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The Slayer Queen Part One
Sam Perlo-Freeman
A short story based on the world of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer, created by Joss Whedon. Some place names are fictitious, as of
course are all the characters depicted.
Rating: 15
Scholars have recently been astounded and intrigued by
the discovery, in the archives of an isolated monastery on a small Greek
island, of an ancient volume entitled "The Chronicles of the Vampire
Slayers", apparently written by one Morosthenes of Melos. Experts
believe the document dates from around 250 BCE. The document is highly
incomplete, with many pages missing, torn, burnt or illegible. However a
number of the "histories" recorded appear to be more or less
complete, including the following tale of the "Slayer Queen".
The process of restoring, deciphering and translating the document is a
slow one, but enclosed below is the first portion of the story. Further
portions will be supplied as the restorers and translators continue their painstaking work...
INTRODUCTION
[missing text] Of other Slayers of these most ancient times, little is
known. Indeed there are lengthy periods when no Slayer is recorded as
being active in the known world; though of course, our knowledge of the
extent of the world today is much greater than that of the Watchers
Council of Egypt in those days, and indeed there is surely far more still
to be discovered by those that come after us. Of those Slayers that are
known, little of note is recorded, though I have no doubt that throughout
these darkly veiled times the world never wanted for a protector to
maintain the eternal battle against the forces of evil, and ultimately to
give her life.
Of one Slayer, however, a great deal can be known, and her story I shall
now relate. It is a story almost certainly unique in the long, unbroken
history of the Vampire Slayers: the story of the Rise and Fall of
Artemesia, the Slayer Queen.
I cannot say for sure how long ago Artemesia lived and reigned, for as I
say the history of the time is remote and veiled. I know that she lived
towards the end of the Middle Kingdom in Egypt, many centuries before the
Trojan Wars, perhaps around the time of Minos of Crete, or thereabouts. It
was an age of mighty warriors and heroes, but also of great lawlessness
and chaos, when the forces of darkness were barely controlled. The place
where the events I shall describe took place I can specify more exactly:
Artemesia's empire began in Pontus, in the town of Amrethus, on the
southern shores of the Black Sea, not far to the east of the mouth of the
Halys.
Some carpers may ask how it is I know so much of such far-off and
mist-shrouded times, even so far as to doubt whether such a person as the
Slayer Queen ever existed. To repudiate these malingers, and to leave the reader in no uncertainty, I shall describe the means by which
I have pieced together the history of Artemesia. First and most important
are the extraordinary Journals of her Watcher, Otanes. Also important are
the Journals of the succeeding Slayer's Watcher. Secondly, there are
records of the Watchers Council of Egypt, although I realise that in
revealing the contents of their debates I incur the Council's undying
enmity: so be it, long in any case have I been estranged from Alexandria.
Thirdly, is what I have seen and heard in my travels in the countries
where she ruled; the tales of Artemesia of both priests and common folk
that have been passed down through generations, almost, but not quite,
lost to human memory; then there are inscriptions and artefacts that confirm
details of her story gleaned from other sources, including friezes
depicting her battles, court records with lists of conquests and tributes,
and so forth. As to her existence, the reader can confirm for himself; I
have seen with my own eyes one of the gifts she sent to the great Oracle
at Delphi, a magnificent, gem-encrusted gold casket, engraved with her
unmistakeable symbol: an Ankh, overlaid with a long, pointed shape in form
of a stake, surmounted by a crown. The symbol of the Slayer Queen, as may be seen to this day, if you
ask the priestesses nicely.
So now let us begin our narrative, without adding any more to what has
been said above; there would be no sense in expanding the preface to the
history and curtailing the history itself.
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Chapter 1 - The Calling
Artemesia the Vampire Slayer was Called when she was 15 years old, in the
village of Escarian about 15 miles to the south west of Amrethus, in the
foothills of the Pontic mountains. Of her childhood I know almost nothing,
but it seems to have been a perfectly normal one for her place and time.
An active child she was, playing a full part in the rigours of rural life
from an early age. While there was little hint of the extraordinary power
she was to assume, I am led to believe that she was, compared to her
peers, strong, fit and agile, with a taste for adventure. She was tall, of
an upright and proud bearing, lithe but firmly built. Her face was
owl-like, sharp and alert, with deep, searching, hazel eyes. Often of a
harsh demeanour she was, but nonetheless fair to behold, and, I am told,
most beautiful on the occasions when her broad, wry smile crossed her
normally hard-set features. Her skin was olive, and her long, thick, black
hair she kept tied behind her in a tight braid.
She had not been identified as a Potential beforehand, but the Seers of
the Council swiftly found her after her Empowerment, and dispatched Otanes
to take her from her family and commence her training. Otanes was 35 years
of age at the time, a Persian of medium height and fairly slim build, with
a sly, cunning face and a short, pointed, well-cultivated beard. He
clearly considered himself to be possessed of uncommon good looks, though
it is difficult for an independent observer to judge. He was certainly
greatly learned, with a vast knowledge of the arcane and the demonic, and a sharp, tightly
focused strategic mind.
