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Revelations

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In the moonlight, the metallic dragons swarming the skies were dark shapes against a cold background, vague notions of the colors of their scales the only identifying mark left by the unwilling light. The waterside was flat and large, allowing for those meeting to accommodate themselves equally.

The gold was the one to break the silence by the lake.

"So the conclusion has been reached that none of you, or your brothers or sisters has been east past my domain the last fortnight. Not even you, Tamnek." he ended gently and slightly amused.

The brass dragon looked away from Chiros and towards his fellows who were part of the joint guard.

"No, we haven't yet decided to remove that black snake with legs. Eventually we'll stop being lazy and just get it over with."

"Make sure to give Shachor our regards, Tamnek. We wouldn't want him to forget about us." said a little copper.

"Will do, Sash." Tamnek replied.

Chiros turned his attention to the silver as he spoke.

"What information can you provide us with Liandras? If none of us was near Yousta then who might have been?"

"The humans told me of a blue that came from the east but it didn't pass by them on its way east. However that doesn't sound too odd, since Tamnek has told me that blues have recently been adventuring past his borders. Vrahtha must want to extend his territory, but according to Tamnek, there haven't been any threats from him, as he would usually want to boast of his goals."

Sash interjected on the end of Liandras's report.

"Speaking of Vrahtha, some blues dropped his body into our bay. We weren't too excited to find that he didn't die of old age. There were burn marks on his left side and teeth marks in the back of his neck."

"Reds?" asked Chiros.

"Not dragon fire. Magic."

"Magic..." murmured the bronze.

---

Khellendros had created his own lair. He had found Vrahtha's to have a distasteful smell. At the moment he was laying outside in the starlight with his lieutenant.

"Continue my lesson, Streak."

"Yes, my lord." the lieutenant replied.

"In the eastern part of the desert, there live the brass dragons. Their leader is called Tamnek. We control the western desert, the northwestern ocean, and the southern hills, which border on copper territory. Farther south than the coppers are the white dragons, lead by Zirnyx. Slightly southeast of us and in the center of the continent, called Lon, the bronze dragons control a small sea. They are led by Pyendra. Farther east are the gold dragons, led by Chiros. They are the most powerful of the metallics. They control the entire east of Lon, right up until the island of Yousta. This island is east of Lon, with the north controlled by greens and the south controlled by blacks. North and west of Yousta there are many islands, called the Rings of Fire. That is red dragon dominion."

Khellendros still felt unsatisfied.

"There was a large forest north and east of here that I saw on my flight. Who dwells there?"

"Those would be the silver dragons, my lord. There have been reports of elves there as well, but the silvers allow no one to approach."

At the mention of elves, Khellendros felt excitement, yet refrained from showing it. Elves had an affinity for magic. There would most likely be artifacts there.

"Do our metallic brethren get along? Do they have a coalition?"

"Yes, lord, they do. They will send troops to protect each others' lands, and take each offense to their brothers as if it had been to themselves. Also many humans serve them as spies."

Khellendros pondered.

"Tell me what Vrahtha was in the process of doing. What were his plans?"

"He was planning on making contact with the reds. He was taking his time, however, because they are very secluded, and unless it involves them personally or their islands, they do not seem to care about events on the mainland."

Streak watched Khellendros as the overlord thought and saw into the distance. This new dragon, one he had never seen before, was now in command, and knew nothing of the world around him. Vrahtha had had many plans, but Streak was beginning to believe that Khellendros not knowing about them might serve his own purposes in the end. The minotaurs could prove extremely useful in the future, but he must keep that to himself.

"What of the minotaurs?" asked Khellendros.

Streak suffered an overpowering bout of silence. How could Khellendros have known? Did he read his mind? No, that was impossible. He knew of no such spell or innate ability.

Khellendros did his best to not let loose a grin. He was extremely amused with Streak. The lieutenant probably thought he had power over the minds of others. While examining the treasure trove of the late Vrahtha, he had encountered several minotaur weapons of extraordinarily beautiful design. One battleaxe even held slight magical properties. He only thus assumed that minotaurs must be around somewhere, although he had yet to see any.

Streak quickly rose above his surprise and continued his briefing.

"Several weeks ago minotaurs attempted to land on our shores. Vrahtha had us sink their ships from beneath the water line, so they would not know who attacked them. He was planning on later approaching them, with the offer that if they served him he would see to it that no more of their ships were attacked along the coasts."

There seemed to be a side of the former overlord that was calculating and quite clever. That reminded Khellendros of earlier thoughts.

"Tell me, Streak, why did they call Vrahtha 'The Gauntlet'?"

"That is a nickname from when he was no more than a hatchling. He could best all of his brothers and sisters in a fight without using magic. After a couple centuries he was stronger than any of his brethren, and so assumed leadership of the clan. He actually gave himself that nickname, my lord."

Too cocky for his own good, thought Khellendros.

"And have these minotaurs continued to try to land here recently?"

"They have not tried to sail our waters for two days." replied Streak.

"Then it seems time that their fears should be laid to rest." said Khellendros, retreating into his lair.

Streak lifted himself onto his four extremities, leaving Khellendros to sleep alone. Tomorrow he would see just how clever this new overlord was.

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