Kumari Kanda

A storm had taken the city a week ago, mercilessly releasing summer winds and a breath of marine life to all the Lizard Folk in the city, who accustomed only to the powerful sun on their backs, to the heat that dries bones and dry throats, spent most of the day locked in their homes, doing menial or minor tasks. The storm season had put a stop to the city, which now needed a team of architects and loggers to repair the new buildings, which broke with the previous architectural style, leaving in evidence the foreign hands of those who had created them. Almost everything was created following a construction plan based on divinations and prophetic dreams interpreted by a council of saintly women, old seers who led the life of the Lizard Folk, who in visions had presaged that the rainy seasons of this and the next few years would hit the western part of the city, so no tribal edification was done over the ashes of what was left of Ypres. Now, leaving a hole in that city, drinking troughs had been built to take advantage of the incessantly rainwater, enough to give a hundred hosts to drink. Meanwhile, the rest of the city tried to recover from the architectural blow it suffered, with most of the buildings being partially rebuilt by hands that still did not fully understand the concrete, thatched roofs decorated with bones of foreign animals, black clay and tar to avoid leaks, expertly carved wood adorning fur awnings of mammoths, tigers and skins of Umpak lizards, for a moment being a brilliant confluence between east and west to be united by the most sensitive artists and careful architects that the Lizard Folk could offer.
In a seat more comfortable than the average, made of tiger skin and Umpak's fangs, Kumari Kanda stirred, uncomfortable and bored, listening with attention as the rain and wind whipped everything outside. In the huge room that served as a refuge for the holy women, she accommodated herself, her entourage, the representatives of the different tribal communes that had a permanent residence in the city and different tribal leaders who had followed Count's horde during years until he died in holy combat and his son had to take control, until he was also killed, and his youngest daughter took over. Her elder sister, part of the council of wise women, brought before her a war chief from another tribe who a few days ago had returned from their holy land in Seleucus, to pay respects to the new Corum Hakai, the holy woman of all the Lizard Folks, the GreenSeer that by divine right should walk towards victory, with all the tribes of Lizard Folk following behind.
The warriors of the tribes that had invaded the city of Ypres almost thirty years ago differed much from what the true warriors of the desert were, they used gambesons and not leather since they fought in colder environments, they killed with pikes and maces now that they fought against armoured enemies and adopted local forms of fighting to avoid being disadvantaged by their neighbours. This had alienated Kumari from allies and cultural ties, she had never seen the holy land that was supposed to dominate someday. That irreconcilable difference was felt, like an abyss dismissing a stink too fetid, because of this the war chief came to the building with his personal warband, ignoring the cold that afflicted all, while walking watching the rear and the breasts of all Kumari's maids, out of respect, not putting their eyes like that on saintly women arguing about the newcomers behind Kumari and nodding when meet his gaze with that of her bodyguard, Hamilcar the baby-lover, nickname earned because of his policy of not murdering babies during raids on defeated peoples, but taking them to raise them as their children. The huge warrior named Rakari the black, stopped a few meters from Kumari, relaxing his tail for balance, posing his two weapons on the ground, identical daggers that were almost so long that they could be mistaken for short swords, called Melekiths. This was almost twice as tall as the frail and thin fourteen-year-old girl who was Kumari, and notoriously twice as wide, with a thoracic cavity that gave the impression to one who with his voice Rakari could change the course of the clouds in the sky, and a jaw so wide and heavy you could break Breton bones.
