Chapter 24

The Grand Ballroom bustled with courtesans, as entitled people with lavish trinkets attended the summit. The attendees mingled, opulently Virtue signalling as the gentry often did.
Back and forth above their sparkling flutes of expensive liquors, whilst indulging in their personal debaucheries.
A dandy but a deceitful way of life thought Ash Vani, most matters were allowable if they were sold with perfect suavity and supported by the right people in the right circles.
Hypocrites!

The duties of the Queens guard were to intermittently check the staterooms security as they secured the gathering and maintained a highly visible military presence.
Her majesty herself was awkwardly last spotted powdering her nose with a rare narcotic powder ground from the stamen and seeds of the fireflower .
Its use was frowned upon by her staffers, they did their best to suppress the rumours.
Her Royal Highness was also last seen opening a small runcible case crafted from shimmering ivory and platinum as a swarm of tiny moths with ghost-white wings emerged and hovered around the space above her head, an odd cosmetic accessory indeed. Certain to cause much spectacle to the occasion, it would make her more sycophantic devotees gush.
Beside the Queen there was… one other V.I.P.
A short fat bald man appeared, he wore fine attire and was accompanied by a following of two body-guards that appeared to be of a different militia to the regular court guards.
The Gentleman was distinguished looking with a port wine stain that was daubed upon the crown of his head, about his person he wore an emblem that had been fashioned from precious metals.
He seemed preoccupied with talking to a couple of fledgling handmaidens as one of his security approached him and called him “prime minister!”
“Excuse me pretties!” He said in a jovial well-spoken tone which signified aristocracy.
“Di Dee please don’t go!” Said one of the young doe’s as she caressed his lapels in a sexually suggestive way.
“Do not worry my dear, there will be plenty of time for fun and games later!” He said in a charming but peculiar tone.
The remaining members of the Queens Guard escorted the small council of delegates. they walked in lines, like a string of ducklings following their mother as they followed the prime minister across the softly mown lawn, lit only by candles that illuminated a path across the courtyard, into the Basilica.
which had been named; the Basilica of luminescence because of its arched ceiling being fashioned out of crystal, which itself had been uncovered from the bosom of Kalithia? It was famous for its magnificent panorama and it was said to be one of the ancient wonders of the world.
The Queen received the prime minister with courtesy and sophistication as he took her hand and greeted her, folding himself over and saluting her. A Group of choristers sang a soft operatic lament that was harmonically beautiful. They spoke awhile about pleasantries and new beginnings.
There was nothing significant or out of the ordinary to give credence to any fears as the meeting began.
The Queen stood at a podium as an usher showed the P. M to his place at an adjacent podium.
The two leaders exchanged anecdotes in front of the giant flags of Mercia and Kalithia province as the questions from the senate were collated and checked.
The hustle and bustle died down and the hard questions began.
The audience watched on in anticipation as they sported their masks as was Martian tradition, but tonight there was something extra eerie as the eye of the P. M was drawn to the Pa ‘mina primavera who sat as a grim spectator in the back row as he cast an inky black nebulous figure looking back with his Amber eyes as he broadcast with every fibre of his being.. allelopathy.
Di Dee felt it was almost as if there were a tourniquet tightened around his heart, disturbing, he sensed it in his blood’s specific gravity as a cold sweat began to hang around his brow as beads slowly Gathered as unwanted gloaters scoffing at his own personal demons.
The adjudicator stood with the first inquisitor as he queried “will there be reparations for the families affected by the red death? ,”
Di Dee took out a navy-blue handkerchief as he mopped his brow and wiped those absconders away as his hand trembled.
“Err no… this meeting is solely for the purpose of armistice negotiations!” Clarified the Prime Minister.
