Draconic Testament (60 page)

“Half-Dead.” Zaxxarius said. “Tired, is all. One of your insanely fast cold showers should wake me up.”
“I’m not too sure they are good for your skin, my lord.” Abaddon said. “Perhaps we should tone them down.”
“No, please don’t.” Zaxxarius said. “I quite like it. And call me Zaxxarius, geez.”
“Alright...” Abaddon submitted. “You understand what to do, yes?”
“I’ve went over it many a time.” Zaxxarius said. “I know what to do, and what to say.”
“Nervous?” Abaddon asked.
“Sort of.” Zaxxarius admitted. He wasn’t too nervous about getting up in front of everyone and saying what he had to, but he was more nervous of the reaction. Laer and Abaddon had both constantly riddled him with warnings about how the people may act when they saw what race Zaxxarius belonged to, and it had sort of got to him. “I’ll be alright.”
“I remember when I came of age. On that birthday, all of our family’s supporters came and watched as I made a speech. It was frightening, and there were far more than I thought there was going to be. I failed my speech, stuttered, and fainted.” Abaddon sighed. “Worst day of my life.”
“Quite the motivational story, you have there.” Zaxxarius chuckled, as did Abaddon.
“You’ll be fine.” Abaddon said. “I can tell.”
Sesorai and Stark had went on ahead to scout out the rooms prepared for them. Veronica and Abaddon accompanied Zaxxarius to a royal Hovercraft, Cazria’s version of a Limo. It was wildly decorated with dragons on all corners. The Hovercraft had the right to fly above the over Hovercrafts below it due to it’s royal status, and they set off toward the Royal Palace. “The Palace is where you’ll stay from now on.” Abaddon said. “It’s your rightful home. Although...”
“I can choose not to live in it, right?” Zaxxarius asked.
“I’d highly recommend that you stay in the palace, my liege.” Abaddon said.
“So, how’s this going to happen?” Veronica asked. She was still wary of Abaddon. She could always see the disgust in his eyes whenever he looked at her, and was hesitant to talk to her when out of his Overlord’s view. “We’re going to wait around for the nobles and the lesser born of the nobles to gather in the Palace. Zaxxarius will be presented to them, and then the Overseer of the Covenant of Dawn will stand with his Patriarchs and Matriarchs and make speeches. After that, the nobles will follow Zaxxarius out onto the royal Courtyard to greet the lower born. Cazrians all over Cazria will be watching him.” Abaddon explained. Zaxxarius watched as the citizens of his city stared, pointed and gasped at the Royal Hovercraft. Some even cheered, blessing the Overlord. The citizens were so human to him, not in looks, but in nature. There were some with more mental capacity, and some with less, but they all had more or less the same mentality. They were all capable of malice, and love. They were just more dignified, or seemed that way. The Royal Hovercraft rode for a while, and it was slow, showing off to all the citizens. As the Hovercraft went on, the more citizens there seemed to be, until there were just far too many to count, as if all the world had gathered for this moment. “We must be getting close to the palace.” Veronica said. With the increased number came the increased noise, citizens all around began to cheer, and jump, and become more excited when they saw the Hovercraft. The noise broke through the walls of the fortified Hovercraft as people cheered and bellowed. Cazrians littered the streets, so many of the red-skinned beauties that it was impossible to count, but among them were other races as well. He saw giant, two legged Lizards, named the Jackobi, jumping up and down in a fashion that didn’t seem to suit them. He saw party hats on the heads of Ispii, and Scalenes throwing confetti-like material, that seemed to glitter and sparkle wildly, creating a beautiful sort of glow. He also saw a few Carrak, cat-like creatures with four arms, tall, taller than humans by a couple of inches or so, flailing their arms with glow sticks. He saw not many, but a couple here and there, werewolf-like creatures. They seemed well groomed for a dog race, but it looked like they were not pets at all. They weren’t too excited, and it was hard to tell if they were overjoyed or moody, but they seemed alright. He also saw a couple of medium to large creatures stationary. One was this huge ten-legged spider-like creature, with huge fangs, and the other was some large herbivore with a hammerhead. On top of both were two riders, that looked almost transparent and had no legs. Instead, they were tentacles, wrapped around their creatures’ body. He saw Orina, some were throwing other people in the air in a fun manner, and their laughter were that of pigs, as expected. There were also Domini, some seemed happier than others. He assumed they had gone through some rough times, what with the Zolkan rebellion and all. He was awed by the variety, and the number of people that had come to meet him. 
