Dragonlance:  Prisoner of the Knights
 

Revised

    WARNING: N/C content. Special thanks to Arshesnei, Eucher, and everyone on the message board for providing the
suggestions for this story.

Story Codes: (M/F, n/c, oral)
 

“I won’t do it,” Laurana said, nearly spitting the words at Rashas. “I’d rather die before I help you.”

“Heh, I’m sure you would. I have heard many tales of your exploits as the Golden General,” Rashas said, steepling his thin
fingers and grinning at her from where he sat behind his desk. “But would you let others die?”

“If I help you use Gilthas then more will die.”

Rashas cocked his eyebrow and smiled broadly. Laurana nearly shuddered. She had seen more attractive smiles on the
Draconian guards in the Death Cells of Neraka. “So cold and heartless, Laurana.” His smile suddenly disappeared. “If you
don’t do what I say then Gilthas will die slowly and horribly at the hands of the Knights of Takhisis.”

Laurana gritted her teeth together and glared at Rashas. “You need Gilthas alive, without him you have no puppet.”

Rashas leapt to his feet, his hands slamming down onto his desktop with enough force to rock the small knicknacks and
lightstones scattered over its surface. “Gilthas is not proving to be the puppet we had hoped for!” he screamed, spittle flying
from his mouth to splatter on the desktop. “Perhaps he has too much of his father in him, if he will not obey me then he will die
along with that woman he has become so fond of!” Rashas suddenly calmed and sat back down at his desk, his gleaming smile
returning to his face. “Now,” he said, for all the world as if discussing idle gossip, “I’m sure you know what lovely tortures the
servants of Takhisis have in store for their prisoners, yes? Especially comely females.” He smirked and leaned back in his chair.
“I have heard many tales of your stay in the Death Cells. Draconians, hobgoblins, Kitiara, exactly whom did you not couple
with?” He giggled and licked his lips before his face suddenly went blank as he stared at Laurana.

“Those were all stories,” Laurana said through clenched teeth. “And you’re bluffing. You won’t kill him, he’s too valuable to
you even if you can’t control him. You need him as a symbol to validate the presence of the servants of Takisis.”

“I’m sure they were, you half-breed chasing slut,” Rashas said calmly. “No doubt the truth is even more vulgar than the worst
of the stories. Now, will you do what I say or will his woman spend the rest of her life screaming? She is a lovely girl, the
Knights would have dearly enjoy her company in their fortress.”

Laurana stared and the elf with hatred in her eyes, knowing that he already knew what her answer would be. She couldn’t let
another innocent be dragged off to suffer the hospitality of Takhisis’ servants, not if she could do anything to prevent it. “I’ll do
it,” she said, praying that her son’s new love was worth it, praying that she was not making a bad situation worse.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana narrowed her eyes and tightened her lips at the sight of the wardrobe. It was filled with costly dresses sewn from the
finest fabrics she had seen in a long time.

“Choose whatever you like, Golden General,” Rashas said as he pulled a particularly expensive looking green dress from the
wardrobe and ran his hand over the bodice. “Remember, you will be...entertaining Lord Vakos of the Knights of Takhisis.”

“You’re a pathetic worm, Rashas,” Laurana said calmly as she lifted a light blue dress from its hanger. “I’m sad to see the
Qualinesti fallen to such a state.”

For a moment it seemed that Rashas was ready to strike her, but then he looked into the deep blue orbs of her eyes and drew
back. “You’ll regret saying such things,” he hissed as he backed out of the room and locked the door behind him. Laurana
watched him go and slapped the flat of her hand onto the side of the wardrobe, cursing Takhisis and all her followers.

“The Abyss take you Rashas,” she said quietly as she stepped away and from the wardrobe and began to pull off the simple
tunic and breeches she wore.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

“Remember, you must appear to be a willing and enthusiastic partner or Gilthas’ woman dies...eventually,” Rashas said as they
stopped outside the door to Vakos’ suite of rooms.

“Why? Is the good Knight too cowardly to attempt to take me by force?” Laurana asked, suspecting that Rashas had some
scheme brewing but unable to fathom it.

“You’ll see, slut, you will see,” Rashas said with a sickening smile as he knocked on the door and withdrew rapidly.

Laurana set her face in a smile as the door opened, wondering exactly what Rashas had planned. Just to humiliate her? Was a
troop of Knights behind the door, waiting to gang-rape her? Or was it something more insidious?

“Ah, hello my dear,” the man who opened the door said. He was tall and could be considered handsome but for the numerous
scars on his face and neck all the way down the open neck of his silk robe. His dark hair was cut close to his face to easily fit
under a helmet while the callouses on his hands further betrayed him as a seasoned warrior. Laurana felt a surge of
embarrassment as she realized she was relieved to see only him and no others. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

“Why did you want me here?” Gilthas asked Rashas. “What do you want?”

Rashas turned and motioned curtly for the young elf to be silent. He took the boy’s arm and led him into the room adjoining
Vakos’. “What-?” The elf stopped as Rashas pointed to the door to the next room where Vakos was. “Games, Rashas?
What-” He stopped as Rashas motioned for silence and cracked open the door.

Gilthas’ eyes widened in horror as he saw what lay beyond the door. Laurana, clad in a figure hugging blue dress, was pressed
up against one of the ranking officers of the Knights of Takhisis in Qualinost. “Mot-” he started, almost rushing into the room,
only to be silenced by Rashas.

“Watch, boy, and learn what your mother truly is,” he said in a low whisper. “Your father is not yet cold in his grave and
already she dallies with a Knight of Takhisis and a human as well.” Rashas watched in satisfaction as the boy’s face paled a
deathly white, his mouth hanging open in horrifed shock.
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana clenched her fists behind Vakos’ back as he pulled her close to him and kissed her deeply. She feigned a moan of
pleasure as his hands moved down the back of her dress and cupped her bottom.

“It’s been too long my love,” Vakos said as he broke the kiss and hugged her tightly. “Now that your husband is gone, we can
be together as much as we desire.”

Laurana stared in shock at the Knight’s face. Was he insane? She cursed silently while forcing her smile to remain in place.
What was Rashas’ plan and how could she foil it without endangering Gilthas? “Don’t speak of him,” she finally said, genuine
sadness in her voice, “just don’t.”

“Yes, my dear,” Vakos said, running his hand up and down Laurana’s spine. “Will you come to bed?” Laurana felt her stomach
lurch as he took her hand and led her over to the luxuriant four poster bed.

“A little early for bed, isn’t it?” she said, her eyes flicking towards the windows. The setting sun’s light could still be seen shining
over the horizon. Vakos laughed softly and kissed her hand gently.

“We’ll be very tired after we’re done,” he said with a grin on his face. Laurana faked a laugh as he pulled back the covers and
sat on the bed. “Will you do your dance for me?” he asked.

“Oh, well, why of course I will,” Laurana said, her eyes bright with false gaiety. She reached up and gathered her golden locks
in her hands, lifting them up above her head and then letting them slowly cascade around her shoulders. Closing her eyes, she
reached back and began to undo her dress, letting the silk slowly fall from her shoulders.

Laurana heard Vakos take a sharp breath as she let her dress fall to the floor, leaving her naked. She may have had to wear the
dress Rashas supplied, but she’d be damned to the bottom of the Abyss before she’d wear any of the underwear he had left.

She heard the rustle of silk falling as Vakos removed his robe. With her eyes still closed, Laurana began to slowly rock her hips
from side to side, trying to remember the plains dance that Goldmoon had taught her long ago. She clenched her teeth as she
remembered the sensual movements of the courting dance, also remembering how she had danced it for Tanis on their wedding
night. Fighting to keep her face happy, she took a slow, sinuous step forward, letting her head fall so that her hair trailed over
her body. Her hips moved in a slow circle as she danced towards him, sweeping her hair back and sliding with liquid elven
grace across the floor. Moving closer to him, she arched her back and ran her hands up her body, her fingers trailing across the
tips of her breasts and up the curve of her throat.

Laurana gasped as Vakos reached out and took her shoulders, interrupting the dance and pulling her onto the bed. She kept
her eyes closed as he moved her towards the center of the bed and slid down next to her, his cock brushing against her thigh.
Laurana tried desperately to suppress a shudder at the feel of his turgid member rubbing against her. Her hands clutched at the
sheets as he spread her legs, the callouses on his hands rough against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh.

“Oh, yes,” she said, trying hard to stay in the part she must play although all she wanted to do was jab his eyes from his face
and break his neck. “Please, make love to me.”

Was that a laugh she heard from him? Laurana couldn’t tell as he suddenly moved on top of her, his chest rubbing against her
full breasts as he leaned down and kissed her again. She felt him move between her legs, his cock bumping against her as he
guided it towards her quim. A sudden surge of trepidation went through her when she realized that he would be entering her
with no lubrication or assistance at all. Biting her lip and trying to make it look like it was from anticipation, Laurana reached up
and felt up the hard muscle of Vakos’ arms until her hands rested on his shoulders. She gasped and her hands tightened when
she felt his cock nudge at her entrance.

“My dear, you aren’t ready yet,” Vakos said in a deceptively tender voice. “Let me help you.” Laurana opened her eyes and
looked down in shock as Vakos kissed his way down her body, his tongue and lips making her shiver in horrified delight. She
watched in despair as he lightly kissed her navel and bent his head to her quim.

Laurana stared at the ceiling and tried to distance herself from what he was doing. Despite her best efforts, she felt her body
betraying her and reacting to his surprisingly skilled attentions. She moaned in pleasure and felt her heart sink when she realized
it was not entirely an act. As much as her mind might hate what was being done, her body refused to listen and reacted
instinctually and animalistically to whatever stimuli it was receiving.

Vakos’ tongue continued to play over her, lightly trailing over her outer lips before delving inward to flick at her clit. Laurana
half sobbed, half moaned, as she felt herself moistening under his tongue. “There, did you enjoy that?” Vakos said.

“Yes,” Laurana said, hoping that, wherever he was, Tanis knew she was lying. “Now, will you please make love to me?”

“Of course, my dear, anything you like,” Vakos said as he raised himself over her body and looked down at her, a cruel smile
playing over his lips. Laurana’s eyes widened in horror as she realized that he was playing a part as much as she was.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

“How could you betray my father like this?” Gilthas sobbed angrily in his room. Rashas stood solicitously at his side, a
comforting hand on his shoulder. “Why?” Gilthas could feel the walls of his world crumbling around him. The long cherished
images of his parents as near godlike figures were wavering. All his life, despite how much he sometimes hated their
protectiveness, he had always known who they were. But now-

“I’m sorry you had to see that, my lord. But I could not keep your mother’s affair a secret in good conscience,” Rashas said.
“It would have been far worse if you had seen them by yourself. But please, do not be angry with her, she is obviously upset by
the loss of your father.”

Gilthas slammed his fist into the wall next to his chamber’s window. “Why? Why would she do such a thing?” Gilthas moaned,
thinking back to the whispered comments of his servants as they spoke of his mother’s dalliances with a human. He had
dismissed such talk as being unthinkable. What was true anymore? Was anything he believed in true? Or was it all a lie?

“I hope you are not thinking of doing something rash.”

“I just don’t understand it, she loved my father, I know she did,” Gilthas said, sounding to Rashas like he was trying to convince
himself. He groaned and slumped against the wall, slowly slipping down until he sat on the floor.

“I’m sure she did, my lord. A woman’s heart is fickle though, no doubt she is lonely and seeks only to replace your father. My
lord, please control yourself. There are important matters to attend to.”

“Dammit, Rashas, why should I attend to other matters?”

“My lord, please, behave in a manner suitable for the Speaker of the Sun. The Knights of Takhisis should not see you in such a
state.” Rashas smiled inside at the stung look on
Gilthas’ face. The boy had such a low opinion of himself that he would do almost anything to please those who’s opinions he
cared about.

“The Knights,” Gilthas said, feeling the bitter fire of anger in himself. “To have an affair with a Knight of Takhisis. Of all the
treacherous-”

“My lord, please, perhaps it would be better if you did not see your mother for a while. Let your thoughts cool until you can
make a rational decision.”

“I’m rational,” Gilthas said, tears still staining his cheeks. “What matters did you want me to attend to?”

“Well, my lord, the Knights are still asking for the hostages promised to them in the treaty.”

“Hostages?”

“Yes, my lord. Merely a formality, they would be kept under the Knight’s supervision but otherwise not mistreated.”

“How many?”

“The Knights are open to suggestion, they will take one important hostage in the place of many lesser elves. I have prepared a
list of those who would be available, if you would just sign at the bottom-”

“Wait,” Gilthas said as he read the list. “This servant, Kerian, I’ve seen her around the palace.”

“Oh, yes, the Kagonesti girl,” Rashas said with the briefest hint of distaste in his words. “What of it?”

“Why send her?”

“Why? She is not important to the maintenance of the palace and it would not hurt anyone to have her locked away and under
the Knight’s supervision.”

Gilthas groaned inwardly. Kerian was one of the key figures in the resistance movement organized in the forests surrounding
Qualinost, if she was held under supervision the entire movement might be compromised, or at the very least hindered. “These
are all servants, are there no nobles willing to volunteer to serve as hostages?” he asked.

Rashas smiled thinly and patted Gilthas’ shoulder. “My lord, while a noble of sufficient rank would serve as a suitable hostage,
there are hardly any we could ask to become hostages.”

“Yes, there is.”

Rashas crowed silently, his eyes glinting as he knew that Gilthas had played right into his hands. “Who, my lord? If I may ask?”
he asked slowly, sounding reluctant to even discuss the idea.

“My mother.”

“My lord, I-”

“It’s perfect, she already has her,” Gilthas gritted his teeth and shook his head, “Knight to keep her company. It will cause her
no hardship to stay in his company and it will allow these servants to continue their duties.”

“My lord, excellent thinking. I’m glad to see that you are capable of rational thought even under the harshest circumstances,”
Rashas said, smiling as Gilthas beamed at the approval. “I will see to it at once.”

Rashas allowed himself a brief smile as he turned and hurried from room to fetch the necessary documents declaring Laurana
the hostage of the Knights of Takhisis. He smiled more broadly at the prospect of being able to see Vakos finish using her and
seeing her humiliated and broken by her forced performance.

“Oh, mother,” Gilthas sighed as he sat in his chair by the window and looked out over the gleaming streets of Qualinost.
Disappointment and disillusionment tugged at his heart as he wondered about so many of the beliefs he cherished. Were they all
lies as well?

He shook his head again and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. He would talk to Kerian, she would help, her soothing
voice and words always did. In a way, though, it was lucky, he thought, forcing himself to see the bright side of things. This way
Kerian would be free to continue her efforts to rid Qualinost of the Knights and his mother would be happy. Thinking more
clearly now, he wasn’t as angry. With great effort he supposed that she needed someone as much as he did, hopefully her
Knight would fill the void in her life left by his father. A pleasant coincidence, really. If only he believed that.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana gasped sharply as Vakos thrust into her again, slowly and leisurely taking his time with her. She was certain that his
gentleness and attentiveness was just part of a plan to humiliate her by making her body betray. Already she had faked a
climax, hoping for him to finish once he had accomplished his mission, but either he had been able to tell she was acting or he
was enjoying her rape too much to stop so soon.

“I love you, my dear,” he said loudly while he continued to thrust into her, his rhythm slowly increasing. Laurana felt sick with
each of his mocking declarations of love and devotion to her although her body continued to betray her. Her skin was flushed
and she knew with dreadful clarity that if he did not stop soon, she would climax whether she wanted to or not.

In between his thrusts, she struggled to reason out why he was pretending to be her lover, not her rapist. She could only think
that they were trying to break her or to humiliate her. In either case, she needed to find a way to throw them off guard or this
would seem like paradise compared to what they would do.

“Nnnngh,” she gasped through clenched teeth. “Gods, gods, ohhhh!” she moaned as she suddenly thrust her hips back towards
him. “Yesss,” she hissed through her teeth while turning her head away. If only she could fool him into thinking that he had had a
far more devastating effect on her...

Spurred on by her sudden acquiescence, Vakos bent his head to her breasts and began to suck at them as he hunched his
shoulders and began to furiously pump into her. Laurana felt her body jerk across the satin bedsheets and wrapped her legs
around Vakos’ waist, urging him on. For the first time, she began to run her hands over his back, squeezing him and rubbing
him as he pumped into her. When he moved his head back up her body to kiss her, she kissed him back enthusiastically, biting
at his lower lip as he drew away. One chance, she thought as the climax she had been staving off rose within her.

Laurana threw her head back and cried out, her hands clutching at Vakos’ back while she came. Disgusted with herself,
Laurana began to buck her hips hard against Vakos, urging him to his own climax. Unable to control himself any longer, Vakos
shouted and slammed his hips forward, jerking Laurana across the sheets as he loosed his seed in her.

Laurana was trembling as he collapsed onto her and pulled out, rolling over onto his back next to her. Affecting her sweetest,
most beguiling face, Laurana slowly rolled onto her stomach and laid her chin on his chest, looking up into his eyes. “I...I don’t
know what to say,” she said in a tremulous voice.

“You liked it didn’t you? Rashas said you were a whore, you’d probably fuck anything that moved,” Vakos said
contemptuously. Laurana listened in silence while he continued his tirade, vowing vengeance for each obscenity he hurled at her.

“I couldn’t help myself,” she said, turning her head to rest her cheek on his chest, “you were too much for me. I couldn’t resist.”

“Bah! Get out of here you stupid cow!” Vakos said, pushing her off the bed. “I’ll call for you when I want you.” Struggling
furiously to feign meekness and humility, Laurana slipped on her dress and slowly walked out of the room. At the door she
took one last look over her shoulder at the reclining Knight and giving him her best look of longing and desire. He laughed and
motioned for her to leave.

Laurana closed the door behind her and looked down the hallway in both directions. No guards, she could probably get out of
Qualinost without too much trouble. But that would leave Gilthas alone with Rashas... Steeling herself, she began to walk back
to the room assigned her. As she did, she heard Vakos talking to someone who must have been in the adjoining room behind
its closed door.

“The slut’s broken,” Vakos was saying and laughed. “I’m probably the first real man she’s ever had!” Someone answered in a
low voice and despite her efforts, Laurana could not tell who it was. “You didn’t need to threaten the brat to get her to enjoy it,
give me another evening with her and I’ll have her begging to suck my cock.”

Anger burning in her heart, Laurana walked back to her room. She would wrest control of Qualinost from Senator Rashas and
expel the Knights of Takhisis, that she vowed.
 

Dragonlance: Prisoner of the Knights, Part 2

Marshal Alexius Medan, Commander of the Knights of Takhisis, Qualinost, was idly looking out the window at the sparkling
buildings of Qualinost. He felt a twinge of guilt at enjoying the view from his office window when he could be doing something
more productive, reviewing the troops, checking the supplies, or something along those lines.

His quill pen tapped slowly against the polished wood of the desktop as he watched a lone elven woman walking in the gardens
outside his window. The gardens were quite remarkable, they seemed to be totally natural, as if a forest clearing had been
transplanted into the city, flowers, grass, and all. He would have preferred to be in the fortress that had been built in the center
of Qualinost rather than here in the royal residence, but his office there had not been completed yet. The office did have its
benefits though, he thought as he rose to stand by the window.

The woman was wandering through the gardens, apparently deep in thought. She was beautiful, as it seemed all her race were.
Such a shame, he thought, if only their determination and strength of will matched their beauty. So much potential wasted on
these superfluous luxuries, the gardens, the elaborate buildings and pieces of art. His thoughts trailed away as the elf woman
walked closer to the window. Not knowing why, he drew back from the window to stand unseen by her.

“Laurana,” he breathed softly as he saw her face. “What is she doing here?” He felt himself flush as he sat down at his desk.
How weak of him to be thinking of her when he had other things to do, he thought. Still... He had read of her exploits during the
last Dragonwar, how she had lead the disciplined and honorable Knights of Solamnia against the rabble that had formed the
Dark Queen’s army then. Oh, she had been brilliant, her strategies masterful. Why, her use of dragons outside the direct
combat role that the Dragonarmy had used them in was required reading for any officer.

He sighed and tightened his hand into a fist. No weakness, he told himself. No soft emotions. But the sight of her face, so
beautiful with those eyes and that hair... Marshal Medan swore and jumped to his feet. A longer than usual session in training
tonight, he thought, at least until he could banish her face from his mind. Staring intently at the sheets of the quartermaster’s
report, he did not see a Knight approaching Laurana and leading her away.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

Kerian sighed and stroked Gilthas’ hair, trying her best to comfort him. He had been distraught when she had managed to meet
him in their secret place in the forest just on the outskirts of Qualinost. He had been nearly incoherent, babbling something
about his mother, her, and a hostage for the Knights.

