Pakal

[rufusluciusivan]

Hello everyone!

This is actually an experience I've wanted to try for a few months now, but I've waited until my previous series was finished. Trackman's and darthchloroform's stories made me see how variety could be brought to a USB story by distancing it from reality: respectively by using sci-fi elements and superheroic powers. Therefore, I've decided to give a try to this kind of approach. However, personally, the literary genre I enjoy the most is fantasy, so I'm going to try to use it to write a USB story.

I apologize in advance if you are bothered by the world-building, especially at the beginning and at the end. I really tried to find a good balance between describing Uniform Stealings and giving enough informations to allow people to envision the world and the characters.

Let me know what you think of it and if you find this project interesting or a waste of time.








Pakal


Chapter 1: The Shapeshifter and the Mage


**************

The moon was dimly shining.

Yuka observed the guard.

The young woman was patrolling the area, trying to make out something in the dark of the night. The light of the torches was in her back. She had a tanned skin, dark brown almond-shaped eyes, a body of average size and build, an oval face, and shoulder-long braided ebony black hair.

The woman was wearing the uniform of the lowest-ranked guards and soldiers: plain sandals, an ample black tunic reaching up to the knees, a leather belt with a metallic buckle, and a black cloth headband covering her forehead. Had she been on a battlefield, she would probably also have been given a leather breastplate and a leather headgear. However, since she was currently a lowly guard watching a palace situated in the middle of the capital city, far away from any real military threat, she wasn't wearing protections.

Like all the other 'Black Headbands', she was here just for show anyway. Nobles and Mages of the Pakal Empire needed to show off their wealth, and having a lot of guards was one of their many ways of doing it. Most of these guards were recruited among the peasants of the Empire. They received a minimal training – just enough to be able to look the part of real soldiers –, and were barely good enough to be used as cannon fodders the time the real elite guards could show up.

This guard was obviously young and inexperienced. Perhaps even a little drunk. She hadn't even noticed that intruders were taking control of the guard post nearby. Though, this also was the reason why this specific guard was still alive. If she tried to grab the bell's rope in front of the guard post to sound the alarm, Azeneth would make short work of her.

Well, let's see if we can avoid such extremes. Yuka thought to herself.

The guard was brandishing a tepoztopilli, a polearm edged with an obsidian blade. Clearly, she wasn't important enough to be allowed to wield a warrior's macuahuitl – let alone a blade made of steel. A small round wooden shield covered with leather was protecting her left forearm. She was holding her weapon as if it was a scythe. Probably some farmer's daughter from a nearby village, who was hoping to find a way to leave the family farm.

Yuka was wearing dark clothes designed to both give great freedom of movement and to make her blend in the night: a short-sleeved tunic, figure-hugging trousers imported from the lands beyond the ocean, and sandals.

She had a tanned skin, short dark brown hair, and green-hazel eyes. Her face was angular, and she had a pointy chin and an aquiline nose. She was slightly taller than average, and her body was athletic-looking.

It was her physical appearance.

More precisely, it was her default appearance, though she had no idea if it was her true appearance.

Indeed, Yuka wasn't an ordinary woman. Yuka was a shapeshifter. It was said that the people of her kind were descended from the legendary Puma-Men. They could change appearance at will, as long as their new form was still humanoid, and not too tall or too small.

Her current appearance was the one her body was taking when she wasn't using her powers, but she had no idea if it was her real original appearance, the one she had before she could control her powers.

She didn't really care anyway. Changing her appearance was in her nature. Even if she knew what her true appearance was, she wouldn't want to keep it forever.

The young guard was approaching her hiding spot.

Yuka simply smiled.

Then, her facial features started to blur. They became rounder and less sharp. Her body shrank a little. Her hair grew longer and changed color, becoming ebony black.

Now, an exact replica of the patrolling guard was smiling, hidden in the dark.

The clothes Yuka was wearing had become slightly too wide for her. However, she didn't intend to keep them for long...

**************

“If there is someone, I ask you to show yourself! In the name of the Empire!” the guard said.

Her voice was slightly shaking, as if she was trying to sound more intimidating than she really was. She was nervously clutching her polearm. It finished to convince Yuka that this young woman was a new inexperienced recruit.

Therefore, I can have some fun.

Yuka stepped into the light of the torches.

The young guard jumped in surprise. “Who... Who are you?”

She then realized that she was facing an exact copy of herself.

The young guard's eyes widened. “Sh... Shade!” she frightfully stuttered.

Even though she already witnessed it dozens of time, Yuka never got tired of the reaction most people were having whenever she used her power. Being confronted by an exact replica of themselves was probably a terrible experience. Only the best-trained ones could keep their composure.

This young inexperienced guard wasn't one of them. She dropped her polearm in fear and shakily took a step back. “Please... Don't steal my soul!”

Yuka moved quickly, without giving her victim the time to regain her composure. She jumped and grabbed the woman's neck. At the same time, she instilled a fragment of power in the palm of her hand, which started to glow very slightly. When she touched the bare skin of the guard's exposed neck, the latter's body stiffened. She had a few spasms. Then, her eyes rolled back, she let out a soft long moan, and she lost consciousness. Yuka caught the falling guard in her arms.

This was another perk of her kind's abilities. Simply by touching the bare skin of someone, she could force their mind to shut down and lose consciousness.

The shapeshifter smiled. She gently stroked her victim's hair. “Just relax... For the rest of the night, let all your worries just wash away... while I'm being you.”

She looked at the guard's tunic, and gently laid her on the grass.

“I'll also take your uniform though.”

Indeed, Yuka's powers had one big downside: she could only transform herself, not her clothes. From this point of view, she was inferior to a true Mage who could cast an illusion changing their appearance and their clothes. However, paradoxically, her weakness was also her biggest strength. To cast a spell, a Mage had to tap into what they called the 'invisible energies'. However, tapping into this source of power left a trace. Any trained Mage could sense the smell of magic, and spot the impostor. Yuka's powers had no such restrictions.

Due to the fact that it was ample, Yuka easily pulled off the black tunic, after unbuckling the belt around the guard's waist and taking off her small shield.

As undergarments, the young recruit was wearing a gray loincloth and a strap of gray cloth wrapped a few times around her breasts and back to cover them. Yuka didn't care about any of them, but she snatched the black headband and the sandals.

The shapeshifter then fetched the bag she was carrying with her, and that was hidden in bushes nearby. Inside, there were coils of rope. Useful to both climb the walls... and truss up a guard to make sure they would stay out of sight.

Yuka was an expert in knots. In no time, she bound the wrists of the young guard behind her back, secured her ankles and her knees, and finally wrapped and tightened a coil of rope around her shoulders and upper arms to pin them on her sides. She used a thick piece of cloth as a gag, shoving the rag inside the young woman's mouth and knotting it behind her neck. The thick cleave-gag was going to keep her quiet and, in this isolated guard post of the property, no one was going to be able to hear her muffled calls for help.

Yuka then removed her own clothes, that were now too wide for her, and put on the guard's tunic and sandals. They were a perfect fit – logical since she was now her victim's exact replica. I'll have to ask Azeneth or Jinora to braid my hair though.

The shapeshifter suddenly heard a few muffled groans.

The guard was waking up.

Indeed, while Yuka's power could almost instantly knock out a person of average size, its effects wore off after some time.

