Theodora gripped her spear tightly, listening
to the soft rustle of the jungle around her. This far from the village
the larger lizards were more aggressive, more willing to approach a
human. The air carried a warm wet humidity with it that muffled the
sound slightly, causing the leaves to drip with water even under a sunny
sky poking through the green canopy overhead.
The soft rustling
of the plant behind her told her everything she needed to know, the
thing hunting her was alone, and it was small enough that she could kill
it on her own… probably.
Don’t hesitate now…
She roared, spinning as the razorlizard leapt into the air,
hissing its own battle cry as the terrible talons on its feet extended
like knives, ready to rend her flesh. Her spear caught the beast just
below its arm, and the claws sliced along her own side as the leap was
thwarted, keeping it from slicing her belly open even as white-hot pain
went up her side and blood ran down her light brown skin. She gritted
her teeth, struggling to keep the snapping lizard’s teeth away from her
throat. Her arms shook as she pushed with the spear, rolling in the
dirt.
Her strength was failing, and while the cold blooded
predator was hurt, it was still full of life and fire. It would cut her
to pieces in minutes, she realized, and she snarled as she readied for a
last desperate grapple.
Suddenly there was a yelp as a steel
sword came down on the creature, cutting through its flesh with ease and
causing it to go slack with a final thrash in the dirt.
Theodora
panted a moment, looking up at a familiar smiling face. Justin’s black
hair reflected the sunlight through the tree canopy as he lowered
muscular arm to help her up, and she could feel the strength of his
callused hands as he lifted her. He was one of the village’s finest
warriors and hunters, and the casual ease with which he tossed the dead
razorlizard aside was a testament to the fact.
“You’re lucky it wasn’t one of those big gold scaled bastards,” Justin remarked, “you should be more careful out here.”
“There
wouldn’t be a Goldscale this close to the village,” she retorted,
wincing as she touched her side. The scratches weren’t too bad, all
things considered, but they’d still need to be bandaged. The blood
though would be smelled by almost everything else in the jungle, both
predators and her prey, her hunting, for today, was over.
“Come on, lean on me,” Justin insisted, moving next to her.
“My legs are fine,” she snapped, a little harsher than she meant.
“You’re
a great hunter Theodora,” Justin said quietly, “but these beasts…
they’re not like the ones back in the grasslands, you need to be strong,
strong like-“
“A man?” she asked with a sigh.
He looked away, refusing to answer, but his look said it all.
Goddess damn you, she
thought bitterly, following him back to their village. As much as she
wanted to curse at him, a part of her was feeling a shred of doubt. In
their old home, before they’d been forced to flee the advancing Imperial
legions, she’d wandered the planes as a young girl at the side of
Justin and his father. There had been wolves, even the occasional puma
or bear, but nothing half so ferocious as the enormous reptiles and
other creatures that wandered the southern jungles.
Soon enough
the great clearing of hewn away jungle came into view, and in the center
waited the village of Wet Soil. In the distance there were handfuls of
fields, growing their scattered crops, and a few herders tending the
massive aurochs, native bovines that the former plainsmen had found
surprisingly easy to tame.
With nearly four thousand inhabitants,
Wet Soil was one of the largest villages that the Plainsmen had founded
following their settlement of the jungles some ten years prior. Carving a
new kingdom out of the jungle out of the loss of their great walled
cities in the grasslands had been difficult, but they were managing. Her
own father, Rodric Highgrass, was their chieftain, and while life had
not been easy, they were beginning to tame the jungles as they had tamed
the plains.
As for the Imperials… Theodora scowled as she saw a
handful of people in the town square listening to a voice that always
made her skin crawl.
“The Empire is prosperous,” Decius explained
with a wave, “there is work and lands for all of you, if you will just
swear fealty to the Emperor!”
“And who was it who took those lands from us in the first place?” Justin called, causing the crowd to part.
“The Emperor is the gods appointed ruler of all of
humanity,” Decius drawled, “those of your people who remained have
found his rule fair and his protection absolute. They are free to
worship that goddess of yours, if they so wish, though many now choose
to worship Typhon and the rest of the true pantheon.
“Your people burned Diana’s temples you liar!” Theodora sneered.
“Every
time I walk by this square I’m surprised someone hasn’t strung you up,”
Justin snarled, letting his hand rest on his sword pommel.
Decius
just smirked, and a pair of bored looking Imperial soldiers, in full
bronze plate armor, suddenly snapped to attention. The envoy just
chuckled, waving them to relax.
“Peace Justin,” Decius said, “It
is my mission to bring you all back to civilization, and your chieftain
Rodric wisely allows my presence because of the gifts I bring you all in
good faith.”
Justin glowered at him a minute, and then stalked
away. Theodora followed him, walking to their chieftain’s home. Rodric’s
home wasn’t any larger than any others in the village, though his door
had an elaborate motif of the Goddess Diana carved into it, a sword
raised high. The door itself had been hauled across the plains and into
the jungles by Rodric himself, once an attendant of a Priestess of Diana
before the Imperials out of Camford had driven them from their homes.
“He goes too far,” Justin muttered.
“But the steel he brings us is valuable,” Theodora admitted, “even your own blade came from ingots he gave us.”
