Xena looked out over the green plains that had filled the most of her days for the last few weeks. Traveling in the green fields wavering in the harsh wind with next to no cover had reminded her of not only her time with Borias and then later Alti as they had ravaged plains much like these hunting for ultimate power in the east. She had been a monster then. Then there had been her mad dash across lands like these seeking a way into the amazon afterlife looking for Gabrielle but finding only another sin to repent. But she also remembered slightly happier times as she while a little pregnant at the time had gone through lands like these going east to secure the legacy of Lao Ma they had been happier then. Now she once more went through an empty plain looking for her bard and she could shake the sense that she was a long way away from happier times even if she still held out hope.
Suddenly her eyes caught sight of strange marks in a stretch of sandier ground where only very little grass grew. Xena dismounted and examined the markings. It looked like the hoof prints of a great many horses, but their shoes were strange large and deep. She began feeling the distant thunder of approaching horses. Quickly she ran to her mount and easily jumped into the saddle. She only managed to whirl her horse around, when suddenly a large group of warriors rode over a nearby hill. They looked disheveled and poor, dressed in animal skins and brandishing badly made bone clubs and the like. Xena spurred her horse into a gallop, when she recognized that most of the bones were human.
Xena knew that they were following even before she heard the almost inhuman screams uttered by the primitive barbarians, who were riding at her back. However their horses were neither big enough nor had those horseshoes that had left those marks she had found back there.
Suddenly a primitive axe flew by and not for the first time lately Xena wished that she had her chakram at her side. Instead she quickly drew up one of her daggers and casually threw it at her enemies. She barely noticed how her dagger implanted itself in their leader's throat or that he tumbled from his horse only to be trampled by his own men. Xena was too busy listening. A large force with horses were hidden on either side of the small pass between two hills she was about to pass through.
Nervously on the lookout for any arrows she passed through the pass as fast the wind. Everything seemed silent on the other side as she passed between what looked like two small armies of skin wearing women armed with large bows, swords, axes and other modern implements of war seated on very large horses with deadly sharpened horseshoes ready to be used as weapons. They had all the markings of the amazons but their deployment looked like as organized as the tactical formations of a roman legion. Xena looked over her shoulder to see the hand of the blonde leader dip signaling the attack just as the riders following her moved into the deadly trap. Arrows long drawn were released and with a mighty cry the amazons fell upon their enemy like an unstoppable avalanche of lethal efficiency.
Xena wheeled her horse about and witnessed the merciless attack of the amazons. They were as fierce as when she had first beheld their lethal infantry attacks in the forests of Greece. Only their tactics seemed a heck of a lot more advanced than anything she had ever seen them use before. Still amazons were about to get hurt and the other people obviously cannibals were not someone she pitied. Quickly she drew her sword as she rode down towards the battle ready to show her lethal skill in defense of the amazons once more.
Xena saw her chance to help. One of the amazons was about to receive an axe to her back. Quickly Xena rushed in between and caught the thrown axe and in one smooth move imbedded it in the chest of its owner.
A big and unfortunately stinking warrior barreled down towards her crying out in anger. Obviously bent on avenged one of the many wrongs he perceived she had done onto him. Xena, unaware that she was grinning, spurred her horse forward into a gallop and met his charge. Their swords clashed, but Xena the superior sword artist of the two didn't stop. Just as they had passed each other she swung her sword backwards out of her sight, putting it nicely into the back of the brute, whose strength had shaken her grip. She heard the sword glide through his armor with a rustle and slipping through his flesh with a wet sound. Another enemy dispatched.
The battle had moved to the ground and Xena was not late for her next appointed enemy. She saw him run a bone club with its sharpened head into the back of an amazon, who fell down bleeding profoundly. Xena vaulted from her horse, yelling her battle cry. She landed just a few feet from the barbarian. She growled with his sharpened yellowed teeth showing clearly.
Xena exploded into a flurry of fighting. First she turned his weapon into a bunch of splinters, while kicking him hard in the groin, making him bowl over to the ground. She barely grunted as she whirled her sword around and stuck it through his back feeling it hit the hard ground below. There was no time to talk to the fallen amazon as the next warrior ran towards her from behind. Xena launched herself into a high backwards flip knowing exactly she would land not too far behind her would be attacker.
