The Strengthening of Borders (Ares)

[Solus]

They told him it was hot.

They told him it was a desert. They told him the winds blew harsh sand through the air. They told him many things about this place.

But he could not feel it.

He had not been able to feel many things for...a long time now.

All he knew was that the sun shone brightly in this place. That was why he'd dressed himself in a first layer of fabric covering his whole body except his eyes - something else covered those so he could see. Over that he wore a heavy, mildly ornate cloak of black and gold, with a gold and ruby clasp. Hood was drawn over his head to hide his face in shadow, though you couldn't see it anyway with his head covered as it was.

Ah, though he couldn't feel the heat, he could tell that his wyvern was. Not too badly, not yet, but he would eventually need rest.

Rest. He hadn't needed that in a long time, either.

Dascren Remaron pulled his wyvern to slow it - they were nearing their destination. This signaled to the others in his squadron. Not all were Kureman like himself, but all had wyverns. It was easy to tell which ones were not Kureman - they had no grace on their mounts. Nonetheless, it was necessary.

All were dressed as he, though his cloak was the more ornate and the only one with a red jewel. Red as the blood of Humans.

Dascren was no Calmae, he was an ambassador, one of the highest of Vampyres...

There, they were ready to land.

Before them, a great, intricate, ugly yet beautiful mound stretched far into the heavens, and, he knew, just as far or father down below.

They could not land yet, though. No, not with the Hissikkids. No. He would wait for permission. He would wait to be greeted first. Not that he was in any danger from them, but, if he was to be allies, it would be useful not to have a bad start. That, and time had little meaning to Dascren anymore. A minute, and hour, a year, a millennia, what did it matter? All that mattered was The Sunset and The Sunrise. Freedom and Slavery - the neverending cycle.

How I long for eternal night...

 

[Ares]

The One Queen was sitting in her dark hall, sitting far below the surface of the Hissikkid Monarchy's desert territory. Down here, no sunlight shone. The only light was from glowing lichens and the glowing insects that lived with the Hissikkids. Through her people's eyes, the One Queen saw... several wyvern riders. But these were not pure-blood Kuremans- the ornate robes of the foremost rider signalled that he was a... Vampyre?

That must be it.

The red jewel he wore confirmed it. The Great Hissikkid Queen, thirty feet long and reaching over nine feet in heighth, hissed and spat in Kittikid to her subordinate Domates. One swifty dashed from the cavern. Ten of her Domates had been sent on diplomatic missions- however, her remaining twenty insured her safety, and now only nineteen stood in her cavernous vault. The hiedous insectoid queen sat and waited for the Domate to return.

----------

This Domate, Tx'rin'ikka, buzzed from the humongous hive that stretched several hundred feet from the dry, dusty floor. The huge hole was meant for releasing hot air and bringing cool air in, but it was an effective entrance far from where most could reach it. The obsidian-carapaced insect flew out, his six wings making an alien hum as he zipped towards the Vampires on their huge dragons.

The Domate flew up to where the reptiles were circling, and immediately spotted the leader. He buzzed over to him, and gestured for him to bring his fellow vampires and follow him. The hideous insect then turned in mid-air and zipped towards his hive again, buzzing to the huge hole he had just exited. He again motioned for them to follow.

 

[Solus]

Ah, there they were... Dascren thought with a vague smile. Alert, as always, to any changes anywhere instantly, the Hissikkids were. An admirable feature indeed.

He pushed his wyvern towards the large buzzing creature - Domate? Yes, that sounded right. It was fortunate wyverns didn't spook, as their buzzing would have sent most normal mounts into a frenzy.

Dascren's consorts followed him into the large opening out of which he could feel air blow. He could not tell whether it was hot or cold, all he knew was the feel of the wind. Once inside, he dismounted, as did his consorts, and they all moved towards him to stand in a kind of formation behind him, waiting for either a greeting or directions as to where to move next.

Dascren, in the meanwhile, looked around him, making sure not to move his head much. He wasn't a tourist. While crude in nature, the tunnels were organized and kept clean, and the walls were covered in marking and engravings which he could not read. He supposed it was beautiful in its own way, though he wouldn't want to live here. All he wanted was to be taken down deeper, where there were no openings to the surface, where the light of the sun could not touch him.