“What is it?” she said, as gently as she could. She loved him, but sometimes he could be so irritating. She didn’t know if it was
his parents legend or the way they raised him, but he was always so unsure of himself and willing to do what others wanted if
only they gave him their approval.

“I- I sent my mother-,” he gasped, scrubbing furiously at his eyes with the sleeve of his robe.

“What? Where did you send your mother?” Kerian asked, maybe a little more harshly than she should have. If Laurana was
here, maybe, maybe it meant that there was some hope for help from other countries in expelling the Knights from Qualinost.

“I sent her to the Knights,” Gilthas said.

“Why?” Kerian asked, “Why?”

“They wanted hostages, Rashas had your name on a list, he was going to send you as a hostage with some other servants.”

“But why did you send your mother?” Kerian asked, her mind racing as she thought of the implications of being on the list. It
could just be chance or it could mean that Rashas had learned of her connection to the resistance and Gilthas.

“She’s having an affair with one of the Knights. I thought, she wouldn’t mind being with him as a hostage. I couldn’t let them
take you!”

“Oh, Gilthas,” Kerian said sadly as she hugged him close to her. She wondered why Laurana would be having an affair with a
Knight so soon after her husband was killed. It could be loneliness or it could mean that she had decided to ally herself with
those who seemed most likely to win the coming war. Kerian frowned as she held Gilthas, she had never believed all the
legends of the Golden General. It was impossible that the spoiled brat of the Speaker could lead the armies of light against the
Dragonarmies. Most likely she had been the figurehead for the men of the army to rally around, each man fighting harder in the
hope of gaining her favor...or her bed. Kerian snorted, she only hoped that Gilthas hadn’t told his mother of the resistance,
there was enough trouble for them already.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

“Hello, my lord,” Laurana said in her most innocent voice. “I’ve missed you.” The games she used to play with Tanis had come
in handy, their role-playing in the bedroom had given her practice for the ‘sweet innocent’ role, hopefully enough to keep
fooling Vakos.

“See Rashas, I told you what a slut she was,” Vakos said, his feet propped on his desk, a foul-smelling pipe-weed roll dangling
from his lips.

“Yes, she is, isn’t she?” Rashas said smoothly as he looked contemptously at Laurana. “Did she please you?”

Vakos chuckled loudly and took a drag on the roll. “Yes, she did. She took a little while to warm up, but when she did-”
Vakos laughed and slapped his thigh.

“Good, your boy’s woman is safe, for now. As long as you serve Vakos’ pleasure, she will remain safe. Altough,” he said
smugly, “I doubt you’d leave him now, you seem to be enjoying yourself so much.”

Laurana flushed in anger and looked down, hoping they’d think it was a blush. She’d need to find a way of getting Gilthas’ love
out of danger, out of the kingdom, soon. If I don’t, she thought, I’m going to be their slave for the rest of my life. She
shuddered at the thought of spending any more time with Vakos and the leering, sneering Rashas.

“See, she’s trembling with desire, Rashas!” Vakos said, swinging his boots off the desk. “I wonder which one of us she wants
so badly?”

Rashas smiled thinly. “I don’t associate with whores,” he said and turned to leave. “If you don’t mind, I have to see how
armament production is proceeding.” He left as Vakos waved him off, taking a moment to leer at the clinging dress Laurana
wore.

“Tight-assed whoreson,” Vakos muttered after Rashas left. “He probably likes the young ones, eh?”

“I don’t know, my lord,” Laurana said.

“You don’t know much do you? Well, let’s see if you know how to suck a cock. Get over here,” he said, motioning to the
small space under his desk. Laurana slowly walked over to him and knelt down in front of him, sliding under the desk. “That’s
good, you just suck me off while I finish this paperwork, then we can have some real fun.”

Laurana let her anger show as he pushed his chair forward, trapping her under the desk with his crotch in her face. She
tightened her hands into fists and then let them release as she began to open his breeches and pulled out his cock. It was still
soft, although it was swelling rapidly under touch. She grimaced in disgust as she began to lick slowly at its head, letting her
tongue slide down its length and then back up. Vakos reached down with his left hand and slowly stroked her hair as she
lowered her mouth over his cock. She winced as his hand tightened and pushed down on her head, urging her to take his cock
deeper into her mouth. “It seems-” he grunted as his cock slid over her tongue, “you do know something.”

Laurana increased the speed of her bobbing head, hoping to finish him quickly. She only prayed he would be satisfied with this.
Her tongue slipped around his shaft as she used one hand to stroke his cock, the other resting on his thigh. Her hand tightened
as Vakos dug his hand in her hair and leaned back, his hips thrusting upwards. Laurana closed her eyes tightly and clutched at
is thigh, waiting for him to climax. It did not take long, Vakos grunted and forced her head downward as his seed began to
shoot from his cock. Laurana grimaced at the taste and swallowed it reluctantly, forcing an adoring look onto her face as
Vakos pushed back from the table and pulled her up to sit on his lap.”Did you enjoy that?” he asked, his hands running over
her thighs and groping her breasts.

“Y-yes,” she said, her skin crawling from his touch and trying not to cough from the reeking smoke given off by his pipe-weed.
He smiled and buried his face in her hair, running his lips over her her neck and then up the curve of her jaw to her ear.

“I’m so glad that you decided to come here,” he said. Even with her eyes turned away, she could hear the leer on his face.
“We’re going to have so much-”

He was interruted by a sharp and precise knock on the door. “Who is it?” he asked irritably, his hands stopping as they crept
up Laurana’s dress.

“Vakos,” a sultry woman’s voice said, “there’s been another resistance attack on a supply convoy.” Vakos cursed and shoved
Laurana off his lap to tumble to the floor. She got up slowly, watching as Vakos walked over to the door and flung it open,
revealing the black robed figure of a beautiful woman.

“This must be the legendary Laurana I’ve heard so much about,” the woman said, a smug smile on her red painted lips. Laurana
watched with trepidation in her eyes as the woman entered the room, walking in a scandalous fashion, her hips swaying with
each step.

“Dammit, Sylara, she’s mine! I don’t want to come back and find your marks all over her,” Vakos said as he pulled on his
gauntlets and cloak.

“Hmm? Oh, very well, sir. If you can’t stand sharing,” Sylara said, her eyes still locked on Laurana. “He’s so posessive,” she
whispered conspiratorally as Vakos hurried out of the room.

Laurana stared back at the woman, Sylara, trying to read the human woman’s face. “You don’t talk much, do you?” Sylara
said as she licked her sensuous red lips. Laurana jerked back at the touch of one of her perfectly manicured red painted nails
on her cheek. “Shy? So unlike the stories I’ve heard.” She grunted and stepped back. “Well, we’ll get to know each other
better...later,” Sylara said as she slowly left the room, casting a last look over her shoulder and running her eyes up and down
Laurana’s body.

Laurana felt her head spinning as she leaned against the desk. What had she gotten herself into? All she had wanted to do was
bring her son back home, instead she had fallen into a nightmare.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

Kazarss quickly shut his drawer, hiding whatever had been in his hand before Marshal Medan could see it. “Good afternoon,
Kazarss,” Medan said, nodding his head to the Aurak draconian who sat behind the desk.

“A good afternoon to you as well, sir,” Kazarss said with a nod of his golden scaled head.

“Do you know why Laurana is here?” Medan asked, going straight to the point with his usual bluntness.

“No, sir,” Kazarss answered, “I was unaware she was even in Qualinost. And if she is, she is not here on a diplomatic visit or
else I would have heard of it.”

“Is that so? Well, then, why is she here?”

“Your guess is as good as mine, sir. Why don’t you ask your intelligence division?” Kazarss said with more than a hint of
bitterness. “I’m sure Vakos would enjoy torturing a few more civilians to death.”

“You forget your place, Kazarss. You are here as a diplomat and no more, you have no say in how I run my military
operations,” Medan said although inside he shared Kazarss’ feelings towards Vakos. The man was a disgrace and it shamed
him to allow Vakos to head the intelligence division, but the man was good at his job.

“Yes, sir,” Kazarss said, his eyes going blank and staring straight ahead. “Is there anything else you would like from me, sir?”

“No, thank you,” Medan said as he left the office. Why was Laurana here? To visit her son? Senator Rashas would know, that
man had his fingers in everything.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

“You called for me, my lord?” Kerian asked, her voice meek and servile. Rashas grinned over his steepled fingers, examing the
Kagoneti girl’s body. She was filth, yes, but good looking filth. Her brown skin was flawless and her hair shone like burnished
gold. Two brown eyes, deep as the forest, looked up at him from where she was kneeling on the floor, showing no sign of her
being anything other than a servant.

“Yes, I have a special job for you,” Rashas said, licking his lips in anticipation. Sylara, one of the Knights of the Skull who
worked under Vakos, had approached him earlier in the day with a plan for Laurana and Gilthas’ woman kneeling before him. Sylara
had wanted one of the other servants at first, but Rashas had forced her to include Kerian. He could use this to further weaken
Gilthas, if the half-breed elf thought that his woman had betrayed him he’d seek advice and comfort from the wise Senator
Rashas. Not to mention that it would teach the Kagonesti a lesson about daring to consort with a Qualinesti, even a half-breed
one.

He wondered if the girl had any idea that he knew of her relationship with Gilthas. He doubted it, someone of her status could
barely think coherently. “One of the Knights requires a companion for the night, you will go to her.”

Rashas smiled at the look of pure shock on the girl’s face. Whatever she had been expecting, it hadn’t been this. “You will be
blindfolded and led to the Knight’s room when she is ready. That is all, you will be summoned.”

“But-” Kerian began.

“But what? You stupid Kagonesti filth, you will listen to my orders and obey them without question, is that clear?” Rashas
screamed, leaping to his feet. “Is that clear?” he said quietly when Kerian was slow to answer, smiling politely.

“Yes, my lord,” she finally said.

“Good, now go,” Rashas said, sitting down and dabbing his damp forehead with a handkerchief.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

“I have to?” Laurana asked plaintively. Vakos smiled at her and stroked her hair.

“Yes, I can’t keep you all to myself, can I?” he said with a leer. “I’ll call you when you’re to be sent to the Knight. Until then,
you can entertain these two lieutenants. They performed admirably when the resistance attacked and they deserve to be
rewarded,” he said, indicating the two Knights standing at attention by the door. “You don’t mind, do you?”

“No, my lord,” Laurana said, choking back words of rage. “I’ll do my best to entertain them.”

“Of course you will, my dear, of course you will. Now go along now.” Laurana hung her head as the two Knights grabbed her
arms and eagerly hustled her out of the office. “Oh, and don’t leave any marks,” Vakos said. The Knights nodded their
agreement and resumed their quick walk out of the office. She let them lead her through the hallways of the palace until
they reached a wing designated as barracks for the Knights until the fortress was fully completed. She looked up in horror
when she saw that she wasn’t being taken to a private room or suite, but to the main barracks of the entire garrison still
stationed in the palace complex.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

Marshal Medan strode into Senator Rashas’ office without bothering to knock. The elf was leaning back in his chair, his mouth
hanging open and a blissful look on his face, oblivious to all the world. Medan waited a moment for Rashas to notice his
presence, then coughed loudly.

The senator jerked himself upright, his face turning an ugly red as he prepared to berate whomever had disturbed him. Medan
grinned at the way Rashas’ features twisted as he realized who had called on him, finally settling into a uncomfortable smile.
Rashas seemed to be doing something with something under his desk, his face twitching.

“Rashas, I need a question answered,” Medan said, wondering what Rashas was doing.

“Cer-ah-tainly, my lord,” Rashas said.

“I need to know why- What in the Abyss are you doing, Rashas?” Medan asked, striding behind the desk without waiting for
an answer. He hissed in anger as he saw what Rashas had been doing, or, more precisely, what was being done to him. A
young looking elf, Medan couldn’t tell how many years old she was, she looked no more than twenty if she were a human, was
kneeling under the desk. Despite his presence, she was continuing to bob her head over Rashas’ cock. The elf looked out of
the corner of her eyes at Medan. Her face was flushed and her eyes frightened.

Medan fought himself for control, using his discipline to calm down. Forcing his face into a calm mask, he kicked back Rashas’
chair and extended his hand to the elf girl who took it fearfully, as if she were afraid of what he might do. “Don’t be afraid,
miss,” he said. “Rashas and I have some business to attend to, will you leave us?” She nodded gratefully and ran from the
room, shutting the door loudly behind her. “Explanation, Rashas?”

“Merely allowing her to pay off her father’s debt to me,” Rashas said smoothly as he tucked himself back into his robes.

Medan had to work hard to keep his face neutral. For all his affection for the city and the country of the elves, there were times
like this when he hated all their sickeningly soft decadence. That Rashas would use a young woman like that and that her father
would allow it was naseuating to him. “What is Laurana doing here?” he asked, his voice calm and controlled.

“Laurana? She is visiting her son, I believe. Nothing important and nothing to bother you with,” Rashas answered evenly
although his eyes were twitching madly.

“How long is she planning to stay?”

“Not long, she might have already left.”

Rashas is lying to me, Medan thought. But why? “Very well,” he said. “See to it that in the future I am made aware of these
unimportant events.”

Rashas nodded and smiled as he watched Marshal Medan leave his office, smacking his hand against the desk after the door
had closed. He had been close to finishing when the human had interrupted him, now it would take even more coercion to bring
the girl back, yet another problem in a seemingly endless procession of annoyances.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

“You think that the commander will mind us sharing her?” the Knight on Laurana’s left asked.

“No, not as long as we clean her up and don’t mark her,” the other said, reaching out to open the door. Laurana briefly
considered what she’d have to do if she went in there. Bedding that pig, Vakos, was one thing but she’d be damned to the
bottom of the Abyss if she was going to let the entire garrison have a turn with her body.

Feigning a stumble, she snapped her forehead left into the Knight’s face as he bent to support her. She lashed out with her foot
and caught the other Knight in the gut, doubling him over as he tried to grab her. She chopped the side of her hand into the
nape of his neck, using an old bar fighting trick learned from Caramon, and sending him crashing to the ground. The first Knight
was clutching at his broken nose and trying to call for help when Laurana swung a right cross and sent him slumping agains the
wall.

She was running around the corner, rubbing her bruised knuckles, when she collided with the tall and lean form of an Aurak
draconian. The draconian blinked at her as she lay sprawled on the floor and bent over, its hand extended to her.

“Are you injured, my lady?” it asked in a pleasant tenor, the usual hissing draconian accent carefully concealed. Laurana
narrowed her eyes as she stood, ignoring its extended hand.

Aurak’s had been the most powerful of the draconians created in the last dragonwar. They posessed great magical and physical
powers, enough to make them the match of nearly any mage on the planet.

The draconian watched calmly as Laurana looked back at the awakening Knights and brushed by it at a jog. “Always a
pleasure,” it called out after her. Kazarss turned and headed towards the Knights. “Something the matter, Knights?” he asked.

The first Knight blanched as he looked up into the reptilian face of Kazarss. “N-no, my lord,” he stammered, staggering to his
feet and backing away. “No problem at all.”
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

Kerian looked at her face in the expensive silver mirror mounted on the wall of the bedroom. She had been waiting for about
ten minutes since Rashas had called her and told her to report here. Now, naked, she examined her face and hair. At first she
had been nervous about having to serve as a bedmate to one of the Knights but then she realized what an opportunity it would
present. If she could please the Knight enough, she stood a chance at becoming a nightly companion. As a nightly companion,
she could hopefully be privy to some pillow talk intended to impress a sweet companion.

She frowned slightly as she thought of Gilthas, well, he would understand. His parents made sacrifices to win the war and so
would she. Wiping the frown from her face, she smiled shyly into the mirror and looked up through her eyelashes. Or would the
Knight prefer a more defiant partner? she thought as she changed her expression to anger and defiance touched with a hint of
fear. Or maybe a terrified maiden? She shrank back from the mirror, her body shivering and her eyes trembling. Hmm, have to
improvise once she saw the Knight. Heard, she corrected herself.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

Laurana paced in her room and slapped her fist into her palm. I should have gone with them, she thought. But I’ve already been
through enough. Not that there hadn’t been other times like this, I’m sure I could have handled it but- She swore and dropped
onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling and watching the setting sun casting its reddish light on the walls. Too late now, she could
only hope that Vakos would still be willing to believe she was broken, at least around him.

She sighed and rolled over onto her side, looking out the window at the forest, thinking about when she had first left Qualinesti
to follow after Tanis and the companions. She had been so different then, sheltered and naive, not knowing of what awaited
her. Not knowing whether or not she would ever be able to return home. Her mind filled with memories of years past, she
slowly drifted off to sleep.
 
 

Laurana remembered the night so long ago, the night before the companions had left to infiltrate the fortress of Pax Tharkas.
She remembered slipping out of the palace complex with only a cloak thrown over her flimsy nightdress. She remembered
slipping into the glade where Tanis slept, separated from his companions by only a thin screen of trees. She remembered
stepping over his sleeping form and watching him, then...
 

...He had reached up quickly, like a striking snake, and dragged her down across his body, the dagger pressing at her neck..

“Tanthalas!” she had screamed at the sight of the steel gleaming in the dim starlight.

“Laurana!” he had gasped.

Laurana’s eyes were wide at the feel of his firm chest pressed against her as she lay atop him, her long hair flowing over her
shoulders and draping over him. Her heart beat faster as she realized that her cloak had fallen away and she only had her
nightdress on. Only a flimsy piece of silk and satin was between her and Tanis.

“Laurana...” he had said as he sheathed his dagger. In the past he had asked her what she was doing, sneaking out of the
palace complex to see him. In the past, she had told him and he had refused to do as she asked, deciding to go to Pax Tharkas
and what she had thought was certain death. But this time...

“Laurana, what are you doing out here?” he whispered harshly as he sat up, his hands tight on her arms.

“I...I came to see you,” she said, her voice still shaking from her close encounter with the dagger. She was acutely conscious of
how strong he was, how her heart was racing just from his presence. Acting on impulse, she leaned forward, her hair brushing
over his body, to kiss him.

The bristly hair of his beard scratched at her face as she leaned into him, pressing her breasts against his chest. She felt him
resist for a moment, then his hands slid up her arms and over to her back. His hands pressed against her back, bringing her
closer to him as he struggled to his knees.

Laurana moaned softly as he lifted her awkwardly, shifting her in his arms and standing. She broke the kiss reluctantly as she
looked up at him, wondering what he intended. Her heart felt as if it would burst as he slowly walked out of the glade and
deeper in the forest. They finally emerged in another clearing, this one next to a sparkling stream.

“Laurana,” he moaned as he spread his cloak on the grass and set her down upon it.

“Tanthalas,” she whispered, shivering in delight as he ran his hands down her body to cup her small breasts. “Yes, my
betrothed.” She watched his face as he slid the straps of her nightdress down her shoulders, watching as his eyes widened and
he leaned forward to kiss her. “Oh, yes, Tanthalas,” she moaned as he kissed down her neck, beard scratching delightfully
against the sensitive skin of her breasts. “Tanthalas, that beard is good for...
 
 

“...something,” she said, her eyes fluttering open. For a moment she had no idea where she was. “Tanthalas?” she said, still in
the confused state halfway between dream and wakening. Then she heard a loud knocking on her door and the dream fled to
be replaced by the harsh demands of reality. Wiping at tears that had suddenly appeared in her eyes, she slid off the bed and
went to the door.

Sylara stood in the doorway, dressed in her black robes and carrying a bundle along with a sheaf of paper. The priest walked
into the room, purposely brushing against Laurana and running her hand across the elf’s thigh.

“I heard what you did to those men,” Sylara said, sitting on the bed and leaning back on her hands, one leg crossed over the
other. “You still have some spirit, I see.”

“I’m sorry, I was frightened,” Laurana said, still standing by the door with her head hanging.

“I’m sure you were. I would have not wanted to be in your place had you gone into the barracks. There were quite a
few...disappointed Knights. I’d be careful walking alone, if I were you.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Laurana said.

“Mistress, call me mistress,” Sylara said.

“Yes, mistress.”

“Good, you still know how to obey commands. I suppose that was how it was during the last Dragonwar? You took
commands from the real generals and served as a delightful little figurehead for the men to rally around?”

