2. Drake
TWO
DRAKE
T he room was crowded as more and more of Drake's advisors filled the space. The war council room, where they were gathered at that moment, was located in one of the tallest towers of Dragon Mountain Castle.
And it was one of Drake's favorite rooms.
From the window of the tower, one could see almost the entirety of the Dragon Mountain Kingdom, and beyond that into the rest of the Wildwoods. Both Drake and the dragon lurking inside him appreciated the view.
Brigg, one of Drake's best friends, walked in then, and the meeting was called to order.
“We have all seen the destruction caused by Lucien Dastow in the past days. His attacks on our kingdom have become increasingly frequent and more devastating. He does not care to protect women and children and isn't attacking military points. Instead, he is going after small villages on the outskirts of this kingdom. This cannot go unpunished.”
This short speech came from one of Drake's oldest advisors. The man, wizened and bent over, clutching a cane, had been one of his father's advisors when Drake had just been a young shifter prince.
Many of the men in the room would disregard the old man's – who was named Yarra – advice. But Drake had seen his father win many battles with Yarra by his side.
The room fell silent as everyone waited for Drake to speak. He tried to order his thoughts, tried to make sense of the information he had been receiving every hour since the attacks started.
He hadn't been sleeping much and fatigue gripped his senses. But this was the most important time as king. How he responded to this threat by Lucien would determine how his advisors and subjects felt about him for the rest of his time on the throne.
“Yarra is right, of course,” he said in a low, smooth voice. Drake didn't miss the low grumble that swept around the room. He was a young king and had a team of mostly young advisors. They didn't respect nor want to take stock of what someone like Yarra had to say.
“However you may feel about this, I think we can all agree with Yarra. These attacks are causing devastation. We need to respond. I think that soon we will be meeting Lucien Dastow on the battlefield.”
“Are you sure is wise?” Brigg asked, his voice low, but not so much that the rest of the room couldn't hear him.
Drake smiled at his long-time friend who, unlike the rest of the dragon shifters in the room, was leaning casually against the wall, his arms folded across his chest.
Some of the older advisors held their breath as they expected Drake to berate Brigg for contradicting him in front of the men.
But Drake did not. He was not like his father who would have punished Brigg for daring to be disrespectful.
Instead, Drake encouraged the free flow of information among his subjects and subordinates. He had no time to pull rank, and there certainly was no time for punishment. Not when Lucien could strike at any time.
“I think we need to be forceful and show Lucien that his goals are futile. He needs to know that Dragon Mountain Kingdom is not an easy target. And while meeting on the battlefield might not seem the wisest approach, I doubt he's going to listen if we do it any other way.”
Brigg nodded, and Drake wondered why his friend’s jaw was so tight.
Just then, the royal historian spoke up. This was a surprise to Drake. Usually, the studious Pyralis remained quiet throughout these meetings.
“My apologies, My King.” He apologized several times, and each apology to Drake was accompanied by a bow.
“Yes, what is it, Pyralis?” Drake tried to ensure that his voice wasn't dismissive, but he couldn't help it.
Sometimes Pyralis's hemming and hawing worked on his nerves.
“I just received a message of great importance, and I know the war council would want to hear of it immediately.”
The hair on the back of Drake's neck rose and his mouth went dry. Pyralis, despite his annoying demeanor, had a finger in every pie in the Dragon Mountain Kingdom.
In fact, Pyralis was such a huge gossip that he usually knew about Lucien's attacks before even Drake was alerted to them.
“Please.” Drake made his voice as pleasant as possible and gestured for Pyralis to step into the center of the room. “Tell us what you have learned.”
As Pyralis shuffled to the center of the room, Drake's thoughts raced, tripping and stumbling over one another.
Has there been another attack? One more desperate, more destructive than the last?
Drake forced himself to focus on Pyralis. He wouldn't know what had happened until the royal historian opened his damned mouth. Until then, he couldn't allow himself to become swayed by the possible news he was about to hear.