Dascren folded his hands together formally in patience.

 

[Ares]

Once in the shade, the Hissikkid Domate bowed to the Vampyre ambassador and his companions. The obsidian-armored domate stood on the small rim of the huge spire where they stood, and then gestured for them to follow him again. He buzzed down again, this time landing by a large opening leading to a cave big enough for several wyverns. The Hissikkid pulled the Translator Wasp from his carapace, and chittered in Kittikid. The smaller insect said, "You may leave your mounts here. They will recieve sustenance, and if all goes well, time to rest. Now, follow me. The One Queen awaits."

The black insect waited for several moments so that the Vampyres could drop off their mounts, then hovered in the air for several more moments. He then flew over to a ramp, floating over it. The spiralling ramp led down the inside of the hive, descending into the dank, dark catacombs. The Domate flew slowly over the ramp, descending. The One Queen was waiting...

 

[Solus]

Dascren bowed in return before following the directions of their insectoid guide. He stroked the head of his wyvern, speaking to it gently as he left it where the Hissikkid had designated, himself followed by his consorts. When that was complete, Dascren walked over to the spiralling ramp designated by the Hissikkid.

Ah, it's dark...

Dascren thought with a pleased smile. Immediately he pulled back his hood and pulled off the fabric covering his head and eyes, freeing his head and neck. He rolled his neck a bit as he looked down into the spiraling darkness with a kind of perverse delight. He eagerly began the trek downward, almost drinking in the darkness in its thickness, his own natural senses allowing him to see even in the pitch black.

The Hissikkids have taste, I see... He thought with a small smile.

He and his entourage walked down the ramp at a brisk pace. They could, of course, run down, it was kind of freeing to run, and they needn't worry about tiring, but it just wouldn't look good for an ambassador to run, he thought.

So they walked.

 

[Ares]

The Domate hovered above the ramp, leading the group of Vampyres down the path... Now that he refelcted on it, really, it was quite interesting. He had perhaps the most important job of any of the One Queen's Domates, as he was bringing to her the Vampyre ambassadors. He would definitely get mating privilidges for this...

----------

The One Queen stirred in her dark, cavernous vault. In there, the only light was from the muted transluscent lichens that gave off a slight, eerie glow that was of a greenosh-blue hue. She looked about as the Workers carried off the eggs she was continuously laying... More Warriors and Elite Drones to join the war cause, once they took the six months to reach adulthood. They would, of course, die after fifteen and thirty years, respecably, but in their fighting time they would make an unstoppable arsenal. And when the Sprites joined their coalition, one way or another, the One Queen could have the power of the Elements at her side...

Of course, she planned on the Sprites retaining freedom. In history, it was the conquerers who repressed their people who would fall from power. The ones who allowed the conquered to operate at nearly-normal capacity, however, had a chance to prosper in the long term. All that the Hissikkid would request would be several converts and food. Also, fighters for combat would be helpful, but not necessary.

But for now, the Vampyre ambassadors were the priority. With luck, the One Queen would have another ally.

---------------

The Domate paused before entering the pitch-black tunnel. No sunlight was penetrating here, but he turned to face the Vampyres nonetheless. He hissed and clicked in Kittikid, and the wasp in his grip dutifully translated.

"Before we enter, I must warn you- the One Queen truly wants an alliance with Vampyres, but her mind does not operate the same way as yours. Her main requests will most likely be for help in obtaining food for our people, and military assistance- mainly the role of assassins, because we understand that prolonged military attacks and operations don't fit your abilities."

The Hissikkid, now feeling comfortable with having advised the Vampyres, turned and stalked down the tunnels, scuttling in the dark, if only dimly lit by fungus, caverns and tunnels in which Drones stopped and watched the group on its path. After all, respect was necessary for ambassadors...

 

[Solus]

Dascren nodded in appreciation at their guide as they continued to walk quickly down the ramp. It was invigorating, the pitch darkness - they could, of course, see just fine, being creatures of the night, even without the occasional phosphorescent lichen.