He arrived at the Royal Palace, named the ‘Trinity Citadel’. The Hovercraft made it through the gates, and the eager crowds stayed outside the courtyard, knowing better than to rush in after the Hovercraft. It landed far from the gates, although the crowd’s cheers were still rather loud. “Before you exit.” Abaddon explained, smiling. It was a rare thing to see Abaddon smile. “You must wear this. It’s to hide your identity until we get to an area where you are allowed to show your face.”
“One question.” Zaxxarius asked. “If my identity is so important, then why did you announce me when we first went to the Tower of Xelphan.”
“To start rumours, mainly.” Abaddon said. “A rumour among nobles and government members are more reliable, plus, they spread slower, giving it time to sink in.”
“I see.” Zaxxarius said, taking a short cloak and hood from Abaddon. It only covered his shoulders, and the hood also had a mask inside it. It wasn’t anything fancy, like Ivorian’s, but it wasn’t supposed to be anything permanent. Zaxxarius put the cloak, hood and the plain mask on, and exited the Hovercraft. It was only then that he could hear that the crowds were chanting some sort of song.
“Xelphan’s hymn.” Abaddon chuckled, as he ushered Zaxxarius towards the large doors of the Citadel. He went up the stairs to the sides of the entrance. Directly in front of the door was some sort of podium, likely where he would be addressing the crowd if he so wished. They opened slowly, and Zaxxarius could hear mechanical whirring in the doors. As the doors opened, sound escaped through the cracks, and began to die down when the ones who were making the noise began to hush each other and stare expectantly at the door. The three walked inside, and the doors began to shut behind them. Abaddon waited until the doors shut, and the sounds of Xelphan’s hymn died down in a matter of seconds before the doors fully closed, then he ordered the guards to clear the way. He led Zaxxarius off into one of the rooms at the side. He couldn’t fully see what was in front of him, but he could see a throne of sorts. He was taken through a couple of rooms, then he was allowed to take his cloak off. “So, this is the Citadel.” He said.
“Indeed.” Abaddon agreed. “I’m going to make the arrangements. Things will start soon, so, be ready. There has been much anticipation among the nobles and the people of Cazria for this event.”
“Alright.” Zaxxarius said, sitting down in a couch nearby. Veronica sat there with him, as Abaddon left the room. “So...” She began. “How do you feel?”
“Fine.” Zaxxarius said.
“Are you sure about that?” Veronica said. “I told you, I hate it when you lie to me.”
“I’m fine, honestly.” Zaxxarius replied, looking at her. Then, he gave in. “Alright, I’m a little... nervous. Not on speaking lines or anything.”
“How they’ll react?” Veronica asked.
“Yes. I’ve had... nightmares. Nightmares where they all laughed at me.” Zaxxarius said, looking at the colour of his skin. “I don’t know why it bothers me so much... I suppose it’s a bit like what Vander said. Also, what exactly am I supposed to do about all those things that happened on earth?”
“It’s not the end.” Veronica said. “You know all of this mess with the Equilibrium is going to come back to you. They said they... needed you, didn’t they?”
“Yeah. They won’t get Earth though. Sealed that portal of theirs up, and I’ve got the other secured.” Zaxxarius said. “That’s all well and good.” Veronica said. “But im more worried about you. I’ll be here with you. Don’t worry.”
“I won’t.” Zaxxarius said. Veronica paused for a second.
“Something else the matter?” Zaxxarius asked.
“Aye...” Veronica sighed. “About Talia...” Zaxxarius’ eyebrow raised.
“Err... What about her?” Zaxxarius asked.
“Don’t you miss her?” Veronica asked. “I can tell she was very important to you...”
“She always had my back.” Zaxxarius said. “I’ll admit. I feel as if I’m betraying her... but how could she ever adapt to this?” He asked, pointing at the magic fuelled flame that lit up a candle on the table. “Cazria was only easy for me to adapt to because, somewhere, I sort of always believed magic of some kind existed, and that I was part of it. This would never be normal for Talia.”
“Do you still love her?” Veronica asked. Zaxxarius paused. Veronica felt very insecure. “Do you... think about her?”
