Asher and Arias

The country of Selbania was surrounded by a tall and treachorous mountain range on the north and west sides, and it was bordered by the ocean on the south and east sides. There were many large cities in Selbania, and it was a thriving civilization. However, the populace was threatened when the beasts of Raynor migrated over the mountains to the north and ran rampant thru the entire country of Selbania.

The beasts of Raynor, called Raynora by the people of Selbania, were the largest and deadliest predators on the entire continent. They appeared like wolf-men, but their skin was mostly bare. They had thick meins on their backs, running down their spine from the base of their neck to their tail. There were also tufts of hair on the backs of their arms and on their thighs. Their arms were long, with sharp claws, and their arms could be used for swift running. Their mouths were lined with sharp teeth, and their jaws were powerful enough to crush a human skull.

Altho the Raynora were very cunning creatures, they were not intelligent like humans in matters of philosophy and science. They travelled in clans, and their heirarchy was based on strength. The male Raynora were taller and bulkier than the females, but the females were more vicious in battle. Because of this, the males were often the clan leaders, while the females were the hunters.

When the Raynora clans swept thru the peaceful country of Selbania, most of the people killed and eaten by them were women and girls. It was uncertain why the Raynora preferred the taste of female flesh; even if a Raynora would kill a man, they would often leave his body without eating his flesh. The dramatic dip in the female population in Selbania was devastating, and many Selbanians believed that their civilization would go extinct. The culture of Selbania needed to evolve if it was to survive.

Any woman who wanted to live any length of a life learned how to fight. The Selbanian army, which consisted entirely of men, took in any woman who desired to be trained in the art of combat. The female fighters-to-be would live in army camps and forts, protected by the male soldiers while they learned to defend themselves. The necessity for female Selbanians to fight created a generation of strong warrior maidens, with all the docile, domesticated women being devoured by the Raynora.

Cities were fortified against the Raynora, and female residents who reached physical maturity, at the ages of 14 to 16, were often expelled from their city to fend for themselves. Any large female population drew the Raynora hunters at the peril of all the male residents, so the female Selbanians were forced to adapt to not only a fighting life, but to a life of wandering. Selbanian women would wander from city to city, staying for as long as the male authorities would tolerate them.

In order to discourage domestication of the sparce female population, and to encourage warrior-nomadism among women, it became forbidden in the entire country of Selbania for any woman to stay with her children. Child bearing became a transient act for women: a woman would go into a city, find a suitable man to impregnate her, have a child, and leave the child with the man once it was weened from breast-feeding.

This lifestyle created a domesticated class of men whose role in life was that of a father. Daughters were especially valued, honored, and protected. In everyday life in Selbania, women were greatly privelaged over men, except in terms of government and positions of authority. Girls were always given the most generous portion at dinner, they often received gifts from their uncles and grandfathers, and they were always given more of anything than their brothers.

Because of the transient nature of women and the heavy population of men in city life, romantic relationships between two men was not only acceptable, it was very common in Selbania. It was illegal for a man to marry a woman, and men could only have children if they were married to another man. When two men were married, each of them would fill the role of the "husband" and the "wife". Husbands were usually the more masculine of the two. The husband would go out and work, and husbands were most commonly not attracted to females. Husband-types filled the majority of the army, whose main job was to protect cities from the Raynora, and escort women from one city to the next, if the woman desired an escort.

Men who fit into the "wife" role were usually more feminine. They would stay at home, looking after domestic affairs and taking care of the children. Wife-types were usually either attracted to both men and women, or less commonly, only attracted to women. In some marriages, both men would take turns impregnating women to produce their children. However, in most marriages, the wife-type would be the only impregnator.

After dark, when men were done with their work, many would go to boxing clubs to watch sport fights. Boxing was a recreational hobby for many army soldiers, and some workers who fancied themselves fighters. When a woman was in town, they would be given money and gifts to participate in boxing matches, since they were always vicious fighters and made for good sport. Wife-types would often go to boxing clubs when a woman was in town, since it was a very arousing spectacle to watch a woman fight. The attractiveness of a woman in Selbania was based on her skill in combat.

