Deadly Intentions (Blood Feud - Volume 2) (8 page)

Tristan was dumbfounded, he knew of the
dragons’ arrival on this world, and why they fled. He had no idea
the cause was so long in the making. Thousands of years, millions
of lives, it was such a great waste of power and life. Drake took
another deep breath as he continued.

“Henjis and I were born shortly before his
fathers’ murder. He didn’t take it well. We were great friends, but
his pain was more than I could take away. Eventually I gathered
Raithia, Kumanius, Socolis and Ryanite to me. Together we convinced
Henjis that we needed to flee the world of our birth and start new,
here on Amesdia. I was convinced that together we could reform this
desolate planet into something peaceful and happy.”

“Just before our chosen time, I found a
bronze dragon hatchling.” He smiled paternally at Lesariu.

“She was little more than a baby when we
found her, but together we accelerated her growth until she was
large enough to use her magic. While we waited for her growth I
assembled some of the more peaceful dwarves, the youngest of
course. Henjis convinced some of the elves to come with us,
bringing with them the more valuable tomes and scrolls; their
purpose was more suited to intense study and reflection.

We were almost ready to create a gateway to
this world; it was quite difficult and took all of our combined
power to do. My father found out what we intended to do though.
When he came to our departure point I was sure he was going to try
and stop us.” Drake swallowed hard before he continued.

“Instead he provided the necessary power to
force the gateway open so we could flee. His last words to me were;
Guard them as though they were your own.
” A single tear fell
from Drake’s eye.

“I was the last to leave and when I looked
back to thank him, I saw that he had fallen from the sky. He spent
the last of his magic to give us a future. My father crashed into
the cracked earth below as orcs came rushing out of the nearby
marshes and swarmed all over him. They began ripping his plates
back and feasting on his body. I gathered my power, hoping to kill
the orcs below. Then I felt his pressure in my mind, it was so weak
and quiet I could barely hear it over the thunder that crashed
about the gateway.
Go! Thrive and learn from our mistakes!
”
Another tear fell from the same eye as Drake remembered the painful
moment in his past.

“The orcs began swarming towards the gateway
then. I flew with all the speed I could muster, trying to get
through the gateway so we could close it on the other side.
Unfortunately a dozen or so orcs made it through with us and
promptly disappeared while we focused our power to close the
gateway.” He paused and reached for a pitcher of water Tristan
hadn’t noticed before.

While his grandfather drank deeply Tristan
considered what he had learnt. The orcs he fought were thankfully
fewer in number than the millions they had left behind, but even so
they proved to be a terrible force in the field. He wondered where
the trolls, wargs and giants came from though. Perhaps they were
already here when the dragons, elves and dwarves arrived.

“Humans were already here, though they fought
bitterly amongst themselves. Each of them was seeking to dominate
and subjugate the rest. Quickly, the seven of us decided to take
patronage of a country and mold it to our liking. We forced the
humans to stop fighting one another, at least in open warfare, and
talk peace. Most of them agreed, though there were some who
preferred to war.

After the history of our own world had played
out, we decided upon a course of action. We gathered up all the
warmongers and we were prepared to kill them all. Henjis stepped
forward and offered a solution. He would oversee the largest
country and those warring humans, the orcs that we could find and
any other warlike species were placed haphazardly around the Great
Expanse.

An enormous wall was built with the help of
the dwarves and elves we brought with us. I believe the Terumites
call is “The Great Wall of Terious”, which was fitting, as it was
Terious the dwarven chieftain who designed it. We sealed it using
dragon magic and Henjis kept watch on the borders for us.” Drake
explained.

“For three-hundred years we cooperated with
one another. The Great Expanse slowly became the only war zone on
this world as the orcs, trolls, giants, and blood crazed humans
battled one another endlessly.” He said.

“Wait.” Eurydice interrupted. “Why did Henjis
start
The Bane
in the first place? You said you were like
brothers!”