Laurana hesitated. She had made those decisions, she had been the one making the plans and leading the troops. She was not
some figurehead! But she managed to get control of herself and said, “Yes, I just did what they told me.”

“And you’ll be doing what I tell you tonight, won’t you?”

“Yes, mistress.”

“Good,” Sylara said and stood. Laurana watched as the priest unrolled the bundle and revealed a set of shining platemail.
Something was wrong with it though. There was too little of it, for one thing. “I had this made just for this moment,” Sylara said,
lifting a skimpy breastplate that would do very little in protecting its wearer. “Ever since I saw your portrait, the one with you
and the silver dragon, I decided that I had to have you. You looked so delicious in your armor as the Golden General, but I
believe I have improved upon the design.”

Laurana watched with wide eyes as Sylara took more pieces from the bundle and laid them out on the bed. It did look like the
armor she had worn complete with her plumed helmet. The only problem was that every piece was like the breastplate,
severely lacking in material. She’d be nearly naked if she wore this armor. She sighed, that was probably the point. “Now,
Vakos won’t let me have you, the bastard. At least not yet.” She smiled and winked. “He’ll pay for that. But I did manage to
convince him to play a little game, one that I came up with a while ago.” Sylara gestured to the sheaf of paper. “Read, out
loud.”

Laurana picked up the sheaf, it seemed to be a play, and began to read.

“The Defeat of the Golden General, by Sylara Darksdaughter,” she read.

“My writing name, do you like it?” Sylara interrupted then motioned for her to continue reading.
 

     “Scene: A battlefield. The Golden General stands alone against a Knight of the Skull Lily. She is armed with a
     sword.
     Golden General: So, Takhisis has sent her champion to defeat me. Come then, for you shall die!!!
     Knight: Arrogant wench!! Soon you shall feel my power!!!!
     (They fight. The Golden General is quickly disarmed and falls to her knees in front of the Knight)
     G. G.: Please, oh Knight!! Please spare me!!! I am nothing but a pawn of others!
     Knight: Why should I spare an enemy? You are no doubt plotting my doom, even as we speak.
     G. G.: Oh!!! No!! I wouldn’t!! I couldn’t!!!! Please (she prostrates herself before him, kissing his boots) I’ll do
     anything!! Please let me live!!!!! (She is clinging to his legs, weeping pitifully)
     Knight: I cannot kill one so pathetic.
     G. G.: Thank you! Thank you my lord!!! I will serve you faithfully! (She is crying in relief, kissing his hands)
     Knight: But you must be punished for your crimes against our Lady. (He removes his gauntlets and sits on a
     nearby rock)
     G. G.: Oh, but please, master, don’t hurt me!!
     Knight: Over my knee!!! (The Golden General, still weeping, approaches him and bends over his knee. She
     shakes her head, her hair flying as he removes the armor covering her bottom and her breasts)
     G. G.: Oh no! What are you going to do to me?!?!!!!!
     Knight: I am giving you the punishment you deserve! (He raises his hand and begins to spank her, his other hand
     holding her wrists away from her ass. She screams and protests at first. After a few strokes, she begins to moan
     and wiggle with enjoyment.)
     G. G.: Yes master!!! Spank me harder!!!! Punish me!! Give me what I deserve!”
 

Laurana read on in horror as the Golden General was tied to a stake and thoroughly taken by at least fifty men, each time
screaming how much she enjoyed it, although, of course, she needed some convincing first. Then she was forced to attend the
Knight, serving as his table while he ate and his footstool while he relaxed. After that she was tied to a bed and was used by
another horde of Knights in every possible fashion until the play ended with her adoringly licking the come from the Knight’s
cock.

“It’s very good, isn’t it?” Sylara said, her voice husky and a thin sheen of sweat on her forehead. “Those imbeciles in Palanthas
said it wasn’t, said that no theatre would ever perform it. But I’ll show them, you’re going to be the Golden General to Vakos’
Knight. I may not be allowed to have you yet, but I’m going to enjoy watching my play, finally performed as it should be!”
Sylara let out a shuddering breath and wiped her forehead with her sleeve. “Now, let’s get you dressed,” she said with an eager
smile.

Laurana stood helplessly as Sylara finished laying out the rest of the armor and motioned for her to remove her dress. Laurana
thought she heard the priest make a low moan as the dress fell to the floor. “Oh, gods,” Sylara whispered, her eyes roaming
over Laurana’s body from head to toe and back again. Almost in a trance, she approached Laurana with her hands
outstretched. “More than I ever imagined.”

Sylara shook her head and broke out of her trance just a few feet away from Laurana, turning back to the bed to pick up the
armor skirt. “Come over here and let me put this on you,” she said coyly, holding up the skirt and wiggling it. Laurana sighed
and walked over, turning so that her back faced Sylara.

Sylara licked her lips again and bent her head close to Laurana’s back, inhaling her scent deeply. She had to fight to keep from
running her lips over the fair skin on Laurana’s back and burying her face in the tumbling masses of her golden hair. Hands
trembling, Sylara reached around Laurana’s slender hips and placed the armor around them. She gasped at the feel of
Laurana’s skin brushing her hands as she buckled the armor into place and reached for the next set. Picking up the breastplate,
Sylara turned and reached around again then stopped and dropped the breastplate onto the bed. “I don’t know if it will fit
you,” she said in a husky voice. “Let me check-”

With that, she reached around Laurana to cup her breasts, weighing them and squeezing them in her hands. Her breathing hard,
she pressed herself against Laurana’s back and rested her chin on the elf’s shoulder. She stayed there for a while, eyes closed,
just slowly kneading Laurana’s breasts and nuzzling her hair.

Laurana grimaced in embarassment as Sylara continued to fondle her breasts. The human woman’s breathing was loud and
harsh in her ear and she seemed to be rubbing herself against Laurana’s bare back. Laurana gasped as Sylara pinched a nipple
and began to kiss her neck.

“No marks,” the human mumbled, tearing herself away from Laurana. “No marks. The breastplate will fit,” she said, still feeling
the soft skin of Laurana’s breasts and the way the elf’s nipples had hardened at the touch of her fingers. Buckling the
breastplate into place Sylara sighed and wondered how long it would be before Vakos let her have a turn with the elf.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 
 
 

Vakos looked up eagerly as the door to his bedroom opened and Laurana entered reluctantly. She was wearing the armor that
Sylara had made and looked very fetching indeed.

He was hopeful that Sylara would drop the whole ‘Golden General’ nonsense after this. The woman seemed to have an
unquenchable thirst for anything related to the Golden General. He had seen her buy locks of suspicious looking blonde hair
after a merchant had claimed they were from the Golden General.

It was all rather frightening, even to Vakos, a man who had seen and done things to make the blood run cold. The sight of an
entire wardrobe devoted to the Golden General was unnerving to say the least, especially after he had read the ‘plays’ as
Sylara called them.

Vakos snapped out of his reverie when he realized that Laurana was carrying a sword. He calmed quickly when he saw that it
was the tin sword that Sylara had recently ordered made. It looked splendid and was very shiny but had an edge like a pillow
and was about as dangerous.

“So...Takhisis has sent...her champion...to defeat me,” Laurana said slowly. She had never been good at memorizing speeches
or lines. Most of the time she had always given her speeches off the top of her head. “Um, come then. For you shall die.” She
winced as Sylara jabbed her in the back with a fingernail. “For you shall die!” Laurana walked into the room, goosebumps
forming on her bare skin.

Vakos watched as Sylara stepped into the room behind her, already flushed and licking her lips in anticipation. He stood and
turned his attention back to Laurana. The armor she was wearing barely covered her breasts and squeezed them together and
upwards, presenting a wonderful display of her cleavage. The rest of her armor left her stomach bare, starting just below her
navel and barely covering her hips. She did have a set of greaves and forearm protectors on, but they did nothing to cover her
further, instead just accentuating her exposed condition. Perched on her head was a replica of her helmet, a red plume trailing
across her bare shoulder and down to her breasts.

“Very nice,” he whispered, then coughed. “Arrogant wench! Soon you will feel my power!” Sitting on a couch on the right side
of the room, Sylara held a copy of her play in one hand while she surreptitiously rubbed herself through her robe with the other.

Laurana flushed as they continued to act out the play with Sylara occasionally prompting them if they forgot a line. Laurana
watched out of the corner of her eye as Sylara began to pleasure herself as she began to beg for mercy. From the sweaty sheen
to her skin and the glazed look in her eyes, Sylara was near her climax as Laurana was bent over Vakos’ lap as he sat on a
footstool.

Humiliating as the position was, it was almost worth it to be rid of the horribly chafing armor against her bare skin. Laurana bit
her lower lip as Vakos pulled her wrists behind her back and held them there while he caressed the skin of her bottom with his
other hand. She could feel his cock poking in her stomach through the fabric of his breeches and wondered how far the
enactment of the play would go. Would they allow the garrison to violate her? Would she be forced to pretend that she enjoyed
it? Worse, would the entire play and not just the opening scenes be acted out? Her thoughts flew from her head as Vakos
brough his hand down hard on her bottom.

This was no play spanking, more sound than anything else, no, this was most definitely a punishment meant to inflict pain and
humiliation. Laurana gritted her teeth as Vakos brought his hand down again and again, alternating between cheeks until she
could feel them almost glowing red. She panted as he stopped and began to knead her buttocks and thighs, relieved that he
was done. Just then, he started again, this time spanking her faster and harder than before. Unable to hold back anymore,
Laurana began to cry out with each slap of his palm on her bottom.

Sylara was just barely keeping control of herself as Laurana was spanked soundly. She forced herself to stop masturbating and
to pay attention to what they were doing. Still, each slap and the sight of Laurana’s reddened bottom made her wish she had a
servant here to pleasure her. She used the time while Vakos stripped Laurana to regain some measure of composure.

“The manacles, Vakos,” she said, barely hiding the excitement in her voice. She watched as Vakos put Laurana into a set of
manacles hanging from the wall, stretching the Golden General out with her hands above her head and her blonde hair spilling
down her back to her reddened bottom.

Laurana turned her head and rested her cheek against the plaster of the wall as she listened to Vakos stepping out of his armor
and clothes. She turned her head and saw Sylara sitting on the edge of the couch, her thighs squeezing together rythmically.
Laurana moaned softly as Vakos stepped over to her, his hands cupping her bottom and sending a flash of pain through her. He
squeezed her softly and then slid his fingers up to her waist and then to the small of her back. He buried his face in her hair,
nuzzling her neck as his hands slid up her flanks to cup her breasts.

Laurana gasped and threw her head back, her hands jerking against the chains above her head as Vakos slid his cock over her
bottom. He teased her, sliding the tip of his cock across the cheeks of her bottom and then between them. For a heart stopping
moment she thought he was going to penetrate her ass, but then he moved his cock down to between her thighs. She turned her
head and pressed her forehead against the wall as he pushed into her quim. Much to her shame, she let out a sigh of relief that
he had chosen to take her there instead of the other, much more painful possibility. Even worse was the knowledge that her
body had prepared itself for his entry, some primal response to his hands and fingers arousing her helplessly.

Vakos grunted in pleasure as he slowly pushed into Laurana. He began to knead her breasts, rubbing her nipples with his
fingers as he pressed her against the wall. She began to whimper as he slid deeper into her, the chains holding her clinking as
she tugged on them.

Laurana moaned, pressing herself against the wall as Vakos tried to push himself deeper into her. Her breathing was fast as she
felt her stomach press against the wall and she whimpered at the feeling of his crotch and hips rubbing against the sore skin of
her bottom. She shuddered as Vakos moved his hands away from her trapped breasts and down to her hips, pulling her
roughly away from the wall and kicking her legs apart to thrust deeper into her. She hung her head as Vakos pounded into her,
his fingers digging into her hips and each thrust chafing painfully against her bottom. He began to grunt and his thrusting became
wilder and jerky. Laurana looked over her shoulder at him and saw him throw back his head, the muscles in his neck standing
out as he grunted and clutched at her hips hard enough to make her gasp in pain, tears standing out in her eyes. He gave a
hoarse shout and jerked her back, nearly pulling her off her feet, as he came in her. For a moment after, he just stayed in her,
pressing her against the wall and breathing hard in her ear.

“Sir, respectfully asking permission to interrogate the prisoner,” Sylara said, standing behind them with her eyes wide. Vakos
grunted in response and pulled out of Laurana, leaving her hanging limply from her chains. “Thank you, sir,” Sylara said, rushing
to turn Laurana around to face away from the wall.

She stopped disappointedly as Vakos shook his head. “No, no time. There’s others waiting for her. Rashas wanted her,
remember?” he said.

“Please, sir,” Sylara said, her eyes flicking back to Laurana’s crotch. “This won’t take long, I just want-”

“Sorry, soldier. You can have her afterwards.”

“Yes, sir,” Sylara said dispiritedly, walking over to the couch to retreive her sweat stained sheaf of paper. “I’ll go ahead and
prepare things then?”

“Do that,” Vakos said as he slowly dressed. Smiling, he turned to Laurana. “Sylara says that Rashas has a special treat for you.
Maybe those men who you hurt today will get a chance to repay you.”

Too tired to struggle, Laurana closed her eyes, wondering what new horrors awaited her.

Many thanks to Eucher for her wonderful ideas and support, without which this story would not have been possible.
Comments, questions, criticisms, or requests to [email protected].

              Laurana:  Prisoner of the Knights, pt. 3

Story codes: (F/F, F/F/F, M/F, anal, oral, b/d, n/c)

Laurana struggled to keep her breathing even as she felt her wrists being tied to the bedposts. She had already been blindfolded
and gagged by Sylara after she had been led into this bedroom. Her legs were already tied apart, leaving her spread eagled on
the sheets.

“Comfortable?” Sylara said into her ear. Laurana nodded as best she could and mumbled something around the handkerchief
tied across her mouth. “What was that?”

“-what’s going to happen?” Laurana said as Sylara pulled the gag free.

“Oh, don’t worry. It’ll be great fun,” Sylara said and tucked the gag back. With a lingering touch on Laurana’s cheek she
walked away, her footsteps suddenly disappearing.

Laurana waited, her ears straining for any sound, any sound at all. She turned her head towards the door when she heard it
open and two sets of footsteps. “You know your instructions,” she heard Senator Rashas say and then the footsteps got closer.

Laurana tightened her hands as she felt someone get on the bed and move between her legs. She jerked at the first touch of
someone’s hand on her calf and began to breathe heavily as the same person began to stroke her thigh.

Kerian stroked the woman’s thigh, feeling her tremble under her touch. She bent her head and began to kiss the woman’s skin,
her tongue flicking out to slide across the woman’s inner thigh as she worked her way up towards the woman’s sex. Kerian
wished she wasn’t blindfolded so she could see the Knight’s reaction, but Rashas had said that the woman had peculiar tastes.

“Excellent, Sylara, excellent,” Vakos said, rubbing his hands on the arms of the chair he sat on. “You are as imaginative as the
priests said you were.”

“Thanks you, Vakos,” Sylara said, her eyes on Laurana and Kerian. The brown skinned elf was crouched between Laurana’s
spread thighs, slowly kissing her way up to her quim. Sylara sighed as Kerian bent her head and licked at Laurana. “Dark
Queen, how I wish I was her,” she whispered to herself.

“Hmm, no, you don’t, Knight,” Rashas said. His face was flushed and he was obviously aroused by the actions of the two
women, although he showed no sign of attempting to relieve himself, unlike most of the other Knights sitting behind the globe of
silence. “I believe that the Kagonesti is going to the barracks after this. If she manages to survive that, she’ll be allowed to
return to her duties as a servant.”

Sylara nodded slowly and turned her head back to Laurana, her stomach churning from the brief conversation with the Senator.
She had joined the Knights for power and luxury, not for the pleasure of torturing others. True, she did work as an interrogator,
but with her magic she could get anything she wanted without ever having to hurt anyone, at least not badly. Sure, she admitted
to herself, she enjoyed a good whipping as much as anyone else, but she took no pleasure in the thought of torturing someone
to death.

Shaking her head, she forced herself to pay attention to the two women on the bed. Seeing Laurana’s body trembling with
pleasure banished any misgivings about Rashas from her mind as Sylara licked her lips and leaned closer to enjoy the show.

Kerian had been worried for a while when the woman had shown no sign of reacting to her tongue and fingers. Fear of losing
her chance at infiltrating the Knights of Takhisis spurred her on and she redoubled her efforts to please the woman, using every
trick she had ever learned in her encounters with other Kagonesti women.

Laurana snorted for breath as the woman between her legs slid a finger into her. Try as she might, Laurana couldn’t fight the
pleasure she felt from the woman’s extremely skilled hands. She knew that Vakos and the woman were trying to humiliate her,
trying to make her enjoy what was being done to her, but it felt so good. She groaned into her gag as the woman began to flick
her clit with her tongue while she pushed in another finger. She began to cry, the tears soaking into her blindfold, as she realized
she was enjoying something which proper Qualinesti women never did. Among the elves, only the Kagonesti women were
rumored to perform such lewd acts with each other.

Kerian knew the Knight was close to coming as she rolled her tongue around the woman’s clit, the taste of a man still on her.
Kerian began to lick faster, trying to get the woman to climax as quickly as possible. While she would normally try to draw out
the pleasurable ascent to orgasm, Kerian feared that the Knight might not like being teased.

The woman bucked her hips suddenly, her body going taut. Kerian could hear her snorting for air through her nose and
wondered why the woman hadn’t touched her yet.

Laurana moaned as her hips began to thrust towards the woman’s flicking tongue, nearly sobbing from the pleasure and shame
she was feeling. She could feel the sweat running down her body and over her flanks to soak into the sheets as the woman
began to furiously pump two fingers in and out of her, causing Laurana to thrust her hips towards the woman in time, driving the
woman’s fingers deeper into her. With a despairing cry, Laurana feared that they had truly broken her, not with torture and
pain, but with pleasure.

Kerian took a gamble and slid a finger on her free hand in between the cheeks of the woman’s ass. Ready to stop at the
slightest sign of displeasure from the Knight, she began to press her finger against the woman’s ass. When the woman kept up
the motion of her hips, Kerian pressed harder and felt her finger slide into the woman.

Laurana cried out in mixed horror and pleasure as she felt the woman’s finger slide into her anus. Something she had only let
Tanis do a few times in their marriage, something that she had avoided since that night during the last Dragonwar. The
combination of the woman’s fingers and tongue was finally too much for her and she gave up fighting her climax. To her great
shame, her efforts at staving off her climax only made it that much more intensely pleasurable when she finally did.
 
 

Marshal Medan stomped through the hallways of the royal residence, headed towards Vakos’ bedroom. The discrepancies in
the quartermaster’s report had been traced back to Vakos’ interrogation team. Food, supplies, and money had all been
siphoned off a little at a time. These losses were especially dangerous now, when reports of horrifying monsters were
coming from the north. Dragons of lava and shadows that killed, apparently summoned up as a last desperate gamble by the
soft and weak armies of light.

Swearing that he would see the torturer on his own machines if he had stolen from the Knights, Medan knocked open the door
to Vakos’ office. Seeing that he wasn’t there, he turned and kicked open the door leading to the bedroom.

“What is the meaning of this?” he roared when he saw the naked form of Laurana, gagged and blindfolded, tied to the bed with
a servant girl crouched between her thighs. He stormed over to the bed with his dagger drawn and quickly sliced off the ropes
tying her to the bed. With a furious glance over at Vakos, Rashas, and the others, he gently pulled off her blindfold and
removed her gag.

Laurana blinked in confusion as her blindfold and gag were removed. She was still shaking from the aftereffects of her orgasm
and her eyes were unfocused as she glanced around the room. “Everything will be alright,” she heard someone say from near
her and then he was walking away.

Kerian froze as she heard the man come into the room. He sounded furious and she wondered if she had just been pleasuring
the man’s mistress. When she heard nothing but heavy breathing from the woman, she cautiously lifted her blindfold, ready to
assume her role as a subservient at any moment.

Kerian’s composure cracked when she saw Laurana, obviously lost in the afterglow of her climax, sprawled across the bed,
her legs still spread. All her suspicions came back with a vengeance as fury boiled up within her. Only by the greatest effort of
will did she keep from leaping up the bed and throttling the slut who had sold out her own people.
She slipped back into her role as a servant and looked up fearfully as she saw Marshal Medan approaching the bed.