Asher was a wife-type. He was a very attractive and charming man, and he never had trouble getting a boyfriend. When he met Loritz, who resigned from the army to live a simple city life, Asher fell in love. Asher was a slight man, with delicate features and beautiful eyes. He had black hair that he always took care of, and he always took great care when dressing himself. Loritz was a tall, stocky man. In spite of his intimidating size, he was very sensitive. The army life was too harsh for him, and what he desired above all was a happy relationship with a pretty man. Loritz found his pretty man when he met Asher. They fell in love quickly and married eachother.

Loritz was working late one night, and Asher was bored in the house, so he decided to tour the boxing clubs to see if there were any women in town. Asher went to two boxing clubs with no luck, but when he entered the third one, he heard the excited whispers of the other spectators about a female contestant. Asher took a seat and looked around to see if he could spot her.

The was a lot of commotion in the club as everyone waited for the woman to come to the ring. The bookies were taking bets, but Asher wasn't planning on betting on any fights. He hadn't seen a woman fight for a month, and he was shaking with anticipation.

"Gentlemen, our challenger!" the referee called out.

The crowd went crazy when the woman walked into the ring. She was wearing a full-body robe with a hood, and she pulled the hood back. The men went wild when they saw her bright red hair, which went down to the middle of her back. The woman winked at the audience, then threw off her robe. She was wearing nothing except for a short skirt and a long piece of cloth that was wrapped around her breasts several times and tied in the back. Asher got out of his seat and went closer to the ring so that he could get a better look at the woman's body.

The woman's body was finely-toned. She wasn't very bulky, but her muscles were defined. Her legs were muscular. Asher liked women with muscular legs. The woman, basking in the cheers and cat-calls of the males in the crowd, bent over and pulled up her skirt, showing her bare bottom to the audience. She straightened back up and stuck her tongue out at the audience. Asher's heart was racing. As she looked at the audience, the woman caught eyes with Asher and winked at him.

"Gentlemen!" the referee called amidst the wild cries of the audience. "Gentlemen! The champion, Keval!"

The crowd got even louder when the local champion, a tall and muscle-bound city soldier walked into the ring. His name was Keval, and he could knock out most normal people with one punch. Nobody picked a fight with him unless they were armed. When it came to watching women fight, some men preferred to see the woman win, and others preferred to see the woman lose. It seemed that the boxing club's owner preferred to see the woman lose. Asher wanted the woman to win.

Keval walked around the ring, firing up the crowd. Then he walked over to the woman and looked down at her. The woman sternly looked him in the eye, not backing down. She stuck out her chest and held her ground. Then she slapped Keval in the face. The referee darted inbetween the two fighters as Keval became unsettled. The referee took the woman to the other side of the ring.

"Ready, both of you?" the referee said. "No kicking, no biting, no gouging! Ready ... fight!"

Keval calmly walked toward the woman as she bounced up and down on her feet, holding up her fists. She taunted and provoked Keval, even tho her voice couldn't be heard above the cheering of the crowd. Keval laughed at the woman as she circled him. The woman burst out with a jab, and Keval blocked it. The woman jabbed again and Keval blocked it, countering with a hook to the temple. The woman backed off, shaking her head. Keval laughed at her again.

"Come on, knock him out!" Asher called in support of the woman. He really wanted her to win, and he knew she could do it.

Keval swung at the woman's head, and she ducked under his fist, coming back up with a sharp punch to the kidney. She uppercutted Keval in the jaw, and he stumbled back. He cracked his neck and steamed with anger. He went after the woman with a barrage of punches, which she blocked. The strength of Keval's punches wore away at the woman's defenses, and soon his punches were hitting her in the head. Keval crouched down and came up with a solid uppercut. The woman flew back, blood coming from her mouth, and landed flat on her back. Half the crowd cheered, and the other half booed. Asher booed.