“I’m getting there little one.” He smiled.
“Our host grew in those three hundred years. Each of us had
hatchlings of our own, swelling our numbers into the hundreds. We
found islands teaming with life for us to hunt on and when those
ran dry we began to hunt in The Expanse. It was around that time
that Henjis began to believe that this world was becoming, or would
become as warlike as our old home. He came to me one night and
expressed his concerns. He wanted our dragon host to subjugate the
mortals to ensure peace.

I wouldn’t hear of it. I knew, as he did,
that the war began because we interfered in mortal affairs. Out of
fear and hatred he began to assume human form, supposedly to gather
the proof he needed to convince us of his mad plan. Eventually
though, he mated with a sorceress from Deus. We had hoped that this
meant he was done with his plan, but then the pair of them began
Draconis’ Bane
. Originally, the group was supposed to be a
movement designed to draw my attention to the growing number of
anti-draconic feelings that plagued magic users and the wild tribes
in the Expanse.

Instead, when his mate found out what he
really was, she tried to assassinate him. She raised her daughter
to hate and despise dragons. Eventually Veronica Rhodes, the former
leader of
The Bane,
found out who her father was. She
murdered her mother in her sleep and escaped to the pirates’ cove
you found her castle built above. Out of hatred for our kind, she
altered the mission of
The Bane
to hunt down all dragons and
kill them before they could subjugate mankind.”

The dragons all stirred around them, forcing
Tristan’s attention back to the present. It was then that he became
keenly aware of how personal this information was. Every dragon
here lived with this pain and shame. Their hope became their prison
and now they sought to undo the damage done.

“For fifty years she warred against our kind.
At first she and her slayers were little more than an annoyance.
Then she began making bargains with the sorcerers, and they slew
their first batch of hatchlings. Slowly they gained in power and
influence until they slew their first adult dragon.” He nodded his
head toward Raithia.

“Ryanite was their first real victory. Around
that time word reached me that a sorcerer had found a crystal that
could be manipulated into capturing dragon magic. I couldn’t
believe that such a gem existed.

Around that time I had begun to assume human
form so that I could hear firsthand what the humans in my country
believed. Contrary to Henjis’ experience, the people of Vallius
held me in awe. The King hoped to convince me that he needed a
dragon councilor on his staff. I showed up at Vallious Palace one
afternoon and was rushed to an audience with the King.

For weeks he made his case for greater
dragon/human cooperation. At that time a lady was visiting the
palace and she took a liking to me. We spent one night together
before I left. Later, I found out that she was betrothed to the
king, and also happened to be betrothed to Roger, the King of
Terum. Our child was born and sent away so as not to dishonor her.
Though she eventually returned and when the King realized he
couldn’t have children of his own, he named his nephew, Dion, his
heir.

In the meantime
The Bane
secured a
piece of this fabled crystal and began to tap the power of dragons
using Ryanite as a subject. They captured him and drained his power
with the crystal. Then they slew him.” He choked.

“We were all furious of course, by then
though; our powers had begun to diminish. Your father told you
about the natural disasters that damaged each of our patron
countries. The remaining dragons gathered here as a council. They
brought their un-hatched eggs and together we cast a spell over
them so they wouldn’t hatch without our magic to help. Bethia was
the last of our children. During that meeting I found out that
Socolis and Lesariu had also parented human children, and were
about to become grandparents as was I.” He looked at Tristan with
pride.

“You, Mina and William were born on the same
day, though you were miles apart. We each felt your births and
strove to impart the last of our magic to protect you.” He turned
to Eurydice.

“You my little one were something of a
surprise. Our magic had long since departed us when you were born.
It’s no small miracle that you survived.” Drake said with a
wink.

Euri beamed at his praise, which caused
everyone to smile. Their grandfather turned and looked hard at
Tristan.

“Your son is nothing short of astonishing.
With the exception of Ruth,” He nodded his head to the human form
of Raithia. “We’ve all visited with him and marveled at his
abilities.” He smiled widely again.

