Omensent: Revealing the Dragon (The Dragon Lord Series) Read online

  "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 do 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?"

  "I'm just someone passing through." Damion told with an innocent expression.

  "Just passing through, you say?" The priest obviously didn't believe him.

  "What is all of this for?" The huge warrior asked, gesturing to the surrounding encampment. "It looks as though you're planning on going to war with someone." He hoped by feigning ignorance, he may be able to learn something useful.

  "The time for the great cleansing has begun." The priest proclaimed, drawing a cheer from the gathered throng. "The time foretold to us by the one true god. We shall sweep out from this place and go forth into the world, bringing all nonbelievers to their knees. We shall convert all those we encounter, and those who refuse to recognize Etaz as the one true god, we shall strike down, and give their hearts up to Him as tribute."

  Damion frowned. The worst had been confirmed. The Etazk were indeed planning on waging war upon the rest of the world. "Where do you plan on striking first?" He asked, trying hard to sound only mildly curious.

  "It does not matter." The priest told him as the man upon the throne murmured something to him in the same strange language that the priest had been speaking. His expression changed to one of cruel glee. "You shall not be around to witness as the Etazk turn the world over to the one true god." He made a curt gesture, and several Etazk warriors suddenly drew their weapons and slowly began to advance.

  Damion cursed vehemently, then quickly whipped the Dragon Sword from its sheath and prepared for battle. He had hoped he would be able to slip through the encampment without arousing suspicion, but now he was facing dozens of armed warriors in the center of an enemy encampment. He could easily use his magic to blast the warriors aside, but such an act would bring fifty thousand Etazk soldiers down upon him. He waved the Dragon Sword in a wide arc to keep the soldiers at bay while his tried to devise a way of escaping, but he could think of no easy way of extricating himself from the situation.

  One of the Etazk soldiers suddenly charged forward swinging his sword wildly, but Damion easily avoided the clumsy blows and kicked the soldier hard in the chest, sending him crashing backwards into his fellow warriors. Two more charged forward, each moving in from the opposite sides wielding long spears, but the blade of the mythical Dragon Sword passed through the wooden shafts without resistance, sending the spear points spinning off into the darkness and rendering the weapons useless.

  Damion stepped back to ready himself once more as several more soldiers prepared to charge into the fray, but they froze when the robed priest, his face red with fury, jumped down from the platform and started shoving his way through the crowd.

  "I have had enough of this!" The priest snarled as the Etazk warriors scrambled to get out of his way. "I'll deal with you myself!"

  The hair on Damion's arms stood on end as he sensed the magical energies building around the robed priest. He barely had time to react as a sizzling bolt of energy suddenly burst forth from the priest's hands and streaked directly toward him. Out of pure instinct, Damion drew his magic around him, reflecting the bolt of energy, and sending it sizzling back at the Etazk. It struck one of the warriors directly in the face and exploded, sending bits of the man's head spraying over his brethren.

  "Who are you?" The priest asked in dismay, clearly stunned by Damion's ability to repel his magic.

  "I have a lot of names." Damion shrugged, causing several of the soldiers to jump nervously. "My friends call me Damion," He fixed the priest with a stare that promised death. "but most people know me as the Dragon Lord."

  "The Dragon Lord?" The priest gasped in disbelief as the Etazk soldiers closest to him scrambled to back away from the fearsome warrior. "That's not possible! He is just a legend!"

  "If you say so." Damion lifted the Dragon Sword and gestured to the priest and warriors. "You said that your god has commanded you to go forth into the world. Does that mean that Etaz has returned to this world once again?"

  The priest's jaw dropped opened in surprise. "T-That is not for you to know, outsider!"

  "So He has returned." Damion frowned. The priest's startled reaction was all the answer he needed. "Where is He now?"

  "No more questions!" The priest appeared shaken. "I shall reveal no more! Your persistence will be your downfall, outsider! You shall not leave this place alive!" He gestured to the frightened soldiers, who reluctantly began to spread out to surround the legendary warrior.

  An earsplitting roar suddenl
y echoed through the night as Tempest's enormous form dropped down from the darkness and soared directly over the encampment, spewing flames high into the air.

  "Dragon!" The Etazk priest shrieked in terror.

