Sunday, January 3, 2010

Nano 2009: Appendix A: Day 0

Biaz

Note: This is not yet complete.

Culture

The biaz, like all the other races, look human. They also basically act human. However the are some starteling differences. First, 95% are male. Second, the few women there are rule over all the men. The men don’t exactly lack free will. That is they are capable of independent thought, but their instincts drive them to obey, just as human instincts drive them toward marriage. From a man’s perspective all authority comes from women.


The women are the rulers of the society. They make most of the money and rules. They are the only ones that have any say in the affairs of the state. That doesn’t mean men don’t work or are not bright. Quite the contrary, they do most of the work. They just never hold a position of power. By the vary nature of who they are, men could never hold a position that was above a women’s.


Very few women work or need to work. They are completely supported by their children. However, for the reason’s stated above some women need to hold positions of power in society. In earlier times, this equated to queens, dukes, and other such positions. In modern times, this equates to prime minister, representatives, and other political positions.


Other women can choose to work at what ever field they want. Most of those that don’t go into politics choose not to work or choose to have more of a hobby then an actual career. For example, some take up music, art, or literature (nearly all of the best artist in Biaz society are women. Nobody is exactly sure why this is. Some people attribute it to the fact they have no other obligations. Some think women are just innately more gifted in the area). There are always a few that take up a career in medicine, science, entrepreneurs, and in some very rare cases a military career. All of these careers tend to be dominated by men.


Men make up all professions, with the exception of political positions. This not only includes manual labor, but also more white color work: doctors, lawyers, ambassadors, managers, CEOs, etc.


It is also important to note that society places a much greater value on a women’s life then a mans. In fact the value of a man’s life is less then the value humans place on life, and the value placed on a women’s life is greater then the value of life for humans. This has certain implications on society, notably in medicine, war, and exploration. In medicine it is generally accepted practice to sacrifice the life of a man, if it could possibly save the life of a women, either directly (such as organ transplants) or by medical research. There have been very, very, very few women on the battlefield of a war. When they are, they are ferociously guarded by men, and will not be willingly attacked by the other side.


The life span for women is also far greater then men. Women live up to 150 years (earth years are used for a reference) and have a life expectancy of 125 years. Men live up to 65 and have a life expectancy of 44 years.


The social structure of Biaz society is based on clans (extended families). In earlier times, clans lived together or at least in proximity. In modern times clans tend to be more divided at least geographically, for a variety of reasons. There are some notable examples however. Men stay with their mothers their entire lives (unless directed to do otherwise). If they are cut off from their mother (she dies, is imprisoned, etc), then they pledge loyalty to one of her relatives. Men are most loyal to the women closest to them, their mother first among them.


Biaz women are a good place to start in explaining their society, since they are at the top of society (similar, but not exactly how feudalism, with the royal family at the top). Most women are born into a life of privilege. They are revered at birth and are cared for by a select group of men. It is considered a great honor to care for a young Biaz women, even in modern times. Early childhood is similar (if not identical to) human childhood, with the exception that men tend to obey her commands (except when it is in conflict with an order with an elder women of course, especially her mother). As a result, Biaz women tend to be more then a bit spoiled, especially in their early history.


There is a strong connection between mother and daughter. It’s the same connection between human parents and children. To this end mothers generally (although not always) take a great deal of interest in raising their daughters. Biaz children (female and male) never meet or care about their biological fathers. They tend to think of the men that care for them as their fathers.


Puberty however is very different then puberty for humans. First of all, puberty is a few years later then humans (about ages 13-15). This difference is due to the strangeness in their mating rituals and menstrual cycle. At the start of the cycle a desire to mate begins to grow within the woman. The desire does not end until a sexual encounter, which always results in pregnancy (although in modern life, this can be and generally is avoided).


Her partner is chosen for her. Generally, male partners are exchanged between women in the same clan or extended family. However, on occasion partners are exchanged between clans. This is especially true for women of high rank in society, such as the queen or her direct descendents. Women mate with each partner only once. This is mostly due to the man dieing an honorable (if not horrific) death shortly afterwards. He is not killed. He dies completely of natural causes. Men gladly take this trade; such is the desire for sex in them. Needless to say, there is no concept of marriage in Biaz society.


Biaz women typically have 1 to 5 children at a time, with an average of about 2 1/3 per pregnancy. The gestation period is about 9 months same as in humans. A daughter is born about once every 20 pregnancies. This is an average however. The record for the most daughters born from a single women is 15 and their have been several well documented cases of women not having any daughters, including one that ended one of their great empires a couple of thousand years ago.


A man is chosen to care for the children. Most often he is either an older brother (if there are any that are old enough) or an uncle. A connection between mother and son isn’t nearly as strong as between mother and daughter. Don’t get me wrong, mothers do care whether their sons are cared for or not, but not nearly to the extent they care for their daughters.


Even in the modern age there are many infant deaths due to complications during delivery. Most complications that end in a death, result in the death of a male and not a female (if one is present). It seems even the biology of Biaz women are more prepared to sacrifice a male as opposed to a female.


The woman’s menstrual cycle doesn’t begin again for up to 4 months after delivery of her children. Having 3 or more children gestating in her womb can be quite ruff on her body and it takes time to recover. During this time, she experiences no or very little desire to mate. It is against their religion to have sex (other then with oneself) during this time, but it is far from unheard of. Sex is quite pleasurable for both partners (especially for the men). However, sex still costs the man is life, so it is generally frowned upon even by the non-religious. After the 4 month lull, the menstrual cycle restarts and the desire for sex returns and grows until she gets pregnant once again.


Once her children are old enough to take care of her, the women leave their immediate family to start their own. This is not to say she leaves her clan. Very often she takes herself and her children to a new home in the same city or neighbor hood. Some very well off families own a high rise building, in which case their children will move to a different set of floors instead of to a new building, but it is essentially the same.


As you might have guessed men’s lives are very different. Their mother is not directly involved in thier up bringing. Instead, they are cared for strictly by other men. In some cases, a man may never know his mother. Much more often however, mothers never know their sons. Other then that, a man’s childhood is very much like a humans.


Again much of the differences between human and biaz come at puberty. At about age 14-15 the desire for sex starts to grow slowly. This desire peaks at about age 19-22, then slowly declines until death. Unlike in women, this desire is resistible. Most men never experience any sexual experience. They carry out their lives working in their chosen career until they die.


It is worth noting here, that male sexuality is similar to human male sexuality in that it is external in nature. They are aroused by seeing and touching. Women, on the other hand, have an innate sense of sexuality. It comes from within. They have very little connection with the men they are with. That is why masturbation is accepted, although very much still a private practice for women and is almost unheard of for men.


This leads to the topic of pornography. It is and has always been an illegal activity and is considered detrimental to society. You see any sexual encounter by a man will lead to his death, for reasons which are explained below.


