The Mutant World (20 page)

I have heard that sometimes certain individuals have been known to go out of their way to challenge and kidnap each other in these wars again and again. They seem to even have friends on both sides of the borders and are treated as family by their various captors. Sooner or later in these cases, someone will NOT be returned even for token ransom. If a particular party has no intention of returning a captive (for obvious reasons) then gifts are exchanged and a marriage happily arranged. However, that doesn’t mean that the families or nations involved will make peace and spoil everyone’s fun. If I have learned nothing else on this subject, it is this; Bellasarians need to work off their primal urges one way or another. They love to fight, and they enjoy war. But they love LIFE even more. Large scale slaughter is abhorrent to Bellasarians, so they have found ways to have one and avoid the other…mostly. Real war, although it has happened more than once in their history, is avoided if at all possible. War Games are just that, games. Violent and sometimes dangerous games, true, but games nonetheless. This is one of the many things that have made the war between the Mavie and Barratians so horrible to the rest of Bellasaria. These people are not fighting for fun, but for real. There is real hate here and the killing has been terrible. The other kings and queens have all agreed at this summit and made their wishes to the empress clear, it has to stop. One woman angrily exclaimed, “What have we become…Earthlings?!”

Ironically, this is what disgust Bellasarians about Earth humans. We universally say we love peace and want peace, even the terrorists, but nonetheless continuously manufacture and invent high-tech weapons that kill and destroy indiscriminately. The thing that disgusts Bellasarians the most about us is that war on Earth is fought just the opposite than on Bellasaria. Destruction is not avoided. Battle is never up close and honorable. Cities and civilians are actually targets and worse of all, the Presidents, Prime Ministers, Kings, Queens and so on, take NO part in the actual fighting, but instead sends the children of other people to die for their causes. Everyone else dies in droves, but the leaders, even the generals don’t get so much as a scratch. To be honest, even I was ashamed when I thought about this.

I am forced to say that this is why the Bellasarians will absolutely NEVER, if they can help it, allow us to get our hands on any of their higher military technology and are carefully judging what of their nonmilitary technology is safe and unweaponizable to share with us. So far, it doesn’t look promising. They are certain that if we were to have such technology at our disposal we would misuse it and ultimately destroy ourselves. And they may be right.

Well, I can’t remake our world. And to be perfectly honest, even if I could, I wouldn’t remodel it completely after the Bellasarians’. I would borrow some things from them, but on the whole, much of their laws and social habits would never work here. Some just wouldn’t work simply because the humans and mutants back home are not the products of genetic manipulation. We aren’t ruled by the same needs as a Bellasarian Mutant, and I’m shocked to say, human Bellasarians. Yes, interbreeding with Bellasarian mutants, even when the offspring are born powerless humans, have passed on this genetic programing to many in the human population. Furthermore, our perceptions of morality, religion, law and, I hate to say it, “Materialism and Greed” would also make much of their ways impossible to incorporate in most Earth societies.

Soon we will begin our tour of other states in the Bellasarian Empire. I believe our first stop may be Melmoria. I’ve already been warned about what to expect there. The Melmorians are probably the most resistant of the Bellasarian peoples to alien notions of modesty and other cultural values. And they have no love for Earth humans. They wear little to no clothing and still follow much of the old Bellasarian customs from the time of Queen Bellasaris the Great. And when I say that, I mean BEFORE contact was made with the United States and the rest of the outside world. Nana is the state religion there and ‘The People of the Books’ are few and not well liked in that land. Well, Queen Tabitha and I got along well enough here, so I don’t foresee any real trouble ahead. This summit and tour of Bellasaria’s great nations has a duration of two weeks. Melmoria’s capital, Hebi, is a good distance away to the northeast I believe much of this trip is going to be by teleport, at least to the borders of the various host domains, and then by shuttle or monorail. I would love to travel exclusively in the more conventional ways in order to see more of this beautiful world, but time is an issue, perhaps on another visit.