  Most of the Etazk soldiers dove for cover as Tempest passed low overhead, skimming mere feet over top of the camp. She released another blast of flames, then tipped one wing and soared off towards the harbor.

  Tempest's roars awakened the entire Etazk army, sending men panicking throughout the encampment. Soldiers hurried about hysterically, bellowing contrary orders to one another as they hurried the follow the enormous beast that had descended on them.

  Damion took advantage of the distraction and slipped off towards the town, ducking in and out of the shadows occasionally to avoid soldiers who were hurrying towards the harbor.

  He paused a few yards from the edge of town to allow a group of soldiers to rush past, then quickly made his way down an empty street and ducked into a dark alley. He used the alley to quickly make his way to the harbor, where he found a crowd of soldiers gathered near the shoreline, watching with chagrin as the huge scarlet dragon set flame to the massive fleet of warships that was moored out in the port.

  The Etazk could do nothing as they watched Tempest destroy ship after ship, bathing each vessel in searing flames before moving on to the next. Once she was sure she had destroyed every ship, the massive dragon banked sharply and headed straight for the town.

  The assembled soldiers shrieked in fear, then turned and fled from the water's edge in terror, trampling one another in their panic to get away.

  Damion stepped out of the shadows and quickly made for the shoreline.

  "That's him!"

  Damion turned to see the priest who had confronted him in the encampment standing with a group of Etazk who were wearing similar robes.

  "That's him! That's the Dragon Lord!" The priest roared to his brethren, who immediately rushed towards the huge warrior, their eyes alight with bloodlust.

  Damion drew the Dragon Sword from its sheath and turned to face the priests, ignoring the Etazk soldiers who continued to rush passed as they fled in terror from Tempest. He brushed aside a fireball thrown by one of the priests indifferently, and gathered in his magic, carefully focusing it into a ball of pure energy. With an almost casual toss, he sent the ball of energy whizzing towards the Etazk priests. It struck the ground directly before the men and exploded with tremendous force, sending them hurtling backwards through the air, and crashing down hard to the unforgiving cobblestone in unconscious heaps.

  Damion drew his magic once more and focused it on the Dragon Sword. "Tempest!"

  The huge dragon's head whipped around as she narrowed in on the huge warrior, and she banked sharply towards him, swooping low to frighten a group of soldiers that came rushing from a side street. She landed directly before him with enough force to buckle the cobblestones, then waited calmly for the huge warrior to climb aboard.

  With one last quick look around, Damion scrambled up onto the scarlet dragon's shoulders and held on tight as Tempest immediately leaped back into the air, leaving the Etazk staring after them in stunned disbelief.

  "I'm guessing that didn't go according to your plan." Snowfeather hooted, sailing down from overhead to glide along side of the scarlet dragon.

  "Ha hah." Damion replied sarcastically. He tapped Tempest on the neck. "Go ahead and take us back to Sevria." He called over the rushing wind. "I think we've done all we can to slow them down."

  "Did you learn where they were planning to strike first?" Tempest rumbled curiously.

  "I'm afraid not, but I did confirm that Etaz has returned. The Etazk priest nearly went to pieces when I asked him. It was obvious that they had believed that no one suspected anything."

  "Well, with their ships destroyed, it will be some time before they will be able to wage their war." The scarlet serpent rumbled, a satisfied note in her voice.

  "That was a great idea to set fire to their ships." Damion congratulated her with a laugh. "It'll take them months to rebuild their fleet!"

  "I figured it would be the easiest way to stop them. They can assemble all they wish, but until they find some more ships to carry their forces, the only people they're going to be butchering are each other."

  "I couldn't have done it better myself." The huge warrior assured her.

  They sailed on into the night, leaving the port city of Salastar in chaos.

  Chapter 4

  "You tried to just saunter through an entire army of Etazk?" Damarius asked him in stunned disbelief. "Are you completely daft?"

  Everyone had gathered in the courtyard when Damion, Snowfeather, and Tempest descended from the heavens to touch down lightly outside of the Serpent's Keep. Leia had been the first one out of the castle doors, squealing with joy as she nimbly scampered up Tempest's back to flop giggling into her father's lap.

  "I thought I could slip through unnoticed." Damion shrugged helplessly, watching in amusement as Leia scurried up Tempest's neck to perch precariously on the scarlet dragon's head.

