Zoran Chronicles Volume 1 A Dragon in Our Town (18 page)

            
“What plans do you have now for the relocation of this new Circle of Ascension,
Brother Jiri?” the Archmage asked softly.

            
“We want to finish what Mikolas and we started out to do. We see this as the only
real way to stop or end the Baron’s reign on our world. We must have our own Duska
and baron, our own recognized House among the High Council,” Jiri answered her.

            
Priestess Anezka added, “Now we are at a loss on where we should go to build it.
The more people that know of our incredible and precious find, the sooner others are
going to come after us to steal it for themselves. These documents are utterly priceless.
Honestly, we are a bit at a loss on just how to proceed now that Mikolas is gone and
cannot protect us any longer. I would hate to just turn all this over to the Ruling Houses
and let them have these documents.”

            
Archmage Nadia sighed and then began, “Truly we find that we are at a
crossroads — all of us gathered together in this room. What we decide or fail to decide
here will have an enormous, if not utterly profound impact, not only on us but on the
entire Federation of Planets. You are quite right. As soon as news of this find leaks out,
every House in the Federation will be after those documents, one way or another. If they
cannot outright buy it from you, most certainly they will send in their assassins to secure
it.”

            
“You cannot go from warlord to warlord offering to build it at their fortress. None
of them alone could possibly stand against the Baron’s army, a multitude of assassins, or
even other Houses who might Shadow Walk their armies here to take it by force of
arms.”

            
“Yet, if somewhere the Circle of Ascension could be built and then presented to
the Federation’s High Council, you stand a good chance of being recognized and added
to the High Council, but you would need at least one Duska to become the baron there. I
assure you that if you did not have a bonafide Duska, the High Council would appoint
one of their own as your Duska, which is not desirable either.”

            
“We are besieged with seemingly insurmountable barriers and an equally lofty
goal worthy of our best efforts. Times like these, I wish the world had a fortune teller!”
This brought a grin or chuckle to everyone.

            
Zoran knew what he had to do, though he didn’t want to do it. At last, he spoke
quietly. “I’ll be your Duska. Build the Circle of Ascension, and I’ll be your Duska and go
before the High Council, forcing them to recognize the new Circle and House. Heck, the
assassins are already after me so what are adding a few more going to do?”

            
“You — you would do this?” Priestess Anezka exclaimed both shocked and
surprised. “You would be giving up forever your own birthright to Baron Kazimir’s
throne and setting yourself against your father and his army!”

            
“Hey, not much chance of becoming a baron by birthright. I’m fourth in line.
Radek’s already been chosen as his heir apparent. My sisters are next in line. If anyone
ever harms my sisters, I will wage total war against the perpetrators, no holds or laws
barred! However, I really do not want to be a baron, but as the Archmage said, we must
make the attempt to reach that lofty goal. It could well put an end to Baron Kazimir’s
subjugation of the whole planet. I have no choice but to make the attempt. I could not
live with myself if I didn’t stand up for you. I am a Duska after all. That means that I am
supposed to be held to a higher responsibility level than everyone else. I’ll be your
Duska. You build the Circle of Ascension.”

            
Brother Jiri said very officially, “Duke Zoran Vladislov, we hereby accept your
gracious offer to become our Duska should we successfully build another Circle of
Ascension.” Both he and his wife bowed low to Zoran, who felt slightly ill at ease and
embarrassed by their bows.

            
“Well, one insurmountable barrier has been lifted,” Archmage Oldrich said softly.
“Now where should it be built?” The room was dead silent. While there were many
warlords here in the Wild Lands, dealing with them was fraught with problems, to say
nothing of their having a suitable castle, such as Castle Dorumova, where the Circle
could easily be protected.

            
Inspiration struck! Zoran said, “Here, we should build it here in Archmage
Oldrich’s tower!”

            
She looked shocked, “Why on earth here? This is not a castle or a fortress. Brn
Province has neither anywhere in it.”

            
“I know. For one thing, it minimizes those who already know about this discovery
of Zor’s documents. Two, Brn is over a thousand miles from Dorum, making it difficult,
though not impossible for the Baron and his army to reach us in the near future. Three,
what better protection than to have the Circle defended by an entire Archmage and all
her many Mages living here. Even I would think twice about attacking an entire
Archmage tower! Once we succeed and are officially recognized, perhaps then we can set
about building something more suitable. What do you think, Archmage Oldrich?”

            
“Wait before you say anything further,” Emil interrupted them. Everyone turned
to face the gold dragon teen. “You forgot number four. Fourth, you can have a number of
gold dragons protecting the tower. I am sure that our parents would be willing to
provide protection as well, making four of us. If you need more, dad might be able to
bring some of his friends from Voss here. There are plenty of hoofers for many dragons
here in your forests, really there are.”

            
“Wow! Thanks, Emil,” Zoran replied, becoming excited about this aspect. “Once
everyone in Brn knows that the dragons are here to protect them from the evil Baron
Kazimir, they will readily accept them! After what I suspect these two dragons did to his
army today, I am certain that any baron would think more than twice about making any
kind of takeover of Brn by force of arms. Magic and dragons shall be your protection.
What say you to our offer, Archmage Oldrich?”

