Shaltoth was a humanoid stage Drakon. Alontheus spent a few moments getting used to the feeling of the strange body he found himself in. She was healthy, young, and limber. The skin of her head was adorned with ridges unique to her family. This pattern was decorated with metal and stones like her hands. Her body was sheathed in a tight fitting garment of the skins of rare animals she had hunted and skinned for herself. Her appendages were adorned with rare metal and stone decorations. She moved with a fluidity that was almost supernatural. He became aware of this as he gazed into the full-body reflection she was standing in front of.
She turned to the wider room, facing the full forty-foot saurian majesty of her mother. “Would you like me to acquire one of the mating pairs of the little beasts Matriarch?”
“Yes little one” rumbled the massive serpent. “I wish to see what sorts of hunting beasts we can make of them.”
“I will acquire a pair right away. I have done some research, and am versed in some parts of their simple language.
“Housebreaking them should not be too difficult with communication.”
“Make sure they are clean and carry no diseases when you present them as well.”
“At once Matriarch! I will advise you when they are made presentable.”
The dirty creatures stood defiantly in front of the young Drakon woman. Their fur, instead of a smooth layer of the soft fibers over their bodies, it was a patchwork of mats and bald spots.“I have some of your language, but not much. You teach me. I your master now.”
The beasts chuckled in their harsh little voices. “We teach you. We learn drak speak?” the larger one asked. They were odd to Shaltoth because it seemed the male was actually larger and stronger than the female.
“That would make easier… talking,” Shaltoth replied in the ugly speech of the animals.
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Six months later, the animals were able to converse at a basic level in the Drakon language (Drath). And had learned to clean themselves to the standard of Drakon society. The light fur covering their bodies was smooth and clean. Its patterned stripes gave a feral quality to their sleek countenance. It was time to introduce them to her mother.
Their quarters had been spartanly decorated to make them somewhat better than a prison cell. Wall decorations could do little to soften the bars on the entrance and the windows, but at least the plain stone was interspersed with hangings.
“Why do we have to wear these coverings? Our fur covers the key areas and these coverings limit my movement.”
“My mother is picky about animal fur. Your feline ancestry angers her when she has to deal with your kind. I find it interesting, especially since it has grown back in evenly after we had you groomed.”
“We will try to keep it from getting out of hand in the future. We would not have been so disheveled if we had been treated better when we were captured.”
“What I want to know is why there is no embryo in the mate I purchased for you. My mother wanted a breeding pair. She will be angry if that purchase goes to waste.”
The female cleared her throat, “His station is too low to be allowed to mate with me.”
Shaltoth smiled at her. It was not a smile that comforted or amused. “If you displease her, my mother will make your Station that of Entre. Would you rather face that, or have a child that is beneath you? Make no mistake, I may pamper you two, but you are still livestock to us.
“Now, follow me and do not raise your eyes in her presence. Do not smile. Do not speak unless spoken to. If asked a question, answer respectfully and completely with absolute truth.” Turning on one foot Shaltoth lead the way out of the cell and down the hall to the stairs. Without looking back to make sure the slaves followed, she made her way up to the next floor up.
Both of her charges knew that failing to follow or adhere to her orders would lead to a painful death.
As the walked into the vaulted throne room behind their mistress, the massive, serpentine body of her mother stirred. Her massive head turned to face them and fixed each with a baleful glare before settling on her daughter, “I see they are still furry, but they are clean, at least… I will look into a genetic option to reduce the fur.
Tell me, beasts, have you learned to speak our language?”
The male stepped forward, “Great mistress, we have learned the language as well as we can with our meager ability to learn.”
“I do not desire the reassurances of a drone! I wish to speak with the matriarch I have purchased for you!
“Well? Speak your mind female! You have him cowed too much to attempt to breed you, so you speak for your pair!” said the great serpent with a rough growl to her voice.
“Mistress! The male is of a lower caste, but I am not one who dominates others. If you require my children, I will try to make some. May I ask the fate of such children?”
“You are a feline species, correct? You must know that such creatures are good hunters. I am also aware that your people have defeated my kind in the past with cunning. I wish to have that cunning at my disposal for my occasional conflicts with others of my kind.”
All present could scent the fear coming from the female. “So, we would become your warriors in a covert war with other members of the Drakonkynd? Are there rewards for successful service?” she replied. Her mind reeled with possibilities. It still terrified her that she and her children would be used as weapons by these massive, carnivores.
“The greater the service to me, the greater the reward. Do you wish to have finer food than the offal we feed you now? Would you like a modicum of freedom? Our society has many luxuries that might be granted to you if you and your children serve me well.”
“That is a most generous offer and it motivates me greatly.” Turning to the male she spoke in a voice filled with assertiveness she did not feel, “I will be in heat in two days’ time. You will breed me at least once a day while I am fertile.”
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The memory blurred and cleared from Alontheus’s vision. Looking around, he reoriented himself in the large room. He was, once again, in the center of the large circular mattress surrounded by ornately carved stone walls that circled around the bed. The large orifice of the entrance to the room was closed with stone doors that were carved in patterns of plants and wildlife and shot through with veins of dramatically colored stone.
“Why have we stopped the playback?”
“Pardon sir, it is advisable to nourish yourself. I determined that you should eat. We can resume soon. The next part is longer.”
“What people was I seeing enslaved?” he inquired.
“Do you not recognize your own ancestors?”
“They look nothing like my people!”
“They have changed a great deal over the millennia, but they are what your people once were. My ancestors changed your people to suit their likes. Redesigning your people was a cruel act, but it would not be the last.
“Let us go to the dining area and nourish ourselves.”
“Lead on and I will follow you.”
They walked together to a large room with many rows of tables and chairs, occupied by hundreds of the younger, humanoid, adolescent Drakonkynd people.
Sylvarsant led the way to a massive Dias and took her place at the seating platform while Alonthius sat at a place at one of the tables and observed the meal that had been laid out for him.