Kendraha's disguise has grown old, and it is time to leave the Amazons. Maybe she'll return someday, maybe not, but first she must try some other methods of surviving to see what works best. What will happen now on her travels.
Stranded in Alternate Time 7-9,
by Py, (c) 8/28/2000,
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As Crissium beliefs spread throughout the Roman empire, many who were followers were tormented and driven out. Some were slain, others brought before judges, where the outcome was always the same. The heretics who could not escape or bribe their way out, were always found guilty and sentenced to death, unless they would renounce their faith. which most would not do. They died fighting for freedom as the criminals did, so that none could claim Roman justice was unfair or too harsh.
As Rome conquered it's neighbors, growing larger each year, people from all over it's empire were brought before Caesar for judgment. As the Roman Empire grew too large, those accused of crimes or heresy were tried by locally appointed judges, only some being sent to the capitol of Rome. Cities and people who submitted to Roman rule were always spared, the people then taxed and given partial citizenship, the cities occupied by Roman soldiers, while those who fought were crushed by Roman armies. The spread of the Roman empire was only halted when even with roads the Empire was too large for one central authority to rule effectively.
Excerpt from An overview of the Roman Empire,
Harriet Simmons P.H.D. Westerton, (2074 AD)
7. The small group of Amazonians lived in whatever secluded place in the wilderness they could make for themselves. They did not want any assistance from civilization, and were more than happy living on their own. They built their first village with native woods and bamboo, but never anything such as stone which would take much effort to mold or otherwise build with. There first village was built near a good sized clearing in the woods, as were most of there later ones. They sometimes built in between trees so that leaves and branches would provide extra cover from storms, the woods themselves blunted the wind very effectively.
Mostly the clearing was used for practice with weapons, contests of skill, and the preparing of food, which contrary to some tales told of them did not consist of male babies born by Amazons. The truth was that the Amazonians did not kill the male babies born to them, but they had no wish to keep them around. Amazons who gave birth to male babies had the choice of leaving the group forever with their new child, leaving any female childrenalready born to them behind, or else give up the male baby. Most chose to give up the male baby, asking one of the other Amazons to find the baby a home. The chosen Amazon and several others would take the male child, and travel generally 7 days distance from the village so that no easy connection to them could be drawn, then simply leave the child somewhere and then guard the baby until someone from a local village found it. They never said where they went with the male child, nor who picked it up, to help insure that the mother would not change her mind someday.
This trip also allowed them to check for new prospects. Most Amazons came from the female children who were born to Amazons and grew up with them. However, a few ran away or chose to leave at the age of choosing when a girl became a woman. So parties of Amazonians returning from the task of removing a male child from their midst, on the return would watch for women who seemed likely candidates to become Amazons. Women who liked male activities such as hunting or walking unescorted in the woods with only their own weapons for protection, or those that seemed dissatisfied with things the way they were, or set apart from everyone for one reason or another, were often good possibilities. Some of them joined the Amazonians, and some of those who joined left at some point. These scouting missions helped as very few women sought out the Amazon way of life, yet there were those who welcomed it when it found them.
Often in the beginning they met with amusement from people when they came in groups to a village or occasionally a city, but increasingly over the years people grew to fear them. In villages they simply went in numbers and were safe, but eventually they had to avoid going into cities, or else go in disguise as an ordinary woman. No Amazon liked this as it meant having to go weaponless, or with only a simple hidden dagger. So they developed the technique for most things of paying or trading for the services of a villager to go in for them. Horses, equipment, virtually everything could be gotten from villages this way if necessary, the only hard part was finding something to trade. Amazonians solved this by offering protection for people and villages, making their own goods from things in the woods such as animal skins or medicines, and selling other things such as spare food grown or caught on their land. However they did defend there territory fiercely, killing all trespassers, and taking whatever gold or other valuables they carried. Occasionally they sent out raiding parties to do likewise elsewhere, always at a distance so the Amazonian village would not be blamed. The local government always refused to do anything because they couldn't find enough reason to, and the idea of sending in soldiers to clean out the Amazonians was not to their liking. It would be too costly in lives and time spent away from other duties for the soldiers, and the one time a local government had sent in a small team of 7 men, they had all been found dead a few days later, their bodies left at the edge of a village.
Kendraha sat around the meeting circle with the other Amazonians. She had been with them for 45 years now, and their numbers had grown to nearly 60 adults of all ages, and half as many female children. The party sent to leave infant twin boys at a distant village had finally returned the day before, and it was time for the first meeting on the subject of dispersing into 2 or more tribes. It was understood by all that such a large group could not easily survive in the woods without constant movement, or else building more permanent structures and staying in one place forever. Neither option was acceptable, moving constantly would mean constant building of huts, leaving no time for anything else, especially the little farming they did. Staying permanently in one spot was also unacceptable as it made them easier targets for the army, or just those who banded together in fear or hatred of Amazonians.
They decided ultimately to split into 3 groups, one to stay here, and 2 to travel elsewhere. Rules for future conduct between the groups were argued, including rules of territory, with each group finding out if Amazons already occupied an area before a new group entered it. The greatest of these rules was that no Amazon should kill another, except in ritual combat of leaders or individuals to decide disputes. Kendraha hoped these ideas would hold, and the Amazonian nation being born here would never war with itself. She admired these women, even though they were only humans. They stuck to their principles, lived peacefully for the most part, and had proven to be quite resourceful. She hadn't made a single long term mental change to any of them since her days as Queen Kleopatra, and modern Amazonians were just as fierce as the original ones who had survived the massacre at her palace to come to Greece. They were probably a little less bloodthirsty and more willing to help a male in distress, but otherwise were just as much an Amazon as ever she had made. The one's who join from outside generally weren't quite as aggressive, Kendraha credited it to the environment each woman had been raised in. Either they were born and raised here surrounded with Amazons, or they grew up in villages or cities, and never quite fit in until coming here. A few Amazons were escaped slaves from other countries, but the look was largely Greek now.
