Legends of Marithia: Book 2 - Darkness Rising (9 page)

An alarm was sounded throughout the
city and the guardians in their vicinity quickly drew their swords
in response.

A commander guardian sprung to
attention and ordered his subordinates from a nearby watch tower,
“Protect the dragon king!”

Karven spun around, sensing
the danger behind him. Seeing the fiery bird readying itself for
attack, he filled the air between them with flaming dragon’s
breath. Makya’s cries at Shanka to stop were drowned out by
Karven’s booming voice, “There will be
no
conflict here! Enough blood has
already been spilled in Marithia without any of you adding to it.
Put away your weapons!”

The commander raised an open hand to
signal for them to sheathe their now extended swords and the alarm
was stopped. Shanka shook off her flames and returned ashamedly to
Makya’s shoulder, hiding her head in his coat.

Karven glared at the trader and said
pointedly, “Makya, if you wanted to gain my attention… you could
have simply spoken with me. There is no need for theatrics or to
test my patience.”

Dropping swiftly to one
knee, Makya spoke softly, “I offer my
sincerest
apologies to you, great
dragon king. Please trust that it was not my intention to be
theatrical. It was merely a misunderstanding with
Shanka.”

“
However, I was hurrying to
reach you, my lord, before you entered the council building where I
cannot follow. I wish to make a presentation to the council, but my
request would depend completely on having your approval, as per the
council rules. I only seek to aid your cause… and that of
Marithia,” he said humbly, hopefully.

Karven had known Makya for many years
and had considered the usually quiet trader to be honest and
trustworthy.

“
If that is the case, then
my curiosity gets the better of me. I will hear your request.
Follow me, and stay close. You can explain yourself on the way to
the council,” said Karven, continuing his journey.

Makya hurried to keep up with Karven
and his voice resonated as he spoke, “Your reputation is well
founded, great one. Thank you for your trust in me. You are both
kind and wise, as always.”

The guardians, not happy that the
trader had been granted entry, reluctantly returned to their posts,
watching Makya’s every step.

Guardians were heavily armed beings of
enchantment and twice the size of any human or elf. Their armour
shone a shade of blue which adjusted in light and darkness to blend
in with their surroundings. Their blades were famed throughout the
lands for their seemingly small size that allowed some foes to make
the grave mistake of underestimating them. Their swords were
magical and would extend to double their length by the flight of
their wrists. The last sound attackers would hear was the strange
metallic ringing of the blade activating before they were
dispatched.

They could never be caught unaware as
they had no need for sleep and their devotion to the protection of
the city was their sole purpose. Their existence was a necessary
double edged sword of both security and intimidation.

The guardians rested their hands on
the hilts of their swords, watching closely for any signs of
aggression. Makya shot them a proud glance, then continued to
quietly relay the details of his request to the dragon king as they
progressed.

Once they had reached the council
chambers, Makya was pleased when Karven did not stop him from
entering. He didn’t know whether the dragon king approved or
disapproved of his request, but it seemed that he was going to let
Makya make it.

They entered the council chambers
slowly, taking care to not make much noise. Karven turned to
whisper to him, “Do not speak until spoken to, and never make eye
contact with the other council members. Not all of them are as
understanding as I.”

Mayka nodded and followed Karven to
his post, staring at the ground and not daring to look around. From
what little he saw, the council building was a magnificent sight to
behold. Gaining entry to the room was a rarity, and all rights,
including the ability to walk freely inside, had to be earned.
After all, there were not just the laws and traditions of this
world to adhere to, but of other worlds as well. This truly was
universal ground.

The council began its session as if it
were any other day, and discussed various matters of trade, and
matters important to each council member. Makya listened as they
discussed events from both near and far. Planet Gra’tuer had been
the victim of widespread damage from meteorites, and was seeking
shelter on other planets.

Gra’tuer was famed in
She’Ma’Ryn
as it was the newest world to
open a trade port. Little was yet known of their advancements and
knowledge was yet to be shared. This was a great opportunity for
She’Ma’Ryn to build a relationship with the inhabitants of the
planet. It was decided that sanctuary would be offered to
Gra’Tuerians and they would be allowed entry to She’Ma’Ryn while
their home planet worked on recovery.

When it was Karven’s turn to speak, he
addressed the room, “Fellow councillors, before I proceed with my
own matters, I have taken the opportunity to follow one of our most
cherished traditions of allowing a chosen guest to speak and make a
request of the council, if he may.”

The master of ceremonies was a tall,
green reptilian with skin that always appeared moistened. He
blinked with his large eyes, cleared his throat and croaked with a
deep guttural voice, “As you wish.”

Karven turned to Makya and
whispered. “It is
your
time, step forward to the speaker circle in front of you and
make the most of this opportunity.”

Makya raised his eyes for
the first time and took in the overwhelming view of the room. His
mouth dried instantly from fright. It was
far
greater in size than the rumours
said it to be. Long flags from various worlds and cultures hung
from the ceiling. They were within a great circle and in the middle
was the master of ceremonies. It appeared as if the master’s seat
was floating in the air.

