Chapter 45
Chapter 45: The Next Generation
Oblivion passes and before her is a familiar face.
“Your Highness,” Lyssa's old friend Calypso says, welcoming her into the light. Muddled noises ring in her ears, but the departed matriarch's words are clear.
Lyssa desperately wants to cry out her name, to speak with her again. All that escapes her throat is a dry croak. She tries to reach out but falls. Calypso's face grows distant as the darkness billows up to swallow her. Before Lyssa realizes it she is gone once more.
“Your Highness,” Lyssa's old friend Calypso says, welcoming her into the light. Muddled noises ring in her ears, but the departed matriarch's words are clear.
Lyssa desperately wants to cry out her name, to speak with her again. All that escapes her throat is a dry croak. She tries to reach out but falls. Calypso's face grows distant as the darkness billows up to swallow her. Before Lyssa realizes it she is gone once more.
* * *
“Your Highness.”
The queen gasps as her eyes are shocked open once more. Like so many times before Calypso stands before her. Hovers over her. Lyssa does not know where exactly her old friend is. She does not know where she is.
“Wh-where...” Lyssa manages to stammer weakly. Her mind is a swirling miasma, unable to hold a thought. If her mind even is any longer.
“Your Highness!” There's a hint of surprise in Calypso's voice. Lyssa does not understand, it is she who comes to her. Unless...
Lost in her thoughts, Lyssa realizes she missed Calypso's reply. This makes her angry, though she's not sure if it's at herself or her old friend...
“We had to leave...”
No! Lyssa protests in silent fury. There was nothing inevitable – Calypso's death had been a terrible mistake. Except... she is not Calypso. Not that Calypso.
“What is your command, Your Highness?” Calypso the Younger asks intently, her very similar features surfacing from her mother's. “Do we return?”
“Yes...” Lyssa blurts out. The Janus image before her is already starting to fade. Yes, if only she could return...
18.12.2043
“You're talking as if the queen is dead.” Pragya, the freshly minted Mistress of Tabazco gradually lowers her voice as she speaks. She looks like she regrets coming to this meeting – certainly her displeasure over being assigned a worthless rock has been growing, but to speak so brazenly...
“She might as well be,” one of her companions scoffs, arrogant with the self-assuredness of youth. Although barely half their age, she immediately positions herself as a leader of the little group. Slender like a reed, but for her noticeably pregnant belly, Tisiphone II of Tetla radiates a confidence that few would dare challenge.
“I hear her blood doesn't flow right. I'm not surprised when she hasn't had a good fight to get her blood pumping in years. It's unseemly.” Although her mother died when she was eight, Tisiphone has clearly not only inherited her name but also her dislike of the Anakonda dynasty.
“But you're talking... succession...” Pragya has to steel herself to take the word into her mouth.
“I only came here 'cause Tisi said there'd be booze,” the third plotter says, her broad shoulders rising in a deliberately disarming shrug. Like Tisiphone, Melandra of Mamazo is also a daughter of one of the original conspirators against Queen Lyssa. That doesn't mean she can't make an attempt at plausible deniability.
You can believe she's the daughter of Belyse the Drunkard, alright!
Tisiphone clearly doesn't believe a word of it: “And the fact that the queen has repeatedly denied your requests to be granted Grand Domain has nothing to do with it?”
Melandra growls and slams her fist into the table with such force that it's small miracle it doesn't split in two. “My family is descended from Amazonia's greatest queens! A Panteros should never be second to a Toucana... or any of the queen's stupid children!”
“Why, you barely rank above the queen's failure of an elder daughter...” Tisiphone points out, egging her on. “Clearly Amazonia needs a queen who won't favour an Unworthy daughter over a brave Matriarch from a venerable line...”
Still sulking, beefy arms crossed indignantly over her chest, Melandra grumbles: “You think Inanna will do any better?”
“Inanna is old and childless...” Tisiphone pauses to let her words sink in. The queen's heir might just be 20 years older than the other conspirators, but compared to Tisiphone...
“Amazonia needs a queen who can reinvigorate its people...” Tisiphone puts a hand on her round belly and smirks: “...and ensure a stable line of succession.”
