Igniparous: bringing forth fire. Aella Sarpina.
There would always bestories of the woman who fell from the stars. A girl, then, a childnot yet walking, who reached up to the priestess Visilina with eagergrasping hands. They called her the daughter of the storm, for theair still sung with electricity the morning when she was found. Shecalled herself by a softer name, the Daughter of Stars, and named inturn would one day name her own daughters for the dawn star that hadwatched over her. She braided her hair with beads of amber, andcoated her breastplate in gold and bronze, harnessing the light ofthe sun to shine like a star herself, a blazing, bellicose star.
Ruba’s people taughther to fear the Daughter of the Storm, though they spoke of her inthe hushed whispers of respect. The day she came to their city, shecame not with the dawn, but wearing the fires of sunset, clothed inburning red and gold, her sparkling braids flaring behind her like aflag. That night, the darkness did not fall, the fires around thecity lighting the night with smokey orange. It took two days fortheir lord to surrender and pledge his armies to her.
He pledged Ruba, too.Only a child, but she would make a fine soldier one day. Not for herlord, now, but for her new lady.
The planet below themburned now, the fires distant from the prow of the ship where theystood. Ruba and her lady brought the fire together, that day.
Aella Sarpina stood bythe wide viewing window out into space, as elegant and stern as themarble statues they might carve of her. There was still amber in herhair, weighing it down along with beads of gold and lapis lazuli, athousand precious gems.
“Ruba.” When shespoke, her voice was soft, quiet enough that another woman, a mortalwoman, might have strained to listen. Not the voice of a battlecommander, but a voice meant for intimacy. “Come here. Come to myside. I need your counsel.”“Yes, lady?” Ruba took herplace by her, looking up at her radiant, sculpted face.
“Did we do right,today?” She gestured down at the burning planet. “Was thisright?”
“It was, lady. It waswhat the Emperor, beloved by all, ordered us to do, was it not?”
Aella smiled at her,something other than happiness in her eyes, something dark andsoulful. “And my father knows best, I am sure. It is a noble thing,is it not, to kill another to save your own? These xenos would haveshortly attacked their neighbouring humans. You always reassure me,do you know that?”But Ruba said nothing, merely looked ather and thought of fire.