Elf World Shadows Rising Page 3

  “Some people got all the luck,” stated another passenger, as a third beautiful wife came over to the lucky older Elf.

  “For The Creator’s sake, I bet he has a fourth,” joked a young looking captain in the uniform of the 31st lancers. “I hope he doesn’t mind sharing…”

  Since Sun Eleven law only allows a elf to have up to four wives, it was a safe bet that there would not be a fifth female, with a “Life Bond” band or torque, to appear and go over to the lucky, sodding, bastard.

  Just then, another striking lass came on deck from below. An exotic Moon Elf, with that peaches and cream skin color and chestnut hair and deep rich brown eyes, which they are known for. She walked away from the passengers gathered on deck, heading toward the other railing. Her russet and bronze loin cloth wiggled in an appealing way as she walked across the deck, it was what drew every eye of the male Elves.

  Moon Elves were infamous for their wild hedonistic displays of licentious abandonment that put all other elves to shame. Even when married, they marry into their clan in a communal relationship, and not an individual… And clan visitors are shown extremely gracious hospitality… “I think this Moonlass is going to get a lot of attention this next week, and I bet she is ecstatic she has no real competition.”

  Strangely to Myst, Shadow Elves are the only one of the eleven races that did not recognize any form of Life Bonding; with their females picking the males they mated with, not the other way around. Even the crazy Frost Elves had life bonding…

  The ship sailed down the beautiful lake heading for the river that would take it to the seaport about five hundred miles to the south. To the west, the sun was starting to set behind the lofty snow capped peaks. The soft colors of sunset did nothing to alleviate the solemn mood that all the single male passengers had sunk into. Nor did the highly amused smiles and barely repressed laughter of the Dwarven crew. It was well known what the elves favorite pass time was, and competition would be high on it on this ship, but the Moon-lass would have a good time Myst was sure. Shaking his head ruefully he headed down into the ship to find his cabin and take a nap.

  CHAPTER 2

  Alabaster towers topped with golden minarets soared high overhead in an sharp cerulean hued sky. Silk banners and flags flew from rich marble palaces, all in varying shades of purple, giving the city an air, or at least pretence, of wealth and aristocracy. A warm wind blew dry air scented with dust and spices across the wide crowded streets, full of a myriad of people from many lands. A cacophony of sounds filled the street in a raucous symphony. Here, less than a foot and a half of rain would fall each year, but the salty fish smell of the harbor announced that water was in abundance, only not the kind one could drink.

  Kayla Morningstar walked down the crowded streets of the central bazaar in the heart of Zengara, capital of The Great Empire of Kush. That was not the full title of the Kushian Empire, the Star Elves being as bombastic and extravagant as they tend to be, but it was all most people called it. Well most nice people any way, Kush was not the most highly regarded land on the face of the planet. Even other Star Elven countries such as the Great and Potent Empire of the Mighty Everlasting Naya, that controlled the east side of the continent from Kush, did not really care all that much for them. It was not, she reflected, because Star Elves had the reputation as lawyers and “used slave” merchants, nor the fact that they were one of the most powerful and most corrupt countries ever to rise; no it was, one could argue, because they actually traded with, Orcs, Shadow Elves and even Trolls! Of course not openly; no, they deplored the followers of the Death Goddess in public, but under the table, commerce was brisk. There was not even a law, not that they would enforce it if one existed, against Shadow Elves living within Kush.

  The only reason the highly violent and notoriously unstable Frost Elves were rarely seen in Kush, was because they could not long tolerate the heat, but if the Star Elves could make money from them they too would be welcome.

  Just the thought of the evil Shadow Elves, made her shudder. With their olive gray skin and dark hair they could blend into this crowd easier than she did. A culture of extreme religious zealots who worship a demon and being bent on world domination and slavery of all other races, they somehow tended to make people uncomfortable for some reason.

  Kayla of course had never been to their land as she was still breathing, she knew they lived in huge stone temple-palaces, each controlled by a Sect High Priestess. The High Priestess of each Sect has a place on the ruling Cabal, headed by the Empress, who has absolute power over all.