“Go home,” he said to her, trying to be as kind as possible. She nodded and slid off the bed, slipping her dress on and hurrying
from the room. As she left the residence, she wondered if she should tell Gilthas of the whorish conduct of his mother. Yes, she
finally decided, he’d have to know sooner or later.

Laurana wiped at her face as the new Knight draped a blanket over her shoulders and turned to Vakos and the others. “How
dare you treat a princess like some sort of common whore!” he said. From the tone of his voice she judged him to be the
commander, perhaps he was the Marshal Medan she had heard of.

“Vakos, you are confined to quarters until I say otherwise,” Medan continued. “You,” he said, pointing to the group of Knights
who had been jerking themselves furiously when he had arrived, “will be standing picket duty for the next six months.” They
almost started to protest their assignment to the most dangerous duty in Qualinesti but stopped when they saw Medan’s
expression. “Senator Rashas, I am ashamed that you represent your people. Rest assured that I will be having a serious talk
with the Speaker about your replacement.” Glaring at them, he said, “Now get out.”

Sylara crept over to the door, sweating in relief. Just as she was about to escape, she heard Marshal Medan’s voice calling her
back in. “Sylara, isn’t it? What happened?” he asked.

Thinking furiously, Sylara did her best to look ashamed. “Sir, Vakos, I mean, Commander Vakos ordered me to cast the spell
and stay here while they watched-” she stopped and did her best to look embarrassed. “He said it was a new form of
interrogation. I’m sorry, sir, I should have stopped him.”

Marshal Medan sighed and looked back over to the bed where Laurana had curled into a ball with the blanket wrapped tightly
around her. “Very well, take her and see that she gets a bath and a good meal. If she’s hurt in any way, heal her. And make
sure no one else tries to assault her! If they do, you have my permission to use deadly force,” he said as he walked out of the
room. “I’ll check on her in the morning,” he called out over his shoulder.

Sylara let out a shaking breath as she leaned against the wall. She had dodged the executioner’s axe. Something momentous
must be happening, she thought, otherwise I never would have been able to get a story like that past him. Wiping the sweat
from her forehead with her robe’s sleeve, she walked over to the bed.

Laurana lay on her side, her eyes tightly closed as she listened to Sylara walk over. A part of her wanted to weep from the
shame of enjoying what had just happened. She felt her stomach churn at the thought of one of the Knights licking her until she
came. But it had felt so good, she thought. She hadn’t had anyone do that for her since Tanis left. The thought of him, dead not
too long ago sent her over the edge and she began to cry jerkily, sniffing and rubbing her eyes in an effort to control herself.

“Lucky for me, hmm?” Sylara said as she sat on the bed next to Laurana. “Come on, stop crying and we, oh, I mean you, can
go take a bath.” Laurana looked up over her shoulder and saw Sylara leaning over her with a hungry smile on her face.

Laurana rolled over and looked up at the woman. She didn’t have the strength to resist anymore, not now anyway. Only one
day had passed since she first arrived in Qualinesti and had been taken to see Senator Rashas, then forced to pleasure Vakos.
Her last nights sleep had done little to refresh her and she had only gotten a brief nap earlier in the afternoon. Her efforts to
keep Vakos believing that she was broken had exhausted her, as had the brutal fucking that he had subjected her to before she
had been given to Sylara.

Too tired to resist, Laurana let Sylara lead her out of the room and down the hall back towards the priest's quarters.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Marshal Medan rapped sharply on the door to Kazarss’ office and chambers and stepped in without waiting for a reply. Again,
he saw the Aurak draconian quickly hide something in his desk drawer before he turned his chair to face Medan.

“What are you hiding, Kazarss?” Medan snapped, his patience worn thin by the day’s events. He had never liked draconians,
especially the Auraks. You never could trust one of the scaly bastards, he thought, the rest might be good fighters, but the
Auraks... The Auraks were magic users and shiftier than a goblin trying to avoid latrine duty.

“Nothing of any great importance, sir,” Kazarss said calmly. “I take it you are here to confirm the reports you have been
receiving from the north?”

“Yes, these are ridiculous. Dragons made from lava and shadows that leave no trace of their victims? It sounds like children’s
tales.”

“These are no tales, Marshal. I have received reports from some of my fellow Auraks and they confirm what you have been
told. Some new power has arisen in the north and is sweeping down across Ansalon.”

“And what do my orders say? Defend Qualinesti from invasion. Brilliant orders from brilliant leaders,” Medan said sarcastically,
stopping when he realized he was confiding in a draconian. “Thank you for your help, Kazarss.”

“You are most welcome, sir,” Kazarss said as he watched the Marshal leave. He waited a minute more and opened his eyes to
look at the object within. Gold glinted in the last rays of the setting sun before he closed the drawer and stood. He usually took
a walk around the city before dinner just as the sun was setting.

As Kazarss locked his door behind him and pocketed the key, he stopped. Listening carefully he heard it again, a man’s voice
threatening someone. Hurrying through the halls of the royal residence, he arrived at an intersection and saw two Knights of the
Lily surrounding an elf woman. Laurana, he realized.

“You’re going to pay for what you did to us, bitch,” one of them was saying, punctuating each word with a threatening motion
of his dagger. “If you’re nice, we’ll be nice to you. If you try anything again, we can hurt you without leaving any marks.”

Laurana swore inwardly as she hugged the blanket around her body. Sylara had run off after some servant to order hot water
and dinner, leaving her to wait here. She had been too tired to take notice of the Knights as they had walked up and trapped
her against the wall. If they had been unarmed she could have dealt with them, but a dagger changed everything. She couldn’t
allow herself to be killed, not until Gilthas was safely out of the control of Rashas. “Well?” the Knight said, his dagger raised
menacingly.

Laurana’s eyes widened as the Aurak draconian, the same one whom she had run into earlier, stepped up behind the Knight
and reached out calmly to grab his wrist. The Knight whirled at the touch and his mouth dropped open in fear as the
draconian’s hand tightened. Laurana could hear the man’s bones grating together and then crushing as he screamed.

“I believe that we are supposed to show more courtesy to our hosts,” the draconian said as he gave the man’s broken wrist a
savage turn before dropping it and letting him sink to the floor. The other Knight was already gone, running as if his life
depended on it. “I am sorry, my lady,” Kazarss said with a polite bow. “These scum will not attempt to molest you in the
future.” He turned to the Knight struggling onto his knees. “Will you?” The Knight shook his head and began to run down the
hall, his injured wrist cradled in his other hand.

“Who are you?” Laurana asked, wondering what motive the draconian had to save her. Maybe he wants me for himself, she
thought bleakly.

“My apologies, I am Kazarss of her Majesty’s Diplomatic Service,” he said, bowing again. “It is my honor to meet the Golden
General in person.” Laurana laughed inwardly. Diplomatic Service, spies he meant to say, she thought bitterly. The draconian
turned as Sylara came running up the hallway.

“Kazarss,” she said neutrally. “Can I help you?”

“No, I was just conversing with your guest.”

“Ah, well. We have to be going for dinner,” Sylara said, putting her arm around Laurana’s shoulder and leading her down the
hall. “Good evening to you.”

“A good evening to you as well,” Kazarss answered with a tilt of his head.

“You’re lucky I got back when I did,” Sylara said into Laurana’s ear. “He probably wanted to drag you back to his chambers
and have his way with you.” Looking around, she leaned in closer and whispered, “Those draconians, they’re a randy bunch.
They’ll try to bed any woman they can.” Laurana thought back to the Death Cells under Neraka and nodded in agreement
although she still wondered why the draconian had been so courteous instead of trying to force her back to its quarters.
Perhaps it was the way of the Auraks, she thought. She had never encountered one of them outside the battlefield.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Kazarss watched the two women walk away before he turned and left the royal residence. He walked south, following one of
the streets through Qualinost and then into the grove that stood in the center of the city. A brook flowed there, gentle and
burbling softly as it ran over the rocks.

Kazarss smiled as best he could while he stood by the brook, watching the waters dance in the fading light of the sun. He
looked up at the singing of the birds and watched as they hopped and flitted from the tree branches above him. He raised his
hand and one of the bolder ones flew down to perch on his finger, cheeping impudently for food. For some reason the birds
liked him and never seemed to be afraid of him. More flew down to settle on his shoulders and head as he pulled a bag of seed
from his robe pocket. Settling himself onto a rock, he spread the seed out on the ground before him and watched as they ate.

When they had finally finished, the daylight was almost gone. He stood and shooed a few birds hoping for more seed from his
head, sighing as he watched them fly away back to their nests. Shaking his head, he left the grove and walked to the center of
the city and the Hall of the Sky.

He frowned as he climbed the hill to the Hall of the Sky. The Knights had just finished the construction of their fortress in the
center of the city, just south of the hill which the Hall of the Sky stood on. It was an ugly thing, so unlike the graceful buildings
which the elves built, which was, he supposed, the point.

As he reached the top of the hill, he turned and looked back to the Tower of the Sun, a soaring spire of burnished gold. The
very tip of the tower caught the last rays of the setting sun for a moment, throwing sparkles of red and gold across the city
before going dark. Kazarss looked down below his feet at the map inlaid into the stone in amazing detail. For a moment he
could pretend that he was a dragon soaring above the land, free to fly wherever his heart took him. Then the night came,
shrouding the city in a darkness lit by the scattered lights of the houses. For a long time, he stood there, his head tilted back,
gazing up at the stars.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana sighed as she sank into the steaming water of the bathtub, wincing as the hot water stung her sensitive bottom. Her
muscles began to slowly unknot and she felt herself begin to relax. She slid lower into the water, luxuriating in the warmth as she
let her hair fall loose and dangle into the tub. She closed her eyes, banishing all thoughts of Vakos, Gilthas, and Rashas from her
mind.

Sylara silently slipped into the room, closing the door slowly behind her. She grinned broadly and ran her tongue over her lips
slowly as she crept up behind Laurana. She knelt on the tile floor behind Laurana, watching the slow rise and fall of her breasts,
glistening with water. Sylara tucked the image away for a future play and bent her head closer to Laurana. Then, slowly, she ran
her lips gently over Laurana’s cheek.

Laurana gasped at the sudden touch and twisted in the bathtub, sending water sloshing around the inner rim of the tub. She saw
Sylara, her chin resting on her arms as she sent them on the rim of the tub. The woman had a pleased smile on her face and was
wearing a loose silk dressing gown, black of course, which belted around the waist.

“I did say we’d get to know each other better, didn’t I?” Sylara said softly, her eyes lingering on Laurana’s naked body.
Laurana blushed and belatedly covered herself with her arms.

“What do you want?” she said quietly, already knowing the answer.

“Oh, my dear, I want you,” Sylara said as she stood. Laurana watched in growing dread as Sylara slowly tugged at the knot
tying her gown together. Ever so slowly, Sylara shrugged the robe from her shoulders, first one, then the other. She held the
gown for a moment, letting the fabric drop to her waist and exposing her breasts in a brazen manner for Laurana. Then she let
the gown drop to the floor and stepped out of the puddled silk into the bathtub. “Now, why don’t we get you cleaned up?”

Laurana shuddered and closed her eyes, wondering if she could get away with forcing this harlot to leave her alone. “Ah, ah,
ah,” Sylara said as she leaned back against the tub.

“Rashas told me about your son and his woman. Vakos thinks he’s broken you, I know you better.” Sylara stretched
luxuriously and ran her foot up Laurana’s thigh, smiling as Laurana turned away to hide the unwanted look of pleasure that
crossed her face. “Now, I know you enjoyed your little tryst with Kerian-” she stopped at the look of horrified surprise on
Laurana’s face. “Oh, you didn’t know it was Kerian who was pleasuring you?”

“N-no,” Laurana stammered, feeling the blood drain from her face. What would the Kagonesti think of her now? Would she be
able to convince Kerian to leave? Or would the woman think that she was a willing collaborator?

“If it helps, I think she rather enjoyed it as well.” Sylara smiled as she saw Laurana visibly flush. “Now, let’s get you cleaned
up, shall we?”

Laurana groaned inwardly at the sight of the sponge held in Sylara’s hand, somehow more horrible than any whip or instrument
of torture. Laurana watched, frozen, as Sylara leaned forward and began to slide her way up the tub, a small wave rising before
her.

Sylara smiled as Laurana tried to back away but was stopped by porcelain of the tub. Sylara saw the elf actually shiver as she
ran her hand up her thigh. “Is the great Golden General afraid of me?” she whispered as she leaned over and kissed Laurana.

Laurana squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her back against the tub, sliding down as Sylara moved closer until the priest was
nearly straddling her. She winced as Sylara bit her lower lip hard enough to draw blood and moved away. “Turn around and let
me wash your back,” Sylara said in a husky voice.

Sylara murmured in appreciation as Laurana turned around, her golden hair plastered to her back. She gathered the heavy
locks in her left hand and slowly lifted them out of the way, draping them over Laurana’s shoulder. With her other hand she
dipped the sponge in the water and reached for a vial of expensive soap. She felt Laurana’s body shaking as she began to rub
the sponge over her back in slow circles that gradually lowered. “Now lean back,” Sylara said, rubbing herself under the water
with her free hand as Laurana leaned back.

Laurana kept her eyes closed as she felt Sylara’s nipples press against her back, each one already hard as rock. But closing her
eyes only made it worse as all her attention was focused on the soft stroking motion of the sponge in Sylara’s hand as it crept
up her belly to her breasts. She moaned helplessly as Sylara ran the sponge lightly over her nipples, sending a jolt of involuntary
pleasure through her body. Laurana flushed at Sylara’s low chuckle and tried to remain calm as the Sylara moved on to her
other breast.

“Stand up,” Sylara said, pouring some more soap onto the sponge. Laurana stood shakily, her hands clenched at her side,
shivering from the cool air of the bathroom on her soap slick skin. She clenched her teeth as a soap bubble on popped
suddenly on her nipple, sending an exquisite feeling through her.

As she feared, Sylara began to wash her lower back and front, the human woman’s breath hot on her bottom and thighs.
Laurana shook again as Sylara moved her thighs apart and began to wash between them, her fingers “accidentally” slipping and
brushing over her quim and sometimes moving up into her.

Sylara pushed back a wet strand of her hair from her forehead as she moved on down to Laurana’s bottom, pausing to kiss the
perfect curve of the elf woman’s bottom before licking her fingers clean of Laurana’s juices.

Laurana winced at even the soft touch of the sponge and Sylara’s lips on her sore behind and breathed a sigh of relief as Sylara
moved down to her legs. Her breath came faster as Sylara began to kiss her way down her legs, following with the sponge until
she reached the level of the bath water.

“Put your leg on the side of the bathtub,” Sylara said, her eyes shining with eagerness. Laurana slowly obeyed, lifting her foot
out of the water and setting it on the side to be washed. Sylara nipped at her ankle as she washed her foot, tickling the
underside and forcing a stifled laugh from Laurana. “Ticklish? I’ll have to remember that.”

Laurana felt her breathing growing more rapid with each gentle stroke of the sponge. This was what she feared the most, that
she was growing to enjoy the attentions of the perverted human priest of Takhisis. Sylara repeated her washing with the other
foot and then reached for a glass pitcher to rinse the soap suds off with.

Sylara delighted in the slow cascade of water down Laurana’s body, the way it curved over her hips and sluiced down her
thighs to the bathtub. Leaving her standing, Sylara motioned for her to move her legs apart which Laurana did with obvious
reluctance. Leaning closer, Sylara moved her head to the junction of Laurana’s thighs, breathing in deeply and savoring the
sweet smell of the elf’s arousal. “You’re enjoying yourself,” Sylara said, a statement of fact and not a question.

Laurana shivered as Sylara stood and began to kiss her way up her belly, lingering to run her tongue around Laurana’s navel.
Laurana began to quake as Sylara kissed the undersides of her breasts, working her way up to bite her nipples sharply. Sylara
smiled as Laurana inhaled sharply and began to slowly suck on her nipples. Another delicious shiver ran through Laurana’s
body as Sylara stood up and kissed her, her hands going to Laurana’s breasts and kneading them softly. “Do you like it when I
do this?” Sylara whispered. “Hmm? Do you?” Laurana shook her head wildly, managing only to moan incoherently. “I think
you do,” Sylara said and slowly knelt in front of Laurana, her hands trailing over the elf woman’s back until they rested on her
hips.

Laurana groaned in protest as Sylara began to lick her outer lips softly and gasped as the woman’s hands came up and cupped
her buttocks. Sylara pressed her tongue deeper and slid it into Laurana, squeezing her bottom with each dart of her tongue.
Laurana looked down and stared at the top of Sylara’s head, gasping for breath at the mixture of intense pleasure and pain.
She closed her eyes and shook her head in futile denial as she felt herself already near climax from Sylara’s skilled tongue. Her
fingernails dug into her palms nearly hard enough to draw blood as she came, her body quaking as she fought desperately to
keep from clutching at Sylara’s head. She bit her lips sharply and tossed her head back as she came, a wavering sigh escaping
from her lips as her entire body quaked. She nearly collapsed when Sylara suddenly pulled back and stood, a wicked smile on
her shining face. “Let’s finish in the bedroom,” Sylara said as she stepped out of the tub and reached for a fluffy white bath
towel.

Laurana let herself be dried, trying desperately to ignore the pleasant feelings that each pass of the towel across her skin
elicited. She was almost glad when Sylara handed her a fresh towel and demanded to be dried. Laurana took more time than
was necessary, spending an inordinate amount of time drying Sylara’s ample breasts, using the time to try to gain control over
herself. She swallowed nervously when Sylara took the towel from her and dropped it on the floor and then took her hand to
lead her into the bedroom.

Laurana closed her eyes and lay back on the silk sheets of Sylara’s bed, feeling the priest move onto the bed beside her, the
sheets soothingly cool against her bottom. “Turn over,” she heard Sylara say and obeyed silently. She felt Sylara get up and
return. “I’ve got a salve which should make you feel better.” Laurana lay with her cheek resting on a pillow as she heard a cork
being pulled from a bottle and felt Sylara’s leg brush against hers.

Laurana’s fingers tightened in the sheets as she felt Sylara brush on a dollop of the salve. It stung for a moment but then
subsided into a not unpleasant tingling that spread as Sylara applied more of the salve to her bruised flesh. In only a few minutes
all trace of the pain was gone and Laurana was nearly asleep, her entire body relaxed and drowsy. She murmured a protest as
Sylara took her wrists and tugged them down by her waist. Her annoyance turned to horror when she felt Sylara pulling them
back and tying them with what felt like a scarf.

“You’ll get a reward if you pleasure me enough and a punishment if you don’t,” Sylara said, pulling Laurana up by her
shoulders until she rested on her knees. “Now,” she said as she propped up some pillows and reclined against the headboard, “
lick me.” Laurana shook her head in denial as Sylara motioned for her to come closer and finally dragged her up by her hair
when she resisted. “I was planning to be nice,” Sylara hissed, “but if you insist on acting in such an ungrateful way, I will be
forced to call for some help. Maybe I should call Vakos, hmm? Or maybe those men who you hurt would be eager to help?”
Sylara laughed cruelly. “Or maybe that draconian, Kazarss? You know what type of appetites draconian’s have for women.”

Laurana groaned as she shook her head. “Well, then,” Sylara smirked, “come over here.” Laurana slowly lowered her head as
Sylara guided her, shuddering as she closed her eyes and felt her hair drape over Sylara’s thighs. She closed her eyes as Sylara
pressed her face between her legs, her nose filled with the human woman’s scent.

She whimpered in disgust as she felt Sylara’s wet quim rubbing against her lips, it’s musky scent filling her head. Her horror at
the current situation won out over her dread of what Vakos or the other Knights might do to her and she pulled back. She cried
out as Sylara tugged hard on her hair, bringing tears to her eyes, and forced her head back down. Laurana’s body went limp
and she stopped resisting, too tired to fight any longer.

Sylara moaned loudly as Laurana began to tentatively lick her. She began to run her hands through Laurana’s damp hair,
gathering it and stroking her head as she wrapped her legs around Laurana’s back. Sylara moved one hand behind her to brace
herself as she began to push her hips towards Laurana’s lips, grinding herself against the elf’s face.

Laurana found she was getting used to the taste and smell of Sylara’s quim. She sighed and began to lick with more enthusiasm,
again hoping to please the woman quickly and to get the disgusting ordeal over with. Sylara was bucking her hips rapidly now,
her fingers tight in Laurana’s hair. Laurana could hear the woman’s labored breaths and groans as she licked, the taste of the
woman on her tongue so strong that she feared she’d never be rid of it.

