Chapter 1: Dibano Kingdom’s Queen, Lyshisha

A gust of morning wind caressed the silhouette of a naked woman sleeping inside a lush garden, the verdant and supple grass her skin's sole mattress.

The sun's morning rays warmed the side of her face, glorifying her flawless dark flesh.

The wind kicked up a little, nuzzling itself within the tangles of her long and curly white hair tipped with seven tear-shaped diamonds. Gilded tube earrings swayed and glistened, gliding by the mercurial mood of ether.

A nearby tulip, suborned by such weather, bended its brittle stem, leaving its light-red flower touching the young woman's nose, which rumpled upon its touch.

Her long, sky-blue painted fingers grasped the wayward plant, inhaling its fragrance with a pleased sigh. "Orphanidea. I'm pretty sure that's you…" she said, with a slight of a deeper lilt within her voice.

She opened her brown eyes who lit up at her answer. "I was right!" she giggled as she sat up.

Her eyes peered over the cloud-tipped mountains over the skyline as she took a breath.

Today was admission day. How could she afford to miss it?

Her fingers roamed about the flowers in Duala's imperial garden, their tickling touch bringing a pearly smile upon her face.

A shade of longing flickered within her eyes.

After all, this garden was the natural bedroom of her youth.

Even Dibano's royal gardens, despite their resplendent beauty—and a personal touch from her—couldn't compare to the scent of nostalgia.

The dry but warm feeling the soil gave her small and bare feet, feeling the late summer breeze as she ran after her siblings with a wide smile and missing teeth, to the strolls she took with her father as she assisted him in seeding new species.

But sadly, she had to go for an extended period of time and it was with some reluctance that she stood up, her muscular but lithe frame chiseled by work and sweat turning back towards the imperial palace.

Majestic shell buildings tipped with gilded pyramids towered the nearby horizon as the bare woman ambled towards a double silver gate fronted by two guards, their full white armor pristine like the morning clouds.

"Good morning, My Queen. A hot bath is brewing at this moment and will be ready at your arrival. Breakfast will be ready in forty minutes. Would those arrangements suit My Queen?" the male guard inquired, as he gazed up to her, undeterred by her nudity.

The queen smiled, peering down to her servant. "Yes, it does. Make sure that an Mdouè ship will be ready as soon as I finish eating, OK?"

"Understood, My Queen."

"Have a safe trip, My Queen," the other guard, a female one, said.

She then snapped her fingers and the double gates parted, revealing a marbled hall where expansive paintings and pictures of past monarchs hung on its ivory walls.

The queen stretched her arms and yawned with an open mouth, thanking her subordinates as she stepped inside the hall…

*

As her footsteps receded, the guards shook their heads with a sigh, stirring their meridians once more as they gathered the ambient mana inside their sun cores.

This statuesque queen of theirs, even after she reached this position, still continued her casual and sometimes uncouth behavior before them.

Maybe this was why the help here, including them, still loves her despite her tragic handicap…

*

After the queen bathed and ate, she reached a tightly protected room. Wearing a luxurious white kàba with sky blue lions flanked by golden roses embroidered on it, hugging her perfect curves, her pink-shaded sandals carried her with elegance.

A cyan choker with the white head of a lion covered her neck, while an emerald bracelet coiled around her left wrist, a black bangle inlaid with a red ruby cuffed her right one.

With a slight nod, the guards allowed her inside.

Fragrant with alcohol, the simple ivory room had a bed where a thin young woman laid under a thin sheet, her flesh shriveled by her recent ordeal. Each of her arms had a needle tipped by a nut-sized dark green balloon on her wrist, the crook, and near the shoulder. A silver helmet shimmering with abstruse letter matters shaded most of her face, leaving only a pair of once beautiful, but dry and chapped lips.

The queen's traits hardened at the sight of her beloved sibling.

Despite everyone telling her otherwise, she couldn't help but feel guilty at her sister's misfortune.

After all, these fucking assassins came for her, not her baby sister!

Her quivering finger touched her left temple, her alluring full lips creasing under her wrath.

Even after her brain matter slew them, she wished she could resurrect them to do it again, in a thousand different ways!

Her mind rife with dark thoughts, the letter runes dimmed, while her sister convulsed.

The queen's right hand immediately hovered above her sibling's head, as a translucent wave of brain matter recharged the letters to the brim, restoring the glow they had six days ago.

She sighed, as her sister stilled again, leaving a weak and shallow breath in her wake.

She'd forgotten that her jerry-built solution only lasted for six days before someone had to power it once again.

She kissed her sister's lips. "I promise I will a way to heal you, Anyi, so hang tight, your sis will pull you out of this shit…" she whispered with a silent determination in her eyes, then left the room with a slow but heavy step.

Her sister will heal, come hell or high water, she will!

As she stepped out of the room, she glanced at a guard before she asked, "When will the tier twelve master show up?"

"He should arrive within three days, My Queen," the female guard answered.

"Hrmmph. Three days? How busy could a mere twelve be? Damn! This fool better power the letters well, because if I hear that Yiyi's in trouble, I'll weed the brain out of his head, ya hear?"

"We heard, My Queen!" the guards answered.

"Good. Do not fail in keeping Yiyi safe! Is my ship ready?"

"It is, My Queen," another guard answered.

"Then lead me to it. Let's go!" she ordered.

As she boarded her triangular shaped ship, she hoped that the Jiu Tian (Nine Heavens) Sect would be the answer to her prayers…