Dragons of Destiny Page 6

  The smoke finally dissipated after a few moments, revealing two prodigiously armored figures standing next to them. Both stood taller than Robik by more than a head and wore armor that made Akaris’ seem dull in comparison. Landran couldn’t suppress the boyish grin that crept onto his face. He’d been waiting months to unveil this particular version of the Genai Form.

  “This is the Genai Defender form. The Defender is roughly ten times stronger, faster, and more agile than any human warrior. All Genai Defenders are Adimus Aura capable as well. Robik here will now help me to validate these claims.”

  Robik hoisted his club off his shoulder and strode with an autocratic bounce to his step to one end of the stage, while Landran sent Incendiary in his Defender form to the other. Landran stood between them like a Ryuken referee. The nobles in attendance began cheering and clapping as if they were at People’s Pavilion.

  “In this corner, fighting out of Jenukai City… Robik!!” Landran played along in what he hoped was a worthy announcer’s voice.

  Robik raised a fist in salute to Landran and then to the crowd. He bowed to Incendiary and set himself up in an attack stance with the club held before him in both hands like a sword. Landran whirled towards Incendiary. He was now truly having fun with his presentation.

  “Fighting out of Jenukai Keep, my very own mount, Incendiary!”

  Robik didn’t hesitate. He rushed the Genai Defender and raised the club over his head, bringing it down with all his might. He struck home a blow on Incendiary’s helm that would have killed a mortal being. Instead, the club shattered and splintered in every direction.

  The Defender stood its ground without stumbling. Its helmet wasn’t even dented. Robik blinked in surprise. His shock was short-lived, though, as he wound up and threw a sweeping right hook that Incendiary nonchalantly grabbed in mid-swing. The dragon then hoisted Robik into the air like a harmless child that was throwing a temper tantrum.

  Astonished murmurs erupted from the crowd. They knew how heralded of a fighter Robik was. Landran didn’t want to disappoint them, so he improvised slightly on he and Robik’s plan. He felt bad doing it, but he mentally ordered his dragon to throw Robik across the stage anyways. The Defender hefted the giant and effortlessly tossed him several feet before he landed with a resounding crunch into a crumpled heap.

  “Ow!” Robik roared.

  Landran rushed over in a laughable attempt to help his friend back to his feet. Having him catapulted wasn’t the best idea. Robik’s disarrayed kilt was displaying the fact that he hadn’t worn underbreeches after all. Landran blanched at the unpleasant view and laughed despite the inappropriateness of the situation.

  “That was not a part of the plan!” Robik groaned as he struggled back to his feet, clutching his vast backside.

  “Got the point across though, didn’t it?” Landran asked, nodding toward the crowd.

  The majority of them had abandoned their seats for a better view of the demonstration. Robik shook with laughter and bowed once again, this time a little more gingerly.

  “The demonstration will conclude with the two Defenders engaging in a little hand-to-hand combat. Nothing too serious, mind you. They will spar just enough to provide an example of their agility and quickness.”

  Both men hopped off the stage, giving the dragons the room they needed to maneuver about. The Defenders charged one another and began a fight that was merely a blur of movement. The heavy clang of metal on metal was the only indication that blows were being struck. Landran tried without success to track the skirmish. He looked at Robik, whose dumbfounded expression confirmed he wasn’t the only one.

  Enough! He commanded through the Link. Both Defenders abruptly backed off, awaiting orders. Stunned silence filled the hall as Landran took his place back on the dais.

  “So are there any questions?”

  The silence stretched on for a moment more before Dara stood and swept out of the hall without a backward glance, Akaris hard on her heels. Before Landran had time to contemplate the ramifications of this development, a dozen hands shot into the air demanding his immediate attention. Wary once more after seeing his mother’s reaction, he set about answering the onslaught of inquiries.

  Hours after the demonstration, the elation Landran had felt earlier because of the success of the Genai Forms had worn off. He looked down at his stump and felt a familiar wave of melancholy washing over him. He sat alone in his chambers that he shared with his wife, Kania. Their suite was located in Jenukai Keep, which sat at the very top of the largest man-made structure in the known world, Jenukai Fortress. He stood at his window, gloomily gazing out over the vast capital of the Gaelarian Alliance.