            
She smiled, “What can I say but that I accept this offer. This is the highest honor I
have ever received in my life, and it carries with it the highest responsibility I have ever
borne. I will bear it with pride.”

            
Zoran rose to the occasion; his formal court lessons had not been totally wasted.
“Thank you Archmage Nadia Oldrich for your generous offer. As the new Duska, I accept
your offer.” He gave his best courtly bow to her, which brought a smile to the old
woman’s face. Long had it been since she received a Duska’s bow. Zoran continued, “We
should keep the project totally secret until the Circle is activated, at which point I am
sure all of the other Houses will instantly know of its activation. At that time, we should
be prepared. We should meet with the twin’s parents soon to get their agreement. We
should have a general in charge of creating a small garrison of men to help with any
physical guarding that may be needed. I believe I know just the man for this position.”

            
“Certainly not my son,” the Archmage gently interrupted. “My son is the mayor of
Brn, a fine diplomat and solver of city problems, but he never took to magic, I am sad to
say, and he is not much of a fighter. He does run Brn extremely efficiently and is very
well liked by the city folk. Please don’t ask him to do this.”

            
“I promise I will not. I have another in mind, but I would like to meet with him
first. I hate to ask this of you, but could my team have a few days off right now? We
should meet with the twin’s parents as soon as possible, for they play an integral role in
this. Plus, I would like to meet the other that I have in mind for the general’s position.
Once these two things are handled, I promise you that we will continue our studies
uninterrupted. Please allow us a few days off.”

            
For the first time, the Archmage actually laughed. “My dear boy, I have been
pushing all seven of you harder than I have ever pushed any students in these past forty
years! Yes, yes, lessons will resume on Monday. Will that be sufficient time?”

            
“Probably more than enough, thank you. Gang, we ought to go visit their parents
now and make sure this is acceptable with them. Meantime, why don’t you and Brother
Jiri see if there is a suitable location for the construction of the Circle of Ascension? We
will report back as soon as we know anything.”

            
This was quite agreeable. Emil cast his spell and sent a message to his father,
explaining that he wanted to bring his team to meet his parents and that this was to be
an extremely vital meeting. “Dad says it is fine with him. We should teleport there, but
first, he wants me to have you all swear that you will never reveal the location of his
cavern to any others.”

            
“I so swear,” Zoran said without hesitation. The others followed his lead.
Satisfied, Emil and Renata took their team member’s hands and cast their two teleport
spells, arriving at the entrance of the cavern, high in the mountains south of Brn, and
overlooking the whole of the Dark Forest.

            
“Please stand back. Dad wants us to assume our normal dragon forms, and I don’t
want to accidentally bump you down the mountainside,” Emil asked. A minute later, the
five were dwarfed by the two teen golden dragons.

            
“Follow us inside,” Renata said, a proud and excited tone in her voice. The five
did so. To say that Zoran and the others were impressed with Aldrick and Sofie would be
a total understatement. Aldrick’s body was over fifty-five feet long, ignoring his very
long neck and even longer tail. He towered over his twins. Sofie was only slightly
smaller. For the conference, the dragons laid down in a semi-circle, positioning their
heads close to one another. The five sat down before them. Aldrick’s head alone was
bigger than Zoran’s body. Yes, the older dragon could have swallowed him whole! This
fact was duly noted by all five. Their size and power was almost beyond belief.

            
Zoran and Emil outlined what had happened earlier this day. He also explained
fully about himself and that he was a Duska. Aldrick, from his earlier training under
Archmage Oldrich, knew about the Duska and their ability to Shadow Walk, as well as
the fact that they were the rulers of many planets in the Federation. Finally, Zoran
explained what they were about to do, build a new Circle of Ascension right here in Brn.

            
Emil then explained what he had offered to do, provide overt protection. Yes, the
entire town would constantly see golden dragons flying about their city and tower. Zoran
then said, “We would like to ask you to join in the protection of this province. Also, if
you have some trustworthy dragon friends who might like to join, they would be
welcome here too. There is plenty of antelope to go around. I understand that on your
planet obtaining sufficient food has become a very serious problem. This might be an
opportunity for more of your honorable friends to join us here.”

            
“Well, it is rare that dragon-kind mingles with humans, mostly for magic and
gems. However, the food crisis is most serious indeed. Sofie and I do have some
trustworthy friends back home who may jump at this opportunity. We will check on it.
How many others would you accept? We do not want to overpopulate your land either,”
Aldrick explained.

            
“You’ve seen the surrounding lands. How many of your kind can it support easily
without any problems?” Zoran had no choice but to trust the dragon’s judgment in this
matter of sufficient antelope.

            
“Perhaps no more than a dozen more. Now if they could settle in nearby
mountains, many more, but I believe that land belongs to other provinces.”

            
“Okay, then let’s start with up to twelve more. You make the decision on who to
ask. For now, it is best for you to continue maintaining your low profile until the
construction work is finished.”

            
“Might I ask for something in return?” Aldrick ventured, knowing that Zoran had
little choice but to honor his wishes.

            
“Absolutely. If it is within my power to grant, it is yours.”

            
“When the time is right, I wish that you would assist my twins in their version of
what you call Shadow Walking. Show them all of the planets in the Federation. Your
language has no word for what we dragon’s do. Planet hopping is the closest I have ever
found. Can you do this for my children?”