Orcblood Alliance

“You don’t have to do this, Siyana. The contract is yet to be signed,” Lilimal reiterated for what must have been the hundredth time on this journey. The counselor’s dark hair whipped against his face from the force of the desert air. He pulled a strand away from his eyes and continued. “We can turn back before we make it any farther into the desert and have a messenger send word that you’ve changed your mind. They’ll grumble, but they’ll get over it.”

Siyana sighed and looked at her long-time friend riding beside her on his golden horse. “This is my decision to make, and I’ve made it, Lilimal. Dythar needs this alliance whether its people understand that or not. And I need an heir to keep Permir and that mad son of his away from the throne. It will solve many problems.”

“But what new problems will it create?”

“None that we cannot overcome, Lily.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“You know I am. Try not to look so morose. This is to be a wedding, not a funeral.”

“Do you think we brought enough men?” Lilimal asked, looking around at the ten soldiers that accompanied them along with Siyana’s maid Tuuli.

“How many men do you think we would need to stand a chance against even half their soldiers? This is enough. It shows I’m not a fool, but not like we’re looking for a fight.”

“You’re right of course. I hope Ambassador Guntram has given us an honest representation of his people. I understand your reasoning. Just now that we’re getting so close, I can’t help but to worry for you.”

Even with her covering she could feel the heat of the sun beating down on her head as they crossed the Cothi Desert. It was the hardest part of the journey if you didn’t count entering the actual mountains. They’d timed it so that most of the trek through this portion would take place at night, but it was still an hour before the sun reached the horizon. For now, they were traveling directly toward it.

“Aren’t you afraid of their teeth?” asked Tuuli. Siyana’s lady’s maid had been with her since her marriage to the late king, Valan. That had been fourteen years ago. Tuuli was highly skilled at what she did, but somehow even in her fifties seemed oddly naïve at times. Siyana loved her dearly though. She was prejudiced now only out of fear. But with her kind disposition she was quick to accept almost anyone once she met them. That was good, because when Siyana had first met her lady’s maid she’d been a miserable young queen.

“No. They are just different. You will see.” Siyana wasn’t speaking from much personal experience. She had only met the Kalathian ambassador and his assistant, but Guntram was related to the royal family and a good gauge on what to expect. The Kalathians lived in the mountain range along the northwest border of Dythar. Their proximity to Surol—the orcish country beyond—had resulted in countless generations of mixed blood, originally borne of violence.

It wasn’t until the Kalathian queen had been impregnated after a raid, that a different view had been taken. Queen Alytha had nearly died giving birth to her half-orc boy whom she refused to give up. The citizens were horrified when he was allowed to ascend the throne. But after decades of rule, the good king Armel became renowned as one of the best kings in history among the Kalathians. The kingdom had prospered, defense was improved, and the orc raids dwindled.

This led to generations of Kalathians seeking to intentionally add orc blood to their family line. Regrettably a popular early method included enslaving Surolians—mostly females—for this purpose. The royal line spent generations methodically breeding the traits they found most desirable. It wasn’t a pretty history. Eventually slavery was banned in Kalathia—a tentative peace treaty struck between the Kalathians and Surolians—but only after the Kalathian bloodlines were forever altered. They were a race unlike any other.

The green skin pigment turned out to be a recessive trait and had been bred out of the royal line almost entirely. But they nearly all had fangs. They were also considerably larger than the Dythari. Queen Siyana wasn’t particularly daunted by any of this. Not when there was so much to be gained. The average Dythari feared the Kalathians because of their physical appearance and their fighting prowess. But if the ancient Kalathians could accept and even revere a half-orc king, then her people would come around as well.

The military is what she sought above all else. She needed this alliance and the Kalathian army on her side, and she hoped to integrate the Kalathian military practices into her own. In the marriage contract she requested not only this formal alliance, but a military strategist to help her improve her own country’s defenses.

Marriage would benefit her in another way. Even after fourteen years of marriage she’d never been able to conceive an heir with her husband.She had every reason to believe this was due to his own infertility and not hers. The Kalathians, however, were known for their fecundity. The king and queen had eleven children. She’d be content if she could just get two. An heir and a spare as they say.

Her own ambassador had gone ahead of her to iron out details and arrange this meeting. They seemed amenable to parting with their oldest son. In Kalathia, women could inherit the throne and they had two daughters older than Aldo. At twenty-nine he was two years younger than Siyana. He already had two bastards that were healthy and well cared for. The facts that he had produced children and had seen to their wellbeing were both promising.

“What happens if you don’t like him?” Tuuli asked, pulling her own head covering forward in a hopeless gesture to block the sun that was directly in their faces. They had pulled the coverings across their noses and mouths to block out the sun as well as the sandy wind, so her voice was a little muffled.