"Yes, those can be arranged," Dascren said, though he made a mental note to find out what the Hissikkids actually ate - it would do no good to bring large loads of the wrong thing. "Ha, yes, assassinations...we can definitely manage those," he said with a wry smile. Those were fun.

The group kept on walking down until they reached a tunnel, which apparently they were supposed to walk through, so they did. What lay on the other end, they knew not exactly. Vampyres had not seen Hissikkid Queens before, they had no reason to fight the Hissikkids and thus no reason to invade. So, whatever lay at the end of this trek, they would eventually find out.

 

[Ares]

The One Queen stirred.

She smelled the Vampyres, as they were just about to enter her caverous vault. The thirty foot-long insect looked to the tunnel. When the vampires finally entered, she decided to give a gesture of respect. The enormous, six-legged Queen displayed her fangs. The venom, however, dribbled off in something close to a cascade. The hideous Queen's twin tongues flicked out in a habit, and she turned her massive head to see them better with her night vision.

The Vampyres had arrived. Negotiations would hopefully go well.

The Queen's mouth is totally incabable of speaking English, Orcish, and any other language aside from Kittikid. However, the Queens had something in their favor- they were all telepathic.

"Greetings, messengers of the Night. We are most pleased to have you join us in the Hive."

All that, she spoke with her mind, to all the Vampyres. The Domates, having a strong conenction to the Queen, could also hear it, but none of the other castes could. The hideous Queen settled down a bit more comfortably atop her... pile. She sat upon the rather cliched pile of bones. Underneath her were Orc, human, dwarf, sprite, Lycan, and even the strange reptilian species' bones. There were even a few Hissikkid exoskeletons, from the few traitorous ones in her reign.

 

[Solus]

As Dascren and his consorts walked along, the tunnel finally opened into a large chamber, and there, in the chamber, was the Queen.

None of them had seen anything like it. She was huge, larger than they ever imagined. They were amazed by he appearance and actions - she was quite imposing. However, none of them felt any fear, surprise, but not fear. The only two things Vampyres feared were nowhere near, there was no reason to fear.

But how do communicate with someone such as this?

Dascren started in surprise when she opened her giant maw, saliva and venom dripping to the bone-covered floor. The smell was awful, but they weren't going to let that feeling show - that would be the epitome of rude.

They didn't know what the open maw meant, but Dascren figured they couldn't go wrong if they bowed themselves. In such a position, Dascren again started at the feeling of the Queen's telepathy. All Vampyres were used to hearing each other talk through each other's mind, but the Queen's felt different. Not bad, just different.

In response, he said, loudly - he didn't know how well she could hear - "The pleasure is all ours, your Majesty," he said, not sure of what her title was, he figured he'd go along with "Majesty" and hope it wasn't offensive. He decided a compliment was in order, "It is beautifully dark in your Hive."

He composed himself, standing up straight once more. "We come to form an alliance with your Majesty's Hives to strengthen both our borders, and we wish to know your terms. Ours are only that you will not attack us or our merchants, and that you will respond in some way if we request your aid in war. We hope this pleases you. If it does not, I am given the privilege to adjust these terms so we can come to some agreement."

 

[Ares]

The Queen was impressed by these visitors. Although they knew absolutely nothing about her other than the fact that she was female and lived in the hive, they still found ways to compliment her... The One Queen reached out again with telepathy. "We thank you for coming, and for your thoughts on The Hive. Your requests are quite reasonable... Not killing Vampyres, and reinforcements from the Hive closest to you should do. Are you not interested in any sort of commerce? I was under the impression that humanoids all had an economy of a sort."

She paused, and continued. Her terms? She knew them well. "We only request that you do not sign an alliance with any who we are enemies of, assist us in finding ways to feed our Hives, and, if possible, do your best to assassinate those we ask. The last is optional, but we wish for the first two to happen..." She stopped to think for a minute, and spoke telepathically again. "By the way, you alliance with the Sprites does not count as as alliance with an enemy, for we are attempting diplomacy with them, as well."