He turned around brandishing his club at her, when suddenly Xena heard the sound of a powerful bow releasing an arrow. The man suddenly sprouted a blue fletched arrow from his side. He wearily turned towards the source of his pain.
"Big mistake", Xena commented as she jammed her bloody sword into his wide side and pulled it upwards treating her to the ugly sound of his ribs cracking one by one. He gurgled and fell silent. Xena looked around to see the fighting end the enemy vanquished. The amazons cried out in jubilation and many held their bloodied weapons up in victory.
"Hold your celebrations amazons, we have a foreigner amongst us", a familiar voice commented. Xena turned around and looked into the blue eyes a slightly older Cyane.
Cyane took one look at her, her jaw went slack and her mouth fell open. For several breaths she just stood looking in disbelief at Xena the only movement apparent the rise and fall of her chest and constant blinking of her eyes. Then she said in a hoarse voice: "She said you were dead. She was so sad; it couldn't have been a lie".
Xena nodded and walked towards Cyane standing there to tower above her. "I was dead and Gabrielle didn't lie to you. I found a way to return. Is she here?" Xena asked not aware of the longing expressed in her voice.
Cyane looked her for a moment. "No, she isn't. Not anymore. We fear that she has died or has taken her own life a long time ago. It has been almost two years since any amazon has seen our most beloved queen", Cyane explained.
"Who is this?" A tall tanned and blonde amazon asked Cyane. "Kati this is Xena the Warrior Princess", Cyane explained with a strange look in her eyes.
"She is Xena?!" The woman turned to look at Xena seemingly trying to get a full view of her for the first time. "She is the one who taught my queen her many skills. I am honored to meet you", the amazon named Kati saluted her like she was a full amazon and stepped back to stand behind Cyane after she sent her a look.
"Come Xena you must come with us to the central village. The council will want to greet you and then Varia and I will tell you about Gabrielle", Cyane explained and commanded for all the amazons to mount their horses. Xena followed suit.
It had only taken them one hour to reach the outskirt of a huge forest that Xena guessed now housed the amazon nation. Every where she looked there were amazon markers and the trees abounded with vigilant scouts. The nation seemed a lot stronger than she had remembered but that much couldn't have changed in the nearly three years since Helicon could it. "There seems to be many amazons around", Xena commented and looked to Cyane for an explanation.
"We've been getting a lot of wonderful recruits and we've been sending well trained infiltration groups down into Persia and the Roman Empire to recover as many worthy women and captured amazons as we can", Cyane explained.
"That is a bold strategy", Xena commented more to herself than anyone else.
"Another one of Gabrielle's plans she initiated it when she ruled the united tribes. She had seen first hand the hardship and suffering brought down upon the many female slaves out there and she had no trouble convincing us to recover our sisters. Besides the Amazon Nation needed fresh blood and new ideas", Cyane explained with pride in her voice.
"Like your combat tactics out there?" Xena asked as she ducked under a low hanging branch.
"Yes an innovation suggested by a fierce woman who came to us from a desert tribes that cruelly suppress their women treating their own daughters more like cattle than persons", Cyane explained and nodded towards a woman that looked like a younger version of Kahina.
"Is that the main village?" Xena asked as the group passed a small valley where they could look out over a village made up of many huts and towers. It was surrounded by a wooden palisade another new thing for the amazons to have.
"No that is just one of the client villages. Would you believe there are even a few men down there, who are willing to live under the rules of our culture?" Cyane said with incredulity.
"Yeah, I would. But I thought that any men who associated with amazons were killed. I remember back in the old days that the entire procreation thing was a rather touchy affair involving a lot of lonely men living close to the Amazon lands", Xena said and looked at Cyane for an explanation.
