Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) (3 page)

"The western continent
, huh?" Shirk asked curiously. "Is it true that they are all religious zealots over there?"

"That's a rather odd question coming from a man who grew up worshipping snakes." Lady Skie murmured, a playful smile hovering about her lips.

The old bandit blushed. "I just meant I've heard some strange stories about those folk."

"And most of them are probably true." The old sea captain grunted
, scratching his beard thoughtfully. "The Etazk are a breed of their own. They worship Etaz, God of the Underworld. He is one of the most powerful deities known to our world, mostly due to the fact that He has hundreds of thousands of followers. The stories say that the entire western continent was brought under his dominion thousands of years ago. His people supposedly slaughtered millions in the name of their god, purging the continent of every nonbeliever. Once every infidel had been slaughtered, Etaz commanded the Etazk to split the continent up into three different countries. Kazka, which is controlled by the military, Nazka, which is controlled by the merchant class, and Etazka, which is controlled by the church. All three countries are ruled over by a high priest who has absolute control over his people."

"Is it true
that they sacrifice virgins to their god?"

"Not only virgins." Captain Har
per frowned. "Etaz apparently commands his followers to make regular demonstrations to prove their faith and devotion to Him. To appease Him, the Etazk bend a human sacrifice backwards over an alter and carve out their heart. They then place the heart into a bed of burning coals as a blood offering to the God of the Underworld."

Leia gasped and threw her hands over her mouth. "That's horrible!"

"They are a horrible people." Captain Harper agreed with the young girl. "There are no common folk among the Etazk, except women, who are looked upon as property. The men either serve in the army, become a merchant, or enter the priesthood."

"If there aren't any commoners, who does all of the work?" Raven asked in confusion. "I mean
, somebody has to mind the fields and care for the livestock."

"The military is also their main work force, but they use slaves for any remedial work that they feel is beneath them."

"What about the children?" Lady Skie looked appalled.

"The children are immediately given over to the priesthood, who raise the children until they reach the age they can begin their training. The strongest children always end up in the army, while the most intelligent are trained to become merchants or priests."

"Where do they get their sacrifices from?" Leia asked in a subdued voice.

Captain Harper hesitated, glancing to Damion, who nodded for him to continue. "A priest or priestess usually choose
s the victim at random. It's usually a slave, but they will occasionally sacrifice a soldier or a merchant. I've even heard stories of some of Etaz's  more overzealous worshippers volunteering to be sacrificed."

Axel returned with several servants bearing food and drink, followed closely by Damarius, who was
trailing along behind them closely, eyeing the food with longing.

"Father!" Lady Skie exclaimed in surprise. "We haven't seen you in days! You look awful!"

The old wizard looked exhausted. His long robes were wrinkled and stained, and had been charred in several areas. One side of his long flowing beard appeared to have been singed, and the brow lock that sprouted from the front of his bald head was tangled and matted.

"I've been busy working on one of my formulas." The old w
izard mumbled absently as he flopped down into a chair and snatched up a roasted turkey leg. "I finally had to tear myself away so I could find some food."

"What happened?" Damion asked curiously, peering closely his old mentor. "
You look as though you've been through a battle!"

"I
made a slight miscalculation while working with some unstable chemicals." Damarius grumbled through a mouthful of turkey.

"A
slight
miscalculation?" The huge warrior asked archly. "You've blown your eyebrows clean off your face!"

The old wizard felt at his face for a moment, then scowled. "Not again!" He sighed heavily, then shrugged. "Oh well. We all have to make sacrifices to
advance our goals."

"
Sacrifices? At this rate you're going to singe every single hair clean off of your body!"

"That's not funny, Damion. I..." The old wizard suddenly blinked. "Damion? When did you get back?"

"A couple of hours ago." Damion laughed. "We would have been here a few days ago if Sly hadn't insisted on lingering so he could attempt to drink every drop of dwarven ale that the dwarves possessed." He gestured to Captain Harper, who had been watching the old wizard in amusement. "We found Captain Harper waiting on us when we arrived. He was just telling us about some concerns he was having."

"Captain Harper?"
Damarius turned and noticed old sea captain smiling back at him.

"I haven't seen you this distracted since you attempted to
create that elixir to turn lead into gold, father." Lady Skie's face was red with laughter.