He knew that he had to focus, and
continued quickly to the glowing red speakers circle. He swallowed
painfully as the master addressed him.

The master ordered nonchalantly,
“Please state your name and what matter you wish to discuss with
the council.”

Relieved to feel his mouth moist
again, he spoke, “Thank you kindly, great master, for allowing this
intrusion to your proceedings. My name is Makya Joushika, and I am
a trader in the District of Bloodshed. I come to you today with a
heavy heart. As I am sure all of She’Ma’Ryn has noticed, things are
not all well in Marithia. A great war looms on the horizon and I
fear that our trading port will be caught in the midst of it,” he
said, pausing to take a deep breath.

The master jerked with impatience and
rattled, “Go on.”

“
I am aware that it is
forbidden to leave the walls of She’Ma’Ryn as a trader not local to
these lands, and I respect the laws of the city. I believe that I
may be of great assistance to their cause. I have fought many
battles in my world, and I offer to put myself at great risk to aid
Marithia in their battle against the Forces of Darkness. What I
request, is for the great and wise council to grant me permission
to leave She’Ma’Ryn and accompany Karven, the king of dragons, to
wherever Vartan and the resistance lies. I offer all of my stock
and experience to aid them, and vow that I will return to
She’Ma’Ryn once the war is won, if I am to survive,” he replied,
holding his breath as he awaited their answer.

“
A worthy cause and a noble
sacrifice Makya and I am sure you are aware that we have never
granted an exception to this law for any trader. But these are not
ordinary times and call for extraordinary decisions to be made. For
you to leave, Councillor Karven would need to take responsibility
for you. What do you say, honourable representative of the
dragons?” he asked.

The dragon king nodded his head in
agreement.

The master closed his eyes, as did the
other members of the council as they prepared to deliberate
telepathically over the issue. “Give us a moment to discuss your
request.”

After what seemed like an eternity,
Makya breathed deeply as he snuck a look toward Karven, whose eyes
reminded him not to move a muscle. The trader returned his view to
the master, whose eyes shot open.

“
Under usual circumstances,
we would not grant such a request. However, given the situation we
all face in Marithia… these rather
unusual
circumstances require rules
to be bent or even broken. The motion is passed and you have our
permission. Let us move on to other matters,” said the master
dismissively.

Makya grinned, bowed, and returned to
Karven’s side. Exalted by his success, he began to relax and
breathed deeply.

Karven turned to the trader and spoke
in a hushed voice, “I thank you for your kindness, Makya. You are
now excused and may return to your district to make your
preparations. I will meet you there shortly.”

Makya bowed and spoke formally, “Thank
you great dragon king.”

Shanka squawked softly into his ear
once they left the council building.

“
Yes, I know… you were
right, it worked” Makya whispered, a smile escaping his
self-control.

Karven waited until Makya had left the
council chambers until he spoke, “Councillor Xinak, I believe an
answer has been received in response to my request for an
artefact?”

Xinak held up his hand and cast a
spell under his breath.

Meus manus manus mos
suscipio dedi accersitus ex nostrum orator.

His long fingertips glowed and a
scroll rose out from a tall pile of correspondence. It slid into
his hand and he rolled it open.

He attempted again to clear his throat
and croaked, “That is correct, Councillor Karven. We have received
word from the people of Valdorus. I understand the urgency of the
situation and I will skip the formalities to translate their offer
for you.”

“
An artefact, as you call
it, does indeed exist that will aid your fallen dragon queen.
However, creating this artefact comes at a great cost to our
people. We must travel to another plane, outside of our own world
to retrieve what you need. We must capture the heartbeat of an
angel,” he said, stopping and staring at the word.

Karven’s voice raised in
excitement as he asked quickly, “The heartbeat of an angel?
What
is
an
angel?”

“
Yes councillor, as
Marithia has your gods, the Valdorians believe in a place of
angels. We have received quite a lot of scripture on their beliefs
and they are somewhat fascinating. The Valdorians are not known to
be charitable people and I suspect they will ask a heavy price for
any assistance they will provide,” he replied grimly before
continuing reading the scroll.

“
To ascend to the required
plane, we will need to sacrifice a seer. Our seers are scarce and
have never been used to aid any world outside of our own. The cost
to our people is great as the seer, once its task is done, will
return alive for no longer than one rotation of our moons. At your
request, we will begin the rituals to prepare our seer. As you
would appreciate, we expect to be compensated for our losses. We
value most what you would refer to as ‘Jade’ and I believe that
your world contains an ample supply, while ours has been depleted.
We will provide you with a chest on agreement, and you are to fill
it with Jade after you successfully use our artefact to revive your
queen. These are our terms.”

Karven thought of the treasures
remaining in Trahoterra. Jade is a rare stone, even among
Marithians. There was a relatively large supply held in the
treasure room of Greenhaven, but there was no way to know if the
treasure room was undamaged or plundered.

The room would not likely
have interested Kassina as her only desire was to discover
Talonsphere. The thought that another being would lose their life
for his queen to regain hers tugged at his heart but the pain
of
his
loss
pushed it aside. He had no choice but to take the gamble that he
could find enough Jade.