She's young, but she's got a lot going already!
11.01.2044
“I n-need to see the q-queen!” Unusually agitated it is not easy for Tanya to conduct herself with the dignity befitting the Chief Priestess of Rigg. Her natural stutter, usually under control, flares up in the face of such wilful obtuseness.
“The queen isn't seeing anyone,” Captain Valesca says firmly. Positioned outside the royal quarters, the head of the royal bodyguard remains unmoving – today just like all the previous days.
Tanya pauses to formulate a counter-argument, but in the end she makes the same argument as she's done every day over the last week: “It's v-very important!”
“So you keep saying, but you still won't tell my why. You Sisters and your secrets...”
“And you won't t-tell me why I c-can't speak with Her Highness!” Tanya counters. She has heard rumours, of course – some so outlandish as to suggest the Council is covering up the queen's death.
Valesca looks around and lowers her voice: “Look, the queen is... not well. Even if you could see her I don't know if... she might be able to help.”
Tanya swallows: “How b-bad is it? Is she... might she...?” The last thing she needs is a succession crisis. There are things more important than petty politics at stake here.
“I don't know. Chancellor Azu is looking after her, though...”
That's the last thing Tanya needs. Who knows what nonsense the younger Azu might fill the queen's head with.
“F-fine...” Tanya surrenders, exhaling like the breath of life is vacating her body. “But you must swear by Rigg and all the Old Ones never to tell a living soul about what I am about to tell you...”
It is not without trepidation that Tanya steps into the queen's chambers. She had convinced herself all she had to do was to get access and everything would work out. Now that Valesca finally let her pass she dreads what she might find.
The queen lies in her stately bed, put ever so slightly upright on silk pillows but nevertheless motionless – and pale as a ghost. Tanya would not have thought that such a robust woman could look so grey and hollow-cheeked and yet...
At the bedside, Chancellor Azu motions for Tanya to keep quiet. Next to her is a young halfling girl. Right away Tanya can tell she carries herself with more dignity than others of her kind, yet calmly as if still very much aware of her inferior place in Amazon society.
“What's so important, Chief Priestess?” Azu whispers, not quite able to hide her surprise that she had been let inside in the first place.
“I need to speak with the queen,” Tanya insists.
“She has been given blue stump essence,” Azu explains matter-of-factly. Tanya's heart sinks: Properly administered the brew made from that mystical mushroom puts the imbiber into a slumber deeper than sleep.
“You f-fool...” Tanya shakes her head. “This is a matter of life and death. Why w-would you...”
“So is this,” Azu says. She is trying to be calm and firm, but her voice is shaking. “We don't know the queen's affliction, but... after she was brought back from Tlanxla, she has been drifting in and out of consciousness. I worry that each time she does, she loses part of her mind... so to try and keep her stable I... we...”
As a general rule, you don't want to be "sapless and infirm" when you're leading a realm of warrior women
It seems clear that putting the queen in a coma had been an act of desperation rather than a calculated move. And yet: “We have to risk it. The queen must...” Tanya looks at the halfling. “It is a matter only the Sisterhood may know of.”
“I may be a council member, but I was brought up with the Sisterhood, as you no doubt recall. And so is Coatopoxt here.”
For a moment, Tanya just stammers incoherently, this time out of sheer perplexity. “B-but she's not even an Amazon!”
Once again Azu motions for Tanya to keep her voice down. The small gesture is enough to shame her to silence. “Nor was I, yet you took me in after I failed my induction ritual, all those years ago.”
The Chief Priestess squirms a little. Of course there had been an element of royal coercion, with Queen Lyssa wanting to award Azu's mother for her loyalty by looking after her children. But even beyond that, Tanya had felt sympathy for the obviously intelligent little girl, who would otherwise be kept out of society merely for her lack of martial expertise.
“You're a noble...” comes Tanya's weak argument.
“And Coatopoxt is the daughter of a chieftess.” Rather, the girl's mother was married to one of the last Miyan chieftains of Amocan, deposed during Queen Lyssa's invasions, but Azu doesn't see a need to sweat the details. “She is under my tutelage and protection. Anything you say to me you can say to her.”