-I've come from where you were not born, holy girl and I've seen what you've never seen. - He emphasized the word "girl", bothering to pay respect to a woman, much less a girl whom he could triple him age. He had travelled hundreds of miles to confirm rumours about a young girl who claimed to be the wisest woman of all, the most powerful GreenSeer born after the Great War, who dreamed of the Great Serpent destroying the Great Pyramid. -My men have travelled from far away to see it, and confirm the rumours, Starchild, now I request for them two slaves for each one, house and food, we are very tired from the trip, Starchild. -

Get up warrior, because the rumours that you have heard are true, I compose the stars and they speak to me. - She said when she felt like a perfume all the feelings that adorned him. -I am not more than a girl, but my wisdom speaks for the seasons of any old man. - She made a sign for him to get up, because nobody there was above anyone, there are no slaves or merchants of people. Rankari stood up with surprise, as if seeing himself naked before her, knowing deep down that she could read him like a book. -House and food, we can give you, but I am afraid that if any of your men want other pleasures, they themselves must make the conquest. My servants do not exist for it, and I fear that there are no slaves here. -She said, knowing part of what was coming. Her voice was no more than that of a girl, but she was as firm as any other, any warrior from any part of the seas, striving not to be out of tune due to puberty.

He answered quickly as soon as he felt compose again. - "What kind of city is it without slaves?" Who does the work? Who cares for men after battles? Excuse me, child of the stars, but their customs are far away for our saviour. -I almost seemed to have rehearsed, every word seemed measured and said so safely and quickly that it did not stop surprising Kumari, despite knowing almost exactly the answer to every word said by her as soon as the man set foot in her village.
-Every man and woman are free to travel the city without being robbed or raped by a thief, the right of people to take away the rights of others is taken away. It is the law of this land, it is the law that I have seen work most for our community. Every man is cared for by his wife, or by his sister, or mother, rape is sanctioned with death here. - She saw beyond and was ahead of her opponent's answers, leaving him confused. She was one step ahead of him, for she knew his answers and placed her other answers in her inflections and speech. She had seen this discussion too many times in her mind, as well as in her dreams. The experience and visions made this just a routine.
-I cannot distrust or trust the judgment of a complete stranger, if I am allowed to doubt, since so much freedom is given to his people. - Rankari replied, pursing his lips in disapproval. - I only doubt where the loyalties of the person who predicts that I will follow her to battle lies. Like all the Lizard Folk.
Like all the Lizard Folks - She repeated at the same time as he, repeating the words of the wise women behind her, too, who listened attentively to the conversation.
-While you have surrounded yourself with everything that our people represent, I, like other warlords who cannot come to visit you yet, we are afraid. - He confessed, watching as Kumari shifted in her seat listening to things that she had not predicted, but had already supposed. - Afraid that the mind of the Starchild is being educated in the wrong way. Rumours say that Count surrounded himself with other wise men, the sons of death, the burning telepaths. Groups that no one here approves, or am I wrong? - He said looking for support around him, with some warriors nodding at his words, in addition to all his warband. – Starchild, let me be frank with you. The other warlords do not approve, they are not satisfied that a direct descendant of someone with these rumours, and with an insolence by our customs should rule us. I have come here to evaluate you, and I will not leave until I have an opinion formed from you. That's why I've come with few men. I hope the trip is worth it, we need it in these Dark Times. -
Kumari read his intentions, paying as much attention as she did when reading the volumes of philosophy left by the Ypres Water Wizards before leaving. She remained silent, studying him and reading him, almost entering his mind and pulling out all the answers she needed. She could see the countless ghosts that haunted her guest, all the deaths and acts of shame he carried on his back. His own father was holding him by the shoulder, whispering things in his ear as he spoke to him, as if something was not pending, but he still wanted to stay. Maybe that was what happened when our actions, sorrows and glories, in one way or another reflected that of our parents. We do not see it, but the path is the same. There was other people, with ethereal flesh with the same consistency as the silk dancing endlessly around that man, emotional debts, moral debts that harassed him without his noticing. Women, human and lizard folk, who spit on the ground that he had walked, cursed his name, and cried with fear. Also, a dear friend, who judging from the wound in his chest, cared for him affectionately after Rankari held him in his arms until he died in battle, crying with anger and sadness after his lifelong friend died. Victims and friends, relatives and others danced in front of this man. She could not think of him as a murderer of her lifestyle and command. He was more than that, with a wife waiting at home to tell him that his fifth child had died, so that both could cry of sadness for months. But in any case, her heart was agitated to see beyond what was about to happen.