Yuka didn't panic. The young guard was already gagged anyway... She had the time to do what she wanted to do. She took one last final strip of cloth. This one was far lighter that the rags she used to gag her victim's mouth, it was even translucent. It used to be a veil, and it was actually supposed to allow people to easily breath through it. Yuka soaked the cloth with a smelly sleeping potion she was keeping in a small sealed terracotta bottle. She then covered the guard's nose and gagged mouth with the fabric, knotting it behind her neck. Now, with each breathing in, the young woman was also going to breathe the narcotic fumes.

The guard opened her eyes. “Mhhh?! Mhhh!”

Yuka simply waited.

“Mhhh! Mhhh!” The guard's muffled moans for help became less and less vigorous. “Mhhh... Mhhh... M...hhh... Mhhhhhh...” She was back to the land of dreams.

With the dose Yuka poured on the cloth, the young recruit was going to sleep during the rest of the night.

**************

Once she was sure that her companions took control of the guard post, Yuka grabbed her deeply asleep victim under the shoulders and dragged her inside the building. She gently dropped her burden on the floor in a corner of the building.

Jinora and Azeneth, her two friends, were waiting for her.

"I see that you took care of everything."

"The poor fools didn't stand a chance. They were only five..." Azeneth answered with a smile.

Jinora smiled nervously.

Jinora had the typical physical features of a subject of the Empire: a tanned slightly copper-like skin, coarse black straight hair, an oval face, and almond-shaped brown eyes. Her armpit-long hair were braided.

Azeneth was actually a metis. Her mother was from the Empire, but her father was one of these white-skinned blue-eyed merchants from the countries beyond the ocean. Therefore, while her skin was still tanned and her eyes were still brown, both were lighter than average. Her eyes were also rounder compared to the average subject of the Empire. She had dark brown hair, tied into a thick high braid that was reaching up to her collarbone. She had an oval face with a sharp chin and a tall soft nose.

There were five other guards in the building. They were all older that the recruit Yuka captured. They probably sent her to patrol because she was the youngest... Outside of the young woman Yuka was impersonating, three other guards were still alive, albeit unconscious. The other two had been killed during the skirmish.

While she herself wasn't fond of killing people, Yuka also knew that it was sometimes inevitable. Even if she tried to avoid it, she wasn't going to shed a tear for the enemy. It was the reason why she asked Azeneth for help anyway. As an expert knife thrower and hand-to-hand fighter, she was perfect to neutralize several guards by herself. Yuka couldn't bring many people for this mission. She knew that Azeneth wouldn't have killed them if she could have avoided it, but sometimes you couldn't prevent someone from raising the alarm non-lethally, especially when you were two against five.

The unconscious guards had been divested of their black tunics, black headbands, sandals, and weapons. They were wearing the same undergarments as the young recruit that Yuka mugged: a gray loincloth and a gray strap of cloth to cover the breasts.

Jinora and Azeneth had already donned the guards' black sandals, tunics and headbands.

“What do we do with the ones that are still breathing?” Jinora asked.

“You know I don't kill unconscious people.” Yuka answered.

“I can wake them up if you want.” Azeneth proposed.

She was fidgeting with one of her steel throwing knives. The metis owned a dozen of them, a gift from her father. They were deadly weapons... and also worth a lot, given the quality of their metal, in an Empire where steel weapons were still a novelty reserved for the nobles and the imperial army.

Yuka approached the three unconscious older guards. They were all women and were all sharing the same physical appearance: coarse black hair and tanned copper-like skin. She shook her head.

“I'm not that petty. These guards are mere pawns anyway. Who would you want to kill? The attack dogs who don't know any better or their master? Because these 'Black Headbands'...” Yuka gave a small kick to the unconscious guard next to her, who moaned. “... aren't regarded as anything else than dogs by their masters...”

“These outfits won't get us very far.” Jinora intervened. She was looking worried. “These are the lowest-ranked guards. They aren't allowed in the main palace.”

“I think they suit you perfectly.” a voice suddenly said.

Yuka groaned in annoyance.

One of these days, I'm gonna strangle Rashid for forcing me to take Coulter with me...

“Shut up, Coulter.” Yuka retorted to the woman who just spoke, and was standing in a corner of the room.

Her last partner, Coulter, was from the Charioteers, a nomadic people that were traveling between the different parts of the continent to trade. She had some of the typical physical features of her people: slightly curly red hair, amber eyes, and a bronzed skin (slightly darker than the tanned skin of most inhabitants of the Empire). However, she was of average height – which meant that by the standards of her people, she was small. Indeed, most Charioteers, including the women, were tall, big, and burly. On the contrary, even though she wasn't skinny, Coulter was thin, with a slightly sharp-featured face.

Yuka couldn't stand the redhead, but she had to bring her for this mission. Coulter was their guarantee in case things went wrong. In case they actually had to fight the Mage who lived in the palace they were going to rob...

Coulter was a mage-woman. A powerful mage-woman. So powerful indeed that, outside of maybe the Archmage and a select few of his most elite colleagues, no Sun Mage could hope fighting the red-haired woman one-on-one and win. Once, Yuka saw Coulter fight against three Mages at the same time – and she utterly crushed them. Her raw magical power was terrifying. Some people even thought that she was the Moon Child of the Prophecy, the one who would destroy the Order of the Sun Mages.

The problem was that, while Coulter had many strengths, subtlety was not one of them. She was the kind of woman who would burn a house to get rid of the mice infesting it. And Coulter's strength was also her biggest weakness. She was too powerful. The moment a Sun Mage would sense her using her powers, they would all rush up together. Whenever Coulter used her true power, it meant they had a few seconds to try to escape with their lives. The last time she did it, the Mages attacked with so much power that the sand of the area was turned into glass by the heat.

Given the red-haired woman's general bad attitude, Yuka wasn't surprised to see that she didn't bother putting on the third stolen guard uniform yet. The shapeshifter threw the black tunic at Coulter's feet.

“Shut up and disguise yourself.”

Yuka couldn't trust Coulter with subduing someone to steal her clothes. In each mission, she or one of her friends therefore had to work for two: to steal a set of clothes for her, and another for Coulter. Yuka was tired of having to always keep an eye on her...

The red-haired mage-woman eyed the tunic with disgust and contempt. “Stolen clothes...” she commented, as if the garments were filth.

“And I see you didn't even dye your hair black, like I asked you!” the shapeshifter added.

“As if I should be ashamed of my lineage...”

Yuka rubbed her forehead. “No one in the Empire would have a Charioteer under their employ, except as a slave or as a personal tradesman. A guard with red hair would give us away instantly. You know that!”

Coulter pretended to be surprised. “Oh! It slipped my mind.”

“Jinora, please, dye her hair...”

The black-haired nodded and walked to execute her orders. Yuka grabbed her arm. “Also, next time, don't wait until I'm here to make a remark.”

Jinora gave her an apologetic smile. “I'm not as brave as you...”

“If you don't stand up to her, you will never overcome your fear.”

The shapeshifter then glanced at Azeneth. Looking uncomfortable, the other woman was avoiding eyecontact. She didn't fear anything... except magic.

Yuka sighed. She couldn't blame her two friends. It wasn't easy to talk back to a person who had the power to literally fry you with a gesture of the hand... As a shapeshifter, she had a better knowledge of supernatural powers, and therefore didn't fear them as much as someone who didn't possess any of them. However, it also meant that Yuka had to deal with Coulter's bad attitude alone.

While Jinora was dyeing Coulter's hair and while the red-haired woman was putting on the guard's tunic, Yuka and Azeneth bound and gagged the three stripped unconscious guards, before covering each woman's lower face with a light piece of cloth soaked with the narcotic potion.

They left after stealing the women's weapons.

