Daughter of the Sky. Gods and Serpents: Daughter of the Sky, #1

By Elijah Gutman

The era of antiquity. A purposeful patrician girl goes to another country, to a newly opened Academy to receive a technical specialty. There she will encounter traces of a highly developed civilization from outside her native world, a conspiracy associated with reptilian snake people, she will discover the secret of her own origin and some secrets of the origin of mankind. And will find love. The action of the book takes place in the same universe as the work "The Restless. Red messiah.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Elijah Gutman
• Release date: Jun 23, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223122760

Book preview

Chapter 1

I have seen the same dream countless times.

The intoxicating starry night unfurls its wings over the shore. The enormous iridescent moon leisurely glides across the matte-blue sky, adorned with diamonds of bright, large stars. Gentle waves affectionately caress the shores of the bay. And the sea, the heavens, the palm trees, and the mountains on the island—everything breathes with grandeur. And with history. For many centuries, various kingdoms and empires have fought for these lands. Commanders brought armies and fleets here, but now the coast has transformed into a peaceful harbor. Anticipating something great, clad in a silvery dress, I walk along the sea towards the southern shore, where a mountain rises, adorned with enormous shimmering towers. I pass by a fountain and a statue of a mermaid, located not far from the pier. The mysterious towers allure and beckon, while sea spray washes over my face. The divine beings dwell within them, and meeting them promises countless wonders.

The Sun's disc peeks out from the smooth surface of the sea, and a warm ray shines directly on my face. Too bright, too intense. And I... wake up.

Since childhood, I have regularly had dreams about the shining towers on the mountain, where the gods are supposed to dwell, as if these visions were sent to me. Since then, I have developed an interest in the religion of my homeland and the stories about our gods.

Judging by the height of the sun, I slept as usual, around a quarter of a day. It's one of the peculiarities of my body—I need to sleep five to six hours instead of the eight required by most people. The three slaves lying next to me in my large bed continue to doze off, exhausted and miserable after yesterday's orgy. If I have slaves, I prefer to make full use of them, although I don't openly discuss it. Our society is full of double standards—apparently, it's considered normal for a master to sleep with slave women, but a mistress with slave men is frowned upon. Some say that it's not fitting for a noblewoman to bear children with slaves because if anyone finds out, they will be born plebeians.

But I have a gift. Since childhood, I have been able to control my body. And I know that I cannot conceive unless I want to. How? It's unclear. I just know it, like I know that I have two legs and two arms. And if the slaves are healthy men, why not make good use of them? My mother, as my uncle said, used to drink certain mixtures that prevented pregnancy, so I have neither brothers nor sisters. She had many men, but she truly loved only one, which I will tell you about later. It seems that I have inherited my promiscuity from her. There are no more recipes for those mixtures, but I don't really need them.

My name is Tamira, which translates from Ancient Villenian as Panther or Tigress. My given name is Tirren. I am nineteen years old, and I am a patrician. My close ones call me Tama or Mira. Tama means fox in the language of our ancestors. But as a child, my mother affectionately called me Fixi, not Foxy just like that. Because even as a little girl, I was markedly different from other children. The nickname Fixi emphasized my individuality. I was a very active and inquisitive child, confusing those around me with my excessive mobility and restlessness. People say that children like me have a fire in their bellies. Nevertheless, if a book interested me, I could sit with it and ignore the outside world for hours.

My mother entered the Halls of Death when I was only seven, taken by a plague epidemic. I didn't know my father; I only knew his name—Elharan of Ar-Mitseh. He was a renowned warrior and officer, and he had been to Sagir. It was him whom my mother, as she said, truly loved. As my uncle said, when she was with him, she didn't take the contraceptive mixture. She wanted to bear a child from Elharan. She dreamed of giving birth to a son as heroic as he was. However, I came into the world, and she occasionally lamented that I wasn't born a boy.