  The view itself was breathtaking, but it did nothing to elevate his rapidly decreasing mood. Jenukai Fortress easily dwarfed the city walls, which were five hundred feet tall and another hundred thick. Landran was able to see the Emerald Plains that surrounded the city walls and stretched all the way to the horizon. The grassy landscape was just about to swallow the sun.

  The city below him had grown calm as twilight approached. Directly in front of him, the mighty gates to the city were closing for the evening. Landran turned his gaze down upon one of the Garden Parks, which were probably the grandest wonder in all of Jenukai City. Each of the Seven Cities had one, but Jenukai City sported two. The Gardens were ingeniously crafted by the Kallians, a master Elemantic race who designed them as a way to outlast elongated sieges on a city. Both Garden Parks were twenty-mile squares of land that held copious amounts of crops, livestock and water. They could keep a population this size well-fed and watered for generations.

  To his left, the bells of Jenukai Temple tolled, announcing the start of its nightly mass. Those unable to fit into the temple would spend the early evening praying in Jenukai Square a few miles off to his right. He could see thousands of people piling into the square that very moment.

  Landran stared past the square to the Healers Guild. He silently cursed the witches in that place. His right arm was useless now, all because they hadn’t been willing to take a risk. The Duncar attack that severed his arm had been laced with a deadly poison. The witches told him that if they regrew the limb, there was a “chance” the poison would spread to the rest of his body and kill him in a matter of days. Kania had even taken their side and refused to let him have the opportunity at being whole again. He had since forgiven Kania. After all, she was only concerned for his well-being. The Healer witches were a different story, though. He would never forgive them as long as he lived.

  Landran had been a renowned warrior before a Duncar assassin who had come to slay Arius changed all that. It had been a warm summer night almost two years ago when his life had changed forever. Landran and Kania had joined Arius in his chambers for a quiet dinner. Around the second course, the servant clearing the table suddenly lashed out with a sword that he had somehow concealed beneath his apron.

  The assassin smashed Arius in the face with an elbow, knocking him out of his chair. Just as the hitman was about to stab his dazed half-brother, Kania took the wine decanter from off the table and smashed him over the head with it. The cutthroat dropped his sword, but was able to backhand her out of the way, and Landran rushed to their aid. He seized the man by his collar and spun him around, punching him squarely in the jaw. The assassin fell away, crashing into the wall in front of the table.

  Making sure Arius and Kania were safely behind him, Landran snatched up the fallen blade and kicked the table in the direction of the rogue. The assassin leapt over it with ease, and as he was soaring over the table the man threw a vial of something towards Arius and Kania. Landran dove and knocked it out of the air with his right hand, but the vial exploded on impact and green flames had engulfed his entire arm. The pain had been unbearable.

  Arius was back on his feet by that time with his nose shattered and bleeding freely. He had acted quickly by grabbing the tablecloth and he helped Landran to beat away the flames. The assassin had conjured two daggers
and tossed one at Arius’ head while he was distracted with saving Landran, but he swung the sword and batted it out of the air while still aflame. The assassin then charged at Arius in a desperate attempt to stab him, but Landran stood and defended him, lopping off the man’s head before he was able to get within striking distance of his half-brother.

  After that, Landran and Arius hastily checked on Kania. She was fine, but insisted on fetching a Healer for them. As they waited for her to return, Landran assessed their wounds. Besides Arius’ broken nose, he was otherwise unharmed. It now slanted to the left at a nauseating angle, but besides that he would be fine. He handed him a handkerchief to stem the blood flow.

  As for himself, his arm still felt as though it was on fire. He glanced down and to his horror the skin of his arm was literally falling from the bone. At that moment, shock had overwhelmed him, and he collapsed into unconsciousness.

  Landran recalled that he woke up several hours later in his own chambers with Arius and Kania at his side. Kania explained how the Healers had tried everything, but were unable to save his arm. They amputated what was left of the limb, and Arius had given him the assassin’s sword in thanks for saving his life.