A thin man approached the podiums as leftenant Ash Vani checked him over and cleared him.
It was the Prime Minister’s executioner, he handed him a folded note which he read to himself, he scanned the audience with his widened eyes as the blood drained out of his jowls. “Excuse me!” He said as he began to make his excuses. The audience were distracted as the lighting began to flicker as he gazed into the void of expressionless masked faces and found no comfort.
The P. M began to recite to himself oddly with a look of pure distress emblazed upon his face.
“do not stray from the light, fight … fight against the dying of the light,
Do not turn away in spite, fight, fight, fight, against the dying of the light.
Defend against those that shun what’s right, fight, fight, fight against the dying of the light!”
Almost on cue.
The lights in the Basilica went completely out. The audience were left in the dark as the only light remaining was the natural starlight and the candles that sat on candelabras next to where the choir stood.
Between the collective heavy breathing of the citizens they heard a wail emitting a low high-pitched screech as the Tesla towers failed to supply the electricity to the normal systems. Which also meant that the guards shield belts were redundant, they for whatever reason were made vulnerable by the unseen forces that had yet to reveal itself.
He looked towards the Queen as her highness Gaudet also appeared to be at a loss to what was happening as murmurings amongst the guards muttered changelings at the gates they’ve taken the outer perimeter. Disarray amongst the spectators ensued closely as the audience members began to stampede left and right in the panic and alarm as the Queen and the prime minster of the two neighbouring principalities found themselves in the centre of a deadly web held fast and powerless, with fear and alarm on every side. the guards quelled the terrified members of the audience. Who were drunk on paralysing fear and Adrenalin a toxic mix?
The two Leftenants Mir and Ash Vani marshalled the soldiers into a phalanx formation as the soldiers both men and women waited for the enemy to play its hand, the silence was deafening.
As they cleared the floor of its chairs and readied the killing ground.
NO one knew why Mir only had one name? When traditionally most Martians had two, it was understood that she had directly descended from the legendary warrior of the same name and that her ancestry descended from ancient Lyness the cradle of reason and civilisation. But even this was an exaggeration she did have another name it was Thm Mir although why it was a secret was unknown.
Vani called out “don’t give them an inch, they’ll be using their speed as our shields have been neutralised. Brothers … sisters and those about to die I salute you!!”
As a roar from the guard formations echoed through the chamber … as the guards presented their pikes in a deadly Array of spikes tipped with toxins waited.
Cries rang out from the crowd” for the republic, seize your glory!!”
finally, they heard the intruders’ approach as the power cut alarm went silent.
Who on mars would be bold or stupid enough to face us wondered Ash Vani, only time would reveal the answer?
They waited…. they waited in anticipation in the silence, in the darkness with only starlight falling upon their steel as they gripped their arms a little tighter. The suspense was unbearable.
They sought a great number of things in heaven, they feared a great number of things from hell, as the silence was broken by a large thud that shook them to the core.
It sounded as if dead bodies were being pitched at the only entry point. Yes, that was it thought Ash Vani, they were being hurled, and it was like the beating of a drum not one that inspired courage but signalled a slow waltz towards the finality of one’s own doom. Thump then another and another crashing against the stout wooden door like the tide washing up on the barren shore.
The dead souls emancipated and then dissolved, as the soldiers could see the embers of the deceased rising through the breach at the bottom of the door, as the illuminated embers of dead Martians flitted away. How many massacred they wondered what a sickening disrespect to the fallen.
The dead wouldn’t care. they would be released from the chains of life, from the wages of sin and spread to four winds rather like star-dust particles in the Bosom of the universe.

