Cathek looked down at the red carpet with the drider sigil. He took a deep breath, then stepped on the carpet and made his way to the throne at the end. The atmosphere instantly warped as soon as he walked past the threshold. The air was heavy with an innate suppression forced upon all within the halls by an unknown entity.

Cathek was fortunate in that the suppressive atmosphere had no hold on him. He was far too strong for anything on this material plane to suppress him. He had the luxury of freely examining the throne room, a deep melancholy in his eyes as he looked at the crumbled pillars and cracked walls.

Traces of the beauty that once was could be seen in the beautiful marble floors, with finishing so exquisite, with the right amount of light, they could reflect the entire room perfectly. Unfortunately, pale green light from will-o-wisps lanterns were the only source of light in the throne room.

Cathek's gaze narrowed as he looked up. A mural of a colossal spider occupied the entirety of the ceiling, eight will-o-wisp lights ominously watching over the proceedings within the room. Cathek shook his head and turned his attention to the throne itself.

The daeben were a matriarchic community, a fact duly affirmed by the young woman who laid on a sinister throne fashioned from the husk of a dead drider. The dark throne evoked ghastly images of it would look like if a person 'laid' within the abdomen of a drider. To the daeben however, it was a talisman that promised their rulers, and in turn, their kingdom would always be in the embrace of their patron goddess, Arachne.

Arachne, unlike Gerber, Mera and the others was not a progeny of Ferulic and Aethir, hence she was not a real goddess by the strictest definition. Instead, she was one of the demons created by Ferulic during his 'little jealous tantrum.' Arachne was created to embody the treachery, cunning and wickedness of humes, her horrifying lower body meant to be a play on the humes' penchant to follow anything beautiful. In this case, following her beautiful upper body would land humes within her lower body's mandibles.

"It never ceases to amaze me how you always appreciate this art despite being older than this entire building."

A soft sultry voice drew Cathek's gaze down to the beautiful daeben who laid on the throne, clad in a sensuous, revealing cloth black cloth armor. The young queen's ashy black skin had a subtle glow, dull yet inviting beneath the green will-o-wisps. Long locks of snow-white hair, indicative of pure-blooded daebens rested on her exposed midriff, the queen's penchant for individuality subtly revealed in ruby red highlights made to match her steamy gaze. Dark red lips curled up in a smirk as she regarded the powerful kafu.

"Some things are better appreciated over the course of time," Cathek replied with a warm smile. He came to a stop five meters from the throne. "Your Majesty," Cathek greeted with a polite bow. "I, Cathek request a private audience."

The queen's lips curled up in a smile. She nonchalantly waved and ordered, "Leave us."

It was very faint, but Cathek's sharp ears easily picked up the instantaneous sounds of feet hitting the floor. A trained eye would have noticed the darkness in the areas not reached by the will-o-wisps shift ever so slightly.

Moments later, certain that the shadow guards had retreated, the queen rose from the throne and walked to Cathek's front. A mischievous smirk formed on her lips, and before Cathek could react, she wrapped her hands around his waist and buried her head in his chest. "Uncle Cat! Where have you been? You haven't come to see me in weeks!"

If any of the daeben were present, their eyes would pop out with shock. Gone was their regal, mysterious, tough leader, replaced with an ordinary young woman excited to see her Uncle.

Pa!

"Ouch!" The queen recoiled in shock and pain, both hands on her smoking forehead.

"Queen Alia Tatjana Thorraid, I strongly suggest you mind your behavior as queen," Cathek harshly scolded. However, the smile in his eyes revealed the truth.

"Tch, stingy," Queen Alia retorted with a pouty grunt. Massaging the strike zone on her forehead, she lamented, "Ah-ah, I hope this doesn't swell up."

"Not to worry," Cathek soothed with a teasing smile. " I have had the better part of a millennium to practice the forehead flick so it leaves no mark behind. That includes swelling of course."

Queen Alia glared at him. "Another one of your useless skills. For a thousand-year old man, you're really boring, you know that?" Queen Alia raised her hands in protest, "A thousand years, and you haven't learned anything about a maiden's heart?"

Cathek shook his head with a wry smile. "And what purpose would that serve?"

Queen Alia's gaze narrowed. "You thick-headed relic. At the very least it serves a better purpose than that useless forehead flick thing."

"Quite the contrary, your Majesty," Cathek jovially rebutted. "For one," Cathek stated as, much to Alia's bitter resignation, he patted the queen's head. "I get to discipline unruly royals without leaving a trace."

"Ah! Stop it!" Queen Alia exclaimed as she pushed Cathek's hand off her head. "I really wish you would stop treating me like a child. I'm already twenty-one years old. I'm an adult!"

"Twenty-one is it?" Cathek murmured with a smile. "Time really flies by when you get to my age. What has it been? Ten, Eleven years since your parents passed in that final battle?" Cathek's gaze grew heavy as old memories surfaced. "I still recall it like it was yesterday. The beaten and defeated daeben army rallied around a ten year old girl, who against impossible odds, was able to command a safe retreat for her people to their country, and launched a staunch defensive that shook the allied nations to cut their losses and retreat." Cathek's eyes warmed as he habitually ruffled the queen's hair. "To think that little girl has grown into a fine young woman. Ah, indeed, time moves far too quickly when you get old."

"Cut it out," Queen Alia reprimanded with a short laugh as she ducked out of the range of Cathek's troublesome hand. "More importantly," she said as she raised her right sleeve to reveal a dull, glowing spider web tattoo on her upper shoulder. "What do you think?"