Sylara began to scream as she felt herself come. “Yes, you slut,” she gasped as she twisted her hand in Laurana’s hair and
forced her head down. She continued to scream obscenities as she bucked her hips upward furiously. Finally, spent, she
slumped against the headboard, her breathing hard and labored. She pulled up on Laurana’s hair and brought the elf’s head up
to kiss her.

Sylara raised an eyebrow and looked over towards the door as someone knocked timidly. “I suppose that’s our dinner,” she
said quietly. “Should I tell them we’ve already eaten?” Sylara laughed as Laurana lowered her head in embarrassment. “Come
in,” she called out.

Laurana struggled to get her body under the sheet and failed miserably, as a petite Kagonesti girl pushed open the door. She
was holding a tray that seemed much too large for her to carry. “I brought your food, mistress,” she said and froze when she
saw Sylara reclining against the headboard, brazenly and unashamedly naked. Her delicate almond shaped eyes widened even
further when she saw Laurana with her arms tied behind her back. “I’m sorry, I can come back-” she began, already backing
from the room.

“Oh don’t be silly, little one,” Sylara said, beckoning to the girl with her finger. “Come over here and give us our dinner.” The
girl was trembling as she approached the bed and set down the tray, unfolding its legs to stand it by the foot of the bed.

“I’ll be going now, mistress,” the girl said and turned to leave, only to be stopped by the light touch of Sylara’s hand on her
shoulder.

“Why don’t you stay and join us?” Sylara said, her tone making it clear that she was not making a suggestion. Laurana turned
and looked at her in frank alarm as Sylara smiled back. “After all,” she said to Laurana, “you can’t eat with your hands tied
behind your back like that.”

The girl was shaking and she had gone quite pale, looking as if she was about to faint. “Why don’t you take that uncomfortable
dress off, little one?” Sylara said, running her hand up Laurana’s bare thigh.

“No, please, mistress, I need to-” the girl was saying, nearly sobbing in terror. She gulped and nodded when Sylara arched one
eyebrow in warning. Laurana watched, forgetting her situation in her concern for the elf maiden, as the girl slowly undid the
laces of her dress and let it slip to the floor.

Sylara licked her lips at the sight of the girl’s lean body, firm and slim from years running through the woods. Her breasts were
too small for her taste, but the elf had excellent legs. Sylara reached behind her to fluff up her pillows and leaned back. “Why
don’t you serve me, Isila?” she asked.

Isila nodded again, keeping her head down as she began to place a thick slice of steaming venison on a plate, topping it with a
thick sauce made from an assortment of fruit. She began to place a scoop full of mashed potatoes onto the plate but was
stopped by Sylara who said, “No, I’ll have that later.”

Sylara took the plate from Isila and motioned for her to get onto the bed. The Kagonesti girl shuddered before she climbed
onto the bed, keeping as far from Laurana and Sylara as possible. “Are you hungry?” Sylara asked Laurana.

Laurana was about to say no, but her stomach betrayed her by growling loudly. She flushed as Sylara laughed and moved the
tray to the center of the bed. “What would you like?” she asked.

“I, don’t know,” Laurana said, her mouth watering at the sight of the venison and potatoes.

“Serve her something, Isila,” Sylara said. Laurana watched as Isila moved closer to her and picked up a spoon in her trembling
hand.

“If you untie me, I can serve myself,” Laurana said, wanting to spare the girl any more humiliation.

“That’s not how it works,” Sylara said. “Isila knows how to serve you.” The girl’s cheeks flushed as she took a dollop of
potatoes and, instead of offering it to Laurana, placed it on her right breast.

“This is insane!” Laurana said as Isila leaned forward to offer herself to Laurana.

“Maybe, but its the only way you’re eating.” Laurana glanced at Isila and saw that the girl had her eyes tightly shut and her head
turned away. She was obviously familiar with the proceedings. “Do it,” Sylara ordered when she saw Laurana’s reluctance, “or
else.”

With a vicious glance at Sylara, Laurana lowered her head and took the dollop of potatoes into her mouth, doing her best to
avoid touching the girl’s skin. She leaned back and chewed, tugging at the scarf binding her wrists as she glared at Sylara.
“Good,” Sylara said as she popped another slice of venison into her mouth. “Now, Isila, why don’t you serve her her meal?”

The Kagonesti was crying softly in humiliation as she placed more potatoes on her, putting a dollop on each breast over her
nipple and another on her belly just above her navel.
Laurana stared daggers at Sylara as she bent over awkwardly, trying to keep her balance without her arms to support her. She
began to eat the potatoes, managing to only brush her lips against the girl’s skin once. They were delicious.

“I’m not hungry anymore,” Laurana said, licking a bit of stray potato from her lips.

“But you haven’t cleaned your plate,” Sylara said wickedly as she pushed Isila down onto her back.

Laurana wanted to scream at Sylara as she bent over the weeping Isila again. She whispered some soothing words in elven,
managing to still the worst of Isila’s sobs. Laurana swore some sort of vengeance on the human as she began to lick the remains
of the potatoes from Isila’s soft skin.

Isila’s nipples hardened as Laurana licked around them and sucked on them at Sylara’s urging. The girl shivered as Laurana’s
golden hair draped across her body and tickled her as Laurana moved down the girl’s body. Isila moaned as Laurana began to
lick the skin of her belly, jerking at the first touch of Laurana’s tongue and then relaxing.

“Good, very good,” Sylara said, scooping up some of the sauce with her finger and sucking it clean. “You like sweets, don’t
you, Isila?” The Kagonesti girl nodded miserably.
“Why don’t you have some of this delectable sauce?” Sylara said as she lifted the bowel and motioned for Laurana to lie back.

She did so, shifting to ease the pressure on her arms and watched as Sylara began to tilt the bowl above her body. The sauce
slowly dripped out of the bowl and down to her right breast, splattering a little as Sylara poured a generous amount on
Laurana’s bosom. Laurana gasped at the first touch of the sauce, it was still quite warm and was sliding sensuously across her
skin. “You’d better eat fast, Isila, or the sauce will stain the sheets and I’ll have to punish you,” Sylara said with a broad grin.

Laurana kept absolutely still as Isila began to lick at the sauce that was sliding down her flanks. The girl’s tongue worked madly
as she attempted to keep the sauce from reaching the sheets. Laurana closed her eyes as the girl worked her way up to the side
of Laurana’s breast, her delicate fingers pressed against Laurana’s shoulder and stomach. Laurana jerked her head up when
she felt someone spreading her thighs apart. She saw Sylara looking up at her as she poured more of the sauce onto her sex
and began to lick it off. Laurana moaned in pleasure as Isila began to lick the sauce off her breast and Sylara began to plunge
her tongue deep into her. She was gasping softly as Isila sucked at her nipple and Sylara began to thrust her fingers into her.
Laurana turned her head away so that Isila wouldn’t see the expression of guilty pleasure as she came.

“Mmm, that was a wonderful dinner, my compliments to the cook, Isila,” Sylara said as she raised her head from between
Laurana’s legs. Laurana was still breathing heavily, her head whirling, as Sylara raised her to a sitting position and untied her
wrists. “You may eat now, from a plate if you really want to.”

Laurana rubbed her wrists to restore circulation and began to eat, trying to keep herself from showing how hungry she really
was. As she did so, she saw Sylara move back up to the head of the bed and recline. Isila moaned and shook her head as
Sylara tugged her wrist and pulled her close. Laurana saw Sylara whisper something into Isila’s ear and saw the Kagonesti
blanch. Sylara was smirking at Laurana as Isila crawled down the bed and knelt between Sylara’s spread thighs.

Sylara made a great show of enjoying Isila’s tongue and lips as she watched Laurana eat. After what seemed an eternity to
Laurana, Sylara groaned loudly and came. She allowed Isila to rise and ran her tongue lewdly across the girl’s face before
motioning for her to leave. Isila hurriedly slipped into her dress and ran from the room with the tray before Sylara could think of
anything else to do with or to her.

“That was a delightful dinner, wasn’t it?” Sylara said as she stretched luxuriously. She reached down to pull the covers up and
motioned for Laurana to move closer. Laurana did so reluctantly and lay down with her back to Sylara. “Good night,” Sylara
said as she blew out the lamps. “I’m looking forward to tomorrow,” she whispered into Laurana’s ear as she snuggled up close
to her and draped her arm possessively across Laurana’s body. For a long time, Laurana lay in the darkness of the room with
her eyes open until sleep stole over her.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana hesitated as she stood outside the slightly ajar door of Kazarss’ rooms. The draconian was one of the few in the royal
residence who could order Kerian out of the city on business of some sort besides Marshal Medan and Senator Rashas. She
would have gone to Gilthas, but he was “busy” with affairs of state and could not be seen, at least that had been what a leering
Senator Rashas had told her.

She sighed and raised her hand ready to knock. She wondered if this was the right thing to do, by asking for Kerian to be sent
away she risked drawing attention to the elf and possibly endangering the resistance movement. Laurana could only hope that
her excuse of wanting the Kagonesti away from her son because of her wanton ways would be convincing.

She spun at the sound of footsteps and ducked back into a curtained alcove used for holding the less aesthetically pleasing bits
of household life. She nearly tripped over a mop and bucket as she peered out through the gap between curtain and wall.

Sylara came jogging up to the door, a nervous look on her face. She knocked on the door and entered without waiting for an
answer, leaving it wide open. Laurana could see the draconian hurriedly stuffing something that gleamed gold into his desk. Or
was it just the morning sun glinting off his hand? “Have you seen Laurana?” Sylara asked the draconian.

“No, I haven’t, Sylara,” Kazarss answered stiffly. “I would appreciate it if you waited after knocking to enter my rooms.”

“Are you sure you haven’t seen her? You don’t have her under the desk do you?” Sylara asked, peering around the desk to
make sure that Laurana wasn’t crouched there ministering to him.

“Why do you need to find her so badly?”

“When I woke up she- I mean, when I went to check on her, she was gone. Marshal Medan told me to keep an eye on her.”
Sylara groaned and clutched her head in her hands.
“She probably went out and got snatched by the Knights!” Laurana saw the priest rush out of the room towards the barracks,
knocking the door shut behind her.

Laurana crept out as Sylara’s footsteps receded into the distance and walked over to Kazarss’ door. It was still open a crack
and she peered in, hoping to see what he had been so eager to hide from Sylara.

Her eyes widened when she saw what the draconian had hidden in his desk. It was a toy dragon, carved from wood and
lovingly painted and finished until it greatly resembled a golden dragon. The draconian had leaned back in his chair and was
holding the toy up above his head, sending it swooping and banking around him. He was making whooshing and puffing noises
which Laurana realized were approximations of the sounds a dragon made in flight.

He froze when Laurana stepped in through the door, the dragon still held above him halfway into a dive. She watched as his
long tongue flicked nervously over his mouth before he spoke.

“Tactical exercises, for dragonfighting. This is just a model I made up,” he said smoothly as he placed the toy on his desk.
“How can I help you, my lady?”

“I need you to write orders commanding a servant named Kerian to leave the city,” Laurana said, wondering what the
draconian was really doing with a toy dragon. He looked at her, his eyes suddenly eager and hungry.

“Of course I can do that,” he said, getting up and closing the door. The lock seemed unnaturally loud as it clicked shut. “But I
need something from you first.”

Laurana sighed in resignation and began to undo the laces of her dress. She looked up in surprise when the draconian made a
horrified strangling sound. “Not that!” he gasped.
“What, what kind of person do you think I am?”

“A draconian,” Laurana said, blushing for some reason as she retied her dress. “Sorry, I just thought-”

“You thought I was like all the other draconians you’ve encountered,” Kazarss said sadly as he sat down. “I don’t blame you
for thinking that way. But what is so important about Kerian that you would be willing to sacrifice so much?”

“She’s been getting too close to my son. I fear that her influence over him may grow as she...beguiles him with her charms.”

“Or because she’s a member of the resistance and would be tortured to death if any of the Knights of Takhisis found out.”

Laurana looked at the draconian in shock. “What do you mean?”

“She’s a member of the resistance, didn’t you know? Judging from your expression you did not. So why do you want her away
from the Knights, if I may ask?”

“She and Gilthas are close, Rashas is using her as a hostage to gain my obedience.” Kazarss nodded and reached into his desk
to pull out a sheet of parchment and some writing tools. “Why haven’t you told the Knights about her?”

“I do not care for the Knights and have no objection to the resistance wanting them out of Qualinesti.” Laurana looked at him
skeptically, she had never heard of a draconian that didn’t serve Takhisis body and soul.

“What do you want in exchange for getting her out of Qualinost?” Laurana asked.

Kazarss sighed and put the quill pen he had been using down on his blotter. “I hate Takhisis,” he said. “I could have been a
golden dragon, a real dragon, if she hadn’t turned me into this.” He motioned angrily at his body. “I have no wings and I cannot
fly. She took my heritage and birthright from me. I want you to take me with you when you leave, I’ve heard of the miracles
that the priests can work in Palanthas. They could change me back into a dragon,” Kazarss was saying, his voice desperate.
“Even a little dragon, I wouldn’t mind. I just want to be a dragon. They’d do that for you, wouldn’t they? If you asked them
and vouched for me?” He was looking at her with a desperate longing in his eyes.

Laurana used all her control to keep her astonishment from showing. A draconian who resented what the dark priests of
Takhisis had done to create him? Who wanted to be changed back into what he could have been? “Very well, I promise that
when I leave I’ll take you with me to Palanthas and vouch for you at the temples of Mishakal and Paladine,” she said. “But
you’ll have to help me whenever I need it.”

“Do you swear on your honor as the Golden General that you will?” he asked. Laurana nodded. “I will then, I will!” Kazarss
said, leaping to his feet in excitement. “Anything you want me to do, I’ll do. Thank you,” he said, grabbing her hand in his scaly
one and kissing it worshipfully. Laurana sat in stunned silence as he finished writing the order and signed it. “I’ll have it sent to
Kerian immediately. She’ll have to follow it or risk being interrogated. She won’t like it, but she’ll be safe from the Knights.”

Laurana nodded and stood to leave. “Where did you get the toy dragon?” she asked as she was about to exit the room.

“I took this from an abandoned toy shop,” Kazarss said, pointing to the dragon. “The creator had left long ago, maybe he fled,
maybe Vakos arrested him.” He sighed and sat down, his hands cradling the dragon. “I painted it. All I wanted to be was a
dragon. I just want to fly and to be free. Is that too much to ask?”

“No. I suppose not,” Laurana said softly and left, closing the door behind her.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Marshal Medan’s boots clicked on the stone of the courtyard in front of the Tower of the Sun. Reaching the end of the line of
Knights, he stopped and turned. They were in fine form today, their armor shining and each standing perfectly straight.

“There have been reports coming from the north,” he said as he moved back in front of them. “Reports of strange creatures
who are attacking our pacifying forces. There are reports that these creatures are headed south. There have also been rumors.
Rumors that these creatures are unstoppable, that they cannot be killed with weapons.” He paused and to let that sink in.
“Well, those rumors are just that, rumors! They are not to be listened to! Discipline and strength is who we are, we are not
some weak villagers pretending to be soldiers, we are Knights of Takhisis!” He surveyed his Knights. They stood tall, each face
calm and composed, no emotion showing at all. “I received orders from high command to fortify the city and prepare for any
possible invasion. Your captains will each have their orders and I have no doubt that you will follow them to the utmost of your
ability. Dismissed!” He watched as the captains assembled their men and immediately dispersed to begin the fortification of
Qualinost. All but one footbridge would be cut down and sentries would be placed on the high arches that marked the borders
of the city.

Let the creatures come, he thought. If by some fluke they haven’t been stopped by the other armies to the north, we will stop
them here. He allowed himself a thin smile as he turned and walked into the Tower of the Sun to speak with Gilthas about
Senator Rashas.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Kerian gaped at the orders she had just been handed by a courier. “By order of Kazarss, head of Her Majesty’s Diplomatic
Service, you are ordered to leave Qualinost on pain of death until such time as you are ordered to return,” she read. Her mind
spun as she packed her meager belongings and left the servant’s quarters. Why was Kazarss ordering her out of the city? If
there was any suspicion of her being a member of the resistance she would be under the lash and knife of Vakos. Laurana! she
realized. That whore was trying to get her away from Gilthas, probably so that she could turn him fully to the Knight’s cause.
Fuming, Kerian allowed the guards to escort her to the edge of the city and over the ravine, swearing that she’d return.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Sylara snarled at a servant who had the misfortune to cross her path and stomped down the hall. She had run to the barracks,
expecting to find Laurana the victim of a mass-rape, instead she had found a few Knights wounded from rebel attacks playing
cards. No one had seen the elf woman all morning.

Worse case scenario was that Laurana was off being raped by the soldiers she had hurt. If that was the case, Sylara thought,
not only would Vakos be after her hide for allowing his toy to get away, Marshal Medan would want her head for letting the
esteemed lady come to harm. Sylara kicked a chair and limped away, vowing to extract bloody vengeance before she was
executed.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

“Speaker,” Medan began, “I would like to discuss your appointment of Senator Rashas as your personal advisor.”

Gilthas began to speak from his throne in the main chamber of the Tower of Suns and stopped when a breathless messenger
ran in. “Begging your pardon, marshal,” the Knight said. “A wyvern just arrived with a message from the north. The creatures
are on their way here. There’s a whole army of them, dragons, shadows, and some sort of armored soldier.”

“I’m sorry, Speaker, I’ll talk to you later,” Medan said as he walked quickly from the Tower, messenger in tow. “How long?”

“Maybe tonight, tomorrow morning at the earliest.”

“What are their numbers?”

“Four flights of dragons, five thousand of the armored soldiers. There’s no way of counting the shadow creatures.”

A flicker of a frown crossed Medan’s face. He had four flights of blue dragons under his command and one thousand knights.
That gave him a five to one disadvantage. He could only be grateful that the enemy force seemed to be nothing more than a
large scouting and raiding party, not meant to occupy territory but to do as much damage as possible. A five to one
disadvantage was the very limit he thought his Knights could handle, even with the impressive natural fortifications of the city,
especially with an unknown number of those shadow creatures. He called for his staff and took the message from the hand of
the messenger. It contained some sketchy information on the creatures. Apparently the shadow creatures could only be harmed
by blessed weapons while the dragons were truly made of lava. Looking into the grim faces of his staff, he began to give
orders.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana peered out the window at the commotion in the streets outside. Knights were running back and forth carrying arms and
ammunition towards the edges of the city. She turned from the window, hoping that in the confusion she could slip into the
Tower of the Suns and see Gilthas without Rashas around.

She walked towards the door of her room and passed by her wardrobe, pausing when she saw it was ajar. As she stopped,
the door flew open and Kerian lunged out, knocking her to the ground.

“Don’t move, you collaborator scum!” Kerian snarled, a dagger pressed to Laurana’s throat.

“Who-” Laurana began only to stop as the Kagonesti pressed the dagger harder against her neck, almost drawing blood.

“My name is Kerian and I’m here to make sure you don’t help the Knights any more.”

“Kerian? You’re the one Gilthas is in love with.”

“Yes, I won’t let you turn him to the Knight’s cause!”

Laurana’s face flushed with anger as she looked up at the young elf on top of her. “Turn him? You fool! Why do you think you
were sent out of the city, to gather wildflowers? I wanted you out of Rashas’ grasp but you waltzed right back in.”

“What-”

“Rashas is threatening you to keep me in line! I was going to get Gilthas out of Rashas’ control, but I couldn’t until you were
safe! Now get off me!” Laurana knocked dagger away and rolled sideways, dragging Kerian down onto the floor beneath her.
“Now you have to get out of the city before you’re found, if they find you back without orders you’ll be tortured to death!”
Laurana jerked her head up as someone knocked on the door and tried to open it. Luckily, she had locked it after coming into
the room. “Back into the wardrobe,” she hissed, standing and smoothing her clothes, a pair of pants and a loose tunic.

“Hello? Laurana? Are you in there, it’s Sylara?” Sylara said from the other side of the door. Laurana shut the door to the
wardrobe and hurried over to open the door. “Oh, thank the Dark Queen,” Sylara said as Laurana opened the door. “You’re
alright?” she said as she looked Laurana over for mussed hair and bruises.

“I’m fine,” Laurana said evenly as Sylara hugged her in relief and entered the room.

“Where were you? I thought the Knights had gotten a hold of you.”

