Wings on my Back

by Alex Sapegin

  “What happens now?” a young female golem-building professor asked the rector.

  The rector looked at the bloodied shooting range from one side to the other, with bodies and parts or pieces of dead Forest elves strewn all over it. She looked at the Rauu and the humans, and then her gaze fell and remained on the dark clouds gathering on the horizon. Melima was listening. She, too, wanted to know what Etran would say.

  “There’s going to be a storm. Today’s battle was the harbinger of a storm. A storm called WAR,” the rector answered, and, turning on her heels, went over to the staircase.

  Melima stroked Frida’s hair and suddenly flinched from the sound of a loud crack. One of the vampire’s ribs snapped back into place. Then, with a sickening crackle, another one…

  *****

  “Twenty six students, grandfather. Twenty six young Rauu! Was your dragon worth those lives? We’re on the brink of an intercontinental war!” Beriem said once he’d heard all Melima recounted. He was pacing back and forth, measuring the small secret room on the negative one level of the archives with his feet. They had come down here three hours ago to get Miduel’s things and had gotten stuck. Miduel wanted him to tell him everything and then repeat it all a few more times. “Tell me why they died? Explain to your great-great-grandson why this were-dragon is so important to you!”

  “Don’t get in my face! Etran is standing there, not creeping from one corner to another, and she’s lost more people than we have!” Miduel turned to the rector and stared at her with his blind eyes. “How many?”

  “Forty five. Seventeen seniors. But Beriem is right. What makes this dragon important?”

  “He’s more important than all our lives put together! The boy’s a ‘true blood,’ a real true blood! Old fool that I am, I didn’t believe my own self. I decided to test it out in the mountains, rotting stump! I’ll tell you everything, everything I know and all I’ve guessed. There’s no point in hiding the truth from you any longer,” Miduel lowered his head. “Swear to me, you’ll spend all your energy on searching for him! If the Woodies find him first, they’ll kill him, to both their and our great misfortune!”

  At this point, Vistamel walked in. He had a student’s jacket thrown over his shoulder and was clutching a small decorative box in his right hand.

  “What’s that?” Beriem turned to him. Vistamel set the box on the desk and gave him the jacket.

  “A special box with a surprise; it’s for Miduel. The jacket was hanging in the same place. I got the wrong door, and instead of the bathroom, I walked into an office. Apparently, that’s where Kerrovitarr worked. It smelled like dragon to the goddesses. I was almost dizzy from the smell of lilies of the valley. I got curious.”

  Beriem carefully inspected the jacket and took two sealed vials from the pocket.

  “Extract of dragon’s blood. I guess this was intended for you,” Beriem correctly surmised the vials’ contents and handed them to Miduel. “And what about the box?”

  “Yes,” Vistamel answered and touched the pentagram in the center of the little box with the tip of his finger. “A joined illusion with an active self-destruction block.”

  The image of Kerrovitarr in human hypostasis appeared over the desk. It began to speak.

  “Dearest grall Miduel! Due to current circumstances, I won’t be able to see you again. To be true to my word, I’m leaving you this box, in which I’ve put the thing I promised you. The password for deactivating the self-destruct system is the name and nest of my father.”

  Miduel uttered the name Karegar and the name of his nest. The box’s top opened. The coin-shaped ancient kran lay inside.

  “What’s that?” Beriem asked. The rector said nothing, though she, too, was dying of curiosity.

  “This?” Miduel picked up the kran. “This is trust, which I haven’t earned, which we haven’t earned! Leave me. All storytelling can wait until tomorrow morning.”

  “But…”

  “I said leave!” Miduel interrupted his grandson rudely. Everyone bowed and left the room. The old elf remained alone.

  Miduel sat completely motionless for several minutes, just as if he’d fallen asleep for another few weeks again. His face didn’t betray a single emotion. Then, he sharply pressed the projection on the side of the metal coin and held the kran to his temple. His mind and consciousness fell into the pool of memory….

  End of Book Two

  GLOSSARY

  Geography

  Alatar — the largest continent on the planet of Ilanta.

  Aria — a continent located north of Alatar.

  Empire of Alatar — a state existing two thousand years ago that pursued an aggressive policy of conquest. Approximately sixty percent of the total area of the continent of Alatar was subject to the Empire. The continent itself was named in honor of the Empire. Northern kingdoms such as Tantre, Mesaniya, Meriya, and Rimm were at one time secluded barbarian provinces of the Empire. As a result of civil war, the Empire of Alatar was broken into separate states and ceased to exist.

  Ilanta — a planet.

  Kingdom of Mestair — a legendary human kingdom located on the territory of modern-day Taiir and the Great Principality of Mesaniya, which existed three thousand years ago during the age of the dragons. As an independent state, it was destroyed by the dragons and their allies during the war with the Forest Elves and few human states that had joined them.

  The Light Forest — the state of the Forest Elves, limited to the growth area of the Mellornys.

  The Marble Mountains — a large mountain range crossing the northern part of Alatar from north to south. From the north, the range is bordered by the North Sea. From the south, by the Southern Rocky Ridge and the Long sea.

  Mesaniya — A Great Principality located north of the kingdom of Tantre.

  Nelita — The second planet in a triple solar system: Ilanta, Nelita, and Helita. Nelita is considered the dragons’ native land; it was named in honor of the goddess of life, Nel. The literal translation is “eye of the goddess of life.”