“I didn’t like Valan when we first wed. I came to not only like him, but to love him. But I will be satisfied if we can tolerate one another. I’ve had one love in my life and that’s enough,” Siyana answered thinking back on her marriage. Valan had been gone for a year now. When she’d been forced to marry the much older king she’d only been seventeen. She’d cried for a month before she would even speak to him. He’d had endless patience with her. Unfortunately, he had never been quite healthy, and time and weakness of body had finally taken him.

“Aye, King Valan was a good man,” Tuuli replied, seeming to be thinking along the same lines.

They spent more of the trip silent than talking, especially through the desert. It took two days to reach the other end of it, even crossing it at its narrowest point. When the smattering of trees and village came into view they all breathed a sigh of relief. They went to bed early after they all bathed and drank their fill. Early the next morning they continued their journey.

It was a total three weeks of traveling on horseback to reach the foot of the Kalathian Mountains. The desert had been one of the hardest segments of the trip, which they’d planned carefully for.

When they reached the mountains, a retinue of five sentries attended the captain of the guard to meet them and guide them through the mountain paths that would lead them to the Kalathian capital and fortress, Windamyna. The men were all impressively large. She wasn’t surprised after spending time with their ambassador, but it was still a little intimidating to be in the presence of six such men.

After a couple days of uphill travel, it was alarming how quickly the temperature dropped. It was strange to think that only days ago they’d been burning up in the desert, but now she worried she’d not brought enough layers to fight against the cold. A large part of the fortress’s defense strategy was simply its location.

They passed through a few village communities along the way. One looked more orcish than human. A light-skinned mother stood by the side of the road at one village holding a pale green toddler on her hip and pointing at the Dythari party as they traveled. The chubby-faced child cooed and bounced, though she couldn’t say what it was about them he found so entertaining.

When they finally arrived after a few days more of travel, she was more grateful than ever that she’d brought her lady’s maid because she was going to need all the help she could get to be presentable. They were escorted to their rooms and would be summoned to meet the king and his family shortly before dinner.

Siyana and Tuuli went right to work. The fortress temperatures were frigid, but after lighting a fire in the room, she began to feel her fingers and toes again. When she was warm enough she stripped down and washed up with Tuuli’s help.

She decided to wear her black hair down with her silver tiara adorned with sapphires. Her blue gown went well with the tiara. The cut made more sense in her own warm city capital, as it revealed more skin than was comfortable here. Her shoulders were bare, but her silver and blue mantle served to help cover her up somewhat. Lilimal had one made with a fur trim for the occasion. The dress was tight in the middle and swooped down at the bosom enough to show the tops of her breasts, but no more.

Hopefully the ensemble would be acceptable. Her counselor had helped her to put it together and commission the new articles. When Tuuli finished with her make up she looked into the full length mirror. Her figure looked good she thought. The dress wasn’t as conservative as the style here, but less revealing than what was in fashion at Jerboa Palace. Despite her travel weariness, the make up managed to help perk up her features. Her dark eyes and light brown skin contrasted pleasantly with the bright colors. Here in the mountains the people were far paler of skin and hair.

She wasn’t sure how much the king and queen would care about her looks, but she thought she looked well enough. When she’d been selected as King Valan’s bride as a young girl she’d been called beautiful. At thirty-one she wasn’t quite the same girl, but she’d had a good life and kept her health.

Tuuli smiled from beside her. “You look lovely, Your Majesty. Every male in the city is going to want to propose to you.”

Siyana smiled at her dear maid. She doubted that. But if she could secure just the one, she’d be satisfied.

Lilimal met her at her door an hour later and escorted her to the banquet hall. Dinner wouldn’t be for another hour, but this would give them time to get through the introductions before sitting down. This would be a small affair with only the family and most important officials present.

When she arrived her presence was announced, and the king and queen turned in her direction and waited for her to join them at the dais. On the raised platform they appeared even larger than they already were, which had to be close to six and a half feet tall with the queen only slightly smaller than the king.

During formal greetings, Queen Lavinia’s face split into a wide grin, revealing large, pointed fangs. Beneath their high collars she knew that they both wore matching scars where the neck met the shoulder. It was part of their mating ritual. She wasn’t sure what that meant for her and hoped that would be in the contract. Most of the details of this ritual were private and her intelligence hadn’t gathered much information on it beyond knowing that it happened.

“I am so glad to meet you, Queen Siyana! I cannot believe it has taken us all so long to take this step. It is going to be a good alliance, I am sure of it,” Lavinia said warmly. Her white-blonde hair hung in several thin braids while others were wound intricately toward the back of her head. Her cheeks were blushed, adding color to the alabaster skin beneath. While she looked much different than the people of Dythar, she couldn’t be called anything but beautiful, even in her fifties.

The king was quieter but didn’t seem unwelcoming. His hair was a little darker than his wife’s and his eyes were hazel to her pale blue, but their own bloodlines hadn’t developed far from one another. Soon their children began to pour into the room to join them.…