-You doubt of my intentions. Just like your father did. Like your friend did, distrusting the auguries of holy women as they embark on battle nevertheless. The times you saw the rain can be counted on the fingers of one hand, not to mention a storm like the ones here. You had never seen assailants armed with what here is used, never had fought against people who moved or maneuverer like they do here. - She raised her voice, she had heard hundreds of times what they would be answering her. And she was tired, of talking to the same people so they would answer the same, to take charge of an entire city on her own, never play with other children, being surrounded by adults all the time. -But we do. We learned to shelter ourselves, to shelter ourselves from storms, to fight against knights in armour, against Glauchs with the power of storms, against Birds of Thunder. We adapt here, we survive, and we learned. We changed. Just that. "- She left Rankari completely speechless. That had taken him by surprise. The Starchild saw through any person, all her powers in manifest to direct her people. The rumours were true, she was as foreign as powerful. -And before you appeal to our bad manners, I remind you that it is you who ask for women, knowing that a pregnant wife is waiting for you at home, that you are the first to show me that I was not born in the same place than you, and I have not seen the same as you. But sir, I remind you that I can see more things than you, more than your mind could even dream of seeing, or imagining. Each one of the words that you will use, I have seen all the ghosts that haunt you, those who cry for you and those who are happy for you. I do not need it, neither you nor the war chiefs, who if they were so worried about knowing my loyalties would have come themselves, instead of sending only you, the weakest of them. -
It was more insult than he could tolerate before his eyes, and Kumari knew it, he only did a favour to his companions, and therefore to his people, trying to spare them the pain of a Starchild who is not loyal to his own people, to a foreigner with powers that only a Lizard Folk could use, someone who does not know how their customs are or know what millenary order keeps their practice afloat. She attacked everything that his society defined as sacred, the stain of her grandfather fallen in battle before a human, a woman moreover, not yet cleansed of his being. She was stained, defiant, speaking as if she could disrespect someone in his position, as if seeking the wrath of her own people, as if she was a stranger to what had to be the most important thing in their lives, completely disregarding and escaping from all her responsibilities, not only with the people of this place, but also with the people of the deserts, who did not have the luxury of escaping to distant lands full of bonanza and unclaimed lands at the first sign of problems. No, he and all his people stayed there and fought, reaffirming the right to call Seleucus their home, and now this child, who should be their leader, dared to challenge them and fail to fulfil her responsibilities. No need to read the future to know what he would do. He quickly searched for the daggers, which in a sign of good will and respect had been left in front of her, to quickly wrap them in his hands, with the knob of them covering his knuckles to be protected by a layer of steel that worked at the same time as knuckles when entering combat. His other companions did the same, drawing their weapons, ritualistic spears made with the spines of giant fish, short swords created by carving the teeth of giant lizards, shields made from the skin and scales of the same lizards, spears of lion teeth of the sands, etc.
All the warriors surrounded Rankari, their leader, protecting him from the warriors who were in the room with Kumari, who at her request used the same weapons of their people in a past attempt to legitimize themselves, to give the message that their people and she was in touch with their roots. She stood up and quickly touched the hand of her bodyguard, using in conjunction her powers to communicate with him, sending a direct message to the mind in what took eternity to make way for a second, finish it, and start a new one.
-My Sky and Stars, is this what everything always ends? Did I cause it for being myself and following my own judgment? Is any action that I take fundamentally wrong? - She asked, helpless, lowering the guard for the first time.
-It will end in what must end. This is the path he has chosen, nobody forced him to raise his weapons. Now his strength will be found by a force equal to or greater than his own, he cannot complain about what will happen next. "Hamilcar, his bodyguard, his love replied. With the double, or more, of her age, war chief who decided to join her, with the condition of always protecting her from all evil, of being her bodyguard. He advises her, takes care of her, cradles her when she wants to cry and cannot allow anyone to see her.
