She was his innocent flower, untouched and unspoiled, whose nectar would soon bear sampling.She was his innocent flower, untouched and unspoiled, whose nectar would soon bear sampling. She was the only one whose affections he trusted as genuine. She was thoroughly trained now, and he had toyed with her on occasion, but had never taken her completely. She was also the only one who had never felt the explosive slap of his hand or the burning kiss of his whip, the only one who had experienced nothing but his gentle side. Footsteps from the stairs broke his sentimental yearnings, and he watched the first of the commanders arrive. Duke William James IX of Guhrya commanded the elite First Legion, as well as governing much of the Empire's eastern half. He was one of the few men left from King Leonyir's reign, and had been with the Dark Lord from the very beginning. He was a judicious, moralistic and traditional man, and as fine a politician as a soldier. He had no ambition to do anything more than serve his emperor, as his family had generations before, even beyond the memory of the Time of Darkness. The Dark Lord's ancestors had ruled the area of Guhrya beyond memory or history, and there had always been a James at their side. The duke would speak for nearly half of the Empire in the council, and his counsel, would be especially important. Duke Zuberbier followed him, a flamboyant lethargic man, the misbegotten product of noble inbreeding and hereditary succession. Since his father was a duke, and he came from a noble family of great affluence, he assumed the military rank and status upon his father's death, regardless of his personal worth or competence. It was one of the few traditions the Dark Lord had not opposed, since to do so would have cost him the support of much of the nobility. |