Draconic Testament (40 page)

“Alright...” Zaxxarius obliged, and followed Abaddon inside the tower.
It was practically a reception office at first, and to the left was a heavily guarded entrance. Abaddon ignored the entrance, and carried on, but Vander whispered to Zaxxarius, “That’s where the portal is... Just saying.” Zaxxarius smiled, and nodded. They followed Abaddon to the right. Zaxxarius was looking around. He saw a Duyarri up close, and another creature, a woman with half a body, with tentacles as legs. He wondered what her story was, but, it seemed that everyone would rather know what Zaxxarius’ and Vander’s was even more, as there stares coming at him in the foyer. “They realise we’re not Halflings.” Vander whispers. He was looking around at all the faces. “Apart from Luca of Truth, who is an apprentice of Ultimali, we’re the only humans on Cazria. Luca is also a rare sight... so most people here are witnessing a brand new species.” Vander whispered to him. “Look out!” he hissed. Zaxxarius was not watching where he was going, as he was staring back at the startled faces. He knocks into someone in front of him. “Oh, sorry!” Zaxxarius whelps. The figure was in robes, and had his back to Zaxxarius, but when he turned around, Zaxxarius almost jumped out of his skin. His face was like that of a skeletal snake, only with a thin layer of skin wrapped over it. It had all the limbs that a human has, only with an added tail. His hands were also human-like, but you could see the bones, and the veins in his wrists. He didn’t look as if he was fit for survival. He looked as if he was a humanoid snake that was at severe levels of dehydration. Zaxxarius almost felt sick, but tried to hide his disgust, as he didn’t want to offend the creature. However, the creature did not. “Pssssss!” The skeletal snake hissed. “Paagh... You’re... no Halfling. What manner of beast is this?” The creature said. Vander looked startled too.
“A human, and a human Halfling.” Abaddon said, coming up behind him. The crowd gasped.
“This is... Human?” The creature said. “Disgusting. Ugly. Terrifying.” It’s claws were sharp, and he looked very twitchy, so Zaxxarius didn’t want to annoy it with a retort. He was too deep in wonder to say anything anyway. “Do not insult him, Rodda.” Abaddon said. “The one before you is an Elric.” Rodda’s eyes widened, and the crowd gasped again, louder. They closed in slightly. “Is it true?” One asked.
“Elric! Oh, thee of House Elric! You’ve come to save us!” Another cheered. The surrounding Cazrians and aliens began to cheer, and laugh. It seemed that this community, that was made up of aliens and Cazrians, were as happy as each other. Was this the same all over Cazria? “Oh... An Elric... My... Apologies, dear sssiir...” Rodda grovelled. “You must have... a heavy pocket, with all that... Tix...” He said, twiddling his thumbs, and hunching over like a snake peddler. “I'm sure a handsome, and desirable, and of course, sssmart Elric like you would be interested in... uh, my wares, of course. I can give you thingsss... out of bounds for Cazriansss.” Rodda chuckled.
“What do you mean... Out of bounds?” Zaxxarius asked, almost not wanting to know.
“Tonics. Information. You name it.” Rodda chuckled. “Ask the Ispii from Rilon family, he’ll know all too well...” Before Zaxxarius could retort, Rodda reached a hand forward, and extended his index finger. With his nail, he touched Zaxxarius’ cheek with his nail, and slowly brought it down across his cheek. The nail was sharp, and it hurt going down, but Zaxxarius did not wince in front of the crowd. The scratch sent a chill down his spine. He was surprised it was not bleeding when it was over! Rodda slunk away, out of site. “What just happened?” He asked. “What was that?”
“That was a Scalene.” Abaddon said. “The first to join the Crusade.”
“He was rather odd...” Zaxxarius said.
“Rodda is untrustworthy.” Abaddon said. “He’s unjust. He’s a criminal, everybody knows it, but he covers his tracks well. Either that, or the Council has too much use for somebody so high up in the Blackwatch Cartel.”
“I’m sure I’ve heard of the Blackwatch Cartel somewhere before.” Zaxxarius said, before Vander led him towards the elevator.
Zaxxarius entered the elevator, and it started to ascend to the floors above him. The elevator was going at a fast speed, but again, he didn’t feel as if he was even moving. “Here’s what will happen.” Abaddon says. “The council will see you, and decide whether or not they approve of you, and you’ll tell them your story. Tell them everything, but remember... Don't bother with asking to go back into Earth. It’s a waste of time. A candidate for coronation can only participate once, so you’ll likely not be able to try unless they approve of you, since there are such high demands for coronation attempts.”