As mentioned before, women choose their mating partners. All those chosen consider it a great honor and privilege. The actual sexual encounter is intensely pleasurable. However, their bodies generate enough sperm for one ejaculation and no more. Afterwards, hormones that regulate and maintain body functions are no longer made. This affects his immune system and the ability for his body to repair and regulate itself. The longest any man has ever lived after having sex was 1 year 2 days and that was only because of a rich woman, who cared for him deeply, paying off doctors to try to keep him alive. I should note that women generally form such loving friendships with other women, but there are always exceptions to these rules.


The last thing to explain about Biaz society is probably the most important thing (as it is in all societies): Religion. There have been many different religions formed by many different societies. However, only one society survived Biaz history, so only one religion remains.


This religion is remarkable similar to the main religions on earth (Islam, Christianity, Judaism). There is heaven, hell and one god that rules all. Most believe god is a woman, but this has never been explicitly spelled out anywhere.


The entire mythology of the religion is too much for this essay, but I should hit the highlights. Lets start at the beginning. In the beginning god created women from himself and said “These are my daughters. Go forth in my name.” He then created Biaz (their home world) and gave it to them. The world was a lush and beautiful place, but survival there was difficult. So god grew men in their wombs and said, “These children are a gift from me to you, but all daughters are my daughters and belong to me.” And so life was born on their planet. (It has long been proven that life evolved on their world, just like it evolved on earth).


There have been many prophets/messiahs of varying importance. The last of which was Siuz some 3000 years ago. Each prophet came to Biaz at a time when society was drifting from gods path. Each had the purpose of teaching the correct path or leading them to it. The first was Saziass. She led a ruthless invasion that wiped out Ariaz clan, on the command of god. The Ariaz followed a different religion, which worshipped multiple gods. I should note 2 things about this story. First, when I say wiped out Ariaz clan, what I mean is she had all the women of the clan killed. With no female leader, the men pledged loyalty to her. This behavior was common through out biaz history. Second, there is no actual historical record of Ariaz following any religion. Most historical scholars believe the invasion was to expand her territory and not a command from god.


There are similar religious stories of prophets, some similar to Saziass, some speak of prophets courageously leading their people from the oppression of others. All seem to have one of 2 things in common. The benevolence of god for those who follow her path, and the vengeance of God for those who do not.


Then came Siuz. She came to a world which did not believe in the one true god. I say came to the world because, as the myth goes, she wasn’t born of a mortal. She descended directly from god. Historical records have proven she did live, but can find no record of her life or her death.


All moral conduct based on religion comes directly from her. No religious figure considers religious laws before her time to be binding laws from god, unless she condones it either explicitly by her words or implicitly by her actions.


She came to the world when she was 22. She taught all that would listen about the path of god. It is said, she fought against and defeated the pagan gods of that time. However, the priests and rulers of that time are a different matter entirely. For many years they resisted turning against their daughters and sisters that choose to follow Siuz’ path. But Siuz began to draw more followers and the followers of the old gods were nearly outnumbered. They were fearful Siuz would strike first, so they finally turned against Siuz. They ambushed the men of Siuz followers and killed nearly all of them. But the women were not there. Siuz called a meeting for all those loyal to her just before the strike. At the meeting, she told them the end was nearly upon them and they shouldn’t be afraid. She said she would deliver them north to a new land (which the later named Siuz), but they must leave now with the belongings and men they brought with them. She also said she must leave them before they arrive at this new land. God does not will her to take them the whole way.


It is important to note her that Siuz did not have any children. This could not be historically verified. This is something of a miracle (if you believe in that sort of thing). Once puberty hits, Biaz women must have sex and get pregnant or they fall ill and die.


Anyways back to the story. Before Siuz and her followers could leave their land, they were attacked by those loyal to the old gods. They were surrounded and severely outnumbered. The army beared down on them. The handful of men Siuz’ followers brought with them stood between the vast army and the women ready to die even though they new it was hopeless. Siuz calmly walked beyond them in front of the army and spoke “Stop!” and they obeyed. She told her followers to continue their journey north. She lead the army off the field of battle. Neither her, nor anyone in the army was ever seen or heard from again.


According to the religion, during the darkest days of God’s children, Siuz will return with that army to smite their enemy and deliver all believers into heaven. Three thousand years later, they are still waiting for her return.


Most of the religious laws should be familiar for all humans. You shouldn’t murder people. You shouldn’t steal, etc. They are the basic rules of society for all 4 races.


Most of the laws that are different, just reinforce their social structure. Men should honor and obey all women, none more so then their mothers and sisters. Women should provide and care for all her children. Men can not have any sexual encounter, except with a consenting women. Women should only have sex with a man if it will (or at least expected to) result in pregnancy. The list goes on, but you pretty much get the idea.


World

First, I failed to mention before, when the Biaz name a thing after a person or persons, they name it with the same name. So the land named after Siuz, is named Siuz. More importantly for this conversation, the Biaz home world is named Biaz.


Biaz is similar to Earth. It has only 3 major differences. It is a little closer to their sun and therefore a little warmer (no more then 5 degrees). It is slightly smaller then Earth. Finally, it has 3 continents, not 7, although they are larger then the ones on Earth.


Two of the continents are some what close to each other. One thousand miles of ocean separates them at their furthest distance and only a couple hundred miles at their closest distance. One continent takes up much of the northern hemisphere and stretches several thousand miles east to west. It dips into the southern hemisphere by about 400 miles at its western end. The other continent is to its south and south east. It takes up the southern hemisphere, dipping north at its eastern end. It is about the same distance lengthwise. Both of these continents are on the eastern hemisphere.


The third continent is on the western hemisphere (the other side of the world). It is rectangle shaped with the long side going north to south. It stretches vertically most of the length of the world, with the southern edge about 800 miles from the south pole and the northern edge about 1200 miles from the north pole.


Biaz is tilted just like Earth and experiences the same 4 seasons. Most life is similar to, but not identical to earth. For example, Biaz has plants, insects, animals (both herbivores and carnivores), etc.

History

I’m breaking the history into the same 3 time periods earth history is broken into: ancient ages, middle ages, late ages. It is important to note that although the names are the same, the actual time is not the same. The middle ages on Biaz started 3000 years ago (when Siuz left), over 1000 years before the middle ages on Earth.

Ancient (3000+ years)

There was very little contact between societies on eastern continent during this time and no contact between the eastern and western hemispheres. It is a complete mystery how life evolved on each continent, especially on the western continent.


Like on Earth, most of Biaz history is lost to time. However, there has been a great deal of archeological discoveries that point to the existence of a few major empires during that time. Mostly there were just relatively small city-states consisting of 10 – 50 women and several thousand men.


All the city-states were based, more or less on a feudal system. Some followed a strict line of succession from mother to the eldest daughter. For others, it was always the eldest living woman that ruled. There is some evidence that suggest a few chose their ruler based on consensus or possibly by voting.