******

CHAPTER SEVEN
BARRAT AND MAYA

K
ing Roc of Barrat sat deep in thought. He had come to this great gathering for many reasons, but now everything else was taking a backseat to his own personal troubles.

The empress had informed him that her daughter, Princess Bellasaris, wanted his son as her mate. Roc had taken this news with mixed emotions. A union with the imperial house could be advantageous. It could finally bring certain luxuries and technology to Barrat that other domains enjoyed. On the other hand, it would mean that his son would have to live in the female ruled lands outside of Barrat, and possibly be corrupted by their ways. He remembered what it was like when he returned home after his sojourn among the Illyrians as a youth. He had many strange ideas about women and change, most of which didn’t wash in Barrat. Many believed him to be brainwashed by the women and to save his face and position he had to abandon much of his ideas for reform. He
did
make some change in his nation, but even he was not willing to give the women too much freedom. Pantherus, on the other hand, had already proven himself to be
very
susceptible to feminine wiles. Truth to tell, so had Roc at his age. But Pantherus hadn’t seen his mother and kin treacherously slaughtered by Mavie. That girl would have him running around by the nose. He was of much less sterner stuff than his father. Still, Roc wasn’t totally displeased by the prospect of a union with his son and Princess Bellasaris. Once the foul Mavie were crushed for good, and their queen’s head on a stake as a trophy for all to see, there could possibly be real friendship between Barrat and its neighbors. However, the very same day he received some VERY unpleasant news. Queen Bal of Mavie had bonded with his son! Worst of all,
he
seemed receptive to the scar faced bitch! This was an unforeseen problem that Roc could do without. Every time a union between their two nations occurred it always went bad, the Mavie women had seen to it, beginning with Barrat himself! Grimly, King Roc’s mind began to turn to his ancestor and the events of that time.

******

Queen Maya listened gravely as news of the growing numbers of rebellious tribes and their deeds were related to her.

“My queen,” said the short black girl, “Lady Alice has been defeated and taken prisoner by the warrior named, Barrat. Her entire pack has been absorbed into Barrat’s people.”

“He’s bringing all the feral bands under his control tribe by tribe,” sighed Maya. “The females of these bands will automatically submit to a dominate male if they or their leader is defeated, just like animals. No doubt many of them are rolling around in heat already!”

“He is becoming very powerful with the wild Mavie, and even a few towns have accepted him as an ally…and even leader,” said the short woman.

“I will have to put a stop to this before it becomes any worse,” said Maya firmly. “Summon my war council. I will march out of the capital and deal with this… ‘Man’…myself.” The smaller woman nodded and hurried away and a taller and well-made woman stepped forward and addressed the queen.

“What are you planning, my little queen?” chuckled the older woman.

“I mean to challenge this troublemaker and restore order to the queendom, of course, Mother.”

Mavie looked her daughter in pride. She was tall and beautiful, with long black hair and light olive skin. Her figure was pleasing, but not overly curvy or busty. Several of the elite women of the capital already had proposed marriage to her, but for some reason had been refused. It was widely said that Maya preferred her sword to sex. The idea that her taste might actually lean in an unnatural direction, like men, had never entered anyone’s head…not even Mavie’s. Yes, Maya was merely in love with fighting. Although not a
very
large woman, she was renowned for her skill with weapons and physical strength.

“Is it wise to confront this little scrapper personally?” ask Mavie. “You are the queen now. Not only is this upstart a dirty man, but he is certainly a lowborn mongrel to boot.”

“Who can say,” said Maya with a shrug. “I would say that he has earned the honor of facing me in battle, considering what he’s managed to do. He’s just a youngster in any case. I will crush him before his followers and they will return to the fold like good little boys and girls.”