"An elixir that turns lead into gold?" Shirk looked impressed. "Were you
ever able to perfect it?"

The old wizard frowned and shook his head.
"I'm afraid not."

"But he
was
able to transform a large chunk of gold into lead." Lady Skie giggled. "You could hear his screams of frustration for miles!"

"So what is it exactly that you're working on now?"
Captain Harper asked curiously.

"I'm trying to create a
potion that protects a person from the affects of fire. I'm using the scales from a shadow dragon, which I distilled down into a concentration as a base for the potion, but things aren't going exactly as planned."

"You're trying to create a potion that protects against fire?" Damion sounded skeptical.

"And why shouldn't I?" The old wizard asked defensively. "Not everyone has dragon's blood flowing through their veins making them fireproof."

"So what went wrong?"

Damarius scratched his matted brow lock. "I'm not sure. I added a bit of sulfur to the distilled dragon scale and it blew up in my face. I guess the formula can become unstable if the wrong ingredient is added."

"Just do everyone a favor and be careful." Shirk cautioned the old wizard. "The last thing we need is you blowing us all sky high."

Damarius ignored him and turned to Captain Harper. "So what brings you to Sevria, Captain?"

"I ran across some information that I thought should be brought to
everyone's attention." The old sea captain replied, accepting a tankard of ale from Shirk. "I was just explaining to Damion about how I was contracted to take a load of iron ore from the Pleiades Islands to Salastar, on the western continent."

"Ah, the Etazk." The old wizard wrinkled his nose in disgust. "A most unsavory race.
"

"Anyway, as we pulled into port in Salastar, we couldn't help but notice that there was an enormous fleet of ships moored out in the harbor."

"How many ships were there?" Damion asked, snatching a roasted turkey leg from a platter and taking a huge bite.

"More than I could conveniently count."
Captain Harper told them with a serious expression. "And that's not all. As my crew unloaded the shipment of iron ore, I took a stroll around Salastar to see what I could learn, and what I found was disturbing." He paused to take a long drink from his ale, then continued. "Just outside of Salastar was an enormous army encampment that stretched as far as I could see. There must have been twenty thousand Etazk soldiers gathered outside of the city walls. It was fairly obvious that they were making preparations for war."

"War?" Lady Skie looked worried. "Who could they be preparing to go to war with?"

"I'm not sure." Captain Harper shrugged. "I attempted to nose around so I could find out what was going on, but the Etazk are a notoriously tight lipped people, especially when it's an outsider asking the questions. The only thing that I
did
find out was that the Etazk believe that Etaz has returned to this world to lead His people to their destiny."

"That's sounds ominous." Damion frowned.

"It should." Damarius told him. "The legends say that He has always desired that the entire world be brought under His dominion. He has been molding His people for eons for the day He wages His war. He tells the Etazk that to find His favor they must convert or kill every nonbeliever that they encounter, never showing any weakness or mercy. Only then will they be welcomed into His paradise."

"Did you catch any hints of where their destination may be?" The huge warrior asked the old sea captain
.

Captain Harper shook his head. "I'm afraid not. I had to return to the Fearless Lady before they g
rew suspicious of my questions."

"This isn't good." Damarius frowned. "If the Etazk are preparing for war,
any
country in the world could be their target."

"
And to make matters worse, it took me nearly two months to make it back to port in Sierra." The old sea captain frowned. "We ran into storm after storm as we tried to hurry back to warn you. I've never seen anything like it before! It was almost as if the gods themselves didn't want us to reach port!" The old sea captain shook his head. "The Etazk already had their fleet prepared to leave when I sailed out of Salastar. It's impossible to know where they're at by now."

Everyone exchanged worried looks
.

"If the Etazk have organized for war
, we need to alert... well, everyone." Raven murmured in a concerned tone. "We don't want anyone caught with their guard down."

Everyone turned to Damion expectantly.

"Let's confirm our suspicions before we start warning everyone to prepare for war." The big warrior told them after several moments of thought. "I'll go and pay a visit to Tempest. I'm sure she'll be willing to aid us in locating the Etazk fleet. If it appears Captain Harper's suspicions are well founded, we'll send out messengers to the Deola and all of the outlying towns, and then send word to Jaghera and Naquia to alert them to the danger."