“He
gives us scraps, like a master trying to lure a dog back to the
kennel,” Just replied, glancing distastefully at his own weapon. “He’s
ingratiated himself with the priestess somehow, those two are always
stealing away when they think no one is looking.”
“She’s supposed
to spread the word of the goddess,” Theodora said with a smirk, “if you
think about it, Decius is the only heathen near here Amanda has to
preach the good word to and pray for.”
“While I’m sure that plenty of time is spent on knees in their meetings, I don’t think it involves prayer,” Justin muttered.
They pushed their way into the village chief’s house, the cool shade a welcome reprieve from the heat of the day.
“Rodric!” Justin called, “Rodric, we need to talk about Decius, he-“
“Silence,
you fool!” the village chief snapped. Rodric was older now, he’d been a
man grown when they’d first fled into the jungles, but he still managed
to quiet even a man like Justin easily.
Justin blinked, taking in
the scene before him. Rodric was seated at his table, with the village
Priestess Amanda at his side. Before them were two men, one pale and
sweating, a festering wound at his side that glowed with magic as the
priestess chanted under her breath, the other pale from fear or fright.
“Who are these people?” Theodra asked, leaning her spear against the wall as she looked to her father.
“W-What is this?” Justin asked hesitantly.
Amanda
stood up, glancing at the scratch wounds down Theodora’s own side. She
was in her late 30s, with a handful of grey through her black waist
length hair. Like most of Diana’s priestesses she wore a deer skull,
antlers and all, as a ceremonial headdress, along with a long black
cloak. a whisper she flicked her hand, and an electric tingle went up
her side as the talon wounds sealed themselves shut, the dried blood the
only remains of her near demise that morning.
“These men are from Alabaster Cliffs,” Rodric said solemnly, “It has… fallen.”
“T-The Empire has struck south of us?” Justin balked, “that’s impossible, they’d have had to come through here to get to there-“
“It’s not the Empire!” Rodric almost shouted, “It’s…”
“He’s the leader of the village’s militia,” Amanda said calmly, “he’d have known by day’s end anyway.”
Rodric
sighed, slumping into his chair and waving to the two men. The one who
had been healed by Amanda simply stared off into space, but the other
hesitantly began to speak.
“I-I was in the Alabaster Cliff’s militia,” he said quietly, “for the last several weeks, we’ve heard rumors of… things, in
the jungle, things like the razorlizards, but bigger, and walking
upright like men.” Justin was immediately alert, and Theodora joined him
in moving to the table and listening the man’s tale.
“Go on,” Amanda said, placing a hand on the stranger’s shoulder and giving him a kind smile.
He
sighed, refusing to meet any of their eyes, “they came at night, they
had powerful spellcasters… our palisade wall was blasted to pieces
before we’d even mustered ourselves… They’re each a head taller than a
man, with curved blades and steel armor.”
“How many?” Rodric asked, fighting to keep his voice steady.
The man’s head hung, “Thousands,” he whispered.
Silence
filled the room, “T-There must be some mistake,” Justin rasped, “d-did
they come at night? It would have been impossible to see how many-“
“They
came for Alabaster Cliffs in broad daylight,” the man said in a
defeated voice, “their column stretched into the jungle as far as I
could see.” He gave them all a sad look, “They are not more than a day
away…”
…
The village was in an uproar, people were loading
everything they could into wagons, onto horses, even onto the backs of
the massive aurochs. Justin and the other village men stood in a loose
perimeter, no more than a few hundred strong and with swords and spears
at the ready.
Justin’s face became pained as he saw Theodora
approach, a loose plate of armor over her chest and a spear in hand,
“Theodora,” he said quietly, “This isn’t… this isn’t the time for this.”
“Are
you telling me there isn’t one man in your line who would be worse than
I would be with a spear?” she asked defiantly. She gestured down the
line for emphasis, almost every man in the village who could hold a
weapon was with him, some far too old, or too young to truly be called
warriors.
Justin grimaced, “I… I suppose you are right,” he admitted.
A
shout caused the pair to whirl around towards the front of the village,
one of the warriors was staggering backwards, a black arrow through his
breastbone as the first of the creatures emerged from the brush.
Theodora felt her heart fall as she sized them up.
They were big,
as the man had said, with teeth like a razorclaw’s as they hissed
excitedly upon sighting the fleeing humans. With a shout Justin raised
his sword, running towards them. The beasts seemed to quiver as one with
excitement, tasting the air with their tongues as they poured out of
the jungles like scaled ants, eager to taste human flesh.
Theodora shouted with the men, hefting her spear as she ran forward to meet the tide.
…
Theodora’s
heart raced as she scurried through the underbrush, her eyes wild and
glancing behind her as she tried to see if she was being followed. The
battle had been a massacre, the lizardfolk had swarmed over them, and
worst yet they hadn’t even given most of the defenders the mercy of a
quick death… She shuddered as she remembered the nets coming out, one
flying over Justin and pinning him to the ground with heavy lead
weights. He’d thrashed as they’d hauled him up, laughing in their cruel
chittering language as they’d tossed his struggling form into a blood
soaked wagon buzzing with flies.
T-They’re going to butcher them fresh, she thought wildly, w-we’re no better than cattle to them…
She
paused as she heard those hissing, chittering voices. She crouched low,
slowly skulking through the brush until she saw the most terrible sight
of the day.