“I serve only Rigg,” the halfling says firmly. “And Mistress Azu, of course.”
Tanya bites her lip. She is reluctant, but time is running out so she eventually caves: “F-fine. We are losing the Old One's protection, Sister. To appease them, the queen must authorize the sacrifice of the prisoners captured from Tlanxla. If we don't act f-fast... Ganaina will fall!”
The queen gasps as her eyes are shocked open once more. Like so many times before Calypso stands before her. Hovers over her. Lyssa does not know where exactly her old friend is. She does not know where she is.
“Wh-where...” Lyssa manages to stammer weakly. Her mind is a swirling miasma, unable to hold a thought. If her mind even is any longer.
“Your Highness!” There's a hint of surprise in Calypso's voice. Lyssa does not understand, it is she who comes to her. Unless...
Lost in her thoughts, Lyssa realizes she missed Calypso's reply. This makes her angry, though she's not sure if it's at herself or her old friend...
“We had to leave...”
No! Lyssa protests in silent fury. There was nothing inevitable – Calypso's death had been a terrible mistake. Except... she is not Calypso. Not that Calypso.
“What is your command, Your Highness?” Calypso the Younger asks intently, her very similar features surfacing from her mother's. “Do we return?”
“Yes...” Lyssa blurts out. The Janus image before her is already starting to fade. Yes, if only she could return...
18.12.2043
“You're talking as if the queen is dead.” Pragya, the freshly minted Mistress of Tabazco gradually lowers her voice as she speaks. She looks like she regrets coming to this meeting – certainly her displeasure over being assigned a worthless rock has been growing, but to speak so brazenly...
“She might as well be,” one of her companions scoffs, arrogant with the self-assuredness of youth. Although barely half their age, she immediately positions herself as a leader of the little group. Slender like a reed, but for her noticeably pregnant belly, Tisiphone II of Tetla radiates a confidence that few would dare challenge.
“I hear her blood doesn't flow right. I'm not surprised when she hasn't had a good fight to get her blood pumping in years. It's unseemly.” Although her mother died when she was eight, Tisiphone has clearly not only inherited her name but also her dislike of the Anakonda dynasty.
“But you're talking... succession...” Pragya has to steel herself to take the word into her mouth.
“I only came here 'cause Tisi said there'd be booze,” the third plotter says, her broad shoulders rising in a deliberately disarming shrug. Like Tisiphone, Melandra of Mamazo is also a daughter of one of the original conspirators against Queen Lyssa. That doesn't mean she can't make an attempt at plausible deniability.
You can believe she's the daughter of Belyse the Drunkard, alright!
Tisiphone clearly doesn't believe a word of it: “And the fact that the queen has repeatedly denied your requests to be granted Grand Domain has nothing to do with it?”
Melandra growls and slams her fist into the table with such force that it's small miracle it doesn't split in two. “My family is descended from Amazonia's greatest queens! A Panteros should never be second to a Toucana... or any of the queen's stupid children!”
“Why, you barely rank above the queen's failure of an elder daughter...” Tisiphone points out, egging her on. “Clearly Amazonia needs a queen who won't favour an Unworthy daughter over a brave Matriarch from a venerable line...”
Still sulking, beefy arms crossed indignantly over her chest, Melandra grumbles: “You think Inanna will do any better?”
“Inanna is old and childless...” Tisiphone pauses to let her words sink in. The queen's heir might just be 20 years older than the other conspirators, but compared to Tisiphone...
“Amazonia needs a queen who can reinvigorate its people...” Tisiphone puts a hand on her round belly and smirks: “...and ensure a stable line of succession.”
She's young, but she's got a lot going already!
11.01.2044
“I n-need to see the q-queen!” Unusually agitated it is not easy for Tanya to conduct herself with the dignity befitting the Chief Priestess of Rigg. Her natural stutter, usually under control, flares up in the face of such wilful obtuseness.
“The queen isn't seeing anyone,” Captain Valesca says firmly. Positioned outside the royal quarters, the head of the royal bodyguard remains unmoving – today just like all the previous days.