Kendraha would be staying here with this group while 2 other groups left, except she planned to leave herself shortly after Vessinar died, which could be before the village split apart. She had let herself appear to age, remembering to move as someone of her age should. Her hair was white now, her skin wrinkled, her step lively but slow. She held back during fighting, letting the others make the natural assumption that age was getting to her. When she talked the others listened carefully, her voice was that of wisdom and power to them. She remained sitting on a log and raised a hand for attention. The others fell silent, "I am old now, and I am one of the 2 surviving founders of this tribe. Today is a great day, and you've all made excellent choices. I will not be with you much longer, but I am glad to see this day and know that the Amazonian people will go on even if disaster should strike at one of our villages now." Some murmurs broke out, followed by protests at the idea she would leave them. Kendraha raised her hand again for more silence, "As most of you know, I am Kenji, first of the new Amazons who never served Queen Kleopatra. In that hut behind me lays Vessinar, last of the original Amazonian guards sworn to protect that Queen. She will die soon, unable to leave this village to die alone as is traditional for us, and we will burn her body so her essence may disperse to the edges of the world." She hesitated, "Sometime after she dies I will take my final walk, and no one here alive will be left who remembers Egypt. After we disperse I want all Amazons to remember, we are one people even when we are separate!" Kendraha faked a cough, "Remember you are all sisters, no matter where you go or how much time has passed. Your daughters are sisters, and your daughter's daughters will be sisters. The Amazonian nation must remain united in spirit if it is to remain free!" Kendraha slowly made fists and crossed her wrists above her head, "For Amazonia." The women and even some of the girls repeated the salute and shouted "For Amazonia!"
Kendraha left the meeting, using her stick as a cane for occasional support in case anyone saw her, and she stepped into Vessinar's hut. The older Amazon was asleep, Kendraha could feel the illness stealing what remained of the woman's feeble strength. It didn't matter to her, they had talked, and she would be glad to hear how well the meeting had gone. Vessinar had already accepted her fate, and finally given her original sword from Egypt which hadn't been used for 15 years to a daughter of 25. Three days after the meeting Vessinar died in her sleep, not her preferred way to die but the illness hadn't given her the choice. A huge pyre was built and her body placed on top, then it was set afire as the Amazon's sang the death chant for one of their people.
A few days later Kendraha walked towards the far edge of the clearing. The Amazons would soon break into 3 tribes, Vessinar was gone, and she knew it was time for her to leave also. There was no way for her to fake her own death and burning, so she took the traditional way brought from Egypt for elder Amazons to leave when they felt the time was right. All she took was a backpack with some supplies, a lesser sword and dagger, and the clothes on her back, including a necklace of bear teeth. The others had said a brief goodbye, then ignored her as she left them. Kendraha heard footsteps running towards her from behind, and was met by her chosen daughter Xendra. The girl of 14 was not her true daughter, she could not have a child by a human father, but Xendra's mother had died in childbirth so Kendraha had raised the girl. "Mother, may I walk with you?" said the girl. Her long dark hair was still full of dirt from wrestling practice with the other girls and Kendraha smiled, "Only to the edge of the clearing, you know the rules daughter." Xendra nodded, "Yes mother, I am sad today, yet I am happy." Kendraha smiled again then removed her necklace and placed it on the girl with her help, "Take these, I no longer need them." Xendra smiled slightly, "Thank you mother."
As they walked together they talked of other Amazons and what the future might hold for them. At the edge of the clearing they stopped, "Xendra, before I leave for my final walk, there is one thing I must say to you." Xendra nodded and waited patiently until her mother continued, "You will be a woman soon, and when you are you will take the right of passage ceremony. Whichever version is chosen for you, the one I took or one of the other tests, have no fear. You can pass if you wish to, just do what is necessary." Xendra smiled, "Yes mother, I will make you proud!" Kendraha nodded, "You will make a fine leader one day, just like I was for a time, and just like Vessinar was. Our new leader is also good, follow her footsteps, and stop teasing your younger sisters." Xendra giggled, then they hugged, and Kendraha turned and walked down a path into the woods. Xendra watched from the clearing as Kendraha slowly walked further away down the path, then Kendraha felt with her mind as the girl turned to rejoin the others.
When Kendraha was sure she was alone, she began walking more briskly, she stood taller as she allowed herself to lose the minor stoop she had let herself develop, her body began losing it's wrinkles and other signs of age, and her hair shifted back to the normal red color of Kenji as she had first been all those years ago. When fully shifted she appeared exactly as she had back when she had met Vessinar, except for the change of clothing. Later after cooking a meal and making sure no one was around, she began shifting again. Kenji was known to some people who were alive, even some of her Amazons, so she became Blonde, letting her hair grow long. She maintained her height of course, slimmed Kenji's curved body slightly, followed by minor alterations to her face. She further changed her skin tone to the olive color found in this area of the world, and eye color from blue to green. Long thought gave her a new name, Kensil, it followed a pattern set by her last alias and her real name, but it would do for the humans, and the pattern might help her to be found if the Time Core ever came looking. Kendraha had long given up that hope, but it refused to die completely in her mind. She wasn't sure where she was going now, but eventually after years had passed, she thought she might become an Amazon again. Eventually she'd travel, see Japin and the other far places, including if she could manage it maybe the new lands to the West over the ocean which nobody else here knew existed yet. She thought she might push history along a little, although it could be dangerous to her own survival to do that. Kendraha didn't really know the history or future of this time line, and might make things worse for herself. She decided to leave major things alone unless she had a good reason later, but planting a few small ideas for inventions or art struck her as fun and harmless. She laughed, "So, maybe being a muse can be fun."
