The Dawn of the Raven Omnibus 1: Episodes 1-5 (2 page)

Rahm leaned in again.

“Sir, this
would make no sense.  Why would she come to you?  Why would she warn you?  If
the Gekken pose a threat to us, she would welcome it.”

The king scratched his beard.  He pushed Rahm back away from
him.  He felt that his advisor’s warning must be heeded, yet there was
something about the warrior maiden that made him wish to believe her.  He
addressed her again.

“Why are you
here?  Did your people send you to give us this message?”

“No.  No, my
people don’t even know yet.  I have come here first because you are the
guardians of the Gate of Ardien.  You secure the road to the Far Realm.  The Gekken
I have seen were a small party, a scouting party, I believe.  They may have
passed through the mountains, but an army of significant size could not.  If
the Gekken are going to launch a full-out attack, they will have to pass
through the gate.  That is why I came here first, because you must be warned
immediately.  A full-scale assault could be imminent.  If they do come, your
kingdom will be the first to fall.  And, if they are as powerful as last time,
it will take our kingdoms’ combined might to stop them.”

Again, Rahm pushed the king to action against her, and warned
the king of her lies, but the king ignored him.  His face now showed true
concern.

“You are
sure you have seen Gekken, and you believe that they plan a full assault?”

“I am sure,
your majesty.  I have long been told the tales of the Gekken.  They are still
passed down amongst the soldiers of my people.  Not the fairy tales passed down
into legend.  The true tales, of their might, of their will, of their
savagery.  Their appearance was unmistakable, I have never seen the like but I
have long heard it described.”

Yes, the gorgeous warrior maiden had heard the tales.  Tales
of how, so many generations ago, the Gekken had come from seemingly nowhere. 
They spawned from the mountains and swarmed the villages, slaughtering men,
women, children, everything in their wake.  Only when the entire realm stood
united against them had they finally been decimated and pushed bad, back to the
Far Realm, to the other side of the Great Mountains, and had been scattered. 
They had never been heard from again, but each generation told the stories to
the young.  Some sounded too terrible to be true, some were undoubtedly just
legend, enhanced over time as the stories were told over and over again with
greater and greater distance from the events that had inspired them.  The king
had heard all the tales too, and though he knew that not all could be true, he
knew well that the Gekken were to be feared.  You could see it in the eyes of
the elders when they told the tales, the same deep fear that their elders had
instilled in them when they had told them the tales when they were young. 
Looks of true terror.  Looks of despair.  Looks intended to make sure that the
Gekken were never forgotten, in case they should ever return.  The king
carefully pondered her testimony.  After a pause, he spoke.

“Perhaps it
is just a rogue few.  The Gekken are not organized.  They are savages.  It was
because of that that our forefathers were victorious.  Their numbers are great,
but they are unsophisticated.  They fight with their bare hands or only the
most basic of weapons.  They are unable to form strategy or to attack with
purpose.  Sure, in a hand to hand fight one Gekken is equal to ten men, but
even if they are here, their lack of technology and short-comings in the art of
war would render a small party such as you describe innocuous.”

“With all
due respect, your majesty, the Gekken I saw were not as you say” responded
Raveena.  “I know that what you say was true of the Gekken four hundred years
ago, but the ones I saw have advanced.  They wore armor.  They held weapons. 
They appeared organized, with a leader and a chain of command.  They were
careful to avoid detection.  It was only by sure luck and coincidence that I
happened to approach them, see them, and escape unnoticed.”

Rahm leaned in towards his king and hissed in his ear again.

“Her story
has holes.  She says they were here, near our kingdom.  Why would she have been
here unless it was a plan to attack all along?”

King Resnos considered the warrior maiden’s words carefully,
then responded.

“Where
exactly did you see them?”

“In the
Raganean Forest, a half day’s march from here.  I believe they are posted there
to spy on you.  To see the ways of your kingdom, to study the comings and
goings and the guarding of the gate.”

“Why were
you there?  Why were you so close to our palace, if not to spy, or if not to
attack?  Perhaps your own people lie in wait outside our walls right now.  How
do I know this is not a trap?”

