The True Master

Waterman #1.2

by Dusk Peterson

"Ledwin growled, 'I trust the slave is dead. The last thing our landstead needs are perverts wandering about causing trouble.'"

In a society where the rank of master or slave defines every aspect of a person's being, what do you do when you're a master and you envy your slaves?

This question is debated by the men who have gathered for the quarterly meeting of the High Masters of the Dozen Landsteads. It seems an impossible dilemma; in the Dozen Landsteads, one's rank is determined at birth. A master or a slave who wishes to hold a different rank is considered shocking.

The masters sitting in that room, receiving the service of slaves, would be even more shocked if they realized how deeply this question will affect their nation's future. Only one man there could tell them, but he is not yet free to reveal his secret.

This fantasy novella (short novel) of gay love can be read on its own or as the second story in the "Master and Servant" volume of the Waterman series.

89 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 1, 2013

About the author

I write noblebright novels on hope in dark times. One of my series cycles is mythic historical fantasy in a setting inspired by late antiquity. My other series cycle is gaslamp alternate history in a setting inspired by America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with a touch of retrofuture science fiction in the early 1960s.

I'm a member of SFWA and of transformative fandom. Visit duskpeterson.com to read my fiction.