**************

Jinora used to work as a scribe and was blessed with a very good memory. During her time as a scribe, she had access to a map of the property they had to rob: the property of Sun Mage Ce-Tlaloc. She still knew the map by heart. Therefore, she easily guided them.

After a short walk, their fake armed patrol approached the main palace. However, they couldn't go too close, let alone enter the building, as their rank didn't allow them to go to this part of the estate.

They were maybe inside the property, but they now needed to find new disguises allowing them to enter the building itself...

Thankfully, the palace of Sun Mage Ce-Tlaloc was busy even during the night, as the man was an important official of the Empire. Therefore, there were several opportunities.

They simply had to seize one...

Currently, they were next to a small annexe of the main palace that was used to store food. The small building itself was empty, however...

“Quiet. I hear someone.” Azeneth suddenly whispered.

Jinora looked worried; Azeneth, focused; Coulter, indifferent.

Yuka was feeling hopeful. Maybe it was the opportunity they were looking for...

**************

The newcomer was a slave girl, probably sent outside to fetch something. Around her neck, she was wearing the inimitable leather collar that was indicating to everyone her status as nothing more than a living piece of furniture. She was wearing a white knee-long robe with no sleeves and light sandals. However, while the garment was plain-looking, it was made of one of the most precious fabrics of the Empire.

The slave girl was a frail-looking young woman in her early adulthood. She had faded blue eyes, and platinum blond hair that looked almost white. Her hair were armpit-long and braided. Her skin was ghostly pale. Yuka recognized those physical features. The slave was from the Far North, the cold countries beyond the Great Steppes, where the sun was weaker than in the Empire. She was a Gengis, part of one of the people still free from the domination of the Pakal Empire and the Mages that were ruling over it.

There were a lot of slaves in the Pakal Empire, but the 'White-haired Ones' from the Far North were rare. It was said that on some years, a slave from the Northern Khanates could be worth their weight in jade. While it was probably an exaggeration, they still were the most expensive slaves on the market – by far. Nobles and Mages were usually using them to show off their wealth. The fact that Ce-Tlaloc could afford sending someone like her to do menial tasks outside of the main palace was a testimony of how rich he was, even compared to the other members of the elite. He probably had dozens of slaves like her just to impress his guests...

The blond-haired slave was most likely here to fetch some supplies in the annexe. She didn't look at the members of the fake patrol, and didn't ask them why they were near the annexe.

In hindsight, Yuka and her companions were lucky to come across a slave. Another member of the household may have recognized them as impostors. However, like all slaves, the blond young woman knew that, to survive, the golden rule for someone of her status was to never look a superior in the eyes, let alone stare at them.

Yuka realized that this was the perfect opportunity. Slaves were usually beyond notice. And no one would find it strange to witness a high-class slave in the main palace.

She pointed at the blonde with her chin.

The second the slave passed next to them to reach the entrance of the annexe, she was suddenly grabbed and immobilized by Azeneth and Jinora, and hand-gagged by Yuka.

The blond-haired woman opened huge frightened eyes, and let out a few muffled panicked shrieks.

“Quiet!” the shapeshifter whispered to her victim.

The latter immediately complied, petrified by fear.

“We won't harm you if you don't try to scream. Understood?” Yuka added.

The slave nodded.

“I will remove my hand and ask you a few questions. Don't call for help, or we will be forced to hurt you.”

A second nod.

Yuka removed her hand.

“Tell me your name.”

“Yisüi. Yisüi Yisuken.” the slave answered.

Yuka rolled her eyes. The Gengis and their weird names... Though who was she to judge? After all, her full name was supposed to be Yor'Huka...

“Are you working in the palace?”

“Yes.”

“Then, it means that you are allowed inside the main building?”

“Yes.”

The blond-haired woman was shaking.

Yuka's facial features softened.

“Don't worry, Yisüi. No harm will come to you. I will simply make you sleep for the next couple of hours.”

Yuka grabbed the slave's bare neck, and used her power to knock her out. Azeneth and Jinora held back her unconscious body.

“You shouldn't have done that.” Coulter commented.

The red-haired woman had remained in the background since they had entered the estate. This was the first time she was speaking.

“Done what?” Yuka asked.

“You shouldn't have lied to her. We both know who's going to take the blame after we're done.”

Yuka sighed.

“I'm sorry.” she whispered to the unconscious Yisüi.

Coulter was right. Yuka was lying to the girl when she was saying that she would be fine. She was about to steal a precious artifact under her guise. Even if the Mages would easily deduce that Yisüi wasn't the real culprit, the slave girl was very likely to end up in trouble.

Yuka changed appearance again. Her hair became lighter, until they were almost looking white. Her skin became lighter and softer; her appearance, more frail and fragile. Her eyes turned faded blue.

After becoming Yisüi's exact replica, Yuka took off her guard uniform, now too big for her. She pulled off the slave girl's robe and removed her light sandals. She also unstrapped the blonde's leather collar and reluctantly tied it around her neck.

She however chose to not touch Yisüi undergarments: a plain white loincloth. (The slave girl wasn't wearing anything to cover her breasts, and Yuka could perfectly picture why her master wasn't allowing her to do that. A thought that was disgusting her.) The shapeshifter was reasoning that the slave girl probably had her underclothes forcefully removed already enough times in her life.

Her accomplices – save for Coulter of course – bound and cleave-gagged Yisüi while the shapeshifter was changing herself to save time. Given how frail the blond-haired woman was, they simply tied her wrists and her ankles. She wouldn't be able to break free, she wasn't strong enough. They cleave-gagged her with a softer rag. Just like with the guards, they then covered the slave girl's lower face with a light veil soaked with a sleeping potion and knotted it behind her neck.

They hid Yisüi inside the small annexe and closed the door.

“She's as good as dead.” Coulter commented as they were leaving her behind.

Yuka glared daggers at her. “We'll see about that.” she retorted.

Coulter smiled. “Go ahead. Rescue her. We both know that the second we take the artifact, we will have to flee as fast as we can. Isn't it even the reason why you took me with you? To transport you all to safety with my powers once the deed is done? I'm curious to see you try to escape on your own, carrying a girl on your shoulder...”

Yuka kept quiet. Azeneth and Jinora exchanged uncertain glances.

“We could make a deal.” Coulter suddenly added.

“What?” Yuka warily glared at the red-haired mage woman.

“You let me kill the Sun Mage of this palace, and in exchange I'll help you retrieve the slave girl...”

The Sun Mages were among the people who believed that Coulter was the Moon Child destined to destroy their Order. When they heard about her, they attacked her wagon train and slaughtered everyone, hoping to get rid of this threat to their power. Of course, they only managed to fulfill the first part of the prophecy, as Coulter survived the onslaught. And the red-haired mage-woman was now looking for revenge.

While Yuka wouldn't mind killing a Sun Mage, she decided against.

“It's too dangerous.” the shapeshifter said. “Fighting the Mage will attract the attention of all his colleagues - and of all the guards of the palace. We can't risk losing the artifact in the fight, or to have Jinora or Azeneth hurt in the crossfire.”

“Suit yourself.” Coulter shrugged.

**************

Jinora led them to the Little Palace, a secondary building near the Main Palace around which Black Headbands were allowed. They would wait here to ambush a few more women, that would provide a disguise to her, Azeneth and Coulter.

They hid themselves in the blind-spots of the building, looking for an opportunity...

… and they finally found one.