There is ample evidence to suggest war was common, although most of the details of such wars are lost to time. War is believed to be particularly brutal at that time, for the men at least. The armies were made up entirely of men. The women of course ordered their armies into battle and then waited for the results in their homes and castles. The results, however, were often the other army marching into her land, burning her home, and taking her head back to her enemy’s queen. There are some stories of a far worst fate however. The enemy army slaughters all the men and leaves the city in ruins. The women that are left rarely survive.


Most religions at this time consisted of worshiping the gods of earth, sun, visible planets, etc similar to earth’s early religions. There are of course a great many myths, legends, and fictional stories about the gods of this time, but judging from the popularity of Earth’s ancient mythology, I’m sure nobody will mind if I skip them here. If you are really interested, I’ll write an overview at a later time.


Eastern Empires

There were 2 notable empires during this period. The first was Zuiasa. It stood, in one form or another, from 5000 years ago to 4200 years ago. At its height it encompassed the entire northern continent and parts of the southern continent.


The empire started as 5 smaller city-states. Each had a technological advantage. Xias, near the beaches on the southern coast, learned to fashion the sand and soft rocks there into bricks for construction. They were the first to build aqueducts, baths, and other large buildings. It is said they architecture was astonishing during that time. There are even stories of a dome stadium, although no proof was ever found.


The second city-state was Cyliaz . It was located in the west and just a little south. There city was located at the bottom of 2 volcanic mountains, one to their north west and one to their north east. Cyliaz were master farmers. The mountains provided many streams and rivers through their land, but also the volcanic eruptions from years past gave them rich farm land. They used this to their advantage and learned to develop farming equipment and techniques that yielded them many times more crop then any other city at that time. It is even said they practiced crop rotation some 4500 years before it was practiced again.


The third city-state was Soaiz. They are located north of Xias. Their advantage was their ability to domesticate animals. They used many different animals for hunting, farming, and traveling.


The fourth city-state was the Aizuis. They were known for the metalworking and hunting ability. They are located north east of the Xias. Their land is abundant with metals, especially copper, tin, and aluminum. It is also mostly forest, so it is easier to hunt and gather their food rather then clear a place to plant crops. They were the first to use bows, and constantly improved on the design. It is even said that they used metal arrows.


The fifth city-state was the Liaxus. They are located to the north of Xias along the coast and are master sailors and fishers. Liaxus were also natural explorers. They were the first to visit the other cities above. Archeologist have even discovered maps of the entire northern coast of the southern continent from Liaxus, along with maps of most of the northern continent.


I should note that the Biaz tend to name land after their first or greatest leaders. Xias, Cyliaz, Soaiz, Aizuis, and Liaxus were the leaders of each of the cities. It can be quite confusing at times, but you get use to it.


The empire had its beginning when Liaxus’ followers told her of the other cities. Liaxus was so intrigued, she decided to visit the other lands. For the next 10 years of her life she visited Xias, Aizuis, and Soaiz. She even had children from son’s of each of the cities leaders. 2 years after returning, she dispatched messages to each of the leaders asking them to meet to discuss trading technologies.


The first meeting of the 5 cities took place a year later. When the meeting ended, they not only agreed to trade technologies, but also goods and promised to support each other militarily. Each city was under constant attack from smaller cities and tribes to the north and the south. This was more so for the Aizuis and the Cyliaz then the others. Before the leaders returned home, they agreed to meet every 5 years.


This arrangement lasted for 100 years. During this time their technological level advanced to astonishing levels. Some archeologist believe the Biaz would be at least 500 years more advanced if the technology developed by the Zuiasa hadn’t been lost during the fall of the empire.


Eventually disaster struck however. The tribes to the south joined forces and launched an attack on Cyliaz. The inhabitants were forced to retreat from the city. Cialys, daughter and Cyliaz and their queen barely escaped with her life. She only escaped because several hundred of her sons sacrificed them selves while she made for Xias.


The invading army was not satisfied with conquering Cyliaz. They soon launched an attack on Soaiz as well. The Soaiz lines were about to break, but were reinforced by the Aizuis army just in time. Aiusiz, their queen’s younger sister, lead the Aizuis army on the battle field herself.


At the next meeting of the 5 queens, it was decided to form one army from the military of each of the 5 cities. There combined strength along with their technological advantage made this army the largest and best equipped in the world by far. Aiusiz became the first general of the new army, however, the position would be re-examined at each meeting. This is often considered to be the birth of the Zuiasa empire.


Aiusiz became the most famous figure from this time period. She, as the head of the largest army of the world, instilled both fear and respect. She was considered both fair and ruthless (although it often depended on who you asked). In modern times, her name is still virtually synonymous with the Zuiasa empire (think Ceaser and the Roman Empire). Although her position was re-examined every 5 years, she was never removed.


With the new army the Zuiasa empire easily retook Soaiz. They then attacked all the tribes that took part in the invasion. They killed all the women they found and absorbed the men into their army. Asiuza, queen of the Aizuis and Aiusiz’ sister, ordered her to conquer all the near by cities and clam them for Aizuis. Aizuis refused the order. She said the army belongs to all 5 cities and only together could they give her orders.


I’m not sure if you have noticed or not, but I haven’t mentioned Zuiasa, whom the empire is named after. She was the daughter of Xuias, the queen of Liaxus at the time of Cyliaz invasion. She was very young at the invasion. She was 14 during the first meeting of 5 queens after Aiusiz threw out the invaders. (As a side note, her first children (including a daughter) was conceived the second night of the meeting by a son of Aiusiz). She attended the meetings with her mother and sister, even though her sister was older and she was not expected to inherit the thrown. She apparently begged her mother weeks before the meeting, until her mother relented.


During the meeting Asiuza tried to persuade the others the best course of action was to extend their borders by taking their neighboring lands. After all none of their cities would be in any danger if all of their rivals were dead. Aiusiz and Xuias objected strongly. Aiusiz thought a elongated war with the entire world brought far to much peril to all of their cities. If they concentrated their forces in an invasion to the south, they would be vulnerable from the north and vice versa. Xuias thought it would be a distraction from their cultural advancement. After all, isn’t that what gave them the power and influence the world is so jealous of?


For 5 days they debated the issue. They even had to extend the meeting because no agreement could be reached. It was Zuiasa that finally broke the stalemate. She convinced the others not to invade them, instead they would absorb them into a greater empire. After all, they had a lot to offer them. They had the ability to improve their cities. More importantly they had an army that could provide protection.


What this provided the Zuiasa empire is more taxes and men to support their army and cities of course. It also provided a buffer between their cities and any threat from outside and allowed for pre-emptive strikes against enemies before they got too powerful.


