1
A MONTH AGO
Khalzin adjusted his overcoat sleeves and stepped up to the door. His red-bronze skin clashed with the gray and black of the formal suit he wore. Marked with the signs of his family line and clan, Khalzin was one of the latest generations of his family. His parents could no longer bear children, so Khalzin was their last hope for furthering the family line. He was their only heir because their people were dying.
Baring children was getting harder and harder for the Kantenans. Their future started looking bleak, and the Coalition listened to options to push through this obstacle.
Khalzin had done a great deal of study of the genomes and the problems while in his studies and had a firm grasp of what would be necessary to make their people robust again. He prepared a proposal for consideration, and he needed the approval to start the process.
It had to work. He had to convince them that he was right.
The Coalition, however, was very difficult to persuade if they did not fully support a new idea.
His coat pulled tight against his chest as he touched the fasteners. Each metal clip strained against its connector.
He was growing. He could feel it.
His armor, the bone-like ridges that poked out of his spine, stretched and expanded from his spine, pulling the coat he wore tight.
The armor only did that for two reasons.
He was aroused.
Or he was in danger.
And he was not aroused.
He waited for the doors to be opened by the attending guards. He could not see the guards on this side. They stayed in the chambers to make sure that no one entered. Rumor had it they also remained inside if the Coalition had an issue with a subject and needed to be broken apart.
Khalzin had never witnessed that, but he would not be surprised. He'd seen how his parents fought. A room full of the most powerful families on Kantenan was bound to have arguments and fights. Especially as passionate as some of the families were.
The large and heavy ceremonial doors began to open. The carvings and detailed scrollwork glittered from the minerals the stone doors were carved from. Citricite glistened in accent points that drew the eye since it was the most crucial mining export Kantenan had.
His gaze drifted over the ancient artwork, depicting strong, heavily armored Kantenans, ready for battle and to face a future of danger. Their armor jutted out, large and proud as they defended their homes.
A familiar image in the Kantenan society--the more significant the armor, the more power a Kantenan must have mastered. A sign of status and importance to their people.
The members of the Coalition were the most important members of the Kantenans. They were the ones who made all decisions and shaped the laws of their people. If the leaders changed their minds about what would happen today, he was screwed.
Ruined, in the eyes of his people.
He was here to save them.
Not to destroy them.
He stood straight and stepped over the threshold of the chamber. Carved from the mountainside years ago, it was one of the most secure places on the planet; the natural stone protected them from nearly any kind of attack. The stone, gray and streaked with black and gold threads, was polished and smoothed to create a geometrically beautiful shape in the middle of the natural formation.
The stone floor, installed hundreds of years ago by their ancestors, was worn down smooth over time. He could feel where he should step, as though the base had been carved to direct his steps toward the Coalition.
At the half-moon-shaped table sat the twelve members of the Coalition. Varying shades of red and brown skin tone, the twelve sitting members represented all the variations of the Kantenan people, with the central-most chair the Speaker of the Coalition. Two seats from the center sat his mother with the same dark red skin coloring that he had.
His father stood to the right of the table, watching him walk in with that passive, emotionless face that he'd mastered over his lifetime. His father was more of a brown-red complexion, different enough that some had questioned if he was Khalzin's father since Khalzin favored his mother so much.
His father was not on the Coalition and had never been offered a position. A spot of contention between his parents, for his father felt he was more than qualified to be a member and should be allowed to make decisions on behalf of the people.
His mother’s family held the position of Priest of Light for longer than any other sitting family. In the role of Priestess of Light, she carried a great deal of weight with Kantenan Doctrine and belief systems.
She would be Khalzin’s biggest obstacle publicly, and privately, his strongest supporter.