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8. Kendraha traveled the countryside for many years, preferring to live alone for a while. If people saw her they thought she was just an Amazon, and that others were nearby, so they left her alone. She did steal some gold, and obtained better fitting clothes that suited a younger person. Between her Amazonian skills which had grown considerably since her first solo fight with bandits, and her mental powers, she felt confident that she could handle whatever came her way. A few times she had trouble with predators, once a large cat and another time some wolves, but she was learning to touch their minds slightly, enough to make them overcautious. By nature they were cautious to begin with, so they left rather than fight her.
Eventually she found herself toying with some humans, making a villager see a monster from their own mythology, then as they ran in panic she would drink in the emotions. If they transferred the panic to others, she could get a whole village worth of panic. Sometimes she would wait for everyone to flee, then set fires to the huts or small wooden buildings. When they returned there would be despair to feed on, not as nourishing but good enough, and even if fire made no sense for the monster the few had seen, they would invent something. This invention just served to give tangible evidence to her illusion, and spread fear to the next village she attacked this way.
She couldn't do that too often, or always in the same area, it might draw unwanted attention. So she did other things as well, using illusions in the minds of 1 or 2 people to create all sorts of emotions. She even played a live role after altering her identity if the person was unarmed, and no one else was close, but finding such isolated individuals was rare. However her first such attempt was finding an unarmed man alone in the woods, and using her mind to seemingly appear from thin air before him. Before the appearance she had shifted her human form, and now was disguised as Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty. With minimal mental manipulation she got him to have sex with her. Aphrodite became the half serpent hunter form, and slowly crushed him in her coils. He barely fought, scared of the coils, scared of offending, and lusting tremendously for the goddess his people saw as the most beautiful woman in the world. He could barely breathe as they finished there love making, and Kendraha finished him off, drank his escaping life force, then transformed to the full serpent form and swallowed the body.
Over a period of a few years Kendraha traveled mostly in Greece, experimenting with many different ways of instilling fear and other nourishing emotions even when not needing a full feeding. She tried being a Siren once, but even when a ship came close enough, she could do no more than make one or sometimes 2 at a time jump overboard, then watch as the entire ship scrambled up ladders back onto the deck. One time she tried being Medusa, making 2 women of a small group of young women out gathering berries see a beautiful woman with snakes in her hair. She let all but one escape, using her mental powers to hold the remaining woman stationary. Kendraha then spent time fixing her mind to paralyze her voluntary muscles permanently, so that she couldn't move in any way except by her automatic reactions such as breathing. Kendraha stayed at a distance and fed on the fear of the paralyzed woman, and the hopelessness of her friends who recovered and cared for her the next few days. They had found the woman unharmed but limp and completely non-responsive to them. They could tell she was alive, but couldn't get a reaction out of her. They kept the woman in a hut, someone always with her, moving arms and legs, listening and watching for any reaction. When she was so weak the paralyzed woman was near dying, Kendraha left the area and the woman to die as the distance was too great for her to feed on the life force.
After 8 years of living this way, she by chance ran across 2 Amazons. One had been snared by a giant python at least 4 man lengths long, several coils were around her already, forcing the woman to her knees by their wait as they crushed the life out of her. The other had one coil around her waist, one around a leg, and was trying to get at the head with her sword, but the beast's head was behind her and gripping her leg. Kendraha thought these 2 valiantly fighting Amazons were doomed, and she began drinking in there rage and anger which she noted was tinged with a little fear. Kendraha couldn't place either woman's face, one was new and the other she thought that she should know. Her immediate instinct was to interfere to save sister's even if they didn't know her, but that feeling conflicted with her feelings for the great snake. Long ago she had seen her first large serpent from this Earth, and found their minds to be dull, unintelligent, largely driven by instincts, yet still distantly related to the Humalli. This giant serpent was what her people had been before taking that evolutionary turn which had given them mental powers and intelligence, then later the ability to shift appearance, an important trait for any predator species. Kendraha didn't think she could kill a giant serpent of this alternate Earth except in self-defense. Right now, and with little time to choose, she couldn't decide if she should kill the serpent or let it kill the 2 Amazons.
Kendraha ultimately decided not to interfere, and if others came to kill the serpent then the same would apply. She watched as the first Amazon's motions slowed, then became feeble as she gasped for air and finally died. The second Amazon fell to both knees as a new coil removed from the first victim tightened on her body. Slowly the serpent's muscles rippled, until the second Amazon also gasped for breath as she weakly fought, ultimately begging for rescue to the gods she knew. After Kendraha saw the second Amazon go limp, she saw no reason to stay for the serpent's feeding, but she thought a lot about what had just happened. Two of her Amazon sisters had died, she had done nothing to aid them, and one of her distant ancestors was being fed. Of course she reminded herself that it wasn't really a distant ancestor, only what the Humalli could have been now if not for the quirk in evolution in her own time line. In the end Kendraha decided that she had done the wrong thing, and should have save the 2 Amazons. This realization made her begin thinking about herself and her own feedings. She couldn't stop feeding on human life force and flesh from time to time, but she didn't have to torture her victims other than for her feedings when it was necessary to some degree, because of the nourishment the emotions produced. She realized that the stunts she had been pulling since leaving the Amazons, were nothing more than an attempt to deny what she was being forced to become because of her circumstances.
