Zera: Dawn of the Redborn
Lorenzo Lionheart
Contents
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
From the Author
About the Author
Stay Updated
Zera: Dawn Of The Redborn
Copyright © 2018 by Lorenzo Lionheart
Warning: All rights reserved. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work, in whole or part, in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, is illegal and forbidden, without the written permission of the author.
This is a work of fiction. Characters, settings, names, and occurrences are a product of the author’s imagination and bear no resemblance to any actual person, living or dead, places or settings, and/or occurrences. Any incidences of resemblance are purely coincidental.
Prologue
Your Majesty, Droga is here to see you,” said Axyl as he kneeled behind the king of Zera, helmet in hand. It was custom of the Vakin race to kneel when interrupting a higher power; this was a way to avoid any misconceptions of disrespect. The king turned, revealing himself, his sky-blue eyes staring at Axyl’s wolf like features inside of his guard armor. The Vakin guard was wearing the armor of the Kings Royal Guard, which consisted of a blue double plated chest piece with white outlines that revealed his furry, human-like arms. His shoulders were covered by a bulky blue triangular piece of armor with a white outline and a emblem of a gold crown and sword which stood for ‘Guard of the King’. The lower half of his armor resembled the same colors but covered the top part of his legs and a white cloth covered the rest. Since Axyl led the Royal Guard, he wore a cape with a emblem of two golden swords and a crowd on it. The king made a nodding gesture for his old friend Axyl to stand. He sighed.
"Let him in, Axyl."
"Your majesty," Axyl said with a smirk while turning back to the large black and gold double doors.
"His Majesty will see you," Axyl said, basically snaring at the hooded Droga standing before him. Droga smiled while walking into the king’s hall. He looked around, noticing the red walls and the crystals that decorated the ceilings. The fires along the wall the lit the room. The crisp sunlight that peered over the land came in through the large window. He looked at Axyl and placed his pale hand on his shoulder while dropping his hood. Revealing his pale clean-shaven face, his red eyes contrasted his slick, laid-back black ponytail. He had a crescent-shaped black marking around his right eye with the top point of it curling upward into his forehead. He leaned close to the side of Axyl’s pointed ears.
"I believe you meant to address me as Lord Droga.”
Axyl let out a low growl, bearing his teeth as he grabbed the hilt of his sword as steam started coming from the spot where Droga had placed his hand.
"Enough!" The king put his hand on the hilt of his sword, staring straight at Droga.
"C'mon Taharqa---"
"I believe you mean your majesty, I am king, last I checked.". Taharqa cut Droga off before he could finish whatever remark he had to say. Droga stared into Taharqa’s blue eyes as if he was challenging his authority. Droga turned away first and kneeled, looking up at the king’s blue and white leather wardrobe before meeting his gaze once again.
"My apologies Your Majesty" Droga spat out, almost as if it was a joke.
Taharqa gestured for Droga to stand as he shot a look of disgust in Axyl’s direction.
"Will your pet be staying, Your Majesty?" Droga said, provoking Axyl. He didn't budge; he just stood staring at Droga with his hand still on his sword.
"Whatever you have to say to me, you can say in front of Axyl," Taharqa replied, prompting Droga to clench his fist tightly.
"Well, the assignment to get the Crocs to agree to peace has been completed. There were a few casualties in the process, including one of your royal guards that went to assist me." Droga let out an amused chuckle at the king’s expression.
"He fought valiantly," Droga said dramatically, looking back over his shoulder at Axyl again. Axyl clenched his sword tightly as he looked down at the golden red flooring, fearing what he would do if he looked at Droga.
"Thanks for your report, Droga, and good job on creating peace among the Crocs. You are dismissed." Taharqa said calmly.
"Your Majesty." Droga twirled his finger, bowing while walking out.
"Don't let him get under your skin, Axyl. I know a Croc didn't kill your brethren, especially not Rolan. I picked him because of how good a fighter he was." Taharqa said, touching his friend on the shoulder.
"You should have sent me Taharqa," Axyl said, now talking to him as a friend instead of a king.
"That's what Droga wants. Then I will be easier to get to. He will make his move sooner or later, and with the deaths piling up among the guard, Droga is forcing my hand. I will need you to protect my son; Droga will find out sooner or later that he exists. That's when I will need you the most…. Axyl, you are my most trusted friend, and the reason I ascended to the king of these great lands. I want you to teach him our ways, how to be a kind king, a just king, and a king for the people. If he so chooses the path to not become king, protect him until he’s strong enough to protect himself. Most of all, tell him how much his father wishes he could of been there. Droga will stop at nothing until he is dead, and I know I haven’t been there to do much for him, but this is something I can do. Will you take this assignment for me? I will not order you to do it." Taharqa stared into his friend’s eyes, trying to not shed a tear.
"You would have me leave you? Leave you to die? We can imprison him and have him hung for his crimes!" Axyl pleaded.