“What are the council like?” Zaxxarius asked.

“Some are okay. Others are useless.” Abaddon said. “Tyria and her Covenant are my favourites, as they fight for peace tooth and nail, and are the middle men in negotiations, but it gets bad if they cannot fulfil their purpose. There are others on the Council. 3 others. One is peaceful, less so than the covenant, but peaceful nonetheless. The other is a traditionalist, and wants to do things in the old Cazrian ways, especially in these days where aliens take refuge and our culture slowly changes...”
“And the last?” Zaxxarius asked.
“A wyvern in Cazrian form.” Abaddon says, to Zaxxarius’ confusion. “She’s aggressive, and her morals are highly questionable. She knows we have the strongest military in the world, and have endured through much, and can still do so. She wants to put that feat to use, and take what could be ours, but it is not the Draconic way. She’s a blasphemer, she ignores and spits on the dragons, saying they cannot be gods if they died. Having such a person in the council of such a religious Kingdom is astounding, but, stating your opinions is not against the law. If she was killed, or kicked off, we’d lose backing of many noble houses in the Kingdom. She means well, just try not to get angry if she insults you. She does that a lot.”
“Sounds like she’d make a great queen for our buddy.” Vander chuckled, slapping Zaxxarius on the back. “To hell with that.” Zaxxarius said.
“Such an act would be catastrophic. Only Zaxxarius would have more say than her. She’s not stupid, and she can do her job, but...” Abaddon growled.
“But if she has the backing on many Noble houses, and she takes her job seriously, don’t you think she’d be perfect?” Vander said. “It’s not like Zaxxarius couldn’t tell her not to go to war.”
“I’d rather have someone less crazy as my wife.” Zaxxarius said.
“Hah, there are no sane women, Zaxxarius.” Vander said. “Crazy. All of them.”
They leave the elevator at the top, and are now in another reception, only this one was full of nobles and guards. He could tell they were nobles without even looking at their clothes, because of the insignias above their eyes. Each with different diagrams, meaning they belonged to different houses. The Guards wore black coats that were padded for protection, with two white streaks going through them. Their heads were covered with hoods, and their faces were covered with facemasks. The nobles wore rather expensive clothes, and looked a lot more stylish than Zaxxarius’ clothes, though he didn’t care. He didn’t really want to dress up all nice and dandy just so people would think highly of him. His comfort is worth far more to him than other people’s personal opinions about him. The nobles eyed Zaxxarius, as Abaddon took him and Vander past them and towards the council door. “Hold on!” A boy said, shooting to his feet. He looked younger than Zaxxarius, even though he was a Cazrian. He looked to be around 9 years old, but Cazrian ages are different. He looked as if he was a new addition to a high school. “What is that? A human!?” The boy shouted. “Why is he seeing the Council before ME!?”
“I’ve told you before, Corlin Sylvarin.” Abaddon said. “You shouldn’t bother trying the Coronation. This is why.”
“Who, in the name of the dragons, is this boy?” Corlin  said. He was obviously spoiled.
“This...” Abaddon began. “This is Sancterus’ blood, Zaxxarius Elric, and he is the true heir of Metholi.” Corlin’s eyes widened. “Wh... What?” He croaked.
“Erm, nice to meet you.” Zaxxarius said, awkwardly.
“This is the recent son of House Sylvarin, Metholi’s second most powerful house, next to the Elrics, of course.” Abaddon said. “And he’ll be leaving now.” A man behind Corlin stood up, and Abaddon was taken aback. He looked like an adult Cazrian, which must be around 1000 years old. Above his right eye was a silver insignia, instead of gold, and it was of broken shackles. “Crisom? What are you doing here?” Abaddon asked. Crisom moved up next to Corlin, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Don't worry, Corlin, my boy. You’ll get your chance at fame and glory.” He said. Corlin was still stunned, and almost looked as if he wanted to cry. “Now, now. Abaddon. Is it true what you said? This boy is related to Sancterus?”
“Yes.” Abaddon said, sighing. “It’s his son, Lord Ridley.”
“Oh, no need for the Lord. I am but a cousin of the Overlord, mind you. Nobody important.” Crisom said.
“The Overlord?” Zaxxarius asked, confused.
“The Overlord of Kirall. He belongs to the House of Ridley, and this is his Cousin.” Abaddon said.
“So why’d you approach us?” Vander asked.