I did not know my father's family name. I was raised by my uncle Bainus, my mother's brother. When I turned sixteen and reached adulthood, I inherited the winery that belonged to my mother. It brings me a decent income.

My grandparents left this world about ten years before my birth, and according to the inheritance laws, the pasture and several estates were supposed to go to my uncle. However, the Emperor issued a new decree stating that women could also inherit property. As a result, the pasture and one of the estates went to my uncle, while the winery and other estates went to my mother. And then they passed on to me.

It was difficult to experience the death of a loved one during my childhood. Orphaned at the age of seven, I went through a severe shock that resulted in a temporary loss of memory. It felt like a week was erased from my biography. However, when I regained my senses, I realized that my own life continued.

From an early age, I was fascinated by mathematics and physics. In gymnasium[1], I became the first girl to be admitted to classes in these subjects, not without the help of my uncle Bainus's money.

At the age of five, while playing with alphabet blocks, I taught myself to read, and soon I read numerous books. When I turned seven, shortly before my mother left this world, she gave me a book about the sacred mountain Talaktia, where the gods descended from the heavens and built their own city. The gods created guardians who were not supposed to allow mortals into the city unless they received special invitations. The gods forged artificial people from metal and infused them with souls that became lightning. They called their guardians automatons[2]. The book had an illustration: a tall silver warrior in bronze armor, resembling hoplites[3], with a spear, shield, and a sword hanging in the sheath. His eyes glowed with golden fire, and it seemed as if the artist had seen him himself, as the image evoked a sense of admiration and awe. Since then, I wanted to create automatons myself, artificial beings that could replace slaves and grant them freedom. And also soldiers in war, so that living people would no longer die in battle. My mother, when she heard me talk about my dreams, would sadly smile, saying that I was just a mortal girl, not a goddess, and it was naive to think that I could create an automaton myself.

Ever since my childhood, when I became passionate about the idea of creating an artificial human, I became interested in mechanics and disassembled the tabletop clock given to me by Uncle Bainus on my ninth birthday. Then I assembled them, and miraculously, they worked. I decided to become a mechanic. After finishing gymnasium with honors, I started looking for a master who would be willing to teach me. However, in the Villene Empire, there was no mechanic who would take a girl as an apprentice. I thought about disguising myself as a man and studying at the Theora Academy, the greatest master in Villene. But then my breasts grew too Once I tried to find my father and hired someone who could help me locate him. It turned out to be in vain. Finding a man named Elharan from Ar-Mitseh was like searching for a specific grain of sand in the Sagir Desert. Uncle Bainus didn't approve of my idea to find my father, just like he didn't approve of my desire to study mechanics or my fascination with religion. He himself is an atheist and claims that people invented gods when they lacked sufficient knowledge about the world. However, I have heard numerous accounts from people who claimed to have seen gods descending from the heavens, looking just like us, possessing superhuman strength capable of putting mortals to sleep or striking them with lightning.

Uncle Bainus told me that he was good friends with my father and that my father, along with a friend who was a healer, cured him of a terrible illness called kobid. However, he didn't want to delve into the details of that story.

Since childhood, I was interested not only in the exact sciences and religion. I preferred playing with boys, engaging in soldier games, sports, and frequently getting into fights with them, rather than playing with dolls and girlfriends. As I grew older, I realized that there was no need to be hostile towards boys; I could engage in other more interesting and enjoyable activities with them.

I remember once sleeping with a senator. When his wife found out, she ambushed me and struck me from behind with the blunt end of an axe on my shoulder. Fortunately, I have strong bones since birth, so I didn't break anything. But I managed to injure her hand because I learned to fight back when I was young. My left shoulder turned into a bloody mess for a while, but it healed relatively quickly and took on a decent appearance. To cover the scar, I had to get a tattoo of a rose, which made me even more attractive to men.

However, on that same left arm, not far from my shoulder, another scar appeared in my childhood after my mother's death. It was during a period that has been erased from my memory. I injured myself and forgot how.

