Lord Of Dragons (Book 2)

by John Forrester

  "What do you know of the Saarian Empire? Hmm, I see from your expression that you've never heard of it? Curious... But you have heard of rumors of the ancient lost kingdom to the north of Shaar'el, the old ruins on the steppes of the northern mountains?" The King chuckled, amused at the wizard's gaping mouth. "You will go there with my daughter, for within those ruins you may find the only hope to defeat the dark tide that has risen up from Naverstrom. Our wizards must have powerful relics to utilize in the destruction of the Princes of Naverstrom."

  Master Shalinor couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had the high elves heard something of his plan to investigate the ruins with Princess Sebine and his grandson? He doubted it, but he didn't doubt the strong hand of fate working and pushing them all in the same direction.

  "I would be most honored to have Princess Theria join the quest to the Saarian Ruins. Although I am surprised you mentioned those particular ruins, as my grandson and Princess Sebine of Trikar are due to meet me in Shaar'el before the end of the moon. What can you tell me of the Saarian Empire?"

  A conniving smile crossed the handsome King's smooth face. "We know a great deal, as we had sent emissaries to their capitol city over ten thousand years ago. When they returned to Khalas Dralorn with wild tales of their power and strange wisdom, and treasures and relics beyond imagination, the word spread to the dark elves who later invaded their kingdom. At the time war raged constantly between us, as the dark elves were vastly more numerous than we in those days, but still they could not best us. That's when Jolrath led a mighty army to the Saarian Empire in the hopes of discovering spells and relics to use against us."

  "A failed hope, I presume." Master Shalinor smiled, remembering his father telling a story of an ancient battle that caused many of the dark elves to disappear from the world.

  "Yes, indeed. Almost all the dark elves vanished in the Saarian cities, and from what we've heard through our spies, they disappeared inside magical portals to other worlds, or perhaps to other planes of existence. The Saarians left with them, and their civilization wasted away in the northern steppes. Their cities also remained untouched as any who have ventured there have been affected by an ancient curse that caused them to go mad and never return from their expeditions."

  So the rumors of a curse were not only true, but powerful and likely unbreakable. "And how do you propose we enter those ruins unmolested?" The wizard doubted the King would send his daughter blindly to a place of danger without first crafting a plan.

  "We were hoping you could help with this, master wizard." King Rhaelian sauntered over to his bookshelf and withdrew a small silver book adorned with rubies. The wizard found himself tensed in excitement as the King handed him the book. "From our earliest expedition to the Saarian Empire. Their high priest shared with us the core tenets of their faith. It is written in the elven script, as they insisted on learning our language, but refused to teach us theirs. It is a very old book, so treasure it well as it may be our only hope of survival. Will you aid us in this quest?"

  Master Shalinor nodded in agreement, but he found his thoughts drifting towards discovering the secrets within the ancient metal book...

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  ON THE EIGHTH day of their pilgrimage across the desert to Shaar'el, Princess Sebine swore she never wanted to ride a horse again. Compared to riding dragons, the long, tiresome days in the desert were pure torture, with the wind blowing sand constantly in her eyes and mouth. She sneezed at the thought, and squinted ahead at another mirage floating over the hot dunes.

  "May the gods bless you," Tael said, and pulled down the wrapping over his face to reveal a devilish grin. Although the days riding were tedious, the hours spent in lazy solitude with Tael had been nothing short of magical. Thankfully they had their own tent to enjoy their privacy amongst the other pilgrims, filled with beautiful, aimless hours of lust and discovery, lost in the exploration of each other.

  "Can you tell if that is a city ahead or just another mirage?" Sebine sneezed again and swore at the earth god for putting so much sand and dust in one place. How she craved the cleanliness of civilization and the sight of green foliage.

