NOVEL NEXT Ch53.1 Lorna: Naked Truths (Scene 1)
69:20, Day 578, Year 5813
Shakti Sarovar (शक्ति सरोवर), Lakes of Divine Femininity, Lustsong Woods, Shashan
"Where exactly are we headed?" Lorna Weiss asked with a frown as Vyomendri guided her through the forest. They walked together beneath the towering canopy of violet trees. Her stride was relaxed, yet Lorna's mind stayed alert, while her botanical dress clung to her ample bosom and left her midriff bare.
"Someplace to wash up and relax," Vyom responded. His imposing violet figure was both tall and muscular.
Around them, Lorna could hear the sounds of people groaning and engaging in intimate activities, interspersed with bursts of singing and the gentle ripple of water, coming from behind the trees around them.
Turning her gaze to the left, Lorna spotted two Sūkṛmucs, their skin a striking shade of violet that mirrored Vyom's. The male, with his muscular arms tensed, was poised behind the female, his hips moving, his movements rhythmic as he thrust into her, creating small ripples in the pond. The female's head was thrown back, eyes half-closed in ecstasy, her moans cutting through the rustling of leaves. Their naked bodies, slick with sweat, shone with an almost ethereal glow, partially hidden by the thick foliage. Yet, Lorna's keen sense of smell picked up on the heady mix of their sweat and musk.
Turning to the right, she saw two other Sūkṛmucs, both male, enveloped in a serene embrace within a hotspring. Their eyes were gently closed, bodies entwined, lost in the depths of their connection, clearly devoted partners.
"People here aren't exactly shy, are they?" Lorna remarked casually, though her mind was already racing, trying to figure out where Vyom might be leading her.
"'Modesty' is more of a Earth thing, or should I say, an 'Earth human' concept?" Vyom explained, gesturing with his strong hands as they strolled along. "Here on Shashan, and within the Rakshasa Horde, we are straightforward about our desires and needs."
They stopped in front of a pond, its crystal-clear blue water glowing invitingly.
"I'm not really in the mood, though," Lorna said, glancing at Vyom. Sure, his physique was appealing, but she felt too exhausted to engage in anything intimate at the moment.
Vyom just shrugged with a smile. "I was tasked to bring you to a pond away from others."
"Oh?" Lorna raised an intrigued golden eyebrow.
"Carrying the Fenris strain with you, despite its dormant state. A few might find you unpleasant company." he said.
"You mean they're afraid of the Nucleus Virus on me?" she asked.
"Not so much as 'distrustful'." he replied as their gazes met. "Unless you intend to explain how you caught the Fenris virus, most would assume you're affiliated. So you are to bathe away from others."
"Alright." Lorna replied with a mixture of resignation and relief.
"But Tanha might think differently. If you have questions, ask her." And with that, Vyom walked away.
Lorna stood alone at the edge of the pond, the steam rising in lazy tendrils around her. The distant sounds of intimate activities continued in the background, somehow making her solitude more pronounced. She knelt, dipping her fingers into the water.
Perfect temperature, inviting her to sink into its depths and forget the weight of the last few days. Almost reminded her of the natural hot springs like Ljøsnavatnet near Stryn, or the saunas in Oslo.
With a deep breath, Lorna began to undress. Her movements were cautious yet deliberate, her eyes constantly scanning the surroundings. The botanical dress slipped from her shoulders with ease, leaving her bare to the alien air. If anyone was watching, they'd see no hesitation or vulnerability in her — only the agile movements of someone who'd long ago learned to fend for herself.
Lorna slowly stepped into the hot spring. Initially alert, she gradually relaxed as the warmth of the water enveloped her.
She let out a satisfied sigh as she eased into the water, her bare body sinking beneath the surface, the water gently covering her ample chest. Her ivory skin began to glisten with sweat, and her braided blonde hair became drenched as it soaked up the water.
As Lorna began to feel her senses fading, she noticed bubbles rising to the surface of the pond nearby. Her sapphire eyes sharpened, concentrating on the disturbance.
