War Dragons Read online

  War Dragons

  C.K. Rieke

  Contents

  Books by C.K. Rieke

  Map of The Arr

  I. A Bitter Homecoming

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  II. The Queen and the Beast

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  III. Slipping Through her Fingers

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  IV. The Return of the Whiteblades

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  V. Obsidrox

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  VI. Whispers of the Past

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Continue Reading

  Author’s Notes

  Sign up and Review

  About the Author

  Books by C.K. Rieke

  The Dragon Sands Book I:

  Assassin Born

  The Dragon Sands Book II:

  Revenge Song

  The Dragon Sands Book III:

  Serpentine Risen

  The Dragon Sands Book IV:

  War Dragons

  The Path of Zaan Book I:

  The Road to Light

  The Path of Zaan Book II:

  The Crooked Knight

  The Path of Zaan Book III:

  The Devil King

  By Sword and Sea: A Novella

  This novel was published by Crimson Cro Publishing

  Copyright © 2019 Hierarchy LLC

  All Rights Reserved.

  Cover by C.K. Rieke.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious.

  Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Please don’t pirate this book.

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  By Sword and Sea

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  Part I

  A Bitter Homecoming

  Chapter One

  1440 Sisen Era, The Arr, The Great Oasis of Noruz, Outside the City of Voru

  Lilaci’s heart ached as the high walls of the place she’d been taken to as a girl appeared before her once more—only this time—she was free. Under a brilliantly bright afternoon sun, the sprawling city of Voru glistened in its rays. Countless numbers of small fountains carried free, fresh water for all to lavish in, and they reflected the sunlight, making the city appear as if it was glittering with thousands of diamonds.

  Upon the dune to the south of the city, stood a weary, yet revenge craving assassin. Lilaci, standing tall with her long black hair gliding down from her sharp widow’s peak, flowing in the winds. Her violet eyes glared vigilantly at the city as her pale skin showed paler in the sunlight as her loose clothing flapped lightly along her body, with her sword sheathed at her side in its leather scabbard.

  She still grieving from the recent loss of her friend, and comrade, Roren, glared down on the city. It was erected upon one of the three Great Oasi of the Arr—Noruz—surrounded by small buildings of mortar and clay. A sprawling sea of homes made of dead wood and thin linens sat Erodoran, the capital of Voru.

  The last time Lilaci had seen the golden palace with tiny windows that cascaded down its six sides, she was a prisoner. Ever since she was taken so violently from her family, the city had been her home, but more specifically, Sorock—her training camp housed underneath the golden pyramid with a huge, golden statue with each of the six gods at its corners—had been her home.

  Standing in solemn silence with her was Kera, with the similar widow’s peak and light complexion as Lilaci, but with distinguishing silver eyes. As the prophesied Dragon’s Breath, she’d now hatched two dragons and let them loose upon the desert skies. Veranor stood next to her, a tall, broad-shouldered man who was up until recently the commander of the Scaethers, the ones who took Lilaci from her family. He had a deep, crisscrossing scar in the center of his face, along his nose. His black hair was pulled back and ran nearly down to the bottom of his back against his tunic.

  Next to him was Fewn, Lilaci’s friend who turned from bitter, training rival to friend. She had the same features as the others, but she stood taller than Lilaci, and she had dark eyes like the sky on a moonless night, and she had a single scar on her chin from a blade.

  Gogenanth had returned to help Lilaci, he’d come back from ‘death’, but in actuality from the continent to the west. His arms were thick and his chest broad, and he wielded a scimitar nearly five feet long. He had dark green eyes that resembled the leaves on a tall tree in a forest.

  Along with him traveled his companion, Ezmerelda, a woman who had dark tattoos that ran from the top of her neck down to her toes. Her wavy, dirty brown hair flowed wildly over both her shoulders and her tan skin glistened in the sunlight, as her bronze eyes glared down on the kingdom below.

  And lastly, Demetrius Burr, an elderly fighter from the legendary Knights of the Whiteblade, stood with his shoulders back, as he held a fine quiver of Whitewood arrows and immaculate bow with a silver string. He’d lost one of his eyes in fighting many years ago, which was covered in a tan patch, and his shoulder-length gray hair blew in the breeze at his neck.

  A heavy silence hung over the city that had been built by the gods themselves. There was a good chance they’d be met with an army at the city’s entrance. Lilaci hoped they would find Kera’s eldest dragon Herradax at their side, but she was badly injured by the full-sized war dragons Dânoz and the other gods had unleashed upon them recently. Kôrran II, the youngest and newest dragon to hatch was certainly a dangerous beast, but still small and vulnerable. The Aridon creature, a long-extinct animal with the body of a black body and the white wings of an albatross would come to the aid, at least she hoped. But there was no army waiting... Surely the gods knew they were coming to Voru?

