Something Wyverian This Way Comes

by Jeffrey M. Poole

  “They are now our brothers. Treat them as such.”

  Lamira turned to look at Rinbok and gave him a neutral stare. The Dragon Lord noticed and again cleared his throat.

  “And sisters. You have also noticed the presence of our allies, the humans and the dwarves,” Rinbok continued. “Their help has been invaluable to the abolishment of the curse and will not be forgotten. We owe our allies our thanks.”

  “Where’s Pryllan at?” Steve asked, once Rinbok had paused long enough for the multitude of dragons to stare awkwardly at the group of humans. “If there’s someone you should be thanking, it’s her.”

  Rinbok smiled a big toothy grin.

  “That’s not up for me to decide.”

  That one statement silenced the entire mass of dragons.

  “If not you, then who?” Steve demanded. “You’re the Dragon Lord, aren’t you? I’d say this falls under your jurisdiction, wouldn’t you think?”

  “Not anymore, human.”

  “Come again?”

  “Effective immediately, I am abdicating my position as ruler of all wyverians.”

  No one said a thing. Everyone, dragons, humans, and dwarves included, stared at Rinbok Intherer with expressions of utter disbelief etched on their faces.

  “The purpose of this gathering,” Rinbok continued, as he looked around at the hundreds of dragons staring back at him, “was to announce the name of my successor. You know him well. Behold! The new Dragon Lord approaches!”

  Rinbok pointed a talon towards the nearby forest. Over three hundred wyverian heads turned to see who Rinbok’s successor was. There was a collective gasp of astonishment. The dragons formed two lines, standing shoulder to shoulder. Walking slowly through the newly created rows was a gold dragon. As he passed, each dragon bowed low.

  Holding her head high, Pryllan followed close behind. A small, dark green nose inserted itself between Steve and Sarah and nudged them both aside. Once there was enough room for her, Pravara settled down into the soft grass to watch the proceedings with her two favorite humans standing on either side of her.

  Kahvel’s golden scales sparkled radiantly in the sunlight. Each scale had been polished to a mirror shine. Rinbok, noticing that Kahvel had paused to make eye contact with his two human friends, thumped his tail and indicated his successor should take his place at the front of the procession. Once Kahvel reached the front he turned and looked at Rinbok, who nodded once and stepped aside. Kahvel turned to face the mass of dragons who were jostling amongst themselves to get as close as they could to the new Dragon Lord.

  “Brothers! Sisters! Let us honor my predecessor, Rinbok Intherer!”

  Hundreds of dragons raised their heads and roared.

  “Never has there been a wiser ruler. I can only hope to lead you half as well as he did.”

  The ground shook as dozens of dragons thumped their tail.

  “What’s the deal with the tails?” Steve asked Pravara as he watched the nearest dragon, a white one with streaks of red on its wings, smack its tail repeatedly on the ground.

  “I have no idea,” Pravara confessed.

  “It’s to signal agreement,” Kri’Entu whispered to him.

  “How long are we supposed to hang around here?” Steve asked the king in a low tone.

  “Until it’s over,” Kri’Entu told him with a smile. “It is extremely rare for a dragon to assume the mantle of Dragon Lord while the previous Dragon Lord still lives. I wish I knew why he was doing this.”

  “Because of Valkira,” a low, deep voice said.

  Everyone turned to see Rinbok resting comfortably in the grass a dozen feet behind them. The former Dragon Lord glanced around the assembled dragons to try and judge how well Kahvel was doing in his first address as the wyverian monarch. Kahvel, he decided, was doing an admirable job in enlightening the wyverian population about his plans, his thoughts, and some proposed changes to wyverian law.

  “You made an excellent choice,” Kri’Entu told Rinbok. “He has captured his brethren’s attention and is holding it. He is making them think.”

  Rinbok grunted and the corners of his mouth turned upwards in a smile.

  “Be that good or bad?”

  “Good, of course,” Maelnar assured him as he and Breslin joined them.

  “Who, or what, is Valkira?” Ny’Callé asked.

  “Valkira is my daughter,” Rinbok answered. He leveled a gaze at the human monarchs. “She hatched last year. I knew if it became known that the Dragon Lord sired an offspring then that dragonlet would be in mortal danger from the moment she cracked her shell. So her existence was kept hidden.”

  Rinbok paused as apparently Kahvel had said something else which the dragons agreed on as they all roared in unison. Once he could be heard again, Rinbok continued.

  “As I sat in my cave, bereft of fire, shunned from the Collective, and unable to fly, I started to think about Valkira. What type of life could she live as a dragon? Who would be there to care for her? Her mother abandoned the egg once it had been laid. I spent many days searching for her but no trace could be found. I can only presume she was killed.”

  “So you’re a single father, trying to do what’s right,” Steve surmised. “Trust me, dude, what you’re doing is commendable.”

