Robert Asprin: Wartorn Obliteration

It was shocking to be alive. It filled Raven with such a strange, overwhelming feeling of happiness that she barely knew what to do with herself. She wasn't used to being happy.

As yet, she hadn't actually done anything at all. She hadn't even opened her eyes. She was lying prone, and it felt like others were nearby, gathered around her. She knew something had happened to her, and it was something bad.

But she could feel her lungs working, drawing in air, and her heart beating in her chest. She was alive! And the fact that she was so amazed to be alive made her realize that she hadn't expected to be. That was right, wasn't it? Whatever bad thing had happened to her, she had thought it was going to kill her, right? It was hard to organize her thoughts. Her memories were a jumble.

But there was something very wrong about all this.

Suddenly, Raven's eyes sprang open and she lurched upright, her left hand grabbing for a spot on her back, at the base of her neck, just above her right shoulder. There was some vague, frightening, urgent memory of trauma there. Something had struck her from behind, violently, with deadly force. Struck her just as... as she was running to protect General Weisel.

"General!" she cried out, in a strange voice.

Calm down, Raven. Lord Weisel is quite well.

Her eyes were wide open but her vision was blurry. She felt very strange, and the happy thrill of being alive suddenly evaporated. Something was indeed very wrong. The voice she had just heard seemed to have come from inside her own head.

Who... who is that? Raven felt foolish, like a child scared by a noise in the dark. But she asked the question silently anyway, in the confines of her own thoughts.

She was answered. My name is Vadya. Welcome to my body.

Maybe she'd gone insane. That would certainly explain the extra voice in her head.

What... what are you doing here? Raven asked.

Actually, you're the guest. I am the host. We're going to get to know each other very well.

This isn't real. Raven raised her hands to her face.

Oh, it's very real. Why don't you take a look at yourself? Examine your new lodgings. I'd like to know what you think.

Raven's hands rested oddly over her face. She moved her fingers. Something wasn't right about the shape of her face. It wasn't as full as it was supposed to be. The bones were sharper, more pronounced.

Her hands were shaking as she lowered them. Her eyes were still unfocused. She couldn't see where she was. She had the dim impression of two or three figures standing nearby, watching her, but she couldn't make out any details. She was in a room or a tent, some enclosed space.

Look at yourself, the voice in her head said, more forcefully.

Raven found that her immediate field of vision was functioning better. She was able to focus on her hands as she dropped them from her face. Her fingers were long, elegantly narrow, the backs of her hands graceful. Her fingernails weren't chipped or bitten, like they were supposed to be.

These weren't her hands.

Even so, they moved as her mind commanded them to. She waggled her thumbs experimentally, and the strange hands obeyed without hesitation.

She was sitting half-upright on a bed. A dark blanket covered her. With a sense of awe, fear, and curiosity, she reached for the top edge of the blanket. She could feel that she was wearing no clothing. She slowly peeled the cover away, letting it drop to the floor.

Raven looked down in absolute wonder at her new body.

It's so beautiful, she whispered inside her own thoughts.

The strange occupant in her head let out a happy burst of laughter. I knew you'd like it.

Raven more than liked it. She adored it, immediately and completely. She gazed down on her naked flesh. Her breasts were firm, nicely rounded, not too small, but not so big they were awkward. Her belly was smooth, not protruding at all. Her hips curved perfectly. Her thighs were molded as an artist of pornographic illustrations would make them, taut and supple. Where they joined her slim, sleek, beautifully healthy body was a thatch of golden curls.

"Raven? Are you there?"

She blinked. This voice had come from outside the borders of her skull, and it sounded somewhat familiar. But Raven couldn't yet tear her gaze away from the spectacular sight of herself. She raised a hand and touched herself here and there, testing the impossible flesh. Incredibly, it all felt real.

But it couldn't be. She didn't look anything like this. She was shapeless and heavy. Her body didn't curve this way, or have this sculpted tone. This was the body of someone beautiful, someone ideally feminine, one of those females who had total confidence in their physical selves. Raven wasn't one of those.

She was ambitious. She was a fledgling wizard. She had been assigned by Lord Matokin himself, leader of the Felk Empire, to spy on General Weisel in the field. It was a hugely important duty.

By the madness of the gods, she wasn't even a blond! Her hair was dark and stringy and as unsightly as anything else about her. What was happening here?

"Raven? Bah! This is foolish. How are we supposed to know it's worked?"

"Have some patience, General," said another voice. "And some faith. You certainly should trust the process."

Raven thought she recognized this voice as well as the first. She blinked more, rubbing her eyes, tearing her stare away from further study of this body.

She looked around. She was indeed inside a room, one with stone walls, and there were three others with her. Two wore the dark robes of mages, and the other was dressed in military garb. A sudden burst of modesty overcame Raven, and she grabbed up the blanket from the ground and covered herself.

"I imagine by now your new host has introduced herself," said one of the robed wizards. "You will get to know Vadya very well. I have only this to say about her. She is a loyal subject of the empire, and she didn't hesitate when called upon for this duty."

"Lord Matokin!" Raven said, finally recognizing the man. He was short and heavy, with lively eyes and hair as dark as hers was supposed to be.

"Yes. And you are Raven."

"Am I?" She felt profound doubt about that. Again she had to wonder if she hadn't gone insane.

"Yes, you are. But you now live inside the body of another, the aforementioned Vadya."

"But that's... impossible."

"It's not," said the second mage. This one looked drained, wiping sweat from his forehead, his face colorless. "Lord Matokin, if I may go...?"

"By all means, Mage Kumbat," Matokin smiled. "You have our thanks for a staunch effort."

The one named Kumbat exited the room. The figure in the military uniform stepped forward. This, of course, was General Weisel himself. What a mighty pair they made, Raven thought with some amazement. The ruler of the Felk Empire and the commander of its army, both standing side by side at the foot of her bed, both apparently here to see her. It was a fantastic honor.

Yes, I'm honored as well.

The voice leapt unbidden into Raven's thoughts. It was not quite an intrusion, at least not an aggressive one, but Raven found herself unsettled by it. If she was indeed sharing this body with its original owner, how exactly were they supposed to share the mental space of one mind? Would their thoughts and memories and personalities somehow meld together?

No. Kumbat explained it. It won't be like that. We will have a certain privacy from each other but we will be intimate as no two other beings can be. You'll see.