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  Women of Power

  by C. R. Daems

  Women of Power

  Copyright © 2012 by C. R. Daems

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the permission in writing from C. R. Daems.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Version 1 of the Women of Power was published in October 2012

  Version 2 of the Women of Power was revised with a new cover in July 2014

  ISBN-13: 978-0-9911060-3-5

  ISBN-10: 0991106032

  Check out all my novels at:

  Talonnovels.com

  Map of RHYBAC

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Map of RHYBAC

  CHAPTER ONE

  The Qi'temple: A Qi'advisor contract with young Nisha

  CHAPTER TWO

  Xihu castle: Understanding the Qi, a testing of Nisha

  CHAPTER THREE

  Inari castle: A contentious meeting of the Dukes

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Xihu castle: Determining the Ferox scouting party

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Trip to Inwood castle: Meet with Hala team to scout the Sands

  CHAPTER SIX

  The Sands: Scouting the Sands

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  The Sands: Warriors of the Sands, stealing of the Royal Scepter

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The Sands: Scouting party discovers the warriors' trap

  CHAPTER NINE

  The Sands: Warriors of the Sands spring trap

  CHAPTER TEN

  The Sands: Scouting party captured

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The Sands: Warriors invade Rhybac

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Rhybac near Inwood: Ferox and Hala negotiate a potential treaty

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Rhybac: Notifying the Dukes of the terms of the potential treaty

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Sobek: The making of a king

  Novels by C.R. Daems & J.R. Tomlin

  CHAPTER ONE

  The Qi'temple: A Qi'advisor contract with young Nisha

  I sat meditating in the Qi'temple's Stone Garden, a carefully constructed collection of gray boulders and stones and, weaving around them, a white gravel path raked to look like currents of a river. My instructors would have said I sought inner peace and control over my thoughts. But I had achieved that state long ago and moved beyond, emptying my mind of right and wrong, moral and immoral, good and bad. My thinking and internal energy, Qi, were freed from their chains.

  I embraced nonresistance. My Qi reached into the garden, and I sought the immense power trapped in the stones. Given time, I could draw that frozen energy into me.

  Behind the Stone Garden, a path wended its way from the Qi'temple through lush strolling gardens with small ponds and down to a stone bridge that spanned the Lake of Tranquility to the road out of the valley to the plains below.

  Although deep in meditation, I was aware of a mole hiding in the rocks, a hawk floating on the currents above, a wind gently dislodging autumn leaves in the trees that sheltered the garden, and a faint sound of voices approaching.

  A deep voice said, "The death of a king is always disruptive to the kingdom, but never more than now. Already tribes from the Sands are raiding the kingdom. They even managed to lay hands on the Royal Scepter. Without it, we cannot determine a successor. If we are unable to retrieve it soon, the absence of a king will create chaos."

  The soft-spoken voice of qi'Rajini broke a brief silence. "How many deaths have there been, Your Grace?"

  "Several hundred." The man cleared his throat before continuing. "When I petitioned for a Qi'advisor several years ago, you didn't have one available. At the time, I didn't feel an urgent need and failed to pursue my petition. But now, with the current turmoil, I must have one. Someone I can trust to give me clear and honest advice...advice I can rely on."

  "I'm sorry to hear of the many deaths, and I understand your need. But I have no suitable candidate. I've two students who could have filled your previous need, but they wouldn't serve your current one. They've neither the experience nor the temperament you will require."

  "Aren't all Qi'advisors equal? They're all trained at the Qi'temple."

  "Are all your barons equal? Would you trust any one of them to assume your responsibilities?" After a short silence, she continued. "Although our students are given the same instruction, each assimilates the training differently based on their unique personalities. Out of a hundred students who enter, we are fortunate to find one, maybe two who are able to embrace the Way. Half leave because they do not have the temperament or the ability to grasp the instruction. Most of the others leave because they cannot find their Qi. A few develop some Qi and leave well educated. They are sought by the wealthy and nobility as teachers but will never be Qi'advisors. The two I spoke of will make good Qi'advisors over time but aren't ready to work in such turmoil. I've one student who would be suitable, but she's not ready—yet."

  "How long?"

  "A year or two. She's very young."

  "How old? I need her now, not next year."

  "Eighteen. She's not ready, Your Grace."

  "What about the instructors here at the school? Surely one of you is available for service."

  "The instructors teach rather than advise for their own reasons. Some have spent years as Qi'advisors but no longer desire that life and prefer to teach instead. Some have never been Qi'advisors. Perhaps they are too Qi and unable to leave the serenity of the valley. Whatever their reasons, they would not suit your need."

  "They must! The kingdom provides the Qi'temple with special privileges and a garrison of soldiers for the valley to protect you. You have a debt to repay, and now is when we need repayment."

  "Would you like an ill-suited or disinterested Qi'advisor? I have several available."

  "Of course not! But I..." Their voices faded as they continued down the path. I smiled, thinking back to the first time I had heard those words: "not ready" and "too young."