Three curvaceous women were approaching the Main Palace. The first two had a tanned skin, coarse black hair and almond-shaped dark brown eyes. The third woman had reddish-brown hair, and green eyes that were round instead of almond-shaped. While not as pale as Yisüi's, her skin was less tanned than her two companions, and she was slightly shorter. She was probably from one of the vassal kingdoms of the northern part of the Empire, near the border with the Great Steppes of the Gengis.

The three women were wearing similar brightly-coloured green and blue tunics adorned around the collar with long red, green, and blue feathers. Jade and gold were intertwined within the fibers of their clothes to showcase the luxury of their garments. To cover the lower part of their bodies, they were wearing long white skirts adorned with jade beads. There were also gold and silver bangles around their forearms, and they were wearing a gold choker as well as earrings made of white seashells. They also had the same axtlacuilli coiffure: two hornlike tufts created by dividing long hair in the middle; the hair was bound with a cord, and folded up so as to leave the bulk of the hair resting on the nape of the neck, with the two ends secured at the top of the head.

“Courtesans...” Yuka whispered. “It's perfect! Wait for me here... I'll lure them here...”

Azeneth wrinkled her nose in disgust. “Do we have to steal frilly clothes?”

“Come on, I'm sure you will look beautiful while wearing them.” Yuka said with a wink.

“You take that back!”

But the shapeshifter was already gone.

She approached the three courtesans, still under the guise of Yisüi.

“Mistresses, wait!”

The women looked at her.

“What?” the one with the reddish brown hair asked. Ironically, she seemed to hold a superior rank, even though she wasn't a true-blooded subject of the Empire. Perhaps Ce-Tlaloc liked exotism?

Playing the part of a docile slave, Yuka bowed her head.

“A thousand apologies, but I have received instructions to relay to you. The master requires your presence in the Little Palace.”

The three courtesans exchanged glances.

They were clearly finding that the request was odd, but not much more than asking them to come in the middle of the night.

The courtesans knew Yisüi's appearance and had no reason to doubt her story or to think that she would lie to them. The idea that a slave could try to bring harm to them was so ludicrous, so alien, that they didn't even envisage it.

“We follow you.” their leader decided.

Yuka led the three women near the blind-spot of the Little Palace in which her companions were hiding. They got within the range of Azeneth and Jinora.

Two pairs of hands burst out, grabbing the two black-haired courtesans and dragging them in the shadows. Yuka turned to face the woman with reddish brown hair.

There were a few punches, a few grunts, and a few muffled cries for help. Three unconscious bodies fell on the grass.

Once again, Coulter didn't bother subduing the woman whose clothes she was going to wear or stripping her. She let Yuka do all the work.

**************

The blind-spot of the Little Palace was big enough to conceal three unconscious women.

Yuka, Azeneth, and Jinora stole the women's fancy clothes, as well as their sandals and all their jewels.

The courtesan with reddish brown hair was now only wearing a blue light knee-long dress clipped under the armpits that was leaving her shoulders bare. Even her underdress was luxurious, given the price of this tincture. Her two black-haired companions were clad in similar-looking undergarments, although theirs were white and more plain-looking.

The divested courtesans were now bound while seated back-to-back. Their wrists were tied behind their back, and a rope was wrapped around their waists to bind them together and make them sit. To make sure that they couldn't try to stand up and walk together even though they were bound, their knees and their ankles were also tied with ropes. Strips of the black tunics that Azeneth and Jinora were formerly using as a disguise were filling their mouths, while one final strip of black cloth was used as a cleave-gag for each courtesan.

They were all still unconscious. Each woman's chin was resting on her respective chest.

"I hate courtesans." Azeneth commented. "I mean, look at their bodies... Their faces... Their waists... Their breasts... Their buttocks... Do they have to remind me so much that they are more gorgeous than me in every way?"

Jinora, Azeneth, and Coulter finished putting on the jewels, after having dressed themselves in the gorgeous sandals, skirts, and tunics.

“No matter what you say, I'm a little jealous of you right now...” Yuka confessed.

Jinora smiled shyly. She was from a poor family, the daughter of a scribe, and it was clear that she was appreciating the occasion to wear precious clothes and jewelry...

Just as much as it was clear that Azeneth hated the contact of her new garments.

Coulter looked indifferent, and certainly not thankful for the efforts Yuka made to provide her new stolen clothes. She was looking at the Main Palace. The red-haired woman was most likely imagining herself making fire rain down from the sky on the building.

Yuka knew she had to quickly make them move, or else Coulter might be tempted to overrul her orders. It wouldn't be the first time... The red-haired mage-woman was maybe one of their greatest assets in their war against the Mages and their best chance to break their hold on the Empire... but she was also way too much unpredictable.

"Let's go." the shapeshifter said.

**************

Once again, Jinora's knowledge of the palace's thanks to the maps she memorized proved to be indispensable to help them find their way. Thanks to her, they could maintain the illusion that they knew the place.

Inside the palace, there were a few guards, a few servants and a few slaves. However, nobody batted an eye at the sight of three courtesans escorted by Yuka under the guise of Yisüi.

They arrived in front of the door of the room in which the artifact they wanted to steal was stored. There was only one guard. A woman.

She had black hair tied into two shoulder-long braids, and brown eyes. She was wearing a bright red tunic reaching up to the knees and a matching cloth headband, sandals and leather protections on the legs and the forearms, as well as a leather belt; and she was armed with steel weapons: a polearm, a short sword, and a dagger. She wasn't wearing any jewel, except one gold nose ring in each nostril.

The guard was surprisingly beautiful too, with an athletic but still curvaceous body.

“I heard Ce-Tlaloc was giving one of his favorite mistresses the responsibility to guard the artifact.” Jinora muttered to her companions.

“Let's not take any chance.” Yuka whispered back. “Given how athletic her body is, I'm sure she wasn't given this post just because the Mage is putting her in his bed.”

They approached the door.

“Halt!” the guard said.

“A thousand apologies, mistress, but...”

“This place is off-limit, Yisüi.”

“Of course, but I have a message for you. You see...”

Yuka didn't finish her sentence and jumped the guard by surprise.

Her intuition about the woman's competence proved to be correct. The guard instantly reacted. She dropped her polearm, that would be of no use in close combat, and grabbed the hilt of her dagger. In an instant, she had been able to analyse the situation. The guard saw Yuka charge her with no weapon; therefore, she was expecting her to wrestle her on floor. She was going to take advantage of the grapple to draw her dagger and stab her.

Unfortunately for her, she didn't know that her opponent had the powers of the shapeshifters... She thought she was attacked by Yisüi, a plain normal slave.

Yuka didn't grapple her. She grabbed a part between the guard's neck and her left shoulder. Her palm glowed.

“Wha... a a a a a a a a a a a a...” the woman stammered.

“Just get some rest.” Yuka said.

Her opponent dropped on the floor like a sack of grain.

In no time, the unconscious guard was dragged inside the room she was guarding, bound and gagged, then hidden in an alcove.

Yuka shapeshifted to take the appearance of the guard, to see how it would feel like to be a woman that was the favorite of a Mage. She didn't feel any better.

In fact, now the clothes she was wearing were too tight... She moved to strip the guard.

“Are you here to have fun playing dress up or to steal the artifact?” Coulter intervened with a mocking tone.

“Shut up, Coulter!” Yuka retorted.

Still, the mage-woman was right. They didn't have the time.

The shapeshifter took back Yisüi's appearance and left the guard alone.

“Come here! I think I've found it!” Jinora intervened.

She pointed at a metallic safe.

Yuka nodded.

“Azeneth, work your magic...” she said.