Keval held up his arms and revelled in his victory. As he turned around, the woman got to her feet and ran toward Keval. Keval felt the impact of her footsteps on the mat and turned around. She spit blood on his face, and the crowd laughed. Keval reached his arms out, grabbing the cloth around the woman's breasts and pulling it down to her belly. Asher's eyes went wide when he saw the woman's bare chest. Her breasts weren't very big, but they were nice.

While Keval's hands were still occupied, the woman punched Keval square in the nose. Blood sprayed from Keval's nose, and he backed up. While Keval was still stunned, the woman spun around, shooting out her leg and kicking Keval in the temple with her heel. Keval fell to the mat, and the referee rushed over, detaining the woman.

"Disqualification!" the referee called. "No kicking allowed! Disqualification!"

Half of the crowd cheered, and the other half booed. Asher cheered.

After the fight, the woman was swamped by men as she sat at the bar. Asher watched from a distance. He wanted to buy the woman a drink, but he was sure that she would ignore him. With all the other men there, Asher knew he didn't stand a chance. After looking at the woman a little longer, Asher left.

As Asher walked thru the streets of the city, his mind was swimming with thoughts of the woman. After disqualifying the woman, the referee discovered that Keval was knocked out. Asher's admiration of her went up greatly after seeing her kick and knowing that it could knock a large man like Keval out. Asher wished he could find a skilled woman to have a child with.

As a young married man, Asher would walk the streets during the day and look at the children. He longed to have a child, and he especially wanted to have a daughter. He fantasized about sword-playing with his daughter, taking her to the plays, and making dinners that she liked. He liked the woman's red hair; he fantasized about having a daughter with the woman, and the little girl having red hair. He fantasized about his red-haired daughter beating up the other girls at school.

"Hey, you!"

Asher turned around when he heard a woman's voice behind him. His heart jumped when he saw the red-haired woman.

"Hey, you!" she called. "Stop! I want to talk to you!"

The woman was wearing her travel armor; it was made of hard leather, relatively light in weight with flexibility, but still protective against minor and intermediate strikes. The armor had a battle skirt, made of a strong fabric sewn around plates of thin metal, decorated with designs of swords and spears. There was a sheathed short sword at the woman's hip, and she was carrying a long spear. The tip of the spear was covered with a tip cover, which had two long strings coming down from it. The woman had a travel bag on her back, and her face was a little busted up from the fight. She waved with her free arm to get Asher's attention, but she already had it completely. 

"Hey, I saw you in the club," the woman said when she was close to Asher, who smelled beer on her breath.

"Yeah," Asher said. "I watched you fight. You were really good!"

"I know," the woman said. "You're really cute! You wanna go buy me a drink somewhere?"

"The men in the club didn't buy you enough drinks?" Asher replied.

"I'm kinda drunk," the woman said. "But those men were all slobs. I got drinks from them and then left them in the dust. I need to get drunker, and I need you to buy me drinks, because you look like you aren't a slob."

Asher admired the woman's frankness, but he was afraid that she was only talking to him to get drinks from him. However, he didn't know when another woman would be asking him to accompany her.

"Where do you want to go?" Asher asked.

"I don't know the taverns around here," the woman said. "Take me somewhere, anywhere. If they sell beer, I'll be happy."

"Alright," Asher said. "Follow me. There's a tavern up this way that is nice, and not too crowded. You can just enjoy your drinks without facing and onslaught of men."

The woman laughed. "Thanks!" she said. "I'm Arias. What's your name?"

"I'm Asher."

Asher was walking on air as he and Arias walked to the tavern. Then Arias stopped Asher and turned around. There was a group of four men approaching. They were Keval's buddies.

"Are you that dirty woman who floored Keval with a cheap shot?" one of the men said.

