Omensent: Wrath of a Dragon God (49 page)

Damion slowly walked through the massive bronze doors
, and out into the massive open air coliseum.

The battle arena proved to be little more than one giant open air square surrounded on all sides by seating and viewing platforms. Thousands of people were packed together
, shoulder to shoulder, eager to see the next combatants as they clashed. Many cheered as they caught sight of him entering, while others glared down at him with suspicious, unfriendly eyes.

He looked around as he slowly made his way out to the center of the square
, and spotted Damarius standing with Grediff on a platform high above the battlefield. The old wizard had changed into a gleaming white robe, and had retrieved his elaborate crystal topped staff, and now stood next to the battle master striking extravagant poses as he introduced Damion.

The huge warrior spotted the others
on another nearby platform, watching nervously as he made his way to the center of arena.

He stopped when he reached the center of the battlefield, and stared a
cross the open square at his quarry, while Damarius continued to heap praise upon him in an effort to impress the crowd.

King Mika
was a huge bull of a man, with a short cropped beard, and the physique of someone who had once been powerfully muscled, but those muscles had long gone soft from inactivity. He wore a heavy plate armor that had been trimmed in gold, and burnished until it shined. His helm matched his armor, and had an elaborate golden crown mounted above the visor. A massive shield was strapped tightly to one of the king's arms, and he carried a huge battleaxe lightly in one hand.

He stared
back across the field at Damion, an arrogant sneer plastered across his bearded face.

"Ladies and gentlemen of Teir," Damarius declared
extravagantly, finally coming to the end of his long winded introduction. "it is my honor to introduce to you, Damion Omensent, Protector of Sevria, known to most by the name," He paused dramatically, flashing the huge warrior an impish grin. "the Dragon Lord!"

The entire coliseum
suddenly fell dead silent.

Damion looked up at the old wizard sourly, then turned back to his opponent, whose jaw had dropped open in shock.

"This will be a fight to the death!" Grediff roared, striking a huge bronze gong that had been erected in the center of the platform. "Let the battle commence!"

************

"This sitting around, waiting to hear news of what's happening is beginning to grow unbearable." Shirk growled, sitting back in the oversized chair behind Damion's desk and rubbing his eyes wearily. "I don't have the temperament that it requires. I'm not a very patient person."

As was customary, they had gathered
together in Damion's office, where they held all of their meetings, ate all of their meals, and conducted the day to day business of running the castle.

"Waiting is never easy."
Gwynth murmured in a quiet voice. "I've spent almost my entire existence waiting." She smiled sadly. "Being an immortal messenger for the gods may sound nice, but it's actually quite boring. I have often gone hundreds of years without delivering the words of a god to the mortal world. During those times there is really nothing for me to do but watch, and wait."

Lady Skie
had invited the legendary figure to linger with them for as long as she liked after Gwynth had appeared to them weeks before, and to everyone's surprise, she had happily accepted. Since that day, the elderly woman had remained with them in Sevria, seeming to take great pleasure in their company.

"Is that why you have chosen to remain here with us?"
Dar asked curiously from his seat across the large table.

"In part." Gwynth admitted. "I miss the
companionship," She took a sip from her goblet of wine. "not to mention the food and drink."

"What is the other reason you have stayed?" Lady Skie inquired.

"I have the feeling my work here is not yet complete." The old woman replied mysteriously. "I figured since I was going to be needed here anyway, I would linger for a time, and enjoy some of those simple pleasures that are denied me otherwise."

"What other work would you have?" Shirk yawned inquisitively. "More messages from the gods?"

"Possibly." Gwynth shrugged. "That will all ultimately come down to Damion."

They all looked at the strange old woman with interest.

The old woman raised one hand to ward off their questions. "Before you ask, no, I have no idea where he is now right now, nor what he may be doing. As long as I remain here in the mortal world, I am cut off from seeing what is happening elsewhere, unless, of course, I get a message from a god to update me on recent events."

They all looked crestfallen.

"What is it like speaking to god?" Dar asked the old woman curiously.

Gwynth shrugged. "It depends on the god.
Some gods are quite pleasant to communicate with, while others are quite horrid. Triton, for example, is the god of war, and therefore thrives upon blood and carnage. It can be quite horrible having to deal with Him. Ele, the moon goddess, on the other hand, is always a pleasure to speak with."

"What about Estheryal? What is She like?"

The old woman smiled, causing the many wrinkles on her face to deepen dramatically. "She is actually rather wonderful. She is a very motherly sort, you know. She cares very much for Her children here in the mortal world."