The metis wasn't carrying only steel knives on her. She also possessed a vast collection of lock picks. Nowadays, the Mages and the nobles were indeed more and more hiring the services of metallurgists and blacksmiths from the foreign lands beyond the ocean to craft them metallic safes and locks. Azeneth, who thanks to her father knew how to pick them, was therefore becoming more and more invaluable.

It didn't take the metis long. In record time, the safe was open.

Inside, there was a round polished stone that was the colour of jade, placed on a cushion.

“Is that the artifact Rashid wants us to steal? Looks like an ordinary gemstone to me...” Azeneth commented.

“It's an inversed-catalyst.” Coulter suddenly intervened.

“A what?”

“An artifact designed to suppress and counter the powers of a Mage instead of enhancing them like a catalyst normally do.”

“A powerful weapon for those who wants to topple the Mages...” Azeneth said with a smile.

“But won't it mess with your powers when you'll transport us back to the hideout?” Jinora asked Coulter with a worried tone.

“It can only work if someone's holding it. If it's in Yuka's bag, it will remain inert.”

“Then what are we waiting for!” Yuka exclaimed.

“Also, by the way, the second you take this thing out of its cushion, the Mage will know that we're here.” Coulter matter-of-factly added.

“Thanks for warning me just now.” Yuka said while glaring daggers at the red-haired woman.

She then grabbed the stone.

They heard a loud noise that reverberated in all the palace.

“The Mage knows we're here.” Coulter simply said.

“Then, let's flee!” Jinora nervously exclaimed.

Coulter took Jinora's hand, who took Azeneth's hand.

The redhead looked at Yuka. “Well, it's time for us to go. Unless you want to leave on your own and go fetch your slave girl. Maybe you'll be able to take three steps before the Mage incinerates you...”

Jinora was looking frightful. Even Azeneth was looking worried as, although she feared no normal threat thanks to her trusted throwing knives, she was powerless against magic.

They only had a few seconds before the Mage would arrive.

Yuka didn't have a choice.

She grabbed Coulter's other hand.

The red-haired mage-woman smiled triumphantly. “I knew it!”

The air around them blurred because of Coulter's magic as she was teleporting them away.

When Ce-Tlaloc, the Sun Mage, entered the room, they were already gone.

[rufusluciusivan]

******* A few days later... *******




“It wasn't me! It wasn't me! I swear it on my life!” Yisüi was frantically screaming as she was carried by two burly guards to the place used for public executions.

She had kept repeating this sentence over and over again ever since she had been arrested because of the theft of the inversed-catalyst. Nobody had listened. The words of a slave meant nothing.

The man leading the escort was Ce-Tlaloc, high-ranked Sun Mage and also her master. He looked at her, shook his head and smiled.

Yisüi froze in fear. Like all the other slaves owned by the Mage, she had learned to dread this sweet smile. I want to go home...

“Oh, I know that." Ce-Tlaloc said. "And I apologize in advance for the inconvenience of your death. But I am sure that you understand that someone has to be punished. We could have executed a few guards, but the killing of a white-haired woman from the Far North will be a lot more impactful...”

They arrived to the place. There were a lot of spectators. Men, women, and even a few children.

The Mage carressed the slave's chin, then made a hand gesture.

The two guards carried the crying woman to the block at the top of the podium. They gave her to another guard, a woman this time.

The new guard was a burly woman with a square jaw, shoulder-long braided ebony black hair, and small dark brown eyes. She was wearing black knee-long tunic and a black headband. The guard took Yisüi's arm and made her walk to the chopping block. Her hold was more gentle, especially given her build, but just as firm as the one from the two previous soldiers.

Despair consumed the blond-haired young woman as she was realizing the imminence of her death. She gave up and stopped resisting. She was crying.

It can't end this way... I... I just want to go home... She still remembered her small village, built in the coast. She still remembered how she used to fish in the cold waters... before the boat of the slave hunters raided her village.

The executioner was already waiting for her. She was a woman dressed in a crimson red hooded cloak, with a matching ankle-long tunic and boots. A thick red veil was hiding her face while the hood was covering her hair. Yisüi could only see her amber eyes.

In Pakal, justice was merciful in its own way. Women were executed by a woman.

The executioner was holding a saber. The sharp weapon was designed to cut a neck in one strike, while also being light enough to be wielded by a woman.

The executioner raised her blade.

The crowd fell silent.

Yisüi closed her eyes. Home. I just want to go home.

However, the executioner didn't strike.

A few moments passed.

The silence became deafening.

Yisüi took the risk of opening her eyes.

The crowd was looking uncertain. Something clearly wasn't right...

The executioner was lowering her saber. She was looking at Ce-Tlaloc, who was overseeing the execution from his seat.

The burly guard standing on the platform with her suddenly became very nervous, although Yisüi didn't understand why.

“Coulter... Don't you dare!” the guard whispered.

Suddenly, the executioner took off her red face veil and her hood. She dropped the saber and pointed her right palm at the Mage.

Yisüi frowned. The executioner was a Charioteer: red hair, amber eyes, bronzed skin. But it shouldn't have been possible! Charioteers weren't allowed to be anything else than trade merchants or slaves in the Empire...

What's going on?

Ce-Tlaloc paled. There was a look of fear in his eyes. He opened his mouth: “The red-haired witch...”

An arrow of light and fire shot out of the red-haired woman's palm, and pierced the man's heart. The crowd let out a collective scream of terror as the man started to burn from the inside. They could all smell the disgusting stench of roasting human flesh.

“Coulter, you slut!” the burly guard screamed.

Ce-Tlaloc fell from his seat. Dead.

Coulter was laughing maniacally. She roughly grabbed the guard's arm with one hand and Yisüi's hair with the other. The slave winced in pain.

Her eyes widened when she saw the air around them blur.

One second later, they disappeared from the rostrum.

Three seconds later, a rain of fire conjured up by dozens of Mages fell from the sky and completely obliterated the platform.

**************

The guards found the shapeshifter's victims in one of the gaols. Yuka didn't use the chains on the wall (another novelty brought by the trade with the foreign lands from beyond the sea in which iron was plentiful). She was reasoning (quite rightly) that the two women could use them to make noise.

Instead, the shapeshifter used thick ropes to restrain the two unlucky women she and Coulter replaced. The real executioner and guard were trussed up in the same way. Each woman's wrists were tied behind her back. Their legs were also bound. Finally, they were hog-tied with one last coil of rope connecting the ones that were binding the wrists and the ones binding the legs. Therefore, they were forced to rise their legs. Both women were gagged with a thick brown rag tied between their teeth.

The real executioner was hysterical: crying and thrashing about, to try to break free. She was a tanned woman with deep jade green eyes; and lustrous brown hair, armpit-long and braided, that were adorned with small jade beans. Ironically, the executioner had a soft angelic face and nice natural curves that would have more befitted a courtesan or a healer. However, like many subjects of the Empire, she hadn't been allowed to choose her path in life. She was the daughter of a slave and an executioner, a profession that, while regarded as necessary, was also reviled by the rest of the society. And the children of the executioner were sharing the stigma of their parent. Therefore, she hadn't had many prospects for the future... except following in the footsteps of her father. Perhaps it was the reason why the shapeshifter went easy on her. Indeed, she used a rag soaked with narcotic to knock her out instead of beating her up.

Next to her, there was the guard. The tall burly woman with a square jaw, shoulder-long braided ebony black hair, and small dark brown eyes was sporting a huge bruise on her face, and a big bump on her head.

**************

Coulter, Yuka, and Yisüi appeared in a room with stone walls. Shining light purple crystals were bolted to the walls, therefore lighting the room up.