“I was out walking.”

“You should be more careful, some of the Knights have a serious grudge against you.”

“Why do you care about my welfare so much?”

“Well, ah,” Sylara said, looking around nervously, “Marshal Medan has made me responsible for your well-being.” Laurana
smiled a smile that was usually reserved for hunting dragons.

“Really? So if I happened to bump my head,” she walked over to the wall, “or maybe slipped, you’d be punished?”

“Yes, please, could you stay in your room for now?”

“But there are so many things that could happen to me, I might fall out of the window.” Laurana made a sudden lunge towards
the window and laughed cruelly when Sylara gasped and ran towards her.

“Please, just don’t do anything drastic,” Sylara said, holding her hands up in a placating manner.

Laurana began to laugh again, her laughter clogging in her chest and becoming choking sobs. “Just get out,” she said, sliding
down the wall to slump on the floor, her head on her knees. Sylara looked around nervously and reluctantly walked out, leaving
Laurana sobbing on the floor.

Laurana heard Kerian step out of the wardrobe and walk over. “What’s wrong?” she asked. Laurana could hear the thinly
veiled contempt in her voice, contempt for the soft Qualinesti princess who wasn’t getting her way.

“It’s not like you have it so bad,” Kerian said, knowing as soon as the words left her lips that she had made a mistake. “Elves
are really suffering under the Knights here while you were off on your estate.” Kerian stepped back hurriedly as she saw the
venom in Laurana’s eyes.

“You think I haven’t suffered? You think I haven’t lost people to the Knights?” Laurana rose, tears still staining her cheeks and
advanced on the retreating Kagonesti girl. “What do you think the Knights were doing to me while I was here? Serving tea and
coffee?”

Kerian realized at that moment that her ideas of the Golden General were wrong. She could see Laurana leading her troops into
battle and fighting furiously to free the continent from the rule of the Dark Queen. This woman would never have been content
to be only a figurehead for the armies of light. “Get out,” Laurana said, wiping her face and shaking her head tiredly. “Get out of
the city and make sure that you’re never in a position to be captured. I’ll tell Gilthas that you had to go, he’ll understand.”

“W-what are you going to do?” Kerian asked.

“I’m going to make sure that no member of my family ever has to obey the wishes of a servant of Takhisis again.” They were
both startled by loud knock on the door. Kerian rushed back into the wardrobe while Laurana wiped her face clean and
composed her face. “Who is it?” she asked calmly.

“My lady, it is Kazarss,” the draconian said. “I come with important news, strange creatures from the north are nearing the city.
The priests say that these creatures are beings of chaos and seek to destroy the world.”

“What are these creatures?”

“Dragons of flame and shadows that kill accompanied by armored warriors that do not make a sound.”

“They are marching on Qualinost?”

“Yes, the messenger believes that they will be here by morning at the latest.”

“What are Marshal Medan’s plans?”

“He plans to fortify the city and fight.”

“Can he succeed?”

Kazarss shook his head. “I have read other reports on these creatures. They are fearsome, he is evenly matched with the
dragons and outnumbered by the ground troops. We must leave before the city falls.”

Laurana paused, thinking furiously. This was a chance, to either snatch Gilthas from Rashas and establish a new state in exile
or... “No,” she said and opened the wardrobe, motioning for Kerian to come out. “This is Kerian.” Kazarss bowed his head.
“Did you hear what he said?” Laurana asked Kerian.

“Yes, let the Knights fight and be destroyed. We can come back when they are dead and reclaim the city,” Kerian said.

“Your pardon, my lady,” Kazarss said. “But these creatures will not leave a city behind. The dragons burn with such heat that
rock melts and flows as they pass. All that will be left is a barren plateau of rock and charred trees.”

“That settles it,” Laurana said. “Go to the resistance and tell them what is happening. Tell them that we need to fight with the
Knights.”

“What? No! The Knights are the enemy, they’ve occupied the city-”

“And if we don’t help, there will be no city, no Qualinesti left. Do you think the dragons will discriminate between elves and
humans? Just go,” she said at the sight of stubborn refusal on Kerian’s face. “I’ll go to talk with the leader of the Knights and
arrange a temporary truce until the enemy has been defeated. Don’t worry, it will only be temporary.”
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Marshal Medan was staring down at the map of Abanasinia that was inlaid in the central square of Qualinost, the Hall of the
Sky. Small painted wooden markers had been placed to represent the last known position of the invading creatures while
others were placed to represent fortifications that the Knights were preparing.

“You should draw your men back from the north side of the plateau,” he heard a woman say from behind him. “They’ll be
outflanked when the enemy comes.” He turned and his eyes widened at the sight of Laurana striding towards him, Kazarss in
tow. She pointed to the map of Qualinost at the center of the map. “The river joins there,” she said, pointing to the Confluence,
“and the ravines form a triangle. If you place your men at the tip of the triangle they’ll be in a good position to stop enemy
advance from that direction but extremely vulnerable to being cut off from retreat and outflanked.”

“Your majesty,” Marshal Medan said, giving a short formal bow and using the from of address appropriate for a Qualinesti
princess. “What would you suggest instead?”

“A line of archers on the north arch with mages and clerics stationed in the Tower of the Suns. Cavalry at the ready in the
Tower courtyard with infantry holding position under the arch,” she said, crouching and outlining her plan.

“But what will keep them from outflanking us? I do not have enough men to guard our flanks as well.”

“You do if you make truce with the resistance,” Laurana said calmly, looking Medan straight in the eye.

“Are they willing to join forces?”

“Yes, temporarily at least.”

“Then I accept.”
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

The resistance had reluctantly agreed to the truce when faced with the terrifying reports of the creatures of chaos. Laurana had
been surprised to see Porthios and Alhana leading the resistance in the field. There was no time for family greetings though,
lookouts posted on the battlements of the Tower of the Suns, the highest point in Qualinesti, could see smoke and flame on the
horizon.

The enemy will be here soon, Laurana thought as she watched priests of Takhisis and Paladine standing together as they
blessed quivers of arrows and crossbow bolts. Before the sun rises tomorrow we’ll be in the fight of our lives. She was mildly
surprised to find that she was looking forward to it.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Elven archers stood on one side of the Tower courtyard eying the Knights on the other side. In between them stood the leaders
of both sides, gathered around maps and giving last minute orders for the placement of ammunition and the evacuation of
civilians too young or old to fight. Every other civilian able to carry a weapon was. Even Senator Rashas had taken up a bow
and quiver of arrows, much to his disgust. A few draconians stood apart from both groups who equally distrusted them,
gathered around the shining form of Kazarss as he listened to the final planning of the defense of Qualinost.

Laurana looked at herself in the mirror and smiled despite her best efforts. She was wearing armor that had been sitting in the
armory for years, waiting for a Qualinesti princess to don it. But what had made her smile was her helmet. The helmet was the
replica of the one she had worn in the last Dragonwar, unlike the other pieces of armor that Sylara had made, the helmet was
actually a piece of serviceable armor. She nodded her head and the Golden General in the mirror nodded back.
 
 

Elves bowed their heads in respect as Laurana walked past them, inspecting their ranks and sobbing inwardly at the sight of so
many mothers and fathers ready to fight for their home. Even the Knights of Takhisis paused in their talking as she passed,
looking with awestruck gazes at her armor, the polished surface glimmering in the predawn light.

She paused at the sight of a mother and father embracing their son. They were crying, something unusual in the normally
reserved elves. Laurana watched as the father clutched his son fiercely to his chest before standing and placing his hand on the
boy’s shoulder.

“Go now,” she heard the mother say, “we’ll see you when this is over.” The boy nodded, knowing as much as his mother that
what she spoke was a lie. Laurana watched as an elderly maid walked over and took the boy’s hand, leading him towards the
waiting group of young and old preparing to flee the city.

Laurana looked over the group and saw that they would be escorted by only a few elves, all that could be spared from the
defense. She looked at the boy again and saw Gilthas when he was that age. “You there,” she called out to the boy’s parents.
“You two, the civilians need more guards. Get going.” They looked at her in astonishment although Laurana couldn’t meet their
eyes. The thought of all the others who she had chosen not to spare weighed on her as she waved them away. Two more
wouldn’t make a difference in the defense of the city, she thought, but maybe it will for the fleeing civilians.

Conversation stopped as she walked up to Medan, Porthios, and Alhana. Together they went over the strategy for the defense
of Qualinost. “Where will you be, princess?” Medan asked as Porthios and Alhana said they would be overseeing defense of
the west and east flanks.

“There,” Laurana said, pointing to the north arch bridge. “With the archers.” Also the most dangerous place in the city should
Medan and his dragons fail to stop the enemy dragons. They would be totally exposed with only one way to escape, ropes tied
to the railings and descending to the ground.

Laurana saw Porthios start to protest and stop with a shake of his head. “Don’t worry brother, no place in the city is safe for
any of us,” she said, laying a gloved hand on his shoulder.

“The enemy approaches!” they heard the lookout yell. He was pointing to the north where the smoke of the burning forest
could be seen rising miles into the air.

“To your places!” Marshal Medan yelled and immediately the courtyard sprang into life as Knights ran to their positions.
Dragons began to leap into the air, their blue scales glinting redly in the sunlight as they swung into formation. Medan was the
last into the air and then they were off, hoping to stop the dragons of flame from getting near the city.

Laurana was rushing to the north arch when Kazarss stopped her. He was holding a long cloth wrapped object with apparent
distaste. “My lady,” he said. “A present.”

Laurana gasped when she unwrapped the object. It was a footman’s Dragonlance, shining as brightly as it did on the day it was
forged. “How?-” she began.

“Captured during the last Dragonwar and kept in safekeeping. May you use it well,” Kazarss said before leaving to join the
other mages on the battlements of the Tower of the Suns. Laurana followed him for a moment with her eyes before she ran off to take her place on the north arch.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

“Porthios,” asked Gilthas, “where is my mother?” He tapped his fingers urgently on the his swords hilt. He had been searching
for his mother ever since Kerian had approached him and told him of what his mother had been doing. He flushed in shame as
he realized how much of a sacrifice she had made to keep him and Kerian from harm. And for what? The angry accusations of
a spoiled brat. He shook his head, he’d make up for his behavior in anyway possible.

“Speaker,” Porthios began, his hands raised soothingly.

“What? Where is she, Porthios?” Gilthas said, looking around the courtyard for his mother’s golden hair.

His eyes widened in horror as he followed Porthios’ finger to the north arch. “No! She’ll be killed!” he yelled and began to run
towards the arch, only to be dragged back by Porthios.

“That’s her choice to make, Gilthas,” Porthios said. “She’s willing to sacrifice herself for her people and her country.”

“Speaker,” corrected Gilthas softly. “Oh no. How could I ever have thought-” He groaned and sagged, holding his face in his
hands. “What have I done? She’s doing this because of me, she’s here because of me, this is all my fault.”

He looked up in surprise as Porthios shook him harshly. “Gilthas, if you’re going to be called Speaker you’d better act like it.
It’s time for you to grow up,” Porthios said quietly and not without sympathy. “Now, get back to the rally point. It’s going to be
too dangerous here.”

“Porthios, I’ve been a fool-”

“We’ve all been fools at sometime,” Porthios said grimly, remembering how he had treated Laurana when she had first left to
follow Tanis. “But we grow and we learn. You need to do that.”

Gilthas nodded and took one last look to the north arch before he turned and began to run to the rally point, escorted by his
bodyguard. “I’m sorry,” he said as he ran.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

The red plume on Laurana’s helmet whipped in the hot wind pushed forward by the fires burning to the north of the city. It
seemed that the entire horizon was aflame. Laurana wondered if Solace was burning as well. She shook her head, forcing
herself to think of the present.

On both sides of her elves held their bows, their eyes locked on the rapidly advancing flames and the distant specks of the blue
dragons. Her hands clenched around the arch’s railing as she saw the blue dragons wheel and dive onto the flame dragons
driving the fires before them. Lightning flashed in the morning sky as flames gouted across the sky in searing columns of white
and red.

“It won’t be long now,” Laurana said quietly and lifted her bow. “Remember,” she called out to the archers beside her and the
infantry far below. “Every second we hold allows the civilians to get a bit farther to the south and Thorbardin. We give our lives
for them.” They would need far more than seconds, she thought. It was days to walk to Thorbardin and the safety of the
mountain kingdom. But maybe the defenders of Qualinost could slow the invading creatures long enough for the young and old
to get enough of a lead to reach safety. Maybe.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Marshal Medan twisted in his saddle, searching desperately for the dragon that had nearly killed him. His wing of dragons was
in shambles, their ranks scattered by the vicious and suicidal tactics of the flame dragons. He coughed harshly as a waft of the
poisonous fumes that the fire dragons breathed was blown towards him.

“Larsk!” he yelled to the dragon her was riding. “Below and behind!” Larsk pumped his wings furiously for altitude as a fire
dragon swooped up, riding the hot air from the inferno below them.

Medan cranked his crossbow and slotted a bolt into it, knowing that it would be useless against the fire dragons. He turned and
aimed towards the dragon’s eye and pulled the trigger. The bolt flew straight and true towards the beast’s eye. The heat from
the dragon incinerated the shaft of the bolt before it drew within a wingspan, leaving only a bit of molten metal to strike the
dragon harmlessly.

The impact did distract the dragon, causing it to lose altitude and fall behind Larsk. Medan scanned the sky for the rest of his
flight and saw them in tumbling combat, each dragon and rider fighting on their own against the fire dragons that now
outnumbered them.

“Regroup!” he yelled to Larsk. The dragon thundered twice in quick succession, then roared. The rest of Medan’s flight broke
off their fighting and winged over to his position as fast as they could. “Tell them that we’re forming up in a circle, we’re point,”
Medan said and listened as Larsk roared his commands to the other dragons and then the dragons told their riders.

Medan watched the fire dragons milling around behind them as they flew back towards the city and formed into a loose circle.
“Retreat when attacked and let the fire dragons get close enough to blast them with lightning,” Medan ordered as the nearest
fire dragon flew straight towards the globe, already blasting clouds of sulfurous fumes before it.

The blue dragon it had targeted wheeled and flew to the center of the circle with the fire dragon in close pursuit. Once the
dragon had drawn within range of the blues, they opened fire. Lightning split the sky and thunder deafened Medan as his flight
unleashed their fury on the fire dragon. It turned and spat its poisonous breath, trying to fight all its attackers at once as lightning
blasted flaming chunks of lava from its body. Giving one last hissing scream of defiance, the fire dragon burst apart in shower of
flame and rock that fell to the blasted forest below.

“Teams of four, count off and draw the fire dragons towards you. Fall back before them and blast them from behind!” Medan
yelled, watching as his Knights signaled their understanding with a fist over their hearts before splitting off.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

The blue dragons were mere dots against the blood red sky to the north of Qualinost. Flashes of lightning darted across the
sky, sometimes resulting in a fiery shower of rock and lava. The thunder of the blue’s breath echoed across Qualinost as
steadily as the blows of a smith’s hammer. The battle in the skies seemed to last an eternity for the watchers on the north arch
until finally the lightning grew less and disappeared entirely, leaving only two spots of flame left from the dozens that had flown
before.

Laurana’s attention was torn from the horrifying sight of those two spots growing larger and larger by the more immediate
horror of seeing trees falling and shattering or simply disappearing into clouds of dust. The forces of Chaos were marching
steadily south, destroying everything in their way.

“Here they come!” Laurana yelled to the archers on the bridge. One hundred and fifty bows were drawn taught as the vanguard
of the forces of Chaos reached the other side of the ravine. Laurana shivered despite the parched and ovenlike air being blown
from the north. Formless shadows darted among the milling ranks of armored creatures who seemed to shrink and grow with
each passing second. She waited as the creatures drew closer to the edge and stopped, apparently unsure of how to cross the
ravine. “Fire!”

Arrows whirred forth from the elves bows with devastating accuracy. Shadows wailed and disappeared in shreds of darkness
while the armored creatures fell silently, their armor clanking to the ground in pieces. Laurana’s hopes rose as the archers
nocked new arrows and let fly, the creatures seemed to be in disarray and were milling about uncertainly as more arrows flew
forth and struck them down.

Her hope turned to dismay as one of the armored creatures stepped out onto the edge of the ravine and bent himself over in
half until he was grasping the rocky edge. Another stepped onto his back and bent himself similarly, their two bodies flowing
and merging until it seemed that there was only the metallic beginnings of a-

“-Bridge,” Laurana breathed. “Concentrate your fire on the ones building the bridge!” she yelled, already lining up her next
shot. Dozens of arrows flew forth and sent the armored creatures tumbling to the ground in heaps but the ones who had begun
the foundations of a bridge were unaffected, the arrows bouncing off or breaking as if they were striking solid stone.

As Laurana watched the creatures lunged forward across the backs of their fellows to extend the bridge a few feet at a time.
She realized that the creatures were somehow taking on the characteristics of the stone they touched. She was about to signal
for the mages in the Tower to begin their attack when one of the armored creatures hefted a broken shard of a tree trunk and
hurled it towards the archers on the bridge.

Laurana gasped in shock as blood splattered over her armor and face. The elf next to her had a hole the size of her head torn
through his chain mail and his chest. Splinters of wood lay scattered about the bridge, the result of the wood impacting at a
terrific velocity.

“Keep firing!” Laurana yelled as the other elves faltered at the sight of the dead elf’s body twitching on the rose quartz of the
bridge. She wiped the blood from her face and pushed the elf’s body off the bridge with her foot, ignoring the gasps of horror
from the elves who saw. She hated the indignity done to the dead elf’s body, but the presence of his body would serve only to
further erode the already shaky moral of the elven militia.

She looked back to the enemy’s bridge and saw that they had reached halfway across the ravine in the short time that the elves
had slowed their firing. Shouting again for them to keep shooting, she reached into the quiver at her hip and pulled out an arrow
with its head covered by a cloth bag.

She pulled the bag from the arrowhead and nocked the arrow, pointing it directly above her. She said the words of activation
and let the arrow fly, sparing a glance to watch as it soared high above her and burst into a brilliant flash of light. At her sign, the
mages and priests behind her in the Tower of the Suns began to let loose their spells.

A torrent of lightning and fire spewed from the battlements of the tower towards the creatures on the other side of the ravine.
For a moment, Laurana was blinded by the flash of lightning and fire exploding. A ragged cheer was raised from the elves and
mages when nothing stirred on the opposite side of the river. It was choked off when more shadows and armored warriors
walked from the smoke, apparently unfazed by the destruction of their comrades. Raising her bow again, Laurana sighted on
one of the leading figures.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Medan cursed as he tore a strip from his cloak to bind the blistering burn on his left arm. Behind him, three fire dragons
wheeled from their victory over the last of his men and turned on him. The charred and yellowed skeletons of Dricarth and his
rider, Ardan, fell to the blasted land far below. They had done great damage to the fire dragons but the enemy had numbers
and strength that the best tactics could not overcome.

“We die in the service of the Dark Queen,” he murmured to Larsk as the dragon pumped his wings and wheeled to face the last
of the fire dragons. How he wished he at least had one of the dragonlances that the Knights of Solamnia had used.

Marshal Medan of Qualinost grunted as he lifted his sword in salute to the fire dragons. Larsk screamed a challenge as lightning
streamed forth to smash into the lead fire dragon, blasting its head into rubble. Fire and fumes surrounded Medan as they flew
through the remains of the dragon towards the two that remained. He and Larsk screamed wordless defiance as lightning
flashed and fumes boiled. He swung his sword, feeling his flesh sizzling, and thought of Qualinost, then nothing.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana felt for another arrow and grimaced when nothing came to her hand. She looked down and saw her quiver empty.
Along the bridge she saw that most of the other elves were in a similar situation.

“Cease fire!” she yelled. The enemy had formed their bridge to within a few feet of the near side of the river although at a heavy
cost. Armor lay scattered at least ankle deep over the far side. Enough had fallen into the river to form a small dam. But more
still came, walking slowly over the remains of their comrades to the end of the bridge where they bent over and became part of
it. “Give me your arrows,” she said to the surviving archers. Almost half of them had fallen, some injured, most dead, to the
enemy. Splinters of wood lay scattered over the bridge along with tatters of cloth and flesh. And the blood, so much blood. The
rose quartz was scarlet now.