  Landran turned away from the window and studied the sword he had won for his valor. The blade was blacker than a moonless night, and upon the hilt was a shrunken skull. He walked over to the washstand near the wall that held the sword and studied himself in the mirror. His face was gaunt, and worry lines crossed his brow. Heavy bags under his green eyes made him look years older than twenty-one. His brown hair was noticeably thinner as well. Since he lost his arm, it looked like he had aged twenty years. He sighed and splashed water on his face from the basin with his remaining hand.

  “Don’t like what you see?” the skull on the sword inquired. “You look like shit if you ask me.”

  Landran toweled off his face and looked over at the sword.

  “You always seem to know what I am thinking, don’t you? Is that because you’re a figment of my imagination?”

  The skull cackled its unhinged and high-pitched laugh at him.

  “Yes, yes. I am in your head, aren’t I? Though the sad truth for you is that I am all too real, you pathetic wretch. Do you intend on sitting in here, sulking all night as usual? When will you see that destroying the witches and taking your revenge on them is what you need to do?”

  “I cannot and will not kill any of the Healers, you putrid blade!” Landran sobbed, and he pulled the sword off the wall and stuck the point to his own neck. “I’m tired of you always poking and prodding me to do your will. I’ll end it now and you won’t be able to torment me any longer with your insanity.”

  “You are too weak to kill yourself, Landran. You are too afraid of death to face the consequences of plunging me into your throat.”

  “I’ll throw you out of this window, and you will be someone else’s burden.”

  Landran turned slowly looking over the precipice, extending the blade with his left hand so it was hanging over the growing darkness of the night.

  “You lack even the courage to live without me, don’t you, Landran? I feel the doubt in your mind. You might be able to lie to yourself, you coward, but you can never lie to me!”

  At that, Landran collapsed onto the floor weeping, repeating over and over for several minutes, “You’re right, you’re always right!”

  Eventually he got back to his feet and lovingly placed the sword back onto its display on the wall.

  “I will destroy the witches, don’t you worry. I’ll find a way to kill every last one of them!”

  Behind him Kania entered the room. She gave him an inquisitive look and asked, “Who were you just talking to?”

  Landran wiped his eyes quickly. “No one, my love. No one. You must have been hearing things.”

  In his mind he heard the sword say, “No, you’re the one hearing things.”

  Its maniacal laughter rang in his ears long into the night.

  Chapter 6

  It took three days for Calrisan to appear. The magic of the floating island kept it well hidden. Owenisis had assured him that it would appear at this exact location, just not when. So, much to his chagrin, Arius knelt beside Alrukar in the snow at daybreak, impatiently waiting for the City in the Sky to crest the horizon. His dragon growled deeply, and through the Link Arius could feel his steed’s frustration. They both yawned heavily in unison.

  “I share the sentiment, my friend.” Arius stood and patted his dragon’s leg. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, he trudged to a nearby tree to empty his bladder.

  They had spent a miserable three nights camped far to the northeast at the highest elevation in the Wolf Tears mountain range. Freezing his ass off didn’t even begin to describe how cold he felt. He ached from head to toe, and the thought of sleeping in a tent another night only dampened his mood further. Arius despised roughing it and loathed rising before the sun exponentially more.

  It was with a vexed demeanor that after breaking camp and packing for the third straight time that he mounted Alrukar, hoping that this was the day Calrisan finally showed itself.

  Alrukar stamped his feet in an effort to keep them warm in the ice, and Arius could feel his dragon’s irritability through the Link. Arius sent back a mental image of both of them warming themselves on a pleasant beach somewhere. In response, the dragon shook himself much like a dog might after being bathed, trying to unseat his master. The Link was quiet, but the message was loud and clear. Don’t tease me with images of places we can’t actually be. Arius couldn’t help but laugh good-naturedly at his mounts brooding sense of humor.

  Fortunately, after only half an hour of groggily watching the horizon, he spotted it. They would have to move quickly. It would only be a few brief moments before the city would be hidden again.