Its unfortunate this did not protect the empire from threats from within. You see Asiuza was planning to betray the empire. The army at the time was mostly made of Aiusiz’ sons and sons of women aligned with her and therefore loyal to her and not to her sister Asiuza. So Asiuza decided to kill her sister and inherit the army. With it she would conquer the other cities, then she would set out to conquer the world. Nothing went according to that plan however. She poisoned her sister and framed Xuias, but Aiusiz didn’t die. Instead she fell into a deep sleep for several weeks. The framing part of the plan went fairly well however, and she did take over the army while Aiusiz was a sleep. Her first order was to execute Xuias and her daughters. Before Xuias was caught, she had her 2 daughters smuggled out of the city. Zuiasa’s sister was later found outside the city and was executed, but Zuiasa herself never left the city. Even at a young age she knew what would happen if she left. She knew Asiuza would find a way to kill her sister and then use her army to turn on the others and establish herself as the sole queen of the empire. She kidnapped the sleeping Aiusiz and brought her back to Liaxus.


Asiuza saw opportunity in this turn of events. She blamed Cialys for her sister’s disapperence and used her army to invade Cyliaz. Once Cialys was killed along with most of her family, she “discovered” ample evidence to suggest her sister was moved to Soaiz. Once all of their women were dead, she said her sister was moved again.


She knew Zuiasa had taken her sister. That is why she invaded Liaxus last. As the army decended on the city, they did not face fisherman with ores as they had expected. They faced Aiusiz herself. To this day, there is an expression on Biaz: “The best way to stop and invading army is to be Aiusiz.”


That night a deal was struck. Zuiasa would become queen of Liaxus, Xias, Cyliaz, and Soaiz. The rightful queen for these 4 cities were all killed by Asiuza, along with all their heirs. Aiusiz would become queen of Aizuis, remain general of the empires army and Asiuza would be taken back to Aizuis and not allowed to return. Aiusiz traded her right to be queen of the entire empire for the life of a sister that tried to kill her for the same position.


With Zuiasa as their queen the empire expanded. Their armies stretched forth protecting all those that would submit to the empire and conquering all those that posed a threat (which was most of the rest).


Those that did surrender were given technology and engineers to help build their cities infrastructure, if the cities size warranted it. Roads were built and trade routes established. Nearly every city that surrendered saw a substantial raise in their standard of living. The price of course was the hefty taxes paid to the 5 cities, in part to continually expand and improve those cities, but also to keep all other cities from surpassing them.


They never let the most advanced technology available leave their cities. They wanted the 5 original cities to be the most advanced in the world. This symbolized their power and prestige. It was meant as a reminder of the reason the 5 cities were the rulers of all the others.


By the end of Zuiasa’s reign, she controlled most of the northern continent and the northern part of the southern continent. The empire included roughly 80% of the known world. Her reign is known as a peaceful and prosperous time. There were many rebellions and many did not submit to the will of the empire easily. But most of the lives of the empire’s citizens improved after they joined (or were conquered).


Zuiasa’s reign lasted 85 years and the empire fell within a 50 years of her death. That is a story that I’ll have to come back to. The fall of the Zuiasa empire and the rise of the Saziass empire (named after the prophet) are intertwined. We will need to discuss the rise of the Saziass empire before continueing.


At its beginnings the city of Saziass was a small village, nestled on the southern most peninsula on the western side of the southern continent. They survived mostly on arctic fish. However, their larger neighbor to the north, the Ariaz, controlled most of the good fishing grounds and all of the fertile ground.


The Ariaz also had something else he Saziass didn’t, a large well equipped army. The Saziass barely had enough man power to keep them selves fed. If that wasn’t bad enough, the Ariaz periodically raided the near by villages and took their food. You see, even though the Ariaz lived in more tempered climate to the north, it still wasn’t ideal for farming and their large army consumed a lot of food.


After seeing many of her people starve, Saziass decided to act. She divided all of the men into smaller mini-armies of about 20-30 each lead by one of her daughters and equipped them with what ever weapons she could find. They then started raiding the areas controlled by the Ariaz and taking all the food, weapons, and what ever else they needed. They were always careful to avoid confrontation with the Ariaz army.


For 5 years they survived this way. They raided so often, the Ariaz were starting to die of starvation in larger and larger numbers, while their food stock piles grew. But the Ariaz army was getting smarter. They began to lay traps for them and wipe out entire teams. Saziass’ army were being defeated left and right. Saziass herself barely escaped a trap that wiped out her mini-army. The injuries she sustained during that battle left her with a limp the rest of her life.


Finally Saziass devised a plan, a plan to surrender. She sent word to the Ariaz that she herself would surrender and give back all the food they had taken. In exchange, all she asked for was that her people would go free. The Ariaz accepted her surrender. They had no intension of letting her people go of course, but they would certainly stop pursuing them long enough to see Saziass captured and executed.


The Ariaz army rode out and found Saziass alone along with all the food they had taken. The captian of the Ariaz army was astonished at the shear amount of food they had taken. There were at least 10 large containers. Each container was a few feet larger then a normal sized man and was about 10 feet by 15 feet. The captain took Saziass and the food back to Ariaz city. His queen was so pleased they celebrated through out the night. Siziass was to have a public execution the next afternoon.


What the Ariaz didn’t recognize was that the containers were not completely filled with food. Inside the containers hide what was left of Siziass’ army. When the men of Ariaz awoke the next morning, they found every single women in the entire city dead, except for Siziass. Siziass easily won the fighting that ensued. With their women dead, the men had no will to fight. Some immediately submitted to Siziass, but most just left the city to look for relatives of their mistress to serve.


That is how Siziass took the city of Ariaz. Under her reign the raiding stopped. All cities in the area lived in peace. It wasn’t until she died that the Siziass empire began to expand.


When her daughter Iziass, became queen she reformed the army and began conquering her neighbors to her north. Even though Ariaz’ temprature was tempered by the ocean currents to its west, it was still an arctic region and life was very harsh during this time. Iziass wanted to expand her territory into the more fertile regions to the north. Their was also reports that the Zuiasa empire was expanding onto their continent from the north. Iziass wanted to take as much territory as she could before Zuiasa got to it.


The Siziass army under Iziass was ruthless. They would attack a village, kill all the women and force the men to join them either as soldiers or as laborers. They attacked villages all the way north to the coast. To their surprise, they found the Zuiasa empire had no intention of crossing the ocean to their continent. Even the villages along the coast of the northern continent weren’t well protected. Instead of invading north into the territory of the Zuiasa empire, then decided to turn east instead. They knew they could never defeat the Zuiasa army just yet. They conquered several hundred miles worth of villages to the east before turning their sites once again to the Zuiasa empire.


There was a fundamental problem with the way Iziass was expanding her territory. She was killing too many women. Without them there was no way of replenishing the army once the men started to die off. She sent all the women in her empire north to the lands that were freshly conquered. It was said that during her entire reign there wasn’t any 2 women within a 100 mile radius of each other.


Seeing the impending collapse of her aging army, Iziass decided now was the time to attack the Zuiasa empire. Zuiasa had stopped expanding her territory a while ago. She decided instead to solidify her hold on the lands that she held. She had her army broken up and stationed all across her lands. If she had not, her empire would have broken apart, and eventually slide into civil war. Aiusiz had stayed in the south in hopes her mere presence would keep people calm, while most of her men was sent north to squelch several uprisings.


