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Click here"Shoot ... wait, probably not the best terminology in this crowd. Ask away," I replied.
"Have you faced a House challenge yet?"
"Yes. Just last night in fact. We free-climbed the north-face of Havenstone. I beat the next closest contender by three floors. I also had Princess Aya on the roof dropping bricks on anyone who attempted to get past me."
"That means he isn't going to answer you," Beyoncé interpreted for my audience.
"Can't you ever take these meetings seriously?" Febe Mielikki glowered.
"La ... Febe, in the past few minutes I have watched the person I love most in the world get her life shat on," I shook my head.
"The only thing worse than seeing this happen to Aya is knowing this is her sole opportunity to not lose her soul ... so I'm sucking up my heart's pain and putting forward a jester's persona so I don't put any more pressure on her than she's already been subjected to. Like me, she doesn't want the distinction of being a Person of Note."
"Like me, she knows she must sacrifice her dreams for the sake of our People -- the Amazon Host. Trust me, you would rather have 'me - the jester' than 'me - the Amazon' furious with the destiny that has foisted this pain on her'. Do any of you take responsibility for forcing the events of this morning?" I growled. If they wanted to see the other side of the Janus, so be it.
"Had you chosen a Regency in the FUCKING weeks you've been bickering, Kwenhamai could have been dealt with privately. The fate of the Royal House could have been put off a few years. Had you not all been so dead-set on being heroines of the Host, three of you would have sacrificed your bloodlust, your birthright and the future accolades you could recite on your final night (before taking themselves to the cliff) ... but none of you did."
"Instead, you set the stage for dumping all of your indecisiveness on the slender shoulders of a nine year old girl most of you had written off as too fractured and frail to survive her 12th year only three months ago. So Febe how do you like the honest 'me'?" I finished off furiously.
It was not lost on anyone in the chamber I was an Amazon raging against the cruelty of fate. Every other bitch in the room knew they had discarded MY DAUGHTER's life as trivial and I was prepared to unleash violence on the next one to show an ounce of disrespect over Aya's surrendering of her destiny and my grief at failing to find a way to stop this from coming to pass. St Marie had just reminded them that I was 'reliably" successful despite my handicaps. Not an enemy anyone in the room wanted any part of. Saku would have been proud.
[A FINAL NOTE]
I have been remiss in informing my readers of the names of the 53 Houses, even though I created it some time ago. I have made a few alterations to the original version as I've had to rethink certain parts of this tale, but here is the list I now use.
LIST OF GODDESSES
The First Twenty Houses in no particular order :
1) Ishara -- Oaths, Medicine and War (to North America) (died out 450 CE; Reborn in 2014)
2) * (Deceased) Anat -- Goddess of War, Fury and Blood Sacrifice (died out 6th cent. BCE) ~ possibly resurrected by Sakunyias
3) Anahit -- water, wisdom and war (to North America)
4) Arinniti -- Sun Goddess (to North America)
5) Hanwasuit -- Sovereign Goddess
6) Illuyankamunus -- Dragon God (to North America) [Special Case]
7) Inara -- the Hunter Goddess
8) Šauška -- fertility, War, healing
9) Kamrusepa -- Healing medicine magic (to Africa)
10) Lelwani -- Goddess of the Underworld (to Africa)
11) Hapantali -- Pastoral Goddess.
12) Hatepuna -- Sea Goddess (to India)
13) Hannahannah -- Mother Goddess
14) Moirai -- Fate
15) Selardi -- Lunar Goddess (to Africa)
16) Nammu -- Primordial Sea, sailing, sailors (to India) (to Indonesia)
17) Uttu -- Goddess of plants (to Africa)
18) Lahar -- Cattle Goddess (to Africa)
19) Ereshkigal -- Queen of the underworld (to India)
20) Istustaya and Papaya -- Twin Goddesses of Destiny (to North America)
[ADDITIONAL HOUSES FOUNDED IN EUROPE]
(Code: Sc = Scythian; T = Thracian, P -- Phrygian, C = Celtic, R = Roman, Sl = Slavic)
21) (Sc) Marda -- the One-Eyed Goddess/Vengeance {fantasy creation}
22) (Sc) Farānak -- A Scythian Goddess also known as the Lynx Goddess and the Silent Huntress (Dora)
23) (Sc) Stolgos -- Monstrous Slayer of Greeks (known to the Greeks as the Gorgon Stheno) {semi-historical}
24) (T) Cotyttia -- Thracian Goddess of Sex, War and Slaughter (to North America)
25) (T) Bendis -- Thracian Goddess of the Moon and Hunting.