“My business
there was my own.  It had nothing to do with our war.  I am alone,
unaccompanied by any of my people, and I am here without their knowledge.  I
sense that I should have gone straight back to them to warn them, but in the interest
of the safety of all the realm, I felt I must warn you immediately.  There is
no way to know how soon they might attack.  If I had returned to my people
first and then come, word may have gotten here too late.  We cannot allow the
Gekken through the gate.  They must not gain a foothold again in our realm.” 
Her eyes dimmed, and grew somber.  “Please, I have warned you, now let me leave
and return to my people to warn them.  If you want, I can arrange for a Typhorian
garrison to be dispatched and help to guard the gate.  I will lead them myself
if you would like.”

Rahm whispered anxiously again.

“My lord,
this is clear treachery.  She asks that you allow her army to plant itself
right outside your door!  She is a villain of the highest order.  You cannot
believe a single word she says.  She will not say why she was here because
there is no reason she was here other than to plot to destroy you, to concoct a
story that would allow the Typhorians to place us in checkmate.  I admit, she
is cunning, but she is too bold.  Her motives are transparent.  This pretty one
should have stuck to the battlefield; subterfuge is not her strong-point.”

The king weighed the beauty’s words and the words of his
advisor carefully.  Finally, he motioned for silence again and announced his
decision.

“Raveena, if
your story is true, and you came here in peace and to warn us of a mutual
danger, then I commend you for your bravery.  If, however, you are lying, and
this is a trap, while I still commend you for your bravery, you are very
foolish.  While I respect you and admire you, and thus would like to take you
at your word, it is by your own sword that many of my greatest warriors have
perished.  It is your sword, this Deathraken that I hold here in my own hands
now, that has made the difference in countless battles against my people.  As
much as I would like to take you at your word, to do so I would have to be a
fool.  Yet, to condemn you to death when you may truly be here for an honorable
cause would be gravely unjust.  Therefore, you will stay as our guest here
tonight, under close guard, and then, in the morning, you will take Captain Vol
and his men out to the spot where you say you saw these Gekken.  If there is
any sign that it is a trap, my men will kill you instantly.  If, on the other
hand, they find evidence that you are correct, and the Gekken have returned, I
will allow you to return safely to your people, and our nation will be grateful
for your aid.”

The warrior maiden looked around at the scowling faces. 

“So, I am to
be a prisoner?”

“Strike your
tongue!” Rahm bellowed.  “You are to address the king only when he asks.  His
majesty’s will has been spoken, and it will be done.  Guards, take her away!”

The gorgeous warrior maiden seethed with anger.  She fought
against her captors and her shackles but, bound and outnumbered, even the great
Raveena could not escape.  In spite of her protests and greatest attempts to
resist, and to the delight of the Raganeans who had gathered throughout the
halls of their king’s palace, she was taken deep below to the palace bowels, to
a cell in its deepest and darkest depths.

Captain Vol approached Raveena’s cell with apprehension.  To
see the most fearsome warrior in the realm so powerless seemed pitiful yet,
even in this situation, rendered toothless and behind bars, she still seemed
like a coiled snake: as if, though he knew it impossible, she might still find
a way to burst through the bars of her cell at a moment’s notice.  Her eyes relayed
the fury of a caged animal, ready to bite the hand of its captor at the first
opportunity.  He stepped up to the cell so that he was close enough to speak
quietly, but not so close that she could possibly reach him, just in case she
should lash out.  He waited a moment for the beauty to acknowledge his
presence, but when it became clear no formalities were forthcoming, he broached
the silence.

“Where are
we headed tomorrow” the captain asked the captive.

“I told your
king.  The Raganean Forest.  A clearing towards the western edge.  Their camp
was there.” 

“When did
you see the Gekken?”

“Today,
around mid-day.  I came here straight away afterwards.”  She finally lifted her
gaze and made eye-contact with the captain.  Her dark beautiful eyes softened
for just a moment in the flickering light of the lanterns that lit the dark
chamber.  “Let me go.  I can show you the place on a map.  I must leave so I
can warn my people.”

“I cannot. 
I will never disobey my king” he responded.  He did feel compassion for the
captive.  Though he knew she was the coldest, most vile killer that his kingdom
had ever faced, he felt a sense of kindred with her as a warrior, and knew that
with her reputation and status she deserved more respect than she was being
afforded.

“Damn it. 
I’m a fool” she hissed.  Her mood changed.  The momentary softness that had
been fleetingly present in her dark, beautiful eyes flashed back into pure
rage.  “I should never have come here.  I should never have trusted you.”

