Beasts of Burden

By Sylvan Scott

In the royal household of Niahn'si Pohl, the lord's eldest son, Kan, has lived a life of privilege. He has had the best education, been groomed in the courtly arts, and set upon the path of leadership. Chosen by God and fate, he will one day rise to assume his father's throne in loyal support to their great emperor.

But in a land where divine providence comes with equally giant stature and dominion over the great, shaggy giants that toil on the Komasaru plains, Kan senses that something is wrong. When one of the massive beasts, a tahn-chen, breaks into the family compound, Kan is forced to face some disturbing implications that cast a dark shadow over the foundation of his entire world.

Cover art by Louis Frank.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sylvan Scott
• Release date: Mar 20, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476040455

Sylvan Scott

I wrote about robots. When I was a kid, my first story was about robots that looked like people: the only survivors of a world-wide nuclear war. What can I say? I grew up in the 70's. Since then I've sculpted all manner of stories about all sorts of topics. Science Fiction and Fantasy still remain favorites of mine and, usually, what I can express in speculative fiction I'd rather not express in other formats. I love short stories and am working on making this writing bug that I've harbored for so many years finally work for me. Here goes nothing.

Book preview

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be sold for profit or remuneration. If you would like to share this ebook, please refer people to Smashwords.com and encourage them to download and review this and other stories by the author. Thank you for respecting the hard work that went into creating and distributing this story.

Beasts of Burden

©2012 by Sylvan Scott

Smashwords Edition

Kan... Motahatsu Kan...

Kan started. The voice rumbled like the pronouncement of God. It was slow and ponderous but definitely the young lord’s name. The shadow of the beast fell over him. He’d seen the tahn-chen up close before, but never outside the workman’s courtyard.

Built like a cross between a bear and a wolf, the blunt-muzzled creature stood upright on thick legs but stooped to address the much smaller man. Its dull-witted eyes gazed down at the young lord from their twenty-foot height. Despite the tahn-chen’s placid reputation, Kan felt a pang of fear. A simple stray movement, an accident by one of those monstrous paws, and he’d be injured or worse. He panicked and stammered a sharp rebuke; it was all he could think to do.

Stand your ground, beast; I order you—

It moved closer, out from the alley in which it stood. The creature supported itself against the enclosing walls of the nahn-jin’tae—the paper mill—and the stables. Its lumbering, inarticulate movements cast their shadows into the street as it lumbered forth.

Kan, it repeated. Its muzzle worked slowly as if wrestling with poorly understood