Tales of Erogenia: Book 3 - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Partings

Zenaria remembered the next few weeks as among the happiest of her life. She and Sulia attended to their duties, the Urulana Princess attending to her royal responsibilities and Zenaria studying with Fulan. In between they hunted, trained for war, and even worked in the fields.

Zenaria was spared some of the manual work due to her martial skills. The Urulana made no use of the sword and had little use for the bow, preferring their long spears for both hunting and warfare, but they could not but be impressed by the prowess shown by her and Varden when it came to using the long blade. It became apparent that in close combat there was no Urulana warrior who could match either of them, and it was not long before many of the warriors were demanding that their smiths turn to making swords for them as well.

It was a similar matter with Zenaria's powerful bow. She could easily outrange any even the strongest warrior when it came to spear against bow. And her deadly accuracy with the bow was something none of them could match. Soon both she and Varden were recruited into training the Urulana in the Kivalian and Erogenian arts of combat.

When they were not helping develop the martial skills of the Urulana, Zenaria and Varden studied with the Shaman; Varden to learn more about the skills of healing, and Zenaria to improve her liaison with animals.

"You have great potential," Fulan told her. "Perhaps even greater than that of Qirlan."

"But I do not want that kind of power," Zenaria protested. "I am a warrior. Not a sorcerer. I have no wish to control the elements of nature."

"You have a gift, given to you by Rahlu the Creator. It goes against the will of the gods not to use it. Qirlan used his gift for evil; you must use it for good."

Zenaria opened her mouth to object once again. She was distinctly uncomfortable with the concept of forcing what she thought of as her animal cousins to do anything against their will.

"Would you go into battle without your sword?" Fulan asked, before she could comment. "Your gift is not separate from your body or your soul. It is a part of you. The gods have bestowed their favour upon you. Do not dishonour them."

Zenaria bowed her head respectfully. Perhaps her gift was part of the Cha, and not to use it was to go against the will of the gods. After all, I must have been given this gift for some purpose. She halted her objections and did her best to learn more about her arcane ability.

However, even as she grew closer and closer to Sulia and immersed herself in her training and the daily life of the Urulana, something constantly nagged at her, and that was a desperate longing to return to Erogenia.

In spite of her deep affection for Sulia she knew there could never be a proper bonding between them. Sulia's destiny lay in becoming the next Queen of the Urulana, although she learned that it was not a position that was entirely assured. It turned out that any one of Walenia's daughters was eligible for the queenship, provided she fulfilled the obligations. Zenaria could not imagine that any of Sulia's younger sisters could match her in the necessary qualities. However, they all trained for the position, mindful of the fact that accident or warfare could lead to the death of the eldest, thus placing one of them in line for the succession.

One thing was certain and that was when Sulia reached her twenty-fifth birthday she would marry one of the many young warriors of her generation. There were many to choose from and the choice of the Princess would not be ignored. But she was expected to choose wisely, selecting a partner with virtues that would complement hers.

Whatever Sulia's future, it was a situation that held no place for Zenaria. She could not picture herself becoming a full member of Urulana society even though her pale skin was not held against her. She simply was not cut out for an existence where day to day life meant staying in one place. For better or worse her restless spirit drove her to explore new lands and cultures and nothing could tie her down to a single location for long.

However, her new life was not without its attractions. Her new duties kept her very busy, and she found to her surprise that she actually enjoyed teaching the Urulana warriors to use bow and blade. And then, of course, there were her nights of passion with Sulia. They surpassed even her relationship with Varden, short as it had been, although not her affair with her distant lover Tren, a liaison that had led to the birth of her daughter.

She thought of Tren less now, But the Beni Sidra assassin was never far from her thoughts. It was another reason for returning to Erogenia, because unless she did she would never see the father of her daughter again.

However, it was not going to be that easy to get away. She could not bring herself to simply leave Sulia, not after the blossoming of their relationship. And there was another more practical reason. It appeared that she and Varden had arrived in the land of the Mountain of Fire during the dry season. Now the rains were approaching, a time of year that would make travel impossible. Already daily showers heralded the approach of much heavier downpours.

Strangely, it was Sulia who provided a solution; one that was so unexpected that it left Zenaria open-mouthed.

They lay in exhausted stickiness, enfolded in one another's arms. Sulia's breathing slowly quieted and she kissed Zenaria softly. "I have spoken to the Queen," she said. "I can go with you."

"With me?" Zenaria finally managed. "Where am I going?"

"I have only been with you a short time, but it is long enough," Sulia whispered. "And I have spoken with the Shining One who knows you better than I. I know you love me, yet you long to be off in search of other lands. I cannot keep you here, but I do not want to leave you and so I have asked my mother, the Queen for permission to go with you."