It was her father, lashed to a tree while nearly a
dozen of the creatures stood around, cruel laughter echoing among them
as they conversed in their own hissing tongue. One was readying a knife
nearby, and it was as if the world fell away as she realized what would
come next.
A pair of strong hands clasped over her mouth, and then over her eyes, forcibly turning her head away.
“Don’t
look,” Decius whispered, and from the way he spoke she could tell his
own eyes were shut tightly too. There was a final scream of pain, and
she knew that it was over. Numbly she let Decius force her through the
forest, and when he released her she could see that the Imperial
diplomat’s sword dripped black blood, and a pair of clawmarks marred his
once darkly handsome face.
“Come on,” he whispered, beckoning her to follow him.
“You got your wish,” she muttered bitterly, “we are destroyed… I hope your emperor is pleased.”
He turned to her, an almost crazed look in his eyes, “Girl, if you think anyone in the Empire wants that-“ He
stopped, forcing himself to breathe. “I’m sorry about your father,” he
said finally, “come on, the survivors are hiding in some caves not far
from here…”
The caves in question were a series of old razorlizard
dens that Justin and his men had cleared out when they’d first settled
the area. Some small part of her was consoled at seeing that at least a
few hundred people had survived, and the priestess, Amanda, stood up
excitedly when she approached.
“Theodora!” she exclaimed, hugging
her as she rushed forward. She glanced at the imperial, her face
neutral, “And Decius… where are your men? I’d have thought you’d have
fled-“
“My men died helping yours get as many people out of there
as we could,” Decius snapped, “I don’t know what those things are, but
clearly these jungles are uninhabitable! We should gather as many of
your people as we can and head for the Imperial border. The legions will
protect you all, you have my word-“
“Even in the midst of this
tragedy you’re pursuing your mission,” Amanda said coolly, “I don’t know
whether that’s admirable or not...”
Decius looked around, a
sudden tired look on his face, “I…” he sighed, “what other choice is
there, at this point? You have my word you’ll all be treated fairly,
there are many estates looking for workers-“
“So, our choices are to remain here to die, or go back and slave away on the lands we used to own?” Theodora asked.
“That or be a meal,” Decius said, pressing close to her and making her step back.
“Peace Decius,” Amanda muttered, “This matter is… it doesn’t involve the Empire.”
“Doesn’t
involve the Empire?” Decius asked angrily, “Fine then… I shall see you
all in the God’s halls, mayhap Diana will allow her followers to visit
Typhon’s.”
Decius began walking away, his head held high, “Where are you going?” Amanda shouted.
“To
Camford,” he replied, not looking back, “gods willing I’ll be back with
a legion to kill every one of those things.” He turned and tipped his
bronze helm at them with final smile, “Amanda… it was a wonderful time.”
He paused a minute, the smiled, unbuckling his sword belt. Theodora
watched as the Imperial tossed his weapon, scabbard, and belt to Amanda.
“Do what you can with it,” he called, “By Typhon we will meet again in
Paradise.”
With that he turned and walked away, ignoring the calls
of the villagers and even Amanda’s own plea. Theodora watched him go,
then turned to Amanda with a grim expression. The priestess’s antler
helm was broken with only one side intact as she regarded the last
member of the Wetsoil Militia.
“What now?” Amanda asked solemnly.
“I…” Theodora sighed, “What would the goddess command?”
“She
would command we protect and nurture those charged to us,” Amanda
muttered. “I… I don’t know what that means anymore Theodora, the lizards
brought their magic against me, and while I chanted everything I’d ever
learned… their fireballs cut our men and women down just the same.” She
sighed, “We must have faith.”
“Faith?” Theodora asked
desperately. “My father is dead, the man I…” she chuckled softly,
finally admitting it to herself, “The man I love is their captive, soon
to be their meal. What will Diana do now? I need answers from the
goddess!”
“Diana does not answer as a servant does,” Amanda said in a cold voice, “she is a goddess.”
“She’s
got one final chance to answer me,” Theodora snapped, hefting her spear
and walking back towards the swaying wall of trees.
“What do you mean to do?” Amanda called.
“Let the Goddess speak to me about my troubles,” Theodora called, “or forever be silent to me.”
…
Theodora
ventured deep into the jungles, no longer caring if a razorlizard were
to take her unawares, at this point it would be a mercy.
“Diana,
Goddess,” she muttered, looking up at the darkening sky as the sun set,
“If… If you are there, I need you to speak to me now.” She fell to her
knees, “I need some kind of sign, some kind of… anything.”
She suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder, “Peace my child,” a soft voice said.
Theodora’s blood ran cold, “D-Diana?” she couldn’t bring herself to turn around and look at the woman.
“Yes,”
she whispered, “I saw how you joined the men in battle, how you fought
at their side… how my followers were taken by your foes.”
“A-Are you going to smite them?” Theodora asked hopefully, “rain down fire and-“
“I have not come to rend the earth or bring down the heavens,” she said, “but I will deliver your enemies to you… If you have faith.”
“I-I do,” she stammered, “I’m sorry I doubted you my goddess, I-I’ll do anything!”
“I would like to give you my blessing,” Diana said slowly, “but know that it comes at a cost.”