The red-haired mage-woman let go of Yisüi's hair. “You've reached your destination, your majesty.” she mockingly said to the slave girl. “I hope you appreciate the attention. We used my powers, and took great risks, just to save your life and bring you here.”

The blond-haired slave looked around her in fear. She was trying to lay low.

Yuka put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. “Don't worry. We won't harm you this time.” She shapeshifted back to her default appearance.

“I... I... You're the one who...” Yisüi stuttered.

“I apologize for what I did to you. This is my fault if you nearly died.”

“You... saved me... Why?”

“I didn't want you to die for what I did. I hope this will make us even.”

"You will not harm me?"

"No. Here, you are safe."

The slave took a few moments to recover from the shock.

“Won't they be able to find us?” Yisüi finally asked to change the subject, and didn't talk about Yuka's ability to change her appearance at will.

Coulter scoffed at her, and pointed at the light purple crystals that were fixed to the walls at regular intervals. “These crystals block the ability of a Mage to smell magic. As long as we're near them, they can't sense me using my powers.”

“Speaking of which...” Yuka approached Coulter. “What exactly did you think you were doing back then?”

The red-haired woman smiled. “I killed one of the Mages oppressing the Empire.”

“You could have gotten us killed!”

Coulter's smile widened.

“Only you two.” she retorted. “And don't forget that I also could have abandoned you on the platform.”

Yuka wanted to slap her, hard, in order to wipe the smug satisfied smile off the redhead's face. But they were in their hideout. Coulter was able to use her powers freely, thanks to the crystals. If the shapeshifter laid a hand on her, the mage-woman could – and would – crush it with her power.

Intead, Yuka chose to reassure Yisüi, who was frightfully watching the confrontation. She gently grabbed the blond-haired woman's arm.

“Come with me, we'll leave her in her corner. I will introduce you to my friends...”

**************

Jinora and Azeneth managed to help Yuka reassure Yisüi... at least enough for the slave girl to not fear that she was going to be killed her and now.

"For now, you will have to stay here. We won't ask you to do anything, except maybe give us a hand for the everyday tasks." Jinora explained to the former slave.

Yisüi was still looking uncertain and she was still scared, but she seemed a little more at ease with Jinora. At least, she seemed to have accepted the fact that they weren't going to harm her. Yuka knew that the former slave wouldn't open up to them as if by magic. It would take time to build trust. However, the shapeshifter was proud of what she did - a lot prouder than after her success during the theft of the inversed-catalyst. She did something good.

She would have to thank Rashid for allowing her to rescue Yisüi - and for letting her take the inversed-catalyst with her as a way to fight off Ce-Tlaloc in case Coulter let her down. (The artifcat was still inside the purse on her stolen belt.) But first, she had to do something else...

Yuka left Yisüi with Jinora and Azeneth. She had to set the record straight with Coulter.

By the time Yuka entered the mage-woman's room, the redhead had already changed herself. She was now wearing traditional Charioteer clothes: a white calf-long dress adorned on the top with red and black embroideries, a red cloth sash, and a decorative apron adorned with intricate red and black embroideries. For someone as lazy and as uncooperarative during clothes stealings, she was surprisingly fast when changing back into her own clothes. The red-haired woman never looked satisfied with the outfits Yuka had to steal for her. The only time she looked satisfied with her garments was when she was wearing the traditional clothes of her people.

“Coulter! We need to talk!”

“Don't you have an apointment with your precious prince, His Majesty Rashid, second in line to the throne of Ghazan? You have to submit your report, and give him back the inversed-catalyst he so generously lent to you to accomplish your noble rescue mission. And perhaps you will then stay with him for some fun in his bed...”

Yuka's cheeks reddened. “We never...!” She interrupted herself and shook her head. “Rashid can wait. You can't.”

“What do you want?”

“I want you to not mess with Yisüi. Things are already hard for her.”

Coulter rolled her eyes and made a gagging sound. “Do you intend to lecture me forever? I helped you save the slave girl, didn't I?”

It was true, even though Yuka still couldn't understand why the red-haired woman agreed to help her. Probably to have a free shot at a Mage...

“It was the right thing to do.” the shapeshifter said.

The red-haired mage-woman casted her a mean glare. She was getting angry. “Stop pestering me. I don't care.”

“You can't...”

“I said: 'Go away!'”

“It would have been unfair to let her die!”

The raw power of Coulter hit Yuka and pinned her to the ground. It was as if the air around her had become as heavy as rock.

Shit! I forgot about the crystals! Coulter can do whatever she wants with her powers as long as she's between the walls of this hideout!

“Unfair? UNFAIR?! I'll tell you what's unfair!” the red-haired woman screamed. “What's unfair is seeing your wagon train slaughtered by the Sun Mages! What's unfair is joining the enemies of the Mages, being promised to wreak vengeance on them, and being pulled back day after day! I'm tired of waiting! Tired of being told to wait for a better opportunity! Tired of being used as a living weapon by you so-called heroes for your little war!”

“I don't see you as...”

“Of course you do! For you, I'm an attack dog, just good enough to be set loose on your enemies, and to be kept in the kennels between two missions!”

“I...”

But ultimately, what could she say?

Never once had she tried to talk with Coulter outside of missions and preparations for a mission. Never once had she tried to know her better.

She had to admit it: she had always only seen Coulter as an annoyance to watch over during infiltrations, a millstone for whom she needed to constantly steal clothes, and the woman to call when they needed to crush a Mage.

But now, Yuka was asking herself: Was Coulter ostracized because she was antagonizing everyone? Or... Was she antagonizing everyone because she was ostracized? Distrust towards the Charioteers was widespread in the Empire, even among the enemies of the Mages, and they were only tolerated because they were useful to trade rare goods.

“And you know what is also unfair?” Coulter added. “To witness you indulge in your power trips! To witness you have your fun stealing other people's clothes! To see you satisfy your need to dominate others, but to be denied the right to enact my rightful revenge!”

“I... I don't...”

“Of course you do! I see how much you enjoy this! You enjoy overpowering people! You enjoy robbing them of their identity and watching them squirm at your feet while they're bound and gagged and half-naked and defenseless!” Suddenly, the red-haired mage smiled maniacally. “Do you want to know how your victims feel like?”

The air around Yuka started to vibrate. Her clothes were torn by Coulter's willpower, leaving her naked. Only one thing was spared: the inversed-catalyst she had brought with her while they were rescuing Yisüi, in case they had to face her master. It was in the purse on the belt she stole from the guard, and fell on the floor once the purse was ripped apart.

However, the shapeshifter couldn't do anything. She couldn't move. There were no ropes, and yet her limbs were immobilized. When she opened her mouth to scream, she felt something invisible suddenly muffle her. Coulter was using her power to gag her. It was a surreal sensation. There was nothing in her mouth, but at the same time she felt as if a thick piece of cloth was silencing her. Yuka realized that she was completely at the mercy of the other woman. Around Coulter, the air was vibrating. If she wanted, the mage-woman could use the raw power she was wielding to squash the shapeshifter like a bug.

Suddenly, the redhead's entire figure blurred. One second later, she had become the exact replica of Yuka's default appearance, including her clothes.

“I could take over your life. I could rob you of everything.”

Coulter-looking-like-Yuka was now looking maniacal. She was losing control of herself. Her magical powers were as addictive as a drug.

I don't have the choice... Yuka thought.

She had to try to grab the inversed-catalyst, that was on the floor near her.

It was her only chance.