Kendraha sat on a rock and opened her pack. Buried at the bottom was her Time Core retrieval bracelet. It had no electronics or other elements which might reveal it's nature to a knowledgeable observer, it was simply a mildly radioactive gas which doesn't naturally occur, suspended in a sturdy crystal, which in turn was embedded in a thin bracelet that fit the styles of this time and place. Using Scanning devices her people could find it easily, the gas in the crystal would stand out as unique on the whole planet, but only if they searched the correct time line. It had been over 50 years since she had last felt in her mind the occasional pulse of a scanner as it swept this time line's Earth, to verify if she wanted recall or not. If she wanted recall she was supposed to return to the secluded spot she had arrived in, and wait for an energy pulse to strike her crystal. Now Kendraha didn't think she could even find that spot anymore even if the bracelet showed signs of life. Kendraha held the bracelet with both hands, "Your not coming, either your dead or you can't find me in the vast number of possible time lines. I've got to survive here, and I must stop fighting the world around me. I can live as a hermit treating humans as my toys, or I can live as a human, only killing when I have to. I did fine all those years with my Amazons, but can I do it with other humans?!"
A few days after that Kendraha hitched a ride with a passing wagon on a dirt road between 2 villages. The driver and his son had been afraid to take her with them at first, but faced with what appeared to be an Amazon with a sword who smiled and calmly offered protection for a ride, they found themselves becoming calm and confident of her, and even eager to have her along. She talked with them rather than simply read everything from their minds, and explained that she was Kensil, an Amazon who was giving up the secluded life for a more normal one. In the village she learned as much as she could, village gossip and news of the latest strange occurrences in the area, relying on her mind to read some things, and ordinary human conversation for others. The older man introduced her around, and was pleased to gain the prestige of being friends with an Amazon. She learned they had several more villages to stop at before going home, and they agreed to let her come along as far as she wished. Kendraha was pleased that she hadn't had to force any minds all day, and was just as happy for this ride, as she wanted to put some distance between her and Amazon country for a while.
When they were at a small city and about to turn for the 2 men's home, she gave them a farewell and thanks for the ride, then left to find out what was here. It was a small Greek city, still mostly wood, but extensively built and sturdy. She managed to keep from gathering too much attention in her Amazon garb, while she stole some money, a little from various people so that no one would be hurt too much ,and probably not notice soon enough to make any connections to her. She didn't want to lose her sword, but a woman with a sword was very memorable, even if she wasn't bothered much. So she traded it for a short sword of finer quality, which she could wear on her back under her new clothes. The new clothes consisted of a knee length skirt with slitted sides so she could more easily reach the dagger on her thigh, and a light tunic in tough material that would pass for feminine in a crowd. Keeping the sword upside down on her back, it was easy to reach under the bottom of the waist length tunic, unhook a strap which held the sword in place, and withdraw the sword in seconds when needed. She also added a thin under tunic to come between her human skin and the shoulder strap of the sheath, and it took some extra effort to put the sword back in it's sheath again making sure it wouldn't accidentally fall out with the strap, but she thought it would be worth it. She could this way travel with humans without causing undue comment, use her mind to know if hostile emotions nearby suggested attack was coming, and be able to fight with a moments notice. Other than these changes Kendraha only bought new sandals, and a better backpack.
Kendraha moved from village to village and city to city this way for years, staying in a few places for a while but never very long. She ended up in the territories of the expanding Empire of Rome, enjoying the Roman road system as it made travel much easier. Roman soldiers in a group tended to be well regulated and followed the lead of their commander on all things. If the commander left her alone, they did also. If the commander became too annoying, she made sure he changed his mind and decided to take his men elsewhere. Ultimately even being such a strange sight as a woman traveling alone on foot, she felt much safer here than alone elsewhere because she didn't have to deal with much in the way of wild animals. Human minds could be controlled within limitations, animal minds couldn't be nearly as easily. She had been taught in the Academy and had learned at first hand, that the degree at which you can touch the mind of another is relative to that beings intelligence and will. Primitive creatures such as the pythons and crocodiles were too low in intelligence to be effected much by her mental touch, but she could normally sense them. More advanced animals such as dogs, cats, and horses she could influence somewhat, usually only on the emotional level. Humans though as the most intelligent beings around her were simple to read and influence with virtually no restrictions, much the same applied to the few chimps she had seen. However, she reminded herself that there had been Kleopatra who had resisted the mental control to an alarming degree, and a very intelligent man near a river in Amazon territory who had been difficult to read. He had stood and looked around, almost as if he thought someone had called his name when she had tried to read his thoughts, but he hadn't been sure.
Kendraha tried riding a horse once but this drew even more attention, so she resumed walking everywhere. Whenever she could she would join a group, sometimes using her mental ability to make the others in the group simply accept her presence. She had no trouble stealing the money she needed, stayed at various Inns, or camped out in woods if there were any, but there tended to be fewer wooded areas the deeper she went into Roman territory. This bothered her a bit, sleeping alone in the woods always brought the danger of discovery. She could generally handle this, although after a full feeding while in her serpent form it was very difficult, so much so that if more than 1 or 2 humans came she couldn't hold any defensive illusion. Otherwise she felt safe enough even in these thin woods, but when she needed a full feeding she would try to find a deep secluded cave somewhere people generally didn't go.
