Chapter 2
Queen of Dead Marsh
As usual, it turned out to be another peaceful day in Dead Marsh. Villagers tromped through the ankle high water that hid the soft, mushy bottom of the marsh, carrying out their daily duties and tasks. The yarkles' songs, combined with the croaks of nearby balloon frogs, made for a soul soothing melody.
The builders in the village labored away putting the finishing touches on a stone lined trench commissioned for construction to divert the waters away from a new tract of land that would soon be home to at least twenty five new huts. Their kingdom thrived. The population tripled in size over the last year, thanks to a new fertility potion that the alchemists created.
Since the Great War, the Raptilian race suffered to reproduce. In the days before the Great War, it was common for a mother to have ten or more hatchlings, at least five different times over the course of her life. Now, a Raptilian mother proved to be lucky if one of her eggs yielded young. The most daunting part of their infertility was the reason. No one, not even their most skilled alchemists, could generate a logical answer as to why their females became mostly barren. Many suspected the short distance between Dead Marsh and the Dead Lands were to blame.
The new fertility potion brought hope back to the Raptilians. Mothers did not hesitate to engage in the joyous task of repopulating their race, and they did so at unbelievable speeds.
Jeszekia Venumroot, the Raptilian Queen, emerged from her hut. She stretched her arms high above her head and took a deep breath, filling her nostrils with the aromas of her swampy kingdom. Her narrow lips tightened, forming a thin smile as she watched her people. Their smiles and laughter made her cold blood run warm. This was the happiest Jeszekia's kind had been in a long time. It appeared that, after years of sorrow and buckets of tears, her kingdom would soon return to greatness once more.
Through the eyes of a Raptilian, Jeszekia's beauty surpassed that of any other female in all of Calencia. She was tall and slender, yet well-toned, with scales a mix of soft pink and deep purple. Her large, violet colored eyes captivated all the male Raptilians, who instantly became lost in them. Her long, pink scaly-like hair, resembling dreads, hung low on her back. Jeszekia's voice was kind, yet stern. She wore a one piece leather body suit that wrapped around the back of her neck, covered her breasts and belly, then came back around to cover her hips and groin, leaving an opening in the back for her thick, barbed tail. She had no use for shoes. The impenetrable, calloused soles of her feet served as better protection than any shoe could ever afford. It was a rare occasion to see Queen Venumroot without her royal staff, which also served as her primary weapon, a trident. A blow gun hung across her back and two cromite daggers dangled from sheathes on her hips.
Cromite was a rare ore, long expended. Years ago, and to this day, it made for the finest blades in all of Calencia, and Jeszekia owned the last two of these invaluable blades.
Jeszekia left her hut and strolled through her kingdom, stopping often to lend aid to the villagers and play with the children.
One day, I will haz children of my own, Jeszekia thought, patting a hatchling on its head before it scurried off to catch up with its siblings.
From the corner of her eye, Jeszekia saw her maid servant, Kayliz, approaching her.
At once, Jeszekia knew something troubled Kayliz by the way she licked her lips over and over again.
"My Queen, I haz troubling newz zat you muzt hear at onze," Kayliz whispered in her ear.
"Meet me back at ze hut," Jeszekia said.
As she made her way back to her living quarters she could not help but to wonder what made Kayliz so uneasy. It iz probably nozing. Juzt zomezing zmall and blown out of proporzion. Kayliz can be over dramatic at timez.
Jeszekia's hut looked more like ten huts, rather than a single structure, dwarfing any other dwelling in Dead Marsh. Her quarters sat atop large stilts that kept it several feet off of the water. Her hut was constructed from bamboo with umbrella leaves covering the roof. A wide porch encircled the structure, with large, hungry, yellow frogs lining the banisters of the porch.
Dead Marsh was a smorgasbord for the amphibians that resided there. Thick swarms of gnats and bat sized mosquitoes swarmed to the torches that stayed lit near the huts. If not for the hungry swamp life, which the Raptilians coveted, Dead Marsh would be uninhabitable for even them.
Once inside, Jeszekia sat on her wooden throne, her long muscular tail slapped against the floor.
"Now, what izzit zat you need to tell me?" Jeszekia asked.
"We'z, umm, rezeived word from a carrier znoot zat ze Morgorath. . . it haz fallen."
Urganox! Jeszekia clutched at her stomach with both hands, as if in tremendous pain. "What doez you mean, fallen?"
"I iz not zure. Ze mezzage zaid zat ze entire kingdom haz been deztroyed."
Jeszekia stood and regained her queen-like composure.
"Zis iz mozt unfortunate. Zend whatever aid we'z can afford," Jeszekia said. Pleaze let him be zafe.
"Zere iz no need. None of ze Brazurkinz livez," Kayliz said.
A tear leapt from Jeszekia's eye. She just spoke with Urganox Skullsplitter, King of Morgorath, days ago. Jeszekia had a hidden fondness for King Skullsplitter. The Raptilian Queen even entertained the notion of a possible romance between the two. She often wondered if a Brazurkin and Raptilian could produce young, since she needed a child to carry on her family’s bloodline, and none of the males in her village tickled her fancy. As much as she fantasized on the thought, she kept it to herself. Such an act was unheard of in Calencia. Her heart quivered in pain to think that he may be dead.
Jeszekia sat back down on her throne.
"Any word regarding ze king?" Jeszekia asked, squeezing the back of her neck. Her stomach rolled and the tips of her fingers grew frigid. Zay he livez, zay he livez!
"None," she hesitated and said, "Zat iz not all, my Queen."
"Yez?" Jeszekia asked, sitting upright and scooting out to the edge of her seat.
"Ze Human zity haz been attacked az well. Zo haz ze Engeniumz. Word hazzit zat ze Human King and Engeniumz Zestian haz left from Lazticall and are heading zis way," Kayliz replied.
"For zuch a zmall bird, zeez znootz deliverz big newz. Zomething iz amizz. We'z muzt preparez for ze worzt. I fearz zat zomething big iz about to happen. Alert ze army. Zend zcoutz into ze marzh. We'z muzt be ready to defend our landz," Jeszekia said.
She stood from her throne, fell to her knees, and sent up a prayer to Suporah.