"That's me!" Arias said. "What, are you guys going to gang-rape me? Oh wait, I forgot you military types are afraid of cooties!"

"We're here to beat you into the dirt!" one of the men said. "Let's see how good of a boxer you are against four men!"

Asher was frightened. He wanted to help Arias, but he was afraid of being hit.

"Back off, Asher," Arias said. "I can take these jokers easily. I'm better with a spear than I am with my fists."

Asher backed off while Arias took her spear in both hands and held it out in front of her. "Come and get me, cowards!" Arias shouted. "I'm waiting!"

One of the men drew his sword, and the others drew theres as well. Arias took one of the strings that came down from the tip cover and pulled it, untying the knot and pulling the tip cover off. Arias shoved the tip cover under her armor and held out her spear.

"If you boys want to play it sharp, I'm willing to play it sharp!" Arias said. "This isn't the first time my life has been threatened today, and this morning it was by a pack of Raynora. You men are like cattle compared to the Raynora, and I could slaughter you like cattle if that's what you want!"

The men were silent.

"Don't you know it's a crime to assault a woman?" Arias reminded the men. "Of course, I don't know what's worse: going to jail or going to the hospital. I guess you could choose the third option and go home. I'm willing to accomidate you, whichever option you choose, except for the jail option because I'm not going to let you assault me without either killing you all or severely injuring you."

The men were silent. Arias ran at them, and they ran away.

Asher and Arias went to the tavern that Asher mentioned, and they knocked back quite a few drinks at Asher's expense. Arias was a drinker. Every time the barkeep would pour a new pint of beer for Arias, she would chug it down in one go and then ask for another. Arias mentioned when she and Asher got to the tavern that she already had four pints in her. At the tavern, she put away seven more before she was happy.

"You don't know what it's like to be a woman," Arias said to Asher after her seventh pint. She didn't speak with spite, but in an informing manner. "Just imagine walking thru a dark forest all alone, and any sound you hear might be a huge beast who wants to kill you and devour you. And sometimes, a beast actually jumps out of the tree and tries to kill you. Out there, you have to walk everywhere with your spear's tip cover off. It might be a second, or less than a second that you have to swing your spear around, or you are torn apart by a Raynora. Barkeep, I need another pint!"

The barkeep expertly poured a pint of the finest beer for Arias. "On the house," he said as he slid the pint over to Arias.

"Thank you!" Arias said. She took the pint and chugged it. Slamming the cup down on the bar, she wiped her mouth off with her arm and said, "Finally! A man understands!"

Asher sunk in his stool as he looked at Arias. He felt like he had been out-done by the barkeep. With all the pints he was buying for Arias, he couldn't get her a pint of the tavern's finest beer for free.

"Asher!" Arias proclaimed loudly, raising her arms in a dramatic gesture. "Let's go for a walk! Your legs look like they need some blood flow! We've become well-acquainted with liquid; let's get back in touch with the earth, huh?"

Asher payed the bill, and he and Arias went for a nice walk under the stars. Arias asked Asher if he knew a spot where they could sit unseen. Asher remembered a spot in the garden next to the art cathedral where he used to smoke pipeweed with his friends as a teenager. The spot was surrounded by bushes and trees, and it could only be seen from the roof of the art cathedral.

"This is a wicked hiding spot!" Arias said as she fell down on the soft earth next to Asher. "I've gotta show you something!"

Despite having drunk eleven pints of beer, Arias retained her composure quite nicely. Asher only drank four pints, so he was merely buzzing.

"I bet you've never seen this stuff before!" Arias said as she reached in a pouch on her belt. She pulled out a white root and snapped it in half. "Here you go!" She handed the tipped end of the root to Asher.

Asher looked at the root as he took it from Arias. Arias took her portion and popped it in her mouth, chewing it. "Chew it!" she said. "It tastes horrible, but it will make you feel good!"

