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  It dropped him, and he fell a long way, landing with a sickening crunch onto his back. All the air exploded out of his chest, and flashes of light erupted into his vision. After a split second of panic, thinking he had punctured his lungs, Xavian was finally able to expel a gasp through gritted teeth.

  Xavian was a gifted Elemantic, and he reached for that power, intent on ending the fight here and now. Instead of finding his powers ready to wield, they slipped away from him like trying to grab a gust of wind. He had taken too much physical damage and his magical abilities were being affected as a result. He blinked and groaned, and the panic arose anew as he realized he had lost his bow somewhere.

  There was no time to be immobile, so he pushed himself up, ignoring the almost crippling pain that shot through his back and ribs. The only thing that enabled him to spring back to his feet was the massive amount of adrenaline that coursed through his veins like a lightning strike, just like the way he felt during a Ryuken match. Adrenaline wasn’t an infallible ally though, and the unfortunate truth was that his battered body would betray him soon enough. He slipped into the calming trance of battle and focused, assessing his circumstance.

  Time to move.

  The damnable creatures were closing in quickly. They all roared and screamed murderously at him. Xavian scanned the ground quickly, searching for his bow and scattered arsenal, but all he could see was the tall grass. He cursed under his breath and dropped down to a knee, pulling out throwing knives that were concealed in his boots. Two of his ghastly assailants were almost upon him.

  He emerged from the grass, letting both daggers fly. They tumbled through the air, taking one in the eye and the other in the belly, but the one with the dagger protruding from its stomach never even broke stride. As its fellow abomination toppled into its path, the thing barbarously tore its brethren in half and threw the carcass aside.

  Xavian gaped wide-eyed as it jumped dozens of feet into the air and landed on top of him. They rolled over each other as the beast snapped its jaws at his face and exposed neck. He was barely able to hold onto its long ears, wrenching its head back with all of his capacity. Its breath was as rank as a battlefield after the crows had had their fill of the fallen.

  Xavian put his boots on the beast’s stomach and pushed the dagger in farther before kicking with all his might and flipping it off to the side. He propelled himself quickly back to his feet and pulled forth his short swords. The beast had regained its footing far faster than he was able to and was hacking and slashing at him with those mountainous claws before he could adequately defend himself. He took deep gashes across his cheek and the top of his head. Hot blood gushed from both wounds, pouring into his eyes and impairing his vision completely. That guttural laughter sprang up around him again.

  They’re toying with me.

  He stumbled forward blindly, trying unsuccessfully to stem the blood flow into his eyes. In that moment of weakness, the pack rushed in simultaneously. Sporadically he would catch glimpses of the demonic abnormalities as they would rush by, tearing and biting into his flesh. Xavian took several more gashes across his entire body before he finally succumbed to the pain and blood loss.

  He pitched forward onto his face, trying desperately to crawl to safety. He gripped the bloodied grass and dragged himself a few bedraggled feet when his right hand grazed something. His bow was miraculously within reach! He grabbed it tightly like it was the floating wreckage of a ship and he was drowning in a tumultuous ocean.

  Xavian was suddenly seized by his waist and ripped into the air. The beast that held him was the biggest of the bunch and it lifted him to eye level, locking stares with him. It curled its lips back and distinctly smiled at him. Xavian broke into a cold sweat; he had never seen a more frightening thing in all his life.

  “We eat you now, human,” it said in a grating and unnatural voice, drawing out the words.

  Xavian instinctually head-butted the creature as hard as he could. The beast’s teeth crumbled from its mouth, and its agonized screech permeated the night air. It lifted him with both claws above its head and flung him as if he were a child’s doll.

  He flew at a stunning velocity towards the Machi skeleton where the melee had begun. He held on desperately to his bow with his off hand and straining, he stretched out with his right hand trying desperately to grip a branch of the antler. His hand caught hold, but his momentum swung him at an alarmingly steep angle up and away so he lost his hand hold. He spiraled up and over into the Machi’s spine and bounced a few more feet before he could completely halt his trajectory. Xavian spat up blood and coughed harshly, dizzy beyond belief.

