The Fortress at the Top of the World * Content Warning -- Body Horror *

Posted on Fri Feb 18th, 2022 @ 8:30pm by Captain Natacha Patani
Edited on on Fri Feb 18th, 2022 @ 8:45pm

Mission: MISSION 0 - History Speaks
Location: Hindu Kush, Alternate Earth
1188 words - 2.4 OF Standard Post Measure

"My sibling and I against my cousin, but my sibling and cousin and I against the outsider." -- Old Bhūrāilaphian Adage

There was no Earth until the Trill arrived.

That is not to say that the arrival of the Trill somehow brought the Earth into existence. That was not the case. The Earth had always existed in this reality, as it had existed in almost every reality where life was possible.

In many realities, faster than light travel was possible. In some universes, it was possible from any point to any point; in others, only from specific points to specific points. In some universes, the laws of physics didn't allow for faster than light travel, and so the voice of each world thought it was singing alone in the darkness.

And then there was the world of the Bhūrāilaphians (known as Earth in other universes), where the laws of physics might be called magic by denizens of another reality.

In this universe, each world was separated from others by the mere fact that science as it was known in other universes did not exist in this one. True, there were mages and other creatures who were powerful enough to travel to other worlds. It was even rumored that some had traveled to the Earths of other universes. But by and large, most denizens knew of only their world, and that was enough.

Then the Trills learned the magic of the ether.

The Trills were not the most powerful of magicians. But they had learned the magic of sailing between worlds, and the magic of casting barriers around their sailing ships, to allow their crews to survive in the darkness between worlds.

The Trills were not the most gifted of magic casters, but they were a single people on their world, whereas every world they had encountered so far had been divided into a myriad of kingdoms and empires. So far the Trillian Empire consisted of eight worlds fully pacified, and a dozen more on their way on becoming so.

Then the Trill arrived on Earth, and the races of Earth learned there were other worlds other than their own.

To the Trillian Empire, the Earth was to become the jewel of their realm, second only to the home world itself. For one thing, the Earth's solar system was the focus of no less than twelve "trade winds." Trade winds was the name the Trills gave to the "ether streams" that connected one solar system to another, and allowed for the quick travel between worlds. Until now, the Trill had encountered no solar system that connected more than four trade winds, and the Trill home world itself had only one trade wind linking it to a nearby solar system.

The Earth itself was the most varied world the Trills had ever encountered. There were more than three dozen sapient races on Earth itself, and a half dozen more scattered across the Earth's solar system.

The treasures that could be found on Earth were beyond the imagination of the Trill. And there were Trill generals and wise men who were salivating at the thought of adding members of certain Earth races to the ranks of their military and magi.

As has been said, the Trill were not the most powerful of magical practitioners, but they had the might of their empire to draw upon. Plus, the Earth was more divided than any other world the Trill had encountered, and the Trill were old hands at dividing their enemies as they conquered them.

Then the Trill made the mistake of building a sky port on Earth's highest terrain. And it definitely was a mistake, because it meant the Trills had to contend with the Bhūrāilaphian.

The Bhūrāilaphians were elvish in appearance, save they were darker than normal elves, and were shorter and not as lean. Their fairer skinned cousins often argued that the Bhūrāilaphians were not even the same race as them. This was fine with the Bhūrāilaphian, who considered elves as a whole as pasty skin weaklings.

The land of the Bhūrāilaphians consisted of ragged mountain ranges and beautiful, isolated valleys. Different tribes of Bhūrāilaphians would alternately war and trade with each other, and the code of honor and treaties that bound the various clans into alliances and feuds baffled outsider, but was basic knowledge to any Bhūrāilaphian child.

The lands of the Bhūrāilaphians were often called the Graveyard of Empires, because the only thing that would unite the Bhūrāilaphians was the entry of a stranger into their lands. History was replete with incidents of outsiders thinking they could conquer the Bhūrāilaphian through force and/or manipulation. The4 end result was a repulsion of the invader followed by a unified Bhūrāilaphian army marching outside their valley to loot and sack.

The Trill were only the latest to make a mistake of invading the lands of the Bhūrāilaphian.

Before the building their fortified sky port in Bhūrāilaphian territory, the Trill had had six sky ports across Earth. Now they only had one. The others had fallen because the Trill were sending all their resources to protect their Bhūrāilaphian sky port.

Undoubtedly, the Bhūrāilaphian could have taken the last sky port, but their shamans wanted to learn the secret of how the Trill traveled in the ether. The second reason was the Bhūrāilaphians found the Trill delicious.

Well, Natacha of the Patani clan didn't find them tasty. Not salted Trill, anyway. Fresh Trill was a different matter, but Natacha was leading a raiding band of warriors from different valleys, and the only salted Trill available was that brought along by two warriors of the Gupta clan, and Trill salted by the Gupta clan was just nasty.

Of course, Natacha would eat it if offered, and declare it tasty. The chiefs and shamans had invoked the ancient treaty, and Natacha wasn't going to be the one who broke the treaty by squabbling over salted Trill, even if it was common wisdom that only the Patani could properly salt Trill.

But Natacha had other matters of concern. The shamans had divined that a joined Trill under heavy escort would be traveling outside the fortified sky port. The shamans had also divined that this joined Trill would lead to the understanding of ether travel.

Natacha licked her lips in anticipation. After the joined trill was fully interrogated, they would be given to the warriors who captured then. And there was nothing more delicious than the slug pulled out of a breathing Trill. By right, Natacha didn't have to share the slug, but the three other times she had captured a joined Trill, she had shared it with the raiding party she led. She would do so this time, too, though her inner child was being petulant about her decision.

Putting aside her anticipation of future delight, Natacha silently led the raiding party to where the shaman had directed them.