-I believe I understand, my Sky and Stars, I think I understand ... will you defend my honour as you promised to do? -
-I'm afraid that this time I will not be able to do it. He has not insulted me, he has insulted you, he has risen in open rebellion against you and what you have said. I want you to learn, that one must take charge of his words. Learn, be better, I want to love someone better. You'll have to get up on your own to fight with him. You will have to kill him. If you do it, it will not be a lesson just for you, it will be a lesson for all the war chiefs who sent him, it is more important than you think, and I do not need to see the future to realize it. Destroy him, kill him, teach him not to doubt your allegiances. Kill him. Destroy him. There was never another alternative.
She released his hand. The moment when everything was paralyzed around them, which they shared without anyone else guessing, was over. She rose from her seat, while a gesture of her made all the guards in the vicinity disappear. Her breathing was agitated, she felt a huge chill on her back, and at times she held her breath if she was so agitated. Hamilcar extended his hand with a dagger. She had to do it. She had already gotten up from her seat, there was no turning back. She would be a coward without honour if she did, even her most faithful followers would doubt her.
-For this offense I will not give you a burial as dictated by customs. - She said pointing to Rankari with her dagger. He spat at her feet, defiant, with the greatest insult desert nomads could give.
"The storms of these lands will wash the putrid flesh of your bones." He screamed as he prepared for the steel dance. Rankari's warband moved away from him to leave them both fighting alone.
"Damn whore, you wish you had not challenged me once I raped you, like I've done countless times. As your lover has done with other girls. - He threw to demoralize. She knew it was true, but tried to ignore it, while the mere mention made mental images that she knew were not her imagination. They began to move to the sides, always keeping in front of each other, waiting for one to jump in charge to cut the dance.
Kumari extended her arms, looking unprotected and vulnerable, as if waiting for the embrace of a beloved relative while not taking her eyes off her opponent. This, by impatience, came dangerously close to prove how good his rival was. He decided to throw a quick little stab at her, which was quickly dodged. Then another, which ended in the same. With the other hand he decided to hit her, but the girl was faster than him, and he moved with great agility out of danger. She did not block his blows, he noticed, she just dodged them. Maybe she did not have enough strength to make her steel meet the other steel, she could not stand the shock and would lose quickly. She was only a child, and he was impatient to see how she dodged every attack, blow, and backlash he sent her. It was too fast, and it did not sit still at any moment. Her agile feet gave small jumps, first one ahead and then the other behind, to always keep moving and be more agile when fighting using those daggers, this is how Hamilcar had taught her.
Then she launched her first attack. A stab aimed at Rankari's chest, but which was answered by a rejection with his dagger. She launched that attack quickly, looking carefully at the future at the same time, watching as the tide changed and became faster and more turbid as it changed everything. Her attack was blocked, but the dagger slipped by the steel that answered her and with a little more force ended up being buried between the middle finger, throwing little blood to the ground. That had been her plan, she saw the future and could see all the movements, both of her and those of Rankari. She was faster than him, and the options of what to do overwhelmed her mind all at the same time. Each step taken, each movement with the dagger, each sound of them cutting the wind. Everything was a path that led to a garden full of forking paths, and she could see them all at the same time, not without effort, but she could. Rankari had no way of touching her, only that he was not aware of it.
He left after the first blood, laughing at the girl's wit, but impatiently he launched himself against her, admitting impatiently and wanting to finish everything as quickly as possible. He waved his arms and threw lunges and cuts against her, but failed to give a single, all were dodged by the Starchild, who moved to evade before he even thought about what blow to give.
Then she saw herself getting tired and exhausted from so much combat, knowing that she did not have enough strength to go through Rankari's armour or scales. If she got tired of just dodging then death awaited her, she had no choice but to change the path. She saw what route to take and approached his rival, dodging with great agility, using the free hand she had left to touch his skin, to come in contact with and disturb him. It was quick, she needed just a moment, where her mind focused on altering the opposite, placing her mind on the same level as the other and altering it as she pleases. Rankari saw how the Starchild was beginning to become brighter, she folded and unfolded like a piece of cardboard, became water like a river thawing, vibrating like the stones in the steps when the horde of a Horse Lords approached. Soon she disappeared from his sight, having become so complex that his mind had already stopped capturing her existence, being completely unreal before his limited sensory perceptions. For the others who did not suffer the touch, she was still Kumari.
