Rednuht Borough was in a cheerful mood the moment the vanguard crossed its gates.
The streets were filled with thunderous cheers that rolled like waves through the city, echoing off towers and buildings that rose high enough to scrape the clouds. Banners of Navaraza's kingdoms snapped in the wind, feathers, fangs and scales emblazoned in proud colors, while countless Therianthropes pressed forward just to catch a glimpse of the returning army.
At the heart of it all was Farrynelle Skyrover. She rode atop a chariot that moved on its own, pulled by no beasts as lightning runes beneath it kept it gliding smoothly over the stone. It was both ceremonial and practical.
Rednuht Borough was the only Borough in all of Navaraza but calling it only was almost an insult. It was the largest Borough in the world. It is a megacity of more than two hundred and forty million Therianthropes, stacked vertically and horizontally in districts that stretched from the outer walls deep into the surrounding mountains. Entire ecosystems existed within it. Massive walls encircled it all, reinforced by ancient barriers woven together by Skyrover and Fedres hands over countless generations. Krepsunas had thrown themselves at Rednuht more times than anyone could count and not once had they breached it. If there was a place in Navaraza that could be called safe, this was it.
Farrynelle remained fully armored, sealed from head to toe. The Skyrover pheromones were no myth. She wasn't about to walk through tens of thousands of cheering Therianthropes and accidentally turn the celebration into a hormonal disaster. The armor dampened her scent completely and even then, she kept her posture controlled,
As the chariot rolled through the central avenues, the cheers intensified.
"Vortex Thunderbird!"
"Skyrover!"
"Supreme Commander!"
Farrynelle inclined her head slightly. It was enough. The people didn't need theatrics. They needed to see that she was alive. She had returned and the impromptu war, at least for now, had been won.
She looked around as they passed,
Children were perched on shoulders, mimicking lightning with their fingers. Veterans were saluting with fists to their chests. Merchants were already shouting about discounts in honor of victory. And beneath it all, they were worried. Sooner or later, these smiles will turn into fear.
The Second Generation Deities would arrive in a few years. When they did, Krepsunas would feel like the least of their problems. And for the first time in a long while, Farrynelle wasn't certain she could protect everyone.
Her gaze drifted upward toward the sky, then to the distant horizon where the mountain ranges loomed. Beyond those mountains lay the Skyrover Chateau.
Carved directly into the stone, it was both home and fortress. It was where Skyrover children were raised, trained and sometimes broken. It was where decisions were made that shaped the fate of an entire continent.
As the chariot rolled onward, another thought crept into her mind.
Rise Borough has technology so advanced it bordered on absurd. Rednuht, by contrast, was… traditional and medieval in structure but slightly advanced in engineering, powered by strength, discipline and legacy rather than circuits and screens. It always worked but for the first time, Farrynelle wondered if that would be enough.
She shook her head once inside her helmet.
It was not the time to think of that.
The chariot reached the heart of the central plaza. The cheering reached a crescendo. The chariot slowed down then came to a stop.
Farrynelle rose to her feet. For a brief moment, she stood there, letting the sound wash over her. Then she lifted one hand.
Lightning answered. It surged around her in a spiral of blinding blue-white energy. In the next second, her form dissolved into pure electricity. A single bolt of lightning shot skyward, streaking across the sky like a divine spear, racing over Rednuht Borough and slamming into the distant mountain range.
The people gasped, then cheered even louder.
High above, within the carved stone halls of the Skyrover Chateau, lightning flared as Farrynelle reformed at its gates, her armor still humming with residual power. The celebration continued far below.
Farrynelle walked through the inner halls of the Skyrover Chateau. Her armored footsteps echoed softly against stone that had been carved and reforged by lightning for generations.
Servants, attendants and lesser nobles immediately knelt the moment they sensed her presence. Some bowed deeply and others pressed their fists to their chests in Skyrover fashion. No one dared meet her gaze for long. The Supreme Commander carried an oppressive presence that made even seasoned warriors instinctively lower their eyes.
She didn't acknowledge them. Skyrovers weren't raised to trade pleasantries. The deeper she walked, the warmer the air became. Her senses picked up on sweat and pheromones barely restrained by enchanted walls. She already knew where she was headed.
The Monarch's chambers.
The guards outside hesitated for half a breath, then stepped aside without announcement. No one stopped Farrynelle Skyrover. The doors slid open.
Inside, the room was vast, lit by soft lightning veins running through the walls. The bed at the center was large enough to be a battlefield platform, draped in silk and fur. And on it was Kazrion Skyrover, Dynasty Monarch.
Five—no, six women reclined around him. Some were embracing him across his shoulder and others half-resting against his sides. Farrynelle stopped just inside the threshold and sighed. Then she clapped her hands once. The sound cracked through the room like a thunderclap.
The women stiffened, turning in unison. Kazrion lifted his head. His eyes immediately locked onto his sister. For a brief moment, surprise flickered across his face, quickly smoothed into something closer to amusement.
Farrynelle removed her helmet. The moment the seal broke, Skyrover pheromones flooded the chamber. The effect was instant. The women inhaled sharply. Their pupils kept dilating. Their bodies reacted before their minds could catch up. They were caught between two overwhelming presences that resonated with the same blood.
Kazrion laughed softly.
"Good. You're alive."
Farrynelle didn't smile.
"Don't pretend that you care. If I weren't, you'd replace me by sunset."
The women glanced between them in desire.
Kazrion shrugged one shoulder.
"That's Skyrover law. Sentiment breeds weakness."
Farrynelle met his gaze without flinching. She knew he meant it.
Skyrovers were not raised to love their siblings. They were raised to surpass them or bury them. Kazrion had proven that truth when he seized the throne from his sisters through sheer overwhelming strength. He is a man born stronger than women in a society where women ruled by nature and law. He had earned his crown the only way Navaraza respected; blood and dominance.
"And yet," Farrynelle said calmly, "you didn't replace me."
Kazrion's eyes narrowed just slightly.
"No, because no one else can do what you do."
That, at least, was honest. One of the women shifted restlessly, clearly struggling against the pheromonal pull now thick in the room. Farrynelle noticed immediately.
"Leave," she ordered.
The women hesitated before Kazrion waved his hand.
"Out."
They didn't argue. One by one, they gathered themselves and slipped past Farrynelle. The doors closed behind them. Kazrion leaned back against the headboard, studying his half sister openly now.
"You've been fighting again. I can smell Krepsuna blood on your armor."
Farrynelle crossed her arms.
"And you've been indulging in your desires again. I can smell complacency."
A corner of his mouth twitched.
"Careful. You forget who won the throne."
"I don't. I just remember why. After all, I was in the First Epoch Cycle when you were fighting for it."