My back is starting to ache from how long I've been riding this horse. The mare keeps wanting to veer off the road and eat the grass. My light weight armor is uncomfortable and hot, and the spear on my back keeps slipping from its sheath. I feel like I'll get swatted by my team captain if I complain.

     Mamma used to tell me that us Zemrlt used to rule this continent. I find it hard to believe with how we've been reduced to only a single small village. Most Zemrlt are loosing their gray eyes and bone armor from how recessive the gene is. She always used to praise me for my gray eyes, pasty skin, and the two sets of outer ribs on my stomach. Part of my lower spine sticks out of my back, the bone and ribs being a dirty brown color. How is what gene I have in any way the result of something I did? I happen to think that my stronger Zemrlt features make me a bigger target. Mamma is dead now, so she can't tell me otherwise.

     Both my parents were Zemrlts, but my dad had brown eyes from his human father. Those brown eyes passed down to my older sister. She's still back at the village while I'm the one marching up to the sorcerers' city and castle. My sister doesn't have any of the Zemrlt armor like I do, but she's better at the sign language than I am. I actually prefer to speak. It makes me feel more equal to the damn sorcerers.

     I don't even know why our village leader insists on sending representatives to the sorcerer King's yearly feasts. All groups of hybrids are expected to attend, but these meetings never help my people. The current King has been on the throne for an ungodly amount of time. Papa said he became king when my Great Grandma was just turning ten. Why won't the old bat just keel over and croak already? His son's sons have kids by this point! Not to mention that creepy shadow that follows the King around.

"Kelini! Quit d-day dreaming, we're a-almost at the gate", my team captain barks at me, and I realize with a jolt that he had been signing instructions when I wasn't looking. A few pieces of my long, black hair have escaped my braid, and I tuck them away from my face to see. my hair is styled in the usual female warrior look for my people; the sides are shaved, and the top is long enough for it to be braided and still reach my waist. "Stick together, and let me speak to anyone who approaches", he says in the Zemrlt sigh language, looking at me and the two boys riding behind him. Right, pretend I only use sign language. Hopefully no one else in the room knows it. They'll catch my fake right away.

      My sister is no warrior. I don't think Mamma would've wanted me trained as one, either, but fait has an odd sense of humor. I've been training with a spear since I was ten. I would say that I'm pretty good with it, too. Not that Zemrlt warriors are ever called on by the King. He kinda just ignores us. A guy that old certainly remembers all the old hostility between Zemrlt and sorcerers. Most the other hybrids in Liblicen, no, The Sorcerer kingdom, either are no longer aggressive to Zemrlt, or they're part of the few species who weren't allied with the sorcerers in the Civil Wars. It might also help that our numbers have fallen so low. Warriors now double as hunters for the village.

This is my first time seeing the massive gates in person. Everyone else in the patrol has been here before, but this is my first time. The stone walls have to be at least 30 feet tall! Human, hybrid, and sorcerer guards patrol the top. A small party of soldiers rides out to meet us, but they recognize our team captain. This is his fifth year of him leading this mission. Not that participating in a feast is much work. I stay quiet as we're led through the gates. If things ever turned sour, I'm not sure how someone would get out of the city. The walls are like a giant prison.

At least the city is kind of pretty. Well, as mutch and an overpopulated box can be. Papa says there used to be no walls. The capital and a few of the bigger cities use solar power for light and heat. The guy who invented them was apparently part robot, but that's not the strangest thing to appear on this continent. The solar panels make the city shine in the growing darkness. My Sib would really like to have seen this if it wasn't for all the trash lying about. Our village is much cleaner, but doesn't have any of the fancy solar panels.

No one speaks as the guards escort us to the castle. It's a bit awkward and tense for the entire ride. When we do finally ride up to the castle, a group of young boys are waiting to take our horses. I've been trained to take care of my horse like my life depends on her, and it sometimes does. I hunt and travel on horseback. It makes me a little uneasy to have someone else handling my horse. But it's not my choice. I'm only here to look tuff and follow orders. I wonder what Mamma would think of me now?

The castle is almost disgustingly over decorated. I have to fight to keep my face indifferent as my group does the same. It's like someone crossed a museum with a rainbow. The main hall is large, with an arching roof. The hall leads straight down to a large ball room. Most of the space is taken up by tables, food, and other people. All manner of hybrids and humans are scattered throughout the room. Still, the number of sorcerers are concerning. Each hybrid group is to send a small representative party, but any sorcerer can just stroll on in. Papa used to tell me how things used to be so much better before this croaking sorcerer king took over.

As we enter the room, my eyes are drown up to the opposite side of the space. That's the King. He sits on his golden throne with a small smirk, looking down at his audience. He doesn't look older then mid-thirties, but his eyes look ancient. Only one figure stands near the King. Well, I'm not sure if it's a person so much as a shadow. The thing stands just behind and to the side of the King's throne. They're entirely black. Not just wearing dark clothes, but every inch of them is colored with an inky darkness; it's like an absence of light. The only clear thing about it is the large wings sprouting from its back. It sends a shiver up my spine.

Upon our entry, the hall doors clothes with a resounding boom. We're the last to arrive. The King stands up as his shadow creature also looks up at the gathered hybrids. Well, this is going to be fun.