 

[Solus]

That feeling again. It was so odd to hear her voice within their minds.

"Commerce? I don't know what we could offer you in the way of materials, I do not know what your Majesty desires. But, our culture is very fond of jewels and gold, though I do not know if your Majesty uses these or has access to enough to want to trade. If you did, what does your Majesty want in return?"

"In order so as not to break the first of your terms, who are your enemies? And assassinations we can do - gladly, even," Dascren said with a wry smile. "And how, your Majesty, do we find food to feed your Hives? Not that we cannot, we just do not know what your Majesty and your Majesty's servants like to eat. I am afraid we do not know much about your Majesty's kingdom in many respects," he said, bowing again as an apology for his ignorance. The Hissikkids were rather closed off to the world, making it difficult to discover much about them in that regard.

 

[Ares]

The One Queen stopped to think. She responded to the first question. "We would gladly use the many jewel mines under our hives to further our ally's economy, for we don't have any use for them other than decoration and ceremony. For in return... Really, either food or military aid would be more than enough."

"As for enemies, we have two. First, and foremost, the people of Kurema. They are at war with our other allies. Our next enemies to finish will be the humans whose lands are nestled between the Kuremans and the Sprites. What food do we eat? Anything you humanoids prepare can be ingested by our drones, and many things, such as grass, hay, leaves, and bark, are also edible. If you can chip stones enough, that will do, too. Did you ever wonder why the lands are so barren here? They used to be humid jungles, after all... However, we digress. And that is quite all right. Understanding is the best basis for an allegiance... And as such, I would like to offer the Vampyre Coven a unique chance- the ability to utilize the archives of our great Hives. The translator wasps to read our language will be provided, of course, but these scrolls are from the Lost Times... Do the Vampyres wish to use this chance?"

 

[Solus]

"I thank you, your Majesty," he said in regards to the jewels.

However, for the first time during this trip, Dascren became nervous. He bowed low, down to one knee as he implored, "Your Majesty, you will understand, I'm sure, if our kind does not wish to participate in the extinction of the Kureman and the Humans. You see...that is what we eat. We ask that they not be eradicated and at least be left to repopulate, or we will starve," he said, head down. The thought of starvation feared him, especially since he could not die from it and would be left in pain forever.

"As for food, we can arrange that, your Majesty, and we will set up trade routes to bring you what you ask."

His interest piqued at the offer of the scrolls. Many Vampyres did desire to read and know even more - having eternity in which to learn. "I know our people would be greatly interested in knowing what these scrolls have to teach, if that would be suitable to your Majesty."

 

[Ares]

The One Queen tilted her huge, hideous head to look at the vampyre better. Odd... He seemed... apprehensive? Did he not know? Oh... she then remembered that very few outsiders knew how the Hissikkid, much less how they had been in the past.

She looekd at Dascren, and telepathically spoke. "I understand the fear of starvation- that is the worst fate for a Hissikkid. But you must understand that eradication only happens over a prolonged scale of time. And the seas of time throw what we do not know at us- either way, though, this is useless information. I never said that we would obliterate the Kuremans and the Humans. After all, eradication is really a barbaric way to go about it. Why take a large amount of food once, whereas you can instead farm them, and have them give us food as a payment? And for you, that would work, too. Is that satisfatory?"

She paused, and continued on for his other comments. She added, "Of course. It has been so long since we have been able to share them... The dwarves may also be reading, just so you know, so some scrolls will be missing for when we let them borrow them to read. For the record, though, it would be best to avoid eating dwarves for the time being, until our allies have won this conflict. Then we can turn on the dwarves and any other 'useless' aquaintances."

 

[Solus]

"Yes, your Majesty, very satisfactory. Forgive my ignorance," he said, lowering his head again before rising.

"That the dwarves have scrolls is fine with us. Just as long as we can read at least some, we will be happy. As for dwarves, it would be highly dangerous for our kind to betray them. They have much silver, you see, so any strike we have against them would have to be with good reason. Until they have little to no more silver, it would have to be a very good reason, indeed, your Majesty. Any assassinations you ask us to carry out must be of those we disown, that the dwarves may freely execute if they discover. In short, any assassinations your truly desire of us we must warn the dwarves about. Not of the whole plot, but so that Coven can disown their actions and not be blamed. War with the dwarves, and any antagonistic actions against the dwarves, is not beneficial to us, your Majesty. I pray you understand, Majesty."