Kendraha spent many years traveling all over the Roman empire, occasionally having sex with humans, feeding on anyone's emotions within reach, and when needed devouring the life force and flesh of a handful of people unlikely to be missed much in the hierarchy of Roman society. Eventually she came to a city on the edge of a desert, it had a mixture of short buildings made of stone, most of wood, and a few really nice churches. She felt the sudden sensation of a presence like she hadn't felt since before arriving in this time line over 100 years ago. Immediately she turned in that direction, the sensation growing stronger as she walked that way.
Kendraha came to the edge of the city, a few Roman guards stood around an open area, a few civilians passed by, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary here. The guards let her pass, but they watched her. She read in their minds that they often allowed people into the area to see the prisoners, but wouldn't allow them to release any. She followed the train of their thoughts, and gazed up at the dozens of crosses, each one with a living person staked near the top with arms spread wide and legs together. Some were soldiers, most criminals of one sort or another, and one was a heretic and the source of the power. His mind was odd, not like any human mind she had yet read on this Earth, it was more like Humalli. Some of it was wide open to her mental probes, but most was hidden behind barriers only the greatest Humalli could create. Kendraha asked a soldier, and he told her that his name was Jessin Criss, a heretic who many claimed was the son of a new God.
She watched for some time, trying to determine what this man was, his mind didn't quite feel like a Humalli, and Kendraha couldn't imagine what a Humalli would be doing here pretending to be some religious heretic. She herself had learned the hard way that gathering so much attention to herself was not good for her long term survival. Kendraha felt more confused now than she had since coming here, then noticed mental tendrils probing her own mind, and realized with shock that they had been doing so for several minutes. Instinctively she snapped shut the mental defenses to her mind that she hadn't used in decades, and the figure on the cross laughed hoarsely.
The soldiers were used to all sorts of sounds from the condemned, but a hoarse laugh drew their attention briefly. Kendraha heard a voice faintly in her head, "You do not belong here." She shuddered and returned the mental thought, "I am Kensil of the Humalli, who are you?" "My name is unimportant." came the unspoken reply. "I am Jessin Criss here, I will die soon, and if I had waited a little longer I might have met you under better circumstances." There mental conversation went on a while, with the man on the cross explaining that he was from an alternate future time line where Human and Humalli lived together as equals. Humalli were naturally a much smaller population, and they fed off of emotions regularly. Whenever a Human knew they had a terminal illness or otherwise would die soon such as from wounds caused in an accident, they gladly allowed Humalli to take their life force and consume the flesh. Ways had been devised to store the life force also, which allowed for donations to Humalli, and any meat would do for the flesh after the life force feeding, so sheep were usually used in these circumstances. In turn she explained to him how the Humalli dominated the humans on her Earth, and how she had been stranded she believed due to an uprising. "Similar to my problem also." he thought to her. "I was just a Human Time Agent doing research here 500 years ago, when my retrieval device broke open. It was tough as I'm sure your crystal is, but not tough enough apparently." The thoughts paused. "I sometimes taught the humans here things I felt were harmless such as small inventions or morals, but I guess I went a bit too far this time, showed off a bit with illusions, and now they think I'm a god. Naturally the Romans want to kill me, and there were too many to fight." He laughed again hoarsely then thought to her, "I couldn't even change the mind of my judge, he was too determined to carry this through." "I could free you." thought Kendraha. "No." he thought back. "It would be too difficult, you'd be most likely caught and put up here with me, or else stoned to death. Stoning is the usual fate of women condemned to death, and it doesn't require a judge, just a mob. My body is so badly damaged I cannot recover anyway, it is best to leave me." There was a long pause and he thought to her again, "You don't know how happy it makes me to see you before I die, take care Kensil, this world is a harsh place. Now show no signs of regret or displeasure as you go, and leave this city as soon as you can." Kendraha didn't know what to say, but sent into his mind the knowledge that she was an Amazon and could defend herself with weapons while in the human form, which he didn't respond to but she thought it had relieved some of his concerns for her. As she left the area Kendraha sighed, "Is that how I'm going to end up someday, killed by ignorant humans. Jessin, or whatever his real name was wasn't so bad for a human, if I had only gotten here a week ago. Kendraha tried to imagine a time line with Humalli and humans living together as equals, and failed miserably. But she had no trouble imagining herself and Jessin traveling as equals, and eventually decided that the reason for the difference in difficulty had to be that in his time line the humans had evolved to be more than the slightly better than animals they were here.
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9. Many Emperors of Rome came and went over the years. Kendraha mostly stayed within the empire of Rome, but on her travels she twice found herself in Greece, where she both times eventually joined an Amazon tribe. The Amazons were thriving although still shunned somewhat by the rest of Greek society. Kendraha learned fast since she knew so much to begin with, although she had to pretend ignorance for a while. In exploring the spoken history she learned of the fate of Xendra who had died from a mortal wound, received while defending some Amazonian children from wolves. From what she could tell the tribes had become 9 by the end of her last visit, one occupying a small island about a half days trip out that they called Amazonia Isle. The growth of the Amazonian nation seemed to have slowed by her last visit, and Kendraha guessed they were nearing a maximum population for these times. There were only so many Greek women, and only a small portion wanted to be Amazons, or were brave enough to look for or could find a tribe to join. The non-Greek Amazons found there journey to a tribe even more difficult and less likely, usually as a result of being an escaped slave, a survivor of some destroyed village in a neighboring country, or similar difficult circumstances.
