Omensent: Rise of the Shadow Dragons (58 page)

"I can't believe how quickly those traveling merchants jumped at the chance to
purchase some of that dragon meat!" Dar said with an expression of revulsion. "The thought of actually eating a shadow dragon is beyond disgusting!"

"I don't know." Sly disagreed. "I thought it wasn't that bad.
Kind of tasted like chicken."

"You didn't!" The Alena's freckled face was horrified.

The little man shrugged. "How many chances will I actually get to try a bit of dragon meat?"

"That's revolting!"

"It may be revolting, but the gold that we made from the sale of that meat has helped to replace what we used up paying the work crews." Sly pointed out reasonably. "If we hadn't sold the meat, Damion would return to find the vaults completely empty, instead only mostly empty."

"I still think it's disgusting!"

Sly shrugged again. "The local artisans seem quite pleased with the bones as well. Even the smallest figurines carved from dragon bone are fetching huge sums of gold. We made as much from the sale of the bones as we did for the meat!"

A soldier suddenly came rushing into the guard house, his expression excited. "I have news,
milord!" He blurted out breathlessly.

"Calm yourself, man!" Sly admonished. "You look
as though you have a dragon on your tail!"

The soldier took a moment to catch his breath. "Sorry about that, milord." He apologized a bit shame faced. "I guess I got a little excited."

"What's gotten you so worked up?"

"We have riders approaching, milord!"

Sly shook his head in exasperation. "Why does that have you so excited? It's probably just another caravan of merchants from Sierra."

The young soldier shook his head wit
h a smile. "They're not merchants, milord!" He gestured out the window. "Look for yourselves!"

Sly, Damarius, and Dar went to the window and gazed out through the falling snow curiously. There were four riders approaching the city at a brisk trot, being trailed by several horses carrying the group's supplies. Leading the group was an enormous
warrior dressed in heavy scale armor, riding atop a huge smoky grey warhorse. A large white owl was perched sedately on one of the warrior's enormous shoulders, preening its gleaming white feathers.

"Is that..." Sly started
in disbelief.

"It's Damion!" Dar roared, dashing out of the guard
house and down the staircase to meet the riders as they entered the city.

Sly and Damarius
quickly followed him out the door and down the stairs, both laughing with joy.

There were many tears shed as they greeted one another, then they quickly made their way up to the castle to allow Lad
y Skie to join in the long overdue reunion.

They spent the next several hours exchangin
g accounts of their adventures while enjoying a sumptuous meal prepared by the castle staff in honor of Damion's return.

"So once Tempest ripped the brood mother's head off, and the other scarlet dragons eliminated the remaining shadow dragons, Damion decided it was time for us to come home." Veren finished their story with a shrug. "We made our way back into
Jaghera, and jumped on that maniac captain's ship, and spent a few weeks being tossed about the waves. We finally made port after a stop off at the island of Namith so the good captain could take on a load of spices."

"I see you have been busy since we have been gone." Damion commented, leaning back in his chair and patting his full belly with
satisfaction.

Sly shrugged. "We spent a great deal of time and money preparing ourselves in case of an attack." He suddenly grinned. "By the way, you may want to have a couple of drinks before you visit the treasury."

"It was for a worthy cause." The huge warrior said dismissively. "Those machines were a stroke of genius, though. Was you really able to kill a shadow dragon with a single shot?"

"Aye, t
hat it did!" The little man confirmed with a grin. "Damarius's machine proved to be quite the difference maker when it came to dealing with the shadow dragons!"

The old wizard frowned. "It's a sham
e Tempest destroyed the designs, but a promise is a promise, after all." He quickly went on to explain how the scarlet dragon revealed the secret of killing the dark serpents in exchange for the designs to the siege machines. "We thought it seemed like a fair trade at the time."

"Th
e only part of the castle that sustained any real damage was your own private quarters, I'm afraid." Lady Skie informed him regretfully. "The shadow dragon turned pretty much everything inside into ash."

"Aye!" Damarius agreed with a laugh. "Right before Skie stabbed it in the eye with a spear!"

Everyone laughed at that.

"The laborers have finished the repairs to your quarters, and we
have had a new bed constructed to replace your old one." Lady Skie assured him, blushing slightly at their laughs. "We figured wouldn't be too happy if you returned only to be forced to sleep on the cold stone floor."

"I especially would like to thank you for that!" Raven said with a wicked smile. "I just hope it's large enough for two!"

Everyone laughed again as Damion's face turned flaming red.

The next few months were hectic ones for Damion and the others. Winter was always a tough time for those who called the mountains their home
, and there was always more tasks to complete than there were hours in the day.

T
hings slowly began to settle down into a comfortable routine. Damion resumed his duties of overseeing the city, while Veren resumed command of the castle guard. Raven seemed to be a natural when it came to negotiating with the incoming and departing caravans, making sure that all the trading between merchants remained cordial, and of course, that all taxes and fees were paid.

