Sunday, February 8, 2015
Monday, August 4, 2014
20131101: The Arrival
Outpost 109423: Lunar Landing
Hunter pressed the record button on the holonote. "I have arrived." He paused, as he thought about his first moments on Outpost 109423, commonly called Lunar Landing, or just Lunar by the locals. As soon as he had stepped out of the Portal, he had been greeted by the Overseer of Lunar, Emit Relevart.
Overseer Emit had given him his Post assignment, and the coordinates to a basic housing unit. Hunter counted himself among one of the lucky ones, not only was he granted housing, but they had granted him a wife as well, and the child lottery ticket he held in his hand, let him know that he and his wife would be allowed to have two children.
In Judurian society, not everyone was as fortunate as he. The social caste you were born into determined your fate, some were thought to be no better than common laborers and sent to work the Crystal Mines. Crystal powered everything around them, on all worlds controlled by the Judurian Empire, Crystal meant life. Unfortunately, in its raw form, it released high amounts of radiation, which shortened the life of the miners. They were allowed to breed as much as they wanted, so the Mines would always have workers, for the Crystal was essential.
Lunar was only one of many Crystal Mining Outposts, it was not the worst, but it was not the best either. Hunter sighed. He should have been taking his place as a Warlord's son, among the elite in Oasis Landing, with Keira as his wife. Oasis was his home, but due to his brother Hal's cowardly and treasonous acts, their father fell from the Emperor's Grace. Which meant that Hunter would no longer live in the Utopian City of his birth, but was instead sentenced to live out his days in Lunar. His brother, the traitor, had been executed. All those thoughts had run through Hunter's mind while he stared down at the holopad in his hands, his future written in stark digital letters.
He knew the fortunes had smiled on him, that he should be happy, that things could have been so much worse. His father, mother, and all his other siblings had been sent to work the Mines of Kailphev, in itself, a slow death sentence. Hunter had barely escaped a similar fate, the only thing that had saved him, was his Exemplary Aptitude test scores; he had the highest score ever recorded. It was determined that he would serve the Emperor on this wasteland of a planet in a capacity other than menial mine worker, for that, he was grateful. His genes, were even valuable enough for him to be granted permission to procreate, so his family name would not die, for that he thanked the Light Bringer.
He knew he was blessed, and yet he couldn't help yearn for what should have been his life, his future. His father, Julius Knight, Warlord over all the Emperor's armies, beloved friend of the Emperor, that was a lineage worthy of the Emperor's daughter, Keira. The time of the Bonding Day had been chosen, he had been days away from making Keira his bride, just days away from becoming a part of the Emperor's household and Eternal Immunity. Then his brother...Hunter cut the thought off. It was counter productive, and would serve no great purpose, but would instead mire him in the Past.
He sighed sadly. Keira. They had been the lucky ones, not only had they been able to meet before their Bonding Day, but they had fallen in love as well. Love was rare commodity in Pairings. Pairings were meant for alliances, collaborations, even procreation to assure the bloodlines continued on, but love? Love was a rare and precious thing indeed. Keira was lost to him now, he was but a lowly worm to her exaltedness, and he would never see her again.
With those depressing thoughts in his head, he had trudged up the stairs to the Unit he had been given, trying to find within himself a smile to give to his wife, a woman he had never met.
They had been married by Proxy, her marriage to him was an advantageous match for her, indeed marrying him allowed her to rise in her social caste, a thing not impossible, but improbable. For when Jurduria conquered Aloria, her homeworld, the Emperor had declared Aloria the new Playground of the Elite. All Alorians became sex slaves to those in power, or money, or both, and that was their purpose in the Empire. He did not know if his new wife was untouched or not, but he supposed it hardly mattered. The Council had decided they suited, and so they were Paired.
He did not even know if he could ever take the Banns with her or not, right now Keira was in his heart, and in his mind, and he would not be able to say the words. Some Pairings only stayed as Mates, to share the workload, and the raising of the children if their lottery ticket allowed them to do so. Some decided to go one step further, and marry, say the Banns and even take rings that would show all the strong Bond that you held for your mate. He had looked forward to the Bann Ceremony with Keira, he had even imagined how it would be. He would read his Banns out loud, in a clear voice, husky with emotion, and her voice would tremble ever so sweetly, but the Bann Ceremony would never happen. He had been ripped away from his previous life, and he would never be able to return. If he and his descendants worked hard enough, within ten generations or so they might be able to redeem their family bloodline. It was a small chance, but he knew he had to take it. His father was counting on him.
She had been reading when he first walked in, that was his first impression of her, a quiet, bookish woman. The chrystalline like marks on her forehead, one of the main features of an Alorian, were quite striking on her.
