Conquest Of The Fallen: Dark Dominions

THERE WERE NOT MANY 21-year old virgins around.

Hell! Who was he kidding?

Not many virgins around, period.

In the Badlands, you could just add an exclamation point to that. Yet, Natalya was it: the last of them. It made absolute sense that over the years these unbroken tribe of male and females had been herded into a sect, something of a cult even, and had grown to become the most powerful folk in the harmattan lands, having the ears of Skullriders.

In the Bonelands, the vestals managed the politics of the cruel desert, ruling from their seat in Séltand; making damn sure a Skullrider didn't wake up one morning and decide to walk his heir into a pit of serpents. The Supreme Mother, Indira sure made certain there was some sneaky, silent virgin boy or girl in each camp of the Deathlies.

Her little birds fetched the gossip from the desert lords mouths right into her long, elf ears. Coupled with the limitless power of [Central Core], Vestals were as powerful in the hell sands as the Court of Whispers halfway across the Continent.

"And they say abstinence doesn't pay." Khalifa put her poker forward into the bonfire, moving around her small pieces of mutton that sat roasting. The only lamb they got in the Badlands were the ones thieved off unlucky nomads, just like anything else.

The night was young into the morning of the next day. Grone the Grievous had retired to his large tent splayed in the midst of other smaller domains in the encampment, some time during the last hour. His tent was illuminated from the inside and Rafel—who still sat at the dying flames was sure he had seen more than one slender female body in the shadows tangling up with the giant Skullrider.

Their gold blonde hair was unmistakable in the fire light. Rafel looked on the silhouetted incestuous affair a bit before he turned back to face Khalifa.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"I hear there are loopholes to the Vestal oath." He let as a whisper." Ravenna and Aya Naamah had gone to bed also. Cora was the only one who sat with him. She had tossed her shirt and the embers threw light into her magical tattoos. The ink and her [revenant runes] glowed.

"The desert gods don't really give a shit about unbroken hymens and flower girls, do they?"

This made the Vestal lift her head. Natalya was one among the four left by the bonfire. Herself, Israfel, Corazón, and Khalifa. She said,

"On the contrary, our gods give a fuck lot of shit." Stay connected with empire

"Whoa!"

"Ooh."

Cora and Khalifa both did doubletakes at the same time. "I thought nuns didn't swear," Cora added and Rafel snickered.

"I'm no nun." Natalya reached back with her poker and bit off the little piece of steak from the hot stick. "You'll find out that before most of my kind were identified with the Holy Grace, we were well into the secular world. Mother Indira herself was to serve as the child consort of a chieftain before her rescue. We were just lucky to still be virgins at the time." She chewed softly.

Khalifa shook her head with a look. "How different are you from the nuns of the Highfather?"

"We are still whores and bitches on the inside."

Rafel laughed out loud this time.

Cora scoffed. "Well, so are they."

Natalya broke another piece of meat. "Well, are there boy nuns?"

"No? I mean, no."

"Well then, there's your answer."

The group went quiet for a bit, just staring at the fat embers spit smoke and sizzle the remnant meat over a barbecue grate. Scraped bones and licked plates and tossed goblets were scattered all about in the sand around the dreary bonfire—or at least the hissing coals it now was. It was the vestiges of celebration that left the base in sweeping sounds of moaning and slapping sex.

Rafel looked around; almost every fucking tent had tangling shadows. Except his. The fucking irony?

He was the one who was getting some when no one else was getting any.

Not the other way around.

Cora followed his golden eyes. "Shall we retire too, m'lord?" Her smile said it all.

Before Rafel could definitely say yes and take her up on her hot offer, Khalifa butted in: "I'm curious about these loopholes?" The Hijabi looked directly on Natalya. The Vestal gave her first smile since meeting her. She shifted closer to the others on her log. "Loopholes huh? Well, what'd ya wanna know? That we're allowed to rub one out in the Commons when no one's watching. That we have an idol in the sanctuary who's typically a faceless gigolo with a monster ivory penis? Or I know: would you like to know that we're allowed to grow our snatch hair?"

"Ew!" Khalifa went back. "That's foul, dude. You sure you're a Vestal?"

Rafel simply laughed. Soon, all were in it and giggling hard. Cora wiped at the tears in her eye, saying, "like full bush?" She made a roving hand over her groin area.

"Full bush." Natalya nodded.

They cracked up louder. And after two minutes of unbroken chortles, Rafel's sides hurt. "Oh my gods. Anyway, I rather like the penis god, is it?" Khalifa relaxed back on her hands, struggling to stifle her chuckle. Cora asked a second after: "how about ass stuff? Do you guys get into it?"