  Through the Link, he commanded Alrukar to take flight. The Black dragon was only too eager to spread his vast wingspan and began beating them up and down. The pines surrounding the snowy little clearing they had briefly called home swayed dramatically, threatening to be uprooted because of the sudden and violent wind. Alrukar then rumbled forward into an awkward gait for about a hundred yards and flung himself into the air, smoothly catching hold of an updraft that carried them blissfully away.

  Arius couldn’t help chuckling to himself at how clumsy Alrukar was when he wasn’t airborne. In flight, his dragon was nothing short of majestic, but when forced to rely on his legs, it was a comical sight indeed. Alrukar sensed his derision and barrel rolled a few times to let Arius know he didn’t appreciate the slight.

  “Whoa! Easy my friend, it was only an observation,” Arius laughed, and Alrukar gave him a mirthy grunt in reply through the Link.

  The frigid morning air did an excellent job of completely waking Arius up. He felt rejuvenated and alert as they sped towards the awe-inspiring home of the Maji. Alrukar’s spirits seemed to be on the rise also as he rose and dove a few hundred feet in quick bursts.

  “Nothing too fancy now, it’s far too early in the morning for stunt flying,” Arius grumbled over the rush of wind. Through the Link, Arius felt the dragon equivalent of a sarcastic eye roll in reply.

  Arius banked his mount to the south of the city to avoid being blown out of the sky by the Korii faction. He was resigned to the notion that he could possibly have to sit down with their leaders, but in the meantime he wanted to avoid drawing their ire upon him. The Korii had a no-fly zone over the northern section of Calrisan that they strictly upheld. He decided that Owenisis had the right of it, and the Raachon were friends in a way. He hoped they would be happy to help.

  Calrisan itself was a mountain of a city stacked upon vapor. His destination was the sky docks and landing platforms on the edge of southern Calrisan. Once he arrived, it took him five minutes of circling to get clearance for landing from the pair of Raachon guards that flew out to meet him. They had black feathered wings, which meant they were not of the royal bloodline. While they waited, he asked them q
uestions regarding news in the city, but received only stony expressions in the way of answers. After his eighth circuit of the landing platforms, a succession of flashing lights shot out at them like a meteor shower, indicating he had been granted clearance. The two Maji led him to a warehouse where he could temporarily store Alrukar until other arrangements could be made.

  Once they were situated in the hangar, he gladly stripped off his cold weather gear. The weather was always perfect in Calrisan, and he was starting to sweat profusely under his furs and multiple layers of undergarments. Searching his pack for more suitable garments, he decided it best to look the part of First Knight of Gaelaria. He donned a high collared scarlet dress shirt that was trimmed in black along the neck and sleeves. Next he pulled on baggy black breeches that he tucked into his best knee-high black boots. The ensuing garb was strictly ornamental. One of his prize possessions, his father’s pocket watch, went into his breast pocket, while he also added black suspenders and a highly ornate pin displaying Jenukai’s symbol and his rank that he fastened to his collar. He knew his hair was windblown, but he didn’t have the time to properly oil it. Instead he took some water from his canteen, poured it into his hands and did his best to tame it.

  “How do I look?” he asked Alrukar rhetorically after he was finished. “Don’t eat any Maji while I’m gone, you hear?”

  Alrukar bent his neck down for a nuzzle, and Arius assured his friend he would return soon. Arius sent a command through the Link for Alrukar to sleep and his massive companion was only too happy to oblige. He contently folded his wings and lay down, using his tail to cover his eyes.

  As he was walking down a ramp from the platforms Arius gazed over at the sky docks, where he took note of the Storm Barges of the Aernilles. The Aernilles were a race of Air Elemantics that were rarely seen in the world below. These were no trading vessels, either; these were war ships he was looking at. Arius was intrigued to see that the Raachon were allying themselves with the Aernilles. The Maji, both Raachon and Korii factions, had pointedly avoided taking sides throughout the course of the war. Perhaps now the Raachon at least saw that staying neutral wasn’t an option.