Years after her last time with the Amazons, Kendraha sat in a seat of the Roman Coliseum. She was in the special box reserved for the Emperor and his guests. It had marble walls on 3 sides and comfortable wooden seats with cushions, rather than the stone seats with no backrests that everyone else had. It also had a ceiling to protect if rain began during the matches, and it sheltered the Emperor from sun and wind, where other people had to live with the weather. The enclosure served the added duty of protecting the Emperor from assassins, and several guards in full armor stood near him as he watched the goings-on in the arena. The Emperor's box could easily hold a dozen guests of the Emperor, but it usually only held 1 or 2 at most, and today the guests were Senator Radus, and Kenfa his wife for the last 5 years. Kendraha was happy with this arrangement since she had learned that although power offered security, it also made you a target. As the husband of Senator Radus she had security yet little danger as Radus was the type not to make waves, and she was confident he'd never be Emperor, and therefore she wouldn't even have to influence his mind to avoid him accepting such a position.
Kendraha watched the spectacles as they came, smiling at the expected points, making all the acceptable remarks, trying her best to go unnoticed, which was hard to do as a guest of the Emperor. Fortunately most were watching Radus, so she kept quite. She was a stunning blonde, her long hair done up as suited a Senator's wife, with pale skin, a shapely body, and grey eyes in her current life as Kenfa. Her looks didn't make the job of going unnoticed easier, but it had been necessary to make sure Radus fell for her, and this appearance also made it easier to keep him, and it insured that he would stay in love with her. Her age was about 24 now, her husband about double that, but that was common in current Roman society. Radus had lots of energy for his age though, and when Kendraha wasn't making love to him in the evening, he usually dragged her off to some orgy. Feeding on emotions there was difficult even with all the people in various states of ecstasy, she usually couldn't decide what persons emotions to drink in, while feeling her own emotions threatening to blot her mind, and she couldn't afford an accidental shift with so many people around. By the end, she always felt bloated and exhausted, but had to get home before allowing herself to sleep. She could handle Radus alone just as she had dealing with Vessinar sleeping in the same room, but she couldn't handle everyone in the room. Suddenly there would be screaming and naked people running away as a half serpent woman appeared among them. She shuddered at that thought, and reminded herself that sound sleep and mental control would make sure Radus didn't see something he shouldn't at night.
As for her life force feedings, Kendraha managed to get away every couple of months. She was a foreigner who had become a citizen of Rome, and as such she had brought her religious beliefs with her. Kendraha as Kenfa was a follower of the Goddess Kendraha, and had to go on periodic retreats alone to worship at a small Temple in a nearby city about a days travel away. Roman society tolerated this, and her husband disliked it but accepted it. To all the world Roman society tolerated most religions, but in reality ideas considered distasteful were discouraged, and all citizens had to at least give lip service to the Roman Gods or face Roman wrath. Radus worshiped his Roman gods, and his wife worshiping a different god in addition to the Roman Gods she had adopted bothered him, but he loved her too much and never expressed his displeasure. Kendraha found in his mind that he was very annoyed, and he thought it made him look bad, but he tolerated her other beliefs because she had not been born in Rome. Without any mental manipulation he even helped her acquire a small statue of the goddess Kendraha which they kept in their home. Kendraha loved looking at it, she had helped design something almost identical to it when she had ruled Egypt as Kleopatra. The goddess Kendraha statue was about 3 feet tall, made of stone, and depicted a woman with a snake body from the lower ribs down, and the head of a serpent. Between was the naked body of a woman, the body somewhat rounder and less realistic than was believable, the head slightly larger and shaped different, and the tail only half the length it should be, but it was definitely her original design otherwise, and the changes seemed inevitable at this level of technology, and were unimportant to her. The only important thing to Kendraha was that the Goddess and her name survive to help the Time Core find her. A religion had grown up around the Goddess Kendraha which she had created over 200 years ago, and it had rules and rituals she had to obey at least a little to maintain the illusion. So she knelt on pillows in front of the statue each day for a few minutes, her eyes shut as she pretended to pray.
The starting match in the Coliseum that day was with 2 gladiators in full armor with swords and shields. The first was a huge new gladiator with lots to learn and no kills to his name. The second was nearly a head shorter, but he was a veteran in the arena with many kills to his credit. Kendraha knew that all matches here could end in death, but anywhere she sat was too far away to drink the life force, unless maybe they were right up to the wall near her, which so far had never happened. It always was a kill where everyone could see, sometimes a little off to one side, but never close enough for her to feed even if she were in that part of the arena.
In this match the older gladiator appeared to be having trouble with his larger foe. The swords crashed together, shields in the other hand blocking each others blows. It looked like a great fight, but Kendraha read in their minds that the older gladiator was going easy, and the 2 had planned much of this fight in hopes that they could please the crowd, and thus neither would die. Still, she read that not all the moves were planned, and they would kill each other if necessary.
Finally the older man tripped onto his back, and the younger gladiator charged forward to make a wound to his arm. As the larger man came forward, the older mans sword came up, slicing a leg and simultaneously knocking the larger man's sword away as he fell. The older gladiator rose to his feet quickly, holding the point of his sword to the larger gladiator's throat. Looking to the Emperor's box, the Emperor rose, gauged the feeling of the cheering crowd, and solemnly held out one hand with thumb extended, then paused and turned his wrist to point his thumb upward. The crowd went wild, and the older gladiator put his sword away and helped his fellow gladiator to his feet. Emperor Magnus Caesar didn't like ordering the death in the arena of a gladiator who lost to another gladiator, so he seldom did it even with angry crowds, but today seemed good, a perfect day to spare the inexperienced gladiator, especially with the special events coming up. There was no need for a gladiator to die today, there would be plenty of death of others for the crowd to watch. Kendraha drank in what emotions she could, the emotions of the crowd came at her like a gentle but persistent wave. It was like this every time. Positive emotions right now, but sometimes negative ones of hate, and that always seemed to be the most likely time for Caesar to give a thumbs down.