Tristan blushed slightly, partly due to the
attention (which he still loathed) but mostly due to the
circumstances of his son’s birth. Drake waved impatiently, clearly
feeling Tristan’s thoughts.

“If the events had not come to pass as they
had; we might all be fighting a war with an invisible foe.” He
dismissed. “As it is, we know that a group moves to destroy the
eggs here, kill your son in Delhi and finally to rid the world of
our kind. We can only guess at their leader, but at least we know
who the worst threat is right now.” He concluded.

“Boris and his sorceress.” Tristan said
somberly.

“Precisely.” Lesa said.

“Should we tell him?” Otis asked
playfully.

“Oh definitely. I love watching his
expressions.” Ruth answered enthusiastically.

“Tell me what?” Tristan answered ominously
looking around himself with narrowed eyes.

King Boris stalked through the ancient halls
of Kumia Keep. The fortress was built into the side of an
impressive mountain range. A clever collection of traps and troughs
funneled the rainwater into a long river, though it must have taken
years to fill it. The river ran in a looping way around the estate
and helped to ferry supplies and food to various rooms and chambers
scattered around the grounds. Walls rose up from the cobblestone
ground at their feet. The long sections stood twelve feet high, the
towers rose to twenty and the royal apartments rose fifty feet into
the clouds that hung in the cool of the morning.

Service tunnels had been dug into the
mountain, giving supplies and travelers from the city below the
keep access. Each tunnel was expertly carved from the rock and
every few feet housed a support structure that kept minor
earthquakes from caving the entire works in on itself. At the base
of the mountain was another large series of walls, both to defend
the passages and as a defense for the city.

The snows had started weeks ago and Boris
chaffed to be back out in the field. If it hadn’t been for those
damned dragons he would have broken Prince Tristan’s lines and
scattered his forces. Then he would have been free to march on
Kenting and later the rest of Vallius would fall at his feet. He
stopped a moment, steadying his breathing and pushing aside his
ambitions.

“Here and now.” He chastised himself in
barely more than a whisper.

The King looked out the nearby window on the
snowy, fog-obscured vista that was Kumia town. The Terum citizens
were off on their daily routines, satisfied in the knowledge that
he would watch over them. The troublemakers and decedents had been
crucified or impaled in the town square, which was little more than
a packed dirt four-sided marketplace. When the bodies had finished
twitching and the last of their muscles slackened, filling the air
with the repugnant stench of their filth, Boris had ordered them
decapitated and their heads now rested on pikes at every
intersection and marketplace all over the city.

To serve as a warning.

With winter upon them Boris took the time to
fully equip his army, even managing to force the metal smiths into
making plate mail breastplates and helms for the giants. The work
was tedious, but they had managed to create a score of passable
breastplates, which consisted of several large sheets of inch thick
plates. It was fused and formed into a patchwork-inverted triangle
to protect the giants from further ballistae to the chest. The
helms served to protect them from those damned Vallius lancers and
their accursed spears.

The orcs had returned north with their troll
servants to wherever it was they came from. It was still rather
unclear to Boris where they lived and why they were so eager to
help him. He tried to dismiss it as trivial, but there was still a
nagging doubt in the back of his mind. The mercenaries from the
north were easier to understand, they fought out of bloodlust and
for coin, which was in ample supply in Terum.

Boris walked into the main dining hall to
find the sorceress Cyrisa kneeling in front of the fireplace. The
flames died down as she looked over her shoulder at him. Her
annoyance was a fleeting mask, replaced by a fawning smile as she
wished him a pleasant morning. Again he found his mind clouding
over as she offered him the seat at the head of the table.

He sat down to her left as servants came in
baring a tray of jerked beef, rye bread and mead. Still he ate
soldier’s rations, the King of a country and yet he ate simple
fare. He sighed theatrically as he bit into the beef and tore the
bread in twain. Taking a long draught of the mead he wiped his
mouth with the back of his hand.