I looked at my reflection in the mirror—a captivating young woman with dusky skin, crowning curly hair that fell just below the shoulders, crescent-shaped eyebrows, and black eyes resembling those of the inhabitants of the eastern provinces of the Empire. Not surprisingly, as my father comes from there. I reminded myself of Taera, our goddess of love and beauty. Perhaps my mother named me Tamira because it sounds similar to the goddess's name.

In recent decades, women's rights in the Empire have been expanding. However, many professions remain closed to us. Take medicine, for example: one of the pillars of this science is the Moon Temple, although its influence has waned in recent years. Only male priests practice medicine in the Moon Temple. They claim that in ancient times, the Moon goddess, Serena, taught them the art of healing. The priests guard the recipes and treatment methods from ordinary mortals. However, in books about the gods, I read that initially, Serena taught women medicine as well, but men took over that field. Gicey, who founded the medical academy in Villene, was himself a former Moon priest, but he received permission to practice from the Emperor himself.

The story tells that shortly before my birth, a spy from the Imperial Legion stole a book of medicine recipes from the Temple and handed it over to the people. New healers emerged, opening clinics in the outskirts of the capital. However, due to the influence of the Temple, access to these clinics is still closed to my sister.

I have always strived for justice, not only concerned about my own problems but also the problems of other social groups: foreign immigrants and slaves. Although formally the immigrants were citizens of the Empire, in reality, they didn't have all the rights. I spoke out against the cruel treatment of slaves. In the Empire, children of slaves usually gain their freedom when they come of age, which is fair: they should not be enslaved just because their parents were in debt or captured. As for me, I began granting freedom to the children of slaves from birth, and the overseer of my villa became their caretaker.

I have always been interested in medicine for general knowledge. One of the great healers of our time is Mefir-Anum, who lives in the hot desert land of Sagir in the southeast. He studied medicine in various countries for over thirty years and made numerous incredible discoveries. Using microscopes invented by the Sagirians, he discovered the existence of microbes, tiny organisms linked to many diseases. By studying internal organs, he discovered the concept of hormones. Mefir-Anum developed hygiene and pharmacy. He introduced a vaccination system in Sagir, starting from infancy, which significantly reduced mortality in the country.

Mefir-Anum has written several books on medicine that are sold in the Empire. Books are expensive, but I can afford them. I have read Mefir-Anum's books as well as the works of his friend Shimdar, a great Sagirian physicist and mathematician of Tangarian origin. From his works, I learned about decimal fractions, exponents, roots, negative numbers, and the theory of gravity. Educational institutions have also been established where mechanics are taught based on textbooks written by Shimdar.

Rumors reached me that there is now a female mechanic in Villene. She studied somewhere outside the Empire, and our authorities allowed her to work here, apparently. Although due to the pervasive influence of the Temple of the Moon, a woman cannot study mechanics here, if she has already completed her studies in another country, she can become a practicing mechanic.

It became quite clear that I could also study mechanics in the same place. Luckily, I have a sharp mind, and I have enough money for tuition. However, I decided to first have a conversation with our specialist. Rumors said that her workshop is located in the upper district of Villene, and she sells watches and other devices for very high prices. I decided that I needed to talk to her and find out where she studied and how to apply for education there. At first, I was afraid that the female mechanic wouldn't tell me anything since she wouldn't be interested in competitors. Then I realized that I live a couple of hours' drive from the capital, in the city of Esquivel, and my clients would not intersect with hers, which I would definitely mention if she doesn't want to share information.

I traveled to Villene in a carriage drawn by two white horses along the famous Kirr Road, one of the first major roads in our empire, created by the order of Emperor Kirra between Villene and Eskville, parallel to the aqueduct built by the same ruler. My horses' hooves clicked synchronously on the white tiles. Upon reaching the city, I rode for about a mile and saw the upper quarter on the hill, separated from the rest of the city by a white brick wall. The winding road was shaded by olive trees. Majestic towers with the same symbols as the temples of Villen's gods, hidden behind the city's high fortification wall, rose above the quarter.