  “Is Valkira safe now?” Sarah asked. “Can we do anything to help?”

  Kri’Entu was nodding at this. He and the queen were more than ready to help if necessary.

  Rinbok shook his massive head.

  “Thank you, but no. At the moment she is with a trusted friend. Now that Kahvel is Dragon Lord, I am free to protect my daughter as only a father can.”

  “What about Pravara?” Steve suddenly asked. “If it’s that dangerous for a Dragon Lord to have kids then does that mean she’s in danger?”

  Rinbok looked down at the tiny dragonlet and chuckled.

  “Ordinarily, I’d say yes, but in this case, Kahvel has more friends than I do. I do not think anyone would risk harming young Pravara here as long as you two are nearby.”

  “She also has us,” Shardwyn reminded them. “Kahvel has but to ask.”

  “That goes for us, too,” Maelnar added as he jumped up to stand next to the wizard. “Besides, we live closer. Our response time would be faster.”

  “We have portals,” Shardwyn reminded everyone. “It takes time to climb all those stairs from Borahgg. I’m sorry, Master Maelnar, but you’re not an underling anymore.”

  Maelnar crossed his arms over his chest. “Says one geriatric to the other. Your portals don’t lead to anywhere around here. We can still get here faster. If young Pravara here needs any help I’m sure the new Dragon Lord will be contacting us first.”

  “I’m sure either of us would be more than happy to help,” Kri’Entu said as he frowned at the wizard. “This is not a competition, Shardwyn.”

  “Tell that to him, your majesty.”

  “I think that’s wonderful,” Sarah interjected, before wizard or dwarf could think of something else to argue over. “To think that one little dragon has so many protectors. That’s amazing!”

  “To which I say you have my eternal thanks,” Kahvel’s voice rang out. “All of you.”

  Steve, Sarah, Kri’Entu, Ny’Callé, Shardwyn and Maelnar all turned to look at Kahvel, who was staring right at the group of them. Apparently the new Dragon Lord had heard them arguing.

  Kahvel thumped his tail once.

  “Steve, Sarah, would you please approach?”

  The dragons parted once more, forming a narrow aisle from the group of humans and dwarves to the front of the procession. Taking his wife’s hand in his, the two of them made their way towards the water’s edge and the shiny golden dragon waiting for them there.

  “Pryllan asked for help. You two answered when you didn’t have to. You left your world behind to come to our aid when we needed it most. You protected my family. I will be forever in your debt.”

  Kahvel bowed low. One by one the rest of the dragons
copied him. After ten uncomfortable seconds of silence Kahvel reared his head once more and waited for his fellow dragons to follow suit.

  “The question is how I should repay you for your kindness?”

  “You don’t really need to –” Steve began, but was cut off by a nudge from Sarah.

  “He already has something in mind,” she whispered to her husband. “Accept whatever he offers.”

  “From this day forward the two of you hereby have my permission to ride any dragon you’d like.”

  Wyverian jaws gaped open in surprise. The valley fell silent once more.

  “With their permission of course,” Kahvel added. “You will never ride a dragon without their full consent. Agreed?”

  Steve and Sarah both nodded. “We agree.”

  The angry murmurings that had started instantly ceased. The dragons were mollified as each knew they’d never grant permission to be ridden. By anyone.

  Kahvel moved off as he began to address the individuals who were waiting to be seen. The Kri’yans approached. Mikal patted Pravara on the head before he turned to his former bodyguards.

  “Are you returning home now?” the prince asked.

  Sarah nodded. “Yes. There isn’t anything else we can do here.”

  “Well, there’s nothing more to be done here,” Steve added as he draped an arm over Sarah’s shoulders, “except to maybe find that damn wizard.”

  The king sighed heavily at this. Both Steve and Sarah turned to the king.

  “Is everything okay?” Steve hesitantly asked.

  “About that wizard…” Kri’Entu began.

  “What about him?” Sarah asked. “Did you find him?”

  The king shook his head no.

  “On the contrary, Shardwyn has completed the preliminary census of jhorun in the kingdom.”

  “And? What did you learn?”

  “That we have seriously underestimated him,” Kri’Entu softly told them as he glanced over at the wizard. “Shardwyn was unsuccessful. We had thought him to be in Avin.”

  “So what happened?” Sarah wanted to know.

  Kri’Entu spread out his hands in a ‘who knows?’ gesture.

  “It was either a false reading or a false trail. Shardwyn insists his jhorun detector is foolproof and therefore sound, so I am forced to believe we were led astray.”

  Steve raised a hand to ask a question but Sarah instantly pulled it back down.

  “Put your hand down, dear. You’re not in school.”

  Steve shrugged. “I have a question. You said the renegade wizard led you astray? To where? What did you find?”

  The king shook his head.