Tanya pauses to formulate a counter-argument, but in the end she makes the same argument as she's done every day over the last week: “It's v-very important!”
“So you keep saying, but you still won't tell my why. You Sisters and your secrets...”
“And you won't t-tell me why I c-can't speak with Her Highness!” Tanya counters. She has heard rumours, of course – some so outlandish as to suggest the Council is covering up the queen's death.
Valesca looks around and lowers her voice: “Look, the queen is... not well. Even if you could see her I don't know if... she might be able to help.”
Tanya swallows: “How b-bad is it? Is she... might she...?” The last thing she needs is a succession crisis. There are things more important than petty politics at stake here.
“I don't know. Chancellor Azu is looking after her, though...”
That's the last thing Tanya needs. Who knows what nonsense the younger Azu might fill the queen's head with.
“F-fine...” Tanya surrenders, exhaling like the breath of life is vacating her body. “But you must swear by Rigg and all the Old Ones never to tell a living soul about what I am about to tell you...”
It is not without trepidation that Tanya steps into the queen's chambers. She had convinced herself all she had to do was to get access and everything would work out. Now that Valesca finally let her pass she dreads what she might find.
The queen lies in her stately bed, put ever so slightly upright on silk pillows but nevertheless motionless – and pale as a ghost. Tanya would not have thought that such a robust woman could look so grey and hollow-cheeked and yet...
At the bedside, Chancellor Azu motions for Tanya to keep quiet. Next to her is a young halfling girl. Right away Tanya can tell she carries herself with more dignity than others of her kind, yet calmly as if still very much aware of her inferior place in Amazon society.
“What's so important, Chief Priestess?” Azu whispers, not quite able to hide her surprise that she had been let inside in the first place.
“I need to speak with the queen,” Tanya insists.
“She has been given blue stump essence,” Azu explains matter-of-factly. Tanya's heart sinks: Properly administered the brew made from that mystical mushroom puts the imbiber into a slumber deeper than sleep.
“You f-fool...” Tanya shakes her head. “This is a matter of life and death. Why w-would you...”
“So is this,” Azu says. She is trying to be calm and firm, but her voice is shaking. “We don't know the queen's affliction, but... after she was brought back from Tlanxla, she has been drifting in and out of consciousness. I worry that each time she does, she loses part of her mind... so to try and keep her stable I... we...”
As a general rule, you don't want to be "sapless and infirm" when you're leading a realm of warrior women
It seems clear that putting the queen in a coma had been an act of desperation rather than a calculated move. And yet: “We have to risk it. The queen must...” Tanya looks at the halfling. “It is a matter only the Sisterhood may know of.”
“I may be a council member, but I was brought up with the Sisterhood, as you no doubt recall. And so is Coatopoxt here.”
For a moment, Tanya just stammers incoherently, this time out of sheer perplexity. “B-but she's not even an Amazon!”
Once again Azu motions for Tanya to keep her voice down. The small gesture is enough to shame her to silence. “Nor was I, yet you took me in after I failed my induction ritual, all those years ago.”
The Chief Priestess squirms a little. Of course there had been an element of royal coercion, with Queen Lyssa wanting to award Azu's mother for her loyalty by looking after her children. But even beyond that, Tanya had felt sympathy for the obviously intelligent little girl, who would otherwise be kept out of society merely for her lack of martial expertise.
“You're a noble...” comes Tanya's weak argument.
“And Coatopoxt is the daughter of a chieftess.” Rather, the girl's mother was married to one of the last Miyan chieftains of Amocan, deposed during Queen Lyssa's invasions, but Azu doesn't see a need to sweat the details. “She is under my tutelage and protection. Anything you say to me you can say to her.”
“I serve only Rigg,” the halfling says firmly. “And Mistress Azu, of course.”
Tanya bites her lip. She is reluctant, but time is running out so she eventually caves: “F-fine. We are losing the Old One's protection, Sister. To appease them, the queen must authorize the sacrifice of the prisoners captured from Tlanxla. If we don't act f-fast... Ganaina will fall!”
Someone actually competent... of course she was raised by one of the Azus
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