Omensent
Revealing the Dragon
Book four of the Dragon Lord Series
By Barry A. Gibbons
Omensent
Revealing the Dragon
Book four of the Dragon Lord Series
by
Barry A. Gibbons II
License Notes
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Copyright © 2013 By Barry A. Gibbons II
Omensent
The Dragon Lord Series
Omensent
Birth of a Dragon Lord
Book one of the Dragon Lord Series
****
Omensent
Rise of the Shadow Dragons
Book two of the Dragon Lord Series
****
Omensent
Wrath of a Dragon God
Book three of the Dragon Lord Series
****
Omensent
Revealing the Dragon
Book four of the Dragon Lord Series
Prelude
“It will be any time now.” The enormous dragon grumbled, his iridescent scales shifting colors eerily in the firelight. He leaned in and carefully breathed more flames into the pile of stones, which had been carefully stacked around a dozen or so large, leathery looking eggs. “They will hatch soon, and then the next step of my plan can be set into motion.”
“This is madness, Draco.” A second dragon hissed. This beast was nearly as large as the other, but its scales were the color of polished gold. It watched in disapproval as Draco breathed more flames into the pile of stones. “You have plunged the world into chaos for the sake of your plans. Every day that passes, another god or goddess leaves their place among the heavens, and returns to the world that we all agree we would leave behind, lest it be destroyed.”
“It will all be worth it, Estheryal, when our children have once again taken this world as their own.” The iridescent dragon grumbled. “For far too long now we have watched as the mortals of this world spread throughout the land, infecting nearly every inch of its splendor with their vileness. That time will now come to a close as our new children are born into this world. They will sweep across the lands, purifying it with flame, and quenching it in the blood of mortals.”
“You’re leading our children down a dangerous path, Draco.” The Serpent Mother warned. “There will be war, not only among our children and the mortals, but among the gods as well. They will not stand idly by while their children are slaughtered. Besides,” The golden dragon snorted in disdain. “most of our children will be unable to aid you in your war. They are still under the influence of the Dragon Sword and the mortal who wields it. He is unlike any other man that has ever lived, and has already proved that he is willing to face down a god, even if it means his own death.”
“Ah yes, the Dragon Lord.” Draco murmured, looking up from the flames. “He is quite remarkable, for a mortal. But he will not be a problem for much longer.” He gently stroked one of the leathery eggs with a razor sharp claw. “I have made special plans for this so-called Dragon Lord. I learned much about him after our last confrontation. There is much more to him than what appears on the surface. He has power besides that of the trinket he carries, and a strength that radiates from his very being. But he is only a man, and a man can be broken. Once he has been dealt with, and our children released from his influence, they will sweep across the land purging the world of the mortal scourge.”
“This is complete madness.” Estheryal repeated, turning away. “I shall have no part in your designs. You are leading our children down a path that may lead them to their destruction. Turn away before it’s too late.”
“I cannot.” Draco whispered, watching as the Serpent Mother disappeared into the darkness. “I have come too far to turn back now.”
A loud rattling drew his attention back to the leathery eggs, one of which was twitching violently. There was a sudden tearing sound, and a large crack began to form on the surface.
He watched in satisfaction as his new creation struggled to emerge from its shell, then turned to stare down at the world below, eager for the next step in his plan to finally begin.
Chapter 1
The huge panther flashed through the shadows at the edge of the dense forest, its eyes locked on the large buck that was fleeing in blind fear through the darkness. The cat moved with an agile swiftness as it rushed to cover the distance between itself and its prey, which was quickly tiring from its panicked flight. It soon overtook the large buck and launched itself forward, landing squarely on the deer’s back. Razor sharp claws dug deep into the beast’s hide, and long fangs suddenly latched onto its throat, bringing the buck to a skidding stop, sending both the predator and prey tumbling, but the massive cat still refused to relinquish its deadly grip. The buck struggled desperately to break free, but the muscles on the panther’s back suddenly surged, and the loud snap of bone echoed through the night. The deer twitched several times, and then fell limp.
The huge cat slowly released its grip on the buck’s throat, and then struggled to untangle itself from the limp form. It paused for a long moment, still panting from the exertion of the chase, and then began to survey its kill with gleaming eyes.
A large snowy white owl suddenly ghosted in from the darkness and landed on a low hanging branch directly over the buck’s lifeless body. “Good kill, Damion.” It chirped approvingly, eyeing the deer with an appraising eye. “It should provide you with enough meat to last you for the rest of the trip.”