26) (T) Semele/Rajah -- Thracian Goddess of the Earth and Birth (to India)
27) (T) Hylonome -- Centaur Goddess
28) (P) Cybele -- Phrygians Earth Goddess on Lion's throne (to the Amazon)
29) (C) Andraste -- War Goddess; also Goddess of the Moon and Divination; 'the Rabbit Goddess'
30) (C) Epona -- Horses (to North America)
31) (C) Cyhiraeth -- Goddess of springs whose war cry precedes death (to Africa)
32) (C) Maeve -- War Goddess, the Enslaver of Men
33) * (Deceased) (C) Nantosuelta -- Earth, Fire and Fertility (died out 1st cent. BCE)
34) (C) Artio -- the Bear Goddess (to North America)
35) (C) Nemain -- Goddess of War and Panic
36) (R) Minerva -- Roman Goddess of War & Strategy
37) * (Deceased) (R) Diana -- Hunting and Archery (died out in India 16th cent. CE)
38) (Sl) Živa -- Love and Fertility
49) (Sl) Morė - Goddess of harvest, witchcraft, winter and death (to North America)
40) (Sl) Zorja -- The twin Guardians (Evening/Morning Stars)
41) * (Sl) Oźwiena -- fame and glory (died out in 1944)
42) * (Sl) Koliada -- Sky Goddess and deity of sunrises/dawn (died out 17th cent CE)
43) (F) Mielikki -- Goddess of the Hunt
44) (N) Skaði -- giantess, Goddess of bow-hunting, skiing, winter, and mountains
[ADDITIONAL HOUSES FOUNDED IN INDIA]
45) (I) Mookambika -- Demon Slayers
46) (I) Bhadra -- Goddess of the Hunt (to Indonesia)
47) (I) Meenakshi -- The Liberator [Rhada and Madi's House]
48) (I) Durga (Dark Mother) (to Indonesia)
49) (I) Chandala Bhikshuki -- Queen of Night -- Death, Destruction and Rebirth
50) (I) Jaya (Goddess of Victory)
51) * (I) Chelamma -- the Scorpion Queen (died out 16th cent.)
[ADDITIONAL HOUSES FOUNDED IN AFRICA]
52) (A) Oshun -- (Yoruba Goddess of Love, Sexuality, Beauty and Diplomacy; Lady of the Orisha ~ life spirits)
53) (A) Yemonja -- Mother of Rivers (to the Amazon)
54) (A) Oba -- Goddess of Betrayal and Exile
55) (A) Oxóssi -- Goddess of Hunting, Forests, Animals and Wealth
56) (A) Jengu -- Goddess of Jungles and Water Spirits
[ADDITIONAL HOUSES FOUNDED IN NORTH AMERICA]
[NA = Native American]
57) (NA) Uusheenhiton [noo'uusooo' heeninouhuusei hitoniho'] (Arapaho) -- Storm Horse Sister {fantasy creation}
58) (NA) Gahe -- Apache (supernatural spirits who live in the mountains)
[PROSPECTIVE HOUSE]
59) New -- (Hittite) SzélAnya -- the Dragon's Daughter
[CURRENT NUMBER OF HOUSES' CENTRAL LOCATION]
12 in North America (9+Ishara from Europe and 2 native)
10 in Africa (6 from Europe and 5 native)
3 in Amazonia (1 from Africa and 2 from Europe)
8 in India (3 from Europe and 7 native)
3 in Indonesia (2 from India and 1 from Europe)
17 in Europe
6 Deceased
- COMMENTS
Jackspeed2u5 months agoBrilliant. You have a complicated mind that manages to weave this story. Including historical events with fictional so called historical events with modern day people and attitudes along with the Amazon society and legend while somehow wrapping it up in the witty humorous banter that doesn't detract from the serious events in the story is truely amazing. Yes that’s a long sentence.
Flymaster60about 3 years agoThird time read this story... all I can say James is PLEASE MORE OF THIS ONE!!!!- PLEASE
Anonymousover 5 years agoJust .... wow. You have a very healthy imagination and your storyline just rocks.
FinalStandabout 7 years agoAuthorDang it! And it is so obvious too. Worse, geography is one of my loves. I really should have caught that.
Technically, there could be a land-based power in East Asia and a sea-based power in the Pacific, but with the advent of ...