“If we find
the Gekken you speak of tomorrow, you will be released.  The king is honorable
and is a man of his word” answered Captain Vol.

The warrior maiden seethed in the flickering lamplight. 

“How many
men are you taking?”

“Forty of my
best men.”

“Forty?  You
may as well go alone.  You will all be slaughtered” she snapped.  Her tone was
now that of condescension.  The captain would not abide by this.  Yes, she was
a revered foe, but he was a great warrior too, and he would not allow her to
criticize him or his men. 

“I can
assure you, my men are the finest in this army.  They are some of the greatest
soldiers in the realm.  A pity we have never met on the field of battle, then
you would know.”

The beautiful warrior maiden stood and approached the captain. 
She leaned into the bars and pressed her face between them.  Her cold, dark
eyes narrowed into a contemptuous grin.

“The only
reason you’re still breathing is because we haven’t met on the field of battle”
she answered.  Her beauty was now an afterthought, compared to the cruel
disdain the captain felt seething from her eyes.  The captain sensed no trace
of humanity in them.  He wished to conclude his business swiftly, and leave her
presence as quickly as possible.

“Regardless,
tomorrow we will go to this clearing” he continued.  “We should either find the
Gekken or some trace of their having been there.  Even if these Gekken are more
advanced, as you say, they will not be sophisticated enough to evade the
detection of my best trackers.  One way or another, we will find out if you are
telling the truth.” 

“If you are
really taking me with, and only forty men, you’d better give me my sword. 
You’d better let me fight with you.”

Giving a weapon to the most vile killer in the realm sounded
like the worst idea Captain Vol could fathom.  He had never sensed darkness
like hers before.  He hoped for the first time, to himself, that they would not
find the Gekken.  That they would instead find out that it was a trap, would
thwart it, and would have cause to execute her justly.  This warrior maiden had
killed enough of their people.  She had conducted enough evil.  She must be
stopped.  He spoke again.

“The king’s
orders are not to release you until we have discovered whether or not you have
told the truth, and returned and reported it to King Resnos himself.  I will
follow his orders to the letter.”

 “Then we
are all dead” spoke Raveena.  As she said this, her eyes reflected the
flickering flames of the candles, as if the fire were coming from within.

The captain left, but he sent his assistant in to tend to the
prisoner.  As she brought lamb and mead in to the warrior, her nerves were
being fully tested.   She struggled to hold the plate and cup steadily as she
approached the cell.  Yet, as nervous as she was to face the warrior maiden,
she was also fascinated by her.  She had never seen beauty like Raveena’s.  The
assistant’s own sexuality had never had a chance to fully bloom.  She had sometimes
fancied men, but her only experiences of sex with them had been all for their
gratification, not for hers, and she had been so mistreated by them that she
found it difficult to imagine finding love with one.  But she had also always
been attracted to women.  She loved the female form.  As she approached,
Raveena’s gaze was away from her, to the wall, so the assistant could take a
moment to soak in her incredible beauty.  Her eyes slowly traced over her,
savoring every stop along the way:  the soft flesh of her cheek and neck, her
back, so feminine yet powerful.  Then down it, below her gorgeous long hair, to
her beautiful, slim waist, which then spread out and gave way to her gorgeous
hips, so wide and luscious.  And then, her eyes finally settled on it . . . her
incredible ass.  Kiella, as the assistant was called, had always loved the
gorgeous shape of a woman’s ass, and Raveena’s, forged by years of riding and training,
was the most perfect she had ever seen.  As she stood there, pausing, staring
at Raveena’s intoxicating form, she felt her pussy begin to flush and grow
moist.  She felt desire begin to overcome her, yet, at the same time, she was
keenly aware that never in her life had she been so afraid of anyone.  She had
lived a hard life: she had been abused and beaten by many, but she had never
felt what she felt coming from the warrior maiden.  She had never been in a
room with someone that she felt could gut her and watch her insides spill upon
the floor with no apprehension at all.  Yet, it was exactly that thought which
plagued her now, that this beautiful woman might do just that if she were not
careful, and if she lowered her guard for an instant.  Yet, this did not hamper
her arousal at all, such was Raveena’s unparalleled beauty.