Chapter 18
Meeting with the king
Nolan sluggishly rolled out of bed as the first pale rays of light pierced his windows, covered by thin, silk curtains, and stained his room with its glittering streaks. The days before had been tiresome to Nolan as he and a few other magicians tried to comprehend what had befallen Adam during their battle at Garner. With more questions than they had answers, Nolan had crept off in search of peace and quiet, and after retiring to his room in the master's villa, he soon drowned in sleep's all-consuming darkness.
As he changed his attire and slid into a new pair of clothes and adorned a dark blue robe, a slight thud echoed into his room. Then another.
And another.
Suddenly he realized that someone was knocking.
"Master Nolan, King Xeno has requested your attendance in his chambers." It was clearly the voice of the young messenger that normally delivered messages between him and the king.
"Be right there." Nolan said, tying the straps to his robe and lastly equipped his sword and sheath to his belt, the swords scabbard, nearly florescent blue, appeared to glow in the dim light of the bedchamber. With a quick glance into his desk's mirror he approached the door and opened it revealing a small boy, no older than thirteen, waiting to accompany him to the king's chambers.
Once outside Nolan was shocked by the sudden decrease in temperature. His breath appeared before him when he exhaled, the soft, white mist traveled past his face and vanished in the blue of the sky. The cloudless atmosphere looked to be made of the smoothest material and of the flawless of color.
The master's villa was just across the courtyard from the castle where King Xeno resided. They quickly crossed the tiled mosaic that was the courtyard and up the large, gray marble stairs up to the oak doors where three soldiers stood guard, their pikes crossed out in front of it. They stepped aside as Nolan approached, and with muffled acknowledgments they entered and sped down a long corridor.
The entryway of the palace was so richly decorated with paintings on the walls and ceilings-as well as gilt moldings, carved furniture, and a patterned floor-that Nolan found hard to comprehend at once. The wealth required to build and maintain such an edifice was more than he could begin to understand. Through an open doorway, he saw three serving women running along with silver platters as they carried food to various parts of the castle.
Nolan weaved throughout the enormous building in according to the boy's instructions. Scores of finely-dressed men and women crossed his path only to nod to him and say, "Master Nolan." Partway to their destination, he came upon an atrium with a statue of Xenon, holding his staff parallel to his body, and his left hand extended outward towards Nolan with a constant ball of red fire that floated above the statue's palm, providing light to the corridor around him. The magic-induced flame never seemed to waver or at the slightest provocation to go out.
As he trooped past the statue he noticed that the staff was made of wood, whereas, the statue was made of a hard stone found only in the Liangstronian Mountains. The wood was most likely protected by magic spells that wouldn't allow harm to come to the timber. Quite strange for the statue to be made of stone and the staff out of wood, thought Nolan, but weather this was Xenon's choosing or someone else's I have no place to question it.
Nolan left the carving behind him and continued down the corridor until he reached a set of stairs that were wide at the base and gradually became smaller as they progressed upward towards a tall, redwood door guarded by pike men. The door had startling gold metal that was shaped into the door's handles and each had a golden ring wherein a glass window was placed.
The guards placed themselves between Nolan and the door as he ascended the stairs. Then one of them hit the floor with the butt of his pike which resounded with a hollow thud.
From beyond the doors sounded a low, powerful voice, muffled by the thick oak. "Yes?"
The soldier who had hit the floor replied, "Master Nolan is here."
The instant the soldier finished the voice said, "Allow him safe passage."
The soldiers stepped aside and the doors, as if by magic, opened up on unseen hinges and slid evenly to a stop, revealing the magnificent throne room therein.
As Nolan walked into the throne room he could feel the power that emanated from the throne itself. The glorified seat was a high-backed chair made of a deep, dark oak finish with a red velvet cushion, with the king's robe draped over the throne. The throne sat atop a three stepped platform which added to the prestige of power that he felt. The rest of the room looked to be like the rest of the palace. Instead of walls, tall, thick windows, starting from the floor to the ceiling, formed the barrier to the outside world. Many red tapestries with golden tassels as well as a crackling fire to warm the throne room on the cold, dismal winter morning.
