Stable Spice

44

Class one: Basic Anatomy will begin shortly. Please go to your assigned classrooms and finds your seats. Tardiness will not be permitted.

With the announcement that the first official class would be starting the Queni had rushed from their rooms. Some had left bearly dressed. Over the last month and a half their classes had been postponed due to a host of reasons. Attack, building damage, and seeing the Empress Cacoon. No one wanted to be late for their first class.

Since all of them would be taking the same classes for three weeks they would all be seated in the gymnasium. Most of the time it was occupied by the mass of Zannions that were training but for class purposes it had been transformed. Bleachers had been unfolded into seats, each with a moveable desk that could fold down to hold the tablet of each student.  Exercise equipment had been moved from the center of the room and replaced with a set of 3D projects.

There was one new piece of furniture that was more out of place than any other. A chair lined with fur and cushioned hung from the ceiling. The single string that held it in place just five feet from the ground seemed so frail but held both the little Empress and Kundra. The Queni poured in. Some ran others flew. All of them fighting for the seats at the front. Iris had considered changing the announcement as it had been set on the timer that everyone would already be in separate classes. With only one Blood now she simply did not have the energy.

"Everyone here?" She asked. Her eyes looked at Suna who had been checking off names for attendees. With a nod back she smiled, "Good. I would hate for someone to miss the first class." She clicked a button on the remote she held from her seat. "Today we will cover basic Child Anatomy." The 3D projector flicked on. Displaying a little baby with blinking eyes.

"All Empress young appear very similar in the first stage of life. Males always have tails, wings, scales, or small claws," Another click displayed a number of male infants. Some had animal ears on top of their heads, tails, wings, and more. They came in different sizes and shapes. "However, all Empress are the same." The screen showed a woman without wings holding a baby. "Young females such as the baby in this image as well as myself have only our hands and legs. Only Blood are born with the extra appendages. No wings. No tails. No claws."

One of the male children was zoomed in on and the rest disappeared. "In many cases as male children grow they lose the identifying marks as to which of the Blood sired them."

A hand went up, Iris looked at the name tag on the boys chest, "Yes, Maign?"

"What is the difference? You said all Empress are the same but not all females."

"A good question. We touch more on this later but I'll clear some things up now. Not all females are Empress. Empress have two things that make them different from the rest of their race. First is that all of us have multiple Fathers. I myself had five. The second is that we are capable of using the power in our blood to influence the world around us. Many females only have one Father and will never have the power that comes so naturally to the Empress."

The pictures on the screen continued then. "More often than not Blood children will have the same secondary form as the male who sired them. There are times when that is not the case. A strong indicator is the young Bloods outward appearance as it grows." The boy on the screen stood next to a tall male that had broad shoulders. He was wide all around and reminded the Queni of a male Zannion with roots from the marsh forests. The boy grew beside the man but instead had those same broad shoulders but was thinner in the limbs. His face was slimmer as well.

"In some cases changes from father to son as seen here are due to the power in the mothers line. The father is a bear while the son is a lion. Both are considered extremely common secondary forms." The two on the screen changed growing fur and walking on all fours now. "However, the mother is not the only reason this change in bloodline may occur. While she makes more variations possible she has no say in the outcome of her children's forms. In some cases like the one shown are due to a change in the psychology. The father is a loner as most bears are. They don't typically work well in groups and are normally a very stubborn Blood. While the son has some tie to group efforts."

The image changed back to the mother and daughter. "For the Empress things are much different. For most of the early years, birth to six cycles most females are completely reliant on their mother. They have no power. No fangs. No Blood. This process can be sped up or slowed down depending on the mothers power and will. The biggest factor is bloodline." Six set of mother and daughter appeared on the screen. Each with a different number of men at their back.

"A good indicator for how strong the daughters will be is to look to the mother. So strong Empress will have their children within a Cacoon." A blood red egg appeared on the screen inside you could see a mother and her baby while outside nearly a dozen men stood guard. "A good indication of how strong a full grown Empress will be is how many Blood she calls and holds by her side. The process of growth for a young Empress is extremely painful. A few weaker mothers who can't provide a proper Cacoon," the screen changed again this time to a mother crying over a young girl. Her eyes closed and completely still. A man stood at the mother's back.

"For weaker Empress they must seek aid from the strong ones or risk their line dieing out entirely."