Treni

The gates of Kinghall were open, and guards lay in front of them, dead on the floor. They'd been slashed neatly and cleanly across the chest, the red of their blood covering the cobblestones, glistening by the light of the torches.

As Rudsis and his squad approached, they saw two figures fighting inside the hall. One, their tall and hulking king. The other, a woman whose top of the head reached just below the chest of the king. Both were fighting with swords.

The king raised his longsword overhead with both hands and brought it down in a mighty blow that would have cleft anyone's head in half. But the woman raised her one-handed sword swiftly, holding it with a single hand, as if blocking the attack of a child. The blades clashed, and she deflected the king's sword without counter-attacking. The king was pushed back by the woman's strength, but regained his footing almost immediately.

"You just have to worship me, oh king. Do that, and all this will stop," said the woman.

"No worship is to be given in my city," said the king getting in a stance to attack. The hilt low by his hip, tip up, pointed at her face.

"Forget those customs!" The woman swept her arm. "All you want is to learn to use that sword better, to get stronger, live comfortably and, admirably enough, go to bed with your wife for as many nights as your body will allow. None of that will be possible if you deny me."

The king tensed his body, ready to attack. "I have a duty, witch."

The woman scoffed. "You might survive a witch, king. Not me."

"To the king!" screamed Rudsis.

He led the charge, crossing the distance in a matter of seconds, running past the rooms at the sides of the hall, past the throne. The tip of his spear would have gone through her side, below the ribs, but its short shaft broke on impact. His squad surrounded the woman, and they could finally get a good look at her.

Her skin was the dark green of some pines, her hair auburn, and her ruby eyes glinted exactly as the precious stone would have. Her only clothing was a long, white, low cut tunic, which was belted by a red sash around the waist. Below it, the sides of the tunic were cut lengthwise so it would not restrict her legs.

The woman chuckled. "Go ahead," she said opening her arms. "Strike me down."

Advancing, the king gave a quick thrust aimed at her neck. The woman stopped the blade with her hand, grasping its naked edge, but her skin was not cut by it.

The king's eyes went wide a fraction of a second before the woman slashed horizontally and the king's head rolled on the marble floor of the hall. His muscular, bulky body collapsed heavily, and the sword he'd been holding clattered noisily.

Only Rudsis dared attack her then. He charged with his shield, but was bounced back by the impact. It was like crashing against a wall.

She giggled. "Let's see…" She fixed her stare on one of the guards and studied his eyes for a second. "You have a family and want go with them, don't you? If carpentry paid as well as being a guard, you'd be doing that."

Transfixed, the guard lowered his shield and spear. "Who are you?"

"Your goddess," she said sweetly. "Go and look for your family. I hope my followers haven't found them. If they did, I hope they didn't refuse to worship me."

The man looked at the woman, then at the headless body of the king, but he didn't dare look at Rudsis as he dropped his weapons at the feet of the woman and ran away.

"And you," she said to another guard and proceeded to study his eyes. "It's flattering that you want me, but the attraction is not mutual. Why don't you go and find someone who'll help you with your lust? Or you can stay here and worship me on your knees. That would please me."

The guard fell to his knees and bowed down to the floor.

"Stand up, guard!" demanded Rudsis.

The woman shoved him, and Rudsis was flung into the air a small distance. When he crashed on the floor, he rolled before coming to a stop.

"Wait for your turn," said the woman archly.

She divined the desires of every guard, and offered a chance for them to fulfill them. When she was done, only two had stayed to prostrate at her feet. Rudsis knew he couldn't beat the woman. But he also knew that he would die before forsaking his duty. He stood, and looked around to try to find some clever way to get the upper hand on her.

She stepped slowly, sensually, towards him. "Now you," she said smoothly, "you and I can have fun together."

Rudsis could see no recourse. His reply to the woman was to silently adopt a stance to fight her hand to hand.

She chuckled once. Her ruby eyes seemed to probe him. "Have you no consideration for the feelings of a lady? How do you think your rejection makes me feel?"

Rudsis advanced and threw a punch. The woman blocked the fist with her open hand and held on to it. She put her other hand or Rudsis' shoulder and said, "Down, boy."

Her strength was unyielding. Little by little, she pushed Rudsis down to his knees. With his other hand, he punched her face. It did nothing but hurt him. The pain made him gasp and shiver with a cold wave of misery that spread all throughout his body.

"Look at me," said the woman. "Into my eyes."

Rudsis refused, but she forced his head to turn up by pinching on his cheeks between her thumb, and the rest of her fingers. In his eyes, she could see what Rudsis' desires were.

She smiled.

"A warrior," she said. "Not someone who follows orders, like the rest of your men, no. A warrior. You want to protect the folk, and will do so even if it costs your life. Their safety, their tranquility, is what you want. The lives of those that harm the folk are forsaken."

Rudsis tried to free himself from her hold, but her grip was stone-solid. The force of her hands and fingers was as immovable as a boulder.

She brought his ear close to her lips to whisper, lifting his knees off the ground. His neck cracked, and the bones of his cheeks felt like they would be crushed if the pressure on them increased even a little.

"Make no mistake, warrior. You'll have to kill me to stop me. Every single human that opposes me will die, and only my followers will be left. And if someone is born that opposes me, they will die as well. This world will be for my people. Only through me will they know prosperity and safety."

She moved Rudsis' head to whisper in his other ear. "There are precious few who know how to kill me. There's only a single person left that knows how to do it, in fact. Give up. You won't find her. Accept me as your goddess, pray to me at least once every day, and only come back when you're ready to accept my offer to keep me company in bed."

Finally, she let Rudsis' knees rest on the floor again to look at him in the eyes and speak outloud. "Worship me by my name, warrior. Treni. Your goddess Treni."

She headbutted him, and let Rudsis' unconscious body fall limply on the floor.

"Take him away," she said to the two prostrate guards. "Take the king's sword and dump them in some street. Then go kill anyone that refuses to worship me. You will not kill him. If you do, I'll tear you limb from limb. Understood?"

Her new subjects obeyed without a word. Treni was left alone to contemplate the hall, approach the throne, and sit on it as the most regal figure ever to occupy it.