Finally, Pyralis spoke. Drake couldn't help but smile at the exasperated looks on the faces of the rest of the war council.
He knew that they all found Pyralis more annoying than Yarra if that was possible.
“I have contacted the kingdom's oracles in order to locate the base of Lucien's operations. I know that this is something that Your Majesty has been struggling with until now.”
Drake’s back straightened, his hands balling into fists, as Pyralis spoke. Locating Lucien's base of operations had been a thorn in his side. One that apparently Pyralis knew how to solve.
“And?” Drake's voice was tinged with impatience. Pyralis smiled his gentle smile.
“Unfortunately, Your Majesty, the oracles could not help me with the matter of Lucien Dastow. But they gave me some valuable information about something else, which I am sure Your Majesty would like to know.”
Drake remained quiet. Pyralis was practically preening himself, so whatever the oracles had told him had to be good.
“We have learned about the existence of a Creation Sorceress,” Pyralis said triumphantly. “I am currently trying, with the help of the oracles, to locate her.”
Silence fell over the war council room as everyone in it tried to digest the news Pyralis had just dropped on them.
“What in the name of the Dragon Goddess is a Creation Sorceress?” Brigg muttered from where he leaned against the wall.
Drake was quite well up to date with the history of the kingdom. But he knew that was not the case for everybody. Brigg had always hated studying his history books and preferred learning how to fight.
“Pyralis,” Drake spoke in his low voice, “why don't you explain what a Creation Sorceress is?”
He sat back and listened as Pyralis recited a passage from one of the oldest history books. At that moment, Drake couldn't help but admire the old historian, who had dedicated his life to knowledge.
He's still annoying, though, a brief thought flickered through his head.
Pyralis cleared his throat.
“The Dragon Kingdom has always been powerful. It has derived its power from the king, the kingdom's military, and the kingdom's magic. But most importantly, the Dragon Kingdom has always had a Creation Sorcerer or Sorceress. Someone who can wield the magic and essence of creation. Of life itself. That is where we obtain our ultimate power.”
Drake looked to see that Yarra nodded, and he knew the old advisor was remembering the old days.
Pyralis continued.
“We lost our last Creation Sorcerer a few centuries ago. And then, once peace reigned across all the lands, we lost the need for one. And eventually, everyone forgot that the position even existed.”
“What is so special about a Creation Sorceress? What is the Essence of Creation?” This question came from the back of the room, the voice dripping with petulance.
Drake knew that most of the younger dragon shifters of the kingdom didn't believe in the old folk tales about how magic used to rule the lands.
Drake nodded at Pyralis to answer the question.
“Lucien Dastow is a clever shifter. He seeks the Creation Sorceress because alive, she can create whatever he desires. Such as the most powerful weapons you ever dreamed of. And worse, were she dead, her power can be distilled and absorbed. And what do you think will happen if Lucien absorbs her power?”
Pyralis spoke in a gentle, chiding voice, as though he was imparting a history lesson to a bunch of rowdy, young shifters.
“Well,” Brigg moved away from the wall, “we better bloody find her then! We can't let Lucien get his hands on her.”
Everyone in the room nodded their agreement. Drake was relieved and pleased by this. They may not have all understood magic, but they could understand why letting Lucien get his hands on this sorceress was a bad idea.
“How do we find her?” Drake asked of Pyralis.
“Well…” Pyralis hesitated. “She did not attend any of the academies, so she went undiscovered. The oracles have given us a general location. But in truth, only Your Majesty has the ability to sense her power.”
“You've got to be kidding!” Brigg exclaimed as they all understood Pyralis's meaning.
“It's no problem, Brigg.” Drake stood, rising to his full height.
“You are the king! You can't wander about town. Not when Lucien may attack at any moment.”
“Would you want Lucien to find her before I did?” Drake retorted.
The room fell silent. Every one of them knew what Drake needed to do.