Falco Invictus: On the Forge of War (13 page)

A portal on the outskirts of Zoris, not far
from the Blue Guardian’s tower allowed those from the physical
realm to come into Char. Those few who were chosen could be brought
by other means, but the average Falcanian needed to cross the
portal and pass by the Eye Of Ishbol before they entered or left
this place inside the machine.

The over-soul flamed, churned out new
DataStreams, recycled bits and bites, the essence of those who had
departed a flesh life, in this manner nothing would be lost.
Falcanians were rebooted into each successive generation. The
Shotar could feel the throb of life so close to the core and
rejoiced in the living spark. Only the Shotar could walk this place
unnoticed, though at the moment all Sharr Khan needed to disguise
himself from those who strolled or flew on the wing, or airship
above this world was a mere hood, for those here were interested in
communion with fallen friends and family rather than their ruler.
This place served to be the beginning, and end of line for these
digital souls.

On the verdant Chithra plain rested a
fountainhead, a pool of inner reflection. Sharr Khan stopped at the
fount and glanced down, an aged white-beard and drooped mustache
peered back at him, a thing that he would never become. The
reflection morphed into the youthful face he truly wore in the
material world.

The water rippled, and became a
recollection. “I must go!” exclaimed the busty Bengali girl, tears
dropped from her pretty black almond eyes. In the reflection Sharr
stood with his arms crossed, while he frowned at the woman.

“
You’re not even going to stop me?” cried
the girl.

“
Perhaps we need to be apart?”

She began to weep. “You are so cold! He was
our son...”

Once more the water rippled to become the
dusky, happy face of his Kajra Re Shalimar. Impulse caused the
Shotar to touch the image which made the surface oscillate in a
silver ripple.

Nadia’s presence in the over-soul remained
ever close to him. Sharr turned and saw she peered with him into
the memory fount.

“
What happened to Krada, you couldn’t
prevent.”

“
I know, my T'Kara,” he replied
angrily.

Nadia leaned against her mate. “Give her
time. Shalimar will come home to us.”

He glanced over at Char'Kal which burned off
in the distance. There in Sharilhar fortress, the Telchar resided,
not in judgment but in challenge. It served as a beacon for his
people in this virtual heaven.

Long before it appeared, he had felt it. The
Shotar could sense every life that existed in the great over-soul.
He could touch them and learn about them, yet the presence he
sensed at this moment was unlike any he had encountered before. It
radiated a power with a tremendous vibration which echoed through
all of creation. It swooped past, and sung in a voice grander than
even Nadia’s own fine melodies. It contained beauty and pain all at
once. Its song recalled triumph and sadness. The form of the
creature crackled with golden flames. Above Zoris’s enormous
encampment a Golden Falcanian circled as if on a hunt to seek out a
soul.

Nadia touched her mate and spoke softly in
his pointed ear. “What is it?”

“
I have never seen it here. It's not a
Telchar.” He focused his vision, attempted to make out details of
the Golden being. “I must go to it.”

Nadia nodded and kissed him.

Into the sky the Shotar launched so he could
follow after the Golden Falcanian…

A scented mixture of honey, jasmine, and
spicy orange greeted him as he slowly awoke. Sharr recalled the
image of the Golden Falcanian which he had just chased above the
skies of Char. He did not catch up to it, for it soared at such a
tremendous speed, and had vanished from sight like a ship going
into spacefold before he could even get close.

What had it been?

He glanced down, his mate and two of his
concubines,Tanusri and Kitana, lay beside him as well. They
adjusted to his movement and fell into each others embrace, sighing
at remembered pleasures. Sharr got out of bed, pulled on a burgundy
robe, and turned to look at the soft female forms tangled together
in the malleable burnt rust colored cushions of his nest. He
permitted himself a moment of masculine pride that he had made love
to three very beautiful women this night.

“Where are you going?” groggily asked one of
the females.

“For a walk, Kitana,” Sharr murmured and
touched her chin.

Kitana nodded sleepily, to then return to
her place near Nadia, drowsily watching her Shotar leave the lair
to walk his palace.