-Damn witch! Where are you?! - Rankari shouted and insulted, nervous for not seeing her anymore, angry that she had used such powers against him in battle. Nobody said that it was forbidden, but nobody said that a child could participate in a duel to death either. Even so here they were, and he relied so much on the old custom that he had to swallow his words while waving his arms again like a tornado, preventing Kumari from approaching. Complaining and stopping the duel would give him even more shame, by admitting that he could not beat a fourteen-year-old girl.
Now the path bifurcated even more in her favour. She could attack as she wanted. Back to stabbing him a bit, letting little blood decorate the tip of the dagger. It was not enough yet, so she threw herself at his feet to touch his skin again, contacting his mind directly again, altering his perception against his will to win the contest. He again whined, shouting and babbling insults as she walked away again to observe what she had done.
Now his body felt more acutely everything that happened to him, his nervous receptors were in the heavens ready to send an exaggerated response at the slightest occurrence. And this is how a single little stabbing on one side left him screaming in pain, moving his hand to protect it as an unconscious movement, while thinking about the error of his movement to be embarrassed to admit such pain. Another quick stab was struck in his back, sinking little into his flesh, but dropping a trickle of blood on the ground and armour. Another cut in the back left him almost unbalanced, while he felt like a thousand needles were stuck on his back, like a tongue of fire licking the wounds. It was a macabre dance, Kumari running around Rankari as she threw her stabs and slashed at him, cutting deeply, but making him scream the same, throwing a rain of rapiers against him, a dance of hundreds of dancers sharing a partner. When the daggers reached his legs, he had no choice but to kneel, because his hands were too damaged (in his mind) to lift and defend. As if it were death by a thousand cuts Kumari still had not decided when to finish it, even throwing shallow gashes against him, against his face, stabbing and crossing his cheeks and almost taking his eye off him as she touched it with the dagger. In mechanical movements, with the grace lost she continued to work as a flesh moulder on his face, having stopped breathing, forcing herself to exhale and inhale only when she could not bear it anymore.
It seemed like an automaton the way she held the dagger, without trembling as if she had found something she had never imagined in herself, feeding it because you love it, but not letting it out for fear of what people will say. The moment had come, and she could not hide anymore, she did not care what people thought of her, and she was tired of bearing so much weight on her shoulders. She wanted to go out and play, she wanted to sleep late, she wanted to not have to put up with so many people watching her constantly, and the only way to prove that she knew at that moment was by laying the bleeding Rankari on the floor, lying on him and plunging her dagger on his chest. First one-time, breaking part of the armour, then again, watching as blood gushed from the wound. She plunged the steel once more, feeling as he was in contact with organs and ribs, then breaking the ribs and undoing the organs, with the interior so fragile and buttery compared to the strong exterior. Rankari begged, but Hamilcar gave a shout of "KILL HIM" while she hoped that he would not take her out of her near trance. He took her by the neck to stop her, but this caused her to take his arm with one hand to hold him in place and he could not let go, while throwing countless stabs against it, leaving a bloody green and pink pulp where before was the arm of a proud warrior. The steel was no longer cold, now it was hot with the blood of its enemy, which was still alive while begging to finish the work, please.
She just continued to dig into his chest with the dagger, pulling on his skin until she found some bone or the dagger broke. Once she made too much leverage with the heavier rib and the dagger broke, it plunged it into Rankari's neck, several times. Feeling now for the closeness, as all the blood that spilled soaked her right hand. It felt like a nice liquid filling her hand, filling her with so much peace, like the warmth of a mother's embrace, like the semen of her lover inside her, like everything that was good in this world. And she wanted more. She got up, leaving the body inert and in a pool of blood as she trembled and watched what she had done, watched herself as she suffered involuntary spasms, her teeth above crashed against those below, and wondered what had happened to her.

