Legacy of The Condesce :13:

-TURBULENCE-

MOLOCH INCUBO:

"… and then I made out with her on the deck of her own ship," I bellowed with laughter, "you should have seen the look on the crew's faces!"
It was the evening after my encounter with Marquise Lieuna. I had invited Zenete and Zumidu over to my respite block for a celebration based on the information on the tax cuts as well as my victory over the high blooded noble. Zumidu listened to my story with an intensity only rivaled by my own telling of said story, but Zenete was not amused. Rather, she sat slouched in her chair, eyeing me with boredom.
"No way," Zumidu gasped, "fought Marquise Lieuna, on her own ship, no less, and then you made out with her?! That sounds so romantic…"
"Yea," I chuckled heartily, "that woman is truly something else. I have to say that she was both a worthy opponent, and a wonderful kisser."
Zenete made a sound of disgust.
"Is there something wrong?" Zumidu asked.
Zenete signed to him, gave up halfway, and pointed to a piece of paper. Zumidu reached over and grabbed the paper.
"O-Okay," Zumidu nodded, "if this makes it easier, then so be it."
Zenete grinned devilishly, scribbling something on the paper. I had forgotten that she was somewhat of an artist herself. Her skill with a marking instrument was unparalleled in this hive cluster. Within a single minute she had finished her drawing, and she handed it to me. It was a picture of me and Marquise Lieuna, with our hands grappling each other and sloppily making out, with the phrase, "sloppy make outs on deck!" written on the bottom.
I grinned and turned the picture around to show Zumidu. "Really, Zenete?"
Zumidu started chuckling as well, but Zenete had broken out into a fit of laughter. She was just so easily amused, sometimes. I guess this is why the three of us have always been fairly close; because of our strange and misunderstood humor.
"So," Zumidu coughed, trying to stop laughing, "now that we've got that little tale out of the way, how do you guys feel about the new tax cuts?"
"I think it's great," I shrugged, "I mean, it could be better, but it shows that Her Imperious Condescension is making some progress toward bettering our existence. Seriously, out of all the stories we've heard from Alternia, I would have never thought that we'd see this day come to fruition."
Zenete nodded.
"I personally believe that it's a path to a brand new future," Zumidu smiled, "a future where we will finally be free of the blood caste system."
"That's wishful thinking," I grumbled. "The blood caste system has been in place for a reason. If we get rid of that system, who knows what could happen to our very social structure?"
Zenete started to sign again, gave up, and wrote on the piece of paper she had before. She handed it to me so I could read it.
"So is that what you really think?" I asked. "You think that our whole society is going to collapse either way, no matter what we do?"
She nodded.
"Well," Zumidu shuddered a little, "I think this conversation has certainly taken a turn to the darker aspects of this decision…"
"Yea," I muttered. "Come on, Zenete, you've got to look at the bright side of things! Besides, if anything were to go down we'd be ready. Am I right?"
Zenete nodded, but she was still unimpressed. Whatever she was thinking about right now was definitely serious, but I really did not want to be dealing with it. This was a time of celebration, not a time of panic! We should be living in the moment and forgetting all of our troubles. Even so, there was something that Zenete could never be, and that was wrong. Her thoughts and opinions have always been seen as prophecies in my mind. If she felt something was going to happen, I had to keep my guard up.
"S-So," Zumidu muttered, "who wants some more food? I c-can go and fetch more if you'd like?"
"Zumidu," I sighed, "this is my house. It is my duty as the host to supply you with sustenance. You and Zenete really need to learn to relax sometimes!" I stood up to bring in some more victuals, when all of a sudden I heard something in the distance. It sounded like someone or something was marching somewhere far off. Odd, I don't recall the infantry requesting a drill this early in the evening…
Apparently Zumidu heard this very same sound. "D-Did you two hear that?" Zumidu shivered.
Zenete nodded.
"Indeed I do," I muttered, "and that is definitely not the sound of my regiment. It sounds too disorganized to be military, and too erratic to be initiates. Looks like you were right, Zenete… something's definitely going down." I rushed over to the door of my hive, making sure to grab my lance, just in case an enemy caught me off guard. Zenete and Zumidu both stayed behind me as I lightly pushed the door ajar. I could not believe my eyes. Out in the distance, marching across the horizon, was an army of trolls, armed with black and violet armor.
"W-What is it," Zumidu quivered, "what is it you see, Moloch?"
"It's the Subjugglators," I whispered back, "and they don't look like they're here to party…"
"Shit," Zumidu rasped, "I always knew those trolls weren't right in their think pans! Now they're pissed off at Her Imperious Condescension, and they're going to take it out on us!"
"Quiet," I snapped, "we have to be calm about this. I'll go out there and try to reason with them. Grab your weapons and be ready to fight just in case the negotiations dissolve."
"Assuming there even are negotiations in the first place."
I grunted in disapproval as I slowly made my way out to greet the Subjugglators. They had just finished their march across the hilled landscape, and were poised in an attack position in front of the low blood hive cluster. I could see that several other low bloods had gathered outside of their hives, armed and ready to defend themselves.
"Hey now," I assured them, "I'm sure everything's going to be alright. I know these guys, so let me try and ask what they want." Tightly gripping my weapon, I walked to the front of the hive cluster gates. The Subjugglators were eyeing me, just edging to kill. I was more than certain that negotiations would go to shit very, very soon. "Subjugglators," I called out to them, "we welcome you graciously to our humble hive cluster. However, we require that you disarm yourselves, so that we may know of your good will."
The Subjugglators did not disarm. Instead, they parted their ranks, allowing a single Subjugglator to step forward. It was Purpur, a Subjugglator I had known for a very long time. Before she became The Grand Highblood's right hand girl, she was my best friend; she understood me, and I her. She has changed so much since those days…
"Purpur," I shouted, waving hello was politely as I could, "I haven't seen you in so long! Can you tell me what's going on here?"
"Moloch," Purpur growled, "I need you to stand back. If you forfeit your ground you shall not be harmed. Your low blooded kin must know the will of the mirthful messiahs, and we shall write their teachings with blood of rust!"
It was worse than I had thought. The Grand Highblood had brainwashed her to the point of no return. It was a damn shame that it had to come to this, but if that was what she wanted then so be it. "I will not forfeit my ground," I replied, holding back the tears. "I had seen a friend in you, Purpur Coulro. It breaks my heart to see you do this, but I will not stand aside while you kill my friends. If you want to get to them, you'll have to get through me!"
Purpur grinned, revealing a barbaric insanity that I had never seen before. She lifted her weapon, a spiked mace, and roared. Then, with her weapon held high in the air, Purpur charged right into the low blood hive cluster, followed by her hundreds upon hundreds of Subjugglators. If there was one thing that went through my mind at that moment, it had to be this: tonight would be the bloodiest night in the history of Raniteal.