  “It’s as if...” Kera said, “They aren’t expecting us.”

  “Or it’s a trap,” Burr said, his one eye squinted as his long gray hairs flowed out from under his hood in the dry, hot winds.

  “I never thought I’d see it again,” Fewn said. “After all we’ve been through, I figured the only way to see it again would’ve been after every one of our enemies were gone. But I figured it more likely we’d die before that ever happened.” Kera shot over a cold stare at her. “What? Before we had dragons, did we really have much chance of winning this war?”

  Kera sighed and turned back toward the monumental city that spread out from the eastern horizon to western.

  “They knew we were coming,” Commander Veranor said, shaking a clenched fist. “I’m certain of that. They wouldn’t be so naive to not be tracking us now.”

 
“What about you, Gogenanth?” Ezmerelda asked, looking up at him.

  “This was not the way I pictured returning to the city,” he said, then his intense glare shot over to Veranor, which he looked slightly down upon as Gogenanth was now the bigger man of the two. “I came to kill you, for revenge on taking Lilaci, and my family from me.”

  Veranor’s gray eyes only looked back into his eyes, coldly yet confidently. “I don’t blame you for that. I believe I would have wanted the same revenge. But your vengeance should be pointed elsewhere. Yes, I did many things some could consider to be cruel or evil. But I’m here with you to stand against the ones who truly created the rule of cruelty. My family was taken from me, just as yours were. You may have even done the same things I did if you were in my position back then.”

  “I would never have killed innocent mothers and fathers and ripped their children from them!” Gogenanth snapped back in a rare exhibition of anger. “I’m not like you.”

  “These lands breed sadness,” Veranor responded. “It’s convenient to believe that if faced with the choice of taking my position or being given a slow, painful death, you’d choose the latter. But I did what I had to do to get here, next to Kera, to help avenge all of those lost. And I’ve made mistakes along the way, but I’m here now to try to atone for those. I’m here to help.”

  “He’s helped us a few times now,” Fewn said. “We might not be here now if it wasn’t for his help. There’s even a chance Gorlen, the Witch Queen, would’ve killed us all had he not betrayed her.”

  “Just know that now...” Gogenanth said, looking back to the city, “any betrayal now, and you die where you stand.”

  Another moment of silence followed, as they watched the thin, cotton-like clouds drift across the sky, casting slender streaks of cool shade upon the city littered with diamonds.

  “Whatever awaits us down there we will face it together,” Lilaci finally said, “We’ve traveled a long road together, even if our paths were different. We will watch each other’s backs, and trust in one another. I should be the last to say this, but I trust Veranor. If there’s anyone who’s caused me more heartache and pain in this life, I can’t think of one, but he’s proven that he’s here for Kera, and that’s all that matters to me now. Within the city we will not be safe, there are many who wish to kill us for the favor and honor of the gods. But in honor of Roren, let's walk into Voru not as refugees, but as heroes returning home.

  “Nice sentiment,” Fewn said. “But what if you’re wrong, what if it’s a trap?”

  Lilaci’s eyes focused down on the golden palace of Erodoran, and a hint of violet flame crept out of the corners of her eyes. “Then we fight. We fight together.”

  As they walked together, side by side back toward the city, she thought of Roren. They’d buried him in a deep grave back next to the decaying corpse of the rotting dragon Lilaci had killed. Atop his grave they’d placed his sword and his necklace of aged bone, tooth, and claw that fell loosely against the hard steel. With his dying words he’d told Lilaci that he’d loved her, something that’d he’d hid from her until his last moments. She was caught completely off-guard, and had held a guilt within that she didn’t have the time to think about how she’d felt herself. He died without her getting a chance to tell him how much she found she cared for him.

  I still see his eyes in my mind. I can still vividly see them as if he were standing just before me. A sparkling blue like a deep, crisp well full of fresh water. When I met him his head was freshly-shorn; his face too. But over the time we spent together looking for Kera, and eventually finding her, and through all the fights we had next to each other, he turned to a strong soldier, and friend. His hair grew coarse atop his dark-skinned head and his beard grew bushy with black hair. I still see his tattoo on his forearm of Kôrran and the Dune of the Last Dragon flowing around his arm like a gauntlet of sorts. But he’s gone. I’ll have time to grieve for him later.

