Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God

by Barry Gibbons

  The childlike sprite hurried into the keep, and went in search of Shirk and Lady Skie, who spent the majority of their time locked away in Damion's office in the upper levels of the Serpent's Keep, taking care of the day to day affairs of running the city.

  As expected, he found the odd pair sitting together at the long table in the the center of the room, carefully examining a new trade agreement proposed by the Merchant's Guild in the walled city of Pairou.

  "Finally decide to grace us with your presence?" Shirk asked sarcastically, looking up from the parchment. "Lounging around in the courtyard becoming too much work for you?"

  "Quit picking on Dar." Lady Skie chided the bearded thief with an amused smile. She looked to the childlike sprite. "How is Tempest this evening?"

  "She's a little concerned," Dar told her, climbing up into a chair across the table from the pair. "as we all should be." He went on to tell them about Slither's unexpected visit. "He's says that most of the dragonspawn are banding together in preparation for war. They seem to think that the dragon god has indeed returned to the world, and His return marks the beginning of a war with the humans."

  "I thought Damion's pet shadowspawn had all of the dragonspawn in the area under control?" Shirk asked, twirling a lock of his scruffy beard unconsciously.

  The fiery haired sprite frowned. "I'm afraid Slither's influence with the horde only goes so far. The loyalty of the dragonspawn to their god apparently outweighs the fear that they have for Damion. I guess there has already been several incidents."

  "Incidents?" Lady Skie asked dubiously.

  "That's what Slither called them." Dar shrugged. "He didn't go into any further detail in the matter, but it apparently got him concerned enough for him to risk sneaking into the city to warn us what was afoot."

  Shirk sighed, shaking his head in resignation. "This is just what we need with Damion gone, a horde of dragonspawn roaming the countryside, wreaking havoc."

  "The battlements surrounding the city should keep Sevria safe," Lady Skie said confidently. "but we should send out messengers to warn others to be wary. We don't want anyone to be caught unprepared."

  Dar nodded in agreement. "Tempest went to try to convince some of her brethren to intercede. The scarlet dragons despise dragonspawn. They look upon them as nothing more than abominations, corrupted by magic. But the dragonspawn look upon the dragons as if they were akin to the gods. They would willingly follow a dragon into oblivion, if only to prove their loyalty. With a little luck, they be able to locate the largest hordes, and keep them from attacking."

  "We should still send out messengers to carry warning to our neighbors." Lady Skie reiterated, taking a sip from her ever present cup of tea. "Dragonspawn can be rather unpredictable, and we can't depend on the dragons to be able to prevent every dragonspawn from attacking. We may also want to start sending escorts to protect the caravans traveling through the mountains. We don't need a repeat of what happened last year."

  "I'll have the castle soldiers start sending out more men to patrol the trade road." Shirk assured her. "The instant we see any sign of trouble we'll begin escorting the caravans. There's no sense in spending the gold it'll take to pay the men to protect the caravans if the dragonspawn decide to steer clear of us."

  Dar sighed heavily. "It seems as though we have done all this before."

  Shirk snorted in amusement. "At least this time we don't have worry about a shadow dragon dropping from the sky."

  "I wish father had stayed behind." Lady Skie sighed regretfully. "His wisdom would be invaluable to us right now."

  "That's true." Dar agreed. "He designed nearly all of the city defenses. His expertise would be quite helpful if there was another attack on Sevria."

  "I wonder where they're at right now." Lady Skie commented in a wistful tone. "It's been quite some time since they departed, and we haven't heard anything from them. I hope they are safe."

  Well," Shirk started, scratching his ponderous belly thoughtfully. "I'm sure they would have sent word if anything had happened. I'm sure they're just concentrating all of their efforts on recovering Leia from her abductors. Once she is safe and sound, and they have destroyed those responsible, I'm sure they'll send word of their success and imminent return."

  Dar frowned. "That's only if they are able to save her. The rumors spreading through the dragonspawn are troubling. Slither says they are convinced that the dragon god, Draco, has returned to this world, and I have the nagging suspicion that He may have a hand in everything that has happened. It seems just a bit too coincidental that the constellation of Draco disappears from the night's sky on the day of Leia's birth, then, almost exactly one year later, she is abducted by a stranger with extraordinary powers. The gods will not take a direct hand in the affairs of mortals, and must use intermediaries to carry out their will. Add that with the fact that being Damion's daughter, Leia also has the blood of dragons flowing in her veins, everything begins to point to the dragon god."

  "You truly believe Draco has returned?" Lady Skie's face drained of color.

  The childlike sprite shrugged. "I can't be sure, but the evidence is certainly beginning to add up."

  "Let's hope your wrong." Shirk grunted in a serious tone. "I'm not sure if Damion is strong enough to face a god, even with the power of the Dragon Sword protecting him."

  "If anyone could face down a god and survive, it would be Damion." Lady Skie replied confidently, though her face was still deathly pale. "He is unlike any other man that has ever lived."