"The law needed amending. Besides way out here we need to draw them a little closer if we want to exist a generation or two from now don't you think? Anyway the council makes the laws and they all saw use in having the men around if they could accept that they can't be leaders, rule a woman or have any say in the running of things. Now they can own land, fight and live as they like, it only gets touchy if a man is accused of taking a woman against her will. Usually that makes him a dead man", Cyane explained, while Xena thought about the changing ways of the Amazons and their apparent growth. At least they were on the way out of their stagnation.
Xena was rarely at a loss for word, but when she saw the new central village of the amazons she found herself unable to speak for a few moments. The amazons had always built their homes in the forest from the material at hand, but this new home of theirs was a little different. The one who had chosen the spot had done so thinking both of the martial security of the Queen's council and of aesthetics. A wide and rapid river ran along side below a horse length of cliff aside a small rock plateau onto which only one route remained passable and well guarded. On top of that plateau laid a small town surrounded by a Greek style thick city wall with battlements, lookout towers and even platforms where catapults were being built as they rode towards the town. Inside all trees and bushes remained like the amazons had built a wall around a huge garden not even bothering to make an actual town, but as they rode through the heavy gates as thick as those on Troy Xena was treated to another sight. Underneath the careful nurtured trees lay a town of stone houses and yurts gently nestling against the base of the trees. Around the town small stone roads led past well placed wells, stables, a smithy and children playing with toy weapons to a single wide but still one story building, which Xena could only presume was the home of the queens.
"So you all live in there?" Xena asked doubting the wisdom of putting all the leaders of the amazons in one place.
"No that house is the meeting place of the council, the community center for all the people of this village and it also contains our arena for settling our disputes, holding dances or putting on plays if we can. It actually holds one huge covered and heated square room and a couple of meeting rooms. Of course its basement contains our prisons and we even have a few good rooms for guests in there even if you're the first we've had so far", Cyane explained as she dismounted.
Cyane walked over to stand in the middle of her warriors and spoke: "We have done well today. The cannibals that annoy our borders have once more broken the treaty of peace they asked us for. I will report this to the council. Soon we will deal with this constant threat to our borders. Go now, rest and be well. Know that we will not be defeated by these mongrels ever again", Cyane said and walked over to the central building. Xena heard her whisper to the blonde amazon named: "Kati do me a favor ensure that the wounded get proper treatment. I'll have to before the council immediately. The attack and Xena's return must be discussed".
Xena was suddenly aware of two amazon guard coming up to her and asking her to follow them. Even with the trust forwarded to her by Cyane the amazons didn't trust her too much.
Xena paced around in the chamber she had been led to. Cyane had been with the council for hours and she was loosing her patience. She had cleaned up and even managed to sharpen the nicks out of her new sword, but now her patience was at an end. Xena walked towards the door, when it was suddenly opened.
An older Varia walked inside her neck once again adorned with the necklace of a queen. It had all the markings of Gabrielle's necklace.
"Xena, I couldn't believe it when Cyane told me that you had showed up. I had to convince myself firsthand. It's good to see you again", Varia smiled happily.
"I see you've been made queen again", Xena said and pointed at the necklace.
"Yes, I got this from Gabrielle", Varia admitted unabashedly.
"Did you kill her to get it?" Xena's voice became low and held the promise of swift death for Varia within her next few breaths.
"No… It is rather complicated. She wanted me to have it. I think it was all apart of a grand plan of hers. One that almost went down perfectly", Varia added suddenly far away in thoughts.
"Why don't you explain it to me? I am an impatient person you know", Xena said and locked her eyes on the bodily reaction of the dark haired amazon queen. She was fidgeting like something about telling Gabrielle's story was bothering her deeply.
"Cyane told me that you hadn't eaten. Why don't come over to my home? I can tell you everything, you could stay the night. It is a long story", Varia explained and held out a hand to let her leave before her. Xena noticed that Varia was still wearing the sword she had gotten from Ares years ago. The last time she had talked to Varia it had been to stop her from shooting Gabrielle in the back. This talk had better be good.
They walked along the open galleries surrounding the central square of the building that made up most of the heart of the amazon village. A group of amazon women were practicing swordplay against each other, while Cyane and a group of women who looked like they were the other queens were standing in a group talking excitedly about some subject.