Asher reluctantly put the root in his mouth. Arias was right: it tasted horrible. A look of disgust came on Asher's face as he chewed the root slowly.

"The tip is the most potent part," Arias said, reaching in her pouch and taking out another root. She bit the tip off and stuck the rest in her pouch, pulling the pouch closed.

"What is this root?" Asher asked as he chewed.

"It's Ganzha root," Arias said. "Don't swallow it. Just chew it."

Asher knew that even if he swallowed the root, it wouldn't stay down.

"I found out about it when I was living with the Lele tribe," Arias said. "Ever heard of them?"

"A woman I know told me about them," Asher said. "She said, they live on the south-west peninsula, beyond the waterlands. She never met them, because the base of the peninsula is teeming with Raynora, but she's heard stories about them. They're an autonamous tribe that consists of men and women living side-by-side."

"That's right!" Arias said. "I crossed the waterlands three years ago and met the Lele. In fact, I lived with them for nine months. You're right, in that men and women live side-by-side. The women out-number the men two-to-one, but men and women are considered equal in the Lele. It's quite different than what our society usually believes. In the cities women are considered inferior by the men, and in the wild men are considered inferior by the women. However, on the peninsula, men and women are seen as being equal in their differences."

Asher was suddenly hit by a wave of euphoria. "Whoah!" he said as everything seemed to get brighter and more colorful.

"You see what's so good about Ganzha root?" Arias said. "That brings me to my point. The Lele love Ganzha root. They use it for holy ceremonies and celebrations. The Ganzha plant is very spiritual. Not only does the root make you feel amazing when you chew it, but the plant itself produces beautiful flowers. The Lele use Ganzha flowers in ceremonies and celebrations, also. Whenever a Lele man and woman get married, the woman puts Ganzha flowers in her hair, and the man weaves a laurel of Ganzha flowers to put around his neck."

"Men and women can get married in the Lele tribe?" Asher said.

"Yes," Arias said. "Lele men have relationships with other men, and the women have relationships with other women, but the relationship between a man and a woman is seen as being sacred. When a man and a woman get married, they still have relationships with people of the same sex, but that's real commonplace. The relationships between men and women are extremely co-creative. Men and woman are the only ones who can have a child together, and because of this male-female relationships are held in high esteem by the Lele. It's the total opposite out here in the inner lands. Male-female relationships are totally taboo. But hey, what are you going to do?"

Arias opened up her pouch and fished out the rest of the root she bit. She bit off half of it and gave the other half to Asher.

"I live off Ganzha root in the wild!" Arias said. "When I'm not fighting off Raynora, I get bored as hell out there. When there isn't a pint of beer or a boxing club for miles, Ganzha root is what keeps me sane. Ganzha root grows in deep forests, and I know a couple forests where Ganzha root grows like crazy. I envy men sometimes; I mean, you just get to sit around all day in the city and get drunk. But then again, I couldn't stand staying in one place my whole life."

Asher was zoning out, looking up at the stars. There was a permanent smile on his face.

"Enjoy it, kid!" Arias said, patting Asher on the back. "This armor is getting hot! Damned summer!"

Asher tore his eyes from the stars to watch Arias as she unbuckled her armor, taking her breastpiece off. She was wearing a white tunic underneath. She took off her shoulderpads and armpieces. When the whole of her upper armor was off, she pulled her tunic off. Holding up her arms, Arias aired out her armpits. Her bare upper body was gleaming with sweat.

"That feels good!" Arias said. "Look at my scar!" She pointed at her left breast. Above and below her breast were a series of scars. She explained, "A Raynora attacked me once, when I was about 16, and she went right for my breast! She was going to bite it off -- Raynora like that kind of thing -- but I stuck my short sword inbetween her jaws, stopping her teeth from taking my breast. I had a dagger, so I stabbed it in the bitch's eye. Luckily I was near a city, so I got to a doctor in time. Otherwise, I wouldn't have old Lefty anymore! Yeah, that was one of my proudest moments!"