  * * *

  "Are you ready for bed, Nisha?" Qi'Deniz's warm brown eyes looked down on me. I had just finished washing and changing into a sleeping shift. She watched over me and the other children most days, teaching us to wash our clothes, make beds, eat at the table, and clean up and organizing our games and other activities. She was a small woman with a soft, round face, olive skin, and long gray hair that hung a hand's width past her shoulders. A gentle woman who never shouted or threatened but always knew what to say to make us behave, I loved her.

  "Yes, qi'Deniz. Tomorrow, I would like to go to school," I said. I'd been thinking about it for many days.

  "You're too young, Nisha. It will be a couple of years before you're ready."

  "How old? I'm almost five."

  "When you're six, and you are not almost five. You were four only two moons ago."

  "Please, qi'Deniz. I promise I'm ready. I feel like I'm six. Doesn't that count? Maybe someone made a mistake, and I'm really six."

  "No one made a mistake." A small smile curved her full lips. "Why do you want to go to school? In school, you'll be in class most of the day and have less time to play with the other children."

  "I want to learn to read. You read us stories sometimes, but if I could read, I could read new stories every day." Tears stung my eyes at the thought qi'Deniz may say no. But when she didn't, my face lit up, and I bounced up and dow
n on the bed.

  "I'll allow you to attend class with the six-year-olds for two weeks. They are learning how to write words. If qi'Satish approves of your work during that time, you may stay in her class. If not, you will wait until you're six. Do you agree?"

  "Yes, qi'Deniz, I'm ready. You'll see."

  * * *

  After breakfast, six-year old Stela led me to one of several buildings that stood at the bottom of a steep path that led to the Qi'temple. Each building was made of red-stained wood with peaked roofs of gray tiles. This one had a long porch, which looked out onto a rock garden. There two large stones sat on separate beds of moss surrounded by a sea of gray gravel, raked in patterns of waves and rippling water.

  Girls of all ages clambered onto the porch and into one of the six sliding doors. I entered the first door behind Stela and watched as she went and sat behind a wood box filled with sand. Five other children used long, thin sticks to make lines in the sand. When qi'Satish looked up, she pointed to an empty mat next to a sandbox.

  "Nisha, that is your place. Do not touch anything until I get there." Her voice was soft yet clear. Unlike qi'Deniz, she was tall with an angular face. Her eyes remained on me until I nodded and sat. I watched, fascinated, as she wandered around the room, stopping at each sandbox. Sometimes she simply nodded and walked off. Other times she stopped to talk and draw lines in the sand. When she reached me, she knelt and used her fingers to sprinkle water from a dish onto the sand and then patted it down with a small piece of wood, which lay next to the dish. Picking up a stick, she made four quick lines in the sand.

  "That is the symbol for a cat," she said, looking at me.

  "It doesn't look like a cat, qi'Satish."

  Ignoring me, she quickly drew a new set of lines next to the first one. When she finished, it sort of looked like a cat.

  "In the long-ago past, people drew a figure like this to symbolize the word for cat. But it took too long to draw, so they took out these three lines. She drew the new figure next to the other. "It still took too long to draw, so they removed these two lines to make the symbol we use today."

  Staring at the sort-of-cat figure, I closed my eyes and imagined removing the lines to make the next figure, and then the next, until I had qi'Satish's original set of lines. Then I added lines until I had the sort-of-cat again. I smiled at the thought of the cat hiding in the symbol. When I opened my eyes, qi'Satish had left and was talking to another student. Then she walked to the front of the room and held up a thin piece of paper with a different set of lines drawn in black.

  "This is the symbol for a horse," she said, while tracing it with her finger like she was drawing it. "I want each of you to practice drawing it in your sandbox."

  I watched the girl next to me wet the sand and pat it smooth before beginning to draw. I sat a long time looking at the symbol, mentally adding lines until I had a funny-looking horse. Then I removed the lines until it looked like qi'Satish's symbol. I giggled—a horse hiding in a symbol. Then I began drawing it, but the sand kept filling up the grooves. Qi'Satish knelt down and sprinkled some water over the sand, wiped it clean, patted it down, and then stepped back. This time the lines stayed, except where I pressed too hard.

  Each day, I stayed after qi'Satish said class was over, practicing the symbols she had shown us that day. They were easy to remember because I could see each thing—cat, horse, house, tree—hiding in its symbol. Drawing them was harder. If I drew slowly, the lines were shaky and uneven. Too fast and the lines were too long or short or the wrong angle.

  At the end of each week, qi'Satish reviewed the material she had taught us during that period. She would give us a word and then expect us to draw the symbol in our sandboxes. Walking around, she inspected each sandbox and corrected the symbols she didn't like. I could recognize and draw each symbol we had studied, but I wasn't happy with them, even though qi'Satish said they were adequate.

  At the end of the second week, qi'Deniz entered and stood over me and watched as qi'Satish conducted her standard five-day review. Afterward, qi'Satish joined her.

  "Qi'Satish, would you say Nisha is prepared to join your class?"

  "Yes, qi'Deniz. She hasn't been disruptive, as I would have expected from a four-year-old. She has an excellent memory, and her writing is adequate. With your permission, she may stay."

  "She may continue so long as you feel she can master the material."

