Echoes Of A Gloried Past (Book 2) (33 page)

Despite the bravery of the Zsensibar ground troops, they sustained heavy losses. The field was littered with many of the dead as the Ryakuls were adept killing machines and held little value to their own numbers. The battle was fierce in its intensity, but over almost as quickly as it began with more than one Zsensibar officer glancing in awe at the Free Nations airships.

The king grimly surveyed the carnage around him, as nearly a third of his troops lay dying amid the Ryakul corpses.

“Your airships are impressive, my Lord Guardian,” the king said.

“We would not be your enemies, your Highness.” Colind said. “There is a very real threat to this world that none may simply stay to the side and allow it to pass unscathed. The kingdoms that stand alone will be among the first to fall.”

The king met Colind’s gaze and nodded. “There are forces at work here beyond a random Ryakul attack. Never before have I seen so many attack at once.”

“In this we are agreed and is a taste of things to come,” Colind said. How could anyone have known about their meeting here and who could have moved fast enough to ambush them? They had assumed the Drake was preoccupied with Sarah’s assimilation, but perhaps they were wrong not to keep a closer eye upon its whereabouts. Colind shuddered at the thought of what Mactar could do with the power to command the Ryakul. 

Curses,
Colind thought to himself.
I’m needed elsewhere.

The Raven heaved into view, dark and majestic cutting through the billowing smoke. Colind watched as Jopher leaped down from the gangplank followed by the Hythariam. Jopher ordered a group of soldiers to help with the nearby wounded. The king’s eyes shown with relief that his son was alive and Colind could see the grudging respect that came when a father recognized that his son was becoming a man in his own right.

Jopher ran over to them and stopped when he saw that they were safe. Following the relief in Jopher’s eyes was anger glistening in his gaze as the king came before him.

The king raised his hand as Jopher began to speak.

“You’ve shown great courage, my son. Both on the field of battle and off,” the king said. “Worthy of a Prince of Zsensibar and worthy of its future king.”

The men around them came to stand still as a hush swept over those nearby.

“Kneel,” commanded the king.

Jopher looked uncertain for a moment, but then did as his father commanded. The king drew his sword and placed it upon Jopher’s shoulders.

“Do you, Jopher Zamaridian Nasim, accept the mantle of heir to Zsensibar’s throne. To henceforth strive for the preservation of her greatness and defend the independent rule of our kingdom and her patrons?”

“I swear,” Jopher said.

“Then rise first among my sons,” the king said and turned toward his soldiers. “Men! I give you my heir. His blood is my blood. His will is my will. Acknowledge your future king.”

The soldiers across the field sank to their knees and spoke in thunderous unison, “Jopher Zamaridian Nasim our future king!”

The soldiers repeated their acknowledgment twice more and Tersellis came next to Colind and quietly asked, “What just happened?”

“The Kings of Zsensibar take many wives, and from their offspring, can select any as the future ruler of that kingdom. Our young friend is among the youngest in a long line of would be heirs and has been put first. Once the King makes his selection known he cannot simply take it away again,” said Colind.

Tersellis nodded and inclined his head in Jopher’s direction.

Jopher rose up. “You honor me, Father.”

King Nasim shook his head. “No, this day it is you who honor me.”

“Father, it is my intention to stay with the Free Nations Army,” Jopher said.

Colind noticed how Jopher announced his intention without indicating that it was a want, which was a testament to how much he had grown.

The king frowned for a moment. “We can discuss it as I’m sure there are many things we need to discuss with this envoy.”

Colind’s focus drifted away from the conversation setting his attention northward. He felt the faint stirrings amid the currents of energy up there. A presence that echoed as if from a great distance caught his attention that he had never felt before. He felt his gaze narrow peering beyond the clouds toward Khamearra allowing his augmented sight to see beyond those of ordinary men. He rode along the currents leaving his body behind and the sky turned dark, as night began to fall upon this part of Safanar. There were few among the Safanarion Order blessed with the sight, and he was among the last. His skills had grown rusty from his imprisonment and he struggled to remain focused, but there was a vibrant presence just beyond his senses. The night darkened around him until a great white beacon of light blazed through the night sky. 

