Drulissa's Domain

 Burning embers hung in the air as she walked toward her father. She carried her spear in her hand. "What are you doing, Amelia?" Her father asked, holding his sword in his hand, the blade pointed to the ground. " What a re you no w, some primitive savage? Look at you! You look stupid, dressed like some slutty warrior whore! " She s wal lowed. He jumped off the platform. "You are not even my daughter anymore, are you? You have probably let those filthy heathens touch you! You should know it stains your skin if you lie in the dirt . " Amelia kept silent, feeling the magic flow through her, and knowing what needed to be done. "Do you see this?" he asked, holding his sword. "This is the blade that took a dragon's life! And one day, it will take another's. I am the one who will destroy the Mal'a'kai tribe. And since you did the job of killing the death cult, I will take over this miserable country. Perhaps once the...

 She didn't even feel like herself anymore. Was this what it felt like to go to war? To turn into a killer? To step onto a battlefield with a weapon, knowing you will not step off unless carried, or the last enemy breathes their last breath? She ran her hand along the scales of Sapphire, her love Fayla following close behind. The Goddess Kayala blessed her with a warrior's spirit, and she felt the power surge within her. For a moment, she felt she did nothing to deserve such power, but a gentle touch of the Goddess' grace told her all she needed to know. Every sacrifice she made built to this point. He r finding the Genie, running from the Death Cult, meeting the tribe, choosing her new life, and rejecting her father were all footsteps laid for her in this path walked by the Goddess. One she was meant to follow. She saw the entire war in her mind's eye, and her heart raced at the thought of battle. Her mind whirled with visions of all she would do to her fa...

“I hate Frostfell!” my father would say when the season arrived. “I hate it! I loathe it! I wish it never existed!” This was back when I was a little tyke, barely above the knee, and I would run to the railing in my jammies to peek through, wondering what he was so angry about. At that time, I never knew what Frostfell was, it was something outsiders celebrated, and I knew it came when the caves turned cold, and ice formed on the water. It was hard for me to imagine when my father was happy. A time before he became the devil in hi s h ea rt. “All this Frostfell, with the songs, the merriment, and the giving!” He would rant, and I would peer down at the foyer as he raged at the servants and his wives . The serving maids would have their heads bowed low, afraid of what might happen if they glanced up at him. Some of his other wives, who had not yet had children, would flee to the kitchens to avoid his wrath. He would lock himself in his den , sometimes for days . This time, he s...

Her body ached for a touch, the night upon her naked skin. She wanted to cry out in anguish, but no one was near to hear ,  so she suffered as she lay beneath the cool coverlet of the bed. She thought that perhaps he had not come yet—the man who should have been with her this hour before —but only fancy took shape between sleep's dark curtains , while on every side brooded silence deep as death itself could make it. And now came soft sounds through the room like low tones of music from an unseen orchestra. Their coming sweetened her dreams , and her slumber grew lighter at its approach. She rolled across the white sheets of her bed, her nude dark elven skin caressing the sheets beneath her. She rolled into a stark patch of moonlight that shared her bed and let the light make love to her flesh. Her bare breasts were full and rounded under the moon, making two perfect spheres that reflected the silvery beams onto each other. The nipples puckered slightly, betraying how arouse...

Amelia stood in the gallery watching as her father spoke with the men from the Death Cult. They wore black robes with hoods that covered their heads and faces. In front of her father was a tall, lean, muscular man with short white hair facing him. She watched the man's hands for a long moment when she realized he was holding a dagger. "Do you see?" the head priestess asked. Amelia turned to her in confusion. The head priestess smiled sadly. "He will attack us first. He will use the men from the Death Cult while his army attacks the temple. Then, he will loot our home and burn it." Amelia looked back at the scene below her and felt a pit in her stomach grow deeper. She felt the anger growing inside her, but she couldn't stop it. The head priestess put her hand on Amelia's shoulder and sighed. "It is time to go. The attack will begin soon." "I want to lead it," Amelia said. "I am done with being weak." Amelia t...

 She laughed. He looked terrified. The mercenaries all around him began shouting and screaming at the sight of the dragon flying in circles above them. General Von Zinzer tried to yell at them to stay calm, but nothing he said could stop them. They started running back to their horses, hoping to reach the tents and escape. The dragon flew straight to the temple's dome, causing a deep booming sound that shook everything around it. Amelia ducked as far as she could to avoid being thrown off as Sapphire landed in the mountaintop temple courtyard. She carefully climbed off Sapphire's back, using the dragon's head for balance until she reached the ground. She patted the dragon's head in gratitude before turning around to watch what would happen next. The temple priestesses surrounded Amelia and the dragon in arches around the courtyard. Their robes fluttered in the breeze as they stared at them both. Amelia could feel them focusing their magic on her, and she did not...

 She took a deep breath and sat down, listening hard. "Why are you here?" the powerful voice asked, rumbling her chest. "I would like to know the answer to that, too," Amelia said. "I was washed ashore and barely survived. I met a kind tribe who took me in. And I was betrayed by my father." She paused, listening for any other movement. "I am here because my people plan to attack and destroy the temple, but I cannot climb the mountain to warn them." "Your people?" the voice asked. "The Mal'a'kai people," she said, feeling close to tears. "And their goddess Kayala. My father is planning to destroy the temple today. They helped me! And he is just going to loot the temple for himself. And he is using a stupid dragon to help him." She heard a low rumble of laughter come from deep in the cave. "This sounds like a foolish plan for someone to implement." "It is," Amelia agreed, "a...