Lord Of Dragons (Book 2) (21 page)

"Don't you get the picture? The dark elves are behind this whole scheme. Jolrath pretends concern for Drazal'tan and accuses you and the high council of abandoning the elves. The minute you march east he'll swoop in with his soldiers and take control of the capitol. And the Mirror of Halien'shur will be shuttled to the west and into the hands of King Braxion's men. The gates at Yhalan will never be breached, and the dark elves will rule Drazal'tan for all time. Tell me, Your Majesty, am I drawing the wrong conclusion?"

At the King's silence, the wizard glanced at Princess Theria and felt relieved to see her nodding in agreement, and now her face shone with lividness. But despite his small victory, Master Shalinor doubted the elves had a chance of defeating King Braxion and his army of draenyx, so in a way he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

"You speak well, master wizard. As I recall your mother, she also spoke eloquently and with conviction." The King strolled over to the fire at the hearth, a wicked smile playing on his face. Master Shalinor wondered just how well the King knew his mother... "I believe you've underestimated my reasoning powers, and the likelihood of the high council members reaching the same conclusion as you have reached. We know all this, but it is a pointless discussion. We cannot win against this foe, not with our military might, nor with our magical power. There is only one option but to retreat and temporarily bide our time until another solution presents itself."

The wizard found himself stunned and speechless at the King's words. Had the high elves been planning this all along?

"What do you know of the Saarian Empire? Hmm, I see from your expression that you've never heard of it? Curious... But you have heard of rumors of the ancient lost kingdom to the north of Shaar'el, the old ruins on the steppes of the northern mountains?" The King chuckled, amused at the wizard's gaping mouth. "You will go there with my daughter, for within those ruins you may find the only hope to defeat the dark tide that has risen up from Naverstrom. Our wizards must have powerful relics to utilize in the destruction of the Princes of Naverstrom."

Master Shalinor couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had the high elves heard something of his plan to investigate the ruins with Princess Sebine and his grandson? He doubted it, but he didn't doubt the strong hand of fate working and pushing them all in the same direction.

"I would be most honored to have Princess Theria join the quest to the Saarian Ruins. Although I am surprised you mentioned those particular ruins, as my grandson and Princess Sebine of Trikar are due to meet me in Shaar'el before the end of the moon. What can you tell me of the Saarian Empire?"

A conniving smile crossed the handsome King's smooth face. "We know a great deal, as we had sent emissaries to their capitol city over ten thousand years ago. When they returned to Khalas Dralorn with wild tales of their power and strange wisdom, and treasures and relics beyond imagination, the word spread to the dark elves who later invaded their kingdom. At the time war raged constantly between us, as the dark elves were vastly more numerous than we in those days, but still they could not best us. That's when Jolrath led a mighty army to the Saarian Empire in the hopes of discovering spells and relics to use against us."

"A failed hope, I presume." Master Shalinor smiled, remembering his father telling a story of an ancient battle that caused many of the dark elves to disappear from the world.

"Yes, indeed. Almost all the dark elves vanished in the Saarian cities, and from what we've heard through our spies, they disappeared inside magical portals to other worlds, or perhaps to other planes of existence. The Saarians left with them, and their civilization wasted away in the northern steppes. Their cities also remained untouched as any who have ventured there have been affected by an ancient curse that caused them to go mad and never return from their expeditions."

So the rumors of a curse were not only true, but powerful and likely unbreakable. "And how do you propose we enter those ruins unmolested?" The wizard doubted the King would send his daughter blindly to a place of danger without first crafting a plan.

"We were hoping you could help with this, master wizard." King Rhaelian sauntered over to his bookshelf and withdrew a small silver book adorned with rubies. The wizard found himself tensed in excitement as the King handed him the book. "From our earliest expedition to the Saarian Empire. Their high priest shared with us the core tenets of their faith. It is written in the elven script, as they insisted on learning our language, but refused to teach us theirs. It is a very old book, so treasure it well as it may be our only hope of survival. Will you aid us in this quest?"

Master Shalinor nodded in agreement, but he found his thoughts drifting towards discovering the secrets within the ancient metal book...

Chapter Twenty-Four

ON THE EIGHTH day of their pilgrimage across the desert to Shaar'el, Princess Sebine swore she never wanted to ride a horse again. Compared to riding dragons, the long, tiresome days in the desert were pure torture, with the wind blowing sand constantly in her eyes and mouth. She sneezed at the thought, and squinted ahead at another mirage floating over the hot dunes.
 

"May the gods bless you," Tael said, and pulled down the wrapping over his face to reveal a devilish grin. Although the days riding were tedious, the hours spent in lazy solitude with Tael had been nothing short of magical. Thankfully they had their own tent to enjoy their privacy amongst the other pilgrims, filled with beautiful, aimless hours of lust and discovery, lost in the exploration of each other.
 

"Can you tell if that is a city ahead or just another mirage?" Sebine sneezed again and swore at the earth god for putting so much sand and dust in one place. How she craved the cleanliness of civilization and the sight of green foliage.

Tael stood up in his saddle and shielded his eyes from the light of the setting sun. "It looks like city walls to me. And we should be close to Shaar'el by now. The earth god has been kind to us on our journey." Sebine felt disgusted every time he mentioned the earth god, wishing for the days before he'd adopted this cloak of religiousness. He was just too...too holy and serene these days, so unlike the raw carelessness of the Tael she once knew. Not that that was entirely a bad thing. At least he now seemed devout to her, despite the many pretty, young girls on the journey who'd cast wanton eyes at him. So unlike him, he'd barely even noticed the girls.