Cost? Theodora blinked tears out of her eyes, trying to steady herself and gather her thoughts, “I don’t understand Goddess…”
Diana
walked around her then, letting her gaze upon the towering perfection
of the goddess. She had an almost shimmering air about her, immaculately
clean and with a body that looked as if it had been carved from
granite. She stood twenty feet tall at least, looming among the
treebranches with visible muscles beneath a near transparent slip of a
robe that fluttered slightly as her bare feet stepped over the mossy
ground. She knelt down, taking Theodora’s chin in hand and forcing the
girl to look up at her.
“I will give you the power to save your
people, to forever protect and guide them… but you will bear no sons,
your line shall be daughters forevermore.”
No sons? Theodora
gulped nervously; the thought made her uneasy. She’d never imagined
herself as a mother, but it was giving up something she hadn’t realized
she wanted until now.
“I-I can accept this,” she said slowly.
Diana
nodded with an almost sad smile, “you will find strife with men, some
will not accept you as you will be. They will see the power I will grant
you as oppressive and wicked, and will chafe against it.”
Theodora was quiet, thinking it over, what does she mean by that? She didn’t understand it at all, but she knew they had no choice. If
the men live, then that’s good enough, whatever other anger they have
at what might happen will be worth it to see them alive.
“Yes goddess,” she nodded, closing her eyes.
“Then rise, Theodora, first of the Amazons.”
Theodora’s
eyes shot open, and she gasped, feeling her clothing suddenly grow
tight, ripping at the seams as the world seemed to spin. Diana was gone,
as though the goddess had never been there at all, but as Theodora
looked around the now much smaller clearing in wonder, it was clear what
the Goddess had done.
“Stars above,” Theodora blinked, looking
down at herself. She’d always been athletic, joining the men on hunts
when she could, and doing farm labor with the other women, but her body
had changed. She slowly ran a finger over her stomach,
marveling at the abdominal muscles that had seemingly popped into being.
Her arms were similarly larger, and as she picked up her spear it felt
almost like a child’s plaything in her hands.
I’ve got to be fifteen feet tall, she
thought wildly, “Ow!” she ran into a treebranch without realizing it,
blinking in surprise at how the jungle canopy suddenly seemed so much
closer. This will take some getting used to.
The caves
were in a state of pandemonium when she returned, and for one terrifying
minute she thought the lizardfolk had come for them, but as she ran
closer, she realized the truth.
“Theodora!” Amanda called, running, now naked, to the other woman, “S-Something happened, all of the women, we’re all-“
“Bigger,” Theodora said with a smile, “I… I think the goddess has answered our prayers!”
Slowly
the panic died down, and the women began to gather around Theodora.
Some were as short as eight feet, most stood around ten, but at fifteen
feet tall Theodora loomed over them all. Like her every woman had grown,
and even the young girls now towered over the village’s men. Everyone
was murmuring, trying to make sense of what had happened. Most of the
women were naked, their clothing having torn apart when they grew, but
some women had thrown blankets over themselves as makeshift robes.
“Silence,”
Theodora called, imitating her late father’s authoritative voice as
best she could, “listen to me! I beseeched Diana for aid, and she has
answered!” That brought a renewed round of hushed whispering, but at
Theodora’s steely gaze they quieted again. “We are not the plainsmen
anymore; Diana has named us the Amazons.” She grinned, putting her hands
on her hips, “our brothers, husbands, and fathers have been captured by
foul things which would devour them, the goddess has granted me the
power to do something about it, and I intend to! Who will follow me back
to Wet Soil?”
The women cheered, and the few men who remained
joined in with them. Theodora glanced around, and smiled, seeing
Decius’s long broadsword still laying against a rock. She pulled it free
from the scabbard, the long weapon just barely good enough to make a
long knife for her new form. It was light as a feather to her now, and
she chuckled remembering how she’d struggled to swing Justin’s blade.
Justin… she let her thoughts wander to the captured men, Diana please keep him safe until I can rescue him!
…
The
amazon war party numbered several hundred, and they moved easily
through the brush. Their weapons were mostly improvised spears, clubs
made from tree branches, and the like, their clothing was similarly a
mix of blankets, large robes, and even a few tablecloths.
It
didn’t take them long to reach the sight of their village, and Theodora
felt her bile rise as she saw the smoke. The Lizardfolk themselves had
the captured men in large bamboo cages with great wheels, no doubt
intending to take them back to whatever pit they called home, and the
creatures lounged about almost lazily.
Their army must have split up, Theodora realized, gone after other villages… She
tightened her grip on the sword, then with a shout charged from the
treeline, behind her hundreds of other amazons followed, thundering
forward in a charge that would have put the finest knights to shame.
…
Justin
watched in shock, gripping the bars of his cage as the line of
screaming amazons slammed into the lizards like a tidal wave, sweeping
them aside. There were harsh serpentine hisses of pain, and within
minutes the creatures that had so easily taken their village were
fleeing in all directions, throwing down their weapons in terror.
A
shadow fell over his face, and he looked up in awe at the grinning face
of Theodora, “Impossible,” he whispered, “Theodora, w-what happened to
you?”
“It’s a long story,” she chuckled, watching the other women
route the last of the enemy. She gripped the bamboo bars of the cage,
and with a grunt snapped them apart like matchsticks.
Justin
grunted as Theodora’s arms wrapped around him, drawing him out and
hugging him to her chest with enough force to make him wheeze. All
around them the victorious amazons were tearing the cages and bonds to
pieces, freeing the rest of the captured men.