"We cannot! He has enslaved most of the Redborn under his will. Now, if we did it would be a civil war; one we could not stop for years to come. According to our spys, the deal he made with the Crocs was that when he was king they would ascend to the top of the food chain if they follow him to overtake me. You know as well as I do that this is the only way."
Axyl had no response as he stared at Taharqa. A tear rolled down his cheek.
"It's for Zera, Axyl. I'll always be here in spirit, and when the time comes…. you'll know I went out fighting. That's when I want you to smile. For Zera!" Taharqa threw his hand to his chest in a salute to Axyl.
"For Zera!" Axyl saluted him back. “I will immediately.” Axyl turned, walking out with a smile on his face while letting his tears flow. So long my friend.
Taharqa was in his quarters when he received a report that the last of the replacements were found dead in their homes. The replacements were a select group people that if the king should be on his deathbed with no heir, their families could take the throne in his place. He knew it was Droga behind the killings, but he couldn't connect him to them in order to prosecute him and all involved. He could just give a kill order for Droga, but that would cause outbursts and rallies among the Redborn species, and it wasn't a guarantee that they would catch Droga once the order was given. He realized the only way he could stop Droga was to wait for him to show his hand first. As king, he couldn't just go beating up on people like back during times of war. Taharqa had come to relax during times of peace; that was his flaw, and that's what Droga was exploiting. There was one thing Droga didn't know, Taharqa thought, before a hard knock on his door came and a royal guard came busting in.
"Your Majesty, there’s an outbreak! The Crocs are raiding the kingdom!�
� the royal guard shouted, out of breath.
"Are our armies distant from the kingdom, Lanny?” Taharqa asked her calmly
"They are at least five night’s marches away, Your Majesty"
They both gave a head nod and salute as Taharqa grabbed his sword from the bed of his quarters and strapped it's leather around his waist.
“Lets help them meet their ancestors!” Taharqa let out a growl and advanced into the castle’s hallway to join in the fight. The walls were stained with blood and the floors occupied with the dead bodies of Crocs. Grey, one of the royals, was on the edge of the stairs pulling his impaled sword from a Croc’s chest and letting the body drop and roll down the stairs. The castle was now a war zone.
"Your Majesty, we must get you out of the castle and to safety. If we can make it down into the ceremony hall, we can use its escape tunnel to get you to safety!” Lanny told Taharqa.
"We have to move fast while we have the advantage. We are a small group and can move quickly, on me!” Taharqa unsheathed his sword and headed in a full sprint down the stairs with the royal guard in toe. They reached the floor of the ceremony hall with little to no encounters; this made Taharqa suspicious. Surely they should have encountered more resistance. He looked the guards in their eyes, gesturing them to move with caution. When they finally got to the ceremony hall there was a clap.
"Finally you've made it here, Your Majesty. We've been waiting.” Droga said sarcastically with a smile on his face. He stood in front of a group of Crocs and Redborn who were blocking the hidden entrance to the escape tunnel.
"Droga, we could end this now the old way. Just you and I.” Droga didn't fall for the bait. Instead, he just smirked.
"I see no reason for me to fight a man who's already dead.” He looked at the Croc next to him, gesturing for him and his troops to take out the king and his guards. The king's guards noticed the gesture and went into a defensive triangle position around His Majesty. The Crocs had a sheer advantage over the king and his guards, but the guards had pure skill over the Crocs. Taharqa looked down at his sword. He spoke silently to it. “Old friend, this shall be our last time together. Let's show them why we are feared.” Taharqa looked around at his guards. “Tonight, I fight with some of the finest warriors I know, and I wouldn’t have it any other way!” Taharqa took up position in the front of the triangle as the Crocs charged forward towards them. One by one the guards eliminated the Crocs as they charged toward them. Droga noticed this and knew he had to do something to help them. He summoned the Phyras in a line to fire upon the guards. As the guards were repelling the Crocs, they noticed the room began to heat up. They realized they were about to be fired upon by the Redborn.
“Shields up! Fire incoming!” Taharqa shouted to his guards. The guards all put their shields up and came to a standstill with the Crocs crashing at their shields along with the Redborn’s fire. “Hold! This is nothing! We won’t give them the satisfaction of thinking they are winning!” Shouted Taharqa. “Now push! The Phyras have to recharge before they can fire again. Break!” The guards broke their triangle and went on a raging offensive.
Although calling out enemy positions, and slaying anyone in their way, it seemed like the crocs numbers didn’t dwell down at all. Fatigue was starting to take its toll on the guards and His Majesty. They had to do something, and that something needed to be done now. His Majesty put them back in the defensive triangle once he saw the Phyras almost done charging for their next wave of fire. Once again, they stood tall with their shields raised to withstand the blasts from the Phyras.
“We won’t be able to take much more of this. We will have to cut the head from the snake.” Taharqa spoke from behind his shield.
“We will forge a way. You just make sure you give Droga something to think about.” Lanny said with a smile. “Forward!”