Mavie smiled and shook her head. She had stepped down as queen and allowed her daughter to succeed her two years ago, just as rumors of this male were beginning. Mavie had little doubt that the new queen could easily take the feral cub from the wilderness. After all, like her, she was the product of superior breeding. Mavie had been fortunate. She had managed to find a female shapeshifter capable of gender-shifting for her mate. She was even luckier in that this woman was able to impregnate her. However, her mate was killed by an angry bull ceerius during a hunting trip and that was that. It was a hard blow, but at least she had given her Maya to remember her by.

“Deal with this boy quickly, daughter,” she said to Maya. “He has been allowed to run loose too long,” and smiling, she turned and left the room.

******

Two Weeks Later, The Plain of Nan

Queen Maya looked across the great plain at the army of Lord Barrat. They numbered two thousand in all. Her warriors numbered five thousand. She smiled and shook her head, even though the whole thing could be decided in the preliminary duels, she had the advantage of numbers if a general charge was ordered, and Barrat knew it. She smiled again. Despite almost certain knowledge of his numerical disadvantage, Barrat, to his credit, did indeed answer her challenge.

Lord Barrat also sized up his enemy and their queen and smiled. Her warriors were indeed ferocious looking, and enjoyed the advantage in numbers, but they were all female. His warriors, on the other hand, were made up of males
and
females, so he reckoned that where sheer power was concerned, he had the edge. In the event of a clash, they were evenly matched.

The horns signaled the beginning of the battle and various noble warriors began racing out shouting their names, lineage and past deeds searching for opponents. To be sure, Maya’s warriors had the greater of the noble lineage and many snubbed their challengers, both male and female in contempt, but others (particularly if the opposing female was beautiful) accepted the challenge hoping to take the warrior captive. As would soon be seen however, that was not always how the fights would turn out, and the Mavie would be left beaten on the field to limp back to her companions, much to her indignation. These enemy warriors didn’t seem to have any interest in female prisoners…not the females at least. Other Mavie accepted male challenges for just the opposite reasons, hoping to humiliate and even kill their opponents. Many of these too, did not do as well as they thought they would. Much to the horror of their compatriots, some of them were ignited right there on the battlefield and led off embarrassed, confused, but willingly as the male’s permanent captive…or the other way around. In either of these cases, the Mavie women were horrified, but powerless to do anything about it. Bonded people could not be kept apart, even by Mavie law.

“It does not go well with us,” Maya said quietly to her generals. “We lose more than we win. And even sometimes when we win, we lose.” To prove her point, Maya nodded to a couple leaving the battlefield. “Can’t she even wait until the battle is over?” One of Maya’s officers, who had sworn she would kill any male opponent she defeated, was pulling a very much
alive
, male Barratian warrior urgently through the ranks of her command. The look on her face left little doubt to her intentions. It goes without saying that she was done with fighting for the day. Again, there was nothing anyone could or would do about it. ‘The Hunger’ always wins.

“My queen, perhaps we should order an all-out attack before we lose any more morale and people,” urged a general.

“No,” said Maya. “If these fights have proven nothing else, it’s that most of our warriors are outmatched against the male mutants. And even their female warriors are much more experienced in battle than our city born warriors. Our human warriors would be slaughtered in droves even if we were victorious. The reverse outcome is unthinkable, but not impossible. Declare the preliminaries over; it’s time for the main event.”

Again the horns sounded, this time accompanied by drums, signaling the end of the duels and perhaps the battle. However, Queen Maya rode out upon the field and dismounted.

“Hear me, Lord Barrat! I, Queen Maya, daughter of ‘Mavie’ do challenge you to personal combat to decide the outcome of this battle and the war! Do you accept?” Maya watched anxiously as a powerfully built youth of somewhere between the late teens to early twenties came forward.

“I, Barrat, son of Tamara and Cato, accept your challenge!” cried the youth with a smile. “I swear, once this day is done, I’ll change the ways of the Mavie!”

