The Great Khan Ch. 03

"My horsetails will turn black and I will strengthen the tribes who rally to my cause." Boldbator continued. "Our confederacy will become unstoppable and will take us over the Changcheng. We will sweep aside the Khitans and the Jurchens, subjugating them if they resist us. We will then show our might to the Song, be

ring their so-called 'Son of Heaven' to his knees and he will loudly mark us as the true lords of this world before his realm is taken from him."

He could see them whispering to one another, some in disbelief, at the scope of his ambitions. Some eyes peering at him were hard, knowing what he was about to ask or command of them. He would make them struggle hard if they intended resist his vision.

"Why should we fight amongst ourselves when the world lies within our grasp?" he called loudly, now moving between the knots of men. 'Targetai's plunder, which I will readily share with those who follow my lead, is but a hint of the glory that awaits us, if only we have the resolve to unite!"

He could tell his words, honest but soaring in scope, were reaching the majority of them. No true Mongol could stand to hear the soft Chinese claim that their Emperor represented the gods of earth. They would be punished for that arrogance.

"Forget your petty bickers and grievances with one another!" he said as Khorijin, Kula and Toragana joined him. "If you would have your family stand above your rivals, then prove it with the true tests of a man's mettle! Ride now under the banner of the united tribes and lead the way for those who still balk!"

"You forget yourself, Tengger," shouted the head of a family clustered nearby. Everyone turned to look at the man, who glared at Boldbator. "What true glories and accomplishments do you claim that would give you the right to lead the tribes? The slaying of a cat and the destruction of a clan known for its fine clothes rather than its steel?"

Boldbator stared at the man silently for several seconds before responding. "Is it not our way to cut off the excess fat and boil it down to oil our blades?" he asked calmly. "Soft metal serves a purpose every bit as much as hard steel, though a true warrior and leader uses them differently. Would you have us remain as we are, Negus, eking out our living on the steppes while others claim suzerainty? If not, who do you consider worthy to lead us?"

The man known as Negus said nothing but glared at Boldbator.

"What test would you have such a leader take?" continued the Tengger khan. "Martial skills? I'll happily meet a warrior of your choice with blades. Do you have the wealth to reward the men who will become that leader's army? Maybe you would have us simply wait until the sky collapses on us?"

Negus drew his blade angrily, as did his family members, but they heard the sound of hundreds of swords being brandished around them. The endless warriors surrounded them, waiting for the man to make a move toward Boldbator. Even if they were not convinced of his words, they would not see the sanctity of the gorugen violated.

Surrounded and hopelessly outnumbered, Negus gritted his teeth in fury and sheathed his sword before turning his steed around and led his family away from the gathering, heading east to their own lands. Boldbator waited until they had ridden a considerable distance before continuing.

"We will hold a kurultai. Follow me and your clan will know renown. Your rivals will envy you and the people of the South will shout your name in fear. Your gers will glitter with gold and be draped in silks. If you are not my army to meet this challenge, how long must I wait?"

Men began to call out their assent, slapping their hands on their thighs or on their leather-bound shields. He had challenged them to take a prize, now that the gorugen had proved their worth. What came now would be the first great challenge- bringing them here to the lands controlled by the Tengger, convincing them to leave their hereditary lands long enough to become an army and begin asserting his will over wider central plains.

Blue Wolf howled with the wind that swept over them. Boldbator would not falter in his task.

***

Toragana and Solongo kissed one another heatedly, tongues tangling as they sat entwined, writhing their bodies together. The older girl held her sister in a tight embrace while Solongo squeezed and groped Toragana's breasts. In the darkness of the ger, the dim glow of the central hearth their only light, they expressed their relief to be in one another's arms. Solongo gasped as she felt her sticky pussylips mingling with her sisters, clits brushing and sending shivers through both.

The kang they now shared was warm, piled with furs and silks. Nearby, Bolormaa slept soundly. With Kula attending the kurultai, the grand council meant to order the tribes, they felt safe to express themselves fully, something they would miss being able to do readily in their new environs. Solongo whimpered and bit her sister's shoulder, feeling the wet pleasure about to blossom through her body, desperate to hold on until Toragana joined her in bliss.

Then the sisters gripped one another's flanks, arching their spines and throwing their heads back, willing themselves not to scream. Pussies pressed together fiercely, bathing one another in cum. They ground their hips shamelessly, netherlips slithering and making greedy sucking noises. Panting and gasping, they fucked one another until they collapsed backward, resting on the kang, chests heaving and bodies awash in pleasure. Their hips were still locked together, pussies squirming slowly, milking every last sensation they could from one another.

Toragan finally rose into a sitting position wearily, her sweat-covered body glistening in the dim light. Breathing slowly and heavily, she took Solongo's hand and pulled her upright. They held one another, foreheads pressed together and nipples kissing. Gentle caresses assured them that they were not alone in this new life they'd been involuntarily thrust into.

Mostly involuntary.

"Do you think you will come to love him?" Solongo asked quietly. "Is that possible?"

"I know not," Toragana answered honestly. "But he is the greatest man in the tribes, of that I have no doubt, sister. He is not only a mighty warrior, he is a visionary."

Solongo nodded. "He has stars in his eyes. I have seen it. Even when was... when he took me, before he killed emee, right in front of Bolormaa and myself, I knew this man was different. For a single man to have brought down the Sukh confederacy so completely, he had to be different from the others."

"He is savage, my sister, do not doubt it. Like all men, he looks to exert his will over others, but Boldbator has greater motives than his own aggrandizement. He wants all the tribes to ascend to dominance over this world and he sees no other except himself willing to try and accomplish this."

