Duality

"Momma beat momma?" Merla had pushed away with her weakened arms, and asked in an incredulous voice. Lyra smiled.

"Don't make light of my fondest memory, baby." Lyra said, and pushed her back onto her breast. "I'll tell you the story. It may make you angry at both of us though." Lyra sighed and sat down.

"I'm thirty cycles now, and Taen is twenty. She looks so mature due to all the training she does." Lyra smiled as she talked about her mate.

"When she was five(decades), she showed interest, but I was too old, and her parents wouldn't allow it. I wouldn't allow it either. I was fifteen, Mother Queen would have beaten the sap out of me if I dared. So would Lady Lixiss, my direct line sister." Lyra said quietly. She saw the look in her eyes.

"Well, sister in law. That's why she was so upset with me. I made her sad with how sad I was, and angry with how I let myself be chased by a child tusker." Lyra giggled. "Your momma was so cute when I said no! She puffed up her face like a tree squirrel's cheeks filled with nuts!"

"Anyway, she didn't give up. Cycle after cycle, training harder than anyone. She rose up through the ranks of the guards, from Ninn, right to Thrull when she turned ten. That was when she cornered me, and made me blurt out that if she beat me, I would submit." Lyra grinned.

"She beat the sap right out of me. I was bruised for weeks! No amount of manna healing would fix it as she infused manna into her attacks. At the end of the fight, when I was punched in the stomach, she crawled onto my back, wrapped her legs around my waist, and her arms about my chest. She bit me on the neck, and infused manna into the bite." Lyra groaned as she remembered that bite.

"The manna flooded my body, incited my lusts, and forced me to submit. Her parents watched with not only pride, but also disgust. They said I was too weak to be Taen's mate as she had beaten me so easily." Lyra squirmed. "Her parents punished me in her stead that night, and helped me to work off the manna lust their daughter left me in."

"What next?" Merla asked, now more eager to listen.

"The next day, while I was so sore and unable to fight back, Taen slapped a collar on my neck. Until she turned fifteen, she would treat me like a pet." Lyra blushed brightly in shame. "Her parents had to punish me a few more times until she came of age." Merla giggled.

"That's not nice, baby. But Taen did give me half her pay every month to provide for me like I was her mate. I kept the vow I made when she made me submit. The same vow Meena made, baby." Lyra looked at her seriously. "This will be hard on her. She'll have to wait thirteen cycles before we let you two bond." Merla sighed, and slowly nodded.

She put her small mouth on Lyra's breast again and firmly drained her. It wasn't just Meena who had to wait.

Merla had a soul with two sides, one orcish, and one human. One hundred and thirty years was a long time to an orc, but an eternity to a human.

* * *

"Lix, what does it say?" Vanya asked as her Consort read the report. She could feel the tension in her beloved wife.

"That attack might have been a trap. Our scouts found the tracks of humans near a few stone boar nests, and they led right up to our barrier." Lixiss said through grit teeth.

"Send a scout to the vampire nest, and let them know they will be allowed to leave the forest with their thralls." Vanya said quietly. "Also send a message to the demi tribes. They are no longer required to remain in the inner regions, and can migrate into human lands. Remind them that if they leave, they can not return." Lixiss pursed her lips.

"We've pulled back our garrisons, and have sent messages to the other towns that line the forest's border. The humans are going to get what they want. I'll also add a directive that if they destroy the two closest towns, we won't interfere." Lixiss said, and waved to one of her concubines.

"Bring the writing instruments. You. Kneel and please me." Vanya grinned at her wife. "I'm upset and need to work off the anger. I want my Master Mate to love me later. I don't want anger to invade my affection." Vanya chuckled.

"Let her lay on her back and properly serve you. If you like her tongue, you may give her a leather collar." Vanya said softly. The concubine blushed.

"You heard the Mother Queen, Sanra." Lixiss said. "Lay down." Sanra's cheeks turned a bright red, but obeyed. She would be allowed to serve the Consort, and given special attention if she wore a collar.

"Fyzeekaal Maap. Hm. Not bad. Her belly is ready, momma. You can give me a daughter." Lixiss said, which made the concubine feel shy, but also honored. She would bear her Consort's child, the Mother Queen's child.

"Contact your sister, Lix. She should be the one to fertilize the egg. To make sure it is of your lineage. All orcs are mine, but we should make sure that you are the one who guides the lineage." Vanya said softly. She had loved Lixiss's white hair, her dark eyes and darker than usual skin for a long time. She only wished she could fertilize the egg herself, but that was a limitation of the Mother Queen.

No Mother Queen could fertilize the eggs, but her genetic structure would be the base for every orc child. The female who became pregnant would assimilate the egg, and infuse her own manna into it. This would change that base just enough so that she became the mother. The tusker would fertilize the egg, and finish the infusion of manna with a genetic lock.

Over the first half of a cycle, the three sources of genetic material would compete, combine, and create a unique individual, but within the confines of their species. The eggs would always produce pure orcs, while the mothers would influence the genders to be either a fanger, or a tusker. There was a thirty percent chance of being a tusker, while a seventy percent chance of being a fanger. The population was always biased towards fangers, but their population would never veer from a three out of ten tusker ratio.

The orcs were unsure of how their goddesses managed to incorporate such rules into the system, but it was always balanced. If many tuskers were killed in a battle, the families would produce tuskers until the ratio was balanced again.

Tuskers seldom had only one mate. Taen was practically the only exception to that as she only had eyes for Lyra.