…
The bonfire
roared high, and the amazons and their rescued menfolk danced around it.
The dead had been buried, and while the grief would remain, the
catharsis of victory had all but demanded some manner of celebration.
Theodora sat atop piled cushions and mattresses; Justin tucked against
her side almost like a favored cat. Some of the smaller amazons were
still capable of fitting inside the houses, but Theodora would be
sleeping under the stars for the time being, and a large tent had been
erected for her next to her father’s old house.
We’ve lost so many of our men, she thought, watching the survivors dance, and Diana says we will only bear daughters… so many things will have to change. She hugged Justin tighter to her, smirking at how the formerly towering man now felt so small against her.
“We’re going to get married,” she decided.
Justin almost choked on the goblet of wine he’d been drinking, “T-That’s rather sudden!” he stammered.
“Did you have some other girl you fancied?” she teased, ruffling his hair.
“No, I always sort of… expected we would I guess,” Justin said, “but I thought maybe it would be a few years off.”
“I’m
the village chieftess now,” she said with a sigh, “a chieftess should
be married, don’t you think?” She shifted, rolling over on top of him
and playfully pinning him against the piled cushions of her makeshift
throne. Justin couldn’t help but stare as her immense hanging breasts
loomed over him, each one larger than his head. Theodora had always been
beautiful, but now she was possessed of a wild, untamable beauty, he
wanted her more now than he ever had.
“Y-Yeah, a village chieftess should be married,” he managed.
“I’m
glad you’ve accepted my proposal,” she chuckled. She glanced back to
the men, the thrill of victory was combining with the wine and causing
appetites to become amorous. The playful flirting had given way to more
direct advances, and they watched as one of the now ten-foot-tall women
lifted a man up, his legs dangling feebly as she brought him up for a
kiss, causing laughter from those around them. “I think I will retire
for the evening,” she said.
“Ah,” Justin said, fighting to keep
disappointment out of his voice, “I’ll see you- AH!” he cried out in
surprise as he was scooped up and tossed over the towering woman’s
shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The other amazons noticed, and cheers,
catcalls, and wolf whistles broke out as the entire village reacted to
the sight of their leader carrying her man back to her tent.
Justin
couldn’t help but blush, there was something oddly thrilling in the way
that Theodora so easily manhandled him, and the amusement that the
other women got out of it. He fought a yelp of surprise as he felt one
of Theodora’s hands come up and clench his bottom, squeezing it
playfully as she carried him.
Theodora’s tent similarly had piled
cushions and blankets in lieu of useable furniture, and he was tossed
onto them as the amazon growled lustfully, tossing her makeshift robe
away and letting him see her chiseled body. She had a rich almost earthy
smell about her, the sweat of a day of battle in the heat of the
jungle, mixed with the warm musk of her arousal.
She leapt upon
him, a lioness taking wounded prey. Her tongue invaded his mouth,
filling it as she roughly kissed him, and her strong hands roamed his
body, taking it in even as his own explored her own vast breasts, then
tracing around to her back.
She lifted up off of him suddenly, her
grinning face just barely visible in the low light, “hold still,” she
ordered, climbing up over him. He grunted as her weight pressed down on
him slightly, until finally the massive tanned pillars of her powerful
legs were on either side of him, letting him look straight up into her
moist womanhood. She grinned and ran her fingers slowly through her
curled black hairs, playing with herself slowly.
“I’ve heard that men can use their mouth on a woman,” she said, “that’s what you’re going to do!”
Before
he could protest she was already lowering herself to his face, and his
words were muffled as she ground herself down on his face, letting her
wetness soak him and letting the taste of her arousal coat his tongue
and fill his nostrils.
She was an unstoppable force of nature as
she ground down on him, an avalanche of a woman crushing his skull as
she groaned in pleasure from the movements of his tongue against her. A
hand came down and gripped his hair, roughly pulling his head upwards
and pressing him into her harder.
“Yes!” she cried, “YES!”
The
tree trunk thick legs on either side of his head quaked a moment, then
she groaned again as she came on his face, the wetness increasing and
leaving the normal sized man beneath her completely covered in the silky
smell of her powerful orgasm.
“Good job,” she whispered, giggling as she sidled down his body again.
“I-I wanted to please you,” he stammered, panting and sucking in the fresh air.
“You
did,” she purred, sitting up again, “and now it’s your turn.” She
positioned herself over him, and he gasped as she forced herself down,
impaling herself on his erect manhood and driving him to the hilt as she
began to ride him.
“Goddess,” he gasped, fighting to keep his
thoughts together as she slammed down on him, rolling her hips against
his with enough force to send a mix of pain and pleasure shooting up his
spine. “A-A little slower?”
“You’re a strong man,” she growled
with a wicked grin, “you can take it!” in spite of her taunt she did
slow down, though only slightly. A massive hand nearly the size of his
torso came down, pinning him in place as the Amazon continued her work,
their grunts and gasps filling the air as the powerful woman brought the
tides high and swept away his thoughts.
A final series of thrusts
downward had him swearing once more, and it was like a dam burst, the
flood of pleasure quickly surging over any other sensation as she went
tense above him, growling like an animal as she had her second orgasm of
the evening at the same time as his first.