Artemesia's early training went well. She was a quick learner, able
swiftly to grasp and make use of her new-found power. She excelled in
unarmed combat, her speed and skill marking her above most of her calling, and displayed great prowess also with every sort of weapon. Her
forceful spirit drew admiration for her Watcher, while she in turn came
greatly to respect his intelligence and skill as a trainer. It was,
therefore, not long, a month after her calling, before she faced her first
creature of the night, Hastyges by name, who had once been a blacksmith in
a nearby village, and from whom now all in that village had fled, those
whose blooded corpses did not already litter the dusty paths and pastures
of the village. Being unable to find his underground hideout by day, she
happened upon him patrolling at night, as he prowled around the outskirts
of the village in search of fresh blood. On a grassy, uneven, sloping
pasture they met, near a shepherd's isolated dwelling. Otanes watched and
took note from behind a large tree.
The advantage was hers from the beginning, as Hastyges had never heard of
a Vampire Slayer, and thought this young girl would make easy prey. He
thought to catch Artemesia unawares, slinking behind her with vampyric stealth, his face showing its demon aspect, ready to
pounce and feed. But her preternatural awareness was more than equal to
the task, and just the moment before he made his move she spun round,
landing a powerful roundhouse kick from her thick, leather boots into his
midriff. Hastyges roared out in surprise and fury more than in pain, but
before he could regain his balance, she buffeted him with a flurry of
punches and kicks, sending him sprawling backward onto the ground. She
drew a stake from the pouch inside her cloak, but in her inexperience was
too quick to try to drive home the killer blow, and he grabbed her staking
hand and threw her over, the stake clattering from her grasp. She hit the
ground with a roll to get out his way, rolling down the steep slope after
the stake. He came after her, but she stuck out her leg in front of him
and sent him sprawling. She righted herself with a back-flip, then allowed
him to come to her before jabbing her knee into his groin, then grabbing
hold of him, and allowing his momentum to carry them both down the hill in
the direction of where the stake had come to rest, against a small rock.
She landed further blows to his face as they rolled together, making sure
she ended on top as they came to a halt by the stake. Before he could
recover himself, she had grabbed the stake and plunged it into his chest.
He gave an eldritch shriek of horror as he exploded into dust. Artemesia
lay pressed against the ground panting for a few moments, then sprang to her
feet and ran towards Otanes' lookout post, a look of exhilaration and
triumph on her face.
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Otanes clapped his hands as he came out from behind the tree.
"Well done, my dear. That was truly magnificent!"
Artemesia smiled broadly and sauntered proudly towards her Watcher.
"For a first time, at any rate, " he added. "You must
beware though of reaching for the stake, of going for the kill too soon.
That almost led you into trouble, though your skill and quick-thinking
were more than equal. You must be sure of your opening, sure that you have
battered away your foe's defences, that he is in no position to block you.
A few good blows right at the start of the fight will rarely be enough to
do that for a vampire of any strength. Nonetheless, you have done very
well. It is few Slayers who bring their first battle to such a swift and
successful conclusion, and taking so little hurt in return. You must guard
against over-confidence, however."
He advanced towards her.
" Your next opponent may not be so co-operative with your moves, and
it only takes one moment of weakness, one moment of hesitation, of
inattention - "
He suddenly reached forward and grabbed her by the shoulders, as she was
still basking in the thrill of her victory, and pushed her head back
exposing her throat. She gasped in shock -
"And hundreds of miles away, some other girl will feel life and power
coursing through her veins, as yours seeps away and stains the
ground!"
She stepped away, looking somewhat deflated, but still stood proudly and
looked him in the eye.
"That moment will not come for long and many's the season, " she
said, "for with your teaching I shall master each weakness and hone
each skill. Your Council may tell the next girl not to wait with too much
expectation or trepidation. Let her marry, settle and raise her family in
peace, for my lifeblood will not grace the throat of any vampire for a
long, long time to come!"
Otanes laughed. "That's the spirit, my dear! Come, let us return
home. You have earned a hearty meal, to be followed by my finest pastries,
laden with honey and pistachio, and maybe even some good wine. Watered
mind you, strong though your Slayer constitution may be, it is not proof
against the effects of strong drink."
And so Artemesia's training continued, and she grew in strength. skill,
confidence and alertness, and slayed numerous vampires that hunted in the
area. After six months since her Calling, Otanes decided it was time for
her to move into the wider world, to face darker and more numerous
dangers. He took her therefore to the town of Amrethus, a town of no
little size at that time, bustling with activity, with many dark and
unsavoury quarters where vampires and other manner of evil lurked at
night. But little did either Otanes or Artemesia suspect what grave an evil would arise in that town, still
less how momentous the consequences.
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