The Siziass army conquered the entire southern villages without any resistance. It wasn’t until they reached a couple of hundred miles inland did Aiusiz manage to put together an army. It was very small compared to the Siziass army, but they did offer some resistance. They were forced to retreat at every engagement, but it was slowing the Siziass down and gave the needed time to gather a much larger force and set up defenses to their north.


Aiusiz decided to make a stand at Cyliaz. It was a well defended city (all 5 of the cities were at this time). The battle that ensued was by far the largest and bloodiest the world had seen at that time. In the end Aiusiz had defended Cyliaz and the Siziass army began to retreat.


Aiusiz followed the retreating army. She considered it and who ever sent it a threat that needed to be eliminated. She followed all the way to the southern coast were she engaged them again, but the bulk of the army managed to escape across the ocean. Aiusiz followed.


Once she was in Siziass territory she met with stiff resistance from villages. Nothing that really threatened her army, but enough that it slowed them down. The army they were pursuing escaped. She pressed on southward, determined to find the army and more importantly the women that sent them.


After a year of traveling south, she finally reached the city of Ariaz and Iziass. Their armies were about the same size, but Ariaz was a well defended city. Not daunted by the seemingly impossible task at hand, Aiusiz lay siege to the city. It took 6 months, but she finally broke the cities defenses, killed Iziass, and forced its surrender.


Aiusiz and the elder women of Ariaz reached an agreement. Aiusiz would leave with her army and not return to Siziass territory, if the Siziass would never again return to Zuiasa territory. Aiusiz took her army and headed home.


Upon hearing the death of her mother, Iziass’ youngest daughter Ziasu sent word for the scattered remains of the army that defended Ariaz against Aiusiz to meet her to the north. She herself was govener of a village to the north east of Ariaz. She took what ever men she could spare and met up with the Siziass army. They headed to meet Aiusiz’ army on the battlefield. She caught up with them on the northern coast as they were preparing to sail home. She attacked and killed every last man in Aiusiz army. She executed Aiusiz herself.


Her thirst for revenge was not quenched there, but her empire was not in a position to invade Zuiasa yet. Her army was devastated by the battles that had just taken place and her empire didn’t have the women to replenish their ranks. So she turned east ward. Over the next 30 years she brought the entire continent under her control, but unlike her mother, she killed only those women that challenged her. Those that submitted to her rule were allowed to live and given the best and strongest men to breed with. She ruled with an iron fist and a single minded purpose, to destroy the Zuiasa empire.


Zuiasa had died shortly after Aiusiz. Her daughter, the queen of all 5 cities, didn’t have the ability or the desire to rule such a large empire. The queens of the 5 cities began to assert more and more independence, as did the villages in the outer fringes of the empire. Wars began to break out between the villages. None of them large enough to threaten the 5 cities, but it showed the rest of the empire that it was no longer ruled from the center. They now had to fend for themselves. This is the land that Ziasu invaded.


Ziasu marched her army straight to Cyliaz. No one even attempted to stop her. She invaded Cyliaz, and burned the city to the ground with the men locked inside. Those that escaped were slaughtered. She had all the women in the city brought to her (there were over a hundered at this time) so she should execute them herself. She then repeated this with the other 4 cities.


She then returned to her village north east of Ariaz and dismissed her army. She lived the rest of her days as queen of a small village and nothing more. Her empire held together after that thanks only to her sister.


The lose of the 5 cities of the Zuiasa empire was devastating to the Biaz as a people. Most of the knowledge at that time was held by those 5 cities. All that knowledge died with the citizens of the cities. If they had survived historians think the Biaz would be at least 100 years more advanced then what they are now.


Suiz first arrived at villages north of Ariaz. It was the people of Ariaz that killed the men of Suiz followers and forced them to flee north to the lands that once made up the Zuiasa empire. Suiz followers made their way to the remnants of the 5 Zuiasa cities and settled there. The re-establishment of the 5 cities marks the beginning of the middle ages.

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Nano 2009: Chaptor 8: Day 28

Jennifer sat in the conference room listening to the two men bickering. She was sure they would prefer the term argument, but it was already well beyond that point. General Mac was arguing for consolidating military forces inside the US to defend its borders only. General Whitmore argued for a more global defense.


When the argument started each man had his allies around the table. Duke, Michael, and a few others sided with General Mac, although Jennifer suspected Michael only took his side out of loyalty. He argued halfheartedly, which was not like Michael.


On the other side of the argument, there was Myra, Dr. Hadley, General Whitmore, along with a few more. Jennifer suspected John agreed with them, but he remained silent. To her surprise the President remained silent on the issue. Perhaps he was hoping for a fist fight, which seemed inevitable at this point.


The focus was solely on the two men, who had long substituted personal insults for actual arguments. Only Jennifer noticed when Myra left the room. She listened to the two men for another minute, and decided the meeting was officially over with no real agreement on anything.


She got up and followed her daughter out the door. She quietly closed the door behind her and looked down both sides of the hall. Where would Myra go? She asked herself. The roof maybe? She decided to try it. She decided to take the stairs to get some exercise in.


When she finally found the roof access she opened the door and found her daughter by the ledge staring at the sky. She walked over and stood next to her without saying a word. Together, they stared at the sky.

Jennifer wondered where the alien ships where. They were up there somewhere planning. Jennifer was sure they were not bickering like us humans down here. That gave them a significant advantage. We really don't stand a chance, she thought to herself. They were going to come down here and enslave us all. Why? What was there game?


“We will win,” Myra said, almost as if she could read Jennifer's mind. She turned to her mother and smiled.


“How do you know?” Jennifer asked. “I mean do you know something you haven't told us?”


Myra shook her head. “We will win because we must,” she replied.


“We will win because God is on our side,” Michael said from behind them. They both turned to find Michael and John had joined them.


Michael smiled at the girls. John walked up to the edge and stared at the sky. After a few moments of silence he looked down to the ground, and then backed away from the ledge. The others chuckled.


Myra walked up to him and held his arm. “We will win,” she repeated.


“I just don't see how,” John said looking at her. “They can simply destroy us from orbit. Even if we did manage to defeat them, there is still the problem with the shadow people and their allies you spoke about.”

“You have to trust me,” she replied. “I know lots of things you don't now.”


“Myra,” Jennifer said. “You have to prepare for the worst. They aren't up there bickering about whether they should defend everyone, or just themselves. They are united. Even without their technology, they still have that advantage.”


“They have unanimity, not unity,” Myra replied. “There is a difference. They have never learned how to be united in the face of their differences, so they conquer. Everyone who isn’t like them is an enemy. We just have to show them the way.”


“We have far more in common with ourselves then we do with them, and we still can't unite ourselves,” Jennifer responded. “How are we going to teach them anything?”


“We will, when the time comes,” Myra answered. “It is our nature, and our strength.”


