Tulip-Jin: (stares at unreviewed chapter)
Chibi Red Eyes Black Dragon: Rawwwwr rawr, rawr rawr rrrawwwwrr. Rawwwwr rawr? (Oh great, I leave for a few days and then this happens. No reviews yet?)
TJ: (eye twitches)
Chibi Red Eyes: Rawwwrrr, raaaaawr rawr rawr rrrrawwwwwr. Rawr. (Everybody, I highly recommend reviewing this chapter. ASAP.)
Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh...well that's a big fat DUH.
It was not long after this that it happened. The ugly incident that would end up changing the course of history completely, not to mention completely ruin my life, started off nicely enough as a festival in Suketahmeth, a border kingdom/city-state to our west.
Suketahmeth was an ambitious little place, and the largest of all the border kingdoms around Egypt. The idea was that Suketahmeth was going to play match maker for all of us. Father agreed to send all my sisters, and for days you could find them bragging to each other and comparing notes on possible husbands.
I had a chance to speak with Anza for the first time in a while, before she left with them. She was serving as a maid again, this time to Leianth, the youngest before me. I told her of my suspicions about Septhroith, and she warned me to not take any chances. Court politics were the worst of anything.
"Have you heard from Jono or Hotra lately? They visited me a few weeks ago, and they were so excited - they're going to be real soldiers, from what I could tell," she said.
"No, I haven't heard from them," I said, "But I'm not surprised. If they do well enough as soldiers, they might be made generals and serve in Court."
"I don't think they have the attention spans for that," she said with a laugh.
When she had to leave to get ready for the journey tomorrow, I teased her about getting hitched with someone and she laughed. The festival was only supposed to last a few days, with a few days travel both ways, but time passed and there wasn't any word. Until the advisor Father had sent with the girls dragged himself into the palace half-dead. The word?
Ambush and betrayal.
King Tokay, Lord of Suketahmeth, had of late acquired a new Grand Vizier. Under the newcomer's influence, the festival had been attacked by Suketahmethian troops and many people killed.
Some of my sisters had been killed, and all the people not killed were being held hostage. Already, our other neighbors were paying their tributes to King Tokay and his Grand Vizier.
Even now, we could have negotiated but Father's violent streak, one that had been getting more and more prominent since his old illness, reared up and he ordered all fit men ready for battle.
Hearing of magic wielding troops, High Priest Henshin sent along a contingent of mages lead by Septhroith. All of the remaining royal heirs left were ordered to fight and rescue their sisters.
Luckily for me, I had had some training, so I wasn't completely useless. It was one of Old Master's rules - you couldn't have strong magic unless you had a strong body to channel it through.
I was primarily an archer and that got me put in charge of the chariot archers. When we first set out, I made a remarkable discovery about the two soldiers assigned to protect me.
"Jono? Hotra? I don't believe it!" To be honest, I was getting amazed that this kept happening.
"Heh heh heh, hiya Yamakali! Long time no see!" Jono said with his old grin.
"We haven't seen you in a while, how've you been? Anza told us you were cooped up in your room studying magic all the time the last time we saw her!" Hotra said.
"I did go outside some of the time," I pouted. "She told me you two were becoming quite the army men."
"Yeah, that Hiskoto-whats-his-name skipped us from guard training real early on! He said we were the best he'd seen in years, ain't that right Hotra?" Jono said.
"Yep! Guess biting royal family members is a good-luck charm!" Hotra said.
"Don't even consider it," I said as Hotra began eyeing me.
"Why Yamakali, I can't believe you would even think that! I would never try to improve our chances by biting you!" Hotra said.
"Look, Hotra - you wanna improve our chances? Then let me drive! That way we can avoid crashing on our way there!" Jono said as he tried to take the reins.
"Are you implying I can't drive a chariot?"
"No, I'm not implying - I'm SAYING, you can't drive!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, I can drive better then you!"
"Can not!"
"Can too!"
While this was going on, I rolled my eyes, took the reins, and drove the blasted thing myself. It took a few hours of arguing before they realized we were moving.
"Hey, you didn't need to do that, we could've driven for ya!"
I sighed as this started up a whole new argument.
Father didn't stop until we were at the chosen place for the battle, on the other side of a field from Suketahmeth's capital city of Ba-ah-al. Then we tried to sleep with the tension building over all our heads.
Normally, I would vent tension by wandering around the Shadow Realm until someone challenged me, but that clearly wasn't an option right now. Even Jono and Hotra were being serious, but then again they had just found out that Anza was in Ba-ah-al somewhere, assuming she was still alive.
I tried sleeping, but the aura the city was putting off interfered with my sleeping patterns. I wandered around the camp, trying to clear my head. Here and there I found priests trying to do the same.
Anyone with any magical sensitivity was in much the same way. I spotted Septhroith from a distance - he was trying to meditate but it wasn't working. The Shadow Realm was highly present in the area, and that was the problem.