The door began to buckle and split, it would only be a moment or two before it splintered and gave way, then they would be here?

The soldiers readied themselves as the perfume of sweat on muscle danced above their heads.
Through the narrow hole in the huge door they could see blue within blue eyes staring back at them.
And then silence maintained a moment of lucidity as the whole place went as silent as a mausoleum.
Then like a fast-moving viper the enemy, the Shae they pounced, as they moved with haste almost as fast as the eye could track. They were upon them as the warriors dug their pikes in the floor as the first wave crashed upon them skewering and smashing their points, rendering them useless as the soldiers felt the heavyweight pull down their tips as the battle became one of closer combat as they drew their sabres and began to rely on Their reflexes and skills of war.
The up-Close quarter combat favoured the Mercian elitists, it was tight and gave little recourse for the changelings to use their speed abilities, though they did possessed greater strength.
The sound of clanking steel echoed as Ash Vani proceeded to hack down the pale looking monstrosities one by one as she wielded two swords perfectly. looking to her right she spied her brothers holding up the flanks and to her left Mir was fighting with two splintered pikes as she wielded them like batons.
Only the best served in the Queens Guard, only the fiercest in the legionnaires.
They were proud, but it would be their undoing.
Death had a particular aroma, it was insidious, pernicious and once you smelt it, you could never un-smell it, and no amount of water could ever wash you clean.
The dark figure the Knightmare sat ready to play his hand.
As he walked between the tall ivory pillars that supported the crystal ceiling.
Expanding like a shadow upon the highly polished floor he broadcast a sense of dread that seemed to reach beyond the confines of what appeared to be his edges, he almost seemed as real as his reflection that he looked down upon.
He meant to teach the province of Mercia a lesson its bones would remember, that bold men with their stature and strength would be cut down as equally as women and neither would be afforded any special privilege they would all lie vanquished together without discrimination in destruction as sure as leer did not discriminate neither would he, for he saw himself as god was. as the embers of their lives would flutter and disperse into the ether pointlessly for nought.
Ash Vani felt unsettled as she Cruyff turned to see the Pa ‘mina Primavera approaching more substantially and taller than he usually appeared, as he cut down their own warriors with a giant cleaver, soldier after soldier and drew closer towards leftenant Mir.
He continued to scythe down more of the combatants from their opening lines mercilessly with little effort and without conscious as they fell by the way-side.
They had been betrayed, and it had left a bad taste in her mouth
“Mir watch out!” Hollered Ash Vani as the ranks closed ever tighter until they were completely surrounded.
the voice of the sovereign her majesty the Queen was overheard to shout “wait… wait we surrender!” Hysterically, as leftenant Ash Vani Shouted, “NO MAJESTY!!”
She reiterated “Grant us clemency please!!” As she pleaded on her knees for her people’s continued existence.
The Knightmare reached out his hand as he beckoned one of his minions to do his foul business.
A one-eyed giant with an eye patch over a hollow eye socket appeared, a hulk of a man with almost what appeared like Wooden skin moved towards the spot where the Queen was as the warriors cut a path frantically with all their might to intercept him as he barrelled the prime minster of Kalithia over with one stroke of his hand, taking great pleasure to wait there for a moment as he knelt over him and cracked his skull open onto the floor like an egg, knowing full well that There was not a living soul who had not seen the cold-blooded murder. gasps rang out of fear and horror as his brains were strewn Across the jet-black marble floor amongst the broken chairs and splintered lances. Some amongst the civilians vomited, some wet themselves as Panic rose from the troops as they knew that such wrath and ruin could only end in their own demise, there would be no prisoners taken alive.
Mir directed her fingers to the new target as she picked up a pike and threw it like a javelin at the ogre as Ash Vani shouted, “kill him… KILL HIMM!!!!!!” Frantically as Saliva erupted from her mouth in her passionate outburst. But none of the missiles seemed to hit the target. As he neared the Queen, she recoiled and whimpered in a squatted stance next to a pillar
The one-eyed ogre grasped the Queen and threw her across the room and up against the other Ivory Column as it smashed her body irrevocably the enemy roared with delight and the rest of the Shae started clanking their weapons in an intimidating rhythm.
The defenders called amongst themselves some shouted, “Panic room!”
Some in anger shouted, “kill the beast!!”
It would be the self-preservation urges that would be the stronger as Vani and Mir were carried along like victims carried away by the high tide with the crowd into the Panic room that lead to an escape exit through the ancient catacombs.
Later that night…
They emerged from the tunnels into the twilight as cinders fell from the air like charred snow.
they looked upon their city from 5 miles away, a silhouette on the skyline with a blazing corona. As it burned.
They looked back upon the Capital and saw plumes of smoke rising, some of them fell to their knees and wept, not only the female warriors but the strong proud hard men, they cried too.
Mir spoke “get up, arise my brothers and my sisters!” As the small group of survivors looked at her in horror, “We march for the dark woods! As soon as we’re able!” As one of the men angrily asked her “what’s at the dark woods??”
“What indeed!!” She said avoiding a direct response.
“Why should we follow you?”
Implied the battle scared veteran. Mir cast a cursory glance towards him “o’ brother these times make no discrimination, we all cry the same and … we all Die the same!” She paused “yet we must go on!!” She chose her words carefully “to not do so, would be a crime to their memory!”
They gathered themselves together and slowly they began the arduous test of leaving their homes and families to their own doom as they marched through the fields of lavender wheat and away from Mercia each step towards Kalithia, small silhouettes against the burning horizon
“We will be back!” Mir promised as she took one last look at her home.

“Mir!!” Called Ash Vani
The two Leftenants looked at one another for a moment across the space between them “your not Coming are you!” Mir said to Ash Vani as she guessed that she had to make another journey.
“Sorry sister but something about the Li Kay incident doesn’t sit well with me!”
“What d’you mean!” Mir asked?
“The Primavera once raise a threat of security coming from Mārin village in Kalithia province.”
She widened her eyes as she tried to conjugate the evidence “I’ll warrant you Li kay is still alive!”
“STILL ALIVE!!!!” Mir retorted in contempt as if it had never occurred to her.
“Did you see him emancipate? … I didn’t…. not I, I’m willing to wager he’s there at Mārin village the cunning old silver fox!” She said in a tone of almost admiration “… and our captain will not be too far away from him!”
“they used to love one another Y’know and I secretly always respected them for that,”
Ash vani Said practically tearfully … As if she were affirming a truth that was almost too taboo to utter.
“Whether we like it or not fate has made us allies!”
Mir looked at her one last time as they hugged “take care my sister! and may leer walk alongside you in all the dangerous places… so you need not be alone!!” They embraced as Ash Vani headed in the opposite direction into the sunrise on foot as she disappeared into the distance unaccompanied.