Lascivio’s Vengence: A Story of the History of Kynk

As the twin suns, Colock and Vister set over the castle Midori, Vira, guardian of the Ivory Throne, Queen of all of the land of Anletha, Empress over the lands to the West, and regent of many of the lands to the East, called her court into session. The recent loss of her son had led her to seek out a new heir to her throne, and her intent today was to announce the next in line to assume mastership of the empire she had worked so hard to build. As the three hundred or so people who made up her court filed into the vast stone chamber that was her Room of Judgments, she sighed at the weight of the proclamation she was about to make. She knew that many of the nobles had been vying for her attentions from almost the moment her son’s body had gone cold not three moons earlier, and she also knew that no matter who she named heir there would still be a great deal of havoc.

Her chief consort, Mastraton, came up to her from his place behind her, putting his hand on her shoulder for he knew the sleepless nights she had suffered through going over the best choice for her successor. An heir who would be able to maintain her seat of power and keep the respect of her courtiers. Mastraton began to message her shoulders; his only concern her comfort. The queen enjoyed the skin to skin contact, and deep kneading motion, but she turned slightly and slapped his hands away in an effort to push him back; her court must not see her even remotely weak.

The Room of Judgments, aside from being large and stone, was circular. The room was built to allow as much light as the twin suns of the planet would permit in. As such, the room was very bright with streams of light shining down on the heads of those gathered, casting shadows to the very recesses of the room. The room had many windows above the wooden rafters that helped to support the building’s ceiling. There was also one large window that ran the expanse of the wall behind the ornate, Ivory Throne and dais. Through the huge window, the ocean could be seen lapping against cliffs much like the one the palace was built into.

As Mastraton moved back to the small, consort’s throne next to her massive queen’s throne, the flock of people finally settled in, many of them standing to see the queen. As the Vira looked out among her people, she was shocked to see that many of those looking directly at her had looks of absolute horror on their faces. She quickly realized that she was frowning, and pulled her lips up into a false smile. It was a point of pride that even in the farthest recesses of the world, stories were told of her temper and what she did to even her loyalist of subjects during them. The queen moved to the steps of her dais, and began to descend them, letting the crowd part at her nearing. The court, which had up to this point been chattering, began to grow silent. When she was a few feet off of the platform, she stopped. The group gathered about her newly, more-centralized position, giving her several feet of free space all around should she decide to revoke the smile she had so easily slipped into. The queen waited until the people had fully quieted, and then began her discourse.

“My people, as many of you know my son was murdered by that traitor Lascivio recently. As such, I have chosen the next in line to the Great Ivory Throne of Anletha. I will not lie to you and say that it was easy or fun; in fact my son was probably the only person in the court competent enough to assume the seat of judgment. But, seeing as he won’t be taking on this responsibility any time soon I have decided on the next heir.” The queen let her words roll over the pompous, spoiled courtiers. She loved to watch them squirm when she spoke so plainly, reminding them of the fact that she had started off as nothing more than a goat farmer’s daughter, and that Anletha had started as less than a duchy. She hated them all and their constant flattery and flaunting.

As she was about to give the second half of her speech proclaiming the lucky bastard to have her empire after she died, she thought she heard something in the distance. The queen moved to the vast doors of the chamber, speculative onlookers moving out of the way as she neared the entrance. She placed her ear against the large wooded doors, and thought that she could hear a low humming coming from down the palace halls. The humming gave way to the unmistakable tap of boots against stone, and not just any boots, boots whose soles were inlaid with obsidian and rubber. The queen knew those boots; she had often listened to them anxiously and excitedly as they drew closer to her bedchambers. Those were the boots of her favorite lover, and former Chief of Consorts, they were also the boots of the man that had killed her beloved son.

The queen drew back from the doors, and almost ran to her throne. She knew that she had a frantic look on her face, but it didn’t matter, she had given the man a chance to escape, and she was no longer feeling so kind.

“Guards!” She shouted from the dais, throwing herself on the throne with a look of dark glee “That is him, that is Lascivio, I want you to seize him at the door and bring him to me. I want to see the look in his face when I tell him that he should have stayed banished.” Many of the people in the crowd let out audible gasps at this pronouncement, and the entirety broke out into quiet prattle. “Silence!” the queen yelled, pushing herself back farther into the massive white chair. The throng fell silent. Time moved by slowly, palace guards waited patiently at the doors as everyone listened to the sound of the approaching tapping.

The taps got louder and louder, seeming to fill the large courtroom with their haunting rhythm. Suddenly the gentle beating stopped just outside of the entrance to the chamber. The court sat in nervous stillness, waiting to see what would happen. All of a sudden, the huge doors flew open in what seemed to be a burst of wind. A man stepped forward though his form was distorted by the torrent of dust kicked up by the current of air as it flew around him. The man stepped forward a little bit more, and the air stream abruptly stopped as the immense doors slammed closed behind him. In the midst of the newly cleared circle made by the frightened court members was indeed Lascivio.