  * * *

  Although qi'Satish said my writing was adequate, I wasn't satisfied. My writing stick was too heavy for me, and it dug into the sand too deeply, making the lines irregular. So after class, I searched for something to replace it. In the end, I found a dried twig from a bush. During the next class, qi'Satish stood looking down at me as I sat drawing the symbol she had just shown us.

  "I see you don't like our writing tools, Nisha."

  "It was too heavy, qi'Satish."

  "Your symbols with your new stick are very good, and you may continue to use it. But after you're satisfied with each symbol, I want you to use our stick. With practice, you can make it feel as light as your twig." She walked away, saying nothing more.

  That night, I sat staring at the old stick, wondering how I could make it lighter. I couldn't. But she had said "feel" lighter. I continued to use my twig until I was satisfied with the symbols I had learned that day, and then switched to qi'Satish's stick. I imagined my hand supported by water and then air. Neither worked. In water, I felt resistance. In air, the stick floated above the sand, leaving no mark. Late one night my hand grew so heavy from a long day's use, I couldn't draw anymore.

  Determined to finish, I imagined my hand as light as a feather. It glided over the sand, leaving smooth, clean lines better than my twig. I had discovered something important, except I wasn't sure what.

  * * *

  Smiling at the memories, I unfolded my legs, rose, and walked to my sleeping quarters. Life at the Qi'temple was simple, so it took me only a few minutes to pack my change of clothes, a warm jacket, hat and boots for the winter months, a bar of soap, and my comb. With my traveling bag packed, I took the path back toward the Lake of Tranquility. Halfway, I met qi'Rajini and the man she'd called "your grace." They stopped talking when they saw me.

  I stopped and gave a small bow. "Qi'Rajini, I'm ready to go."

  She studied me a few minutes before turning to the man. "Duke Sandar, may I present Nisha," qi'Rajini said, her gaze cast off into the distance. I thought she might be remembering that four-year-old Nisha.

  "Nisha," Sandar said with a short nod. "I assume this is the young woman you spoke of. She seems to disagree with your assessment."

  "Yes, Your Grace. Nisha is reminding me we can place too much faith in tradition. A student at Nisha's stage of training would normally spend two to three years with a mentor touring the kingdom. The Walk-around is part of our traditional Qi'training. For the student, it's practical experience. For her Qi'teacher, it's helpful in placing her. Apparently, Nisha feels it isn't necessary and is offering to be your Qi'advisor."

  "Why would I want you, Nisha?" Sandar turned his hawklike hazel eyes on me like I was his next meal. His clean-shaven, angular face with its beaklike nose enhanced the image of a bird of prey. His muscular build, broad shoulders, and height—a head taller than me—added to the hawk and the mouse image.

  I stood silent as my mind shifted through what I had heard and seen. "Because your need is great, and there's no other choice. Although I'm young and many will doubt your wisdom in choosing me, you're not one to be intimidated. You will judge me as you judge everyone—by their actions."

  "How do I know you're Qi?" he said to me but looked toward qi'Rajini.

  "I say I'm Qi. Therefore, it's for me to prove, not qi'Rajini." I held up my hand, palm facing his chest. He stood just out of arm's reach from me. "If you can touch my hand, I'll concede that I'm not Qi." As I talked, I could feel Qi filling me and anchoring me like the roots of an old oak tree. I extended my Qi until it gently touched his ch
est. At this distance, I could have pushed and crushed his chest. Instead, I created an invisible shield, which I held steady between us.

  His smile became a painful grimace, and his muscles hardened as he struggled to move forward. With his progress stopped and his hand only inches from mine, he lunged at me. The impact sent him staggering backward. He stood there staring at me, his breath coming in gasps and sweat beading on his forehead.

  "Is that supposed to prove you're competent?"

  "No, Your Grace. It proves nothing. It was but a demonstration to help you make a decision. You don't have time for anything else." I stood waiting.

  His eyes narrowed and then he gave a hearty laugh. "She's right. I'll accept her, conditionally. That demonstration was impressive, but I suppose all Qi can do that. I need clear and honest advice, not...tricks."

  Qi'Rajini held up her hand to silence him. "No, Your Grace. We've witnessed a rare demonstration of Qi few could match. Except for her superb control, you would be dead." She looked pale. "We need to discuss the contract."

  "Pardon, qi'Rajini. Duke Sandar would prefer to leave immediately. He isn't concerned with the cost. He'll pay what you consider appropriate. As for a contract, he doesn't know what will be required of me, so any contract would be meaningless. I'll do what I can to serve Duke Sandar. If I cannot, I'll return to the Qi'temple."

  "Nisha...qi'Nisha is right. Draw up a contract and send it to Xihu." He turned on his heel and motioned me to join him. We strode down the path toward the Lake of Tranquility and the plains below.

  "Well, qi'Nisha, qi'Rajini says you could have killed me. A very dangerous demonstration," he said, frowning.

  "Your Grace, I wouldn't have done anything that would place you or anyone in danger to show off. I could have moved a large rock many paces, which would have impressed most people, but not you. You required a contest of wills." I paused until he nodded. "You may call me Nisha, if you wish. Although qi'Nisha may be more appropriate in public. It would be best if no one mistakes me for your concubine."