  "But how do you kill a god?" Shirk asked, throwing his hands in the air helplessly. "Can they even die?"

  "The only way to destroy a god is to kill all of their children." Dar told the portly thief in a grim tone. "Without worshippers, a god is powerless, and will eventually fade away into nothingness."

  "I guess that's out of the question." Shirk grumbled with a note of regret. "Is there no way to force Him to return to his place in the heavens?"

  The freckle faced sprite shook his head. "How do you force a god to anything? No, Draco will only return to his place in the heavens when He has achieved His purpose here on this world."

  "I wish there was some way to get a warning to Damion." Lady Skie fretted, wringing her hands in worry. "He should know what is happening, and what we have discovered. He could be walking into something that even he can't overcome."

  "There's no way to know where they may be right now," Dar told her helplessly. "and by the time the message reached them, it would probably already be too late."

  "Don't worry," Shirk told them confidently. "I'm sure Damion and the others have already came to the same conclusion that we have. He does have Damarius with him, and that crazy old wizard is by far the most intelligent fellow I have ever encountered. I'm sure that he has already put the pieces of the puzzle together."

  "Let's hope so." Dar didn't sound as confident. "Otherwise, they could walk unaware right into the lap of the dragon god."

  ************

  He stretched out lazily along the stone wall of the elaborate temple plaza, watching idly as several witches approached the altar of flame which dominated the center of the square, representing the elder spirits during the numerous ceremonies which were frequently held in their honor. He enjoyed the feeling of the cold granite against his scales, and found great amusement in watching the comings and goings of the mortals who worshipped in these temples.

  Though he had been watching them for some time now, none of the mortals knew of his presence. It was an easy thing for him to cloud their sight, making them blind to his presence, and allowing him the opportunity to observe these strange mortals in their natural environment.

  Strange creatures, humans were. They were much taken with traditions and rituals, many of which made little sense to him. And they would continue on with these traditions and obscure ceremonies long after their origins were forgotten.

  He shook his head in disgust. These creatures had proven themselves to be capable of
great intelligence, but most chose to wallow in meaningless tradition, and spent a great deal of their time bowing to gods who reigned over them with meaningless rules and forced rituals meant to glorify the god to greater power.

  He snorted contemptuously. He would never force his children to follow a bunch of meaningless rules, or perform rituals meant only to glorify him. Unlike the gods who ruled over the pathetic mortals, he created his children. He had no need for their prayers or offerings, only for them to continue to survive.

  He snarled in irritation. That is where the mortals became a problem. They had infested nearly every area of the world, spreading like a disease throughout every corner of the land. Soon, there would be no place safe left for his children to go, and he was not going to sit back and wait for that time to come without acting.

  He slowly rose and stretched his enormous wings. He glanced up into the predawn sky, and noticed the constellation of Estheryal, the Serpent Mother, as she made her appearance for the evening, peeking up over the horizon to look down upon the world with curious eyes. He could feel Her eyes upon him as She appeared, and stopped for a long moment, staring back up at Her with arrogance. "I will do this." He grumbled in a whisper that was carried to the heavens on a breeze. "I will carry out my plans. Through this child, a new race of dragons will be born, and this world will once again belong to our children."

  He turned away, ignoring the stare of displeasure that the Serpent Mother leveled at him. He knew that She was watching everything he had set into motion very closely, and he knew She disapproved of his actions, but he ignored Her disapproval. He had made his plans, knowing they would mark the beginning of a new era. The era of the dragons.

  He took one last glance around at the unknowing humans who milled around the temple plaza, then launched himself into the sky. It was time he looked in on the mortal tasked by the elder spirits to retrieve the child. Then once he was satisfied everything was going according to his designs, perhaps he would look in on this dragon man.

  He soared off into the night, ignoring the gaze of disapproval that continued to bear down on him from the heavens.

  *************

  "There appears to be some sort of trouble ahead." Jarom pointed out to Damion as they crested a hill to see the sky in the distance filled with black smoke.

  "There is a farming community just ahead." Jacom commented, his expression thoughtful. "Perhaps the peasants are burning off underbrush to clear the land for planting."

  Damarius shook his head. "It's too late in the season for that. The fall harvest is just around the corner. Farmers would never chance starting a fire near their fields. They could lose all their crops."

  "Let's go check it out." Damion decided. He had a suspicion of what was happening ahead, but chose to remain silent. He nudged Storm with his heels and led them towards the disturbance.

  "Perhaps you should ask Snowfeather to scout ahead." Damarius suggested as they drew closer to the source of the smoke. "We don't want to walk into anything unprepared."

  "That's probably not a bad idea." The huge warrior agreed. "Can you go have a look at what's happening ahead?" He asked the snow owl, who was perched on his shoulder, sleeping sedately with its head tucked beneath one wing. "We'd like to know exactly what we would be walking into before we continue."