The power of the Ferasdiam!
 

Myths and legend told of the power of Ferasdiam Marked and their ability to call upon the
Eldarin,
that was how the Lords of Dragons called themselves. Colind felt his mouth open many miles from where he was. The beacon flared brilliantly pulsating in the rhythm of Aaron’s lifebeat. It could be no one else as Aaron alone held the power within him. Colind searched the sky to see if any of the
Eldarin
would answer the call. The dragon lords had long faded to myth with many doubting their existence.

There was a flash of golden light fading to green as the answering call of the
Eldarin
pierced the night. A dragon lord hovered above the beacon, its light reflecting off its golden hide. After the barest of moments it winked out of sight moving at speeds too fast even for him to track and plunged headlong into the city below.

The
Eldarin
answered the call. Colind was so awestruck that his focus unraveled and he felt himself be pulled back to his body. He felt himself collapse to the ground, and Garret was at his side holding him up.

“What did you see?” Garret asked, knowing full well what Colind had been up to.

Colind reigned in his racing thoughts and looked back at Garret, blinking away his confusion. “Something wonderful,” he whispered.

Colind stood up. They were mostly alone, with soldiers still moving about and the airships hovered behind them.

“The others are speaking in the king’s tents,” Garret said. “I told them we would be along when you returned.”

“Garret, Aaron has summoned the
Eldarin,
” Colind said.

“What?” Garret gasped. “I thought they were a myth.”

Colind shook his head, “They are not. I saw one and it was magnificent beyond words.”

Garret smiled and Colind couldn’t help but join in. “I need to leave.”

“What do you mean?” Garret asked the smile leaving his face.

“I need to travel to the north,” Colind answered. “Faster than our airships can travel. Something sets itself against us and I can guess that the Drake has somehow gleaned our plans and sent the Ryakuls to attack.”

Garret frowned. “How would it know what we were doing?”

“I cannot begin to guess at what the Drake is capable of, but I know commanding the Ryakuls is among them,” Colind answered. “If others knew that it was possible to command them, then they will seek to press their advantage.”

Garret’s brow furrowed in thought. “By others you mean Mactar.”

Colind nodded. “I have to seek him out. If Zsensibar would join our cause it will be in Tersellis’s hands now.”

“How will you even find them? You need help, let’s use the Raven to come to Aaron’s aid,” Garret said.

“Aaron’s in trouble?” Jopher asked coming up behind them. “I’m coming,” he insisted.

Colind suppressed a groan. “I can’t take you with me.”

Garret narrowed his gaze. “How will you find them?”

“I will follow the currents of energy,” Colind replied. “This is not something either of you can do.”

“Let us take the Raven. She is the fastest ship and besides, once Jopher informs Admiral Morgan your intentions, he will head that way anyway.” Garret nodded to Jopher who turned around and ran back toward the tent.

“Subtle, Garret. Very subtle,” Colind said with only a hint of annoyance.

“You and Aaron suffer from the same affliction of late, believing that you need to do these things all by yourselves. We are a team. When we get closer you can always charge off ahead and beat us there, but perhaps if we leverage our assets we may glean some intelligence on the way,” Garret finished.

Colind’s mouth curved in a half grin. “Didn’t Vaughn say something about old dogs learning new tricks?”

“It was Verona, and I’m not as old as you, but you can see the wisdom in my point otherwise you would have just charged off,” Garret replied.

Jopher returned not only with Morgan, but with King Nasim as well as the others. Colind explained that they needed to leave immediately based upon what he saw unfold in Khamearra. Tersellis was silent for a moment until one of his Hythariam body guards whispered into his ear, and he nodded.

“We’ve finally gotten word from Gavril,” Tersellis said. “They’ve succeeded in Khamearra and after they regroup he expects they will be leaving the city.”

Colind shared a look with Garret and Vaughn. Aaron would only quit the city after he had gotten what he came for and that meant he had the travel crystals in his possession.