  Tael stood up in his saddle and shielded his eyes from the light of the setting sun. "It looks like city walls to me. And we should be close to Shaar'el by now. The earth god has been kind to us on our journey." Sebine felt disgusted every time he mentioned the earth god, wishing for the days before he'd adopted this cloak of religiousness. He was just too...too holy and serene these days, so unlike the raw carelessness of the Tael she once knew. Not that that was entirely a bad thing. At least he now seemed devout to her, despite the many pretty, young girls on the journey who'd cast wanton eyes at him. So unlike him, he'd barely even noticed the girls.

  "If we can find an actual inn with hot water tonight I just might scream for joy." Sebine flashed him a quick smile, but covered her face with a scarf as another gust of wind picked up. It took them another hour of riding before the massive sandstone walls of Shaar'el loomed before them, with many layers of wall and palm trees rising higher towards the zenith, so high that she thought the ancient city's vastness would blot out the sky. Now she knew why Shaar'el appeared as a mirage wafting in the air above the dunes, for the design of the city was nine layers of stone and greenery rising thousands of feet, almost as if the city itself were sculpted from a mountain.

  Sebine was unable to take her eyes off the beautiful city, ever since she'd first spotted a titanic pair of golden hands at the highest point of the city reaching towards the sky. What kind of weird and wonderful people did that? Who built such a massive, verdant city in the middle of a desert? All along the two hundred foot high walls were shimmering golden runes that sparkled and danced in the fading light of day. She remembered the warning of Princess Marei to King Braxion, of the magic that protected their cities from attack. There was power here surging in the earth and in the air. Sebine could feel it pulsing inside her body and tingling her skin and scalp with tiny prickles of electricity.

  The caravan of pilgrims veered from the city gates and went towards a small oasis outside Shaar'el dotted with hundreds of tents—all likely worshippers of Gaa'el on their pilgrimage to pay homage to the seven holy relics. Sebine and Tael said goodbye to the people of the group, and led their horses towards the city entrance. As they neared the walls, Sebine could see that now only the small side gates remained open, and she spurred her horse on to race towards the opening into the city.

  "Halt!" the guards shouted, and aimed spears at their advance. Sebine wheeled her horse around and fixed her eyes on the soldier who appeared to be the Captain of the Guard.

  "We are ambassadors to the Malathian Kingdom from the Kingdom of Valance." The Princess scowled at the Captain. "Step aside as we have urgent business with Prince Jaraz."

  The man's suspicious face turned hard and suspicious as he studied Sebine. "You dare order my men around? Is this how nobility treat the common soldiers of Valance?"

  "I beg your pardon, Captain." Tael kept his voice low and earnest. "Princess Sebine is merely tired and hungry from our long voyage over the desert. Perhaps we could explain more inside?"

  "A voice of reason," the soldier said, and bowed his head to Tael. Sebine found herself furious at how easily Tael handled the Captain. "If you'll follow me inside, we'll have your horses fed and watered while you answer a few questions." He cast a wary glance at the Princess, but turned and trudged across the soft sand and led them into the city.

  Sebine dismounted and handed the reins to a young soldier whose amber eyes startled her for a moment, as they filled her with fond memories of Prince Jaraz. Her heart fluttered for a moment as the soldier stared at her with a perplexed expression on his face, then he turned and led the horse down a narrow side street. To shake herself out of the memory, she scanned around and noticed that the entrance into the magnificent city was quite plain, especially in comparison to her expectations. A broad street of sandstone, the width of two city gates, t
unneled deeper into the dimness of the lower city, while all along the upper part of the city, palm, olive, citrus trees and grape vines grew.

  "Come this way, if you please." A young boy of around twelve, a courier perhaps, motioned for them to follow, and the Captain nodded to Tael, and turned and left for a guard post. "We rarely have the pleasure of greeting royalty from the Kingdom of Valance." The boy cast curious eyes at Princess Sebine as they walked down the wide street. "Our government officials will be surprised to hear of your arrival. How was your journey to our kingdom?"

  "Eventful," said Sebine, and wrinkled up her nose at the boy.

  "What she meant to say was that our journey was long and difficult, and filled with many bittersweet memories." Tael rolled his eyes at Sebine, as if scolding her for her terse treatment of the boy.