  “Nothing significant. We were led to a cottage in Avin. A young family was, and still is, living there. We detected only average jhorun. Why we were led there remains a mystery.”

  “Is there a more methodical way of checking everyone’s jhorun?” Sarah asked. “He has to be here somewhere.”

  Kri’Entu nodded. “I would agree. This person appears to take great pleasure in knowing he continues to successfully elude us. Shardwyn is working on additional methods to register jhorun so I am confident it will only be a matter of time before this wizard’s location, and identity, is known.”

  Ny’Callé tapped the king’s shoulder. “We should be going, my love. We are expected in Capily by sundown.”

  “What do you have going on in Capily?” Steve asked, curious.

  “There are a growing number of unexplained phenomena happening in that village,” the king explained. “I’d like to believe it’s related to that renegade wizard but I think that would be too obvious of an answer.”

  “I’m sure everything will turn out fine,” Sarah assured the king.

  “I hope so.” The king held out his right arm and waited until the queen slipped hers through his. “There’s nothing quite as disturbing as hearing reports of missing villagers.”

  “Missing villagers?” Steve repeated, frowning. “How long has that been going on?”

  The king’s expression turned grim.

  “That’s what I want to find out.”

  THE END

  Craving more adventures in Lentari? Read about Steve and Sarah’s first foray to Lentari in The Prophecy (Bakkian Chronicles #1)!

  Author’s Note

  I promised myself that I’d get more than one book published this year. Now, I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep that promise but I sure as hell will give it my best attempt. For those that don’t know me that well, or know my typical schedule, I usually release a book in September, sometimes early October. So for me to complete a book in April is impressive. I might be able to do this after all! 

  I hope everyone enjoyed the story. I’ve wanted to write a story featuring dragons as protagonists for quite some time. And, since everyone asked me to bring them back, our favorite husband & wife team also made an appearance. It was a lot of fun writing about Steve and Sarah again. It was even more fun to introduce some new characters, especially Pravara. I was thinking to myself that it was time for Kahvel and Pryllan to start a family!

  Now that the lives of the dragons have been put back in order, what’s next for Lentari? Well, I can tell you that there are some strange things happening in Capily and the king has just now learned about it. It’s time for the Kri’yans to figure out what’s going on! The last thing I’ll tell you about Tales of Lentari #3 will be in the form of a question: have you ever wondered how or why our world was chosen to be the one forever linked to Lentari?

  Mwahahaha! That was for you, Brett!

  Is ToL#3 a prequel? Technically, no. But could it be classified that way? Perhaps. 

  As always, if you liked the story, or hated it, I would encourage you to leave me a review wherever you bought the book. Any review, whether good or bad, can help an Indie author like myself so don’t worry about hurting my feelings if you want to leave a bad review! There are literally over a million different books out there so I know that not everyone will like it. With that being said, I would like to thank you for taking the time to read mine.

  If you’d like to learn more about Lentari, or else maybe ask me a question or two, feel free to look me up online! I usually have contests running on my blog for print copies or possibly some Lentarian themed merchandise, so check back often! And, thanks to my sister, I’m also on Facebook, so if you’d like to friend an Indie author, I won’t turn you down!

  Here are the links to use:

  Blog: www.Lentari.com

  Facebook: /BakkianChronicles

  Have you submitted a name for a fictional character? A list of the names I used is on the next page. If you submitted a name but didn’t see it used, fear not! Keep an eye on the blog. I’m always asking for character names, whether human, dragon, dwarf, or ?

  To all you fans of the books, you can consider yourselves honorary citizens of Lentari! These books wouldn’t be here without your support, so thank you very much! Your friendly notes and messages mean the world to me and I appreciate each and every one of them!

  With any amount of luck I’ll be writing another of these pages before the end of the year! Keep your fingers crossed and feel free to give me a friendly nudge if I haven’t posted any updates in a while!

  If you’d like to follow the progress on the latest book I’m working on then I would encourage you to sign up for my newsletter so you’ll never miss another book release, or contest, or any other bit of news that I pass along to the readers. You’ll even get a free short story for signing up!

  The Daily Scroll: http://www.lentari.com/?page_id=1900

  J.

  April, 2014

  Fan Submissions

  The following is a list of submitted names from fans of the series which made it into the book. If your name is on here then you have my eternal thanks! Sometimes it is a pain to come up with names for characters. Thankfully I know I can call upon my fans for support! Here we go!

  Pravara, Loken, Argus, & Xaj – Giliane


  Sciathan – Heather Green

  Syrreth & Ferreth – Christine Carr

  Shamira (& Yamira) – Mel Henderson

  Anghorus – Clawra

  Dirgath & Tirgath – Angela Jones

  Valkira – Tamara Newman

  Thank you very much, guys (& girls)! I appreciate the help!