Next came some Crissians dressed in the usual lightweight tunic worn by all but gladiators in the arena, the first a male was given a sword and allowed to fight a gladiator. The Crissium religion had given Roman Emperors nothing but trouble for years, and their failure to recognize Roman Gods above their own one God had enraged the leaders of Rome for many years now. These Crissians today had been caught preaching in Roman territory, and brought here to either renounce their beliefs or face death in the arena. Winning for them did not mean life, it merely meant another chance to renounce or die, where as others who won were free to leave.
The muscular Crissian in the arena defended himself well, but refused to attack. Once he got angry and did, knocking the gladiator backwards, but pulling back as if embarrassed as the crowd cheered him. After that he defended himself adequately, until a faint took him one way and a sword cut his leg making him fall. The Emperor stood and gave a thumbs down, and the gladiators sword plunged into the Crissians throat. The body was removed by several arena aids as the gladiator clasped sword to chest and saluted the Emperor, then turned slowly in each direction to salute the crowd.
The next Crissian was a young man sent out with a dagger with which to face the huge male lion. The man tried hard, but his thrust with the weapon only nicked the lion, which immediately tore him to shreds as he screamed, and the crowd cheered. After the feeding lion was netted securely and dragged off with it's prey also in the net, and the dagger recovered, all was ready for the next part. The crowd loved when the animals were recovered also, accidents sometimes happened at those times, although seldom. Next came 2 young Crissian females, one fell to her knees and begged for mercy, but when asked still refused to renounce her God, so the 2 tawny lionesses were released into the arena. They made swift work of the 2 women, although one lioness was hurt badly in the shoulder from a dagger and would receive medical treatment, after they were netted and dragged off to where they could finish their meals in peace. There were no more followers of Crissium that day, only criminals, and captured soldiers, a few being allowed to fight each other with the winner going free while the loser died.
Magnus Caesar stood to speak, the huge Colosseum audience falling silent so that all could hear, "I've saved the best for last, there will be no mercy here, one of the combatants will die. Let me now introduce the first to enter this battle, the wife of Senator Radus, a woman from the outside known as Kenfa." The audience murmured as suddenly swords were pointed at Kendraha from 3 directions. She looked at Radus and found that he was just as surprised, he had expressed displeasure at her worshiping at a temple of a foreign got occasionally, but he hadn't thought the Emperor would do this. However she also saw in his mind that he would accept and wouldn't try to argue with his Emperor. The Emperor had his own reasons, partly wanting to remind his other senators who was in charge, knowing that Radus wouldn't object, and partly it was out of anger for having a less beautiful wife, even though he slept with lots of other women.
Kendraha was marched out of the Emperor's box, down some stairs, and out through some doors into the arena. On the way she passed a guard, a woman who had won in the Arena. She was a former Amazon who had resisted the recent invasion of Greece by the Romans. The Greek government now stood as another part of the Roman Empire, but the Amazons had fought in large numbers, most being killed, some fleeing, and some finally surrendering to keep Amazonia alive as they said. This woman had been given her freedom, and ultimately a place in the ranks of the Roman gladiators, after having defeated a fully armored Gladiator with only her dagger and some fancy footwork. Kendraha sensed some pity from the woman as she passed, also distaste and mild satisfaction because the next victim of the arena was one of the pampered noble class.
Not having slowed their pace Kendraha was marched through the sandy floor of the Arena to a spot near it's center, and easily within view of the Emperor's box. The Emperor made a brief statement about how besides lying about worshiping Roman Gods, she had also conspired to kill him and make Senator Radus the new Emperor, while simultaneously making it known that Radus himself had been ignorant of the plot. Kendraha listened to him invent some other lies to justify not giving her a chance to redeem herself. She tried to influence his mind, but he was strong willed and now too far away. Besides she knew it would be a temporary measure, and she'd have to avoid getting killed by him or guards until a permanent fix was made in his mind, and from then on it would need occasional reinforcement. Effecting a lion's mind enough to delay it while using her Amazon skills to kill it, and thus gain her freedom would be much easier in her opinion, and if she wasn't given her freedom she could escape in the night with a guard under mental control.
The first thing Kendraha did when it was clear to her and everyone that she wasn't about to get the chance to renounce her God, was to undo the clasp on her hair letting it flow down below her shoulders, this action alone bringing some murmurs from the crowd. She vaguely heard the Emperor ordering that she be given a dagger, and after having it tossed to the ground near her feet, and while the last gladiator left the arena, she half cut and half ripped her long skirt to mid-thigh to the sound of more murmuring, throwing the extra material to one side. Kendraha did some quick stretching exercises, then faced the Emperors box, crossing her wrists above her head as Amazons did, and called out loudly, "For Amazonia!". This brought snorts of contempt from some who thought she was mocking the Emperor, but mixed feelings of anger, respect, amazement, and other fleeting emotions from others who couldn't believe anyone would dare do so. The woman who was a former Amazon was in shock, but after a moments hesitation she made sure the Emperor couldn't see, then returned the salute.
Kendraha wasn't thrilled about fighting in her Roman gown, but she could imagine worse. With the skirt gone it's only bad points were that it was very low cut and likely to tear easily. It's good points were that it was light and wouldn't restrict her movements. She saw the final doors closing in the arena wall, and the large door at one end opening. No lion came out nor other big cat. Instead a cage with very close bars was wheeled into the arena, and the Emperor began speaking again, "You worship a serpent Goddess, so you must fight one of her children."