“Well, I just wanted to inform our young Overlord-to-be about the pact that Sancterus made with my Cousin.” Crisom said. “I don’t want to pry, and be pushy about it, but Sancterus gave his word.”
“What pact?” Zaxxarius asked.
“During the Metholian Civil War, we obtained help from Kirall, an island to the east. Invaluable help, they and the Magi were both major hands in our Victory, along with the Domini... but that’s a story for another time. Sancterus set Kirall free from the grasp of their Rivals, The Isle of Pontaron to the north, very easily, so they could build airships for us. That action gave us ties to the Kingdom, but such ties have been made in the past, and have been tarnished and used for betrayal...” Abaddon said.
“What’s your point?” Zaxxarius asked.
“His point is that the Overlord of Kirall made an agreement with Sancterus. His first son would make the ties with Kirall stronger, almost unbreakable.” Crisom said.
“How?” Zaxxarius asked.
“By making those ties blood ties.” Abaddon said. Zaxxarius bit his lip.
“Oh.” He murmured, blushing slightly.
“You don’t have to do anything.” Vander said, earning a strange look from Crisom. “The Agreement was made before you could even have a say in the matter, and you are the highest authority now. Don't let them force you into shit.”
“We weren’t trying to.” Crisom said. “I just want you to know, that the offer is there. Kirall and Metholi could become siblings by blood, and Kirall is willing. It’s up to you.”
“We must be going now.” Abaddon said, bowing his head. He turns and leaves, and Zaxxarius and Vander follow.
They open the large doors and enter the Council Chamber. The councilmen were talking quietly prior to their arrival, but Zaxxarius can see that the second he opened the door they all turned simultaneously, with great expectation. They looked stumped when their eyes fixed on the two humans. Abaddon walked forward with them until they got into the middle of the stage. The table the Councilmen were sitting at was semi-circle shaped, and all four was facing the door. In front of the table was the stage where Abaddon, Vander and Zaxxarius were standing. There were no other seats in the room, so they had to stand. Tyria sat there, with her usual, calm and warm smile at the very left of the table. All the way on the right, another woman sat. This woman was elegant, but looked like she was too used to frowning. It was very easy to miss her beauty because of that. She had a dangling jewel for an earring on one ear, and her light red hair was covering the other. This was that aggressive woman that Abaddon spoke of. Most nobles wore robes, and all the council members wore blue robes with red trimming, but the woman wore a hooded top, and a long skirt, with her belly showing. There was also a fat Cazrian one seat to the left of her, looking confused. He had many rings on his fingers, rings that looked as if they were put there when his fingers were slimmer and were too small for them to come off. He had black hair, which seemed to be the default hair for Cazrian’s, and a goatee. The beard went down to the bottom of his neck, and was held together by a bangle of gold. He had spots on his face, but very clean teeth. He seemed odd. The man to the left of him was an old man, balding, with white hair. He had a long beard and very sleepy eyes. But he seemed very active for his age, and didn’t seem fragile neither. “What’s that?” The fat Cazrian asked. “Is this some kind of Jest?”
“It’s a human...” The woman said. “Why have you brought us humans, Abaddon? What is this farce?”
“Oh, no no, I see now.” The old man said, looking at Tyria. “ I see. Interesting indeed.”
“What’s going on, Abaddon?” The fat Cazrian asked.
“This, Councillor Sacrum.” He said, pushing Zaxxarius forward. “This is him.” Sacrum’s jaw dropped. The old man just smiled warmly, and the woman’s eyebrows raised. “Wh...Wh...What?!?” Sacrum roared, standing up, his Bangle jiggling around from his chin like it was a Yo-yo. “This is the child!?”
“Calm down, Sacrum, my good lad. Calm down, I say.” The old councillor chuckles.
“Siddown, fat man.” The woman huffed. Sacrum sat down, huffing.
“Oh Horizon. Have mercy. Oh, divine dragons.“ Sacrum huffs, clutching his heart.
“E...Erm.” Zaxxarius stutters. “Is something wrong?”
“Sacrum’s just a fool is all.” The woman says, smiling slightly.
“Why are you smiling, Laer?” Sacrum asks. “Is it because he’s young?” Laer reverted to a scowl.
“Like Jiffs, Sacrum? Perhaps you’d like one down your throat, with the rest of the Bile you eat?” Laer threatened, holding a fruit-like object. It looked like a hairy, pink orange. Zaxxarius cringed at the thought of eating one, with it’s hair tickling the sides of your mouth and your tongue, making it all itchy. “Seriously?” Sacrum asked Abaddon. “You can’t! You just can’t have a human as Overlord! It would be worse than the Metholian Civil War!”