"
You're going to go see Tempest?" Leia, who had been busy devouring a large cherry tart, asked excitedly. "Can I go with you?" The young girl was fascinated with dragons, and went wild with glee every time one of the great serpents stopped in to visit.

Damion laughed. "I'm sorry, little one, but it's already past your bedtime.
Besides, it may take us a while to make it to Salastar and back, and I need you here to keep everyone in line."

"That's true, isn't it?" The young girl admitted in a serious tone. "Everything goes to pieces when I'm not around
here to keep an eye on things."

The huge warrior couldn't help but chuckle at his daughter's serious expression.
"I'll make you a deal. If you stay here and help your mother keep an eye on everything while I'm gone, when we get back, I'll have Tempest take you for a flight through the mountains."

"Really?" Leia squealed with excitement.

"Damion!" Lady Skie admonished in a disapproving tone. "Do you really think it's safe to allow your six year old daughter to go flying on the back of a dragon?"

"She'll be fine." The huge warrior assured his former nanny. "I'll be with her. I won't let anything happen to our little angel."

Everyone turned to look as Sly and Slither suddenly came stumping into the room. The huge shadowspawn had one arm around the scruffy little man, who reeled back and forth drunkenly.

"What's going on?" Sly grumbled as Slither guided him towards a
n empty chair. "Why does everyone look so upset?"

"Captain Harper has brought word that it looks as though the Etazk are assembling for war." Shirk informed him irritably.

"War?" The little man sounded surprised. "War with whom?"

"That's what we need to figure out." Damion told him
with a frown. "They have a substantial force gathering in Salastar ready to board a fleet of ships that are waiting in the harbor. We need to determine what their plans are before they depart, otherwise it may be too late to stop them."

"Well, if it's a war they want, we'll be more than happy to give it to them."
Sly declared enthusiastically, dropping into the cushioned chair, where he promptly falling asleep with a resounding snore.

"I don't know
what you're all worried about." Shirk murmured in a sarcastic tone, watching as the little man continued to snore. "With him on our side, I don't see how we could possibly lose."

Chapter 3

Damion slowly approached the enormous scarlet dragon as it lounged lazily against the cool stone wall of its hidden cavern lair, sending twin curls of smoke drifting up from its nostrils as it snored. He crept forward on silent feet, skillfully avoiding the huge mounds of gold and silver, and massive piles of uncut gems that lay scattered about the cavern floor, mixed carelessly with hundreds of bones from the beast's past meals.

He was mere feet from the slumbering
brute when the dragon's eyes suddenly flew open, causing him to freeze mid-step.

"
Dragonkin!" The huge dragon rumbled in surprise, lifting its head and fixing its visitor with a curious stare.

"Good evening, Tempest." Damion smiled up at the great beast. "How have you been faring?"

"I am well." The huge scarlet dragon rumbled, settling down before her visitor. "I'm surprised to see you. I thought you had went to visit the dwarves beneath the Deolan grasslands."

"We did." The huge warrior confirmed with a nod. "Garth has taken his late father's place as King of the Southern
Dwarves, and we wanted to extend him our congratulations, as well as our condolences. We just returned a few hours ago."

"And your first visit is with me? I'm touched."

Damion chuckled. "We've received word of an army gathering in Salastar, on the western continent."

"Ah, the Etazk." Tempest nodded knowingly
. "A most bothersome people. They have been waging war upon the other races for eons. Their god, Etaz, is always sending his worshippers out to convert or kill other mortals in the hopes of bringing the entire world under his control."

"It looks as though they may be preparing for another attempt." Da
mion told her grimly. "They supposedly have an army twenty thousand strong, with a fleet of ships large enough to carry them all. There are also rumors that their god has returned to the world to lead his people."

"Etaz isn't the only god that has left their place among the heavens
and returned to the world." Tempest murmured grimly. "More of the constellations that represent the gods are disappearing as they return to this world to dwell amongst their people once again. When Draco violated the pact between the gods by taking direct action against you, He opened the way for all of the other gods to return. Many, like Etaz, will pick up exactly where they left off, returning to the war that nearly destroyed this world."