“Let’s not.” Zaxxarius said, taking Veronica’s hand. “I... I love you.” Veronica smiled at his words, but the insecurity and jealousy was still there. Zaxxarius’ words to her was sincere, but painted with guilt. He remembers the many times he had said the same thing to Talia. But there’s simply no way they could continue the way they were after all that’s happened. Life on Earth for Zaxxarius would soon lead to disaster, while the exact same was true is Talia was to stay on Cazria. Just as Zaxxarius pondered this, the door opened and a familiar head poked it. It was Stark. “Come along, my lord.” He said. “It’s time.”
Vander and Stark walked with Zaxxarius down the hall. “Just wait outside here until it’s time to enter.” Vander said. “This’ll be easy, right, bro?” Stark asked, slapping Zaxxarius on the back.
“R-Right.” Zaxxarius said, nervousness hitting him at last. “Of course.” The two left Zaxxarius, taking Veronica with them round to the above balconies, to watch Zaxxarius’ coronation from above. Zaxxarius watched them leave, and then he turned and proceeded down the halls. Zaxxarius’ heart pounded, as he walked to the doors of the citadel halls. He could hear the booming of some sort of preacher from inside, along with the sound of harps and violin-like music. Outside, three maids awaited him, one holding some sort of odd cape. They were obviously surprised to see that the new overlord was, in fact, a human, but they did their best to hide it on their faces as they went about their duties. The first maid walked behind Zaxxarius and another walked in front, both fastening the cape round his neck. They all remained silent, and Zaxxarius was sure the three could hear his heart thump. The cape had three long strips heading down his back, and each maid took a hold of one of the strips. “It’s time.” A voice from behind them said. Zaxxarius turned.
“Abaddon.” He wheezed.
“Don’t be afraid.” Abaddon said. “You must withstand this.”
“I know.” Zaxxarius said. The preaching from the other side stopped.
“Let’s go.” Abaddon said. The maids bowed, and Abaddon opened the door. A bright, strong ray of light broke through the cracks in the door as it opened, and exposed Zaxxarius whole body, and the rest of the corridor. There was no loud gasps of shock and horror like he expected there to be, but there were silent murmurings. As soon as the musicians saw his face, they erupted into a royal, epic tune. From where he was, he could see a couple of familiar faces among the crowd. Each row close to the front had banners of their households next to them, as they were reserved seats that were pre-planned. He saw Crisom of house Ridley, Varhaim of house Sylvarin, and a couple of others he had met during his time in Cazria. “Follow.” Abaddon whispered, and walked forwards. Zaxxarius hesitated for a couple of seconds but he ended up following him, and the maids holding the three strips followed in unison. They walked down the long isle towards the throne, passing by all sorts of emotion-stricken faces, where a peculiar looking man stood awaiting them. He could feel everybody staring at his soul. To the left and right of the thrones were musicians, playing the harp and other instruments fit for an opera. The peculiar man was chubby, though nowhere near so much as Sacrum, and he wore robes the same as Tyria, only they were inverted colours. He also wore a large headdress, which looked as if it was the skeleton of a Dragon’s head. It looked almost real, and very heavy. Zaxxarius knew who this was. This was the Overseer, the head of the Covenant of Dawn. Abaddon walked up to the throne, and stood beside it. Zaxxarius stopped in front of the throne. He looked at it for a few seconds. It looked comfy. It had red cushion-like materials on the seat and the arm rest, and the backrest was huge. It was also intimidating, as it had an extreme amount of trapped mana inside it, most likely to make the Overlord feel powerful, and comfortable. Zaxxarius turned around, and sat. The maids tied the strips around the clothing on his legs, creating a type of gown. It was enough for him to walk in, but it was just a little restricting. He scanned the crowd from where he sat, the faces of those before him burning into his memory. He could see his friends up on the Balcony. Veronica, Stark, Vander and Yaevinn. Slowly, the music died down. The maids departed behind the throne after they were done, and the Overseer walked up to address the crowd.
“We are all gathered here today, to witness the rise of a new Overlord!” The overseer said, then, he turned to Zaxxarius, and knelt. “Zaxxarius Elric, son of Sancterus.” The overseer said, in an old, wise voice. “Do you swear to serve your country, and bear all of it’s troubles on your shoulders with vigil, and lead our people to a brighter future? Do you swear manifest the code of the Draconic Testament, and pursue the crusade?”
“I, Zaxxarius Elric, swear.” Zaxxarius said, trying to sound as calm as possible. The nobles in the stands clapped, as the music began again, another epic blast of music erupted from the musicians.