Myra looked up to the sky and smiled.



Should be continued?

Nano 2009: Chaptor 8: Day 25

“How does this look?” Myra asked as she held up a blouse and skirt. The blouse was a solid red, and skirt was black.


“You’re too young for that,” Jennifer replied. “I know what your going for, but that will make you look goofy, not serious.” Myra considered it for a second, and then put the clothes back on the rack.


Jennifer knew the conversation that was in front of her, but hoped Myra would wait until they at least made it back into the car. They were currently in a crowded mall picking out new clothes for Myra.


She had agreed to help the government in anyway she could with the alien threat, and she wanted something more presentable then her current wardrobe. It struck Jennifer kind of weird. It’s the end of the world, so lets go shopping?


She knew that was second on Myra’s agenda though. What she really wanted was to convince Jennifer to join them. Jennifer didn’t want to disappoint her daughter, especially in a crowd, but why would she agree to help save a world that brought her nothing but misery?


Still she was afraid for Myra. She wished she could talk Myra into coming home with her. They would likely survive the invasion out in the countryside. They can then live out their lives in peace. All it would cost them is just a little freedom, and freedom is overrated anyways.


Alas, she could see the determination in Myra’s eyes. She often saw the same determination in her father’s eyes, and that also didn’t end well much of the time. She had no desire to fight these aliens or the government bureaucracy. She kept telling herself that Myra would be fine, but never quite convinced herself.


“Ok,” Myra said. “I’m done with this store. Lets get something to eat.” When they got their food, Myra pulled Jennifer off to the corner where they could talk alone. When they got done eating Myra looked at her mother for a few moments. Jennifer thought about interjecting before she can even begin, but decided against it.


“You know what I’m about to say,” Myra said finally. “You always do.”


“Yes,” Jennifer replied.


“And you know all the reasons why I’m asking this of you?” Myra asked.


“Yes,” Jennifer replied. “And you know all the reasons why I’m going to say no?”


“Yes,” Myra replied. “I guess I’ll have to make a more convincing argument. How about this? I’ll die if you don’t.”


Jennifer looked at her without saying anything, so Myra continued. “You were chosen for a reason. Maybe we can push back the Biaz invasion without you somehow, though I doubt it, but none of the races will ever survive the challenges that lay ahead. You are the only person in all four races that can give us a chance at victory. I believe that with all of my being.”


Myra leaned back a little. “It is your right to refuse, but I can’t. I guess I have too much of my father in me. I will try with every once of my being to succeed, for all of the races sake, and for you.”


Myra smiled in silence for a moment as she stared at her mother. “Will you help me mother? Besides we both know your going to be miserable either way. You might as well save four worlds while your doing it.” Jennifer had to admit to herself, she did have a point there.

Nano 2009: Chaptor 8: Day 24

“There is also the possibility of negotiating some kind of truce,” the speaker said. “Does anyone know what exactly they want with us?”


“They want to rule us.” Everyone looked at Rogalia expecting her to have that answer, but it wasn't here that spoke. It was Myra. “They have a very hierarchical society. It is in their blood to rule over others, so to speak.” Myra smiled. She was enjoying the look of surprise on everyone's face a bit too much.


Jennifer voiced the question on everyone's mind, “How do you know?”


She considered the question for a moment, as if she didn't know exactly what she was going to say. It was pretense, Jennifer could tell. She has certainly learned the art of public speaking quickly, as in overnight. “There are more forces at work here than just the Biaz,” she said.


She stood up so everyone could see her clearly. “There are two old and powerful races out there. One we would consider good, and the other evil. For convenience lets call them the Ancients and...I don't know...”


“How about the Ori?” John interjected.


“I think we will run into copyright issues with that,” Myra replied.


“Oh right,” John said. “How about the shadows?”


Myra considered it for a second. “Hmmm, well I guess that is generic enough,” she replied. “OK the ancients and shadows it is then.”


She turned her attention back to the larger room, who were already getting annoyed at the interruption. “These two races are stuck in a kind of cold war. Their very nature seems to keep them from interacting directly, or communicating with each other. So they combat each other through us less advanced races, i.e. us. The shadows are the cause of all of this. They are manipulating the Biaz leader into invading all of our worlds.”


“So all we need to do is take out these shadow people?” General Mac asked.


“Let me repeat myself,” Myra said. “Old and powerful. We would have a much greater chance of taking on all the other races combined, and I'm talking just us two.”


“But these ancient guys, they are on our side right? Can they help us?” the president asked.


“They already have,” John said.


Everyone looked at him, but it was Myra that spoke, “Yes, they have. They are the ones that took us and manipulated our DNA. That is why we just appeared on the ship, without the Biaz knowing anything about it. They specifically chose us four, and gave us the tools needed to lead a defense against the invasion.”


“Why us?” Jennifer asked.


“I don't know,” Myra replied. “They saw something that was in each of us that they think is needed for what is to come.”


“How do you know all of this?” the president asked.


“It is what they did to me,” she said. “They implanted the knowledge of the languages and cultures of all four races – Biaz, Velarian, Kult, and Human. Let me tell you, its a little weird being baffled by Spanish all through high school and now being able to speak it fluently.”


“Oh,” she continued. “I almost forgot. They also gave me a warning. The shadows have their own allies. Unlike the shadows, these allies can harm us directly. Regardless if the Biaz invasion succeeds or fails, these allies of theirs will be coming. The ancients feel strongly we have no chance of standing up to them if all of our races don't stand united. They feel each race has something that is needed in the hardships to come.”


“If you ask me, the other races can kiss my ass,” Michael said. “We are better off facing what's to up on our own.”


“Lets leave that conversation for another time,” Jennifer said. “If we survive the invasion, then we can worry about these other shadow allied people things.”


The conversation quickly devolved into a shouting match, that Jennifer was barely able to keep from breaking into a fist fight. They asked a continues stream of questions to Myra, most of which she had no answer for. She answered all the questions as best as she could, even when the question had not so subtle suggestions of her being a spy for either the Biaz or these shadow people. Soon the questions started to repeat.


Jennifer mostly stayed out of the arguments. She had no desire to get involved any further than she had to. She just hoped she could talk Myra out of getting any more involved. She told them what they needed to know. It was now time to stay out of the way and let them handle it.


As the conversation devolved, it was clear General Mac and her husband did not believe Myra. Duke, specifically seemed to refuse to believe the person before him had any part of his daughter in her anymore. He would have imprisoned and tortured her again if he had his way. Michael tended to side with them more often than not, but clearly was not concerned with the threat of the shadows. Jennifer thought he just considered it God's problem.


Finally Jennifer had to end the meeting. Not even the president could stop it from turning into a fighting match if it went on further. She waited for a moment of silence to fall between the shouts from General Mac and the speaker of the house. Jennifer was proud to see a women holding her own against a General in a shouting match, but had no hope for her if Mac decided to start using his superior physical strength.