Justin had never felt
so overwhelmed, so powerless before someone so physically superior. As
her muscles roiled in the throes of pleasure, he realized that if she
wasn’t careful, she would break him, snap him like a twig…
“Hey,” she said, stroking his cheek as her panting slowed, “tell me how I did?”
He
chuckled, his fear vanishing, whatever else she was, this was still
Theodora, “majestic,” he replied, “I… I don’t think I can feel my legs.”
“I’m
sure the feeling will come back,” Theodora laughed, collapsing next to
him on the piled blankets that served as her bed. She slipped her arms
around him, hugging him tightly into her massive chest.
…
Over the next few days the real work began, rebuilding, and reorganizing, almost everything will need to be torn down and rebuilt, Theodora thought, walking through the village with Justin at her side, even the buildings that survived the attack won’t fit us anymore…
Everyone
had naturally looked to her for leadership, something that had caused
her mixed pride and pangs of grief as she remembered her father. Still,
there was little time for mourning, by all accounts there were more
lizards out there, a vast army that would need to be driven from their
lands.
Theodora scowled as she came across a group of men arguing
with a trio of towering Amazons, Amanda was with them, and the priestess
turned to her with a sour expression as she approached.
“These men do not feel their assigned duties are appropriate,” Amanda said.
The
first of them stepped forward, “she’s asking us to clean and prepare
game meat,” he said angrily, “and the priestess here is demanding we all
learn how to clean and stitch wounds, it’s woman’s work!”
“It’s work that needs to be done!” Amanda said, exasperated, “yes it was work that was once done mostly by women, but-“
“I am a woodsman,” the man barked, “I hew trees, I should be working on rebuilding the palisade, not-“
“The
smallest Amazon can chop four times as many trees in a day of work as
you can,” Theodora said sternly, glowering down at him and making him
shrink away, “when everything is settled, perhaps we can discuss who
will do what, but for now? With the lizards out there? It makes no sense
to have you men doing jobs that can be done quicker and faster by us.”
“I…” the man sighed, “I suppose you’re right…”
“Begin
preparing a lunch for the workers,” Amanda ordered, “and when you are
done with that, I will return to you and we will go over common healing
poultices and how to prepare them.” She rolled her eyes at the grumbles,
“there is nothing dishonorable about the healing arts, who knows you
may find you take to it.” With that she turned to follow Theodora and
Justin as they walked through the village.
“It’s going to be so
much worse when they realize they won’t be coming with us to strike at
the lizard army,” Theodora said softly.
“Wait,” Justin said, stopping, “what do you mean the men won’t be going?”
Amanda
and Theodora exchanged looks, “Justin,” she began hesitantly, “you’re a
very brave man, and you put yourself between us and the lizards and
saved all of our lives… but this is a new type of enemy, one we women
were empowered by the goddess to fight.”
“Is there really no one in your ranks who would be worse than me?” he asked with a wry smile.
Theodora scowled, “No, but… this is different!”
Amanda
glanced down at him, then shrugged, “It seems we might make an
exception for some of the more capable of the men… but if you must join
this fight again Justin, stay close to Theodora, for all of our sakes.”
“Where else would I be?” he asked with a grin.
“At
home, somewhere safe and secure,” Amanda muttered, “I don’t know if
you’ve realized it yet Justin, but our fair village now skews heavily
female, and many of the women are beginning to do the math on how many
men are available relative to how many Amazons there are… and if it’s
true that we can’t bear more sons, it’s a problem that will only get
worse as the years go on. We will need to begin exploring ways to get
ahold of more men.”
“Get ahold of?” Theodora chuckled, “Amanda, you sound like you’re trading horses.”
“In
a manner of speaking I may as well be,” Amanda said darkly. She glanced
at Justin and sighed, “I mean no offense to present company, but men
are now a valuable resource, one that the Amazons will need in order to
continue.”
“Maybe we should just double up on the ones we have?” Theodora said, winking at a suddenly pale Justin.
“I don’t know that I could handle two Amazons,” he joked feebly.
“It’s a possibility we might explore,” Amanda mused, apparently missing the joke.
“I’m
certain the goddess will provide us men,” Theodora said, changing the
subject, “but the long term is something we can focus on another time.
For now we must defeat these lizardfolk that have invaded our lands, we
will need real weapons, real training.”
“We don’t have much steel,” Amanda said, “most of our weapons we got in trade… what if we-“]
There
were shouts from the front of the village, and Theodora’s heart leapt,
fearing the lizards had returned. She and Amanda sprinted to the source
of the commotion, Justin following at their heels and struggling to keep
up with their vast strides.
“Hello!” Decius called from the seat
of a massive wagon, “I’ve returned, I’ve…” the Imperial’s voice faltered
as he took in the towering Amazons. “Gods above…” he whispered.
“Decius,” Amanda said, smirking at his surprise, “I thought you’d run home to your own lands?”
“I uh…” he cleared his throat, “I heard rumors on the way here of your… growth, but it’s another thing entirely to see it.”
“What do you want?” Theodora asked, crossing her arms.
The man blinked, “Well… I came to help actually.”
“Help?” Amanda asked, “We know what the cost of the Emperor’s help is, we don’t need or want it now.”
“Damn
the emperor,” Decius scowled, “no governor or senator I spoke to cared
anything for your plight, I realized if anyone was going to do anything
it would have to be me.”