The well polished marbled floors reflected the shapes of the furniture, rugs, and the silhouettes of four men, one of them baring a gold crown, King Xeno, the other wearing full armor, Christopher, the other with a battle axe strapped to his side, Trey, and the last with a lime, green sword and sheath, and Austin. The furniture was carved out of the most expensive wood and the carpets and rugs, out of the adored ornate ivory. One should feel privileged to behold such a sight, thought Nolan.
King Xeno turned to Nolan as he entered, the doors closing behind him, and said, "Ah Nolan. Thanks for meeting with us. We have a lot to talk about."
As you all know, we are at war with Aroughs." Said King Xeno looking out the enormous windows that made the outer wall of the throne room, overlooking the back side of Xeon and the plains beyond, his golden crown reflecting the sun's newborn rays.
Christopher and Trey stood where they had been when Nolan entered the chamber. Austin had moved to Nolan's side when he moved closer to Xeno. "Yes and what do you propose we do about it?" Asked Christopher. During the time they spent discussing Adam's disappearance, Christopher had often brought up conversations about their dispute with the capital city, but he rather wait to talk with Xeno about the matter.
"I suggest we make friends before we make any more enemies." The wisdom in his words was unparallel, but also obvious. He then snapped his fingers, triggering a soldier who stood hidden in the shadows of the leftmost corner of the throne room. He carried a map which he spread out on a table near where Xeno stood. The map was of Salazier, showing all cities that Xeon remained in peace with and those it didn't.
Austin jumped forward and began studying the map, his eyes probing every inch of the large parchment. "We're here." He said, emitting a small chuckle as he pointed at a small dot that had the name Xeon next to it.
Christopher swatted his hand away and said, "Well obviously." Then he looked over the map and continued, "We need to figure out the most possible adversaries. Aroughs, of course. But what about Jetler or Niane, or even the cities to the south. Any could be loyal to the capital."
"Aye, but Crypto, Buxton, and Grevisous are the only cities to the south that are loyal to us, and they would inform us if any armies are marching here." Said Nolan.
"So you want to make alliances with Alous too?"
"No they are neutral. As are Meria, Tibet, Fester, and Eleese." Said Nolan, grabbing a quill and ink and crossing out the cities as he named them. "So they'll be of no use to us."
"So then there are Gaile, Bruenox, Ion, Astroph, Tili, and Anola." Replied Christopher, snatching the quill from Nolan and circling the suggested cities.
Nolan huffed, "Huh, excuse me."
Christopher allowed a half-smile to part his lips. "Did I do something wrong?" He asked sarcastically.
Nolan's stare was blank as he said, "No, not at all. Continue."
Christopher finished circling the cities, then set the quill in the ink bottle and replied, "Now I believe one of my captains has a selection of papers listing the number of men each city has, along with magicians, dragons, and machines of war."
"Whoa, whoa. Dragons, I thought that the dragons went into hiding?" Asked Austin.
"They did, but most of the magicians under the command of Aodin have hunted them down and influenced them with dark magic." Spoke up Xeno, stepping up to the table after standing at the seat of his throne staring out the window the whole conversation.
"And how do you know this. I mean, I know that the dragons went into hiding after so many years of being controlled by magicians, but how do you know of this? It's not a subject often talked about." Asked Nolan arching an eyebrow.
Austin shrugged then replied, "I heard some merchants talking about it during the Trade Fair."
Xeno rubbed his hand through his hair, "I don't see how they found out. It was actually Ernst, founder of Xeon that convinced the dragons to do this some centuries ago. That was when Callion The Great found the Soul Reaper and, as you may have already known, killed the dragons."
"But isn't the Soul Reaper used to kill immortals?"
Nolan weighed something with his hands, then with a hesitant stutter he said, "Uh, yes it is used to kill immortals as you would kill any regular mortal. But when Callion began hunting the dragons, a bonded dragon and rider fought and actually killed Callion, taking the Soul Reaper, and guarding it from those who would use it for evil. He later disappeared, never to be seen again."