“Thank you, Tersellis. Did Gavril report anything else?” Colind asked.

Tersellis shook his head, but something in the Hythariam’s golden eyes told him there was more even if Tersellis wasn’t saying.

Colind turned to the king. “Your Highness, it appears that some of us need to leave sooner than expected. I hope you will consider carefully what you’ve no doubt have been told. We would very much like to call you an ally and friend in the dark days ahead.”

Tersellis held out a small comms device and offered it to the king. “You can use this to reach us with your answer.”

The king took the device and Tersellis proceeded to give instructions on its use. They began to head back to the ships, save Jopher, who stood before his father waiting.

Father and son regarded each other for a moment before the king inclined his head. Jopher’s eyes lit up and headed back toward the Raven. The king smiled proudly, which was quickly overshadowed by the worry in his furrowed brows. He turned toward his staff and began issuing orders taking long purposeful strides through the camp.

Admiral Morgan signaled to two of the airships to head back to Rexel and report in while the remaining four airships would head north toward where they suspected the Drake lay in wait. 

King Melchoir Nasim did not commit himself to the Free Nations as of yet, but he had allowed Jopher to return with them, and that was a good sign. Colind doubted whether the king could have actually stopped his son, short of taking the lad into custody, which would not be wise. Morgan assured the king that Jopher would be under his command and that he would look after him. Colind knew that Morgan held no love for the Zsensibar king, but had in fact grown fond of its prince and heir apparent. He joined the Hythariam who consulted their devices and helped pinpoint their heading. Colind would use his own skills to make corrections, because in his experience technology could only get you so far, but he hoped it would be enough.

C
HAPTER
20

DEMON'S TAUNTING

THEY had left behind the smoky capital city of Khamearra, using their travel crystals as they went. Mactar was able to leave a few key messages for Rordan to find should he survive the night. He really wasn’t sure what Rordan would do, but if he was smart and could follow the bread crumbs he had left behind, then he may yet be of some use to him. Darven had remained silent and quietly followed him. Darven was a good apprentice, never asking endless amounts of questions and when it came time to follow orders he did so quickly. The value the former Elitesmen brought was in his ability to act without being specifically told what to do and had proven on more than one occasion that he was someone whom he could count upon. 

It was still night time though the further east they travelled the sooner dawn would arrive. They were in the Waylands using its centralized location to quickly observe the goings-on near Rexel. Prince Cyrus had become the spearhead uniting the forces behind the Heir of Shandara, and Mactar was impressed with the progress they were making in preparing for war. They just happened to be on the wrong side, which accounted for everyone not serving his purpose. He had wanted to stop to take a quick look around before proceeding further east to the Shadow Lands as they were known today, but for others they knew as Shandara. The Ryakuls had always concentrated in that area, and Mactar surmised that the Drake was somewhere within Shandara’s borders.

“Are you sure the High King didn’t require our assistance?” Darven asked.

“I’m certain of it,” Mactar said. “Besides, what we’re doing is more important.”

“And what is that exactly?”

“The Drake can control the Ryakul,” Mactar answered. “And we’re going to try to figure out how it does that.”

Darven gave a dubious frown. “There has got to be more to it than that.”

The same qualities that Mactar appreciated in Darven also came at a price, and that price was him being required to reveal more of his plans than he would have preferred. He should have expected nothing less from Darven.

“Something has always puzzled me about the Ryakuls, but I’ve never had the time, nor inclination, to give them my full attention,” Mactar said. “They restricted themselves to the borders of Shandara, but have recently began to venture further and further from its borders. If one were able to control them, then they would be a force to contend with on any battlefield. They could turn the tide of wars, even with the elusive Hythariam.”

“Mactar, the Hythariam are not so elusive anymore and they have aligned themselves with the Alenzar’seth. Many have flocked to his banner at Rexel.”

“Indeed,” Mactar said. “In that you are correct, but … ” He stopped himself, unsure whether he should share the knowledge he had kept hidden for so long. Darven, he noted, simply waited patiently. “They are not the only Hythariam out there.”