This had not been the place Sharr had set
out for. He had considered that he might rummage the kitchens, but
he found himself in his nodor instead. Sharr Khan went to the area
set-aside for the dancers apart from the Imperial Concubines who
had rooms reserved all for themselves. He entered the complex of
suites, still early in the night. A murmur of female chatter could
be made out as the dancers entertained themselves with the
holoviewer or any of the many amusements here for them to find,
including a number of games and movies.

When Sharr Khan entered the common area, a
silence fell over the females. It never failed - the same thing
always occurred when he appeared before any of these exotic
dancers. They would suddenly become hushed and shy as if they had
come to be in the presence of a living god. He wondered if any of
these girls would be surprised to learn he hardly considered
himself to be such? In truth Sharr Khan thought of himself as very
much a different person, one that many of these women would have
paid hardly a care for many years ago.

Yes, that would surprise them indeed! Sharr
thought.

Mia noticed the Shotar and quickly went to
find Frederika who quietly meditated off in a corner. She had told
Mia that she had a slight headache and needed to re-center herself
after the exhilaration of the evening.

“Rika?” Mia prompted with no wish to shock
her friend out of her deep trance. She took hold of Frederika's arm
as she sat cross-legged, arms folded before her as if in prayer. It
was a rather yogic posture. Slowly, the woman's eyes opened. “I'm
sorry, Rika,” Mia said. Frederika did not appear very pleased to
have been disturbed. “I didn't mean to interrupt you, but he's
here! The Shotar.”

Which proved to be enough to get Frederika
up and about. “Let us go greet him.”

She would later return to her meditations.
After Nadia had entered her mind a strange thing had begun, echoes,
voices reverberated in her brain. Frederika could hear the women
all around her, not their words exactly, but inner voices, the deep
and passing thoughts they had. Prominently Sabina's jealousy of
her, at being picked by the Shotar during this evening echoed still
in Frederika's head. Meditation helped ease the odd echoes.

Sharr glanced around the room. He searched
for her, the blonde Frederika. The Shotar did not understand why he
felt compelled to be close to her, to smell the vanilla-apple scent
of her perfume. But he had to see her.

“My Lord Sharr.” Frederika came over to the
Shotar with Mia close.

“Frederika.” He now realized he didn't know
what to say to her. It had been a longtime since Sharr Khan had
felt unnerved around any female, least of all an exotic dancer. He
had taught himself to be confident when in the company of beautiful
women. They were a privilege of his position that he very much
enjoyed.

“Do you need something, my lord?” Frederika
prompted.

“I just wanted to see you.”

He took her wrist in his hand. Frederika
beamed at his contact and the Shotar rather liked that.

Frederika unabashedly smiled. “My lord,
there's a request Mia has to ask of you.” It seemed the perfect
time for it. “Might we go out to the garden to talk?”

“If you like,” Sharr said. He attempted to
respond in a formal manner but he only found himself color crimson
at her request. I want her, the Shotar realized.

They went out into the garden and stood near
the pond. Long and elegant, an avian creature swam in the clear
water. At first glance, it looked like a mallard. But a closer
study would show it to be very different, for it had a long lizard
tail with lengthy feathers that swept off it and the creature’s
body was more reptile-like in shape then duck. With its sharp
raptor beak the creature dunked its head into the water to pull out
a tiny yellow fish which contrasted with its dark red plumage. In
one gulp it swallowed the tiny sprite. The creature fluttered its
wings and flew to the top of a tree.

“What kind of bird is that?” Frederika asked
as she noticed the creature now at rest on a branch of a small
Japanese maple. It very much resembled the Falcanian Phoenix
emblem.

“It's not a bird at all. It's a Draklin, the
tiny hunter from which we get our word for lady.” the Shotar
appreciated the irony of comparing the female of his species to
that of a lithe, efficient hunter as was this elegant
reptile-bird.

“If that is a Draklin what then is a Drak?”
Frederika asked, reasoning that another animal like the small
hunting creature would be where the Falcanians got their word for
Lord as well.

He held her close, enjoying her warmth. She
let her hand play with the perfect triangle of feathers on his
pectoral area. “A Drak is a fearsome beast, my dear. The Ascendant
One claimed his family name, becoming the 'Ruling Drak', the name
which my aerie now carries when he slew their leader and became
their lord. When you see a Drak, you shall know without question
why we call it Lord of Beasts.”

