Chapter 1 An Abomination Thrice Over!
The empire celebrated the birth of EmperorShaddam's first child on the planet Kaitain, the official residence of the ruling family of House Corrino. The first fruit of the union between the young Emperor and his Bene Gessreit wife, Lady Anirul.
The planet, which was much more lively than their ancestral seat of Salusa Secundus, was filled with elation at this first joyful news since the new emperor had ascended the throne.
Yet all was not well.
Inside the castle, Corrino, in the deep ravines of the castle, where few had ever ventured into, hooded figures moved in silence, yet their steps were hurried. Their faces were covered by dark veils that showed little of their faces as these figures traversed through the underbelly of the castle like shadows.
They were women, all of them, for they belonged to the order of the Bene Gesserit. While many might think them weak, this could not be further from the truth. The order of the Bene Gesserit was one of the only two organizations that still stood from the time of Butlerian Jihad, when humanity had waged war against the Thinking Machines for their survival.
And since then, this secretive order of woman has weaved their threads through history, guiding, helping, and ruling humanity through the shadows. The Order may have the motto of serving as the times, and the Emperor may demand, yet they had their own secrets and ambitions.
The Queen herself was part of the order; Anirul Corrino, the wife of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV, was a Bene Gesserit of Hidden Rank. The Rank was kept a secret for tradition and reasons unknown and unrecalled by all except the order itself.
Yet one could be sure that her rank was not the highest for as the small retinue of three entered a small room, in the underbelly of the castle, there stood the Queen herself, her face pale and her blonde hair matted to her face as she gave a small bow the Bene Gesserit that had just arrived.
"Why have you summoned us here, Anirul?" the older woman chastised the Queen her voice stern, and the Queen did not splutter as she bit her lip and pointed towards the side.
"Because of that," answered the Queen and the Reverend Mother, for that was her rank. Reverend Mother, Gaius Helen Mohaim, the leader of the Order, turned towards the place the Queen had pointed towards and stilled.
The room was small and barely lit, and only members of their Order were in it. All of them women, except that.
For there inside the crib lay a child, silent and barely moving, yet alive nonetheless, with silvery locks atop his head.
"Your instructions were clear Anirul!" the Reverend Mother chided the Queen, for her role had been made clear to her.
The Ancient Order had many powers, of which few were known to the masses. One of these powers allowed them to control their own bodies at a molecular level, allowing them to do wonders, such as breaEmperordown poisons and slowing down their own aging. One more thing it allowed for was to govern the gender of the child they were about to bear.
And Anirul's instructions had been clear. She was to bear the Emperor only daughters. Only daughters.
"I know, Reverend Mother and I did not wish to defy you. This was a surprise even to me," Anirul remarked, and Mohaim was surprised, for she was a true Bene Gesserit.
"Then ho...." but her words were cut off as her gaze landed on the child once more, yet this time his eyes were open and locked onto her. And normal, they were not.
They were blue, the eyes of Ibad. And fear gripped her as she realized just how such a thing may have happened.
"An abomination," she gasped out, both in rage and exasperation. Any other time, she would have been elated at seeing this, yet their plans were too far into play, and they could not let them perish.
"Who else knows about this?" she questioned as they approached crib where the child lay, probably understanding every word, yet quiet.
"No one, at great peril, I was able to keep his birth a secret and have him brought here. I called for you because I did not know what to do," Anirul spoke as Mohaim looked over the child; his piercing blue eyes remained focused on her, ignoring all, including Anirul.
"Could he be..."
"No!" she cut off the thought before it could bubble. It was too early.
He was not the one they were seeking. He was an anomaly, an abomination born through trickery. The one was yet to be born, this one was an abomination, a curse her ancestors had long cautioned them against.
One that must be handled, with finality.
"What are to do with it, Reverend Mother?" came the question from the side. Jessica, her apprentice, watched the child with fascination, and how their circumstances were similar was lost to both of them.
"We shall do as we have done throughout history and as is required of us," she said as she moved back and began to walk away, channeling her powers as she spoke once more.
"Kill the child!" she commanded, and one of the ladies brought out a blade, and just as she was about to swing it at the babe.
"Revend Mothe..." The Queen's plea would remain unfulfilled, for another Voice would erupt in the room.
"Kill yourself!" another voice cut in, halting her in her steps as she looked back and saw the sister whom she had commanded seconds ago, gripping her neck as blood showered the crib.
"ARGH!" the sister gasped in horror as the blade she had aimed the child now lay thrust into her own neck, spilling blood everywhere as her body collapsed to the ground.
THUD!
She fell to the ground as silence filled the room, and the Reverend Mother of the Bene Gesserit found herself surprised for the first time in her life.
Even at such distance she had felt the power behind that voice, her apprentices and the other sisters in the room spared either through deliberation or the distance they were at from the abomination.
'All that power, I can see why we call them as such' she thought, as another voice piped up from the side.
"It takes years to master the Voice," added her apprentice from the side.
"Yet he used it as a babe," the Queen Anirul finished, her face still pale as they all stood in silence.
It was impressive and unseen. Even abominations took years to master the Voice. Yet somehow, this babe had mastered the Art, which escaped many.
She turned, and once more began to walk towards the crib, yet her steps halted as an invisible force stopped her. She looked up and saw sweat dripping down the little thing's head, and she realized that it was his doing.
Its.
It was trying to cling to life. Struggling against its fate.
She could have tried to overpower it, tried to wield the blade herself. She was the Reverend Mother. She could do it.
"Reverend Mother, please, there has to be..."
"Silence!" she spoke to her daughter, the Queen, silencing her plea before she could finish it as she turned away from the little thing with a flourish.
'Why take a risk. Powerful as it was, it was still a hunkering child,' she thought as she decided against wielding the blade herself.
"Bene Gesserit's blood is too precious to waste," she spoke, warning the others to stay away from the child, and she saw Anirul's eyes shift a glimmer that died with her next words.
"End his life when sleep takes him," she said to the two members of the Order standing there as Anirul lowered her gaze.
"For your effort, I shall allow you to breathe for a few more hours," she said as she glanced at the child in the crib, knowing well that it understood her words to perfection.
"As you wish, Reverend Mother," came the answer, and she did not miss how Anirul looked pained at her words.
"Do not forget your duty, Anirul." She said to the Queen, who was but a child infront of her, and the young girl nodded as her gaze hardened.
"Then let me do it," Anirul said, surprising her, yet she had no grounds to deny her that.
"So be it then," and with that, the Revered Mother left the dark tunnels and vanished once more.
And on that day, as Kaitain celebrated the birth of the First Princess, a small ship would leave its orbits, carrying in it nothing but a babe moving through the stars with no direction.
This would be the first little rebellion from a Bene Gesserit.
The fate of the boy was thought sealed.
Or so it was thought, for the small pod would traverse through the galaxy and land on a planet unlike any in the galaxy.
Arrakis.
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