Omensent: Princess Of Dragons (Book 5) (57 page)

Chapter 23

Life soon returned to normal in the quiet mountain town. Damion and Raven reassumed the responsibilities of running the city, though Leia now frequently sat in on the daily meetings to offer her thoughts and ideas on the various problems that frequently came before them.

After much discussion, and a number of arguments, it was finally decided that Shirk and Lady Skie's joining would be held on the summer solstice, giving all of their friends and loved ones plenty of time to reach the city so they could help celebrate the happy union.

The weeks leading up to the summer solstice were busy ones as everyone rushed to make sure that all of the preparations had been taken care of before the guests began to arrive. A week before the ceremony was to take place, Bativa arrived in the company of Garth Stonecrusher, King of the Southern Dwarves, and his wife, Queen Gretta, who had hurried from their people's subterranean caverns beneath the grasslands to attend the festivities. Fedrio was next to appear, accompanied by a handful of merchants from the Merchant's Guild in Sierra who regularly visited the city, followed by Ignan and Zayan, who traveled from Crete in the company of several of Juco's Silent Shadows.

Then, the evening before the summer solstice, three hooded riders arrived at the city just as the sun was dropping behind the distant mountain peaks.

After asking a few questions of the soldiers guarding the gate, the trio quickly located Damion, Leia, and Damarius in the large courtyard outside of the massive Serpent's Keep, where they were busy overseeing the preparations for the following day's celebration.

"Make certain that the corners are staked securely to the ground." Damarius ordered a pair of workers who were busy erecting a large tent. "Raven would never let us hear the end of it if it were to collapse in the middle of the ceremony."

"It's certainly shaping up to be quite the affair." Damion murmured, watching as several workers draped a colorful bunting along the courtyard wall. "Every person in the city is going to be here to watch Shirk and Aunt Skie as they take their vows. I hope there is going to be enough room for everyone."

"If there isn't, Leia can just have that great beast of hers eat a few of the guests and make room." One of the three riders told the huge warrior as they brought their horses to a stop a few feet away. "If that doesn't work, you can just turn a bunch of them into dung beetles."

Damion, Damarius, and Leia turned to stare at the newcomers in confusion, until the riders finally lowered their hoods.

"Dar!" Leia squealed in delight. "Captain Harper! Brody! What are you doing here?"

"We're here for Shirk and Lady Skie's joining, of course!" Captain Harper laughed, slipping down from his saddle and engulfing the young girl in a crushing embrace. "I've also heard rumors of some newly created ale that has had every port city in the world buzzing." He looked around the busy courtyard with an eager expression. "Where's Sly?"

"He's down at the tavern making sure that he squeezes every single copper from his customers." Leia told him as she hurried over to greet Dar, who wore a grim expression on his childlike face. "If you hurry, and you're really lucky, he may still have a bit of that swill left. But you had better have a pouch full of gold with you when you go see him."

The rascally old captain stared at the young girl for several moments, then he handed her the reins to his horse, and dashed off back towards town.

"What are you two doing here?" Damion asked Dar and Brody, who had watched in amusement as Captain Harper hurried away with an eager expression. "Shouldn't you be on the elven island trying to ferret out the rest of the blood elves?"

"The blood elves are the least of their concerns." Dar sighed sadly. "Once word got around about the queen's betrayal and death, the heads of the ancients families immediately began scrambling to try and assert their claim to the throne. The entire island was on the brink of open warfare, until Ava Delilah stepped in and temporarily took charge. She is acting as queen regent until a new ruler can be chosen."

"Shouldn't you be there to lend them your wisdom?"

The childlike sprite shook his head. "I've decided that it would be best for me to just stay out of it, considering it was my stories about the Dragon Sword and its powers that caused this entire mess in the first place." He gave Damion an apologetic look. "Sorry about that, by the way."

"And what are you doing here, Etha Brody?" Leia asked curiously. "Shouldn't you be helping Ava Delilah choose who takes the throne?"