"Then this is my fault." Damion scowled. "
When we rescued Leia, it forced Draco to intervene, causing Him to break the oath. Now, the war between the gods and their people will begin once again, and there's nothing that can be done to stop it."

"It's not
like you really had much of a choice in the matter." Tempest reminded him in a reasonable tone. "It's not as though you were going to surrender little Leia to Him. It would have meant the destruction of mankind."

"I know," The huge warrior sighed in resignation. "
but doesn't change the fact that the gods would have never been able to return if I hadn't forced Draco to confront me directly." His expression was disgusted. "It seems like every time I do something, it comes back to haunt me later."

"Who can predict what the
future ramifications will be from their actions?" Tempest said philosophically. "Not even the gods can see into the future."

"
That doesn't really make me feel any better." Damion sighed heavily. "I still have an Etazk army gathering, and we don't have any idea of what they're planning."

"How can I help?"

"I thought that, if you felt up to it, we could fly over to the western continent and have a look at this army for ourselves. If they're still in Salastar, I can slip into town and see if I may be able to discover why they are gathering, and who, if anybody, is their target."

"Of course." Tempest agreed immediately. "It would be my honor, Dragonkin."

They carefully made their way through the darkness until they reached the opening to Tempest's hidden cavern lair, high up on a steep cliff face, then Damion nimbly climbed up onto her back and settled himself between her shoulders.

"All set?" Tempest asked, unfurling her wings.

"Give me a moment." The huge warrior turned to look out into the night.
"Snowfeather."
He called to his familiar silently.
"We're ready to head out."

The huge snow ow
l appeared from the darkness and settled gently on Tempest's back, then hopped over to position himself in front of Damion.
"Ready when you are."

The huge scarlet dragon launched
herself into the air with a single thrust of her powerful wings and quickly set off towards the west.

It took
them two days to reach the distant shores of the western continent. They stopped only once as they crossed the seemingly endless expanse of sea, landing on a remote island to rest for a few short hours before moving on towards the port city of Salastar.

It was late evening when the western shores finally loomed into view. Tempest dipped one wing and changed course, following along the rocky coastline below until they spot
ted the lights of a distant city twinkling in the darkness ahead.

"That must be Salastar." Damion informed the huge dragon, speaking loud enough to be heard over the roar of the
wind. "Let's check things out before we make any decisions. If the Etazk have already departed, we're going to have to try and locate their fleet."

They soared ahead on silent wings until they
were directly over the city, then Tempest slowly began to circle, giving Damion a clear view of everything below.

It was immediately obvious that the Etazk army that Captain Harper had told them about
was still camped outside of the city, though their numbers appeared have swelled considerably. Damion estimated that the force was now nearly fifty thousand strong, over twice what the old sea captain had estimated. There were also more than enough ships moored out in the enormous harbor to carry the massive force, nearly five hundred in total, all standing at the ready.

"There are far more of the Etazk gathered than we first thought." Damion frowned worriedly. "They appear to be prepar
ing for an extensive campaign."

"At least they haven't departed yet." Tempest
rumbled, staring down at the massive encampment that had been erected on the outskirts of Salastar. "Perhaps we can devise a way to delay them."

They
landed in a secluded glade a couple of miles outside of town, and Damion quickly climbed down from Tempest's shoulders. "I'm going to venture into town and drift around for a bit."

"Do you really think that's wise?"
Snowfeather asked, settling down on his shoulder.
"You're a fairly well known figure throughout the world, and you
do
tend to stand out in a crowd."

"I'll be fine." Damion answered him aloud. "We need to figur
e out who the Etazk are planning to attack, then devise a way to slow or stop them." He looked up at Tempest. "Try to stay out of sight if you can. I'll use the Dragon Sword to contact you when I'm ready to leave."

"Very well." Tempest agreed
reluctantly. "I'll keep an eye on you from above. Do try to be careful." The huge scarlet beast launched herself into air, then disappeared into the darkness.

"Would
you please scout the area ahead for me so I have an idea of what to expect?" The huge warrior asked Snowfeather politely, knowing the huge snow owl was still concerned.

"I suppose, but I still don't like the idea of you wandering around
with that army so close."
Snowfeather hooted, disappearing into the darkness ahead.

