Klithyia

Prologue

      Empress Evinan stood completely still, arms spread out, fingers stretched to their limit. Her eyes, so deep within her skull, were closed to eliminate the false appearances that were before her. She could feel it. No one else would have ever suspected that something around them, something in the air, was different. The same dry winds blew across the desert sands, constantly beating and chipping away the sandstone domes that littered the horizon. The same people did the same activities, and the daystar was still sending its rays down mercilessly to the earth, burning the people's skin.

        But Evinan felt it.

       It was calling her. Beckoning. It desperately wanted her to find it and become its slave once again. It was definitely in the air, and it was coming ever closer.

      "Come here, girl."

     There he stands. So tall, so different. Otherworldly. His skin, so much lighter than mine. There are so many beautiful colors painted on his face. But why does he have hair? Doesn't he know how insanitary it is? Hair is the dirt on your head collected together! It is disgusting!

       Two guards clapped behind the Empress, breaking her reverie. She turned to face the guards with seeming ease, eyeing them with the same distant expression they gave in return. 

           "My Empress, I apologize if I have interrupted you, but it would seem the nomadic biccas have relocated many of their bases, and all are closer to the border of Alanluriel. They have made no hostile move, nor indeed a peaceful one, but we believe you should be informed," one of the guards motioned with her hands and long fingers. 

           Empress Evinan rose her right arm, signing in the nonverbal language of the Luriels, "Assemble the governors, guards. Tell them to be prepared for an additional rendezvous this week. Do not allow the biccas to pass the borders, if they ask, no matter what methods of persuasion they attempt to use. The doom of the Empress is upon whoever allows them to pass."

          The guards nodded, turned around, and silently left the courtyard. Evinan once again turned to face the sun, feeling the difference in the air. It could no longer be denied; the biccas were coming.