Eventually I managed to get enough sleep to tide me over.
Chibi Red Eyes Black Dragon: Rawwwwr rawr, rawr rawr rrrawwwwrr. Rawwwwr rawr? (Oh great, I leave for a few days and then this happens. No reviews yet?)
TJ: (eye twitches)
Chibi Red Eyes: Rawwwrrr, raaaaawr rawr rawr rrrrawwwwwr. Rawr. (Everybody, I highly recommend reviewing this chapter. ASAP.)
Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh...well that's a big fat DUH.
It was not long after this that it happened. The ugly incident that would end up changing the course of history completely, not to mention completely ruin my life, started off nicely enough as a festival in Suketahmeth, a border kingdom/city-state to our west.
Suketahmeth was an ambitious little place, and the largest of all the border kingdoms around Egypt. The idea was that Suketahmeth was going to play match maker for all of us. Father agreed to send all my sisters, and for days you could find them bragging to each other and comparing notes on possible husbands.
I had a chance to speak with Anza for the first time in a while, before she left with them. She was serving as a maid again, this time to Leianth, the youngest before me. I told her of my suspicions about Septhroith, and she warned me to not take any chances. Court politics were the worst of anything.
"Have you heard from Jono or Hotra lately? They visited me a few weeks ago, and they were so excited - they're going to be real soldiers, from what I could tell," she said.
"No, I haven't heard from them," I said, "But I'm not surprised. If they do well enough as soldiers, they might be made generals and serve in Court."
"I don't think they have the attention spans for that," she said with a laugh.
When she had to leave to get ready for the journey tomorrow, I teased her about getting hitched with someone and she laughed. The festival was only supposed to last a few days, with a few days travel both ways, but time passed and there wasn't any word. Until the advisor Father had sent with the girls dragged himself into the palace half-dead. The word?
Ambush and betrayal.
King Tokay, Lord of Suketahmeth, had of late acquired a new Grand Vizier. Under the newcomer's influence, the festival had been attacked by Suketahmethian troops and many people killed.
Some of my sisters had been killed, and all the people not killed were being held hostage. Already, our other neighbors were paying their tributes to King Tokay and his Grand Vizier.
Even now, we could have negotiated but Father's violent streak, one that had been getting more and more prominent since his old illness, reared up and he ordered all fit men ready for battle.
Hearing of magic wielding troops, High Priest Henshin sent along a contingent of mages lead by Septhroith. All of the remaining royal heirs left were ordered to fight and rescue their sisters.
Luckily for me, I had had some training, so I wasn't completely useless. It was one of Old Master's rules - you couldn't have strong magic unless you had a strong body to channel it through.
I was primarily an archer and that got me put in charge of the chariot archers. When we first set out, I made a remarkable discovery about the two soldiers assigned to protect me.
"Jono? Hotra? I don't believe it!" To be honest, I was getting amazed that this kept happening.
"Heh heh heh, hiya Yamakali! Long time no see!" Jono said with his old grin.
"We haven't seen you in a while, how've you been? Anza told us you were cooped up in your room studying magic all the time the last time we saw her!" Hotra said.
"I did go outside some of the time," I pouted. "She told me you two were becoming quite the army men."
"Yeah, that Hiskoto-whats-his-name skipped us from guard training real early on! He said we were the best he'd seen in years, ain't that right Hotra?" Jono said.
"Yep! Guess biting royal family members is a good-luck charm!" Hotra said.
"Don't even consider it," I said as Hotra began eyeing me.
"Why Yamakali, I can't believe you would even think that! I would never try to improve our chances by biting you!" Hotra said.
"Look, Hotra - you wanna improve our chances? Then let me drive! That way we can avoid crashing on our way there!" Jono said as he tried to take the reins.
"Are you implying I can't drive a chariot?"
"No, I'm not implying - I'm SAYING, you can't drive!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Well, I can drive better then you!"
"Can not!"
"Can too!"
While this was going on, I rolled my eyes, took the reins, and drove the blasted thing myself. It took a few hours of arguing before they realized we were moving.
"Hey, you didn't need to do that, we could've driven for ya!"
I sighed as this started up a whole new argument.
Father didn't stop until we were at the chosen place for the battle, on the other side of a field from Suketahmeth's capital city of Ba-ah-al. Then we tried to sleep with the tension building over all our heads.
Normally, I would vent tension by wandering around the Shadow Realm until someone challenged me, but that clearly wasn't an option right now. Even Jono and Hotra were being serious, but then again they had just found out that Anza was in Ba-ah-al somewhere, assuming she was still alive.
I tried sleeping, but the aura the city was putting off interfered with my sleeping patterns. I wandered around the camp, trying to clear my head. Here and there I found priests trying to do the same.
Anyone with any magical sensitivity was in much the same way. I spotted Septhroith from a distance - he was trying to meditate but it wasn't working. The Shadow Realm was highly present in the area, and that was the problem.
Eventually I managed to get enough sleep to tide me over.