"But where did the rider go? I mean he must have gone somewhere and not have just vanished from the face of the earth." Replied Austin, more and more questions boiling in his mind like a swirling tempest, the large masses of dark clouds of curiosity rolling along the confines of his brain.
Nolan looked to Xeno with a worried expression, Xeno nodded slightly and Nolan left the room without another word, leaving them standing at the table, the light from outside brightening the map upon the table.
"Explain it to me again," Said Christopher.
Austin shifted his weight, impatient, but otherwise, held his tongue.
From the pile of scrolls and books in front of him, those of which Nolan had brought in half an hour after he left, Nolan picked up a slim volume bound in red leather and began his narrative for the third time: "Some five hundred years ago, as best as I or any scholars can tell-"
Trey interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "Leave out your qualifiers. We know this is speculation."
Nolan began again: "Some five hundred years ago, Callion and his loyal magician servant, whose name is not recorded in any written script I've read, set out for the Liangstronian Mountains, previous home of the dragons."
"And why did they go there?" asked Christopher while he toyed with the fringe of his sleeve.
"Callion, as you know was actually king of Aroughs for many years until he was killed, and his armies were on the verge of a… clan war if you will. And Callion hoped that he could secure the support of his military by capturing the Soul Reaper and killing dragons, even as he had, years earlier, taken the well protected city of Jetler.
"And once he discovered the main dragon habitation he had no choice to return back to Aroughs, which back then was called, Isareil. The reason for this was because, even though he welded the Soul Reaper, he was over powered by the dragons. But-" Nolan held up a finger, then opened the red book-"before he left, it seems he did do something." With a few quick swipes he turned several pages and continued.
"Callion's magicians wrote in his memoirs that Callion had began to force him to cast spells on one specific dragon, binding man and beast, the first bonded dragon and human in recorded history."
From his place at the far end of the table that filled the middle of the throne room, Xeno nodded and said, "That's true enough. I've read many a story of the first dragon rider."
Nolan continued: "Of course, nothing like this was ever thought of or done before. Callion's plans to control a dragon worked and soon enough he arrived back at Isareil, freighting all the citizens and soldiers who, as I said earlier, were on the verge of war. The people revolted against the idea of a bonded dragon and war was imminent. For four years the great kingdoms fought, and thus came the Forbidden Forest, which was created when a large mass of magicians, each of the four known ancient kingdoms sending thousands upon thousands of magic welders into the forest.
"With so much magical influence, the plants and animals underwent crazy, mind-blowing changes. All the soldiers to have entered the forest disappeared, never seen again. And so came the end of the Great War, which affected every corner of Salazier, not one creature escaped the influence of war. And in this selection of the magician's notes says: and in a most lamentable turn of events, the soldiers burned many a house. The soldiers, however, were slow to respond when a dark shadow passed over them, covering much of the sky. Whereupon Callion and his dragon left to fight, and have yet to return…"
Nolan lowered the book. "Now, what was the shadow? And who were Callion and his dragon going to fight, never to return. The only explanation was that he and his accursed lizard died, but by whom?"
"Something big for sure if it blocked out most of the sky, casting a large shadow over the land. And it must have been something extremely strong since Callion welded the Soul Reaper and rode a fierce dragon." Said Austin, and in his mind trying to comprehend the immense size of the… entity that could have blocked out much of the sky.
"Yes, and I believe I have found the answer." Nolan set the book down and replaced it with a similar one, this much larger than the first. Flipping through the first few pages he scanned the parchment and then pointed at a sentence and said, "This is another excerpt from a similar witness saying: The soldiers of Isareil's army cowered in fear of the darkening shadow against the horizon. Callion set forth on his dragon towards the new threat, Callion's dragon surprisingly small compared to the size of the approaching enemy. And for days we waited…and waited. But no sign of Callion came, and to this day he is presumed dead. It continues some lines later, saying: Every time I sleep I can still see the creature approaching, its unfathomable sized wings flapping, the sound of a roaring thunderhead echoing in my mind…"