There was something about her… Something that stirred emotions, and desire, deep within me… I would convince her… Conquer her… Have her. She would see… And she would want me, too.
I was Skarde, the Berserker. I was picky about the things I chose, and those things were always of the greatest worth.
It wouldn’t take long for her to learn that.
Three
Cartari
Ilisa was gesticulating wildly to Axis in the hallway, her voice rising in timbre as I approached. I paused a moment, but when Zaya didn’t follow me through, I sensed her headed toward Skarde on the other side of the wall and knew that was the right action. Maybe she could soothe her comrade… Convince him this planet was the best place for him to be for a while…
Axis’s arms were crossed calmly across his chest as he slowed his pacing, turning to face Ilisa. Ceritha kept walking ahead, letting her Prince take control of the situation and calm the strong Bravo he had trained for many years.
“Ilisa, I understand your concerns--”
“My Prince, I don’t think you do… Skarde is not one of us. He is disrespectful and shows great disregard for our ways. You should have heard some of the things he was reported to have said to Modifi on the shipward home. I do not think he has any intention of trying to fit in here. He will try to turn Harthen into Astrida, not try to turn himself into a Farian.”
“Why do you think that is a bad thing?”
Ilisa was startled by my comment and turned to face me as I approached.
“That is not our way, Commander. He is not a telepath! He is not gifted as we are with the mental arts. He cannot possibly command the same respect of our soldiers--”
“You don’t think a warrior can be strong, that a leader can show grace and stalwartness without having those mental arts? You’ve fought in wars on other planets against warriors that don’t have those arts. You’ve seen warriors that can hold their own against us, whose soldiers respect and die for their leaders, even without telekinesis. Lord Skarde is one of those soldiers.” Axis looked at me, one eyebrow raised, waiting for me to intercede, as well.
“Besides, you’re going to be teaching him, Bravo. You’re going to be helping him learn our mental path. It has been shown that off-worlders can learn. Queen Daphne and her friend Vania of Earth have learned. My Destin, Zaya, from Vailstor, also, has learned.”
Ilisa scoffed. “Yes, through mental control. You think that Lord Skarde, the Berserker, is going to let me mentally control him?”
Axis and I remained silent. Ilisa stared at us, stunned. She gulped.
“Zaya and I will be here another week. Zaya will meet with him and work on talking him into it. It will not be easy, I am sure. He has a lot of pride, clearly. But, it will be the only way, that we are aware of, for a Vailstoran, to access telepathy and kinesis. And he will need it. There is talk of dissent from Fenvitz’s men, and the Duke himself. There may be a rebellion brewing.”
Ilisa stood up straighter, a true soldier and I was proud of her in that moment. Her personal disdain and dislike for Skarde was forgotten as she sensed a challenge to her mission and a threat to the throne she defended with her life.
“I hadn’t heard that yet, but I understand why he would be upset. I trust I will be briefed on this?”
“Absolutely. We can meet tomorrow morning for a full breakdown on the plan moving forward.”
“Will I be able to keep any of my men and women here with me?”
“Your four can remain with you, if you choose, but I believe it would behoove you to make allies quickly with those left from Fenvitz’s reign. There are good people here, and you will be needing to form trustworthy bonds as much as Skarde will need to. You are an outsider, too, coming in and being the liaison for King Kajo as he is installing a new leader.” Prince Axis placed his hand on Ilisa’s shoulder and she nodded her head, her body and tight lips relaxing a bit with his gesture of kindness and trust. I mimicked his gesture and touched her other arm.
“We are trusting you, Ilisa, as one of our bravest and strongest. Skarde has chosen you to remain here, that is true. But that must only be because he knows you are one of our best. Don’t dismiss him so easily. Just because he doesn’t have the mental skills we do. You must train him, trust him, give him a chance.”
Ilisa grumbled something unintelligible under her breath and I laughed. I squeezed her arm and then let it go. I understood some of her dismay and frustration. The idea of mentally controlling someone was nauseating and daunting. It had not been an easy decision for me in that prison cell to control Zaya, my fellow inmate, though it had led me to my Destin, and I would not regret it for even a moment… But, it was not something we did on Farian. It was why we set up mental blocks so quickly in our youth schools. Having an unblocked mind was a sure weakness. Skarde’s enemies would thwart that quickly. Ilisa had to train him and train him quickly.
The door behind us opened and Zaya approached us.
“Come now, let’s all go get ready for the feast. We still need to show Lord Skarde that Farian is a world worth fitting into, not just reaping the rewards of and then fleeing, all right? And you are the sharpest spearhead to show him that truth. All right?”
Ilisa nodded and followed us reluctantly. I took Zaya’s hand and