I) far-reaching, ship-killing air power, [plane-based, cruise-missiles are far more effective and cheaper now than only a decade ago]
II) stealth submarine warfare, [the technology gap between the sub-hunters and the subs has been closing for nearly 30 years]
III) the increase of tonnage per merchant vessel and ... [fewer ships carrying more good and more valuable goods with the accompanying higher insurance]
IV) the reality US-Asia trade dwarfs that of ...
a) US Pacific Coast-Central & South American and ...
b) Asian-Central & South American trade plus ...
c) 25% of all trade moving through the South China Sea,
... a supremely dominant power in East Asia would dictate trade terms to the US without the need to defeat its navy.
Thank you for your comments, Cowboy100.
James aka FinalStand
Anonymousabout 7 years agoI hate being picky, and I LOVE this anthology, but there is a minor geographic error. Japan is, correctly, in East Asia, but simultaneously it is in the Western Pacific. Keep up the good work. This could be several movies. Cowboy100.
FinalStandover 7 years agoAuthorI recognized the same screw-up a week ago while working on Chapter 48.
The mistake in India was I forgot to figure in the extinction of House Chelamma which reduced the active number of houses there to seven. The mistake with Amazonia/South America was I forgot to transfer House Hannahannah there from Europe. I also forgot to move House Farānak to North America from Europe to make it to a dozen.
Also, I screwed up on the numbers of houses. Back in Chapter 16 I stated:
“There were 52 – now 53 – existing Houses and 7 – now 6 – extinct ones”. I needed to add a House prior to nominating House SzélAnya. So … I added a third Native American House.
59) Guabancex – Taínos (Caribbean) Storm Goddess – also known as the "one whose fury destroys everything”.
[PROSPECTIVE HOUSE]
60) New – (Hittite) SzélAnya – the Dragon’s Daughter
* I make a note of the First Houses because of the prestige attached to the first Twenty Houses and how it matters to the internal politics of the Amazon Council as well as how the regions rate in geopolitical importance. As the distribution of First Houses shows, Africa and North America are just as important as the ‘Homeland’ of Europe. The Indian and Indonesian factions are closely tied to one another (being either Houses founded in India, or a First House who migrated to India first, stayed for a 1000 years THEN moved eastward). The biggest thing in favor of North American expansion was land mass plus population density, or lack thereof, thanks to the spread of European diseases in the 16th and 17th centuries. In comparison, Indonesia and South America were much more populated and had less effective land their limited numbers could exploit. Note: these are where the main branch of the House is. Some have freeholds on other continents - a practice much more common in the latter half of the 20th century and going into the 21st. *
[5/12] In Europe there are the first Houses ~ Hanwasuit, Hapantali, Inara, Moirai and Šauška and as well as Houses Andraste, Bendis, Hylonome, Stolgos, Maeve, Marda, Mielikki, Minerva, Nemain, Skaði, Živa and Zorja.
[5/5] In Africa there are the First Houses ~ Kamrusepa, Lahar, Lelwani, Selardi and Uttu as well as Houses Cyhiraeth, Jengu, Oba, Oshun and Oxóssi,
[2/5] In India there are the First Houses Hatepuna and Ereshkigal as well as Houses Chandala Bhikshuki, Jaya, Meenakshi, Mookambika and Rajah.
[5/7] In North America there are the First Houses Anahit, Arinniti, Illuyankamunus, Ishara and Istustaya & Papaya along with Houses Artio, Cotyttia, Epona, Farānak, Gahe, Morė and Uusheenhiton.
[1/3] In South America there is the First House Hannahannah as well as Houses Cybele, Guabancex and Yemonja.
[1/2] In Indonesia there is the First House Nammu and Houses Bhadra and Durga.
[1/5] The six extinct houses are Anat, Nantosuelta, Diana, Oźwiena, Koliada and Chelamma.
That is seventeen Houses in Europe, ten in Africa, seven in Africa, twelve in North America, four in South America and three in the Southeast Asian archipelago for the correct total of fifty-three with the real possibility of the restoration of the first House Anat and the foundation of a new house - House SzélAnya - raising the total to fifty-five.
James aka FinalStand
aarorover 7 years agoLove all your stories but in the list of houses:.
"10 in Africa (6 from Europe and 5 native)
3 in Amazonia (1 from Africa and 2 from Europe)
8 in India (3 from Europe and 7 native)"
Um, 6+5=10? 3+7=8?
Otherwise excellent as always
Anonymousover 7 years agoThis story is the reason I keep coming back to this website you are an excellent writer stay healthy and keep up the good work
FinalStandalmost 8 years agoAuthor[Loving the story and the last few chapters have really improved the quality of late, it's so much more interesting when it involves the amazons and Cael's struggles rather than the war stuff so these chapters have been awesome like many of the earlier ones!]