A head surfaced, adorned with long, meticulous hair similar to Lorna's, but tinged with a light violet color. The eyes, reminiscent of amethysts, pulsed with intensity, accompanied by small markings near them.
The Sūkṛmuc smiled as she rose further out of the water, revealing her upper body. Her violet skin glistened as she moved, her wet nipples visible.
"Tanha," Lorna acknowledged, her body tensing once more. "Figured you Rakshasas wouldn't trust me enough to let me have some time to myself."
"A necessary pre-caution. Not uncommon when we have visitors from the Sol System," Tanha responded, gliding closer to Lorna in the water. "Consider yourself lucky. Harald wasn't even allowed to eat with us."
Hearing her father's name made Lorna's heart flutter. She had so many questions, and if only she could ask them here...
But before she could, Tanha continued, her amethyst eyes narrowing. "That tension's back in your body. Every time Harald is mentioned, you tense up. What is he to you?"
Stolen novel; please report.
"None of your business," Lorna replied defensively, leaning her back against the pond's edge, her legs and backside resting on a stone beneath the water.
"Your choice." Tanha said with a grin, now seated next to Lorna and facing away. In her human form, she looked noticeably smaller and slimmer than Lorna, yet just as powerful.
"Tell me there's a way to convince you to give us the Moondust shard." Lorna said as she looked to Tanha.
The Sūkṛmuc scoffed, her pointed ears batting as if they shared her annoyance as she leaned forward in the water. "What's with you Sol people, always talking about work? Can't you just enjoy life for a moment?"
"My people are fighting against the Fenris Horde and the Imperium back home. I didn't get paid to stay comfortable."
Suddenly, cheerful voices echoed nearby, causing both women to turn their heads.
Beyond a row of bushes and a line of small trees lay a larger pond, where Emmanuel stood surrounded by several Sūkṛmucs. Emmanuel's ebony physique was both muscular and alluring, his long locs cascading over his shoulders. He held a lit cigar in his hand while two of the Sūkṛmucs, all naked, swam closer to him, their upper bodies glistening with sweat.
Lorna raised an eyebrow. Nothing seemed particularly unusual, except for the fact that Emmanuel was in the company of multiple alien men and women.
"Now watch this!" Emmanuel spoke with confidence, bringing the lit cigar closer to his lips and taking a puff. He then lifted his head and exhaled, releasing a perfect ring of smoke into the air.
The Sūkṛmucs cheered, with a few clapping.
"That's amazing. What did you say this is called?" asked a female Sūkṛmuc, pointing with a slender finger.
"Cigar," Emmanuel replied, holding it up as if it were a rare treasure. "It's... a kind of medicine. Yeah, that's what it is."
"Lovely. It's like that incense thing Amir showed us," a male Sūkṛmuc remarked, nodding with keen interest.
"Your friend seems to enjoy this place," Tanha observed from beside Lorna as she leaned back, resting her head on the edge of the pond and gazing at the twilight sky.
Lorna exhaled, watching Emmanuel and the Sūkṛmucs gathered around him. "Yeah, I suppose he does."
"You could, as you Sol people say, 'take a page from his book,'" Tanha remarked, glancing over at Lorna. "Isn't that what it's called? 'Book'?"
"I think so," Lorna replied, shifting her focus to meet Tanha's eyes. They were both submerged up to their chests in the hot spring, their ample bosoms glistening with sweat amidst the steam. "Have you never seen one?"
"When I was human on Devithar, my mother showed me something with several white, dried leaves bound together like a loaf of bread, flippable. She called it a book, and those leaves were pages," Tanha explained as she scooped water to wash her arms. "Some kind of ancient knowledge source. I never bothered reading one; holopads were much more practical."
"Have you ever been to Sol?" Lorna inquired.
"Why would I want to? It's full of death, pointless nonsense, and people inventing new excuses to kill each other," Tanha replied, finishing with her arms and moving on to wash her chest. "I wouldn't set foot there unless Kathrin orders us to establish another outpost."