  Despite the landing, his bow was somehow still extraordinarily clutched in his left hand. Xavian’s body was on fire from multiple lacerations, and he knew it wasn’t long before he would bleed to death. Every breath was torturous to his broken ribs, and if his lung had not been punctured previously, it was most assuredly now. He looked up to see those green eyes were slowly making their way towards him out of the night. Xavian snapped his bow to his shoulder strap, resigned to make a last stand. If he were to die, he would die fighting.

  He rolled over and hung for a second before dropping down from the giant’s bones, landing in a crouch. Every muscle in his body flared into white hot pain, but he cast aside his weaknesses and stood tall. Spitting up more blood, he wiped his mouth and then pulled out his last two daggers and trudged towards his fate.

  As he limped along, his boot trod something in the grass. He quickly bent down to see what it was.

  An arrow!

  It was the arrow he’d hoped it was. He pulled forth his bow and knocked the Heaven’s Hammer arrow, waiting for his vile quarry. They didn’t make him wait long. Growling and drooling, they stalked behind their now toothless alpha. They began to spread out when Xavian raised his bow. He drew and fired.

  Lightning burst forth from his bow. A vivid light flashed, illuminating the plains all around him, and Xavian put his hand over his eyes to shield them. When the darkness returned and his eyes had readjusted, he saw the lightning had pulverized everything in its path. Patches of fire smoldered in the tall grass. The pack of monsters was now only a repugnant pile of smoking carnage. Xavian’s legs trembled, unable to hold him upright any longer. His strength finally abandoned him, and he collapsed to the earth, ready to die.

  Chapter 5

  “Make no mistake, the war is coming to Gaelarian soil.”

  A bead of sweat broke out on Landran’s brow, and embarrassment welled up inside of him as realized he’d been gesticulating to the crowd with the stump that was all that remained of his right arm. He quickly recoiled the severed limb and blushed. He was right-handed, and it was a lifelong habit he’d been unable to break. Truth be told, he was not the finest public speaker around, either. The small assembly of Jenukai City’s most powerful people there for his demonstration was making him quite nervous.

  The Hall of Seven, where his demonstration was taking place, was hedonistic beyond belief. Its upscale nature wasn’t helping his nerves whatsoever. Four marble pillars held up a vaulted ceiling that was fifty feet tall. The ceiling itself was elaborately stained glass that stretched on, depicting the dragon god Jenukai blessing his two Emperor Dragons just outside the city walls the day Jenukai City was christened. The walls were marble as well. Life-sized crystal dragon skulls lined those walls with Everlight bulbs clutched in their jaws that flashed orange, red, and yellow, giving them the illusion that they were breathing fire.

  Strategically aligned fountains in the floor sent water dancing and crisscrossing continuously around the amphitheater. Behind the dais where he stood were dual scarlet tapestries that stretched from floor to ceiling, decorated with Jenukai’s ornate symbol in grey.

  It was the definition of a “who’s who” atmosphere within the confines of the meeting. Sitting alone in the front row was Dara of the Circle of Seven, Watcher and Architect of Jenukai City, not to mention his own mother. He wanted very badly to imp
ress her this day. Standing behind her was the leader of the Blood Reign and her omnipresent shadow, Akaris.

  The Blood Reign were the personal bodyguards to the Circle of Seven. Akaris was an imposing figure in his grandiose battle armor. The elaborate plate was bedecked in the Jadestar colors, which were black and green. His Mask of Divinity, which gave him his remarkable powers, was all black with the Jadestar seven-pointed star in green making up the face. His Divinity Blade, which he wore strapped to his back, was easily as long as Landran was tall.

  His half-brother Arius was curiously absent. So, too, was Xavian. It was unlike the two leaders of the Gaelarian army to miss something this important. Miles and Razmuson sat in for them, which did nothing to quell his anxiety.