“So you’ve abandoned the Empire?” Amanda asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Well,
let’s not get too carried away,” Decius muttered, “but I have sold all
of my possessions in order to buy some things I thought would help.” He
leapt off the wagon, “take a look!”
Theodora pulled back the wagon
cover, and her eyes went wide as she took in the stacks of long steel
pikes. She grinned and hefted one out, the weapons were often used for
large phalanx fighting formations, but to an amazon they made a fine
short spear. Decius gulped as he saw the ten foot long pike, something
trained men could barely maneuver with both hands, being casually spun
and hefted by the massive woman.
“These are perfect,” she said, grinning down at him.
“Come
Decius,” Amanda said, pressing a hand against the man’s back and
smiling, “you’ve traveled far, let me take you someplace to rest.”
Theodora
watched the man nervously follow Amanda to her own tent, “What do you
suppose is going on between those two?” she wondered aloud.
“I think the Imperial has found someone new to kneel before,” Justin said with a chuckle.
“Come on,” she said eagerly, “we need to start training the women in how to use these.”
…
A
week later Theodora led the column of amazons out of the village,
Justin at her side. Amanda had given Decius a long kiss as the group
marched out, seemingly confirming Justin’s suspicions as the former
imperial subject waved them off.
“Are you sure about this?” Justin
asked as they got further into the jungle, “our scouts report at least
five thousand of them, we number only five hundred.”
“But we are Amazons,” she said with a smile, “they’ve never fought anything like us before.”
…
The
lizard camp was along the side of a great river, and great stockades
and pens had been constructed where the weeping and wailing human
prisoners were kept. The lizards had evidently raided most of the
villages nearby, judging by the thousands of captured people that
Theodora could see from their position on the cliff overlooking things.
“What
do you think?” Justin asked, wiping his sword against a nearby tree.
He’d dispatched one of the lizardfolk scouts as the army advanced,
whatever else Theodora’s own outriders and scouts were still mostly men,
as they had the most skill in the brush. Justin and the others had
cleared the army’s path, and they were within striking distance and the
enemy was none the wiser.
“I think we should simply charge them,”
she said, “I don’t want them to try to put those people between us and
them, but if we pin them against the river?” she grinned, “we’ll cut
them to pieces.”
“They have three magic users down there,” Amanda
remarked, allowing blue sparks to dance along her own fingers, “I can
keep their spells off you for perhaps five minutes once battle is
joined, after that I’ll need to protect myself.”
“Five minutes
will be plenty,” Theodora said with a grin. She turned to her followers,
raising her spear high, “Today my father will be avenged!”
…
The
amazon force was like a thunderstorm on open ground, striking with such
ferocity and speed that the lizards barely had time to register them
roaring out of the trees before the towering women were among them.
Chaos erupted among the lizardfolk, and soon they were throwing their
weapons down and fleeing as each amazon cut down scores of them.
Theodora
marveled at her own speed, crossing the rocky sand towards the
riverfront, and the towering lizards which had once frightened her so
were now merely waist high. It was like hewing through weeds as she
struck them, and her muscles roared with exertion, but did not tire.
The
battle didn’t last more than a quarter of an hour, and by the time the
butchery was done the river was the same reddish black color as the
lizard’s blood. Theodora panted, looking down at the creatures that had
once seemed so large, so fearsome… now cut down like so much wheat
before her.
“Goddess above,” Justin whispered, sheathing his sword
and glancing around at the carnage. He looked up at her, a mix of awe
and a little fear on his face, “The world really has changed for us,
hasn’t it?”
“For the better,” Theodora promised.
“The day is
won,” Amanda said, slowly walking towards them with a grin, “the
prisoners have been freed… the only question is, what now?”
The
thousands of prisoners slowly approached her, and the amazons. Men,
women, children, young, old, they all looked at the towering women that
had delivered them from the cruel fate the creatures had planned.
“W-Who are you?” a man asked, stepping forward.
“Theodora Highgrass, of the amazons,” she said with a nod.
“All hail Queen Theodora!” the man shouted, falling to his knees.
She blinked, “Queen? I’m not-“
“HAIL THE QUEEN!” someone shouted, all but weeping for joy.
“HAIL THE QUEEN!” the chain started, “HAIL THE QUEEN!”
Justin just smirked and looked up at her, “All hail the queen,” he said, joining the others in falling to his knees before her.
…
Theodora
once again sat atop piled cushions, Justin rubbing her feet as she
kneaded her temples, “that feels delightful,” she drawled, stretching
and almost knocking him over. She’d withdrawn to her private tent to
ruminate on the day’s events, all but dragging Justin behind her to the
repeated raucous cheers of the other Amazons.
“I live to serve your majesty,” Justin said with a smile.
“Stop calling me that,” she muttered, “I don’t appreciate your jokes!”
“There are no jokes, you are our queen now,” Justin said, “I suppose I’ll be king?”
“Prince-consort,”
she remarked with a wink. She leaned her head back, “a Queen then… and I
suppose these lands will be my Queendom?”
“The Amazon Queendom,” Justin said, gritting his teeth as he pressed his thumbs into her sole, causing her to sigh happily.
