The Galinean Saga: Ch. 02

Blake narrowed his eyes, "What do you mean, 'serve you'?"

She didn't answer. She just looked up at him and smiled. Blake looked ahead towards the wagons. He saw several women leading a group of scantily clad men in chains. He cursed as he realized they were slavers.

"You will be a great commodity for us," the woman said.

"Actually," Blake replied. "I'm going to be on my way and leave you to your business."

"Our business at the moment is you."

Blake made a move to continue past them and the two guards drew their swords. Blake cursed to himself and drew his own sword from the scabbard on his back. He didn't want to hurt these women. His mind started calculating his chances of escaping while causing the least amount of damage.

The lead woman warned her guards, "I don't want his body marred. Take him unscathed if possible."

"We can all walk away from this unscathed if you just let me pass," Blake replied.

Blake felt a tingling under his scalp and saw the synthesist in the corner of his eye in deep concentration. He had to act fast before she could get her mental tendrils locked on him. He immediately dropped and rolled her direction. He landed in a squat position and threw a handful of dirt in her face. She artfully waved a hand using her kinetic powers to cause the dirt to disperse away from her. She immediately locked her eyes on Blake to assert her will over him. Her influence was like an oppressive weight attempting to hold him to the ground. He used all his focus to slowly rise to his feet and take a step her direction.

"He's resisting!" the synthesist cried out in alarm.

The leader gave a loud whistle and two more synthesists swiftly approached from the wagon train. Blake almost reached the synthesist that he was in mental battle with when he felt himself fall to his knees. Damn synthesists! He blacked out.

Blake had no idea how long he'd been out when he felt someone gently patting his face and singing in a melodic voice, "Wakey-wakey!"

He shook his head, completely groggy. He heard the bustle of city life as he tried to regain his focus. He looked forward and saw the pretty face of the lead woman from his earlier confrontation.

She smiled at him encouragingly, "Wake up, my dear. Your moment is about to come."

Blake looked around trying to regain his mental faculties. He saw that he was in some city square. He could see the gray walls that enclosed the city in the distance. This place was definitely different from Vividia. While Vividia's architecture was a series of golden spires and domes, the buildings of this city were blocky and gray. They appeared to be built for functionality more so than visual appeal.

Blake tried to move but he couldn't. He looked up and noticed that each wrist was chained to a heavy bar above his head. His feet were similarly chained to a metal platform. He looked to his left and saw that three other men were chained next to him. They wore the typical garments of pleasure slaves – a square piece of silk attached to a thin cord to cover their privates and nothing in the back leaving their asses bare. Blake looked down and realized that his slaver must have found it amusing to leave him in the emerald green, shiny, bejeweled G-string. There was a throng of women attending the slave auction. All eyes were on him as they pretty much ignored the other slaves.

The slaver woman went into showman mode as she announced her "stock of goods". Blake barely heard what she was saying as she described each slave one-by-one. His mind was calculating what he could do to get out of this situation. The women in the audience cheered with the introduction of each slave. She ended with Blake and announced him as a Valiant from a far-off city. As she said it, she pulled the tiny G-string he was wearing causing it to snap against his body. The women in attendance started shouting out bids for Blake right off the bat.

"Patience ladies, patience," the slaver called. "We have three other pleasure slaves to auction before we get to our prize on the end."

The women in the audience would have none of that. They kept shouting, "We want the Valiant!"

"Alright, alright," the slaver held up her hands in surrender. "I usually like to save my best for last, but you all have forced my hand!"

She stepped forward and traced a finger down the length of Blake's body, "You're going to make me a lot of money, my gorgeous Valiant."

Blake lurched at her violently testing the limits of the chains that held him. They creaked as if any further force would cause them break. The slaver took a startled step back and gave a nervous look at the chains. She immediately switched back to showman mode.

"As you can see, ladies, our Valiant is a spirited one. Imagine the fire he will bring to the bedchamber!"

This brought a series of cheers and catcalls from the women. Blake calculated that it would take more effort than he was willing to expend to try and break these chains. He decided that his best course of action was to let this play out for now.

The bids quickly gained in value. It wasn't long before he was valued at 1000 dispatians. A lot of very disappointed women were forced to drop out as he was now priced out of their range. When the bidding was up to 3000, it was down to a few wealthy noblewomen competing for the prize. Several seconds passed between each bid as the women were now calculating their financial risks to claim this magnificent specimen.

