Dragon Alliance: Rise Against Shadow (74 page)

“That is why we need to keep the supply of lizard meat flowing from the Canaris Twins. Our peasant farmers and herders can barely keep the dragons, giants, wyverns, and manticores supplied in meat,” Dreadstone emphasized to the group.

“The Freilanders are sinking or capturing as many of our merchant ships as the Shidanese are of other kingdoms,” Tbok explained.

“This means that the Shidanese and their immediate allies must declare open naval war on all Alliance-bound ships,” Dreadstone suggested, “and we must release at least a squadron of our warships to act as independent pirates on the high seas.” He was notorious for his ruthlessness and cruelty, with his power almost being unmatched in the empire, save Stalenjh himself. His tall lanky appearance, with his long curved nose, long dark gray beard, and deep sullen blackish eyes, gave him a menacing appearance. His sorcerer’s staff had a black iron halberd head surrounding the fist-sized dark crystal. Dreadstone’s cruelty was so respected among the chromatics that they allowed him to mount them when going into battle. Mostly he rode the blue, green, and black dragons in his wings, but even red dragons allowed this occasionally.

Dreadstone was renowned for his massacre of an Alliance settlement in the unsettled lands and his bringing down of a copper dragon during the Great War. Many a metallic would like to see him dead, but even a bronze dragon would have to be cautious in engaging him. He and Stalenjh had an uneasy relationship, with the lead Talon sorcerer always keeping a careful eye on him. Dreadstone and his warlord partner Reigngrim made a very dangerous duo, commanding a large army, and three to four dozen squadrons of chromatics.

“Yes, the orc tribes to my north are already venturing over into our lands, looting for food, so we must shift more of these large lizards to keep their appetites in check,” Tbok said. “I don’t want to get into a skirmish with them yet or enforce their obedience by using our dragons.”

“The problem is that they grow faster in the Southern and Eastern provinces, which have more swamps and vegetation, and herding them to your borders is arduous. Plus they are picked off as we move them west by roaming dragons and even some manticores,” Karnack blurted out defensively.

“Keep the orcs in check by force if you have to, and send at least two tribes to the north to reinforce the ice giants. That will alleviate some pressure on our borders without having to sacrifice some of our own pawns to keep the rest of them in line. If you have to, send another colony to the fire giants through the mountain pass route,” Tiamat’s blue dragon head directed, at which all nodded.

“We have our spies and provocateurs working in the Northern Ontaror kingdoms from within their criminal and elite classes, trying to subvert their parliaments and armies. While we have not been as successful in the Alliance itself, our allies there are gaining in political power. We will help them in their endeavors to subvert their governments, but this will take skill in their provocation. We also must keep our agents in the dark of our real intentions. Their own sense of self-righteousness, greed, and lust for power is their weakness that we will exploit. The fools don’t know what is really in store for them, and it will be too late once they realize our true purpose,” Tiamat’s black head’s raspy voice explained.

“We are even staging several of the fire giant clans’ raiding parties in parts of the kingdom of Gransaulf, just to the east of the Gray Mountains from the Alliance’s border,”
Tiamat’s green dragon head said
.
“This is arranged by some of their towns who harbor ill will toward the Alliance. Those in that area who don’t actively support us at least exhibit duplicity. The fools don’t realize that they are contributing to the doom of the very agent of their freedom and prosperity.”

“We will play on the inherent weakness of the Alliance and their cursed metallic dragons. Their foolish sense of honor, fairness, and the idea of freedom they so idealize can be used very effectively against them. The Alliance value of the individual and sense of right over wrong, as well as their sensitivity to their children, demonstrate their failing. Our official philosophy of egalitarianism, total equality through submission to the empire as the pabulum for the masses, when really it is about our ruling class and political elite, this Covenant, and most importantly me, your queen and living god,” Tiamat’s white head angrily said

“The metallic dragons also show their weakness in their misguided love of these talking monkeys and in the way they actually pray for our redemption to the cursed Creator when they are lucky enough to slay one of my minions. Remind all your kin what could happen to them if any consider a conversion from whom they serve. The chromatics serve us, they serve me both in this life and my mirror in the afterlife. They are to fight for me on both planes, for if they don’t, I will eat their souls,” Tiamat’s red head said, looking around the gathered to bring home her point more forcibly.