Natalya swung back her head. "Fuck no! We aren't lesbos. Not every conclave of women is sapphic. We like dick. That's why we have boy Vestals, duh!"

She pulled off her veils. Her bunched hair poured down beautifully. She was comfortable enough now in the reduced camp presence. Cora nodded to her words. "Right." She had the urge to avert her blue eyes for some reason. Perhaps, it was the mention of lesbo. Or that Natalya was just crazy fucking hot. "If I had a face like that, I wouldn't hide behind veils."

"Well, that's an odd compliment. But uh...thanks." Natalya admitted.

The moaning and grunting roundabout in the camp had lessened; only a few die-hard men were still plunging into the early hours of the morning. But luckily for the group, they were in the tents further away. Above the cold desert wind, the only voices beside theirs was the snoring of Grone.

Man! The man was a beast.

"Okay. Okay. Last question," said Rafel, "and this is for you, Natalya." She flushed under his attention. "How did you lose your heart?"

"What!"

"Her heart?"

Cora and Khalifa were surprised and clueless.

"You have a pretty good sight." Natalya told him. She pushed back on her seat, so the other girls saw the glowing red thing in her chest. Her breasts did draw attention in that position, but Rafel pulled his eyes above their hanging pears to the scarlet glow of her mechanical heart. Natalya started to explain.

"I was born with an unbeating heart..."

"You were born dead." Khalifa leaned in.

"Yes. In a way. I was hooked dropped in a [Lazarus Pool] that kept me in stasis. At least until a suitable artificial heart was found for me. And before you ask, magic wasn't working. The Healers tried their best. But the heart I was born with just wouldn't beat. It had to be surgically removed."

She tapped on the place where red light glowed in her chest, in tandem to the beating of the small lifesaver machine. "I have had this before I could memorize shit."

"Whoah! I-I mean, wow!" Khalifa's eyes bulged.

"It works on a particular [Red Sun] energy. A surge collapsed into this portable state by inventors at the Atlantean Research Institute. [Red Sun] itself is a Cosmo that has been equated to Galactica. A super nova energy of infinite proportion. Even a small dose can power a megalopolis. Here, we just call it—"

"The Coldflame." Rafel cited.

"Yes." Natalya ceded. "Hence, the monicker these lovely folk have for me."

"The Virgin of the Coldflame."

"Again, yes." The brunette Vestal smiled. Natalya looked from their faces to the brightening sky and back again. It was purplish. The stars, vanished. She said, "come now, Rebel Lord. You must get some rest. It's a big day today. You have just an hour before full daybreak. . .and your coronation. I assume you'll want to be on your best lo—"

"Wait. Hold it right there! Spin back to what you just fuckin' said. CORONATION?!" Rafel growled.

"Yes." Natalya couldn't stop smiling as she stood. Her veils fell again over her face. "Your coronation! You didn't think I kept up all night with you because I was bored, did you?" She chuckled. "I was your ladyguard for the night, placed in charge of sentinel duty so that Grone and the girls could fuck without worry. Make sure to get some rest, will you? The other Skullriders will be here at sun up."

Rafel was subdued in her words; it was coming so fast he couldn't focus on one before another surprise was flung in his face. Natalya turned and began walking to a dark tent. She stopped and touched its front beam, tossing behind to the shocked party:

"Let me be the first to congratulate you, on this fine morning. . . Your Majesty!"

She bowed straight down at the waist. She turned. And then she was gone.

Rafel was still reeling from her news when he placed his head in Aya's soft lap few minutes later and closed his eyes. Cora held his hand. Khalifa did not return to her tent. They both knew he needed them. 'Surely, Peitho, this must be a dream. I must have dreamed up the words of the Virgin of the Coldflame. I CAN'T BE KING OF THE BADLANDS. Lord of Rebels is step enough. I can't. I can't.'

To this, his system chimed no reply. What she did was lauch the [Gladorium] with an opera and lull him into a peaceful, easy sleep.

The next time Rafel opened his eyes, it was mine o'clock, the base was full of people and festivity, and as he lifted up to look outside the tent, his [Divine Rune] was on black flags everywhere. And just about a thousand desert folk flocked around.

A golden throne sat in the midst of a dune. An altar. Ancient. Hallowed. Winds at the feet of it. Dust and great mountains in the backdrop.

His throne.

A throne in the sand. A throne, of sand.

Rafel face-palmed. "Fuck me."