The shapeshifter managed to fight against the invisible hold pinning her on the floor, the time to grab the artifact.

When she touched it, the stone instantly became warm.

Suddenly, Coulter's power rebounded and hit her. Her figure blurred and she retook her own appearance. The red-haired woman took a few steps back. Yuka was free from the invisible hold. She got up.

Coulter was rubbing her head, as if she was having a violent headache. The setting around them blurred and changed. However, it wasn't real.

It was an illusion.

A memory.

Yuka saw the burning wagons. Everywhere, men and women with red hair and bronzed skin were desperately trying to flee for their lives. But they couldn't escape the fireballs thrown at them by the Mages. One projectile was enough to burn them alive.

In a corner, a woman was fleeing. She was an informant of the Mages, who stole the clothes of a merchant to infiltrate the Charioteers and help the Mages find them.

And in the opposite corner, there was a teenage girl who only survived because her mother shielded her with her body, and because the raw power pulsating through her veins protected her from the flames. A teenage girl who watched everything she held dear burn, until she passed out because of the fear and the scent of burning flesh. Coulter.

So that's how the inversed-catalyst neutralizes a Mage... It makes them relive their worst memories, their worst fears...

Present-Coulter took a deep breath. The red-haired mage-woman calmed herself and regained control of her powers. The memory disappeared.

There was a long moment of almost surreal silence. Yuka and Coulter were glaring at each other.

“Just go away...” the red-haired woman finally muttered.

“Coulter, I...”

A sudden burst of power repelled Yuka.

“I said, go away!” Coulter screamed. “And if you tell anyone about what you've just seen, I swear that I'll melt your skin out of your flesh!”

**************

Yuka left the hideout and disappeared into the night. She didn't even bother grabbing new clothes. Their hideout was located in ruins, away from any inhabited settlement. Her modesty wouldn't have to suffer from her little escapade.

She needed to think of anything else.

Coulter's wrong. I don't enjoy dominating other people!

It was in her nature, in her blood. She was a shapeshifter. She needed to change her appearance. She needed to regularly use her powers, or else she was growing restless, she was having problems sleeping at night. She couldn't restrain her true nature.

She wasn't doing it to dominate others... Did she?

Yuka didn't know what to think anymore.

She despised the Mages that were ruling over the Empire for a variety of reasons, but the biggest one was their sense of superiority, the perverted pleasure they were taking in dominating all the people who didn't have their powers – and who therefore weren't able to fight back. Was she no different from the Mages?

She needed to shapeshift. It was her true nature.

Could it be... that Coulter was feeling the same?

After all, in order to not be spotted, the red-haired woman was forced to restrain her powers almost all the time. Was it taking a toll on her body and her mind?

Still, she now understood Coulter's attitude during their infiltrations. A woman used the exact same tactic to betray her wagon train: she stole the clothes of a friendly merchant, and sold them out to the Mages before cowardly running away.

Yuka sat on the grass.

Knowing that Coulter lost her wagon train because of the Mages was one thing, witnessing it first-hand was another.

Yuka was used to hate and despise the red-haired woman. Things were going to become a lot more complicated if she started to feel sorry for her...

She needed to change shape... To become someone else...

However, their hideout was isolated, hidden under the ruins of a former temple. There was no one in the surroundings, only allies.

“You shouldn't wander outside alone.” a voice suddenly said behind her.

“Azeneth...”

Her friend sat next to her. “I left Yisüi with Jinora. She's more comfortable with her than with me. What about you? You do realize that you are naked, right?”

“I got into trouble with Coulter...”

“That's one of your bad habits. And it's not the first time.”

“This time, it's different. This time, I saw...”

“I think I see what you mean.” Azeneth interrupted her.

“You've always been the one who had... well, the least trouble with her.”

“The Mages fried my father, Yuka.” Azeneth softly retorted. “They fried him alive because they suspected him of spying. Of course, he was guilty, but they didn't execute him. They fried him. I've decided that I wouldn't let revenge consume me and destroy my life. I've decided that I would be happy, and that dwelling on revenge wouldn't bring me happiness, but I understand Coulter.”

Yuka nodded. She was scratching her left arm and her right knee was moving all alone. She needed to shapeshift.

Azeneth looked at her. “You're restless.”

“I need to change my mind.”

“You need to change shape.” Azeneth understood.

“Yes.” Yuka admitted.

"Too bad there's no guard around here to knock around..." her friend joked.

But the shapeshifter wasn't in the mood for a laugh.

There was a short moment of silence.

“You could always try it with me.” Azeneth then proposed.

Yuka hesitated. “Wouldn't it be weird?”

“Not if it's in friendship. I wouldn't want to get between Rashid and you...”

Yuka rolled her eyes. “What's with everyone talking about me and Rashid! There's nothing. And even if there was, I have to remind you that he's the second heir of the Kingdom of Ghazan! And I'm a commoner and a foreigner in the eyes of his people!”

“Fine, fine. Touchy subject...” her friend said with a shrug.

She moved to get up.

“Wait. Azeneth. What you said before... You truly meant it?”

“Yes.”

Yuka blinked. “You do secretly enjoy it, don't you? I mean, being tied up...”

“Regard it as an escape training for me. And besides, you do need to put on some clothes, don't you?”

“You didn't answer my question.”

“And I won't. Now, you better get on with the task, or I leave you alone.”

**************

A little while later, under the cover of some bushes around the ruins, Yuka now had brown eyes and a tanned skin that were lighter than the average subject of the Empire. Her eyes were also rounder, and she had coarse dark brown hair as well as an oval face with a sharp chin and a tall soft nose.

She was wearing Azeneth's clothes, that were actually similar to the ones worn by some people from beyond the ocean: a white blouse with long baggy sleeves, black trousers with a leather belt, and brown boots.

The real Azeneth was seated next to her. The metis was wearing a light white short-sleeved linen chemise and thigh-long white linen underpants. She insisted that Yuka went all the way and also trussed her up. Her wrists, her ankles, her knees, and her shoulders were tied with rope. She also told the shapeshifter to gag her with a clean piece of cloth, that was now covering her mouth.

She said she was practising her 'rope escape' skills...

Yuka didn't care. She waited for her friend to finish. The night was warm anyway, as it often was in the Empire. Once they would be done here, she would go see Rashid.

Azeneth actually managed to break free in record time.

[Blue-Cynthia]

Quite a good start for a plot that can be continued and a very interesting setting. The pacing is good and so is the story itself so far, especially the background lore building.

The fantasy setting is somewhat uncommon for this genre so it’s an interesting change to see.

Personally, I’m not a fan of multiple protagonists in a clothes stealing story, but that’s just me.

Overall, great work.

[meditions142]

Outstanding work. While I usually like stories closer to "real world" the sci-fi/fantasy touch here was really fun.

And I really like Yuka ability of "simply by touching the bare skin of someone, she could force their mind to shut down and lose consciousness."

I loved Yuka using her powers to deal with the guard at the beginning. First off, fun touch of her upon realizing the guard was new and inexperienced and thinking to herself "therefore, I can have some fun".

Then I love the way she changes to look just like the young guard to so that the woman is so startled she cannot defend herself. I love the image of Yuka's hand beginning to glow and then simply touching the woman's neck which causes her to stiffen then spasm. Her eyes roll back, she lets out a moan and falls unconscious into Yuka's waiting arms. I also enjoyed the comments Yuka then made to the unconscious guard after she knocked her out.

I also enjoy the fact that to keep the young guard out she used a sleeping potion on a cloth and covered the woman's nose and mouth so she would breath in the drug and fall into a deep sleep. And I loved the girl's muffled cries trailing off as the drug put her to sleep.