“Hey!” Vander said. “He’s an Elric! He’s the last of his line, son of Sancterus himself. Nobody but him can ascend to Overlord. It’s him, or nobody.”
“He’s a Bastard!” Sacrum said angrily. “An alien Bastard at that!”
“Mmm...” Laer mumbled. “Lots of repopulation within your family to do... hmm?”
“Aheheh. It seems you have an admirer, my young lad!” The old man said.
“I hate you three.” Laer grumbled, sitting back and biting into the Jiff.
“This one is an Elric, Sacrum.” Tyria said. “You’re a traditionalist, so the only one who cares is you. It won’t matter to the rest of Metholi.”
“I don’t like it.” Sacrum huffed.
“Too bad.” Laer yawned.
“Pali, opinion?” Sacrum asked.
“No.” Pali, the old man, said.” No, no. No, I think this is just fine. I'm happy there’s a living Elric, though, you must get to work with the babies early.” He giggled.
“Don't worry, he’s at his time to reproduce healthy children.” Vander laughed. “Human boys his age are into that stuff. Not like Cazrians, who only care around the age of 700-900.”
“Gee, I dunno.” Zaxxarius huffed, his juvenile side kicking in. “Children? This is all rushed and sudden, honestly.”
“Perhaps we should talk, later?” Laer asked, boldly. “We can talk about that empty seat next to you. No doubt Abaddon has already bitched and whined about me.” Abaddon huffed.
“Err... Sure.” Zaxxarius said, half-joking. Laer’s face lit up.
“Oh my.” Tyria chuckled.
“If I were you, I’d get about 20 hot concubines and fill ‘em up.” Vander laughed.
“You’re disgusting, Vander.” Zaxxarius said, stifling a laugh.
“Alright, seriously.” Tyria said. “This is the situation we’re in. Metholi has been weakened without an Overlord, and after the DomiCazrian war, the Military was halved in size. With the return of an Overlord, people will likely be signing up for a place in the military. Our military is strongest because we let anyone is able to wield a weapon in, and train them till they bleed, doesn’t matter if they are Cazrian or not. The Draconic Testament preach that discrimination is a dire and immoral offense, and we abide by their laws to the letter. After that, we’ll need to get things straight with Zolka. Zolka hates us after the two wars we’ve had on their territory, and they’re very weak right now, but they are rich in Zaranyte, what’s used on weapons, armour, and war vehicles. We’ll need to settle ties with them.”
“There’s also laws that need reviewing.” Sacrum says.
“Problems with the wilderness to the south, which borders us with Cradle.” Pali says.
“I think we’re all forgetting we need Zaxxarius’ story. We know he’s the son of Katrina and Sancterus, but he’s here early, is he not?” Laer says.
“Yes, go ahead.” Sacrum says. Abaddon walks up.
“I’ll tell you what happened.” Abaddon said. He told the story, leaving Veronica and Illuminos out.
“Quite a tale... Good job, Paladin.” Laer said, mockingly.
“It wasn’t my fault, Abaddon left my reasons out on purpose.” Vander huffed.
“Dante seemed to know a lot.” Zaxxarius said. “Plus, he didn’t kill me, and spared my life when it got hundreds of his men killed.”
“To the Null and void with Dante and his ilk.” Laer said.
“And Earth.” Sacrum said. “Not our problem.” Zaxxarius felt bitter for those remarks.
“That’s not fair. I grew up there.” Zaxxarius said.
“But it was not your home.” Pali said. “No matter how hard you tried, you’d never be human. It would show, eventually. If we get everything sorted out here, then perhaps we can choose earth as our next target to join the Crusade.”
“That would be insanely controversial.” Abaddon said.
“It’s his call.” Laer said.
“No.” Zaxxarius said. “Not earth. I know it may seem odd, but the Magi want nothing more to do with Cazria. They just want you to repay what you did for them by helping the humans, with technology and medicines.” The council paused for a second.
“That would be rather easy...” Pali said. “Oh, im sure a Evolution pack would be useless to them now, since they’ve evolved far, but oh, I do think we could help out their health problems fabulously.”
“I’d rather focus on bigger issues.” Laer said.
“Like what?” Zaxxarius asked.
“Zolka.” She said.
“You’re bothered about the war, too?” Zaxxarius asked.