Damion watched as he glided off, then drew in his magic and slipped into the form of a panther. He immediately set off on silent paws,
quickly slipping from shadow to shadow until he reached the outskirts of the Etazk encampment.

"There are a number of armed soldiers patrolling the perimeter of the encampment."
Snowfeather reported, landing on a nearby tree branch.
"I'm afraid there is little chance that you can make it through to the city without being noticed."

"That may complicate things a bit."
Damion retreated back into the shadows and shifted back into his own form, then watched as several armed soldiers marched passed bearing torches.

The Etazk were an unsavory looking people, he observed, with
pale, nearly colorless skin, and huge dark eyes that seemed completely void of anything that resembled thought. They were dressed in thick leather vests and pants affixed with steel plates, and carried a variety of vicious looking weapons. Each soldier wore a leather helmet dyed in various shades, indicating, Damion surmised, the soldier's rank among his fellow Etazk.

Damion watched as the soldiers marched out of sight, then, not seeing any other option, he marched boldly out of the shadows and started through the encampment.

"What are you doing?"
Snowfeather asked in horror.

"If I can't
sneak through the camp, then I'll just try to calmly make my way through it. Perhaps if I act as though I'm supposed to be there, no one will question my presence."

"I can see several large flaws in that plan, Damion."

"So can I."
Damion continued made his way through the narrow muddy corridors between the sea of tents, ignoring the startled gazes of the Etazk warriors who were lounging around numerous campfires in large groups.

He
had made it nearly halfway through the encampment when he came upon a large clearing packed full of Etazk soldiers, most of whom were busy staring at an older man dressed in long flowing golden robes who sat on an elaborately carved throne which had been placed upon a raised platform. A large stone altar that had been stained a crimson red with the blood of incalculable sacrifices had been placed before him, and he watched on with a grim expression as a priest, wearing a long hooded robe dyed the color of blood, stood next to the altar, staring out at the gathered crowd with cold eyes.

The
priest carefully scanned the crowd for several long seconds, then he pointed to one of the Etazk soldiers, who suddenly began to back away with wide, frightened eyes. Two of his fellow soldiers suddenly seized him by the arms and dragged him up onto the platform. The man screamed in terror as they threw him onto the altar and tore off his leather vest, exposing his pale chest, then they pinned him down to the altar, their pale faces remorseless as he continued to struggle to break free.

The Etazk
priest approached the altar, his cold eyes still scanning the crowd, then he began to speak to the gathering in a strange halting language.

Damion took advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was
on the priest, and carefully started to make his way around the crowd, trying his best not to draw any attention to himself.

The
priest continued to rattle on in the strange halting language, his voice first falling to a whisper, then rising to a loud shout. As he continued to shout, he withdrew a long curved dagger from his robes.

Damion watched in horror as the priest, his voice raised to a crescendo,
suddenly plunged the dagger down into the man's chest.

The Etazk's screams were cut short as the priest casually ripped open his chest and removed his beating heart.
He held the heart aloft for all to see, then carefully deposited it into a brass brazier containing red hot glowing coals. The heart sizzled horribly, filling the air with the noxious smell of burning flesh.

The priest
turned to the crowd, his eyes triumphant, then raised his hands to the heavens once more. The Etazk that were crowded around the platform all suddenly dropped to one knee, leaving Damion exposed as he continued to try to make his way around the gathering.

Both the
priest and the man sitting upon the throne gasped in surprise, and stared at the huge warrior in disbelief.

"Uh oh." Damion groaned as every
Etazk gathered turned to stare at him with surprised expressions.

The priest scowled, then rattled something at Damion in a demanding tone.

The huge warrior held out his hands helplessly. "I have no clue what you're saying to me right now."

"What d
o you think you're doing interrupting us during our sacred rites?" The hooded Etazk demanded in outrage.

"Is that what you call butchering one of your own men?" He asked, unable to keep the disgust from his voice.

"This man went willingly into the arms of Etaz as a demonstration to his brethren of his faith and devotion to the one true god." The priest snarled in fury.

"He didn't appear very willing to me." Damion snorted in derision.

Many of the Etazk had risen to their feet, and were now facing the huge warrior with their hands firmly on their weapons.

"Who are you to question our ways, outsider?"