 

[Ares]

She thought... This could be difficult. The Hissikkid Queen telepathically said, "Well, I didn't plan on having you attack any Dwarves, but either way, I have an idea- we have recently opened commerce and our jewels to them. Perhaps... The Hissikkid could buy all the silver we can with our exotic jewels? Then we could safely deposit the silver deep in the abandoned five hives that have no Hissikkid in them? That could diffuse the problem. As for the assasinations, though, perhaps you could have your Coven simply denounce the assassins in question as a cult, or something along those lines? Claim they are rogues?"

 

[Solus]

Dascren pondered the Queen's offer. While it would be useful to have the silver away from the dwarves, then almost all of it would go to the Hissikkids. He couldn't help but notice that the Queen didn't seem to mind betraying allies when they had no use - the dwarves, case in point - if the Vampyres ever became useless, the Hissikkids would own the silver. That wasn't good. Then again, perhaps the Vampyres would retain their usefulness, who knows? But was it worth the risk?

"Your Majesty, your idea of buying all their silver...would it not be fairly obvious? We must be discreet. If they catch on it could be bad for both of us. What excuse would you have for wanted the silver? I'm sure you understand my caution, your Majesty," he said, bowing from the waist again.

"And your idea about rogues or cults? Brilliant, your Majesty, that would be perfect."

 

[Ares]

The Queen shrugged- if it could be called that- at the last one. "I simply utilize all the minds in the Hive, making for a much more more intelligent mind. However, you bring up a legitimate point. I have a reason, though. The most useful allies, to me, are the ones who either have something that we want, or that went to lengths to ally with us. The Coven falls into both categories, as do the Orcs. The Sprites and dwarves are in the former category, but as of yet, I intend to use those bearded midgets.

As for silver? I would have preferred to dump it in the ocean, but that would be most unwise. After all, there are... Some unsavory amphibians we don't like to speak of here who would spring on the chance to kill something. I would give it to you, but that would be both obvious and would hinder your abilities. The orcs would be too stupid to handle it correctly, and the sprites... That's an idea, actually. Would you prefer for the sprites to have most of it? Or, alternatively, we could simply melt it all down and dilute it with water to the point at which it will not have any affect on you."

 

[Solus]

"I see," Dascren said, thoughtfully. Coven apparently had something that the Hissikkids wanted. What that was, specifically, that other races did not have, he was not sure. Coven wasn't known for its game, and it was a fairly arid place, mostly watered by the lakes at its northern border. The only things Coven had were riches and, of course, the Vampyres themselves. As the Queen wasn't trading for riches, it couldn't be that, so it must be our race and our advantages. Well, as long as there was Coven, there would be Vampyres to...utilize. What morbid terminology.

He just hoped that they wouldn't become slaves in that time for that reason. If they did, the alliance would become...stressed.

"Hm, the diluting idea might work, but on the other hand, while it could not be forged in that state, it would make the silver more abundant - silver in any quantity can cause pain. As well, those desperate enough for it could evaporate the water out of it. Additionally, giving it to the Sprites would not be something Coven would like - we don't want any race to have an abundance of silver should things change - leadership changes, wars, you know what I mean. We, ourselves, could purchase it in bulk from the dwarves every once in a while, or you could purchase it and we could pay you for it with food. Whatever you think would work for you, your Majesty."

 

[Ares]

The Queen pondered. "Well, another suggestion would be for the Hissikkid to fly it to one of the southern magma pits. From there, we could dump it in bulk into the lava, thus ending the problem. Would that do?"

The Queen pondered. The Vampyre seemed... confused with her speaking of the vampyre's use to them. Did he not know? No.. he didn't. He didn't understand the Hissikkid mindset, so he wouldn't know the Decree of Honor, made for the Eleven Queens by the Ravening itself.