Zenaria pushed herself up on one elbow. She could not see Sulia in the darkness of the room, but she could feel the eagerness in the other's body. Slowly she ran her hand over the other's hip, moving up to her waist, and finally finding her firm breast. Gently she traced circles about the taut nipple. "You know it will be a long and dangerous journey," she said. "And that you might never return to see your mother again. What say you to that?"

"I am a Princess of the Urulana," Sulia answered softly. "And I do not shy away from danger. Moreover, should I not return I have four sisters to take my place. And finally it is thought that for too long the Urulana have hidden away from the world. Now it is time for one of our number to see what lies beyond the slopes of the Mountain of Fire."

"You are sure about this?" Zenaria whispered as Sulia's hand moved to the middle of her back.

"As sure as am of this," Sulia answered as she nuzzled Zenaria's nipples, taking first one then the other into her mouth and licking and sucking them to alertness. Zenaria made a sound halfway between a sigh and a moan and then gave in to her natural desires.

Never one to waste time, Zenaria had made good her preparations by the end of the next day. She decided against taking the heavy gifts she had been laden with by the Emperor of Jingua. Instead she left the exquisite golden armour with Walenia. By coincidence the Queen was almost the same height as the woman it had been intended for, Zenaria's mother, Queen Cirilia. Zenaria felt almost guilty in not being able to take it with her, but it was far too bulky to lug across the vast plains she would have to travel. Similarly, she left the armour she had been given, finding it unsuitable in a land that had no beasts of burden. If the Urulana had possessed animals like horses, it might have been a different matter, but on foot such heavy gear was impractical. She settled on her sword; bow and quiver of arrows; and her heavy bladed knife. For clothing she wore only her cotton skirt and halter, and a light cape ostrich feathers. The feathered cape served a dual purpose, providing protection against the sun for her relatively pale skin, and also acting as a rain cape. It was so expertly woven that even the heaviest rain ran off – or so she had been told. She had yet to test it in a real downpour.

Her only other clothing was a pair of sturdy sandals. These were a bit of a novelty among the Urulana who traditionally went barefoot. In fact Sulia's feet were so tough that she could walk on the vicious needle-like thorns without pain or injury.

It went without saying that the Urulana Princess wore even less than Zenaria. However, she adopted Zenaria's custom of wearing a halter and also took a feathered cloak.

In addition to their clothing both women wore an assortment of jewellery. Sulia, wore her gold arm bands and bracelets as well as a light gold chain; and Zenaria gold bracelets and the heavy ivory and ebony necklace. She wore the necklace reluctantly and would have left it with Fulan had the shaman not insisted that she take it. Finally, she gave in and accepted that the necklace was hers, but its heaviness was uncomfortable and so she wore it around her waist like a belt.

Each woman also carried a light pack which between them contained flint and steel, a few medicinal aids, fishing line, tea, salt, dried herbs and seasonings, a small metal cooking pot, two light wooden spoons, two bowls made out of gourds, and a few other useful items. Each woman also carried her own waterskin.

They carried almost no food except for a few nuts and grains for emergency, expecting to be able to hunt and forage along the way. Like Zenaria, Sulia had a sword strapped over her shoulder. She was far from being a swordswoman, but Zenaria expected to tutor her along the way. In addition, the Urulana Princess carried her long spear and like Zenaria, a heavy knife.

Thus equipped, they were ready to set out, but not before a series of goodbyes. They first took their leave of Queen Walenia and Fulan. This was hardest for Sulia as she was leaving the only life she had ever known, but the Urulana Princess was filled with the sense of adventure and said her goodbyes without tears.

It was the same for Zenaria. Other than her official goodbye to the Queen and her consort, she really only had to say goodbye to Varden. The fact that the knight had briefly been her lover might have influenced her more had he not revealed that Kindra was carrying his child and that he was quite content to stay among the Urulana and further develop his healing skills and train the warriors in the 'civilized' manner of making war.

"They know nothing of siege warfare or defending properly against an attacking army," the knight stated. "I will be quite busy teaching martial techniques as well as instilling a proper sense of chivalry. I will miss your expertise with the bow, but I have the smiths working on a crossbow that I believe most warriors will find easier to use. I believe what I will miss most is my horse, but the Urulana are brave and have the makings of good infantry."

Zenaria smiled. With the pregnant Kindra by his side it seemed apparent that the knight was going to have little trouble fitting in. "Farewell, Sir Knight," she said. "Perhaps one day you and I will meet again. If I journey to Kivalia I will seek out your order and tell them what became of you."

Varden returned her smile. He stepped forward and placed his powerful but gentle hands on Zenaria's shoulders. Leaning forward he kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Go with Saint Brenna's blessing, snow princess. I will always think of you."

"And I of you," she returned. For some strange reason her voice almost stuck in the throat, but there seemed little more to be said. She felt the touch of Sulia's hand and turning she smiled at her lover. Together they set out through the gates of Luruana. New adventures awaited her.

End Book 3