  A dust devil danced through the square disturbing her thoughts as cages of birds squawked loudly when the it hit a nearby shop selling birds. Kayla paused to look at some pottery painted in Trollish tribal symbols. Thankful there were no Trolls in the city, even the Star Elves aren't that stupid! Just thinking about them was putting her in a bad mood, and she had come shopping to relieve tension, not make it worse.

  She reached into her belt pouch and brought out a hair ribbon; pulled back her long hair the color of spun gold, and put it up into a ponytail. “There that’s better” she thought to herself. The heat and the smell of spices were nearly overwhelming in these close shaded streets. The high buildings seemed to block out the sun, and keep the air heavy and still.

  Kayla seemed to dance along through the crowds; her blond ponytail bouncing against her lightly tanned back. Her large grey blue eyes taking in the sights of the bustling market. At about five foot three and one hundred and ten pounds, she was the same height as most of the female Star Elves that made up most of the crowd.

  These bustling crowds of Star Elves in their bright colored silk robes and loin cloths, decorated in thread of gold and silver; precious gems adorned the wealthy and semi-precious the less fortunate. It seemed a riot of colors, a mad flock of jungle parrots, an orgy of ostentation. The sounds of people haggling, all master of that merchant’s art form, echoed down the streets. She passed a grand square with a towering fountain with a three story tall statue of some conquering Emperor, spouting water from his crown of gold, and splashing the covey of naked slaves carved at his feet.

  Throughout the bazaar, street peddlers sold bananas, oranges, figs, and pomegranates. Merchants in shops, bargained at full volume with buyers purchasing Macaws and songbirds in reed cages, or silver jewelry from Ferinzia, or sparkling wine from Provon, perhaps spices from Naya, or the finest silk from southern Kush, don't forget monkeys from Goblin Marsh, and thousands upon thousands of other merchandise from around the world, and “much of it not even stolen”! Although Kayla would not bet on how much of the goods had actually paid the Imperial import tax; some of the goods must have?

  Her two poor bodyguards looked tired and bored; she tried not to drive them to distraction. They were a wonderful pair, these gruff retired sergeants from the Guards, who looked after her like a pair of tolerant uncles. “Grend, Kryth, stop looking so glum, your Sun Elves for Creator’s sake, be a little more sunny.”

  “Whatever you command Excellency, but this is dry work.”

  “So what else is new? We're in the middle of a desert, you know Kryth.”

  “So it is. I hadn’t noticed, miss. Don’t forget, you have a full schedule this afternoon.”

  “What do you expect me to do, stay at the embassy all day?”

  “Well, that’s a really good idea miss, wish I had thought of that.”

  Grend grunted. “You don’t need my advice on how to handle things miss, but we need to keep moving in this crowd or we’ll get trampled.”

  She paused and adjusted her white and gold halter top, the silk triangles had shifted as the heat and jostling crowd had caused the slightest sheen of perspiration to appear on her skin, necessitating the fixing of her outfit. Her matching long loin cloth attached at the hips with gold chains hung with tiny gold coins, seemingly was also slightly askew she noticed, “Goddess it was hot,” she thought, as they continued to stroll down the shops. Nothing really attracted Kayla today; sh
op keepers tried to entice her with their wares, but it seemed none of them could do so. They passed a tavern and both bodyguards looked longingly at the cool inviting depth of the wine shop, and sighed in unison.

  “Would you please buy something already, before we die of thirst, miss.”

  Kayla stopped at a stall that sold fruit and bought three pomegranates, one for herself and one each for her two bodyguards that shadowed her every move. Can't have the Ambassador of the Solaran Empire unescorted, no freedom for her, not in this wicked city of danger and sin.

  It just wouldn’t do to find herself up on one of the private slave blocks, sold to some Kushian merchant. It would have to be a private auction; the enslaving of Elves is illegal in all nations, except for those controlled by the Shadow Elves of course.