  Ort — the largest river in the north of Alatar, flows across the territory of the kingdom of Tantre.

  Patskoi Empire — a human state with the capital at the city of Pat. The Emperors of Pat consider themselves the heirs of the Empire of Alatar.

  Rimm — a human kingdom located east of the Marble Mountains.

  Steppe — the self-designation of the kingdom of the white orcs. Located in the east of Alatar.

  Taiir — a dukedom

  Tantre — a large kingdom, second largest after the Patskoi Empire, located in the central part of north-western Alatar. Geographically limited by the Marble Mountains and the Northern and Southern Rocky Ridges. Has access to the Eastern Ocean and the Long Sea. Its capital is the city of Kion.

  Miscellaneous

  Alert-dert — a military rank corresponding to that of captain.

  Asgard — in Scandinavian mythology, the heavenly city is the abode of the Aesir gods.

  Book of the Guardians — a book in which the dragons recorded the password spells to the interplanetary portals. The guardians are the dragons (true blood mages), who stayed on Ilanta to guard the portals. At the time the events described herein took place, all guardians are thought to be deceased.

  Chucker — a magical artifact that allows its user to throw balls of capsulized spells.

  Drag — a flying lizard that can be saddled and ridden.

  Feather — a junior military group of twelve to fifteen rideable animals.

  The Goddesses’ Eyes are what people call the planets Nelita and Helita. Helita, Nelita and Ilanta make up the system of planets that revolve around their sun.

  The Gray Horde — the collective name for all the “gray” orcs residing in the northern coastal steppes; the strongest khanate of the “gray” orcs was also called the Gray Horde.

  Gross-dert (gross- leading, dert- wing) — a military rank in the air units of Tantre’s army, corresponding to that of colonel.

&
nbsp; Hel — mistress of the world of the dead.

  Khirud — the main god in the pantheon of the “white” orcs. Khirud the lightning-armed is the god of warriors and daredevils.

  “Knee” Prince-Khan — that is, one who is bent at the knee, living in total vassal dependence on the king, unlike a “belt” prince or khan, that is, one who bows at the waist. Belt khans have a high level of autonomy, can mint silver and copper coins, and maintain personal militias, some of which are comparable to an army. They collect their own taxes independently on their lands, sending one twelfth to the king’s treasury. In the event of war, “belt” princes are obligated to present one third of their troops to the king’s army. “Knee” khans, most likely, are hereditary governors of the lands and take an oath of fidelity to the king.

  Loki — the Scandinavian god of mischief

  The Lynx clan, the Dragon clan — the strongest clans of the island Norsemen.

  nökürs - elite warriors and bodyguards.

  The Northern Alliance — an alliance of Tantre, the Rauu Principalities, and the dwarf kingdoms.

  Odin — a Norse deity.

  Pound, jang — the currency of the kingdom of Tantre. Pounds come in silver and gold; jangs are a small copper coin.

  Rauu — Snow Elves. The first artificial race created by the dragons for battles against the orcs.

  Roi-dert — a junior officer’s rank, corresponds to that of lieutenant.

  Rune Keys — used for opening portals.

  Second-in-saddle — the second rider on a large golden griffon. Usually armed with a bow, rarely with a magical chucker.

  Servants of Death — helrats, priests of a cult forbidden in all countries which perverts the very name of the goddess Hel. Hunted dragons and actively promoted human sacrifice.

  Severan — a cold northern wind.

  Taili-Mother — The deity of the “white” orcs, representing the feminine, analogue of the goddess Nel.

  Targ — the dwarf god whose name took on a negative connotation in almost all countries. Occupies the niche of mischief-maker and prankster, analogous to Loki in some sense.

  Teg — the polite form of address of a nobleman; grall — to a mage. Teg grall — form of address of a noble mage. Tain, taina — titles for high-borns, male and female, respectively. Professor/master/mistress [first name] Teg grall (tain/taina) [last name].

  True blood — a mage who, unlike others, can work directly with the astral and consciously take mana from it. Other mages can extract mana only from the planet’s magical field.

  Snekkja — a row/sailboat of the Scandinavian peoples in the twelfth-fourteenth centuries. Predominantly used for raids. Held up to one hundred people.

  Valhalla — a heavenly palace in Asgard for the fallen in battle, a paradise for the valiant warriors.

  Wing — a regiment of griffons or drags consisting of one-hundred-twenty to one-hundred-fifty rideable animals.

  Book Recommendations

  Fayroll by Andrey Vasilyev is an exciting adventure story about Harriton Nikiforov, a journalist forced to write a story about the newest online craze ‘Fayroll’. Along the way he meets a variety of interesting characters and finds a life changing epic quest that will change his life forever. This series was a best seller in Russia when first published.

  I also want to recommend Realm of Arkon, a great series written by a friend of mine: G. Akella. He is one of the most popular and best-selling LitRPG authors in Russia.

  Also why not join our Facbook community.

  Dear reader! Thank you for reading my book!

  The Dragon Inside Book 3 release date is February 26th, you can preorder it now!

  I hope that you will be enchanted by the excerpt from our future book.

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  Specially for our readers: 20% of book 3 is already available to read online.

  Use the promocode DRAGONSALE and receive a discount of 20% for your preorder through the LitWorld website!

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