Arias looked at Asher, who was shamelessly ogling her breasts. Reaching down, Arias put her hand between Asher's legs, feeling his erection. Asher's body trembled, and Arias giggled.

"Have you ever touched a woman, Asher?" Arias asked, taking her hand off of his erection.

"Yes," Asher said. "I've touched one woman. We were teenagers, and she was staying in the city. We got along, and she spent most of her time in the city with me. One night, I was in her room at the inn and we were drinking a bottle of wine that was given to her by an admirer. One thing led to another, and at the end of the night she told me that she wasn't attracted to men."

"Ouch!" Arias said. "Well, to let you know in advance, I am attracted to men. I wouldn't have brought you here and took my shirt off if I wasn't attracted to you. Would you like to kiss me?"

"Yes!" Asher said. "I wanted to kiss you the first moment I saw you!"

Arias leaned foreward, putting her hand on Asher's cheek and kissing him. As they kissed, Arias took Asher's hand and placed it on her breast. The feeling of sweat on Arias's breast excited Asher. Asher caressed Arias's breast as they kissed, and Arias put her hand on Asher's erection, stroking it. Arias pulled away from Asher's kiss.

"Would you like to kiss my breasts?" Arias asked.

Asher nodded. Arias leaned back on her arms, arching her back and sticking out her chest. Asher leaned foreward on his arms and put his mouth on Arias's breast. He kissed it and sucked on the nipple, enjoying the salty taste of Arias's sweat. Asher moved to Arias's other breast, kissing and sucking on it. Arias shifted her weight onto her right arm, taking her left hand and sliding it under the lower part of her armor. She stroked herself as Asher kissed her breasts.

Suddenly, Arias took her left hand out of her armor and drew her short sword, looking up. Asher backed off from Arias and looked around, startled.

"What is it?" Asher asked.

"We're being watched," Arias said. She looked up for a few moments, then sheathed her sword. She picked up her tunic and pulled it on. Picking up her upper armor, she began putting it on.

Asher was upset.

"It's been a pleasent evening!" Arias said as she buckled her armor. "But I must retire. I travelled all this morning, and I'm extremely exhausted! I struck a deal with the innkeeper. You see, his brother is a painter, and his specialty is female nudes. Our deal is, the innkeeper's brother does a nude of me, and I'm guarenteed a room at the inn for as long as I'm in the city." When her armor was on, she stood up.

"Yeah, he does that a lot," Asher said as he stood up, adjusting his erection. "I frequent his brother's display, right here in the art cathedral! You should stop in and look at it. You might see a woman you know!"

"We should do that," Arias said, stretching and yawning. "I like you, Asher. We should meet up tomorrow. I want you to show me the city. Who knows, I might even show you a couple things!"

Asher laughed.

"Don't follow me to the inn," Arias said. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Arias left the garden and began walking toward the inn. Asher sat back down, spinning inside his head. The Ganzha root had been reduced to a mush in Asher's mouth, and the euphoria was beginning to wear off. He still had a pleasent buzz hanging around his head, but the intensity had subsided.

"Asher!"

A voice from above startled Asher, and he looked up. Someone fell from the sky and landed next to him. Asher let out a little squeal of alarm, but then he realized who it was.

"Fel?" Arias said, trying to examine the woman in front of him in the darkness. "Were you watching us?"

"I am guilty of that," Fel said.

Fel was a slip of a girl, shorter and skinnier than most women. If Fel relied on her strength to survive she wouldn't have made it past adolescence, but she was blessed with keen intuition and an extraordinary intellect. She was called Fel the Hider because of her impeccable ability to conceal herself, from Raynora and humans alike. She could sneak into and out of cities with relative ease, she would steal food to eat, and if she was ever discovered she could fight just enough to get away. Fel's hair was short and dark, and her eyes were green, if anyone ever saw her long enough to notice.