Finally the two fell silent. They were clearly too angry to speak any longer. “I'm sorry everyone,” Jennifer said as she stood up. “I”m afraid i'll have to be going. The Daily Show will be starting soon.” She smiled. “Myra shall we go?”


Myra smiled and follower her mother out the door. Jennifer was considering the odds of everyone being alive in the morning, but she honestly didn't care that much so she gave up.

Nano 2009: Chaptor 8: Day 23

Jennifer forced herself to be calm and smile as she waved to the cameras. She looked at Michael who was doing neither. It seemed he was almost as excited as herself. He seemed to not even notice the large sea of reporters, their cameras going off, or their shouts of questions.


Of course the president would want the world to know he had successfully convinced them to join their ranks. Half the world thinks they are heroes and the other half thinks they need an eye kept on them. This way the president can claim he is doing both.


Jennifer of course didn’t care about any of that. She just wanted to see her daughter, who was inside waiting for her. She wished she could just rush inside, hold her daughter in her arms, and ensure she was really all right now. But she knew the importance of this game, so she continued to smile and wave for a few more seconds. At least she didn’t have to talk to the reporters, at least not until after the meeting.


After waving one last time, Jennifer turned and looked for the others. Michael was already inside, and was being forced to wait for everyone else. John was standing next to Rogalia and trying (unsuccessfully) to smile to the crowd.


Jennifer smiled at the site. John was not at all comfortable in this situation, but Rogalia seemed to love the attention. She had a big smile on her face and was waving enthusiastically to the crowd. She was even conversing with random people and giving them hugs, regardless if they really wanted one it seems.


Knowing they would only allow them to go up together, she walked over and forced Rogalia to follow her. It wasn’t until they were inside and away from the crowd that Jennifer realized how many military personnel were around. It was all for show. Their dress uniforms were a dead give away. The real protection came from the secret service agents, who were also numerous, but not nearly as obvious.


Several military officers escorted them down the hall of the pentagon. The building was strangely empty, obviously cleared just for them. The men marched them to a large conference room.


Everyone stood and watched the group walk in. Jennifer scanned the room with her eyes. There were a lot of people, most of whom she knew. The president was the most obvious one. She also recognized her husband, the Dr. Hadley (the national security advisor), the speaker of the house, standing next to a couple of senators from the national security committee, General Mac and several other high ranking generals were on the far end.


Finally Jennifer saw the person she was looking for. Myra smiled at her. Jennifer rushed forward, ignoring the president and senators that had placed their hands out to greet her. She took her daughter into her arms and hugged her tightly.


After a long while, she pulled herself back just far enough to look Myra in the eye. “Are you really ok?” she asked. “I mean are you still seeing…things?”

Myra smiled at her. “I’m fine,” she said. “I promise. Although it did make me sad I wasn’t a twin. I miss having someone I can talk to like that.”


Jennifer was a little hurt by those words, but she smiled to cover it up. It seems it didn’t work. Myra hugged her again saying, “I love you mom.”


“As funny as it would be to see the Generals cry,” the president said. “And I assure you they are nearly in tears after that display, I think we should be getting on with this meeting.”


“Yes, Mr. President. I agree,” Myra said.


“You said you have important information to share with us?” one of the senators asked Myra.


“Yes, I do, senator, but first things first,” Myra said. “I understand there has been a new development with the ships in orbit? Perhaps we should start there.”


The senators and speaker of the house looked at the president, eager to hear the news. “Yes, I think that would be prudent,” the president said. “General O’Neil, can you brief the room?”


“Yes sir,” the general said and went to the head of the room in front of the projector. He indicated to an assistant in the back and the projector changed to display telescope images. In the center of the image was a large white blob. “Here, you can see what appears to be a very large ship entering orbit,” he said.


“What is it?” Dr. Hadley asked.


“We don’t know,” he answered. “It is much larger then the ships we had been previously tracking. Our best guess is that it is some kind of command ship.”


“Does that mean they are ready to invade in earnest?” the president asked.


“We have no way of knowing, sir,” the general replied. “But that is a distinct possibility, one that is made more likely by the next image.”


The image on the projector changed. It displayed another telescope image, this time of several blurry white dots, smaller than the first, but still quite large. “Here we can see several other ships entering orbit,” the general said. “These ships are much larger than the current set of ships, but much smaller than the ship from the previous image.”


“In addition,” the general continued, “they seem to come in two different shapes. One is shaped similar to the other ships, only longer and larger. The other has a small main body and two throngs extending from them. They look like really big tuning forks.”


“How many of them are there?” Michael asked.


The general looked at Michael, as if he wasn’t sure he should answer his question. “Twelve of the normal shaped ones and 7 of the tuning forked shaped ships,” he replied reluctantly.


“What is the purpose of these ships? What exactly are we facing here?” the president asked.


Myra answered before anyone else could, “Rogalia is familiar with these ships,” she said.


Everyone looked at Myra and Myra looked at Rogalia. Soon everyone followed suite. Rogalia hesitated to answer, Jennifer suspected because she was enjoying the attention it brought her.


“Are you familiar with these ships dear?” one of the senators said.


“Yes,” Rogalia replied. “They use the same ships to invade my world, and then the Kult’s world.”


“Perhaps you can help explain exactly what we are dealing with,” the general said. “What are these ships capable of? What weapons do they have?”


“The largest ship has a lot of missiles on board,” Rogalia explained. “They can be fired at ground targets, or at other ships. It also has a lot of shuttles for transporting soldiers to and from the ground. The other ships are similar, only less capable. The tuning fork ships, however, are different…”


“How so?” Michael asked.


“Well they are designed to shoot large rocks to the planet’s surface,” she said.


“So they are going to throw rocks at us?” General Mac said. “That doesn’t sound so bad.” Rogalia looked at him as if he was clearly missing something. Jennifer also noticed John had the same look.


“The effects can be quite devastating,” Rogalia said.


“Did they use this weapon against your home?” the speaker of the house asked.


“No. Not against my home,” Rogalia replied.


“Rogalia’s people are pacifist,” Myra explained. “They would have surrendered, and there fore there was no reason for the Biaz to bombard them. However, the Kult’s are far from being pacifist.” She looked at Rogalia with a slight bit of regret at asking the next question, “I believe you are familiar with the Biaz invasion of the Kult’s home world are you not?”


“Yes,” Rogalia said. She hesitated, but forced herself to continue. “These tuning fork ships…”


“We call them rail guns,” John interrupted. Everyone glanced at him. They then turned their attention back to Rogalia and waited for her to continue.


“These rail guns are capable of destroying an entire city with one impact,” she said. “It devastated the Kult’s world. They destroyed every city great and small on the planet.”


Everyone was shocked into silence. Even those that knew the devastation the rail guns could bring were still horrified at the image of it happening to their own cities. Everyone stayed silent for a long time.


It was the president that finally broke the silence, “How do we stop them?” he asked. The room answered with silence. “There has to be some way,” he said after he was sure he wasn’t going to get an answer.