“We have an issue with this year’s harvest, my queen,” Tbok stated. “Our collective farms across the empire are failing. The only thing that is keeping the people fed, are the small private plots that the peasants are allowed to keep. This is proving difficult in feeding both our people and the orcs.”

“The collective farms are one of our methodologies in controlling our population and keeping them dependent on the Covenant and the provincial rulers. We must continue to emphasize to the peasants that it is the collective that is the most important, not themselves; we must destroy their individualism. Order must be maintained by fear and provocation, and by keeping the population ignorant,” Stalenjh stated.

“I agree, Stalenjh, we must maintain respect through fear. They must know that their protection from the perceived threat of the Alliance, the Kaskars, and orcs comes at a price,” Tiamat’s blue dragon head stated. Therefore, there will be punishment for lack of production from these serf farmers. We will also send our captured slaves under control of the army to aid them in the coming harvest
.

“My Usurper Five, I want you to enforce to the dragons of the provinces, that these insolent insects are to be made to respect our power and authority over them or there will be consequences,
Tiamat’s red dragon head angrily spoke up, at which all the demon dragons of her court nodded quickly.

“Karnak, you and your errant death knight are to push the Arianans to increase their piracy on the high seas as well,” her green head added.

“Queen Mother, they are not as easy to manipulate as the Shidanese, and we don’t have a dragon presence there,” the Talon sorcerer stated.

“Then tell their theocratic rulers that we will stop buying gemstones from them and simply take them by force,”
the arch dragon’s black head hissed
.
“We can and will stop the shipment of dark crystal to them and seize what gem wealth they have. It is their choice, and if they choose wrongly, then one of their cities will be annihilated as a demonstration of our power and authority.

“Yes, Queen Tiamat, I will take an envoy with one of my dragon squadrons to enforce your decree,” the apprehensive sorcerer replied.

“Stalenjh, I want you to start extracting more grain from the Kaskars, the Indus, and our pawns in the northern Canaris Twins to supplement our food stores; by force if necessary. This should be enough to satisfy the whining of our subjects,” the blue dragon head of Tiamat stated. Her blue head was the most calculating of her five and usually formed all her plans.

“Yes, my queen mother, I will make arrangements immediately,” Stalenjh quickly replied.

“It is now time to feed. Vasterlan, take your former death knight’s sword and contest it among your top warriors, and remind them of how it came to be available if anyone else should decide to challenge me,” she finished as the massive doors from one side of the colossal room swung slowly open. Black-hooded men ushered in several dozen children dressed in white. They were to be sacrificed to the queen dragon; she derived healing and strength from their screams and terror. Similar to the way the metallics drew power from their riders’ love and emotion, the chromatics extorted a lesser degree of energy from the fear and screams of the victims they devoured.

The worship of Tiamat was the state-enforced religion of the Morgathian Empire, for she, like Michenth and the other dragons, extended themselves both on this world and into the afterlife at the same time. The worship of the multiheaded dragon was considered to be communal, because she had five different colored heads representing all facets of life. This was supposed to embody the ultimate equality or egalitarianism of society, like the burden shared by sorcerer, warlord, and peasant alike to defend and serve Morgathia. It was supposed to be considered an honor for a family to sacrifice a child to a dragon, especially Queen Tiamat, plus the money they received was usually a month’s wages. This once popular sentiment was slowly changing, for no child of a Morgathian Covenant member or a noble from the provinces had been sacrificed to a chromatic in many years. Morgathians were encouraged to have many children for this purpose and for more fodder for their overlord’s armies.