"I don't think so," Brody frowned sadly. "and it's just Brody now. I have given up my position as the royal ambassador."

"Why did you do that?"

"I just couldn't continue on after everything that I witnessed in the last few months. When the queen's betrayal was revealed..." The elf sighed heavily and shook his head. "The illusions that I held of my people's superiority over the other races were shattered, and I began to see the elves as they truly are." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. "Once I was able to see what our once proud people had become, I could no longer bear to stay."

"Does this mean that the elves are now free to come and go from the island without the fear of being banished?" Leia asked in surprise.

Brody shook his head grimly. "I'm afraid not. Any elves who leave the island are immediately banished from ever returning."

Leia frowned in confusion. "Doesn't that mean you can never go home?"

"I'm afraid so," The elven man sighed again. "but I don't consider it that great a loss. After being isolated on that island for so many centuries, my people have become something that I no longer wish to be a part of. After a bit of soul searching, I decided to leave the island, and seek my destiny elsewhere."

"Wow." Leia looked shocked. "After our last meeting, I would have never believed that you would willingly choose to leave the island."

Brody chuckled. "A lot has changed since then, my dear. I realized that the island was less a paradise, and more a prison." He lifted his chin proudly. "I decided that I would be a prisoner no longer, even if it meant I could never go home."

"Where are you going to go?" Damarius asked curiously.

"Well," The elven man started a bit uncertainly. "Dar and Captain Harper have been telling me about this wonderful little town nestled in the mountains, where the people are friendly, and the lord is a true and honorable man." He made a face. "The lord's daughter is a bit of a pain in the arse, but, otherwise..." He grinned at Leia impishly.

"Pain in the arse?" The young girl asked with a feigned look of shock. "
Me
?"

Brody laughed, then removed a long wrapped package that was tied to his horse's saddle, and held it out to the young girl. "This is for you."

"For me?" Leia looked genuinely surprised. "Thank you!" She carefully unwrapped the bundle and revealed a intricately carved bow. "But... I can't accept this! This is your great grandfather's bow!"

Brody smiled a sad smile. "I want you to have it. Besides, you won it fair and square, and I always pays my debts." He looked to Damion. "So, what do you say? Do you have any room for an outcast elf in your city?"

"Of course." Damion smiled. "We'll be glad to have you. Your experience as an ambassador will come in handy when dealing with some of the foreign merchants who pass through Sevria."

"That's just what we need," Leia sighed in mock exasperation. "A pointy eared know-it-all hanging around annoying everyone." She smiled back at Brody playfully. "At least Xaxis will have something to snack on now."

************

Shirk and Lady Skie's joining ceremony took place the following evening, just as the sun was beginning to set behind the mountains. Everyone in the city gathered in the enormous courtyard to witness the union, which was presided over by Damarius, who insisted that he would be the one to officiate the ceremony.

Damion was standing off to one side with Raven and Leia, listening as the old wizard lectured the couple on the many responsibilities that they would have to one another once they were married, when Snowfeather drifted down from the battlements and settled on his shoulder.

"I think someone needs to speak with you."
The huge snow owl informed him with a quiet hoot.

"Who?"
The huge warrior asked, looking around the courtyard curiously. He suddenly spotted a familiar face lingering in the shadows nearby. "I have to check on something." He whispered in Raven's ear. "I'll be right back."

He slowly made his way through the crowd to try and avoid drawing attention away from Shirk and Lady Skie, until he finally reached the impossibly ancient looking old woman standing in the shadows cast by the castle. "Good evening, Gwynth." He greeted her quietly. "How are you this evening?"

"I am well." The old woman smiled a sad little smile. "Everything is unusually quiet in the heavens this evening, so I thought I would come join the festivities." She gave Damion an appraising look. "And how are you, Dragon Lord? Did you survive your foray into the murky world of the elves unscathed?"

"For the most part," Damion replied with a heavy sigh. "though I do still feel rather foolish for allowing myself to be duped. I should have known that the conflict with the blood elves was all just an elaborate ploy to draw me to the island."