While the cage was brought close to her, 2 gladiators making sure she didn't interfere, the serpent was encouraged out of the cage a safe distance away but still within easy viewing of the Emperor's box. As they finished and left the arena the Emperor explained briefly to those Romans who had never seen such a giant snake, how they killed by crushing their prey. Then he warned Kendraha that although she could simply stay away from the snake as it was so slow, if she did so she would be given one warning, and then if still doing so she would be wounded by archers, and one way or another would be easily caught by the serpent.
Kendraha didn't want that, so she approached to near the snakes striking range. It was big, nearly 5 man lengths long, muscular and quite heavy, with green and black colorations, and she knew it could kill her if it got a hold of her. She tried to reach it's mind, but as before when touching reptilian minds it was too primitive to effect much if at all. Kendraha tried a few things, triggering a few emotions, trying to make it feel full so it wouldn't be hungry. Of course Kendraha knew she had to fight it, the Emperor had made it clear that only one of them would leave the arena alive. She guessed even if she had successfully gotten rid of any hunger feelings, it would fight back when she attacked it, therefore her first contact had to be good as it would probably be her only chance. She also resolved herself that she must not shift forms under any circumstances. If she did then she would either die branded a monster, or be rescued and turned into another tool of execution for the Emperor, probably kept in some deep pit somewhere to prevent escape.
The serpent apparently felt threatened, perhaps by her mental contact, perhaps by the surroundings, and it raised it's head to strike as it made threatening hissing noises. Kendraha stood close, moving with it, sensing when it was about to strike in time to move backwards or to one side. She hoped to tire it out, and thus have a better chance later when she had to attack. The crowd went wild every time she dodged a strike,, the few small slashes she managed to score on the serpent drew no blood but plenty of cheers. Kendraha cursed the dagger, of course they had given her a dull blade, the Emperor wanted her to lose while he could appear to the crowd to have given her a fair chance. She felt the rising tide of people's emotions focused on her as they cheered her on, along with anger from the Emperor. One time after the dodging to make the serpent miss a strike, she jumped over a length of snake laying in the dirt, almost tripping in the process, but drawing tremendous cheers from the crowd.
She drew a little closer as the serpent's head hung lower than before, Kendraha thought that she was tiring it out and could attack soon. Kendraha considered her blade, it was dull but the point seemed sharp. Cutting through the neck seemed out of the question, but perhaps piercing the skull from underneath would work, and she might be able to scramble it's brains enough to kill it if she could get that hysterical release of mental energy to come, and it would still look like she had done it with the dagger.
Kendraha missed the thought in the beast's mind, and abruptly found herself being knocked down as the beast struck her body. She managed to hold onto her dagger, but had the wind knocked out of her briefly. Before she could react everything seemed to happen at once. First the serpent bit her upper left arm, more of it's weight fell upon her, it quickly began to coil around a leg and begin rolling her. She felt the sudden shock in the crowd as the woman they had been cheering, a Roman elite, was wrapped from chest to hips in 3 heavy muscular coils. Kendraha's left arm was pinned, but her right arm with the dagger was free, so she tried stabbing at the snake's body with it. The dagger point wasn't as sharp as she had hoped, and it did no real damage to the serpent. Her legs were now entwined in at least one coil, and she felt the snake slowing to begin the constriction of her. She fought wildly but futilely, ultimately losing her weapon as it tore free from her hand on one such try.
The crowd murmured and became somber, the Emperor seemed to her to be glowing with satisfaction. Kendraha felt fear build with every ripple of serpent muscles that brought the coils tighter. A stray thought about having killed Kleopatra this way flittered through her mind, making her laugh slightly, confusing some people who noticed, and allowing the snake to constrict a little more. There was very little action for the crowd to watch, but the Emperor said nothing to stop or end the spectacle, so Kendraha's breaths continued to grow shorter as the serpent's coils slowly grew tighter. Kendraha manage to roll onto her knees briefly, seemingly attempting something, then she fell back under the weight of the serpent and further constriction.
Kendraha saw the head of the beast lying on the arena floor several feet away, and at the same moment the crushing bands of muscle tightened around her again. The ache in her lungs grew, and the ability to breathe was reduced further. Her mouth hung wide as she gasped, and a burst of adrenalin hit her allowing her to fight with renewed vigor, feeling the hysterical release of mental power she had hoped for. She blacked out briefly, coming to awareness to find that indeed the release had occurred, and no humans had been close enough to be effected, but the snake had barely been harmed due to that primitive mind. It had been staggered, and the further constriction halted, but within a few long seconds it resumed. She desperately considered changing forms, but she didn't have enough energy to shift forms now even if it would help.
Kendraha was too tired to try anything after that burst of mental energy, and barely fought back as the serpent continued to crush her in it's grip. She felt the pain in her chest grow to encompass her body, then suddenly couldn't breathe at all. She made an effort to roll to no avail, tried desperately to breathe but couldn't. Sounds became distant and her eyesight blurred, and she lost consciousness. The crowd mumbled as she stopped moving, and as seconds passed without further movement from her and serpent coils rippling slightly, the mumbling grew. Eventually the serpent released her from it's grip and crawled off Kendraha, apparently not hungry enough to swallow it's prey, to the disappointment of the Emperor. A gladiator confirmed that she was dead, while the snake was driven back into it's cage and taken away. The Emperor ordered that the body be unharmed as befits a former elite of Rome, and be burned that night with no ceremony.
To be continued
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By Py