“The
Amazon Queendom,” she mused, “I like it… we’ll build a proud and
powerful nation here, we’ll bring glory to the Goddess Diana…” She
playfully pinched his nose with her toes, smiling at the thought. “We’ll
need to expand of course… there are other villages throughout the
jungle, we’ll need to bring them all under our protection, discuss
fealty… This, the fight with the lizards, rescuing those people, it’s
just the beginning.”
She leapt up suddenly, grinning as she hooked
her hands under Justin’s armpits, lifting him into the air and bringing
him into a forced hug, pressing his face deep between her breasts with a
giggle. She’d grown more and more comfortable with handling him like
this, and he’d seemingly started longing for the way she would casually
overpower him. As if to prove this, he struggled feebly against her, his
muscles bulging as she easily held him in place like he was a
struggling puppy.
She reached down to his clothing, tearing them
away with one quick ripping motion, giggling as she ran her hand up his
thigh and letting her fingers trace along his rapidly rising manhood.
She let him fall to the cushions, lowering herself down next to him and
letting her hand wrap around his impressive member as she pinned him,
slowly stroking it.
“A wonderful piece,” she remarked, enjoying
the way he writhed beneath her, “I love playing with it…” He tried to
rise, but she easily pushed him back down again, giggling at his
reaction to her strength. “I’ll have to come up with a suitable
ceremonial outfit for my new consort,” she teased, “something that shows
off your best attributes.”
He gulped, his vision swimming as she stroked faster and faster, “w-what’s wrong with what I usually wear!?”
“Nothing,” she said with a shrug, “but imagine it, you kneeling before me, wearing something tight and… silk, yes it would be made of silk, you’d wear it and rub my feet while I hold court, what do you think?”
He
couldn’t answer, his hips were bucking as his seed was milked out of
him by the powerful Amazon, and he was gasping with pleasure as the soft
teasing giggle of the massive woman filled his ears.
“I’ll take
that as a sign you like my idea,” she giggled, wiping his seed on his
chest as she rolled over, flopping down next to him.
…
Word
of the victory over the lizardfolk spread, and soon every village and
settlement in the jungle was sending representatives to pledge fealty to
the new Queen. The Lizards sent scouting parties into the new realm,
but it seemed that, for now, the enemy had been beaten back.
When they come again, we’ll be ready, Theodora
thought bitterly, sitting atop her throne. It was made for her, as much
of the new furniture in her burgeoning palace was. It had been a barn,
once upon a time, but was being slowly refitted into something more.
Someday perhaps they’d have time to build a true palace, but for now
there were too many other things to be done.
“Something on your mind?” her new husband asked, grinning up at her from his own much smaller throne.
“Just thinking on the future,” she said with a sigh.
The
large barn doors creaked open, and Amanda walked forward, Decius behind
her. The former Imperial had been staying with the priestess ever since
his return, and from the way the two acted around one another Theodora
doubted he’d be going back to his homeland anytime soon. Today though he
had an almost sheepish look on his face as Amanda approached the throne
with a grin.
“My queen,” she said with a smirk, “I’ve come to ask your permission for Decius to marry.”
Theodora blinked, “Well Amanda, I don’t think it’s necessary for me to approve-“
“To marry myself, my cousin Thracia, and another woman we’ve met several villages over who seems delightful.”
“Three women?” Theodora balked, “D-Decius, is this er… what you desire?”
“I’ve been convinced,” he said, blushing slightly and looking to Amanda.
“Two Amazons, and one of the little sisters,” Amanda explained.
“Little Sisters?” Theodora inquired.
“Those
women who did not receive Diana’s blessing,” Amanda explained, “they
can still bear sons, so we will necessarily need to share men with them
going forward.”
“Right,” Theodora said, rubbing her temples, “of course…”
It
did make sense, but it was still all so strange and new. Many of the
things the goddess had told her she hadn’t had time to think about in
the moment, but now that things were settling down somewhat, the
implications were beginning to become clear. The men were starting to
chafe as they were, as a group, slowly forced into roles that required
less strength, domestic work and the like, and now the question of how
they would propagate long term was looming before her.
“The permission is granted,” Theodora said in a tired voice. “I suppose we’ll all need to share the pool of menfolk.”
“You er… don’t expect me to-“ Justin began, but Theodora smiled and chuckled.
“No,” she said, “call it the privilege of rank, but I won’t be sharing you.”
“If necessary, we could always find other sources of men,” Amanda said with a grin.
“The southern imperial border is not well fortified,” Decius said slowly, “and…” he gulped, “well if necessary you could always acquire some-“
“That I will not condone,” Theodora said harshly.
Amanda
merely shrugged, “you are their queen, but our people will look
hungrily over our northern border one day, and not all will abide by
your rulings.”
“Such is the way of laws,” Theodora said, slumping
into her chair, “I can make them, and most will follow them, but we are
going to be a nation now, there is no nation that is wholly made of good
and goddess fearing people, all we can do is our best.”
…
While the early history of the Amazon Queendom is wrapped in myth
and legend, at least some key details are the same throughout all
versions of the tale, as well as archeological evidence in digs outside
of the towns of Wet Soil, Rain’s End, and Alabaster Cliffs. What is
certain is that these towering women became mankind’s first line of
defense against the Lizardfolk empires of the deep jungles, and even
those terrifying creatures would know better than to ever set foot in
Amazon Country.
- Excerpt from, “Amazons of the Queendom,” by Imperial Historian Kurt Vinter