Dagger - She said, and another dagger was given. -Bring them to me. - Her guards brought her the warband that accompanied Rankari, at her request they knelt in front of her. She hit her own face several times with her palm extended, while hyperventilating and trying to control her breathing. First person in all her life she had murdered, and now she had the whole room crying out for the blood of others. Her head hurt, but she felt strangely dazed. She cut off her hand when holding the dagger on the point, and when she felt that liquid again, was able to calm down enough to approach the first of six and place the dagger around his neck. It was a fast and clean movement. She slid the dagger by his neck and blood came out of the throat, like opening a letter with a letter opener. The body fell to the ground like a bundle and stayed there. The second. She buried the dagger in the eye of the one on her left, not listening to his screams of pain at being so dazed and out of this world. The one who follow was stabbed several times in the throat, making sure that he fell dead to the ground and did not bleed to death.

She did not remember the others, she only remembers herself shivering as she hugged herself in the room with Hamilcar, after having sent out all the servants, wise women, warriors and others. The warband had passed like a hallucination for her, as fast as a bad dream, full of holes and white mist that did not allow her to remember anything. She saw the corpse of everyone in the room and burst into tears as she trembled and scratched parts of her face at short intervals, unable to control her tics at the time. She winked and suffered a spasm in her left arm at the same time, not knowing why. Hamilcar ran to hug her, reassuring her that everything would be fine. But as soon as he touched her she could feel what he was referring to.
She read in the depths of his soul who he was, when from so many massacres he did on her name he then came to find her, with the penis as hard as the steel of the dagger, ready to stab her as she liked. She pushed him to the seat where she was before, staring at him, as the blood she had on her body now formed a stain on him when he held her. She took off the brown gauze that adorned her, revealing her small breasts, her green nipples for Hamilcar. Then she tore at her skirt, spread her legs and touched herself a little. She was too wet, so much that she devoted a few moments to doing it herself while her lover watched. Did he stop her? No, he had his penis too hard to say anything, proud of his beloved. Before, she knelt in front of him and licked him, sucking his testicles while masturbating, biting the trunk while trying to get rid of her mind the feeling of blood on her hands. She sucked the glans trying to forget everything she had done, of all the lives she had blinded. Then stood up and stabbed herself with his dagger while pleasure invaded her young body, with her insides cradling that member, and moving to accommodate him better inside. Her lover took her breasts, while she without noticing, began to move quickly. She took him from the neck quickly and began to tighten it as she moved up and down, giving herself as much pleasure as she could. She was not moaning, but she was breathing hard, maybe trying not to cry. "Shit, hit me." She said without thinking, she told him to, like so many times he had done with her consent. It was almost like an order, a threat. He smacked one of her breasts with a small slap, letting out a sharp moan. When she felt like her beloved was stirring to try to change position she held him by the neck with both hands to stay in place. She ignored the fatigue that invaded her hips and her body, after the fight she launched so many quick thrusts she would begin to exhaust her, but the moment she decided to ignore it she began to scream, almost like a war cry while she felt like the penis of his beloved penetrated her. Maybe that's how the swords penetrate the skin, she thought. She ignored that thought, while to entertain him she played with her small scaled breasts, gathering them and leaving them in his face. -Bite them. Now. - She placed a hand on the seat to hold herself, hitting him hard later. Then once more, until almost breaking it. She did not remember the orgasm, but knows she reach it, her beloved Hamilcar would make sure of it. Everything simply melted into black, when so many disparate feelings at the same time accumulated in her stomach. She remembered screams, maybe crying, and pleasure, moans. Bites, licked. She loved that he delighted in her breasts, but that particular moment was all blurred, like murdering those men. She only remembered lying on the floor, covering herself with Hamilcar's clothes, in blankets that were an improvised bed. Hamilcar tried to approach her to hug her, to kiss her back, but she rejected him. Just looked at nothing, she looked at the corpses, thought about what she had done. She was crying.