*Thank you.*
[Question: I understand about house challenges in general, but I would've thought that in Ishara's case it would be a temporary exception, not only because Cael is "technically" the only true Isharan by blood (I know they're not all about true-blood and the like, like the other houses but still), but he also promised the council he would only lead until his daughter was old enough to replace him right? If so, how can anyone challenge him for leadership when they already have a plan set in motion, cuz that doesn't make any sense so I was confused.]
*That promise was made on the day when he became House Head and there was only one Isharan. No one else considered him inducting Runners at the time. As for the Isharans challenging Cael for leadership ~ no, he has no 'legal' special protection. His protections lay with Dot Ishara being furious with whomever tried to displace him and the mortal danger of what Buffy would do to a challenger if they did succeed. She'd kill them - period, end of statement.
But, if Cael was challenged and beaten, he would still remain an Isharan so he would still keep pumping out little Isharans and one day an Isharan daughter would vote at the Council meetings. Does that answer your question?*
[Lastly though I love the story, as a writer one should be prepared for positive and negative remarks, and shouldn't hide behind their real life to lash out at others. True they shouldn't lash out at you either but the point is I often see you talking about things in your real life which have no bearing on the quality of your work, I read a work and judge it based on the quality, not the story behind the author in question. I don't need to know what you're going through to appreciate the work you put out - but all the same I know it's hard with what you're going through and appreciate that you write at all. Basically it's like a book, did you go read the book because you heard of the authors circumstances and sympathized, or did you read it because you wanted to read a good story?]
*Okay, but do you understand I am disabled with bi-polar disorder? I cannot function in the normal world anymore. I am by truly insane. Day to day, I do not have control over my actions because my moods, energy levels and focus are not always mine to direct.
I don't tell people this to elicit sympathy. I want to explain why sometimes ideas simply die inside my head. When I don't finish a story, I know I am letting readers down. It infuriates me because I didn't plan to stop writing any of those stories in the same way I'm already working on a sequel to Life as a New Hire.
This week I've already yanked out 'Christian College Sex Comedy Chapter 35' and 'A Tale of the Technician 8' because readers have requested it. I started these tales and I feel obligated to try and pick them up.
To me, the difference between seeking pity and giving an explanation is this: this is a free site. I am not asking people for a dime. I am selling this story on multiple sites like Amazon for money and I don't raise Word One about my condition there. I haven't had to submit a chapter of Life as a New Hire on Literotica in over a year, but I do. I feel obliged to my readership to finish the damn thing before their eyes. I have let them down before. I'm trying not to do it this time. So, when I hit a snag in writing and submitting a chapter, my lousy track record obliges me to let the readers know what's going on ~ that this story won't be like too many others and die unfinished.
Besides, I'm a 52 year old guy with a grey, receding hair line and bushy beard whose body chemistry insists he's pregnant. Since my liver has swollen up to twice its normal size, I even look pregnant. Sometimes I pat my belly and call it 'the twins'. Due to excessive medication, I've lost all my teeth so I can now suck in my lips and look and talk like Great Grandpa Cooter. I have also discovered there are only two things I can't eat without teeth ~ pizza and beef jerky. Otherwise my diet is unchanged ... who would have thunk it?
Sure my mental health is wretched and my physical condition sucks, but I also have a wonderful wife and two great kids who love and support me. I get to write porn. Through my writings I've met hundreds of interesting folks. There are millions of people worse of than me and I know it. Wish me 'good health' if you like, cause I need it, but never pity me. I'm doing okay.*
James aka FinalStand
Anonymousalmost 8 years agoLoving the story and the last few chapters have really improved the quality of late, it's so much more interesting when it involves the amazons and Cael's struggles rather than the war stuff so these chapters have been awesome like many of the earlier ones! Question: I understand about house challenges in general, but I would've thought that in Ishara's case it would be a temporary exception, not only because Cael is "technically" the only true Isharan by blood (I know they're not all about true-blood and the like, like the other houses but still), but he also promised the council he would only lead until his daughter was old enough to replace him right? If so, how can anyone challenge him for leadership when they already have a plan set in motion, cuz that doesn't make any sense so I was confused. Lastly though I love the story, as a writer one should be prepared for positive and negative remarks, and shouldn't hide behind their real life to lash out at others. True they shouldn't lash out at you either but the point is I often see you talking about things in your real life which have no bearing on the quality of your work, I read a work and judge it based on the quality, not the story behind the author in question. I don't need to know what you're going through to appreciate the work you put out - but all the same I know it's hard with what you're going through and appreciate that you write at all. Basically it's like a book, did you go read the book because you heard of the authors circumstances and sympathized, or did you read it because you wanted to read a good story?