She had not noticed him at first, so it had given him a few moments to study her, and ready himself. This was now his mate, and he needed to remember that. Keira was no longer his, the woman in front of him was. She was his to protect, and provide for, to walk hand in hand as they lived out their lives toiling in the hot desert sun. They would hopefully have children together. Just because he had a lottery ticket giving him permission to have children, did not necessarily mean that his wife would be able to conceive.
When she did notice him, she had immediately put the book aside. "Husband." she had stated calmly. Her voice and her appearance had not been unpleasant to him, but she did not possess Kiera's melodious voice, or her soft rainbow skin. He had noticed however, that his wife had rather large breasts, and he could not lie to himself, he had found her breasts and the rest of her body quite pleasing indeed, and he could even imagine sinking himself into her softness, even as he hated himself for the thought.
He had tried to ease his conscience by telling himself it was only because she was Alorian, he had been raised to think of them as sex slaves, useful for slaking one's lust on, but little else. In fact, he may have even traveled to Aloria with the intent to find a mistress just like her after his Bonding with Keira. Jurdurian wives were for coddling and having children with, not for passionate sex. It was expected, and even encouraged, that males journey to the Playground, and find themselves a Mistress for such physical lusts. He idly wondered which way he should treat this wife of his. Like the Alorian she was, or like a Jurdurian male, like he was, would treat his wife. Mistresses were for the rich and powerful, he was now neither of those, so he could forget about any trips to the Playground.
His wife had leaned forward, drawing his attention back to her beautiful breasts.
"My name is Moonsari."
Moonsari, a beautiful exotic name that suited her. He had responded in kind, telling her his name, in traditional Jurdurian fashion. "I am Hunter, son of Julius Knight, servant of the Emperor." He had bowed formally before her, and placed a light kiss upon her left ring finger. The formality was soothing to him, he may have ended up in this quagmire pit of slaves and filth, but at heart, he was still Jurdurian, and that would never leave him.
It also brought his eyes level with the objects of his fascination, and while his heart may always be Jurdurian and belong to Keira, his body was ready to move on. His wife blushed, and looked away, as if she was aware of his thoughts. He had straightened up, and watched as her blush deepened. Somehow he had the thought that he had ended up with an Alorian virgin, she did not act like one with experience.
He sighed again as he glanced over at his wife, who was lying on her side, sleeping away. Which brought him to this point, where he reclined in bed with a stranger, an Alorian, a virgin, and his wife, and in the end he found he could not push her, but had instead told her he decided they would get better acquainted before he took his mating rights. The unabashed relief in her eyes let him know he had made the right decision, but he could not get the thought of her breasts out of his mind.
He spoke again quietly to the holonote. "Keira, my Love, I have arrived safely to Lunar. Things are not so bad for me here, so please put your mind at rest. I have a small unit to live in, perhaps I will even save up my talins and buy a bigger unit. Haha, yes, the word save is such an odd little word for me to say, but it is my reality now. They..." he hesitated, "the Council have graciously given me a wife, and when I picked my child lottery ticket, it had the number two on it, so I will be able to have children. I regret more than I can say, that you will not be their mother. Take care my Love, and know that I live in dread for the day when I hear that your father has found you a new Mate. Forever yours, Hunter."
He hit the send button, and then laid down beside his wife, facing the opposite way, and closed his eyes. Tomorrow was a new day.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Notes: Hey welcome to my Sci-Fi random legacy, thanks for reading! I love Sci-Fi, and I've had all these neat clothes/objects, especially once I bought Into the Future, most of it I really haven't been able to use in my Kahekili legacy, because it would look weird. XD
Hunter Knight is my founder, and since he rolled couple, Moonsari will be his other half. Hopefully he can move past Keira, and appreciate Moonsari for who she is, either way they are stuck together. Once the Council pairs you with someone, that is it, divorce is not an option in this society.
Lunar Landing is an outpost in the Jurdurian Empire, it's almost like a penal colony, where most of its residents are forced to work the Crystal Mines. I think of a line in Dune when I think of the Crystal---He who controls the Spice controls the World! In this case it is the Crystal, their whole universe runs on it.
I have instituted a child lottery, which will be whatever that generation rolled for number of children. In the case of Hunter, it is 2. I thought it was a rather clever idea, lol :P
Talins is the name of this world's currency.
The date I actually wrote this is in the chapter title, lol 2013---Nov 1st.
Anyway--yes this intro was short, especially by my wordy standards, haha. This was just the prologue. If you have any questions, feel free to ask, and I'll do my best to answer. This is still a WIP, so I don't have everything nailed down yet, but I'm working on it! =)
Thanks for reading! =D
Sunday, June 16, 2013
Knight Chronicles Introduction
Welcome to my sci-fi version of the Random Legacy Challenge!
Some notes: Hunter's world/Universe is loosely based on the India caste system. While it is possible to move up in status/Caste, it is very rare. Most will die without ever leaving the Caste they were born into.
