Abandoned fields of grain sway in a silent breeze that carries no sound, neither east nor west. Underground, the fibers run in parallel; they pop up between individual stalks like deer-stands, watching. Someone buzzes by; she lands lightly on one of the crops and extends her probiscis to drink.

She stood, arms bloodied, against the stone wall. Red dripped down the gold of her armor and mingled with dropped fur and dirt. Her eyes followed steady crimson drips up, up from the ground to the gleaming white fang of the lioness. The crowd jeered. She was meant to die here, by the teeth of […]