Laurana took the remaining arrows and dropped them into her quiver, filling it barely halfway. “Get going,” she said, “and tell
the infantry to advance. We’ll try to hold them at their bridge.” She watched as the elves climbed over the arch’s railing and slid
down ropes to the ground far below. She turned her gaze to the Tower of the Suns. A few small magical projectiles would fly
from it occasionally, but it seemed that most of the mage’s long range spells had been exhausted.

Laurana felt despair claw at her heart as she turned back to look across the river. It seemed that a neverending stream of
armored warriors was walking towards Qualinost with a river of shadows flowing alongside them. Shaking her head and forcing
her despair down, she was about to slide down the ropes after the elves when she spotted the fire dragons coming towards the
city. One of them was headed straight towards her position, the other was veering to the west to attack the flanks of the
defenders. She sighed at the realization that they were dead. There was no way to defend against two of the dragons and the
creatures on the ground at the same time.

Laurana’s teeth flashed as she smiled and nocked an arrow. She spared a glance to the east where the rising sun looked on like
a bloody eye. The sight took her back twenty years to the battle of the High Clerist Tower.

“The Abyss take you,” she said quietly, thinking of the fortress where two of the men dearest to her had died fighting the forces
of Takhisis. She laughed quietly at the similarity between her position and Sturm’s. Both of them were facing death just to buy
some time for others.

She wondered if she’d die on this bridge. The fire dragon was growing larger steadily, it must be traveling at an incredible
speed. She’d only have time for one or two shots before it incinerated her. “I’d better make them count,” she said to herself.
“I’ll see you soon,” she said to Sturm and Tanis. She could only hope to die with as much honor and dignity as they did.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Kazarss sagged with weariness. Around him, nearly all the mages were exhausted to the brink of unconsciousness while the
clerics were not much better. And still the enemy kept coming. A Baaz draconian came around carrying a bucket of water with
a ladle. Kazarss accepted gratefully and clapped the draconian on the shoulder before sending him on. Kazarss sighed and
turned back to the battlements of the Tower, readying one more spell.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

The first arrow bounced off the ridge above the fire dragon’s left eye. The second one struck dead center, the molten metal of
the arrowhead gouging a hole in the dragon’s eye and causing it to dip slightly in its flight.

Laurana watched it with calm acceptance as it hurtled towards her. In a few seconds she’d be dead, nothing left but a small pile
of ashes scattered to the wind. Below her, she could hear the infantry clashing with the armored warriors, screams of anger and
agony carried by the wind. Above her, the spells had stopped coming, the mages dead or on the brink of death from their
spellcasting. She felt the heat of the fire dragon as it sped towards her and raised her bow again. She closed her eyes and
whispered, “Tanthalas.”
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Sylara whirled and smashed her mace down on the head of one of the armored warriors. Her offensive spells were gone,
leaving her with only her healing spells, most of which were too weak to be any use to the men injured by the armored warriors.
She spun and lashed out, sending another of the silent suits of armor to the ground, but another took its place, and another, and
another. Raising her mace in arms as weak as water, she swung again.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

“Tanthalas,” Laurana whispered then opened her eyes as the dragon swept in. Cursing herself for a melodramatic fool, she
dropped her bow and snatched up the dragonlance.

She spun and vaulted over the arch’s railing, grabbing desperately for the rope hanging there as the dragon swept over the top
of the bridge, the dragonlance clutched in her other hand. She grabbed the rope and swung under the bridge as the dragon
passed over it, a blast of heat setting the ropes aflame.

Her swing took her away from the dragon and then slowly she began to fall back towards it. The dragon was flying towards
her, its mouth open as it waited for her to swing right into its jaws. She screamed a dwarfish warcry learned from Flint and
hurled the dragonlance straight into the fire dragon’s mouth, letting go of the rope and dropping as she did so.

Fire and heat washed over her as she fell and rolled to soften the landing. She crashed through the underbrush and lay on her
back, staring up at the warped remains of the north arch bridge. Her bare skin stung from the heat and from being scratched by
the thin branches of the undergrowth. Groaning and feeling a pain in her left shoulder, she staggered to her feet and looked for
the dragon.

What was left of it was smoldering to the north. All that was left was a pile of crumbling rock and lava that was swiftly cooling
into black pumice. The dragonlance stood straight and tall from the pile, shining in the bloody light.

Laurana tried to reach the dragonlance but the heat given off the dragon’s body was too much and she was forced to leave it
there as she drew her sword and jogged towards the sound of battle.

By the time she had reached the battlefield, it was over. The Knights had either retreated back into the city or had all been
killed. But it looked as if they had killed enough of the creatures to make it look like there was a chance at survival. Laurana
turned and looked north across the ravine and saw that no more of the creatures approached and that the bridge was gone,
either knocked down or perhaps walked away.

She spun at a low cry of help coming from under a pile of armor. She bent and began to toss the freezing plates of armor left by
the strange and silent warriors. “You,” she said when she saw who was under the armor.

“Help me,” Sylara said, blood running down her face from a nasty head cut. Even wounded, she felt her heart begin to pound
as she looked at Laurana in her armor. A crazy swell of desire rose up in her and she nearly laughed.

Laurana nearly left the woman there to bleed to death, but her reverence for life and the knowledge that everyone was needed
won out over her anger and made her help Sylara sit up. She bandaged the woman’s head with a strip torn from her robe and
helped her hobbled towards the city.

Chaos was rampant in the city. Trees and homes burned from the sweeps of the lone remaining fire dragon while the armored
warriors stomped through the streets to clash with pockets of resistance.

The Tower of the Suns was under siege, its magical defenders resorting to using their staves and daggers against the enemy
trying to break in the front door. Laurana and Sylara hid in the rubble of a home, looking for any sign of the Knight’s cavalry.

“Stay here,” Laurana told Sylara and crept out of the rubble towards the center of the city where the rally point was for any
defenders still alive.

A sudden explosion threw her to the ground and left her dazed for a second. She turned her head towards the source and saw
that there was only a gaping hole where the doors to the Tower of the Suns once stood. She wondered if the armored warriors
had some as yet unseen power to destroy solid stone and wood.

She realized what had happened when Kazarss and his small group of draconian bodyguards cautiously emerged from the hole
and began to kick the remains of the armored warriors clear. One of the draconians, a Bozak, she thought, must have sacrificed
himself to destroy the armored warriors. The Bozak’s bodies, once they died, exploded in a hail of fiery fragments of bone. In a
close space the destruction could be horrific.

“Kazarss!” she yelled as she stood. The Aurak rushed over to her with his companions by his side.

“My lady,” he said. “How fares the defense?”

“I don’t know. There’s still one fire dragon left and its burning the city to the ground. Did you see where the cavalry went?”

“They went to reinforce the east and west flanks a short time ago.”

“Come on, we need to head to the rally point. If we can kill the fire dragon we’ll have a chance of beating the rest of the
creatures.”

The trip to the center of the city, normally a ten minute walk, became a torturous march through what seemed to be the depths
of the Abyss. Shadows lunged from the ground to disintegrate the draconians who surrounded Laurana, Sylara, and Kazarss.
The draconians fought bravely and drove back the shadows again and again, only to have them return.

Laurana slashed through a shadow and watched as it shredded in the fierce wind being whipped up by the fires burning
throughout the city. Half of the draconians had fallen to the shadows, but it seemed that no more attacks were forthcoming. She
saw Kazarss kneel by a pile of ashes that had been a Kapak and whisper some prayer before they resumed their journey
towards the rally point.

The wounded were laid side by side in the forest that bordered the Hall of the Sky, meager protection from the dragon that
would swoop overhead, each time taking another handful of lives. These were the lucky ones. The first wounded had been
taken inside the Knight’s fortress, only to be killed with most of the priests by the fire dragon’s first attack which had reduced
the fort to rapidly cooling lava. The remaining Knights of Takhisis, cavalry or not, stood with their weapons at the ready as
armored warriors grouped and hurled themselves at the flimsy line of soldiers. A large group of elves stood with swords drawn
to the side of the Knights, busy trying to keep the shadows from slipping past them to the wounded.

“Reinforce the line, there,” Laurana said, pointing to a spot along the elven lines where the shadows had gathered like moths
drawn to a flame. Kazarss nodded and motioned his bodyguard forward. One protested, wanting to stay with him, but he
shook his head and motioned again. Reluctantly, the Sivak draconian ran off after his fellows. Sylara followed, heading to the
wounded to do her best with what little magic she had left.

“Where is the dragonlance?” Kazarss asked as the hissing cry of the fire dragon echoed over the city.

“Half buried in lava,” Laurana said. “Do you have any spells left?”

“A few short range ones.”

“Well get ready to use them, I’ll draw the dragon onto me and you hit it with everything you have left. Grab a horse, I want to
try to get it away from the wounded.”

They commandeered horses from the cavalry and mounted up, scanning the smoke filled sky for any sign of the dragon. “There
it is!” Laurana yelled, pointing to the southern sky. “Can you get its attention?”

“Yes, my lady,” Kazarss said, raising one scaly hand and whispering words of magic. A fusillade of glowing projectiles shot
from his hand and struck the fire dragon on the snout. It hissed its fury and turned to fly straight towards them.

“Come on!” Laurana yelled and kicked her horse into a gallop. Together they raced through the gently curving streets of
Qualinost, the dragon close behind. They had reached a small square on the edge of the ravine. Buckets full of water drawn
from the river lined the walls, intended for fire fighting but never used.

Laurana spun her horse and saw the dragon diving down towards her. She waved her arms and shouted at it, leading it away
from Kazarss as he began his spell. She dove from her horse as the fire dragon passed overhead, a cloud of acidic fumes
pouring from its mouth. She heard the horse scream and winced. The horse’s screams stopped quickly, leaving only a pile of
yellowed bones on the ground.

The dragon was swooping around for another pass and was diving straight towards her when Kazarss hit it with his spell. A
blizzard of ice and hail shot from his outstretched hands to engulf the fire dragon. Steam billowed forth, blinding Laurana with a
churning fog. She could hear the dragon screaming as the spell continued until there was silence.

She slowly pulled her sword from its sheath as she listened for any trace of the dragon. A gust of smoke laden wind blew the
fog away into tatters and cleared the air. She gasped when she saw the dragon directly in front of her, most of it hardened to
black crumbling rock but still it dragged itself towards her on its two front legs.

Laurana leapt backwards, her hair flashing in the firelight, as the creature slashed at her with its claws. She rolled to the side,
barely dodging its jaws. She looked around wildly for Kazarss and saw him collapsed on the ground, not moving. Laurana
scrambled backwards as the fire dragon lunged for her, nearly catching her legs in its mouth.

Her heart caught in her throat as her back collided with a house’s wall. She looked at her sword, useless against the dragon
and sheathed it as she stood. The dragon seemed to be playing with her, savoring its imminent kill.

Laurana looked around for any avenue of escape. The dragon’s claws were to either side of her, blocking her in with boiling
and churning arms of lava. Then she looked down and saw the buckets of water lining the wall. She looked up and feigned fear,
trying to keep the dragon’s attention away from the buckets as she hooked her foot around one of the bucket’s handles and
lifted it.

“Please don’t hurt me!” she screamed, as shrilly as possible. The dragon slowed its approach, savoring her fear. When it was
so near that she could feel the heat of its body radiating like a smith’s furnace, she kicked forward, launching the bucket of
water at the fire dragon’s snout.

It hissed in anger and drew back in pain as the water splashed across it, changing lava to rock. Laurana screamed in rage as
she hurled another bucket, then another at the dragon, driving it back across the square. All her fury at seeing her homeland in
flames and her people killed rose up as she hurled obscenities with the water.

The dragon hissed in rage, most of its head crumbling rock, as it teetered on the edge of the ravine. Laurana smiled grimly and
whirled the last bucket around her, spinning and putting her entire body into the swing, letting it fly straight and true towards the
dragon. The bucket arced through the air with no less power and grace than the mightiest dragonlance. With one last hiss, the
dragon fell backwards and plummeted to the river below. Laurana saw a great cloud of steam rush up and then nothing.
Leaning over the edge, she saw the another dam had been placed in the river, one that was soon washed away by the rushing
water.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana grunted as she dragged Kazarss’ limp body back towards the center of the city. His horse had disappeared, likely
heading for somewhere safer than a city under siege. They were about halfway back and luckily nothing had lunged out of the
shadows to attack her while she was burdened with Kazarss’ unconscious body.

She staggered as she let his body slide to the street and leaned against a wall to catch her breath. She was bending to pick him
up again when an armored figure loomed up behind her and struck her on the back of the head with the pommel of its sword,
sending her to the ground.

Laurana groaned weakly as she saw the armored warrior lean over her and raise its sword. She tried feebly to move her arms,
to get up, to do anything, but her limbs refused to obey her. The armored creature moved closer and she moaned as it bent
down beside her and ran its freezing hand over her face.

The creature made a echoing coughing sound and pulled its hand away. Laurana looked up in horror as the thing grabbed her
arms and began to drag her into the nearest house. She felt control of her limbs return and began to kick and struggle against
the creature as she saw more of its kind following them into the house.

She cursed vehemently as the creature held her arms to the ground while another of its fellows held her legs down on a rug that
covered most of the floor. They were in a the house’s living room, a fireplace was towards the far wall and a elegantly carved
dining table was in the center with chairs arranged around it. Horror and revulsion crept into her mind as the other five or so
creatures began to strip off her armor, their gauntleted hands working the buckles with amazing dexterity. She began to scream
for help, hoping that Kazarss would wake up or someone would pass by and knowing that it was useless, her screams would
not carry much further than the house’s walls, especially with the noise of the burning city.

Laurana drew back as best she could when the first creature reached out to touch her cheek, bracing for the biting cold of its
hand. To her amazement, the creature’s hand was now warm. It reached around to the back of her head and pulled her face
close to its. She stared into the wavering transparence of its head as it pulled off its helmet and gasped when she felt carnal
memories surging through her.

She sighed as memories of encounters with Tanis spun through her head in a whirl, then moaned when more recent memories of
Vakos and Sylara appeared. The creature dropped her head and stepped back, apparently satisfied by whatever it had done.
Her eyes widened when she saw the thing remove its armor, revealing a large cock, undeniably erect.

“No!” she yelled. “Get away from me!” Laurana twisted and thrashed, trying to free herself from the iron grips of the creatures
holding her arms and legs. She screamed in frustration as the first creature tugged her breeches down her slender legs and then
off. Another pulled her shirt off over her head and pawed her breasts with freezing hands as they were revealed.

Laurana turned her head away as another creature grabbed her left leg, leaving one creature holding each of her legs as far
apart as they would go. Her arms were similarly spread so that four creatures held her to the ground as the first knelt between
her thighs. She groaned as it ran its warm hands up her thighs and plunged a finger into her sex, pumping it back and forth
mercilessly until it felt her start to moisten against her will. Her vision blurred and wavered as a vision of Tanis gently caressing
her on their wedding night appeared before her. She shook her head, trying to drive the memory away. In a flash the vision
changed and she was seeing a fantasy from her childhood as a dangerous human rogue bent his head to her breasts and began
to suck hungrily on them. She screamed in defiance and slammed her head against the rug, sending a shock of pain through her
and stunning her.

She lay on the rug, her body limp but the visions had cleared. No emotions could be read on the creature’s featureless face as it
pressed its cock against her, but Laurana could feel the lust and hunger radiating from the creature like a fire. She bit her lower
lip hard as the creature rammed itself into her, showing little consideration for her comfort as it began to methodically pump in
and out, its hands placed on either side of her body.

Laurana closed her eyes and tried to ignore the feeling of the creature raping her, feeling a single bitter tear of anger and
humiliation running down her cheek. The creature bent forward, running something that felt like a long tongue over her cheek,
tasting her tear and them sliding over her tightly pressed lips. Her eyes widened as everything changed and she was lying under
Tanis as he made love to her in their bedroom. The winter sun was shining through the window and a fire crackled in the
fireplace as he kissed her gently and stroked her hair. For a long moment she let herself go and fell into the vision, trying to
reach up and caress his face and surprised when she couldn’t move her arms.

Then she remembered and shook her head furiously, her eyes clenched shut. Reality came flooding back and she thrashed from
side to side, trying to free herself but to no avail.

Laurana’s hands clenched as the creature reared back, lifting her hips into the air as it pounded into her, making weirdly
distorted coughing sound with each thrust. It made a sound that was undoubtedly a cry of triumph and slammed Laurana down
onto its cock. She felt something shooting inside her and groaned again as it slowly thrust into her as it completed its climax.

She moaned in relief as the thing pulled out of her, but her relief was short lived as another took its place. She gasped at the
touch of its freezing cock against her and struggled frantically as she felt the thing like a shaft of ice plunging into her. It soon
warmed though and she could feel the creature thrusting maniacally into her, its hands roughly squeezing her breasts with each
thrust. Beads of sweat ran down Laurana’s face and body as she lay limply under the creature’s assault, moving her hips away
from it as it thrust to try to lessen the discomfort.

Laurana clenched her eyes shut and bit her lip as the creature climaxed in her and quickly pulled out, only to be replaced by
another. Her head swam as they took their turns with her body, each one starting out as cold as ice but then warming quickly as
it violated her body. Her mind was filled with visions from her past and from her imagination as each took their turn. Tanis was
gently making love to her in one moment, in another Vakos was grunting on top of her, and in another she was pinned beneath
the scaly body of a draconian. She nearly sobbed in relief as the last one finished with her and stood, leaving her sprawled on
the floor, barely strong enough to close her legs and bring her arms over her aching breasts.

She looked up at them blurrily, they had been transparent and freezing when they had started, now they were glowing a faint
red and gave off heat like a normal living being. She tried to scramble backwards as the one who had first raped her reached
for her again. She was amazed when another of the things grabbed at the first one and threw it across the room. Chaos broke
out as the things began to fight among themselves, each of them trying to get to her but being thrown off by another before they
could do more than touch her. Within a minute they had drawn weapons and were fighting viciously. Laurana rolled under the
table as they fought and watched as they killed each other, the last one slicing his opponent in half as he was stabbed through
the chest. She sobbed in relief and moved out from under the table slowly.

She was shaking as she reached down to pick up her clothes but her relief was short lived. “Look who we’ve found,” she
heard Vakos said as he placed the tip of his sword under her chin and lifted it to force her to look at him. “The elf who loves
humans.” Laurana’s eyes widened when she saw that he was accompanied by about ten of his men and that they were holding
the limp body of Kerian in their arms.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Sylara cast her last healing spell on the injured elf, stopping the flow of blood from his severed wrist. He was unconscious from
the pain but would live if nothing else happened to him. She stood and looked around the forest. Men and women lay
everywhere in various states of injury. Some were dead, others almost there.

The sounds of battle had died down from the edge of the forest and she assumed that it meant they had won, at least for now.
The dragon was hadn’t made anymore attacks so Laurana and Kazarss must have been able to kill or at least cripple it.

She lifted her mace in her sore arms and walked towards the ring of men that surrounded the forest. Half of the ones who had
stood there when she went in were still standing, most of the others were dead. There was no sign of Laurana or Kazarss. She
looked over at the approach of an elf, she thought he was the Speaker of the Suns.

“You, cleric!” he called. “Have you seen my mother?”

Yes, Sylara thought, Gilthas. “No, Speaker, I haven’t.”

Gilthas cursed and turned away, surveying the few people left standing. He realized that there were too few for him to send
some out to search for his mother. He could only hope that the other defenders got to the rally point soon. Where were the
commanders? he thought.

Turning, he saw that the captains of the Knights were either dead or wounded. The Knights were milling about aimlessly, unsure
of what to do without their commanders. The elves were not much better off, each of them seemed to be considering breaking
and running.

“Y-you there!” Gilthas said with more confidence than he felt. “Take three men and do a sweep of the area, I want no shadows
lurking around the edges to prey on the wounded!” Gilthas was surprised when the Knight obeyed without question and ran off
to check the perimeter. He had been expecting at least an argument and was still looking around dazedly when he saw that the
other Knights and elves were looking to him. They were looking to him for leadership. “You, take a squad and horses, I want
you to gather any scattered forces that you find and bring them here, you-” he yelled. Around him, men and elves began to sort
themselves out according to his orders and none looked like they were inclined to flee.
 
 

                                              ***
 
 
 

Laurana stared at Vakos as he leered at her naked body. The Knights behind him seemed nervous and they constantly glanced
towards the door.

“Ready and waiting, just for me,” he said gleefully as he reached out and groped Laurana’s breasts, his sword still under her
chin. “And for my men.”