She stared pointedly at Mia, prompted the
girl to speak. Frederika began to circle the Shotar, lightly
caressing him to keep him off guard. She realized she had the power
of sex to hold over him, and Sharr was easily entranced by it. A
personality flaw which could be exploited for her own ends.

Sharr Khan noticed Frederika circling him.
She smiled, her emerald eyes heavy with lust as she touched his
shoulder. It dawned on him she moved like a hunter.

“My brother Philip,” Mia said hesitantly.
“He was born blind.”

She couldn't hold Sharr’s gaze so he reached
out to make her look at him. “Don’t look away child.”

“Your genetic engineers… as my payment.” Mia
blushed and felt awkward. “Could they... would you... give my
brother his eyesight?”

The Shotar recalled his speech earlier,
about how the maimed and flawed received the benefits random
nature, and dangerous mutation had denied them by genetic
manipulation. This moment presented him with a favorable gesture
and would cost him little, but gain him much.

Frederika still walked around him. Sharr
followed her emerald eyes and their sultry glance. Oh, how he
wanted her!

“I will do this thing freely,” the Shotar
said. “Your brother shall have his sight.”

“Thank you!” the girl jumped up and hugged
the Falcanian ruler.

Frederika followed in her friend's embrace
of the Shotar, but added a kiss and whispered, “I am very proud of
you. Danke.”

Sitara giggled and dodged Kulcarin's grasp,
throwing a tasseled pillow at him. They had chased each other for
hours since they'd left the hall, and their love play created one
big mess in her apartments. He had pursued her like an animal,
taking her over and over again without exhaustion.

Krürashi sat and silently watched his
mistress play with her male friend. The Kheigra had given Kulcarin
an inquisitive sniff and growled at the Drakorian upon his return.
Sitara had sent him away, scolding the cat for acting so odd with
Kulcarin.

The cat continued to watch, it came closer,
green eyes peered through the golden fabric of the bed curtain at
Kulcarin. For a moment the Drakorian turned toward the Kheigra, and
then decided that he should ignore it. Sitara waved the animal
away. It reluctantly obeyed and found its own cushion to sleep
on.

She pulled the opaque curtain down around
her nest. Sitara gazed at the Drakorian Colonel. In one leap, she
pushed him onto the soft nest to straddle his chest. Their tails
twisted together in love. Her translucent rosy airfoil canopied
them as she leaned over and kissed Kulcarin on the lips. She wasn't
through with him yet.

At last, after much intercourse the couple
fell asleep.

Urksa, you hate him?
Asked the
voice.

Yes.
Kulcarin agreed with the other,
the one Kranix who shared his body.
He lusts after Sitara,
threatens my Shotar with his politicking. He wants to gain control
of the Khanate and make a worker's paradise of it.

Ah! Kranix was most pleased, how easy to
find Kulcarin's weakness. He was but a loyal follower of the
Falcanian ruler – prepared to sacrifice himself in his service. A
leverage that could be exploited.
When the time is right we
shall deal with Urksa! His blood shall bathe our hands. You will be
a hero, a champion of the Falcanian way.

Startled he sat up. Krürashi near, the cat's
breath in his face. “Hello boy.” Kulcarin reached out to pat the
Kheigra. It rumbled at him. He couldn't understand it. The Kheigra
had been a gift to Sitara when she had come forth from out of her
shell. The beast acted this way around strangers, never to him. Why
was it doing this now? “Krürashi, we've known one another since our
hatchings,” said the Drakorian. “Why treat me like a stranger in
Sitara's nest?” He turned away from the pet and looked at his
female. Aranskrai ran a hand over Sitara's bare form beside him and
lay alongside her. The Kheigra promptly inserted itself onto the
nest looking at the couple as if guarding the female, its
mistress.

The Shotar walked the arched corridors of
his palace. The curved dark wooden beams were decorated with rich
green, yellow, and red banners. Light emitted from pyramid crystals
set into tri-claw torches on the walls and threw shadows into
alcoves behind golden embroidered tapestries. The floor was tiled
in gold triangles which were broken up by large oval ox-blood
colored rugs.