  Looking around the auditorium, he spotted other notables among the assembly members. Kellis, the Grand Chancellor of the Baehadahn, was in attendance. The Baehadahn was the second highest authority in Jenukai City, behind only Dara and the other Circle members. The Baehadahn was a council of elders who handled mostly matters of commerce, trade, and other day-to-day things that kept a metropolis as large as Jenukai City running smoothly.

  Jeradel from the Eye of the Hall of Seers was also there. Landran had also seen Karyse, who was the Head Mistress of the Healers Guild. He did his best to hide his disdain at the sight of her.

  Every noble house that took up residence in the city was present as well. Representatives from houses Greydawn, Daggerleaf, Amberthorn, Trueforce, Ravenwatch and Nightshard all sat scattered throughout the seats. They were all there to see his new inventions, which made his unease spike at the thought.

  Landran took a few calming breaths, cleared his throat and continued.

  “Our intelligence puts Dantron’s armada at more than four thousand dragons. That’s nearly two times more than our own. We’ve taken some impressive strides in closing the gap in this arms race, though. Last year alone, we were able to successfully breed and Link twelve hundred dragons, bringing our fleets total to twenty-three hundred. My hopes are that I can add an additional seven hundred dragons to that number. I’m overly optimistic these goals can and will be reached.”

  Landran paused briefly to sip from his water glass before continuing, as his nerves were giving him awful dry mouth. Unfortunately, he drank too quickly, and the water went down the wrong pipe, causing him to sputter loudly and embarrassingly. After a moment of considerable hacking and blushing, he tried his best to carry on in as strong a voice as was possible. A mousy quaver was all he managed.

  “The Dantron invasion force has but two cities left to subdue before they focus their full attention on Gaelaria. Jaren Mar is on the brink of collapse and surrender according to multiple sources, and Tryss, who has been our mightiest ally over the course of these trying times, will fall within the year. Ten years of war and preparation has brought us to this one unavoidable moment: full-scale invasion. When Dantron does assault our homeland, the Jenukai Chosen and the rest of the Gaelarian army will have some surprises for them.”

  Behind Landran, the scarlet tapestries pulled back like curtains, revealing a Red dragon in its prime. It was Landran’s own mount, Incendiary. Red dragons weren’t as large as Black or Gold dragons, but they were equally as loyal and vicious. He turned to his steed and beamed with pride, forgetting for the moment that he was a nervous wreck. He glanced back at his audience, who, for the most part, had bored and indifferent expressions on their faces.

  It was a testament to how much the world had changed in the last ten years. Not one member of the assembly even flinched at the sight of a twenty-foot-tall dragon. They all looked upon his demonstration as if he had just revealed a Ranis calf. It seemed human beings could get used to anything if they were subjected to it for long enough.

  “As you all well know, the Link was our first monumental achievement in using dragons for warfare. For example, through the Link I can tell my dragon is hungry and thinks some of you look appetizing.” He paused for laughter that didn’t come, and his nerves frayed a little more.

  “So, um, the next two things I have to show you will be a triumph equivalent to the Link. Without further ado, I give to you the Genai Forms.”

  Through the Link, Landran sent a command to Incendiary. Genai Sphere!

  Behind him there was a loud pop. Where the dragon once stood was now a hovering orb no bigger than a man’s skull. The assembly gasped in shock as the orb zoomed around Landran and shot out amongst the crowd sitting throughout the Hall of Seven.

  To me! Landran commanded mentally through the Link. Incendiary zipped back to hover by his side.

  “This form is called the Genai Sphere,” Landran announced.

  His confidence was significantly bolstered at seeing that he now had an engrossed group of spectators.

  “Obviously a twenty- to thirty-foot dragon can’t exactly fit into our homes, or live in our basements. For an armada the size of ours, the Genai Form is an invaluable tool. Jenukai Keep can now house every dragon we have ever bred.”

  An excited buzz was filling the hall. Landran kept talking, hoping his explanation of this invention would quiet them down.

  “The Genai Sphere can also be used to communicate with people across small, or great distances.”