"How could you know?" Gwynth asked in a wise tone. "No one can truly know what lies in the hearts of men." She frowned. "Or elves, in this case." She looked back to Damion. "You attempted to aid those in need, and that is something to be admired, though, perhaps, you should choose the people that you aid a bit more carefully in the future."

Damion chuckled. "I'll try to keep that in mind."

They watched as Damarius continued to lecture the couple, seeming to take special pains to remind Shirk of the responsibilities that he would have as his daughter's husband.

"What ever happened to Yrinn?" The huge warrior asked after several moments. "I forgot to ask Brody and Dar. Did the elves execute him, or did Hetris save them the trouble?"

"Hetris no longer has the power to harm anyone." The old woman informed him with a sigh. "He didn't have many followers to begin with, and most of them have been killed. It won't be long before He fades away into nothing, unless, of course, He manages to attract some new followers." She shook her head. "No, Yrinn still lives. The elves constructed a prison beneath the Royal Tower to house him, though I doubt he'd cause anymore problems, even if he were freed. The death of Queen Serena seems to have taken the fight right out of him."

"How did Petra react to the slaughter of Her people right in front of Her statue?"

"She's not taking it well. I think that She realizes that She has separated Herself from Her people for too long. She is planning on taking steps to correct that mistake."

"At least something good came out of that whole mess." Damion muttered sourly. He glanced over at Leia, who stood watching the ceremony with her mother. "What do you know of these new winged dragonspawn?"

"The dreadspawn?" Gwynth shuddered. "Dreadful creatures, they are. They make the rest of the spawn look tame by comparison."

"Where did they come from?"

The old woman frowned. "I'm not sure. I never even knew of their existence until recently, which is strange. I'm usually the first to hear when one of the gods are hatching another scheme, but I've heard nothing at all from Draco. Perhaps He's getting better at hiding His plans."

"Do you know if there are more of the dreadspawn out there?"

"Almost certainly," Gwynth murmured grimly. "though, if I had to guess, I'd say that Leia whittled down their numbers significantly when she destroyed the horde gathering beneath the foothills." She suddenly grinned. "She is proving to be quite the thorn in the Dragon God's side. This is the second time that she has disrupted His plans. He probably hates her as much as He hates you."

"That's my girl." Damion smiled proudly.

"Truly." The old woman agreed. "Leia has a great many of your talents and qualities, not the least of which being a talent for disrupting the plans of the gods."

The huge warrior's smile faded. "Is Draco planning to take revenge on Leia for her destroying the horde?" He asked with a note of concern in his voice.

"It's unlikely," Gwynth frowned. "at least, I haven't heard anything that would suggest that He had any plans for her. But I still wouldn't let my guard down. It's hard to say what the Dragon God is capable of." She smiled as Damarius finally completed his sermon, and Shirk and Lady Skie exchanged their vows. "But, for now, I think it's safe to relax a bit and enjoy the celebration."

They watched as Shirk and Lady Skie turned to face the crowd, and Damarius pronounced them to be joined for life. A great cheer went up from the crowd as they kissed, then everyone hurried forward to greet the newly joined couple, eager to give them their well wishes.

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"Everything is almost ready." The huge golden dragon murmured as it stared down at the world from its place among the heavens. "All of the pieces are nearly in place. Once the all of the dragonspawn have finished gathering, it will finally be time to take action."

"You should have told me what you had planned, Estheryal." A second dragon, a huge beast with iridescent scales, growled in a sulky tone. "You should have informed me that you had already taken action to free our children. It would have saved me the trouble of looking like a fool."

"You didn't need to know, Draco." Estheryal turned her gaze to the Dragon God. "Besides, you were busy with your own ill conceived plans." She snorted in amusement. "It was quite amusing to watch as they crumbled around your ears, though. I can't remember the last time I witnessed something so entertaining."

"I'm glad that you found my failures so amusing," Draco snarled angrily. "but I wasn't content to just sit back and watch as our children slowly died out."