"If we can find an actual inn with hot water tonight I just might scream for joy." Sebine flashed him a quick smile, but covered her face with a scarf as another gust of wind picked up. It took them another hour of riding before the massive sandstone walls of Shaar'el loomed before them, with many layers of wall and palm trees rising higher towards the zenith, so high that she thought the ancient city's vastness would blot out the sky. Now she knew why Shaar'el appeared as a mirage wafting in the air above the dunes, for the design of the city was nine layers of stone and greenery rising thousands of feet, almost as if the city itself were sculpted from a mountain.

Sebine was unable to take her eyes off the beautiful city, ever since she'd first spotted a titanic pair of golden hands at the highest point of the city reaching towards the sky. What kind of weird and wonderful people did that? Who built such a massive, verdant city in the middle of a desert? All along the two hundred foot high walls were shimmering golden runes that sparkled and danced in the fading light of day. She remembered the warning of Princess Marei to King Braxion, of the magic that protected their cities from attack. There was power here surging in the earth and in the air. Sebine could feel it pulsing inside her body and tingling her skin and scalp with tiny prickles of electricity.

The caravan of pilgrims veered from the city gates and went towards a small oasis outside Shaar'el dotted with hundreds of tents—all likely worshippers of Gaa'el on their pilgrimage to pay homage to the seven holy relics. Sebine and Tael said goodbye to the people of the group, and led their horses towards the city entrance. As they neared the walls, Sebine could see that now only the small side gates remained open, and she spurred her horse on to race towards the opening into the city.

"Halt!" the guards shouted, and aimed spears at their advance. Sebine wheeled her horse around and fixed her eyes on the soldier who appeared to be the Captain of the Guard.
 

"We are ambassadors to the Malathian Kingdom from the Kingdom of Valance." The Princess scowled at the Captain. "Step aside as we have urgent business with Prince Jaraz."

The man's suspicious face turned hard and suspicious as he studied Sebine. "You dare order my men around? Is this how nobility treat the common soldiers of Valance?"

"I beg your pardon, Captain." Tael kept his voice low and earnest. "Princess Sebine is merely tired and hungry from our long voyage over the desert. Perhaps we could explain more inside?"

"A voice of reason," the soldier said, and bowed his head to Tael. Sebine found herself furious at how easily Tael handled the Captain. "If you'll follow me inside, we'll have your horses fed and watered while you answer a few questions." He cast a wary glance at the Princess, but turned and trudged across the soft sand and led them into the city.

Sebine dismounted and handed the reins to a young soldier whose amber eyes startled her for a moment, as they filled her with fond memories of Prince Jaraz. Her heart fluttered for a moment as the soldier stared at her with a perplexed expression on his face, then he turned and led the horse down a narrow side street. To shake herself out of the memory, she scanned around and noticed that the entrance into the magnificent city was quite plain, especially in comparison to her expectations. A broad street of sandstone, the width of two city gates, tunneled deeper into the dimness of the lower city, while all along the upper part of the city, palm, olive, citrus trees and grape vines grew.
 

"Come this way, if you please." A young boy of around twelve, a courier perhaps, motioned for them to follow, and the Captain nodded to Tael, and turned and left for a guard post. "We rarely have the pleasure of greeting royalty from the Kingdom of Valance." The boy cast curious eyes at Princess Sebine as they walked down the wide street. "Our government officials will be surprised to hear of your arrival. How was your journey to our kingdom?"

"Eventful," said Sebine, and wrinkled up her nose at the boy.
 

"What she meant to say was that our journey was long and difficult, and filled with many bittersweet memories." Tael rolled his eyes at Sebine, as if scolding her for her terse treatment of the boy.

"Do you have any food here?" She eyed the boy expectantly after failing to find any street vendors hawking their wares.

The boy's eyes turned puzzled. "But surely you know of the fast? The Captain told me you arrived with the pilgrims from Rez'el. We still observe the fast, the last days of our holy month of prayer and observance of the sacred rites of the moon goddess."

Sebine swallowed and thought of the lavish feast in Rez'el, and her stomach grumbled and complained in hunger. "Your people fast for a month?"

The boy chuckled at Sebine and gave her a comical expression of disbelief. "Do they not fast in the Kingdom of Valance?"

"Rarely, and only the priests and those devout to the Calathian Church are committed enough to follow the strictures of the faith and fast on holy days." Tael caught the surprised glance of the young boy and gave him a grin. "I doubt you'll find the people of Valance as devout as you Malathians. We encountered true believers in Rez'el."

"Ah, you mean the fanatics of the earth god?" The boy spit on the ground and caused Tael to flinch in surprise. "Their priests rape the women and drug the men in their drunken celebrations to their god. Is this called devout? To be drunk and crazed and run naked under the condemning eyes of the moon goddess? I think not. We've seen those so-called true believers perform their heretical rituals out there in the desert. There is good reason we bar them from staying overnight within our walls...of course to prevent the madness from spreading amongst the weak-minded and insane."

 
At Tael's stunned silence, Sebine decided to steer the conversation in a different direction. "Has the City of Shaar'el always been so massive? Or did you expand and build over the many thousands of years of your civilization's history?"

The boy's eyes lit up with pride. "Our city has always been this great. As far back as recorded history, with this same size and shape, and filled with people."

"But how you do accommodate for growth? You must build new dwellings or expand into the desert to make room..."

"No, no, this is not our way. With the ordination of our gods our population remains in balance to allow for harmony with our city and our resources." The boy stopped walking and spread his arms wide. "We are desert people, after all, with limitations on water and food—hah, but never a limit on sunshine! We have plenty of sun and sand, yes, the blowing sand and wind everywhere."