One thing I found intriguing was about the five guards in the guard post. I am generally not a fan of lethal guard take outs and I know you usually write non-lethal take outs. I thought however the discussion of the the fact that while they wanted to avoid it, two of the guards had been killed while taking control of the guard post was a good touch. It added a very interesting dose of realism to the story. I

also enjoyed the discussion about killing or not killing the three unconscious guards. And of course they too got the sleep potion to make sure they stay asleep.

Great story!

[rufusluciusivan]

Blue-Cynthia: Thanks for the feedback!
I'm glad you enjoyed the story and you shared your thoughs with me, even though it's not your favorite kind of stories. (I admit that having only one character has its perks: the story is more focused and has a better rhythm since it doesn't have to change of point of view. Personally, one of my favorite things in USB stories is the banters between characters, so I prefer to have multiple protagonists with contrasting personalities.)

I'm relieved to see that you appreciated the background lore building. Honestly, while I like constructing this world, I could totally understand if some people told me that they were bothered by the lore building; at some moments, the exposition takes up space and can delay the arrival of Uniform Stealings. (Actually, I even removed a few exposition paragraphs when I read over this part.)

Indeed, a fantasy setting hasn't been used much to tell USB stories. The only example I can think of is Raid On Duin Carth. Since I like fantasy in general, I thought this was the occasion to try something more original. I take it that you like fantasy too?

meditions142:

And I really like Yuka ability of "simply by touching the bare skin of someone, she could force their mind to shut down and lose consciousness."

It was indeeed one of the perks of a fantasy setting.

The scene with Yuka and the first guard was the scene I liked writing the most, so I'm glad you enjoyed the details of the process of rendering her unconscious... and making sure that she would stay asleep.

I am generally not a fan of lethal guard take outs and I know you usually write non-lethal take outs. I thought however the discussion of the the fact that while they wanted to avoid it, two of the guards had been killed while taking control of the guard post. It added a very interest dose of realism to the story.

Addding realism was indeed the point of this scene. Luckily for the three other guards, my characters are nice enough to not finish off unconscious people.

[meditions142]

It was indeeed one of the perks of a fantasy setting.

The scene with Yuka and the first guard was the scene I liked writing the most, so I'm glad you enjoyed the details of the process of rendering her unconscious... and making sure that she would stay asleep.

I would love to see the "knockout touch" in future stories. So much fun.

I am curious how it actually works. It seems to be some kind of electrical energy Yuka's body puts out. While it is certainly a humane way for Yuka to take out someone, it seems based on the effect it had on the guard's body it does inflict some degree of pain given that the guard's body spasmed and she moaned as she lost consciousness. Hopefully the experience wasn't too bad on the young woman.

[rufusluciusivan]

I am curious how it actually works.

Magic. Probably electrical magic, but magic nevertheless. I didn't envision it as necessarily painful, more like causing a very strange unusual sensation.

[tirepanted3]

Interesting. Some nice world-building and skillful weaving of exposition that doesn't disrupt the flow of the story. And I like how you're already developing the characters and their conflicts.

I must confess that I'm not particularly a fan of magic or shape-shifters in USB stories - for me, part of the fun is that the uniform thieves are working with their own human skills to disguise themselves and deceive others. I tend to prefer it when the clothes themselves constitute the full disguise, rather than just part of it. The thief manages to successfully impersonate someone without fully losing herself in the role.

But as I say, this is my personal preference, and this is still a well-written story. I enjoyed some of the takedowns, particularly the courtesans and the offscreen replacement of the executioner (a clever and original type of disguise not commonly employed - I particularly like the little detail that "Women are executed by a woman").

An interesting idea, certainly, but I'm hoping you find room for the non-superpowered characters to do their fair share of outfit stealing.

[Blue-Cynthia]

Blue-Cynthia: Thanks for the feedback!
I'm glad you enjoyed the story and you shared your thoughs with me, even though it's not your favorite kind of stories. (I admit that having only one character has its perks: the story is more focused and has a better rhythm since it doesn't have to change of point of view. Personally, one of my favorite things in USB stories is the banters between characters, so I prefer to have multiple protagonists with contrasting personalities.)

I'm relieved to see that you appreciated the background lore building. Honestly, while I like constructing this world, I could totally understand if some people told me that they were bothered by the lore building; at some moments, the exposition takes up space and can delay the arrival of Uniform Stealings. (Actually, I even removed a few exposition paragraphs when I read over this part.)

Indeed, a fantasy setting hasn't been used much to tell USB stories. The only example I can think of is Raid On Duin Carth. Since I like fantasy in general, I thought this was the occasion to try something more original. I take it that you like fantasy too?

I do highly appreciate the deep world lore building that you do in many of your stories, that's an aspect of a writer that I respect. And in a USB story just like any other, I think that it can deepen and add more depth to the plot and characters. What is this world? Who are these characters? What is their reasoning for doing this or doing that? Why are the bad guys, the bad guys? Etc.

And, on an honest note, I usually don't read many of the stories here if they include multiple protagonists. I feel that in a USB story, it takes away from being able to focus on a single main character, the plot, and of course the disguises. Also, I think this is the first written USB story here to use shapeshifting? I may be wrong. I'm not too much a fan of that either since I prefer an impersonator to rely on the clothes and their skills on hand to pull off a disguise. But hey, I'm not trying to put you down or anything, everything is very well written and can be enjoyable even if it's not to someone's preference.

I like genres in general like fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi, dystopian. In a USB sense, I like seeing new types of settings because it allows opportunities to see new types of clothing you normally wouldn't see be used for disguises. Take for example my commission from a few weeks ago where characters from a game had their clothes stolen and used for disguises.

[rufusluciusivan]

So many comments and answers. Thanks a lot!

Tirepanted:
Thanks for the feedback. Perhaps I worried too much about the world-building? Anyway, I'm glad to see that (according to the comments I've received until now) it doesn't disrupt the flow of the story. It means I'll have to keep this amount of exposition between scenes.
Yes, the conflicts and personalities are already being developped, especially between Yuka and Coulter. (The idea being to have a duality between a character who considers uniform stealings one of the most important parts of her life and another who despises them.) At first, I thought about only writing an infiltration allowing to introduce the main characters and their personalities, but decided to start developping their conflit already. I thought it was important to immediately explain where Coulter's attitude stems from.

The point of this story was to feature a main character with shape-shifting powers, and to explore how she feels about her condition and how such a useful power can affect an infiltration, although I can reassure you that her other companions will indeed also have their share of outfit stealings...

Blue-Cynthia:
I'm not feeling put down by your comment at all. I appreciate the honesty and I understand why you prefer stories featuring a single main character. Maybe one day I'll try one...? Some of the characters of darthchloroform's short stories can shapeshift, so it's not the first story, but yes indeed there aren't many.

I do highly appreciate the deep world lore building that you do in many of your stories, that's an aspect of a writer that I respect. And in a USB story just like any other, I think that it can deepen and add more depth to the plot and characters. What is this world? Who are these characters? What is their reasoning for doing this or doing that? Why are the bad guys, the bad guys? Etc.

I share your thoughts about world-building. Genres like fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi and dystopia are indeed interesting types of settings for the opportunities of new types of clothes they provide. I remember the commission, and yes indeed it was interesting to see types of clothes rarely stolen (especially liked Sisila's WWI-inspired clothes; though the more anime-like suit worn by the woman wearing the glasses ambushed in the locker room was also good - has an Evangelion-vibe).