Crystal is very important in this Universe, and all of their societies are dependent on it, it is their chief energy source for one. It is the most precious thing in this Universe, and as such, is well guarded, only certain Castes have unlimited access to it, and the mining of it is super important.
I am using the EA world Lunar Lakes as the penal colony that Hunter lives on, I have named it Lunar Landing in the story. Penal colonies put slaves/prisoners to work mining Crystal, which is a very hazardous job, and carries a high death rate.
Crystal grows on planets that are barely habitable. Lunar is a harsh place to live, it has two seasons, hot and cold. In the Summer, lethal sand storms can blow up at any time, and in the Winter, instead of sand storms, it is snow storms.
While Law and Order does exist, they are more concerned with keeping the Crystal production flowing, which can include putting down slave riots, fending off space pirates, and killing anyone that dares to steal even the smallest Crystal, among other things.
All marriages are arranged, either by the Emperor, or by a Council specifically chosen by the Emperor. A Child Lottery was instituted for population control. Each male, upon bonding, gets a child lottery ticket, the number shown, is the amount of children he is allowed to have. Failure to comply results in instant death for him and his family, extended family included.
All punishments are applied to all members of the family, including extended, this is to help ensure compliance from individuals.
List of Terms
Aloria: Nicknamed the "Playground" it is where Alorians live, a race of sex slaves.
Alorians: a race of people well known for their sexual allure and prowess, because of this, the Emperor has declared them to be used as sex slaves and or/mistresses/mandrakes for the rich and powerful. They are rarely ever allowed to marry, and only then with special permission from the Emperor himself. They are above the slave and penal Castes, as most of them live with some measure of comfort.
Banns: a separate ceremony for couples who fall in love, usually a private affair between just the two.
Bonding Day: the day that paired couples are made known to the Public, usually there is a ceremony involved.
Battlejur: Second highest caste made up of Jurdurian males who are the elite leaders of the armies.
Battleons: Third highest caste made up of all races/species who are the warriors that make up the armies.
Council: group of people (mostly male) handpicked by the Emperor to make important decisions, most notably about the breeding program, known as Pairings to the people.
Crystal: the most important element of the Universe, in it's raw form it is very radioactive. The energy harnessed from the Crystal powers everything, it also has medical properties, small pieces of it could be ground into a drink and used as a very strong painkiller. On the black market, it is sold as a hallucinatory drug. (those are just 2 of it's uses)
Crystal Mining Outposts: mining colonies that produce Crystal.
Emperor: Of the Royal Caste, Ruler of the Universe, rule is passed down from father to son.
Emperor's Grace: having the Emperor's favor
Eternal Immunity: granted to members of the Emperor's family, they cannot be charged for any crimes.
Exemplary Aptitude Test: a test used only on Jurdurian males to determine their intelligence rating. Those who score high are usually elevated into the Battlejur caste to train as leaders of the armies. They are led by the Warlord, the male second in command to the Emperor. This caste is the second highest level, only becoming part of the Emperor's family itself can anyone advance higher.
Juduria: planet where the Jurdians live, also where the Emperor makes his home.
Judurians: a highly intelligent, technologically advanced war like species that conquered the known Universe. They control the Crystal.
Lunar Landing: Home of one of the largest and most profitable Crystal mining operations, it also houses a large penal colony that are used as slaves for working in the mines.
Magistrate: title of one who is charge of the Law and justice, similar to a judge. The highest authority in a colony.
Mates: Pairings that have undergone the Bonding Day ceremony, but not the Banns.
Mines of Kailphev: one of the most dangerous mines to work in, the worst of offenders are sent to work (and die) here.
Oasis Landing: Also known as Utopian City, it is the Imperial city of Juduria, home of the Emperor and his family.
Overseer: title of one who is charge of new arrivals at a colony, second highest authority in a colony
Pairings: Rarely based on love, these are couples determined to be suitable partners in life by either the Emperor, or by the Council. The families are privately told of the pairings, and it is up to them to plan the Bonding Day ceremony to announce the pairing to the Public.
Proxy: a Bonding Day legal document that is sometimes allowed instead of a typical ceremony when circumstances (usually financial) arise that make it impossible or difficult for the Pairing to hold a public ceremony. Must be approved by the Emperor or his Council.
Talins: unit of currency (money)
Unit: home/house
Utopian City: Also known as Oasis Landing, it is the Imperial city of Juduria, home of the Emperor and his family
Warlord: Privileged title of the man second in command to the Emperor, he is the leader of the the Battlejur commanders and their Battleon armies. He is in charge of keeping the Emperor safe, the colonies/planets in line and compliant, keeping the Crystal safe, and advancing/capturing new worlds for the Jurdurian Empire.
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