  "It's a little early, wouldn't you say?" Snowfeather hooted sleepily, holding up a wing to block the setting sun. "When are you people going to start traveling at a decent hour?"

  "You can go back to sleep once we know what's waiting for us ahead."

  "Very well." Snowfeather sighed, launching himself from Damion's shoulder. "I'll let you know what I find, then I'll go try to find something to eat. I'll return to my nap later."

  "I'd appreciate that."

  They waited for nearly a half an hour before the snowy owl finally reappeared, dropping down from the sky on silent wings to settle back onto Damion's broad shoulder. "You're not going to believe this!"

  "Let me guess, a dragon."

  "That's right! How did you guess?"

  "His name is Scale. I asked him to create a bit of a disturbance to slow the witch, and give us a chance to catch up."

  "That may have been a mistake." Snowfeather hooted regretfully. "Scale's little disturbance appears to have stirred up a bit more excitement than you may have wanted. It looks as he set several of the fields on fire a few days ago, and they got a little out of control, taking half of the town with it. The worst of the flames have been extinguished, but it appears Scale's appearance caused a large number of soldiers to converge on the area. They're preventing anyone from venturing any further to the east. I think they may be preparing an attempt to drive off the dragon."

  "Was there any sign of Leia or her captors?"

  "I didn't see them, but there are several hundred peasants, and dozens of soldiers milling about the village. They could be somewhere among the crowd."

  Damion cursed. "Where is Scale now?"

  "About a half mile from the village. He is lounging in the center of the road, blocking anyone from passing."

  "I'm guessing that subtlety isn't one of his strong suits." Damion murmured aloud, drawing looks of curiosity from the others.

  "So," Sly demanded impatiently, watching as the huge owl leapt back into the air. "What does the feather duster have to say?"

  "A dragon has set fire to a couple of the farmer's fields, and a number of soldiers have gathered to try and drive it off. They are preventing anyone from going any further along this route."

  Damarius fixed Damion with a knowing stare. "And why would a dragon be setting fires and disrupting the peace?"

  "Because I asked him to cause a bit of a disturbance in the hopes of slowing Leia's captors." Damion made a face. "In retrospect, it probably wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had."

  "Really?" Sly said in a sarcastic voice. "I think your little plan may have backfired."

  The huge warrior frowned. "Let's proceed, but everyone be on their guard. I don't want to be caught by surprise."

  They slowly made their way down the road and into the small village, whose streets were filled with frightened and panicked people, many of whom were hastily loading horses, or packing their belongings in wagons, clearly intending on fleeing the area. The companions slowly made their way through the frightened crowd until they reached the village center, where they were stopped by a large patrol of armored Aliono, led by an older man with silver hair, and a military bearing.

  "Let me handle this." Damion told the others in a quiet voice as the patrol approached.

  "Oh, that's a good idea." Sly snorted, shaking his head in resignation. "We may as well just get to fighting."

  Raven pulled her mare up along side the little man's gelding, and kicked him in the leg with the point of her boot.

  "Ow!" He glared at the young woman with pain filled eyes. "Hey! I was just saying he hasn't been the most diplomatic fellow lately."

  "Just sit there and be quiet!" She hissed at him angrily. "He doesn't need your help."

  Sly glared at her for another moment, then moved his horse to one side, and sat rubbing his leg gingerly.

  Damion motioned for the others to stay back, then nudged Storm forward to meet with the patrol's leader.

  "Well met." The silver haired man greeted Damion, looking the huge warrior up and down with appraising eyes. "Where are you and your people bound?"

  "The highlands of Teirsia." Damion answered truthfully. "We've had a little trouble with one of the highland witches, and have tracked her this far. We figure she's making a run for her homeland in the hopes that she will be safe there." He cocked his head curiously. "You or your men haven't seen her by chance, have you? She is being accompanied by a large Oroni warrior, and a young child."

  "Doesn't ring any bells, but we've been rather preoccupied since arriving to find that a dragon had set the fields aflame. It's still lounging in the center of the road, preventing anyone from passing."

 
Damion sighed sadly. "I guess we'll just have to keep moving then. That witch can only run for so long before we finally catch up with her."

  The silver haired man frowned. "Well, I'm afraid your quest will have to wait. The road ahead is being blocked by the dragon, and every able bodied person is being gathered to assist in driving it off. You and your people look formidable enough. You will help in ridding us of this beast."

  "You want us to help you fight a dragon?" Jarom exclaimed in astonishment. "Are you mad?"

  "Besides," Jacom added, looking to Damion. "Can't you just..."

  "You can't just go around enlisting people to fight against their will!" Raven cut the knight off before he was able to reveal anything sensitive.

  "I'm truly sorry, milady," The silver haired man told her in a regretful, but firm tone. "but the safety of the villagers takes precedence over your quest for your witch. You and your companions are obviously seasoned warriors, and that is something we will desperately need if we are to succeed in driving that beast off."