“Members of the Talon Covenant, this gathering is now concluded,” Stalenjh stated. “The feast and entertainment are in the lower halls. Let us move there now.” He ushered the gathered group out of the chamber as the sacrifices were herded in; there were similar horrible attractions waiting for the council below.

The Covenant had their marching orders now and started to leave the large room. As the group of powerful warlords and sorcerers exited the hall, the screams of the children being devoured echoed off of the stone walls. The evil of the chromatics knew no bounds.

CHAPTER  X

City of Light

G
allanth soared toward the Capital Weir with all from Draden right behind him. The sky over the immense mountain fortress was fairly crowded with dragons, hippogriffs, griffons, eagles, and even the new dragon horses flying about and around the monstrous gleaming white and gray carved mountain. It always amazed Mkel when he saw the grandeur of the Capital Weir, literally an entire mountain that was sculpted and reinforced by thousands of dwarves and human workers centuries ago. Those dwarves still continued its upgrades and repairs in the constant battle with the elements. The three immense openings to the ten-thousand-foot-tall mountain were large enough to allow two gold dragons to fly into and out of the Weir side by side and still leave enough room for several griffons to accompany them. At one time before the Great War, the Capital Weir alone had more dragons than currently existed in all the Alliance.

The docks and the waters of Sauric Bay were very busy, with a wide variety of merchant, passenger, cargo, and warships all going about their business. The immense Alliance flag mounted atop the snow-capped mountain was standing almost straight out. At night, hundreds of lighting crystals were set up with polished mirrors that illuminated the huge flag, which stretched one hundred yards long and sixty yards wide. This served as a symbol of the Alliance’s might but also as a beacon for incoming ships, knowing that they were entering a free, protected, and safe port. The blue, white, gold, brown, and green of the large flag showed brilliantly in the morning sun.

Mkel could see the legions training their formations in the huge field to the north of the Capital Weir. They swung wide in their descent toward the northern entrance to the mountain. He also saw his and the regiment’s soldiers and mounts exit from the teleportation circle and move toward the barracks and stables at the base of the north face of the Weir. It would be an hour or so for them to settle in and then move to the training grounds. He waved his and the regiment’s hippogriffs and griffons off, as they peeled away toward their respective landing sites and the visiting stables by the barracks. Gallanth, with the Weir staff and Colonel Wierangan still following, flew into the north entrance of the Capital Weir. Mkel and Gallanth didn’t get to the Capital often, but that didn’t bother him.
Much too busy here
, he thought to himself, but its sheer size always impressed him. Almost all of Keystone Weir could fit inside this great interior.

They did one circle around the inside of the Weir space, with Gallanth giving a greeting roar to all the Capital Wing dragons, but especially his brother Falcanth, who he liked to visit whenever he got the chance. His roar was echoed by all the capital dragons currently in the Weir. The thunderous noise of the combined roars filled the huge interior space of the mountain. This was usually only done for the senior dragon of each Weir, but Gallanth was honored since he was a gold dragon and also for the fight in Battle Point.

Falcanth’s rider, Lloydell, had a special fondness for Mkel, for he served with his father in the Great War as a newly bonded dragonrider. He knew and respected Jmes as the Draden wing’s leader and mentor. His death had a profound impact on the now veteran dragonrider, but he was very pleased to see Mkel become bonded with Gallanth and become the Draden Weirleader. Mkel looked forward to talking to him, but he also knew that he and Gallanth had to see either Therosvet or Becknor and Michenth as soon as possible. As he made the complete swing around the interior circumference, he nosed down and landed by the entrance to Michenth’s chamber. The huge opening that went deep into the mountain was familiar to Mkel, for he remembered when he was seven and Gallanth and Jodem brought him here to see the arch dragon.

He and his Weirmates, along with Colonel Wierangan, dismounted and were met by Lloydell, Colonel Therosvet, General Becknor, and several other Capital Wing dragonriders. “Mkel, always good to see you, lad,” Lloydell quickly spoke up as Mkel rendered a salute to Becknor.