The Obsidian Arrow

The Obsidian Arrow: Chapter 25

Chapter 25:

[Starlyn’s POV]

            Whispers carried in the wind and echoed across the chill breeze in the air. Thousands of Ikchani crowded together before a podium built of stone to raise a dozen paces above the ground. They were silent but there were still whispers within them. There were no men among them and it was possible that they kept their slaves bound within tents or buildings elsewhere. Starlyn stood on top of the podium preparing for an announcement but before she could she had to collect her thoughts. So many things swirled within her mind that she could not seem to control.

            Beyond any feeling within the elf there was fear and worry. It was not of these Ikchani women. In fact she had grown to respect them now. At first she had believed them wrong in enslaving men to do their will. Their plans for domination throughout the kingdoms of the land seemed silly and a futile effort. Starlyn understood now that much of these women’s views were correct. Without women in power the land had been tainted in separation and battle. Men were too stubborn headed to fight for alliances rather than separations. They did not seek to ally the land under one great banner, but instead everything was separated. Separation was the key to destruction. When a great force approached any of these smaller kingdoms they were able to dominate and take over with little effort. These Ikchani were about to prove the theory by taking over the smaller nations under their control.

            The Ikchani that stood before her were of every type. There were nobles that wore silk dresses and garments enriched with embroidery of lace and jewels. Most wore red but there was some with brown or gray but their colors weren’t more fruitful than that. Starlyn herself wore a silk dress with lace embroidery of lace above her exposed cleavage. She was considered a noble of power and her knowledge was greatly respected. It was due to the fact that she was an elf admist their ranks and even Ikchani held high values of elves. Elves were one of the races of the land whom they were not able to snatch into their ranks, until now. There were many women white skin, tan, ebony, and copper from the various lands of Calthoria. The majorities of the women standing before her were warriors and only wore heavy metal armor upon the bottom of their bodies. It left their entire top half exposed to the chill winds but it was not considered improper due to the fact there were no men in their ranks. Instead it gave them pride that they were the warriors. Sorceresses also were left exposed on the top half of their body but did not wear armor. Instead the Ikchani sorceresses wore silk or cloth of red on the lower half of their body and sometimes as hoods. The number of Ikchani warriors was immaculate beyond hundreds of thousands. At first the number had dumbfounded Starlyn as she couldn’t believe so many were able to stay hidden from the outside world without anybody knowing. However, she soon learned that these women were not surprised by men. The ones that were able to get close enough were close enough to be captured. Even the sorceresses were in the thousands of numbers. They weren’t weak in any manner either, but more powerful that Starlyn herself could have imagined.

            Behind Starlyn stood two warriors, four nobles, and three sorceresses all embroidered like royalty. The three sorceresses that stood behind her were Raven, Vireo, and Sparrow. They were the same ones who fought to break her but she had grown to respect them now. Each wore no clothing besides the long stainless boots and fishnet stockings that grew to their waist. Like the rest of the Ikchani sorceresses they had black collars with spikes tight around their neck that Starlyn found out was a source of power. It amplified their magical ability somehow but Starlyn was unsure how they worked. Two wore red fingernail polish while the leader wore blue that seemed so indifferent than the rest of the Ikchani. There were no others that wore such deep colors and blue among so much red showed her rank. Her name was Raven and she was so named for the color of her long black hair that hung well past her shoulders. She had been the primary one torturing Starlyn. At first Starlyn despised the woman, but now she held nothing but respect for her.