Commoners were not allowed into the upper quarter, only patricians, the wealthy, and legion officers. They immediately recognized me as a patrician by my attire. I drove through the arch in my carriage. Besides the towers, the quarter was filled with numerous shops where precious stones, scrolls and books, alchemical reagents, medicines, and artifacts like magical amulets were sold. Uncle Bainus called them charlatanism because he didn't believe in magic or gods. As I rode past the shops, I noticed a two-story workshop building tucked among the cypress trees. A sign with the inscription Marvelous Mechanisms and two drawn gears hung in front of the door. A young, curly-haired guard with a neatly trimmed beard, dressed in plate armor with a red cloak, stepped away from the building and headed toward me.

Why have you come here, lady? he asked. Are you looking to buy something?

I want to learn the craft of a mechanic. I heard that one woman has mastered this art.

That is correct. It is Lady Lucerna, and this is her shop.

May I speak with her?

Of course, lady, the guard stepped aside. I entered the shop. At the entrance stood a metal man, lifelike in size. As soon as I closed the door behind me, it waved its hand. I flinched and let out a horrified scream. A real automaton! A winding metal man! I had only read that the most skilled mechanics of the Empire could create them, like gods who had once fashioned metal people. And here I was, seeing one before me!

After catching my breath, I heard quiet laughter nearby. Behind the counter stood a tall woman with straight black hair. I couldn't discern the color of her eyes due to the goggles with two blue lenses she wore. Her gray tunic was covered with an oiled apron, and her hands were gloved. I examined her face: young, only six or seven years older than me.

I'm listening, lady, she said, lifting her visor, and I saw that her eyes were green. Do you wish to buy something? I recommend several varieties of wall and table clocks, she pointed to the items named in the cabinet behind the counter, and if you're interested in something exotic, we have wind-up kittens and dogs that run, meow, and bark. There are also singing wind-up nightingales.

Lady Lucerne, isn't it? I asked.

Correct, she replied.

I have been fascinated by various mechanisms since childhood. I love mathematics and physics. And I want to learn your craft.

And you want me to take you as my apprentice, young patrician...

Tamira, I introduced myself.

I'm afraid I don't have the money to pay an apprentice right now, Tamira, nor do I have time to teach you, Lucerne shrugged, lips slightly curved.

Maybe I can learn the craft where you did, in your time?

In the Empire, women are not trained in engineering. But they can be trained outside its borders. In Tirshaf, the capital of Sagir, the great healer Mefir-Anum and his friend, physicist and mathematician Shimdar, founded the Academy, the best in the world. If you manage to go there, they can take you as an apprentice, provided you pass the entrance exams.

Tell me about this academy, Lady Lucerne.

Initially, Mefir-Anum and Shimdar organized only two faculties: medical and physics-mathematics. Then the engineering faculty split from the latter, and that's where I graduated. Later, new faculties emerged: biological, astronomical, chemical, legal, linguistic, philosophical. Perhaps new faculties have been established since I completed the academy five years ago.

What specializations are there in the engineering faculty? I asked.

Mechanical engineering and civil engineering. I chose the former. I don't know which one will appeal to you.

So be it, I thought. I will go there, to Sagir. In any case, I will settle far away from my uncle. Maybe I'll find someone there who has seen my father.

Lady Lucerne, I said as I prepared to leave, what is that visor with lenses on your head?

Jeweler's glasses, she replied. They were created by Sagir opticians for working with precious stones, but mechanics also use them when working with small parts.

An intriguing device. I will need it after I finish my studies.

Chapter 2

Before leaving, I had a conversation with my uncle. At first, I thought he wouldn't approve of my idea to leave