The panther glanced up at the owl for a moment, then its body suddenly blurred strangely. When the blurring finally stopped, the huge cat had disappeared. In its place stood an enormous warrior with long chestnut colored hair, wearing an intricate set of armor made up of hundreds of overlapping steel scales. He stood nearly eight feet in height, with a physique molded by years of training in the art of combat. He had a youthful face, marred only by a thick ridge of red brow scales that began just above the bridge of his nose and stretched across his brows to each temple, the result of a savage dragonspawn attack his mother had suffered while he was still in her womb. She survived the attack long enough to give birth to Damion a few months later, but the attack left its stain upon the huge warrior, marking him for life, and infusing his blood with that of the dragons.
The warrior looked up at the snowy white owl and smiled. “Not too bad.” He said aloud. “At least we won’t be eating trail rations anymore.”
“Speak for yourself.” The huge owl chirped. “I’m not that partial to deer meat. I think I’ll just go find myself a nice plump rabbit instead. I’ll meet you back at camp.”
“Don’t take too long. I want you close to the camp to keep an eye on everything.” The huge warrior watched as the massive owl disappeared into the darkness on silent wings, then lifted the deer effortlessly onto his broad shoulders, and set off on foot through the darkness in search of his camp.
It only took him a few minutes to locate the secluded clearing where he and the others had set up camp for the evening. He let out a low whistle to alert the pair of soldiers standing guard of his presence, and then stepped into the firelight with his kill.
“Good night for hunting, Lord Omensent?” One of the soldiers asked th
e big warrior curiously.
“It wasn’t too bad.” Damion replied, dropping the buck near the fire. “We should now have enough fresh meat to last us until we reach Sevria.”
“If you would have let us stop off in Crete for supplies, you wouldn’t have had to go hunting.” A beautiful young woman with long flowing black hair declared in a tart tone. She was dressed in a tight fitting leather armor which had been dyed black, and carried a long bow lightly in one hand. “And your wife and daughter would have already eaten, instead of being forced to sit around waiting for you to have your fun.” She suddenly smiled mischievously, then walked over and gave the huge warrior a long lingering kiss.
“I didn’t want to stop in Crete,” Damion murmured to his young wife. “The Merchant’s Guild there is run by a pompous ass by the name of Ignan. The second he heard we had arrived in town, he would have rushed to find us in the hopes of convincing us to allow his caravans to sell their wares in Sevria without paying their share of taxes. We would have been stuck there for hours. That man just doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.”
“So instead, you force your wife and daughter to starve to death while you go traipsing off in the woods?” A scruffy little man snorted as he lounged against a tree stump, a wineskin held loosely in one hand. “Raven hasn’t stopped complaining since you left!”
“That’s why I left her here with you, Sly.” The huge warrior laughed, nudging his wife playfully.
Raven’s jaw dropped open in surprise, then she punched Damion in his arm.
“Where’s Leia?” Damion looked around the campsite curiously.
“She got bored with waiting for you to return with her dinner.” The young woman smiled, her eyes twinkling. “She went into the tent to play, hoping to take her mind off the fact that she’s starving to death.”
The huge warrior rolled his eyes in mock exasperation. “Okay, okay. I can take a hint.” He glanced over at Sly, who was taking a long drink from his wineskin. “Do you want to give me a hand butchering this buck?”
“Not really,” The little man burped thunderously. “but I’ll probably starve to death before you finally get around to doing it, so I guess I had better help.”
Before they could get started, a young girl of about six appeared from one of the tents that had been erected at the far side of the clearing, and with a squeal of delight, she hurried straight to the huge warrior. “Daddy!”
Damion smiled as his daughter quickly scampered up his tree trunk-like legs, and then nimbly scaled his back until she was perched on one of his broad shoulders. “Careful,” He warned her with a laugh. “You don’t want to fall on your face and end up looking like Sly.”
“Hey!” The scruffy little man objected with a scowl.
Both Damion and Leia laughed.
“What took you so long?” The young girl demanded, cuffing her father in the back of his head.
“I had to chase down our dinner.” He gestured to the buck. “What do you think?”
“You left us to starve while you chased down this little thing?” She demanded in mock outrage. “I thought you loved us!”
Damion laughed again, then reached up and gently removed the young girl from his shoulder and sat her on the ground. “Let us get this deer butchered, and then we can start dinner.”
He and Sly quickly set about dismembering Damion’s kill, and they were soon settled in around the fire enjoying their meal.
“I hope all of this running around you’ve had us doing this spring is actually going to prove to be worth all of the trouble that it’s been.” Sly muttered sourly, gulping down a huge chunk of venison. “I still don’t see why the dwarven envoy couldn’t have just met with us in Sevria.”
“You know that most dwarves won’t journey from far from their caverns.” Raven reminded him with a shrug. “In fact, I was surprised that he met us above ground.”
They had spent the last several weeks journeying to the extensive maze of tunnels deep beneath the Deolan grasslands, where the southern dwarves had lived in virtual seclusion for centuries.
