throat. If she had felt out of place during meetings with The God Emperor's advisors, facing an audience of expressionless white masks was another sensation entirely. She fought to maintain the confidence her pride demanded despite her misgivings. "I promised to aid your mission tonight with my knowledge, so I shall." She gestured to the desk at the foot of the Lanthian couple's bed. Atop it, a slab of wood waited, its surface etched with a rough layout of Praith. "Many years have passed since I lived in this city, yet I know it well. Much has surely changed in my absence, though the chamber will never move." Her expression seemed to dampen, tainted by shame. "It's the holiest place in the city, rivaled only by the incubation temple."

Nafalya studied the woman with curiosity, sensing the battle raging inside her pregnant body. Despite Anthara's dueling loyalties, she found no deception.

"There are no stairs, pathways, ladders, or...how do you say...ropesgranting access to the city. Even the slaves laboring in the mines below are carried by pairs of winged guards from the jungle floor up to Praith each day." Anthara's accent was a constant reminder of her betrayal, human words never coming easily from her tongue. "Try to climb the trees supporting the city and you'll be noticed long before you reach the top."

The Truthseekers pressed close to observe the slab as she pointed to an area west of the city layout.

"Instead, you'd be wise to make the long climb to the jungle ceiling several miles away." Another finger pointed up. "They're observing us now, no doubt. They'll watch every tree between us and Praith, expecting you to climb. If you can slip away from camp unseen, you'll be free to climb without their notice. From there, you'll have to move from branch to branch until you can slip inside the city by nightfall."

Hesin addressed his apprentices coldly, offering no comfort. "The savage Arkos are lucky enough to forge false claws, though we don't have that luxury. We'll have to free climb the entire height. Many of you will fall."

Nafalya sensed each body in the room become tense, yet as a testament to their training, no visible hint revealed their thoughts. Each of them was prepared to die at their Grand Master's command.

Anthara gestured to the etched layout. "Coming from the west, you'll be closer to the chamber than from the east." A finger traced a path along the network of walkways until it circled a round platform in the heart of the city, not quite in the center. "The tomb is just beside the throne platform, inside the trunk of a nearby tree."

"What shall we find inside?" an anonymous voice asked softly from the group.

Another flush of guilt tortured Anthara. No outsider should know of its existence, let alone its internal secrets. One of the deepest traditions of her culture was betrayed with her next words, though the alternative was death and fire. "Only the greatest of our warriors are buried inside. Their bodies are preserved in small pits carved into the floor of the chamber."

"Preserved?" another asked.

"You'll find them soaking in..." She sought the word, finding no translation. "Saitha.It's a...how do you say...a natural liquid that prevents the decay of flesh. Even bodies as old as Praith itself appear just as they did the day they died."

Tilting her head skeptically, Nafalya couldn't help but grow intrigued.

Anthara swallowed, as if her next words were the vilest she had ever uttered. "Secure the chamber and threaten to pull the bodies from the Saitha. Disturbing the eternal sleep a warrior has earned shall pain The Miarch of Praith to her bones. Further, if you threaten to mutilate the bodies..." She took a silent breath. "If you threaten to cut, harm, or damage the bodies, The Miarch shall surrender immediately."

"Human words will mean little to Lanthian ears," someone noted.

Hesin folded his arms, concealed beneath his cloak. "Our helpful guide is far too pregnant to join us, as you all can see." Despite his mask, Nafalya could almost hear his mocking grin. "And Lord Lalian's uses are best utilizedelsewherethan a mission such as this. Some of you have been mentored in the basics of their tongue, of course, though to ensure our demands are understood without misinterpretations, our green Lord has inscribed them in his native symbols upon wooden slabs."

"A messenger is unlikely to return alive." A Truthseeker stepped forward. "Allow me the honor of presenting our demands, Grand Master."

A wave of Hesin's hand dismissed her. "Your death won't be necessary. They'll read our demands when they're found bolted to the corpses of their fallen."

He waited. When no further comments came forth, he gestured to the map.

"Now, come. Study the city's layout. Burn it deep into your memory. The climb shall be long, and the journey far longer." Hesin permitted the closest to hold the wooden slab. "We'll attack under the cover of darkness, though we'll leave within the hour. Prepare yourselves."

As their Grand Master departed the tent without another word, the slab was passed from woman to woman. When it was Nafalya's turn to study the crude lines, silver eyes carefully observed every detail. The map was hardly more than a scattered mess of pathways and landmarks pulled from memories too distant to trust entirely, though they possessed nothing better. Entire areas were left blank, either forgotten by Anthara, or never visited, while what remained was nothing less than a chaotic maze of various levels of overlapping walkways, buildings, and monuments.

Another may panic when faced with such a twisting labyrinth. Nafalya merely calmed herself. As she studied every detail, the image of the city gradually formed inside her mind, reconstructing and mapping the details until she could visualize the layout in her head.

When she was finished, she passed the slab to the next in line, moving to depart. Before she reached the entrance of the tent, she turned, advanced ears hearing Anthara's whisper.

"Forgive me."

Once more her senses sought deception. Once more they found only pain and guilt within the green woman. Amused, she departed without another word.

"Such consuming emotion. What a curious freedom,"Nafalya thought to herself. For an instant, she tried to coax the memory of receiving her mask. When the first hint of joy began to bubble to the surface, she retreated, banishing the feeling once more. Disappointment soured upon her tongue, yet she merely shrugged. "Weep, Lanthian. Savor the freedom of your tears."