Starblade by Rodney C. Johnson Page A

symbol
also decorated her navel and radiated outward from her bellybutton.
Like her mother, a Valkris dagger hung close on her hip.
    Frederika watched the Shotar sit in his
massive throne. Nadia and Sitara were placed to either side of him
on low-backed embroidered ottomans.
    “Who is that girl to his left?” asked
Frederika. “A concubine or wife?”
    “Neither. That's Princess Sitara. She has a
twin sister,” Mia said. “Both are highly intelligent and I
understand that Sitara is a commander in the Falcanian Armada.”
    “They're so beautiful, Nadia und
Sitara.”
    Frederika looked in awe as the Shotar easily
leaned back in his burgundy covered mahogany throne. She locked
eyes with him for a fleeting second before he returned her gaze
with open approval. In the Shotar's glance she could make out age
and wisdom and a thing she had not thought to find, pain and
regret. To her, he carried the weight of the world on him.
    A glow distracted Frederika, her attention
turned to look at the other gathered princesses. She noticed Kheira
who had joined her sisters at a table near her father's throne. By
their looks they ranged in age from six to nineteen. The princesses
talked and laughed with their fellow Imperial progeny. Clearly the
Shotar had his fill of women to produce so many daughters. “Und
that one?” asked Frederika as she nodded at the table of
princesses. The vibrant light from Kheira fascinated her.
    “Kheira. She has a genetic anomaly.”
    Kheira sensed herself being stared at,
turned her attention toward her father's exotic dancers, offered an
imperious glance, but took a moment to give Frederika a curious,
focused stare when she noticed a blue sparking aura from the
dancer. Only one other person had an aura like that – The Queen.
Kheira shook her head, at last returned her attention to her many
sister’s gossip and admiration of Drakorian Guardsmen.
    “It is called rahli'ka,” Mia added. “The
Tahru, the 'priest' caste, seek the vralis, the one who shall
bridge the way for the Falcanians in their ascendancy as gods. They
believe those with the rahli'ka to be honored beings.”
    T’Saar Sharr Khan! Jai, jai,
jai! , filled the domed hall.
    Sharr Khan let the cheering go on for a
minutes. At last the Shotar raised his hand to bring silence to his
gathered friends and Drakorian Guard. “My thanks,” the Falcanian
ruler said and stood, his right hand rested on the ornate hilt at
his hip. Sharr motioned for the holosphere to be activated so all
his people could hear what he had to say. “Together we have built
much…” his thoughts trailed off to a time before the war, when life
had been much less complex. Sharr had not intended to give a
speech, but the moment called for him to speak. “The world has
changed in these decades. It’s become a world of technological
feudalism. Our lives, what we are, have been made possible by
genetic engineering, the blind have been made to see and those
paralyzed can yet now walk. The prominent role of technology in our
lives must be recognized. True miracles have been brought forth by
the science of biorobotics, cybernetics, and genetic engineering.
Cures for ailments that only a god could once have undone now are
ours to hold.”
    The Shotar paused in his speech, glanced
over at his wife and daughter, who smiled up at him.
    “Today begins the Falcanian Kralin,”
declared the Shotar. “Let us salute that Rai who guided Arntiraas
Drakonis in his self-evolution. Let us recall the teachings of the
shards and what they mean to us all.” His hand dropped to a pouch
on his belt that contained the so called Phoenix Puzzle . “I
thank you all for these many years that you have stood with me upon
the 'long road'. Inside you a Falcanian heart beats, a primal spark
drives us forward to become Charis!” Sharr drew Alira's gift from
his hip and raised the vajra above his head. He knew the moment was
right for his salute. “Falcania Jai!” shouted the Shotar;