Laurana fought down a shudder as she saw the rest of his men. Most of them were staring at her in undisguised lust, although a
few were nervously glancing towards the door and out the window. Laurana did shudder when she caught a clear glimpse of
Kerian.

The Kagonesti was nearly naked, most of her clothes and armor had been torn from her body, leaving only the scraps of her
tunic which barely covered her. Her head hung limp and she dangled unconscious between two of the Knights. Laurana had a
terrible certainty of what the Knights had done to her before. She thought quickly, realizing that she would have to play along to
have any chance of escaping the same fate.

“I-I was attacked,” Laurana said softly, blinking rapidly and sniffling.

“Were you? I bet you enjoyed it, didn’t you?” Vakos said, lowering his sword and reaching around her waist to pull her to him.

“Yes,” she said, lowering her head to his shoulder. “But I’m scared, will you take me back to the rally point?”

“Oh yes, that’s where we were headed ourselves. The enemy is gone for the most part and the elves under Porthios and
Alhana are cleaning up the forests outside the city. So we have some free time.” Vakos smiled and Laurana felt her heart sink.

“Sir, maybe we should leave now, there might still be some of those creatures wandering around,” one of the Knights said.

“Anyone who wants to leave can, just leaves more for me,” Vakos said as he grabbed Laurana’s bottom and squeezed hard,
making her gasp from the pain of his gauntlet digging into her skin.

The Knight who had spoken looked out the door again and then back at Laurana. He made his decision and ran out of the
house, his footsteps fading rapidly. A few more of the Knights joined him, leaving only five Knights and Vakos in the house.

“There’s a bedroom back there,” Laurana said, hoping to get Vakos alone. “Why don’t we pass the time-”

“No,” he interrupted her. “I won’t be selfish and keep you all to myself like Sylara would. You can have fun with my men also.”

“But-”

“No,” Vakos said sharply, his hand squeezing her bottom painfully. “Now,” he said calmly, “why don’t you get on your
knees?” Laurana watched as he undid his sword belt and tossed it and his sword onto the couch on the far side of the room
with his dagger and gauntlets. The other Knights began to divest themselves of their arms and armor until they all stood in their
breeches and tunics.

Laurana gauged the distance between her and the weapons and began to kneel, feeling a wave of despair wash over her as the
Knights gathered around her, Kerian still in their clutches. “Get me nice and hard,” Vakos said as he opened his breeches and
took out his cock. Laurana fought to keep from gagging in revulsion as she took the cock into her mouth and felt it begin to
swell immediately.

She began to lick and suck at it, feeling Vakos stroking her hair as he thrust his hips forward. His cock soon swelled to fill her
mouth and her buried his hands in her hair, forcing her down his shaft until she nearly gagged. He drew back a bit and let her
lick at his cockhead while he motioned to the other Knights.

Laurana saw them bend Kerian over the table, her arms stretched out in front of her while her stomach rested on the edge. She
closed her eyes and tried to block out the sound of the Knights opening their breeches and beginning to rape the unconscious
Kagonesti.

Laurana jerked and nearly bit Vakos when she heard Kerian moan. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kerian slowly
regaining consciousness. She watched Kerian’s face in horror as the woman awoke and looked around, realizing what was
being done to her.

Kerian pushed backward on the table, trying to buck off the man holding her hips as he drove into her. Her struggles only
aroused the men more as two grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the table while the one in her continued to drive his cock
into her. She cursed at them in Kagonesti, kicking and twisting violently until they used their belts to tie her ankles to the table
legs. She screamed at them as they twisted her hands behind her back and tied them with another belt.

Laurana was so wrapped up in watching the horrific scene that she forgot to continue her ministrations. Vakos tugged on her
hair sharply and then pulled out of her mouth. He rubbed his slick cock over her face, enjoying the look of disgust that she
could not hide. He smiled as he pulled her up and kissed her, his hands fondling her bottom.

Vakos sat down in a padded chair and pulled Laurana down on top of him, facing the table. “Enjoying the show?” he asked as
he moved her over his cock and then dropped her down on it.

Laurana winced at his entry and managed to say, “Yes.” Vakos leaned back in the chair and pulled her against his scarred
chest, reaching around to idly play with her breasts while he watched Kerian writhe and twist in her bonds.

Laurana watched in mute horror as another Knight finished with Kerian and pulled out. He climbed onto the table and held her
shoulders down with one hand while he used the other to wipe his cock clean on her hair, carefully avoiding her as she tried to
bite him.

“I think she needs to be taught obedience,” Vakos said. “What do you think?” he asked Laurana.

“I don’t know,” Laurana said, seeing Kerian’s eyes staring at her in mute appeal. “I think she’s learned her lesson.” Laurana
nodded minutely, hoping that Kerian would play along and possibly lull the Knights into a false sense of security.

“I don’t know,” Vakos said, one hand pinching Laurana’s nipples until she gasped from the pain. “Why don’t we test her?”

The Knights grinned in understanding, it seemed that they had done this before. The one crouching on the table pulled Kerian’s
head up by her hair and held his cock in front of her face. He kept a firm grip on her hair as he pressed his cock against her lips
and said, “Lick it.”

Kerian looked out of the corner of her eye at Laurana and then back at the cock in front of her. Shuddering in obvious
revulsion, she extended her tongue and lapped at the head of the Knight’s cock. He grinned and pushed his cock deeper into
her mouth, bumping into the side and bulging her cheek outward before he began pushing into her throat.

It seemed to Laurana that Kerian was almost ready to bite but then she stopped and swallowed, letting the cock into her throat.
The Knight groaned and began to thrust in and out of her mouth, one hand still in her hair. “I suppose she doesn’t need a
lesson,” Vakos said. He had his cock in Laurana and wasn’t moving, just savoring the feel of her around him.

Kerian’s body jerked as another Knight stepped up behind her and plunged his cock into her. Laurana saw a tear creeping
down the Kagoneti’s cheeks as she was taken from both ends. Laurana closed her eyes and tried to shut out the scene as she
heard a Knight groan as he shot his seed over Kerian’s face. They continued to rape Kerian until they were all satiated and
their seed dripped from her thighs and face. The Kagonesti woman had passed out, whether from pain or humiliation Laurana
couldn’t tell.

Laurana sighed in relief when Vakos lifted her off his cock and pushed her aside to stand up. He motioned for the Knights to
untie Kerian’s legs and to set her on her back on the floor. Laurana watched as they did so and winced at the sight of Kerian’s
sex dripping with the Knight’s seed.

“Why don’t you help clean them up?” Vakos said with an evil grin. Laurana stared at him in disbelief as one of the Knights
walked over to her and presented his dripping cock to her.

“Wh-” she said, and gasped in pain as the Knight jerked her head up. Wincing, she extended her tongue and began to lick his
cock slowly, the sour taste of his seed rolling across her tongue as she swallowed. She cleaned each of their cocks, watching in
dull horror as they slowly hardened under her tongue.

“No, you can have her once I’m finished, not before,” Vakos said as one of the Knights reached for her. “But you can play
with her until the other one is awake.”

Laurana couldn’t help cringing away from the Knight’s touch as they began to squeeze and fondle her body. One was rubbing
his cock over her back and down to her bottom as the Knights lifted her to her feet and bent her over the table. She closed her
eyes as she wondered if they’d ignore Vakos and rape her before he had finished with her as they pawed her bottom and ran
their fingers in between her legs and buttocks. She waited in fearful silence as they stopped and one of them went to retrieve
something from the couch. Her already fragile nerves snapped when she heard the harsh smack of leather against leather.

She yelped loudly as the belt stung her bottom. Laurana opened her eyes and looked behind her. She moaned quietly when she
saw that two of the Knights were holding the thick leather belts used to hold their sword sheaths. They smiled at her and one
raised his hand, the belt coiled around it, and flicked it downwards. Laurana gritted her teeth as she struggled not to scream as
the belt lashed across her bottom. A hissing breath escaped through her teeth as the second belt slashed across her sensitive
skin and left a red stripe. She buried her face in her arms and shuddered with each lash of the belts, feeling a scream welling up
in her throat despite her best efforts to choke it back.

“Ask them to stop and they will,” Vakos said. Laurana took a shuddering breath and screamed as the Knights began to lash
her with increased fury, moving down to the backs of her thighs and up to her bottom. She hesitated for a moment and then the
belts lashed down again.

“Please stop,” she said, hating herself for her weakness and telling herself that she had to do this. She let her head drop to the
table and gasped in relief as the Knights backed away. Beside her she could hear Kerian stirring as she returned to
consciousness. Vakos made a motion and the Knights untied Kerian and placed her on the rug.

“Laurana, Golden General,” Vakos said. “Why don’t you reward her for her brave conduct in fighting the monsters that
invaded our kingdom?”

“What do you mean?” Laurana asked, already knowing the answer.

He answered by guiding her between Kerian’s legs and pressing her face down towards her dripping sex. Laurana resisted, the
smell of the men’s seed was too much for her as she tried to twist away. Vakos snarled in anger and slapped her bottom while
he shoved her forward. When she still continued to fight him, he motioned to his men and one of them brought over a dagger
and knelt by Kerian’s head.

“Do it or she dies,” Vakos said, pointing to the dagger at Kerian’s throat. Laurana sobbed as she bent her head, her nose filled
with the scent of sex. Vakos moved behind her, his hands on her hips, as she began to tentatively lap at Kerian. She nearly
choked as she began to lick the seed from the folds of Kerian’s sex. Her hair fell around her, sticking to the seed on Kerian’s
thighs and plastering there. Laurana suddenly cried out in pain as Vakos spread her bottom and thrust his cock into her ass.
She was trapped, one way meant burying her face deeper in Kerian’s sex, the other meant pushing Vakos’ cock deeper into
her. She trembled as she continued to lick the seed from Kerian, hoping that
Vakos would remain content as he was. Her choice was taken away as Vakos pushed deeper into her with an agonizing thrust
and forced her face into Kerian’s sex.

Laurana was crying out and gasping as she frantically licked Kerian, the cock in her ass sending spikes of pain through her.
Vakos grunted as he fucked her, his hands digging into her hips and occasionally forcing her head back down between
Kerian’s thighs. Laurana managed to look up and saw Kerian’s breasts heaving as she gasped and moaned from unwanted
pleasure until a Knight knelt by her and pushed his cock into her mouth. Tears of guilt and humiliation ran down Laurana’s face
to mingle with the Knight’s seed and Kerian’s liquid until Vakos grunted loudly and slammed himself into her. He pulled out,
sending a last wave of pain through Laurana and left her there, still licking at Kerian. He watched until Kerian whimpered and
shook as she came, then pulled Laurana up and smirked at the sight of her face. She was covered with mingled bodily fluids
and shaking from her ordeal.

“Let’s get these two out of here and back to the rally poi-” he began, only to be cut off as the door exploded inward,
showering them in splinters. He gaped as Kazarss stepped into the room, his hands wrapped around Laurana’s sword. “Get
him, he’s gone insane!” Vakos said as Kazarss snarled something unintelligible and slashed at the nearest Knight.

The Knights tried to reach their weapons on the couch but Kazarss stood between them and it, lashing out at any that came
near. One bolder Knight tried to tackle him but received a sword between the ribs for his efforts. The Knights began to back
away as Kazarss started to chant, trying to find another exit from the room as he lifted his hand and pointed.

Vakos dove through the room’s window and landed in the street as liquid arrows shot from Kazarss’ fingers, barely missing
him but striking all the other Knights. Acid ate into them, flowing into their bloodstream and being pumped along even as it
dissolved their veins. Laurana watched in grim satisfaction unbecoming of an elf as they screamed and writhed on the floor,
finally disappearing into a reddish slime that bubbled and steamed.

“Get us some water, please,” she said hoarsely to Kazarss and slumped to the ground.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Marshal Medan opened his eyes slowly, expecting to the see the face of his Dark Queen. She would be the Temptress if he
was worthy of being rewarded, the Dark Warrior if he had served adequately, and the Dragon of Many Colors and None if he
had failed her. He did see a dragon, but it was the scarred and burnt face of Larsk.

“We’re still alive?” he whispered, the effort making his throat burn.

“I suppose,” Larsk said and helped him stand. They were both a mess. His armor had melted in several places and fused to his
skin while his left hand was nothing but bone held together by cartilage. Medan supposed that he would feel the pain eventually,
until then he was grateful to her Dark Majesty for saving him the agony.

Larsk was just as bad. His left wing hung crippled and riddled with holes while his left front leg was broken in two places.
Scales were missing all over his blue body and there were numerous burns and blisters forming.

“We aren’t flying anytime soon,” Medan said with a chuckle. Together, he and Larsk began to limp across the charred remains
of the forest towards the distant Tower of the Suns.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Laurana and the other leaders had gathered on the southern arch bridge of Qualinost to survey the damage. Most of the
buildings had been damaged in some way or another and there were almost no trees left. The Tower of the Suns had survived
mostly unscathed, the only major damage being the loss of its front doors and hallway.

The forest surrounding the city was a different matter. The fires whipped up by the fire dragons had scoured the land clean,
leaving only charred stumps behind. In many places fires still burned, sending clouds of greyish smoke into the air to join with
the shroud that blotted the sky from view.

But it could have been much worse, Laurana thought. She had cleaned up with Kazarss’ assistance and was wearing her armor
again. Kerian was still shaken and had collapsed as soon as they had reached the rally point. Now it was sunset and the battle
had been won although there were huge losses among the Knights of Takhisis.

She supposed that she could admire their bravery, especially the dragonriders who had fought to the death. Sylara had
vanished somewhere, probably for the best considering what Laurana wanted to do to her. They had saved the city from
destruction. Marshal Medan had insisted on accompanying her, Porthios, and Alhana to the bridge to survey the city. She had
been surprised to see tears running down his face as he gazed at the damage.

“Marshal Medan,” she said, her voice perhaps colder than it would have been if she hadn’t been assaulted by his men a few
hours ago. “We will give you a day to gather your personal belongings and what food and water you can carry.”

He didn’t seem surprised at what she said and only nodded. “Very well, I hope that you will allow the wounded to stay until
they are well enough to travel,” he said, rubbing the stump of his left hand. The clerics might be able to restore his hand or they
might not be able to.

“Of course,” Laurana said. “I thank you for your efforts in defending the city.” Marshal Medan nodded solemnly and prepared
to leave when a voice was raised in outrage.

“Why should we leave the city? This is our city, we captured it and you surrendered it!” Vakos yelled as he walked up the arch
towards the center where Laurana stood. “Try and take it from us you elf slut!”

Laurana raised her hands as Porthios reached for his sword. The anger in his face was easily apparent, it was only with the
greatest effort of will that he let go of his sword.
Marshal Medan looked as angry or perhaps angrier than Porthios, his knuckles were white where they gripped the hilt of his
dagger. “The treaty of surrender was obtained by trickery and coercion, it is no longer valid,” Laurana said.

“Princess, you speak hastily,” Senator Rashas said. He had been conspicuously absent from most of the fighting. “The treaty
with the Knights is valid and is still valid as long as the Speaker says it is, as I believe he does.”

Laurana watched with tired eyes as Gilthas swallowed nervously and began to speak. “Well, Senator Rashas-” he began.

“Yes, thank you Speaker. No doubt you are weary from the battle and you should not speak.” For a moment Laurana thought
that Gilthas would not challenge the Senator but then he spoke.

“Rashas, by the authority of the Speaker of the Suns, I remove you from the Thalas-Enthia-” Gilthas said.

“The Speaker is obviously upset by his hard fought battle, he should remove himself to his quarters-”

“No, Rashas. You should remove yourself. Go with the Knights you seem to love so much. I will not have a Qualinesti who
betrays his own people,” Gilthas said, his voice becoming stronger with each word. “You have done enough harm to us.”

“Enough of this!” Vakos yelled as he ran up the arch. “Qualinesti belongs to the Knights! We took it with strength and by
strength we’ll keep it!” He turned to Marshal Medan.
“I am in command now, my men are fit to battle while yours are injured or dead. Do not oppose me or you will join them.”

“I wonder how your men fared so well, Vakos,” Medan said darkly, moving to pull his dagger from its sheath.

“Prove your strength, Vakos,” Laurana called out, silencing all others. “Prove it in front of all these people.”

“Why should I fight a soft elven whore?” Vakos sneered.

“Afraid of fighting with someone who will fight back? Afraid of coming out from behind your hostages?”

“I fear nothing!”

“Except my magic,” Kazarss said contemptuously. “My lady, allow me to kill him.”

“No,” Laurana said. “Fight me, Vakos. Show me how strong you are.” Porthios and Alhana began to object but Laurana
silenced them with a look. Their mouths gaped at the fury that boiled in her eyes, emotion so powerful that they had rarely seen
it in an elf.

Vakos laughed and pulled his sword. Laurana drew hers and motioned for the others to move back, leaving them a space at
the very top of the bridge. Vakos approached her quickly, not even bothering to go into a ready stance. This very nearly cost
him his life as Laurana sprang out of the traditional elven sword stance and nearly impaled him.

He paled visibly and went on guard, his sword held low and in front of him in the way of the Knights of Takhisis. Laurana
smiled and slashed at him, driving him back with lightning fast cuts and thrusts.

Vakos roared and counterattacked, using his brawn and weight to force his way back up the bridge. Laurana retreated slowly,
her sword flicking out, each time almost slicing into flesh. As she reached the top of the arch, she switched stances, turning her
opposite side to face him and holding her sword above her head, its point towards him. Vakos charged her, hoping to force an
opening in her guard and chopped furiously with his sword. Laurana calmly parried each cut and then switched stances again,
going into a low crouch with her sword held horizontally in front of her. Confused by her swift changes of stance, Vakos yelled
and charged at her. Laurana ducked under his cut and her sword flicked out once and returned drenched in blood. Vakos
staggered and clutched at the wound gaping at the base of his neck above his breastplate. Vakos snarled and slashed at her
again. Laurana easily dodged to the side and flicked her sword out, slicing a line across Vakos’ left arm. Blood dripped from
him to stain the quartz below him as he roared and charged at Laurana. She parried his sword contemptuously and with one
flick took off his right ear.

Vakos screamed in pain and nearly fell to his knees as he grabbed at his head, trying to staunch the blood flowing from where
his ear had been. He looked around for any support and dropped to his knees, letting his sword fall to the arch.

“I surrender, my lady, please, mercy,” he begged, blood covering him.

“Mercy?” Laurana said coldly, her sword rising to just under his chin. “Mercy?” she yelled and sliced his other ear off.
Memories of what he had done to her and Kerian filled her mind as her vision reddened. Medan stepped forward and began to
protest as Laurana sliced her sword across Vakos’ forehead.

“My lady, please, he has surrendered,” Medan said, his hand raised soothingly.

“Here is your mercy, Vakos,” Laurana said and rammed her sword through Vakos’ neck. “You death is cleaner than that of
your victim’s.” She ignored the looks of horror on the other’s faces as she let her sword drop. “Rashas, I believe you were
leaving,” Laurana said as she cleaned her sword on Vakos’ shirt. Rashas looked again at the still twitching body of Vakos and
ran for his life, his robes flapping around him. Laurana watched him go with a grim smile. When he was gone she stumbled
away from the others and bent over the arch’s railing, feeling her stomach emptying itself.
 
 

                                               ***
 
 
 

Rebuilding was processing smoothly with the end of the Chaos War. Laurana had learned of the tragic deaths of friends and
mourned them, but now the living were what mattered. She stood in the Tower of the Suns and watched Gilthas conduct
business, negotiating with the dwarves of Thorbardin for stone and labor. Kerian stood at his side, more determined than ever
to see that Qualinesti never came under the rule of the Knights of Takhisis. Gilthas no longer had the driving need for approval
from others that had made him so vulnerable to Senator Rashas. Laurana smirked as she thought of Rashas trying to eke out a
living outside of Qualinesti, forced to use his hands for a living.
Each day she saw him, Gilthas grew more and more into his own. He had learned that he was not his parents and that he had to
find his own path through life. He glanced over at her as the negotiations concluded and smiled. It was striking how much he
resembled his father Laurana thought as she smiled back.

She watched as he called for the next group, an embassy from Solace and Haven with grain and seed for the next season.
Laurana quietly walked from the Tower into the sunlit courtyard outside, the smoke from the fires had finally cleared and the
sky shone blue and bright above her. The city was slowly rebuilding and children ran among the groups of elves and dwarves
repairing the damaged buildings. She smiled again and leaned back against the warm walls of the Tower, the sun flashing on her
hair as the sounds of rebuilding drifted on the wind.