  At that moment, the doors at the entrance of the hall swung open, and another Genai Sphere entered. It flew directly to Landran, hovering in front of him. A swirling mist in the Genai Sphere formed itself into the face of his good friend, Robik. Robik smiled at Landran, showing innumerable gaps where teeth had once resided.

  “So are they impressed yet?” asked the friendly giant.

  “Hello to you too, Robik. You have to ask them that,” Landran replied, gesturing again with his stump to his now-enthralled audience. Robik’s ethereal face in the sphere did a one-eighty turn and acknowledged the crowd.

  “Impressed?”

  The assembly burst into laughter in response.

  “If you would be so kind, Robik, would you mind coming down to the Hall of Seven and helping me with my demonstration?”

  “On my way, sir!” The face in the Sphere winked out, and the two orbs began to chase each other around the hall while Landran went on with his demonstration.

  “Now, while we wait for my assistant to arrive, I’d like to quickly exhibit the last use of the Genai Sphere. As you just witnessed, Robik and I were able to communicate from across Jenukai City. The Genai Sphere can also be a useful tool in the art of espionage. If you listen closely, you will notice that neither orb makes a sound while they dart about.”

  He paused so the audience could listen.

  “Through my Link, I can use the Genai Sphere as my eyes and ears. Since my rotund adherent has yet to arrive, I was wondering if I could get one of you to do me a favor.”

  The young representative of house Amberthorn leapt out of his chair, emphatically waving his hand. Kal Amberthorn was about sixteen, making him the youngest head of house of all the nobles. The lanky blonde headed youth had more pimples than facial hair, but he would suffice in this instance.

  “Very well, Kal. I’m going to close my eyes and plug my ears. I won’t be able to hear or see a thing. You will hold up an unknown amount of fingers behind your back and whisper the amount that you’re concealing to your neighbor. I’ll count to five. Ok? Ready?”

  The youthful noble nodded energetically, signaling he was indeed ready.

  “Ok, then… One…Two…Three…Four…Five”

  Landran closed his eyes and tapped his Elemancy. A dome of air and water surrounded his head, cutting off his hearing. He sent through the Link his orders for Incendiary to see and hear on his behalf. The orb rocketed off and began its circuit around Kal. Through the, “eyes” of the Genai Sphere, Landran could see and hear much better than he would have been able to of his own accord. In his mind’s eye he saw that Kal was holding two fingers behind his back. He strained to hear the whisper and caught it just barely. “Four,” Kal intoned to a fellow Amberthorn sitting to his
immediate left.

  Landran sent a return command to Incendiary through the Link. He opened his eyes and smiled at the crowd, banishing the Elemantic helmet.

  “Our young friend did an excellent job! Thank you, Kal. Now, the moment of truth! Behind his back he was holding two fingers. Is that correct, Kal?”

  The boy said nothing.

  “He’s gone shy on us! Are you silent because you held up two fingers, but told your neighbor you were holding four?”

  The boy’s jaw dropped, and he blushed a furious shade of crimson.

  “How did you know that?” he sputtered.

  The assembled dignitaries applauded politely. Kal grinned at the response from the crowd and took a deep bow before returning to his sit.

  “The Genai Sphere is and will be a tool that can help us win this war. However, the Genai Form is a plural invention.”

  As was planned, Robik chose that moment to stroll into the hall. The Ryuken fighter was easily seven feet tall and three hundred and fifty pounds. His skin was charcoal black, and his even darker hair was pulled into a long braid. He wore a brown vest extensively covered in grease and ale stains that showed off his heavily muscled arms but barely contained his protruding belly. A green kilt swayed as he walked on bare feet.

  Oh hells, I hope he’s wearing underbreeches beneath that thing.

  Over his shoulder Robik bore the weight of a gigantic club, and it swung around dangerously, nearly knocking out some of the more prominent onlookers as he made his way to the stage and taking his place next to Landran on the dais. The hulking mass of humanity smiled excitedly and belched his greeting to the crowd. The two Genai Spheres joined them and begun flashing a silver light. Another pop pierced the hall, and smoke bombarded Landran and Robik. They both coughed violently and waved the smoke away as best they could.