The freckle faced sprite frowned. "And Draco?"

"Draco," The elderly woman started with a sigh. "isn't really that bad. He is a little stern and unyielding, and
very
stubborn, but He is not evil at heart. He has reasons for what He does, although sometimes those reasons can be obscure."

"If Draco isn't evil," Shirk scowled. "then why did He have that
witch abduct Leia?"

"Draco actually didn't choose
the highland witch." The elderly woman sighed, taking another sip from her wine goblet. "It was the elder spirits that decided to use a her to fulfill the dragon god's request. From what I gather, He is quite unhappy with their choice."

"He's not the only one." The pot bellied man grunted sourly.

"The dragon god couldn't trust any of His children to abduct little Leia." Gwynth explained. "The scarlet dragons are still being controlled by the Dragon Sword, and would surely destroy any shadow dragon that decided to emerge from hiding. The dragonspawn and shadowspawn are even more unreliable. Besides the fact they are terrified of Damion, they're complete savages. I'm not sure they're even intelligent to understand such an act."

"You may be surprised." Lady Skie told her dubiously. "Slither is quite intelligent
. He has been invaluable to us in helping keep the dragonspawn in check. Since he pledged himself to Damion, not a single attack has happened along the caravan route."

The old woman looked surprised. "Really? Image that!" She shrugged
dismissively. "Since Draco couldn't trust any of His children," She continued. "He was forced to rely upon the elder spirits." She made a face. "The elder spirits are a cantankerous lot. They have no need for worshippers, but will occasionally grant powers to those who beseech them. They are especially fond of the highland witches. I suspect that they granted the witch who abducted Leia nearly unlimited power to accomplish her task."

"
I hope that Damion understands exactly who he's up against." Lady Skie murmured worriedly. "If the witch is as powerful as you say she is, he'll need to be cautious."

"
The Dragon Lord is quite aware of her capabilities." Gwynth assured her gently. "He has already seen a number of demonstrations of her power."

"So," Dar started, his tiny face worried. "what are the chances they will succeed in
rescuing Leia?"

The old woman frowned. "The odds are always against mortals when it comes to defying a god
," She suddenly smiled. "but that changes when it comes to dealing with Damion." She looked genuinely amused. "He is unlike any other mortal that has ever existed. He's not only immensely powerful, he seems to be completely unpredictable." She chuckled. "He makes the gods quite nervous. Most mortals have a preordained fates. Destiny has a clear purpose for them, and that path can be seen by the gods. Damion, on the other hand, has no defined path. He is moving outside of destiny, forging his own fate, and therefore, the gods cannot predict his next move. That makes them
very
nervous."

"So we all have a preordained destiny?" Shirk asked, his eyes haunted.

The old woman shook her head. "Not all mortals, not anymore. Damion doesn't have a preordained destiny, and the fate of almost every person that he encounters is changed unalterably, just by coming into contact with him. The gods are not able to see their new paths, and that makes them very uneasy."

"I can see why that would bother them." Dar agreed.
"If Damion is unknowingly altering people's destinies, it could throw off the balance of the universe."

"Not quite," The old woman shook her head in disagreement. "He may alter their destiny, but the universe will correct itself. It will not allow itself to be
thrown off balance. If someone's fate is altered to a point that they cannot accomplish what destiny had in store for them, the universe merely shifts that fate to the next mortal best suited for whatever task it had." Her gaze suddenly grew distant. "There once was a time that the gods forged the destinies for their mortal children, but when they withdrew from this world, they allowed destiny to take over. The only way they can really keep watch over their worshippers is by following the paths that fate has laid before them."

"And when Damion encounters one of their worshippers,
" Dar said in understanding. "he changes their destiny so their god can longer keep watch over them."

Gwynth nodded. "The gods are becoming very concerned. There has never
mortal quite like the Dragon Lord. The world trembles with his every step, sending shockwaves throughout the entire universe." She suddenly laughed. "There hasn't been so much excitement among the gods for eons."

"
Do you think he has any chance of saving Leia?" Lady Skie asked in a hopeless tone.

The elderly old woman smiled a gentle, reassuring smile that lifted everyone's spirits, and filled them all with hope. "My dear," She murmured in a mysterious voice. "I wouldn't still be here if I didn't."

************

"Did it look like he enjoyed my intro
duction?" Damarius asked excitedly as he hurried over to the adjoining platform, where the others stood anxiously awaiting the battle to commence.