Sly and Shirk quickly became fast friends, and spent
a great deal of their time frequenting the little man's favorite tavern, trying their very best to drink every drop of ale in town.

Damarius surprised everyone by briefly
departing to his cottage in the secluded valley to gathering his belongings, then returning to Sevria and setting up his workshop in the Vaults. "I think I have had enough of the leisurely life." The old wizard had explained with a grin. "City life is far more exciting."

Dar
continued to linger in Sevria until the first signs of spring, spending most of his time with Lady Skie, who had resumed her role in making sure the day to day activities in the castle continued to run smoothly.

Life soon settled into a comfortable routine, and with spring's arrival came
a resurgence of merchant caravans looking to make their way through the mountains in search of a place to trade their wares, keeping everyone quite busy making sure the growing city continued to operate efficiently.

It was almost midsummer, and the sun had already set for the evening, when Raven came wandering into the bedchamber she and Damion were sharing, a strange look on her face.

"Good evening, dear one." Damion murmured to her distractedly as he continued to flip through a trade agreement that had been proposed by a group of merchants from Deiria. "How was your day?"

"Oh,
it was about the same as always." She said in a mysterious tone. "I discovered an interesting bit of information, and came to a decision you may wish to be aware made aware of."

"Oh? What's that?" He asked, still distracted by the trade agreement.

"I have asked Damarius to officiate over a joining ceremony for us, and he agreed to perform it." She announced in a deliberately offhand tone.

It took several moments for this statement to sink in. "
Joining ceremony? For who? Who's getting married?" He suddenly smiled. "Let me guess, Sly finally asked that mule to be his wife, right?"

Raven la
ughed, then shook her head. "No, the ceremony is for us." She blushed slightly, then took his hand and gently placed it on her stomach. "Call me old fashioned, but I believe that the parents should be joined
before
their first child is born!"

"First child?" He repeated blankly, then his eyes suddenly widened with the realization of what she was telling him. "First child? I...I'm going to be a f-father?"

The radiant young woman smiled at him lovingly, then gently caressed his cheek with one hand. "I was thinking we could hold the ceremony in the courtyard, and invite everyone in Sevria to attend."

"I'm going to be a father?" He repeated in disbelief. "I'm going to be a father!"

Raven laughed. "So what do you think? About the ceremony?"

"I think it's
a wonderful idea!" Damion agreed, still trying to grasp the fact that he was going to be a father. "Have you told anyone else?"

She smiled, then shook her head. "
I thought we would let the others know together." She lowered her eyes for a moment. "So, what are you thinking?" She asked, her expression vulnerable.

"What am I thinking?" He repeated, his voice cracking slightly. He suddenly let out a whoop of joy that could be heard throughout the castle. "I'm going to be a father!
" He gently swooped her up in his arms and kissed her softly on the lips.

"Easy there, big guy!" She laughed. "
I'm guessing this news pleases you?"

Damion kissed her again. "I couldn't be more pleased!"

"And the joining ceremony?"

"We can have it anywhere you wish, any time you wish!"

She smiled happily. "Then, why don't we go let everyone else in on the goods news!"

Chapter 21

The joining ceremony was held a few weeks later, after a bit of frantic planning by Raven, Lady Skie, and an assortment of women from the castle. People traveled from all over to witness Damion and Raven as they were officially joined as man and wife.

Captain Harper made a surprise appearance, explaining he had heard news that the Dragon Lord was to be joined, and rushed to Sevria to be a part of the celebration.

Bativa, one of the clan chiefs of the fierce nomadic Deola, and an old friend of Sly and Damion, arrived a week or so before the ceremony, traveling, oddly enough, with the dwarven prince, Garth Stonecrusher and his doting wife Gretta, who had made the journey from their subterranean home beneath the grasslands to the south.

The day of the ceremony was
nothing but a blur whenever Damion attempted to recall it years later. He remembered the music and dancers performing for the mass of people who had arrived for the special occasion, and the huge feast that seemed to go on for eternity. There was kegs upon kegs of wine and ale, supplied as a gift from Garth and the dwarven people.

The ceremony itself seemed to Damion to be over as quickly as it began, concluding with Damion and Raven
exchanging gifts. Damion presented her with an exquisite necklace of elaborately braided gold adorned with a delicately crafted pendant of numerous rubies arranged in the form of a winged serpent, while she presented him with an enormous gold ring engraved with the image of a dragon holding a flaming sword, the new Coat of Arms of the guardian of Sevria.

When the ceremo
ny concluded, the people released a deafening cheer for the newly joined couple, tossing flower petals into the air, where they showered down upon them in a ritual as old as time itself. The sky above the crowd darkened momentarily as Tempest and several other scarlet dragons passed overhead, breathing flames high into the air above the ceremony, adding their own blessings to the newly formed union.

The celebration afterward lasted for three days straight, and resulted in some monstrous hangovers among the party goers and towns people.
The people took outrageous advantage of the free refreshments and drank themselves into complete insensibility. Many of them slept where they fell, whether it was on a bench, or in the gutter at the side of the road.