Cathek approached, then examined the tattoo. A while later, he nodded approvingly. "Your runecrafters are showing rapid progress. There're no mistake here. The embedded runes as so minute, yet precise. Only someone who knows to look for them will even realize this tattoo is such a complex rune." Looking up from the rune, Cathek questioned. "This is your seventh rune marking, isn't it?"

"Yes," Queen Alia confirmed with a nod. "The crafters did say at my current mental strength, I can still handle at least seven more. I've scheduled for the next rune to be drawn in two months."

"Good," Cathek nodded his approval. "Your body needs time to acclimatize to the new rune channels." A hint of melancholy drifted through the kafu's eyes as he recalled the tragedy of the previous generation of daeben. "If only your parents had heeded my advice as you do, they would not have been driven mad by the conflicting rune channels."

Queen Alia's head dropped, as she too recalled the slow descent into madness. "My mother was under too much pressure from the ministers and the war faction. Runecrafting did appear to be the answer to all our problems. Every soldier could have the marks without the need for any special talent, and it doubled, no tripled the strength of our military prowess. " Shaking her head, she bitterly said, "If only they knew the cost. The madness, and unwanted arrogance."

Queen Alia lamented, "The daeben army was feared during warfare, not for our performance in battles, but for our extreme cunning and deadliness. Battles were won without armies ever marching out, commanders, strategists and captains found dead in their camp beds. No one knew where we laid our traps, where we would spring up from next." With ground teeth, the daeben queen recalled, "Yet the hubris from those marks rendered our commanders and leaders stupid and inept. Rather than promote our subterfuge and sabotage, they quickly began to abandon their strongest points in favor of open battles, to revel in the 'glory' of battle."

Queen Alia's hand shook with rage, her clouded eyes hidden from sight. "It's no wonder we lost battle after battle. How could we beat the allied nations at something they had polished to perfection with mere brute strength? We lost, lost and kept losing, until that final day. The final battle in G'orath. I will never forget the despair in the soldiers' eyes as thousands of pillars descended from the skies, only to land in the allied army. We had both used summons, but none of the Summoned had answered our call. We were seemingly doomed to extinction that day."

Cathek smiled. "But then the pillars did come."

Queen Alia's head rose, her eyes shining with light. "Yes, yes they did. All twelve of them in total." She clenched her hands as she traveled back to that blood-soaked battlefield, the silent despair, and the euphoria when the first pillar of light appeared at the front of the daeben army. "I will never forget that first man. Blue shirt, dark pants, and boots. The mantle fluttering silently in the wind. His firm, unwavering grip on his sword. That bold, unflinching first step." Queen Alia sighed. "Even when the other Summoned landed, all but one flinched at the sight of the enemy's army. Only that beast-like little girl followed the man as he charged into the enemy's ranks without so much as a backward glance.

"The girl was terrifying no doubt, but it was that man who gave us the strength to do what we had to do. The way he surgically cut through the enemy's ranks, seeking out and eliminating commanders and captains without worrying about the regular soldiers reminded us of what we daeben were feared for. I will never forget the horror in the enemy commanders' eyes when that man picked up a bow from a fallen soldier. The speed at which captains dropped was just too terrifying. But it was that terror that saved us." Queen Alia's soulful eyes dimmed as she grasped her left arm. "My mother, granted a rare moment of clarity, removed the Wreath of Spiders and bound it to me. My mother, the generals, the soldiers, they all looked up to me. They wanted their next orders, even though we all knew what it was going to be."

"Attack," Cathek stated with a sigh. "No matter what it takes, strike down as many commanders as possible."

"Do not return until they are all dead," Queen Alia murmured. "I willingly sent my mother, her generals, many of whom practically raised me and thousands of kinsmen to their deaths."

"And saved thousands more," Cathek consoled. "You made the right decision that day. In a perfect world, sacrifices are not necessary. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world. As uch, we must continue to make hard decisions every day."

Queen Alia let out a wry smile. "I know that. You've repeated it so many times, I could not forget it even if I wanted to." With a wistful sigh, she added, "I just wish I could meet that Summoned once. I need to thank him in person for saving us."

"Last I heard, he was captured by the allied forces and put in a jail to rot for life," Cathek stated. "No one knows the location of this cell. Apparently, the order letter was burned immediately it was carried out."

Queen Alia sighed. "At least we managed to find the little beast-girl. Though she's gone missing since Froy was killed. I at least hope he was able to help her regain herself even if by a little."

"I am sure he did as you ordered," Cathek affirmed.

"Yes, I am sure," Queen Alia said with a smile. "Now, tell me, Uncle Cat. Why are you really here? It cannot be to just reminisce about the past, surely."

"Of course not," Cathek replied. "The deathsworn boats are finally ready. We can depart at a moment's notice."

Queen Alia nodded. Her gaze wavered, revealing a moment of weakness. "We are doing the right thing, right, Uncle Cat?"

"There is no right or wrong," Cathek stated. "What we do now will be judged not by us, but by generations to come. They will decide if our actions are just or not-"

"-By then, we'll be too dead to care," Queen Alia finished. "Another one of your little quotes you've repeated to death." Queen Alia folded her arms and closed her eyes. Moments later, she opened them, slight exhaustion evident in her creased brows. "A storm will come tomorrow and last for two days. We leave after that."

"As you wish."

Queen Alia looked up at the ceiling mural, her gaze meeting those of Arachne's. "At last, I can return to the world..."

********

A/N: Just above 2200 words. I like this new format. 

*****************

Picture of the Day

*****************

Anyone know how to change her hair from black to white? She's my image of Alia's mother, but the hair color's off. Pure-blood daeben (in this novel) all have white hair.