  But I can’t help but feel the aching pain deep in my stomach of the things he told me when he was dying. He loved me... I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel about that. If he was still here, then we could talk about it together. Figure out things. But he’s gone, and he’ll never speak again. He left me with the gift of knowing how he truly felt, but also with the knowledge that I’ll never have resolution in that.

  I don’t know if I loved you in the sense you spoke of, but I loved you as a friend, and that’s more than I can say for almost anyone else in this world. You were the one I could trust completely. You never betrayed me, you were always true and reliable, and we had the same passion in this life: Kera. Maybe that is more than friendship?

  There will be time to grieve later. Right now, we are about to walk into the lion’s den. We sure could use your sword right about now, old friend.

  Chapter Two

  They could hear the bustling city roads within Voru as they approached, and see the sparkling water resting in neat pools in the many fountains. Lilaci licked her dry lips at the sight. She looked up at the great pyramid of Erodoran and felt the anger well up within her again at the high-standing golden statue of Dânoz. He stood powerfully with his high crown of jewels resting atop his long silver hair that fell to his back, while his long beard rolled down his chest. Long golden robes fell loosely along his broad shoulders and arms with their chiseled muscles. All six of the gods were erected in the same polished, glistening gold.

  To the left of the golden statue of Dânoz was Eyr, which stood in a confident stance with its shoulders back, staring out onto the distant horizon. Her eyes were framed by her signature helmet of silver with wide-spread eagle wings, and her body was covered almost completely in the fine armor she was gifted when she betrayed the Knights of the Whiteblade all of those years ago to win the First Great Serpentine War for the gods.

  Standing to left of Eyr was the statue of Vigolos, a half-height god of thick arms and chest. A long scar ran down his face and disappeared into his beard that dipped down to his belt. The fur of an unnamed exotic animal was draped across his back, and his strong arms were held out before him, holding his battleax for all the city to see.

  The statue to the right of Dânoz was Fayell. She stood gracefully with a silken dress caressing down her exaggerated curves. Long luscious hair waved down her back and shoulders from under a thin, jeweled crown. Her eyes were large and wide, peering out to show not only her renowned beauty, but her vigilance of the lands. The statue made her look like a gentle queen, but Lilaci knew she was a jealous, spiteful goddess.

  Next to her was Arymos, the war god with a heart full of rage. His eyes glared out at the world with spite under his sharp helmet of gnarled spikes. Before him he held his thick broadsword with the panther’s head hilt, and his body was decorated in an intricate, sharp, hardened armor with copper buckles.

  On the other side of the pyramid Lilaci knew stood the statue of Gorlen, the deceased Witch Queen; a wretched goddess who took pleasure in the torture and anguish of any living being. Lilaci figured no one missed the evil Witch Queen, except the gods.

  The further they got to one of the city’s entrances, a gate of iron with simple, mortar walls that wrapped around the city. The closer they got, the more they wondered why it was so easy for them to approach. But as the sounds of millions of people grew, it soon became clear that they wouldn’t be entering the city so easily.

  As they walked toward one of the main roads that lead straight to Erodoran, deep within the city limits, Lilaci and the others saw soldiers approaching from the queen’s fortress. Gogenanth and Ezmerelda went to take up their arms, but Lilaci calmed them with a wave of the hand.

  “Not yet,” she said. “It’s not a large force, let them approach.” She and the others stopped where they stood. No more than a quarter mile from the city limits, Lilaci took Kera by an arm, and ducked her behind her. “Stay behind me. Remember, they’d be after you first.”

  The soldiers continued their advance, and they soon saw that they didn’t
have their weapons drawn.

  “What do you think?” Fewn asked Veranor.

  “The king is dead, this much we know,” he said. “Whatever this small battalion is bringing, it is from Queen Lezeral.”

  They stood in a line, side by side in the mild winds that blew in from the east. Lilaci’s black hair with thin grays flowed over her left shoulder as she readied her hand on the hilt of her sword, recently named Blackfire. The soldiers approached, and it became clear it wasn’t a normal group of soldiers. The Queensguard itself marched in shining silver armor, with long spears and black plumes atop their helmets, one of them carried the banner of Voru—three dunes with a red sun behind.

  The Queensguard walked up in two single lines, then once twenty paces out from Lilaci, they split sideways to form a solid line facing them. There were fifty knights, Lilaci counted, and the last of them who appeared at the end of a line was not a knight at all, but an emissary. She wore tan robes with golden bracelets and earrings that fell to her shoulder. She had a head of short black hair and wore a vibrant red shade on her lips and above her eyes.