  "Do you have any food here?" She eyed the boy expectantly after failing to find any street vendors hawking their wares.

  The boy's eyes turned puzzled. "But surely you know of the fast? The Captain told me you arrived with the pilgrims from Rez'el. We still observe the fast, the last days of our holy month of prayer and observance of the sacred rites of the moon goddess."

  Sebine swallowed and thought of the lavish feast in Rez'el, and her stomach grumbled and complained in hunger. "Your people fast for a month?"

  The boy chuckled at Sebine and gave her a comical expression of disbelief. "Do they not fast in the Kingdom of Valance?"

  "Rarely, and only the priests and those devout to the Calathian Church are committed enough to follow the strictures of the faith and fast on holy days." Tael caught the surprised glance of the young boy and gave him a grin. "I doubt you'll find the people of Valance as devout as you Malathians. We encountered true believers in Rez'el."

  "Ah, you mean the fanatics of the earth god?" The boy spit on the ground and caused Tael to flinch in surprise. "Their priests rape the women and drug the men in their drunken celebrations to their god. Is this called devout? To be drunk and crazed and run naked under the condemning eyes of the moon goddess? I think not. We've seen those so-called true believers perform their heretical rituals out there in the desert. There is good reason we bar them from staying overnight within our walls...of course to prevent the madness from spreading amongst the weak-minded and insane."

  At Tael's stunned silence, Sebine decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Has the City of Shaar'el always been so massive? Or did you expand and build over the many thousands of years of your civilization's history?"

  The boy's eyes lit up with pride. "Our city has always been this great. As far back as recorded history, with this same size and shape, and filled with people."

  "But how you do accommodate for growth? You must build new dwellings or expand into the desert to make room..."

  "No, no, this is not our way. With the ordination of our gods our population remains in balance to allow for harmony with our city and our resources." The boy stopped walking and spread his arms wide. "We are desert people, after all, with limitations on water and food—hah, but never a limit on sunshine! We have plenty of sun and sand, yes, the blowing sand and wind everywhere."

  Sebine frowned at his words, wondering how they could control their population and remain a flourishing, strong Kingdom. A shudder ran through her body and for some terrible reason her mind pictured soldiers tossing babies from the two hundred foot walls into the desert. She felt sick to her stomach, and lost her hunger in an instant. They wouldn't be so cruel, would they? To her side she could see Tael's puzzled face scrunched up as if trying to work out the meaning of the boy's words.

  "How exactly do you maintain this balance?" Sebine was almost afraid to ask, but she found her morbid curiosity stronger than her caution.

  "But this is the core part of our religion, of our gods," the boy said, his eyes incredulous. "We worship and follow the precepts of our religion in our daily lives. This is a shame that member of royalty from the Kingdom of Valance does not understand this of our civilization. We are taught in school that this one thing is perhaps the most important thing to our Kingdom, and the reason why we have survived for so many thousands of years, while other cities and civilizations have crumbled."

  The boy released a small, mocking laugh, but he caught himself and gave Sebine an apologetic bow. "Forgive me, Your Royal Highness, for my rudeness. But you see, as I am still young, the memory of the lessons from my teachers is still fresh in my mind. My teacher, he said that two thousand years ago, while the people of Valance were living in caves and hunting animals with rocks and spears, and drinking water by placing their mouths into rivers and lakes, we Malathians were standing at the lofty heights of Shaar'el in our observatories studying the stars through finely ground glass telescopes. Can you understand the source of my levity?"

  Sebine resisted the urge to issue a snarky retort. "You have a great and illustrious history, to be sure. I look forward to learning more of your ancient city."

  The boy wagged his head at that, and guided them up stone stairs that snaked their way up and around many flights until they reached the edge of a bustling square filled with colorfully dressed people smiling and chatting, and some older people sitting around tables enjoyed a simple bread and dipped it in what looked like a lentil stew.