  "You going someplace unnoticed is like Sly turning down a tankard of ale." Shirk snickered. "It's never going to happen."

  "Hey!" Sly protested with a scowl.

  "It's true, though." Raven said to Damion with a laugh. "You really should have known better."

  "It wasn't a complete failure." Damion protested, sliding down from Tempest's shoulders to join the others. "I was able to confirm Etaz has returned to the world. I'm certain He's the reason they are mobilizing."

  "Are you sure you had to force Draco into breaking His pact with the other gods?" Sly asked in a pained tone. "You've made it possible for every heathen god that exists to return to our world to wreak havoc!"

  "It was the only way to save Leia." Damion told him with a nod.

  The scruffy little man glanced up at the young girl, who was busy dangling from one of Tempest's long spiraling horns. "Couldn't you have just made another one?" He asked mischievously.

  "I heard that!" Leia exclaimed angrily. She quickly scampered down from her perch atop Tempest's head, and hurried across the courtyard to Sly, where she kicked him solidly in the shin.

  "Ow!" The little man roared in pain. "Okay! Okay! I was just kidding!"

  "That wasn't funny!" Leia gave him a stern look, then wandered over to her mother, who was doubled over with laughter.

  "Anyway," Damion continued. "Everything was going fine until I came upon a group of the Etazk performing a sacrifice to Etaz." He wrinkled his nose with distaste. "A man in a golden robe sat on a throne which had been placed on a raised dais and watched while a priest chose one of the soldiers at random, and had his fellow countrymen drag him up to the altar and pin him down while the priest carved out his heart."

  "And you didn't obliterate them all on the spot?" Sly asked with some surprise.

  Damion shook his head. "There were thousands of Etazk soldiers all around me. I couldn't do anything without alerting them all to my presence."

  "You're finally growing up." Lady Skie said with a sigh of relief. "Just a few short years ago you would have tried to take the entire army on single handedly."

  Damion chuckled. "I took advantage of the crowd's distraction and tried to make my way around them without being noticed, but unfortunately, they all dropped down to their knees and left me completely exposed for the man on the throne and the priest to see."

  Everyone was laughing at this point.

  "Of course, they immediately spotted me." Damion continued, blushing furiously. "I managed to get a few answers out of the priest before the man on the throne murmured something to him, and the priest ordered his men to take me up to the altar to be the next sacrifice." He looked to Damarius, who was laughing so hard that he was forced to use his staff to hold himself upright. "Did you know that the Etazk priests are able to use magic?"

  "Really?" The old wizard asked, his laughter quickly fading. "I have never heard this."

  "It's
true." The huge warrior assured him with a nod. "I witnessed it first hand when they began hurling fireballs at my head."

  "It's really not that surprising that we have never heard this before." Damarius commented after a moment's thought. "There's actually very little known about the Etazk, other than what the old stories tell us. They are much like Shirk's people in that respect." He gestured to the scruffy old bandit, who was standing close to Lady Skie. "The Etazk only allow outsiders to visit Nazka, the country controlled by the merchant class. Kazka and Etazka are closed to all but the Etazk, so we really don't know very much about them."

  "The priests all appear to be fairly skilled," Damion told him with a frown. "At least the few that I encountered were. But considering each of the priests were able to wield magic, it's probably safe to assume they all can."

  "I have to agree." Damarius nodded, causing his brow lock to fall into his eyes. "If I had to guess, I would say it's probably how they choose who becomes a priest. If they exhibit an ability to manipulate magic, they're probably immediately inducted into the priesthood."

  "That could cause us some considerable problems if we are forced to face them in battle." Shirk pointed out with a frown. "If they're able to use magic against us, how are we supposed to defend ourselves? There could be thousands of priests mixed in among the soldiers!"

  "We'll have to deal with that when the time comes." Damion shrugged.

  "Who was the man on the throne?" Dar asked curiously.

  Damion shook his head. "He never introduced himself. But he was dressed in long golden robes, and had the bearing of someone who was in charge."

  "If I had to guess, I would say it was the High Priest." Damarius surmised. "I think his name is Mohaad. If the Etazk were gathered for war, he would surely be among them. He is the direct link between the Etazk and their god."

  "Luckily, we won't be seeing the Etazk for some time. Tempest set fire to their fleet before we left Salastar. It'll take them quite a while to build enough ships to move fifty thousand men."