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It was early spring when the enormous Godstear Mountains finally loomed into view. Their trek through the grasslands had been uneventful, save for when they stopped off in the fortress city of Mercedia. Dar had convinced Damion that they should pay a courtesy call on the Deolan Council and inform them of their success. Both Sly and Damion objected, but after several days of the boy’s constant urging, they finally relented.
The meeting was far from pleasant. They were stopped by several burly tribesmen as they made their way up the huge spiral staircase that led to the council room. Damion tried with amazing restraint to explain why they wished to see the Council, but the warriors merely ignored him and refused to allow them to pass. Damion finally lost his temper and grabbed the closest tribesmen by the throat, then used the flailing man as a club to knock the other warriors aside. Once the way had been cleared, he tossed the unconscious warrior to the side, and led the way into the council room.
The councilmen, who were sitting in their traditional places in the center of the of the enormous cathedral, all looked up with startled expressions as Damion burst into the room followed closely by Sly and Dar.
“Who let you in here?” One of the councilmen exclaimed in an indignant tone. “You are not allowed be here!”
“We let ourselves in.” Damion replied brusquely. He recognized the councilman who stared at him with an outraged expression as Tonke of the Worashe clan. “We bring news that you may be interested in.”
“Damion?” Bativa exclaimed, jumping up from his seat among his fellow councilmen. “Is it really you?” The huge tattoo-covered tribesman rushed forward to embrace his friend.
“Hello, Bativa, my friend.” Damion laughed as he was engulfed in a crushing bear hug. “I bet you thought you would never see me again!”
“On the contrary,” The huge tribesman chuckled. “I knew that dragon never stood a chance!”
Several Deolan warriors suddenly charged into the room, their weapons drawn and at the ready. Bativa stepped forward and spoke to them for a moment in their own language, and they slowly put their weapons away and backed from the room.
One of the other councilmen, Wathre of the Hasht Clan, gave Damion a questioning look. “You say that you bring news? Were you successful in slaying the dragon?”
Damion shook his head. “The dragon still lives, but the man that controlled it is no longer controlling its actions.”
“But the dragon still lives!” Krel of the Nacetre clan declared in an angry tone. “As long it still lives, our lives will all be in danger!”
“The dragon will no longer cause any problems. It has been freed from the madman’s control, and will now go back to its normal life.”
“But that only means that it will be free to destroy at its own will instead of someone else’s!” Krel declared harshly. “Our people will not be safe as long as that creature lives!”
Sly laughed derisively. “If that’s the way you feel, you’re really not going to like what else we have to say.”
The councilmen all fell silent and stared at Damion and Sly with suspicious looks.
“What has happened?” Krel asked, a look of dread crossing his face.
Damion gave Sly a sour look, then sighed, and slowly began to explain everything that had transpired since their last meeting. When he finally explained his decision to release the dragons from the confines of the Dragon Gem, the Council exploded with frightened shouts and angry bellows.
It took several minutes for the shouting to die down and for the councilmen to retake their seats, but Bativa was finally able to bring the tribesmen back in order. Once everyone was silent, the huge Deolan Clan Chief turned and gave Damion a pained look. “Damion, my friend, I’m sorry, but even I have trouble believing that you would do something so foolish.”
“It wasn’t foolish!” Dar said hotly. “It was justice long overdue! The dragons were innocent creatures that were cruelly imprisoned. Releasing them back into the world was the right thing to do!”
Krel cursed violently. “You have doomed us all!” He snarled, his tattooed face mottled with anger. “The dragons will surely wipe out every living creature on this continent!”
Damion scowled. “I have already told you that you no longer have anything to fear from the dragons. They will never cause harm to another innocent.”
“How are you able to make such a claim?” Druta of the Supece demanded, his face pale behind his tattoos.
“I can make that claim because I now wield the Dragon Sword!” Damion was quickly losing patience. “The dragons are bound to me by this sword and by blood! And if any still doubt my word, we can take this discussion outside!” Everyone in the room suddenly fell silent, and he stared at the councilmen with a hard gaze. “Now, if that’s all, we need to bid you farewell so we can return to our journey. We still have a long way to go before we’re finally home.” With that, he turned and left the cathedral, leaving the Deolan council to stare after him with stunned expressions.
Omensent: Birth of a Dragon Lord Page 62