  Slavery was one thing Kayla just could not get use to here. Sun Elves had outlawed slavery ten thousand years before, and even then it was rare and a much more benign version. The Empire of Kush lives on the slave trade, Star Elves being too good to sweep the streets or cook their own meals. The sight of the poor Nymphs and Gnomes dressed in slave black was heart breaking. The Dwarven slaves were also upsetting, but not to the same extent as that of the other peoples.

  Kayla reflected that Dwarves are a dour and serious folk, hard as rock, and looking like nearly five foot tall, two hundred plus pounds of cut granite, they were not normally creatures that evoked pity. There were two varieties of dwarves, but only one race. Some dwarves have a strong affinity to Water Magic, and a weak affinity to Fire Magic, they tend to go to sea and spend their lives as sailors (or pirates). The other group of Dwarves have a strong affinity to Fire Magic and a weak one to Water Magic; they tend to become miners and metal smiths. While this magic affinity tends to run in families, it is not unusual to find siblings of each of the two types.

  The male Dwarves are usually bearded but otherwise mostly hairless, and females only have scalp hair. Female Dwarves are the same height as males, but fifty pounds or more lighter. Dwarves are denser than Elves; their bones are thicker, made with a more compact calcium matrix and with larger joints that confer a greater mechanical application. Their muscle fibers are smaller, slow twitch, and much more numerous, giving them extremely high endurance and power. Dwarves also have a lower than normal fat to muscle ratio, giving them their renowned thirst and capacity for ale and other starchy foods, for needed calories. Due to their physical make up, Dwarves should sink like a stone in water, but thanks to their passive ability in Water Magic, Dwarves are mostly neutrally buoyant and great swimmers.

  Their fleets of ships travel the oceans, trading cargoes to distant lands. Dwarves build small city trading centers on heavily fortified islands, in strategic shipping lanes around the world, or well protected deep mines in mineral rich regions.

  The Star Elves use Dwarven slaves, for hard manual labor, but not as sailors, they are kept far away from boats, their Water Magic was just too strong to risk that.

  The Gnomes are used for their ability to fix and build anything. The towering walls and graceful minaret towers were their work, not the result of the Star Elves own abilities, unless you count their abilities as slave masters.

  Kayla liked Gnomes; they were a wonderful small people about three and a half to four feet tall, who live in small cozy stone cities or in hidden underground burrows. They are master engineers and craftsmen, who adored to tinker and to create wondrous things. A pleasant folk, who loved to eat and sing, to share company with friends, to gossip and tell stories, and most of all to sit by a quiet fire in their cozy warm dens and tinker or read. Gnomes have happy round faces, small round ears, and bright round eyes. What’s most surprisingly, with their love of food, they really don’t have overly round little bodies. She found Gnomes to be very polite, cheerful, honest and amiable, for the most part. Kayla thought that they were the most open and friendly people she had come across in her eighty years of life.

  But as bad as Kayla found the enslaving of the Gnomes, the plight of the poor Nymphs was far worse. A gentle and shy people, sometimes referred to as Dryads, they live alone or in very small groups, in peaceful hidden woodlands. About four and a half to five feet tall, slender and elfin in appearance. Nymphs look more ethereal than Elves, with more pronounced and pointed ears and larger almond shaped eyes than those found in Elves. Nymphs are known to have a strong affinity to Earth Magic, which provides them the ability to live their quiet lifestyles in seclusion. They make no tools, build no buildings, and have no desire to do so. They spend their days talking to animals and plants, wondering the woodlands, swimming, and frolicking. They are a playful and innocent folk, with the females Nymphs being much more common as less than one in ten Nymphs being males, called Satyrs, that look and act very very different from the females.

  To enslave them as house slaves or pleasure slaves was so barbaric! Kayla could not help the tears that fell from her beautiful eyes.

  A group of free dwarves were arguing loudly over the price of a crossbow with the weapons merchant they were passing. She smiled at the sight of these honest folk dressed in dark leather pants, heavy long sleeved cloth shirts, quilted jackets, and heavy boots. “How could they move wearing all of those clothes? And it was a pleasant hot sunny autumn day well above ninety degrees, not even Gnomes bundled up so, silly Dwarves.”