"Like the one beneath Door Valkyris?"
"That was a trap meant to catch Sol people like you." Tanha chuckled. But the humor didn't reach her eyes as she studied Lorna. "Primarch Moro has a fondness for Harald, you know. He was the first human from Sol we ever spoke with directly."
Lorna's head snapped up, her attention fully captured. "What? When?"
"About eleven Earth years ago," Tanha said, her voice softer now. "Harald came seeking knowledge about the Crystal. He spoke with Moro for hours beneath his branches."
"Branches?" Lorna's eyes narrowed, catching the phrase, finding it unusual.
"Told you too much." Tanha averted her gaze. "You'll see for yourself."
"And you're telling me this now because...?" Lorna pushed.
Tanha sighed, submerging herself briefly before resurfacing, water streaming down her violet form. "Because I see the same look in your eyes that he had – searching for answers about something too vast to understand." She paused, studying Lorna's face. "Rest until Chandrak reaches its zenith."
"Chandrak? You mean that one?" Lorna questioned, her gaze drawn upward to the blue planet dominating the sky.
The massive gas giant hung large in the twilight heavens, its swirling azure surface marbled with bands of deeper blue and turquoise. The planet's edge glowed with a luminous halo. Wisps of pink clouds drifted through Shashan's atmosphere, framing the giant planet like brushstrokes across a cosmic canvas.
"Yes," Tanha replied, watching Lorna's awestruck expression with amusement. "Nothing in your Sol System compares, does it?"
Lorna's hand instinctively went to her chest but she wasn't sure why. "Can you tell me more about your Primarch?"
"Only that little happens on Shashan without him knowing," Tanha said, beginning to rise from the water. "Kathrin will send for you when it's time. Until then, maybe actually enjoy the respite you've been given, hmm?"
With an unreadable glance, Tanha glided away through the water toward the shore. With droplets of water trailing down her glistening nudity, she stepped onto the ground and hummed a melody, pacing towards the other pond where Emmanuel and other Sūkṛmucs were, leaving Lorna alone with her thoughts, the gently lapping waves around her, and the majestic Chandrak watching from above.
Lorna watched as Tanha joined Emmanuel's gathering. The violet-skinned woman was greeted with cheerful calls from her kin, the group immediately making space for her.
"*Tanha, bhagini! Emmanuel iha Sol manuṣyāṇāṃ 'cigar' asti!*" One of them declared in Devavāṇī.
"*Dṛṣṭaṃ mayā, Najan. Mama pitā tadapi dhārayati sma.*" Tanha responded in the same alien language.
"Go on, Emmanuel. Show her!"
Emmanuel's deep laugh rumbled across the distance as he offered her his cigar, the Sūkṛmucs crowding around them in a display of camaraderie. Their bodies, human and alien alike, glistened in the twilight.
The sound of their laughter reached Lorna like echoes from another world. Isolated in her separate pond, Lorna should have felt lonely, excluded from their revelry. Yet strangely, she found herself smiling. There was something peaceful about this moment on the alien moon.
The water embraced her, warm and soothing. She sank deeper, letting it envelop her shoulders, the heat penetrating muscles she hadn't realized were aching. Cupping her hands, she lifted water to her face, washing away days of tension and worry. Another scoop over her hair, then her neck, rinsing dust and fear from her skin.
She then leaned back against the smooth stone edge, tilting her face toward the alien sky. When was the last time she'd simply existed without thinking about the next mission, the next battle, the next monster to slay? The weight of the Alliance, of Earth, of the war against the Radi-Mons seemed like a different life here under Shashan's twilight canopy.
Her eyelids grew heavy as the water's warmth loosened the knots in her body one by one. The sounds of distant laughter became a lullaby, Chandrak's blue light a comforting nightlight. The Moondust Crystal, Harald, Skarn—maybe all of it could wait.
As her consciousness began to drift, Lorna didn't fight it. For once, she surrendered, allowing herself to sink into the welcoming darkness of sleep, cradled in the alien waters of a world far from home.