Overconfident cub,
thought Maya, also smiling as she looked the approaching youth up and down. With a little shock, she realized that she liked what she saw. Suddenly she began to feel a little warm, but she shrugged off this sensation. It was obviously the heat. Still, the sun was getting lower. This would have to be ended soon. It was almost the time when the arbiters would call an end to the battle and both sides would retreat with their spoils. “Come boy,” she said to Barrat, “let me test your skills.”

Maya had been renowned for her speed and skill with a blade, but this youth was too quick for her. He swept past her guard and sent her sprawling to the ground. Maya quickly brought her foot up into his midsection and caught her opponent’s arms as he tried to mount her, and sent him flying over her head and onto his back, both mutants bounced quickly to their feet.

This is no common warrior,
thought Maya.
He moves like a cat! Wait…A cat?! Who did he say his parents were again? Tamara and-

Maya had little time to contemplate further for Barrat was on the move. He caught her with an open hand strike to the head that spun her around, but rather than fall, she continued the circle, bringing her leg around in a spinning heel kick…and missed! Barrat had seen her intent and ducked. Maya was an extremely powerful mutant, even for a Bellasarian, but her head was spinning from that blow. She had thought to hold back and take the little bastard alive with little damage, but that wasn’t possible now. Normally, the strength she was using would have been more than sufficient to deal with a kid like him. But it was painfully obvious that this was just play for Barrat. He was smiling and enjoying himself as though this was a simple sparing match. She immediately went on a fast and determined offensive.

Barrat suddenly found himself on the defensive as Maya attacked with blinding speed and ferocity. He had seen her as strong, but of little real challenge, until now. An elbow caught him in the nose followed by a back kick to the stomach, sending him to the ground. Quickly, Maya dove for her sword and Barrat, jumping to his feet, shifted into his transitional form. With a terrible yell, both warriors charged each other. Then…

“ENOUGH!”

The arbiters were now on the field and symbolic branches were placed between the two.

“The time for battle is finished,” cried one of the arbiters. “Retire now to your camps to lick your wounds and enjoy your spoils.”

“Well, it looks like it’s an undecided issue,” said Maya. “I suppose we’ll have to continue first thing tomorrow.” Honestly, Maya wasn’t looking forward to that. She had very little illusions about her chances against a fully transformed, Barrat.

“Hmmm, let’s just call it a draw and retire back to our own lands. I’m sure we can settle our differences in a civil way later, no?” Barrat said, smiling.

Maya looked at Barrat for a long moment and then smiling said, “A truce then, come back to our camp and share my table. I suppose, under the circumstances, we should all be celebrating, eh? Um, you may invite your mate too if she is here.”

“I have no
true
mate,” said Barrat with a shrug.

“Oh,” said Maya, turning away from Barrat, so that he couldn’t see her widening smile. “Well, I shall look forward to your company. I should like to know more about you and your…family.”

******

The retired queen mother wasn’t pleased when she received the news that the war had ended in a stalemate. She was even less pleased when it was revealed that Barrat was no commoner, but the offspring of the retired Illyrian High Lord, Cato. Mavie knew that there was some kind of spat among the founders of the great houses of the royal family and their mate, and that Cato was on the run in various remote lands. His descendants would occasionally pop up in various places, usually as chiefs of minor tribes or rulers of up and coming nations, but this was no descendant, no errant grandchild or great grandchild. If the Illyrians and their acting queen got wind of this boy things could become very complicated. Yet all of this was soon to be pushed to the back of her concerns. Mavie would soon receive word that something that most queens would have welcomed greatly, but which horrified Mavie, had happened. Maya and Barrat had bonded!

“I don’t see why you’re so bent out of shape over this, Mother,” said Maya. “After all, is this not the ideal ending to a war? Now the Mavie and Barrat’s people will be one again.”

“But…But he’s an Illyrian Prince! And you’ve…Why couldn’t you have chosen a woman of our nobility to be your mate?!” cried Mavie in exasperation.