Chapter 1
Tanin
“The only true beauty is power.”
Tanin blinked, turning his eyes from the massive, marble statue set high overhead in the center of a fountain in pride of place of this magnificent garden. He looked instead over to the master of the palace that sat in the middle of said garden. Though he’d never seen the male himself before, he recognized the king of this pod from pics he’d looked up on the subnet. While Tanin had never been to the planet Holivair until now, this male was famous even offworld. This particular pod was a very wealthy and powerful one; therefore, so was its king.
The king in question, Gissrn Rudimint of Pod Qarall, had a lot of influence and businesses spread over multiple planets. His pod produced some of the most beautiful and rare dyes and gemstones in the universe, and he reaped the benefits. He adorned his shiny black skin with bright jewels and precious furs. The fabrics were woven with beautiful, complex, geometric patterns. He wore a snow-white cape that trailed dramatically behind him over one shoulder while two servants in plain gray followed after, their heads lowered. The cape itself was worth a great deal of credz. Almost nothing on Holivair was white naturally. The planet was black from its people to its plants to its soil. That cape had to have been imported from far away and keeping it that white would be an undertaking all on its own.
The shinook were a species that had all black, leathery skin with an undertone of color that wasn’t particularly obvious unless someone looked closely. Gissern’s was green, matching well with his five, bright white eyes. He stalked forward with the confidence of a male that knew well his place and the authority he wielded.
Tanin was rather short compared to him, but that wasn’t unusual. His own species, the s’skree, were among the shorter species in the universe. They made up for their stature in other ways though. The sharp quills on his head, the claws on his knuckles, the sharp spine at the end of his long, whip-like tail. He might be shorter compared to most, but that didn’t make him disadvantaged. His skin, usually a drab gray in coloration, seemed positively blinding next to the shiny black skin of the king. Though, with how the royal male shined, Tanin somehow appeared even more plain than usual.
Tanin watched him approach, hands in his pockets, his own garb boring, outright sad, in comparison to King Gissrn’s splendor.
“What do you think?” King Gissrn motioned with a hand covered in multiple shiny gold and sparkling silver rings. His many bracelets clinked loudly as he gestured to the statue. “Isn’t it beautiful? The artist spent ten years on it. This was the culmination of his entire life’s work and, after he finished, he died. There will never be another like it again.”
“It’s nice,” Tanin agreed neutrally. It wasn’t a lie either. The statue, depicting a stunningly beautiful female of domini origin, showed the female mid-dance. The hard, dark blue stone somehow managed to look like fabric, twirling softly in the wind. Her expression was one of peace and tranquility, aloof and untouched. It was so expertly carved, Tanin could appreciate every muscle in her perfectly depicted form.
However, Gissrn made a face. “Nice? That is all you can say about it? This statue isgorgeous. Beautiful. There is none it’s equal. Look there! Do you see the pin on her dress? Diamond. Harvested from the debris of a collapsed star. And there! Her eyes. Pure platinum. She is more than ‘nice’. She is the peak of art itself.”
“I agree,” Tanin said simply.
His apathy earned another annoyed glare, but Gissrn quickly fixed his grin back in place. “My father taught me that, you know. Beauty is power. Do you know why?”
“I would never presume to understand the mind of a king.”
This time, Tanin’s sass went unnoticed, and the king continued, “It’s because only the powerful can own beautiful things.”
“My mom had a beautiful flower on her balcony in our slum apartment.”
The king scoffed. “A flower? Cheap. That’s not beautiful. That’s something nice to look at that poor people convince themselves is beautiful because they can’t own true beauty. Your mother couldn’t have putthisin herslum apartment.”
“That’s true,” Tanin agreed, still unmoved, but the king had found his stride and was speaking again.
“You see, it is in the nature ofallpeople to desire beautiful things. We want them, even if we won’t admit it. That is where the value comes from. Crops in the field, water to quench your thirst, homes to protect you from the elements – necessities like that get their value for what they can provide. But beauty? These things get their valuepurelyfrom the desire of others. They have value because wewantthem to have value. And since it is in the nature of all things to crave beauty, it is in their nature tosnatchthat beauty wherever they might get the chance.”
Tanin made an uninterested sound of agreement. “I believe that’s called stealing.”
Gissrn chuckled. “Indeed. But that is why beauty is power. You see, the only people who cankeepbeautiful things are those with the power toprotectbeautiful things. This statue, you see, is protected by automatic plasma fire. Anyunwantedguests would very quickly find themselves targeted and neutralized if they got too close. You see,Ihave the power to protect these beautiful things, thereforeIam the one whodeservesthese beautiful things.”
Tanin made another sound, not quite of agreement this time. “That’s certainly an interesting lesson, your majesty. But I don’t think you summoned me here to admire a statue.”
“No, indeed,” the king agreed with a sly grin, turning with a dramatic sweep of his cape. “Walk with me, Tanin. We have business to discuss.”
Finally, he thought to himself, falling in line behind him as they began strolling through the perfectly manicured garden. There were only a few different flowers here, and while Tanin didn’t recognize them, he knew that none were native to Holivair. The bright colors of these plants told him that they were all imported, and he didn’t imagine this king had gone for any common flowers like his mother had.
“You are in the business of beauty as well,” Gissrn started as they strolled down the jewel lined path – even the loose stones under their feet were marble. It all spoke of not only wealth, but excess to the point of worthlessness. Ifeverythingwas beautiful, then nothing was.
“Not much glamor in a humble delivery service,” Tanin replied evenly.
The king chuckled. “Ahumbledelivery service? Your services alone are a type of beauty in and of themselves. I heard about that delivery you managed through mined territory in order to return some pond water or something to a needy queen.”
Tanin said nothing. Just kept pace with the king. It was a gross oversimplification to call the lifesaving elixir ‘pond water’ that his team brought to a hexdess hive queen to cure her of the parasites that had taken over her abdomen, but he wasn’t going to refute him.
That just made King Gissrn grin wider. “And that’s the other part of your services I desire. Discretion. Most would have at least corrected me. Many would have bragged outright. You say nothing. Your skills don’t appear to be exaggerated.”
“Your majesty.” Tanin stopped in the path, turning to face him. “We can dance around this all we want, but I came here because you said you had something valuable for my team to transport. Either give it to me now or schedule your pickup elsewhere. Stop wasting our time.”
