FURIA'S PECULIAR JOURNEY: DRAGON BLOOD
CHAPTER 1
A Phantom Past
A lone figure walked up the stone steps of an ancient castle with large round spires the reached towards the heavens. It had the appearance of a ziggurat and was made of giant dark stones dotted with massive stone dragons.
At the base of this structure was a large mass of people crying out and cheering towards the heavens and the top of the ziggurat, where a large ceremonial fire surrounded by priests was located.
These people were of dark skin and clamoring towards those on high. Above them was the setting sun which was lightly illuminating that vast savannah that made up their lands.
The figure made his way to the top and was immediately surrounded by the priests, who were wearing terrifying tribal masks and laid herbal branches on his body. They gave out chants as they shuffled the branches around his strongly built body.
Some maidens came out from behind the large bronze cauldron that held the fire holding bowls of oil. They joined the chants of the priests with some form of hymnal chorus as they walked towards the large black man that was the center of attention.
The long figure raised his hands towards the heavens as the maidens poured the oil over his body. He lowered his head back down towards the crowds only to have it interrupted by the appearance of another maiden.
This maiden was dressed much differently than the other ones as she was bald (the others had dreadlocks) and had a much more revealing white linen outfit.
The man nodded as he dipped his hands into the bowl of oil she hand on her hands, then brought them out and rubbed them.
The priests stepped to the side and gave out a large cry towards the heavens. A group of knights came from one of the chambers on the top of the ziggurat, all of them holding up a wooden stretcher that had the most peculiar thing.
A dragon's head.
"Great Challa, leader of the Wardens of Zubizi!" the head priest proclaimed as he circled around the lone man, "Destroyer of the Cowards of the Magistrate! Defender of the Great Savannah of the M'Kele! Slayer of the Great Dragon of T'fuli!" he pointed at the dragon's head with his staff.
The people cried out in joy as the lone man raised his hands.
"Today we gather to bring forth an ancient gift." The head priest continued, "Found under your watchful gaze by your humble servants that are mining in the great ruins of the Nurengi… I present to your, Great Guantlets of the Gods!" he yelled.
A group of servants brought forth a board covered in fancy cushions and elegant linen. On top of these items were the same herbal branches that the priests had used, but atop those where two gauntlets made of pure gold.
They shined in the evening light, yet by themselves they have a low glow the reflected off the sheen of the linens.
The servants laid the gauntlets at the lone man's feet and fell prostrate with their faces on the ground and wailed and cried.
The high priest ignored this crying and pointed at them, then a group of soldiers came up and stood behind the servants. He gave a nod to the group, and they raised their bronze swords and struck down the group.
The priests and maidens sang above the cries of the servants, and all the people below cheered.
The high priest grabbed a linen cloth from the special maiden and walked over to the gauntlets. He picked them up, nesting them in the cloth, and then called on one of the other priests.
This priest came up, and with a golden ladel, scooped up some blood from the servants. He and the high priest than gave a chant, and the priest poured the blood on the gauntlets.
The two relics suddenly shone in life and gave a radiant surge of power.
The High Priest gave praises to heaven and walked towards the dragon's head.
A knight holding a golden dagger came up and bowed before the high priest. He brought himself back up at the man's orders and turned to the dragon's head, then held the dagger high.
The High Priest and this decorated knight gave out another round of praise before the knight stabbed the dragon head in between the eyes with the dagger. After a few moments of struggle, he managed to make a hole in the head and then put his hand in. A few moments after he extracted what appeared to be a dark purple gem.
The High Priest exalted heaven as he accepted the gem. He then walked to the front of the lone man and stood before him.
"Great Challa!" he spoke again, "The Gauntlet of the Gods has long been known to give man an ancient and unknowable power! Only with this, the Heart of the Dragon, will you have the Power to Rule this World, just like the great ancients did long ago!"
The lone man took the gem and inserted it on a slot in the right gauntlet.
The gauntlets immediately gained a dark glow to them, and a pale purplish mist came from the openings between the finger grooves and the opening for the arms.
"With the power of the Dragons, you will be invincible!" the High priest claimed, "Great Challa, will you take control of your destiny and lead your faithful people to a better tomorrow?!"
"I will do so!" the man responded, "With this power, I will destroy the wretched White Man of the Magistrate, eliminate the weak Elves of Millena Forest, crush the barbaric Goblins of Junka Pass under my heel. All while bringing glory to the Wardens!"
The people cheered with such a commotion that it shook the very stones of the ziggurat.
"Great Challa! The sun is setting before us!" the high priest pointed to the horizon, where the sun had already dipped well below, "Will you now lead our people to a new dawn?"
Challa nodded and took hold of the gauntlets.
"I will lead the Wardens to eternal life!" he put them on.
"IGMORE VONTE, DRACON!"
The Gauntlets tightly clenched around their user, so tightly in fact that the crunching of bone could be heard. Challa grimaced at this but then was overcome by a purple surge of energy that ran through his veins and was visible to those near him.
At this point only a bit of the sun's light was left, but the light of the fire illuminated the whole seen.
Challa gave out groans as the energy continued to run through him.
"Great Challa!" The High Priest called out, seeing that the man was suffering, and ran to his side, "Are you- HWAK!" he suddenly had the man's hand to his throat.
The Gauntlets on Challa's arms split in two and fell to the ground, only to magnetically come together again.
"Challa exclaimed and he tightened his grip around the High Priests neck.
After a few tense moments, the high priest fell to the ground a dried and disheveled mess.
The other priests and the maidens stepped back in horror.
Challa turned to the choice maiden and extended his arm, "Together, we will rule this world." He told her.
The choice maiden was horrified at first, but eventually she grabbed hold of his hand.