"What's going on?" Xena asked and indicated the queens.
"Oh, Cyane is explaining her plan of attack, when she takes the army out to rid us of the cannibals that continue to threaten our borders", Varia explained off handedly her thoughts apparently elsewhere.
"Cyane is the war leader", Xena asked surprise easily audible in her voice.
Varia looked at her and smiled contently. "Yeah, I am too spirited to be a levelheaded leader so she handles that side of things. I will be joining them in the campaign as the leader of my tribe, but I'll leave the actual leadership up to Cyane. It's a combination that has turned out to work well for us", Varia explained. Xena was mystified by the wisdom apparent in that decision. Varia was a great warrior and leader, but she had always been to guided by her anger and fear that made her a dangerous leader and somehow Varia had not only learned that but also accepted it.
They walked through the happy town. Xena wasn't surprised to find music and dance still was in ample supply amongst the amazons, when they were at peace. Still she couldn't remember coming into an amazon village and find such happiness even during the reign of Cyane, who had been able to fight of Alti herself. These amazons felt safe not only from the dangers of the male world but from the harsh nature that had always permeated their society. Varia led her to a large wooden hut constructed in the style that had been so common back in Greece. It was unlike any other hut on the entire street. "You miss home huh", Xena commented and stepped through the cloth covering the entrance.
"Not any more, it is just a habit… I guess", Varia answered and followed Xena into her home.
Xena was treated to a very clean and completely organized home that in a lot of ways reminded her of her daughter's hospice. In a way Varia was a little like she had originally thought her daughter might have turned out had she been around to raise her.
"Sit", Varia commanded and began putting food and wine on the table. After she had questioned Xena about what she knew. Varia began telling the story: "It's a long story, but you see I was there for the entire trip here. When we set out I was still angry over my defeat I saw it as an insult you see. To Gabrielle it was a political necessity. She had to defeat me in public to silence anyone, who still taught my demotion was unfair and give her enough credibility to do what she had figured out was the only way to save her people. I still remember the very day we set out. 40 warrior women with horses and pack animals going off to a place not one of us had ever seen before…"
It was night, when Varia finally told the story of how the weary but happy amazons rode into the vast forest and began looking for the perfect place for their new homes. Gabrielle finally decided upon the place found by her loyal friend Deirdre. They had founded this place and marked the final path for the amazons who were following in their tracks somewhere out beyond the horizon.
"If everyone was so happy why is she not here?" Xena spoke for the first time in hours and looked up at Varia's face. The orange light of the fire in her hearth cast deep shadows across her face, but still Xena could see real sadness in her eyes.
"Actually everything was going just fine. We had set up camp here and even begun setting up a few permanent structures, when Cyane arrived with the remainder of the Amazon Nation. We partied for days. Gabrielle was crowned high queen of the Amazons, just like I had been once, but I found I no longer minded. She did though. I had learned on our trip that she hated being placed above others and this ultimate position of power given to her as a gift was more of a curse than anything else. Anyway I had my share of surprises that night as well because her first action as high queen was to reinstate me as the queen of her tribe as she would be busy leading us all. Actually I think she got the better of the bargain as all she had to do in her position was to implement the policies of the entire nation and her position couldn't even be challenged unless you had the entire council of queens behind you. And she was content to let the queens continue to rule their respective tribes as they saw fit as long as they kept within the framework of the laws she laid out in the days following her coronation", Varia paused to drink some wine.
"Actually she made things rather easy for herself, reducing her power as absolute dictator to be mostly an arbitrator of disputes between tribes and ultimate judge of important points of law. I think she showed great wisdom in going in that direction. Our system has always too dependent on old and sometimes meaningless laws that could be interpreted as the queen saw fit. She stayed that way for months, setting up the infiltration squads going south, establishing the other villages and working hard with Cyane to ensure the safety of our borders even if we had no enemy nearby or so we thought. I still clearly the day everything changed, the last day really Gabrielle ruled here", Varia paused to draw breath and Xena had to stop herself from screaming at Varia get on with the story.
"One morning one of our hunters came running into this village…" Varia began the story.