"He terrifies me." Solongo whispered, trying not to shiver in fright. "Even more than his brother, my husband, who is so brutal. I fear not just my life, but Bolormaa's as well."

"I will protect you, emegtei duu, I promise," said the older girl, hoping her voice sounded assuring. "I am the First Wife of the Tengger khan, it is not a position I plan to squander or wilt from. I will not let that brute Kula hurt you. I... you might have to get used to unpleasant fucking, but he will not hurt you. Or Bolormaa."

Solongo smiled wanly. "I pray you are right. I am frightened. Chambui hates me, although I think Kula has scared her into not trying to kill me. Maybe... if I give him the son she could not?"

Toragana smiled warmly. "This is our world now, sister. We are Tengger. We can lament the past in our hearts, but we Mongols and we will not shirk from our future. I may not ride to war with my husband, I have not the skill. But I, even more than Sarantuya or Lady Turkina, can help administer this clan and keep alliances in place. They do not know the depth of the knowledge you and I gained from the Uyghurs who served our father. Let us keep that hidden until it proves useful, so that we will always gain favour in the khan's eyes."

Solongo sighed. "To think this is the price of my soul. Are we now greater or less than we were, sister?"

By way of response, Toragana kissed Solongo deeply, for several seconds. The younger girl moaned into her mouth as they held one another tight, breasts and pussies squashed together, legs and arms wrapped around one another. Their identical raven hair falling over their shoulders and blending together, bonding them. The kiss was wet and wanton, and when it ended, Toragana drew back, a glistening thread of their mingled spittle between their tongues, a game they'd played since their earliest days as young lovers. They both giggled.

"I think our greatest days are yet to come, my love..."

***

The kurultai had been long and tempestuous, lasting into the early hours of the morning. Once the basic details had been seen to, the leaders and captains had been summoned into a great tent that was constructed, yellow in colour, with Boldbator sitting on a dais that overlooked the proceedings. Other, lesser warriors who would not be in command had retired to their gers, awaiting the decisions yet to be made.

The discussions were predictably loud and animated, often heated, with the drawing of swords only being prevented by the baleful glare of the feared Kula and the lightning bow of Khorijin. Through it all, Boldbator quietly announced his intentions and gave out instructions, watching his new commanders with interest. They argued over who would serve best in what capacity, making cases for themselves or their sons as deserving the positions of greatest prestige.

He closed his eyes, mulling over the situation he now found himself in- he had maybe five or six thousand capable horsemen at his command, most of them of untested loyalty. As many as two thousand had left the gorugen, walking away from his offer to join him, meaning that his intentions would soon be known across the steppe and beyond, to all the tribes. He would need to act soon, quickly, decisively, and ruthlessly. Much blood would be spilled in the unifying of the steppe peoples.

How would he use his resources and advantages?

Kula, the unquestioning and obedient war-hound, his executioner.

Khorijin, his keen-eyed gyr, ever eager to prove her worth with a precise kill, subtler than Kula, who lived for the chaos of battle.

Sarantuya and Toragana, his wives, aristocratic and of good breeding and lineage, they would serve well in unifying his fledgling confederacy. Their blood would bring many within his fold.

Turkina, matron of the clan, second only to him in authority. She would hold his family and their vassals in place with her cool demeanour and imperious glance. Even Kula feared his mother.

How would he unify the tribes? How much of Targetai's treasure we he need to give out now to secure the fealty of this army? How many ways could he safely split his force to being the steppes into compliance without spreading himself too thin?"

He needed daring, cunning, diplomacy and cold-hearted ruthlessness in equal measure. More than anything, though, he needed his own unfailing belief in the vision the heavens had given him. If he was to be kha-Khan, the Khan of khans, he must never waver, face his fears, and never surrender.

This was the moment where everything was decided. If he spoke the dreaded words now, the call for war, there was no turning back. Rivers of blood, bodies uncounted and glory like nothing his peoples had ever seen before.

And an empire that exceeded even that of fabled Iskander, warlord of the west who had created the greatest hegemony ever known. Boldbator would surpass him. He rose now and nodded his head, causing all those assembled to stand with him.

"Teke!" he said loudly, drawing his blade and ordering his warriors to mount their horses, the call to war.

"Uukhai!" they shouted back, thunderous and with purpose, dedicating their blades to their Khan and the Heavens.

The war for the world would soon begin.

***

Author's Notes: This chapter was way overdue, sorry about that. Lots of people (well, dozens), have emailed me, asking me when Chapter 3 would show up. I actually compressed more into this chapter than originally intended, but I decided I didn't want this story to become too laconic, which I can often do. Another story of mine that I have been publishing online for ten years just passed 900,000 words. Yeesh.

"You're going to have to accept that fact that there will be historical divergences happening- Boldbator is not Genghis Khan. He might not lay out the rules that the man known as Temujin put in place for his society. If he does, they'll not necessarily happen when GK enacted them. Historical accuracy nit-pickers can go ride a death-worm.

For the love Sanguinius, DO NOT fill my email or reviews section with Flaky New Age Neo-Pagan (FNANP, it's a real thing) nonsense about tengriism and shamanistic 'one with the universe' bullshit. Like the resurgence of neo-paganism in Scandanavia, what's happening in the steppe and -stan regions is annoyingly dissimilar to the actual religions and faiths of the historical peoples of the period. Just don't. We'll all be thankful for it.

Sorry to rant, but one does get annoyed after a while.

Expecting & Expectations should be next, I've been getting some serious flak about not updating that one. Who'd've thought pregnancy and incest combined would be a popular fetish?

Yalalt!

Keep your stick on the ice!

- Management