“I was a profitable meeting.” Damion commented, tossing another strip of venison into a pan, and then sitting the pan onto the coals of their campfire. “The dwarven craftsmen craft some of the finest wares in the world, and they’ve agreed to begin sending caravans with more everyday items to Sevria, along with their shipments of weapons and armor. We really need that extra revenue.”
Damion’s father, Lord Michael Steelheart, had been Lord and Protector of Sevria, a small town nestled in a tiny valley deep within the Godstear Mountains. When Lord Michael was murdered, the responsibility of protecting Sevria fell to Damion, and it was a responsibility that he took very seriously. Sevria was a necessary haven for those traveling the trade road, which was one of the only established routes leading through the wild mountain range. Being so isolated, their little town depended on the caravans that passed through the mountains on their way to and from the coastal city of Sierra for a large part of their commerce.
“Dwarven wares will be a welcome change from the cheap gnomish goods that the merchants of Sierra have been foisting off on us.” Raven observed, settling down behind Leia so she could brush the young girl’s long flowing black hair. “I heard the kitchen staff back at the castle complaining that their new pots all had holes in them.”
“That doesn’t explain why we all had to go.” Sly grunted. “Couldn’t we have just sent an envoy to meet with them on our behalf?”
Damion rolled his eyes. “We’ve been through this already. This was the first opportunity we have had to visit Garth since he became King. We wanted to give him our condolences for the death of his father, and our congratulations at his elevation to King of the Southern Dwarves.”
“But why did I have to come along?” The scruffy little man complained, draining the last few drops from his wineskin.
“Because little Leia wanted to see a dwarf for herself.” Raven smiled, still brushing the young girl’s hair. “and you didn’t want her running off to meet them all by herself, now did you? Not after her last adventure.”
Everyone knew she was referring to an incident several years before when Leia was abducted from her crib by a witch who fled with her across the sea to the eastern continent. After a long frantic chase, they were finally able to rescue the young girl, though Damion had been forced to face down a god in the process.
“All I’m saying is that we have nice soft beds waiting for us back at the Serpent’s Keep,” Sly groaned as he pushed himself up to his feet. “and sleeping on the cold hard ground isn’t as novel an experience as it used to be.” He stumped over and began rummaging around their packs. He soon returned carrying another wineskin.
“We would have arrived in Sevria a week ago if you hadn’t insisted on lingering so you could drink more of that dwarven ale.” Damion told him reasonably. “But you insisted that we should linger a few more days.”
“You should know better than to listen to me by now.” The little man sniffed dismissively.
“Especially when it involves ale.” Leia giggled, causing everyone but Sly to laugh.
“It’s not a crime to enjoy the occasional sip of ale.” Sly told them in a lofty tone, causing them to laugh even harder.
“Where’s Snowfeather?” Leia asked curiously. “I haven’t seen him in a while.” The young girl and the huge snow owl had become quite close as she grew, mostly because Snowfeather had taken it upon himself to spend nearly every waking moment by her side, determined to insure no one was able to get close to her without him knowing.
“He said he wasn’t interested in deer for dinner.” Damion told her, checking the strip of venison still sizzling on the coals. “He said he’d return after he found himself something else to eat. He should be returning soon.”
It was only a few minutes later that the sudden rustle of feathers drew everyone's attention to Snowfeather, who dropped down from the darkness with a rabbit clenched firmly in his be
ak. He landed softly just outside of the light of the fire, and then dropped his prize on the ground before him.
“Did you see anything interesting while you were out hunting?” Damion asked silently, finishing of the last piece of venison on his plate.
“Not really.” The huge owl hooted. “It seems fairly quiet tonight. There were a couple of dragonspawn skulking around the area, but they moved off to the south.”
“Is there something wrong?” Raven asked the huge warrior, her face clouded with concern.
Damion smiled, and then shook his head. “Everything is just fine, my love. Snowfeather said that the area seems safe.”
The young woman smiled in relief, and then led Leia into one of the tents to settle down for the night, leaving Damion and Sly to linger near the fire.
“We should reach Sevria sometime tomorrow evening.” Sly observed, taking a long drink from his wineskin, and then tossing it to the huge warrior. “We’ve been on the road for quite a while. You’re probably going to have a mountain of paperwork and trade proposals waiting on you when you get back."
“It shouldn’t be all that bad.” Damion disagreed. “Aunt Skie and Shirk promised to look after everything while we were gone. I’m sure they were able to take care of any proposals that may have arrived in our absence.” He took a long pull from the wineskin, and then tossed it back to the scruffy little man.
“Have you noticed how much time Lady Skie and Shirk have been spending together?” Sly smirked in amusement. “I think there may be something going on there.”
“You really think so?” For some reason, Damion had a hard time picturing his childhood nanny falling in love with Shirk, who had spent most of his life as an outlaw before meeting Damion and the others.
Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Page 1