  "You see the people are all enjoying the holy days." As they walked, the boy motioned at group of citizens waiting in a line before a small stone temple on the far edge of the square. "They are waiting to pray to the goddess of the moon and seek her blessing. We have many shrines and temples to the goddess throughout the city. And you can see the people abstain from alcohol and sweet drink, and eat simple Raana bread and lentil and rice gruel. There is also no meat consumed during the fast, though we of Shaar'el consume little meat as livestock can hold much disease. We do eat of the delicious river trout that thrives in the great Catris river that flows underneath our city."

  Though Sebine was unsurprised to learn of water near Shaar'el, as the maps she had studied showed a the city nestled in a vast oasis, she had a hard time imagining any water existing for long under the scorching hot sun. Which was likely why the ancients built a city over the water to provide shade and protection.

  "If you can step inside here, an official of the government of Shaar'el will speak with you before granting you the permission to stay in our city." The boy flashed them an ashamed smile. "You must understand, we need to follow the rules needed to manage so many people, do you not? Let me first make an introduction."

  After the boy talked for a long while in a soft, earnest tone to an old, wizened man with a head of thinning, white hair, the old man nodded and motioned Tael and Sebine to go inside a room with a distracting view of the bustling square.

  "Please, won't you sit, Princess Sebine? And I'm sorry, what was your name young man?"

  "Tael Shalinor."

  The old man stopped himself from sitting at an old, leather chain, and raised a bushy eyebrow at the name, and fixed his pale-blue eyes on Tael for a long moment. "Your grandfather is Master Greyth Shalinor? I see... This is proving a most interesting day, indeed. Well, there is little use for any of my questions. Simply hearing you are his grandson changes things entirely. I hope that young boy didn't already leave, for I will be needing him. Excuse me a moment."

  Sebine cast puzzled eyes at Tael and he gave her an arrogant smile in return, as if touting his power and influence here in Shaar'el. The old man returned with a servant girl who placed a basket of steaming-hot bread and lentil stew on a side table that overlooked the square.

  "Forgive my rudeness, you must be hungry." The old man gave them a gracious bow and motioned for them to sit at the table. "I've had the boy go and retrieve your grandfather. Once he confirms you are who you say you are, the government of Shaar'el will grant you entry. Go on now, eat up, the girl will bring you water soon."

  The wizard was here already? As Sebine pondered the boy's words, Tael wasted no time in darting over to the table and helping himself to
the bread and lentils. Mouth stuffed full of food, he realized his lack of manners, and offered Sebine a piece of the flatbread. She gave him a dismissive shake of her head as she sat at the table and took a hesitant bite of the bland bread. It needed pairing with the lentil stew, so she followed Tael's lead and dipped the bread and enjoyed the subtle, aromatic flavors swirling in her mouth.

  "Gods, this is delicious!" The tastes and scents were so new that she found herself wondering how they created such a delicate and flavorful dish. "If this is considered simple food for fasting, I'm dying to find out what their regular food tastes like."

  A grunt of appreciation came from Tael's mouth as he helped himself to more food. By the time the girl came back to bring them water, the bread and lentil stew was gone. The girl smiled and asked if they wanted more, and Tael and Sebine nodded their heads in unison. Sebine decided that she was going to enjoy her time immensely in Shaar'el, and hopefully that their stay would last as long as possible.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  TAEL SPOTTED THE familiar figure of his grandfather striding along with the boy through the now crowded and celebratory square. In the hour or so that Tael and Sebine had waited and feasted on the delicious food, they marveled and pointed at the oddly dressed citizens: priests wearing robes of red hues like fire that shimmered with a light of their own, ladies strutting around in gowns of glittering blue like sapphires illuminated by sunbeams, and men sauntered in dour jackets and pants of earthen tones and seemed like fixtures in the crowd to draw attention to the brilliance of the ladies and priests.

  "I'd expected a more serious time of fasting," Sebine said, and Tael nodded, thinking of the Calathian ceremonies of self-restriction and penitence, of groups of priests lashing themselves with long whips while they stumbled through the streets. The priests of Shaar'el seemed joyful and filled with hope and kindness.