“We will start working on it immediately sir,” the general said.


“How long do we have until they start bombing us?” Secretary Stone asked.


“Well,” Rogalia started. “Usually they gather the rocks from the local system. It’s easier then bringing them with the ships. That takes some time.”


“How long?” General Mac asked.


“A few weeks usually. It really depends on how easy it is to find the rocks,” Rogalia answered.


“Good, that should be plenty of time to mount some kind of defense,” General Mac said.

Nano 2009: Chaptor 8: Day 22

Myra sat on a bench at the bus stop for hours. She looked across the street and tried to summon the courage to walk across, and failed again. She new it was the right thing to do. Well the only thing really. She just couldn’t bring herself to face it - to face him. She wished her twin was still here. She would have gladly given up a bit of sanity for someone to talk to.


This is stupid, she thought to herself. She forced her mind to clear, and walked across the street with out thinking about it. She was forced to jump back by a honking car that almost hit her. Ok, maybe I should think about it a little, she thought to herself.


She made it across the street and walked in the building. She looked around and found the receptionist, a man. She walked up to him and said, “I want to see my father, Secretary Stone.”


She waited in the lobby for what seemed like forever. It took a long time for a simple request to see ones father work its way up the chain, and then back down again. Myra suspected there were obstacles and non-believers along the way.


Finally three officers in crisp dress uniforms walked up and told her to follow them. “Are we going to see my father?” Myra asked.


“Just follow us,” the lead officer said.


Myra continued to ask where they were going as they walked down hallway after hallway. The officers usually didn’t say a word. If they did, they would just say, “Please follow us.” Myra thought about refusing to go further. She couldn’t keep the thought of going back to her cell out of her mind. She absolutely refused to chicken out now, so she kept putting one foot in front of the other in the direction of the men.


Finally they reached a door that she recognized as her father’s office. She felt even more fear. Thankfully the officers opened the door for her. She was sure she wouldn’t have the courage.


She forced herself to walk in where she was greeted by her father’s secretary. She was an older women with curly blonde hair. She had a great big smile, which Myra felt guilty for not reciprocating.


“It’s so nice to see you again Myra,” she said. “It has been far to long since you have come to see your father.” Myra remained silent, so she continued, “Well your father is inside and waiting for you.”


The secretary opened the door, where Myra could see her father stand up. He had a shocked look on his face, as if he was surprised to see her. I guess he didn’t believe the others when they told him she was here.


Well can’t turn and run now, she told herself. She forced herself to walk through the door and sit down in front of her father’s desk. She heard the secretary close the door behind her.


“Hello,” her father said after a long moment of silence. He was still standing.


Myra considered how to approach this conversation. “I am still your daughter. I hope you can believe that, even if it takes you time.”


He sat down in his chair. “Why are you here?” he asked.


“I know now what I wrote on the wall,” she said. “It was a warning. I thought it prudent to relay that warning to you. It may very well mean the end of our world if it isn’t heeded.”


“What is the warning?” he asked.


Myra considered the question for a moment. “I’ll tell you all that I know, but first you need to call Mom,” she said. “She will need to hear this as well.”


“If this is all about getting your Mom and I together again,” he began, but his voice trailed off.


Myra smiled. She couldn’t help herself. “Do you think I could ever live with you again?” she asked rhetorically. “Your daughter is still alive. My father is dead.”

Nano 2009: Chaptor 8: Day 60

The lieutenant greeted them with a terse nod. He pushed a few buttons and a small view screen turned on. A woman appeared. She had dark skin, only a bit lighter than the soldiers. Her dark hair flowed down to her shoulders. She was very beautiful, but her eyes were a dark shade of yellow that Myra found a bit distracting.


“So,” she said. “You are one of the people that infiltrated my ship. I don’t suppose you are in the mood to tell me how you did it.”


Myra smiled. “We have powerful allies,” she said. “You should be more careful of who you invade.”


The woman laughed. “Come on. Can you at least tell me how you learned our language?”


Myra resisted answering in Kultish, just to show off. “Lets just say, I’m a fast learner.”


She seemed less pleased with this answer. “Perhaps we should continue this conversation in person,” she said then turned to the lieutenant. “Bring her to me.”


“It’s a mistake to invade us,” Myra said. “But you know this already. You are one of the best generals in the history of your people. Certainly you have studied your enemy. We can be as conniving as the Velarian’s and as ruthless as the Kults.”


“I’m well aware of the challenges that await me,” she said.


“You also know the consequences of your own people,” Myra continued. “Your namesake once stood up to a tyrannical leader for the betterment of her people. Your greatest civilization was the result.”


“She remained loyal to her people and her queen, as do I,” she said. “You are right of course, but I have my orders, and I will carry them out to the best of my abilities.”


Myra searched her mind for something else to say. It shouldn’t be that long now, “Ziazi isn’t concerned with the welfare of her people,” she said. “It seems to me you can’t serve both her and your people. You have to make a choice.”


“I’m sorry to hear human loyalties can be divided so easily,” she replied, but her thoughts were clearly elsewhere.


“I’m sorry to hear the women of Biaz are so easily lead astray,” Myra replied.


“I’m not sure what your game is, but I think it is time…” she said, but was interrupted by gunfire and bullets dinging the hull.


Myra smiled, “I guess our conversation will have to be postponed,” she said.


The gunfight outside began to become fiercer. Myra was thankful the hull of the ship protected her. Still she hid in the corner just to be safe. Aiusiz waited calmly and silently.


The lieutenant, who was also the pilot began preparing the ship to take off. Fortunately it took a minute or two, and from the sounds of the gunshots and bullets hitting hull, he wouldn’t have the time.


Finally several men shot the last of the soldiers standing guard outside the ship. The men entered with guns blazing. Myra covered her face as shots ricochet around the inside of the ship.


The lieutenant was quick to turn and face his opponents. He managed to kill one, but was far too outnumbered to really stand a chance. Once he fell to the ground with a cry and a splatter of blood, the ship fell silent.


Myra opened her eyes to several men surrounding her with guns pointed in her direction. “Wait,” she yelled. “I’m one of you.” The men lowered their weapons and helped her up.


One of the men had already released the prisoners in back and they were all flooding out of the ship. “Lets get out of here,” one of the soldiers said. Being in the ship clearly made him nervous.


The man in front of Myra motioned for her to go first. “I’ll just be a second,” she said. “You should go on ahead.” Myra went back to the head of the ship, where she knew Aiusiz would still be waiting.


Myra stepped forward so that she could clearly see her. “Ziazi is as much your enemy as she is ours,” she said. “We need to help each other, or both our people will be in grave danger.”


Aiusiz smiled, “As I have said. I have my orders,” she said. She reached down and hit a button out of view. The view screen went blank.


Myra turned and almost ran into a man, one of her rescuers. “Who are you?” he asked.


Myra smiled and said, “Myra Stone. The one and only.” She walked past him and out of the ship.