"How are you, Fel?" Asher asked. "How long have you been hiding in the city?"

"Three months," Fel said. "I came her to smoke some pipeweed. Would you like to burn up a couple of leaves with me?"

"Certainly," Asher said.

"Living as an invisible woman gets terribly lonely at times," Fel said as she took her long bone pipe from her belt. She took a leaf out of her pouch and packed it into the pipe. She took a roll of paper from the pouch and handed it to Asher. He held the roll as Fel took out her flint and steel, striking it a couple times and lighting the paper on fire. Fel took out a candle from her travel sack, and Asher lit it, waving the paper roll to extinguish it. Fel took the pipe to her lips, bringing the candle close to the pipe's bowl and sucking the flame onto the leaf. The leaf burned, and Fel inhaled the smoke. Holding in the smoke, she handed the pipe to Asher. Asher took the pipe to his lips and inhaled, handing the pipe back to Fel, who blew out her smoke. She took another leaf out of her pouch, shoving it in the pipe over the burning leaf, and she burned the new leaf with the candle. Inhaling more smoke, Fel handed the pipe to Asher again.

"That woman has a fine body!" Fel said as she held in her smoke. "You're lucky she likes you! Did she say anything about liking women?"

"No," Asher said, blowing out his smoke and handing the pipe back to Fel.

Fel burned the rest of the leaf and dumped out the ashes. Asher blew out the candle, and Fel put everything away. Fel held in her smoke for a long time before she blew it out.

"I've been doing art," Fel said as she got a little hazy. "I stole some art supplies, and I've been painting. I hope I can get a couple of them in the art cathedral. I was thinking of just sneaking them in there, but they would just take it down. Art without and artist, I guess. The thing is, they don't allow art done by women, so I was thinking of displaying my art thru a man. Are you still painting?"

"Yup," Asher said. "I've been in a dry spell for a couple months, but technically I'm still a painter."

"Do you want some spontaneous inspiration?" Fel asked. "I don't know if you'll like my stuff. It's abstract. I know you do portraits, but artists always go thru shifts in style. It probably goes against your artistic integrity to claim another's art as your own, but you're my only true friend in this city. Ever since our failed attempt at love at the inn, I've felt close to you. I think of you as a brother. But, if you don't want to do it, you don't have to."

"I'll do it," Asher said. "I'm going to show Arias around the city tomorrow, but in a couple days you could show me your art. Mondays are big workdays for Loritz, so he always gets to bed early. I could just stay up and meet up with you somewhere."

"How about here?" Fel said. "We could smoke some pipeweed, and I could show you my stuff. I have all my paintings stashed up in the south bell tower. Since this is the tallest building in the city, I always paint atop the art cathedral. All the creative energy inspires me. I love this city, you know? If the Raynora ever get killed off, I hope to settle in this city and be an artist."

There was a silence as Asher zoned out totally. The combination of the beer, the Ganzha root, the pipeweed, and kissing Arias had set Asher spinning.

"You look tired," Fel said. "So, are you and that woman going to have a child, or what?"

"I hope so!" Asher said. "I'll tell you Fel: every time I lay eyes on her, I stiffen."

"I know how you feel!" Fel said. "She reminds me of another woman I met in the wild. She was a red-head, too. What is it about red-heads?"

"I don't know," Asher said. "Well, I'm going to go home and go to sleep. It's been a crazy night."

"So, I'll see you monday night?" Fel said, putting away her pipe and candle.

"It's a date," Asher said, standing up. He lost his balance and fell on his behind.

"Are you gonna make it?" Fel said, putting her hand on Asher's shoulder.

"Yeah," Asher said. "I just need to find my feet."

Asher's head was still swimming as he walked home. He wondered how long he'd been out. His entire mind was occupied by Arias. He thought of her face, with a few strands of her red hair falling down across her cheek. He thought of her shoulders and her arms, toned from years of combat. He thought of her =