Out of nowhere a new voice called out from the crowd, "Ten thousand dispatians!"

There was a collective gasp from the onlookers. The women who were deep in their bidding war looked accusingly at this new threat. There was no way they could challenge such an offer.

Blake could literally sense the slaver's heart flutter with excitement at this rich prospect. It didn't take much of his low-level telepathy to realize that.

The slaver almost lost her composure as she stuttered, "D-Do we... have a challenge to this generous bid?"

There was dead silence from the crowd.

"Sold to Aquestria, the first daughter of the Vice Mistress herself!" the slaver announced with glee.

There were murmurs throughout the crowd followed by a spattering of clapping. This soon led to an appreciative applause at such a commanding purchase. Blake knew from his Galinean studies that a Vice Mistress was the second in command of a matriarchal government. Being the first daughter of such a high official made for a very powerful individual indeed.

The slight figure who won the bid approached the platform and climbed the steps. Even though she was only about 5 foot, two inches, she carried herself with commanding dignity. Blake guessed that she might be in her mid-twenties, just a few years younger than him. She wore silver and purple silks which covered her from head to toe, but clung tightly to her body accentuating the shapeliness of her form. A wisp of blond hair curled out from under her silky hood. The color of her eyes seemed to be a deep purple, but Blake couldn't tell if that was a reflection off her silks. She walked a complete circle around him, inspecting her prize in its entirety. She had a quiet, reserved disposition as she looked up and stared him straight in the eyes.

"You belong to me, Valiant," she announced without even a hint of emotion.

To be continued...

Glossary of Galinean Terms (Contains Spoilers)

Burniscia – A city of light, at war with Scintallia.

Coxilk – The garment that girds the loins of a Valiant. It resembles a male Brazilian bikini.

Dreadman – A hideous arachnid, the size of a horse. It has mangy fur, a gaping maw with fangs, and a stalk on top of its head with the gray face of a man. Its eyes can immobilize a victim with fear.

Dispatia – A city of neutrality ruled by women. Men only serve as the working class or pleasure slaves for noble women.

Dispatian – The coin of Dispatia, as well as the name of its citizenry.

Elucidator – A Galinean communication device that allows people to send telepathic communications over fusion waves.

Felskink – A furry animal, which resembles a cross between a kitten and a lizard.

Fusion-Rider – The most common form of transportation on Galinea. It resembles a bullet-shaped motorcycle but is powered by fusion energy. Instead of wheels, it hovers on a field of blue energy.

Galinea – The world in which this saga takes place.

Graspers – Thick, purple vines in the Wilds. They move with the purpose of snaring a victim. There is a mouth-like opening in the trunk with the intention of devouring its prey.

Havenite – The recipient of a patron or patroness's good will. A patron-havenite relationship is always one-to-one and key to the stability of a city.

Maledge – A race of subhumans that has evolved separately from civilized humans. They are small (rarely over 5-feet), thin, and stooped. They've lived for thousands of years in the Wilds. They are nearly impossible for sentients to track due to the insane and unpredictable nature of their minds. They rely on thieving and will trade with unsavory merchants.

Pyramids – These architectural wonders are a close resemblance to the pyramids on earth. On Galinea they are used to capture fusion energy from the stars and can power a whole city. Each city of light has a pyramid. The energies of pyramids interconnect with other pyramids. If one pyramid fails, it weakens the power of the others.

Scintallia – A city of light, at war with Burniscia.

Solera – The name for the Galinean sun.

Star gods – The deities of Galinea. It is believed that these gods live in the skies, providing power to the very stars, which in turn, provides fusion power to the cities of Galinea.

Synthesist – A member of the telepathic and mind guild, one of the three elite guilds of a city. Master synthesists have powers of telekinesis and pyrokinesis.

The Twenty – The high council that oversees the wellbeing of a city.

Titan Spider – A spider that is the size of a large dog, but not poisonous.

Valiant – Defenders and protectors of cities of light. They are one of the three elite guilds and held in high esteem.

Valtendant – A young woman who tends to the needs of a Valiant. There is one Valtendant for every Valiant.

Vividia – A city of light on Galinea and Blake Ransom's home. The city is nearly 300 years old and has never been to war.

The Wilds – Areas away from cities and main roads. They are considered extremely dangerous as a multitude of terrible beasts inhabit those lands. Traveling the Wilds alone is virtually a death sentence.