Now that the Phyras had even longer to charge up, the guards went to the offensive. They dropped all their shields and rotated to a forward spear formation. They were charging and piercing through enemies with devastating force, but the downfall of the forward spear formation is that it was purely offensive with higher chances of death. As they got deeper into the ranks of the Redborn and Crocs, guards started falling.
“Stay strong!” Lanny shouted as she watched her brothers and sisters falling before her eyes. Step after step got harder and harder as they felt the fatigue from the long battle. Finally, they got closer to Droga. He was now in their sight, standing right in front of the Phyras giving orders. He noticed them and smiled as he stood still. This is when Lanny and his majesty realized the only ones who made it through were them.
“Your Majesty, get to Droga. I will clear your path with everything I have. It’s been an honor, old friend.”
Lanny pushed forward viciously with everything she had, slashing at anything that wasn’t his majesty. He followed her lead until she fell to one knee, taking a dagger to the chest.
“Now, Your Majesty, this is your chance!” She looked back at him with a sadness and sense of pride. His Majesty acknowledged her and leaped from behind her spinning in a circle, slicing Crocs in mid-air. He landed right in front of Droga.
“Coward. You will die a coward’s death. Even if I die, you will never have this kingdom!” Taharqa said, smiling.
Taharqa charged at Droga, but two Redborn stepped in the way, distracting Taharqa. Meanwhile Droga rotated behind Taharqa and delivered a blow to the back of his neck with his sword’s hilt.
“I will make a throne from your bones! Now smile at that!” Droga said, thrusting Taharqa towards a pillar in the center of the room.
Steam started coming from Droga as he walked towards Taharqa. He ripped off his robe, revealing his red armor engraved with a black dragon. As the steam dissipated, his body began growing, becoming scaly with horns spiking throughout his body, giving shape to piercing wings from his back.
“I am king now.” Droga smiled as he pierced his sword through Taharqa’s chest.
Taharqa gasped for air while staring into Drogas eyes. He smiled before he did the unthinkable: he grabbed Droga’s sword and thrust it deeper into his chest, pulling Droga forward with it in a last effort to slay the Redborn. Taharqa swung his sword at his neck, but Droga dodged it, while the point of Taharqa’s sword cut across Droga’s eye, sending a jolt of pain through him.
“He, will be king....” Taharqa let out with his last dying breath.
“Tie his body up over the kingdom, along with his famous royal guard. Today Droga is king.”
A loud applause went through the ceremony hall.
“Droga, Axyl isn’t among the dead.” One of Drogas generals whispered to him.
Panic went through Drogas mind as he grabbed his generals neck.
“What do you mean he isn’t among the dead? Find him!”
1
Graduation day was tomorrow for the students of Belleville University. Bakari was chosen to speak at his graduation ceremony, although he didn't enter his name to be the speaker. His class had unanimously chosen him. Bakari always thought that participating in any public speaking event was a drag because everyone was either staring at you or not listening. As Bakari lay in bed, rubbing his hand back and forth against his short black hair, he heard a beep coming from his phone.
"Hello." Bakari answered.
"Bakari!, get up I'm going to the center to shoot around. Meet me there." A female voice responded.
"But --" A click cut him off as the phone hung up on him before he could give an excuse on why he didn't want to go.
*Thump*, *thump*, *thump*, *swoosh!* Bakari watched the ball go into the net as he walked into the gym of the Center.
"Nova, you know you could of let me respond before you hung up on me." Bakari said calmly.
"You know you would have just made up an excuse about why you couldn't come, when in fact I’m sure you were just laying in bed, at ten o’clock, and it's definitely not bedtime yet. “Nova shot back at him while walking up to give him a hug.
>
"You know me so well." Bakari made a sarcastic gesture while wrapping his arms around Nova.
Nova had her curly dark hair in a ponytail. She was about the average female height, dark brown skin, golden eyes, and a very firm, slim athletic build. She was wearing a black Belleville Panthers hoodie and grey jogging pants which didn’t do her figure any justice. That was Nova; she liked wearing big clothes. They were comfortable to her.
She approached Bakari’s slender frame. Looking him up and down, she stared into his bright brown eyes. She gave him the most unpleasant look for the sarcastic remark he had just given her.
"If your done being melodramatic, are you ready for graduation tomorrow?" She rolled her eyes as she walked back to shoot the ball.
"Yeah I suppose, but I'm not really looking forward to the speech part of it. I mean, I literally didn't even put my name in the box but I was still chosen." He hunched his shoulders.
"Well you are the one always helping everyone and speaking up for everyone, so of course you were the number one choice.” Nova let a slight grin creep up on her face, knowing that she was the one who entered his name in the box.
“I guess, but I don’t really like being in the limelight, and to be honest I haven’t even written anything to say at graduation, and it’s tomorrow.” He brushed his face with his hand, and sighed.
“Well what are you waiting on?” Nova kept shooting.
“I was kind of in bed, thinking about what to say before I got disturbed and hung up on.” Bakari gave Nova a side eye.
“Well I’m ready to head back to the dorms anyways, just wanted to shoot a few before tomorrow and get some air.”
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