  She found herself looking at a pair of gold sandals that laced up the calf, then sighed as she realized that she was actually wearing the exact sandals on her feet.

  This shopping trip was a waste of time; her mood was now the worst it had been all week. The sights and sounds of the bazaar not working it’s magic on her as it had a year ago when she was first sent to this den of iniquity. The loud rich colors that were hung throughout the city at first seemed such a rich rainbow of color, now seemed to her to be just a garish abuse of the color purple. Purple everything; if she never saw the color purple again she would not mind at all. Especially that dark PURPLE dragon on light PURPLE field that was the flag of Kush. And they flew it from everywhere and everything possible!

  It was not Star Elves that she could not stand, it was Kushian Star Elves in particular, she told herself. After all she had spent nearly ten years in The Grand and Potent Empire of Naya, also a land full of Star Elves, but they were not this dreadful. Kushians seemed to Kayla to be a parody of what people thought of Star Elves.

  Star Elves tend to be beautiful and graceful and proud. They are highly cultured, xenophobic, and quite corrupt. They love wealth, extravagance, ostentation, beauty, and most of all their pride. With a strong preference for lush verdant warm tropical lands or semi deserts bush veldts, they had an aversion to cold similar to the Frost Elves aversion to hot.

  “And by the Creator it was hot today, no Frost Elves here.”

  Star Elves live in huge palaces of ostentatious wealth and abundant color if they can afford it. The society is controlled by the wealthy merchant Houses. Each House is ruled by a Patriarch, in whom all House loyalty and power resides. The Houses compete with each other for power, wealth, and most importantly prestige.

  Then again maybe she didn’t like Star Elves at all, and the Kushian version of them just forced her to realize this. Well most certainly she missed her home and her own people, the nearly forty five years she had spent in the Foreign Service was getting to her. The early fun years as a new assistant deputy attaché at the embassy in Tuscan, enjoying the wild culture of the Moon Elves, it seemed such a long time ago.

  She blushed at the memory of the wild celebrations that the Moon Elves were known for. They sure went all out for their Spring Carnival; while her own Sun Elves took full advantage of that high celebration to frolic and enjoy the more sensual aspects of the holiday, but they could not even come close to the wild hedonistic abandon of Moon Elves. The Moon Elves didn’t even try to hide the main purpose to their wild and exotic celebrations, “probably why there are more Moon Elves than any other race of elves...”

  A group of half-Orc slaves pass
ed through the market, all chained together neck to neck. A strong contingent of slaver guards marching them off to the mines. It was about the only thing Orcs or half-Orcs were allowed to do as slaves, they were just too dangerous for anything else.

  Kayla knew a good deal about Orcs, as did all people that had to deal with them. Orcs, are very rigid, highly ordered, and supremely militaristic. They live in exceedingly disciplined tribes that sometimes compete with each other for dominance. Their society is based on power and order; the strong rule and the weak are killed. All observe strict discipline of their leaders and follow a strict behavioral code. The absolute control of their territories and the conquest of more land are their overall driving ambition. Their whole society is centered around the army; all Orcs are members of a military tribe; everyone had some type of rank, freedom and private property did not really exist, and they have no sense of humor.

  Commonly, male Orcs have thick protruding brows and lower jaws and longer than normal canine teeth, which show malevolently when they open their mouths. Orcs are quick to violence, not overly bright or adaptable, but they are quite brave, tenacious, and rugged. They are consummate infantry soldiers, perfectly adapted as shock troops. Orcs are not evil in a intentionally cruel or malicious way, but evil in their complete disregard for mercy, compassion, and the sanctity of sentient life.

  They own only what they can carry or hide, everything else is communally owned by the state. It seemed that drinking themselves senseless was the national pastime, and violent sports the national obsession. The males were all fighters and the subservient females provided all of the services and food production.

  Orc females are somewhat different in appearance than the males, much more normal looking, and they are somewhat less ugly according to Elven standards, and to everyone else for that fact. The females even seemed to have a slight resemblance to Elves, but that was purely accidental, wasn't it?