The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2

Chapter 97

PART16

In the skies over south-western Serminak, above a forbidding range of volcanic mountains, four

dragons emerged near the mightiest peak in the region, the crater of which had been filled in and built

up to a point with a flat top only five hundred and fifty meters wide. A cone of darkness expanded

upward from the mountaintop, obscuring what was occurring there and blocking the mid-morning

brightness for as high as the eye could see. But they knew what was within the darkness, since they’d

seen it in Readings.

Each of the four was about forty-six meters in length from tail-tip to snout. Karz looked the same only

adult and larger; still uniformly glossy black over every part of him.

Fire had colored herself to match her nickname, being red on her legs and belly, varying in streaky

patterns through orange to light yellow along her spine and on the top of her head, with glowing orange

eyes. Though not realistic enough to convince anyone that she was actually on fire, it was done well

enough to provide an amusing facsimile of it, particularly when she was moving quickly, while

simultaneously accentuating the lines of her muscles and contours.

Val had kept close to her true coloring, being black on her wings and along her sides, silver on her back

and belly, and her eyes were still a vivid dark violet.

Six had colored every part of himself that same dark violet, with a reflective metallic sheen to his scales

that made him emit cascades of violet sparkles in the sunlight. “I just love the color of your eyes.” he

privately mentioned to Val, and she privately giggled back.

It didn’t escape her mind that he had excluded both Karz, and Fire, whose eyes were normally the

same color as her own. It pleased her a little, in an indefinable way, but there was no time to think

about that now. She mentally filed it away for future consideration as Karz psionicly announced their

arrival in Grande High Draconian, and with considerable volume.

“I am Karzog. You are my blood-father. We would speak with you.”

A moment later the response came in the same language, and just as loud. “You may approach.”

They flew forward and entered both the cone of darkness and an Illusion that encompassed the same

volume, making everything within seem to glow just enough to be seen, without producing any real

light. The stars and moons overhead glittered and glowed like it was midnight.

Zarkog reclined upon the stone with his eyes pressed to the twin eyepieces of a great device. They

recognized the components of the Psionic Distant Listener, but those components were now only a

small part of a greater device. The immense hundred and eighty meter long bulk of the eldest mortal

dragon filled a significant portion of the mountaintop. His physical, magical, and psionic presence was

impressive and intimidating. He was now completely flat black, having removed the gold and silver

accents he’d worn as Dragon Lord of Serminak and the glossy reflectivity that had gone with them.

Even with the Illusory glow, it was difficult to physically see him in the darkness.

In a moment of mild panic, Six checked to see if Zarkog was still sworn to justice, and detected the

Marking of The Just Alliance only six millimeters wide located just beneath the base of his tail. The size

and location of the Marking said much about Zarkog’s opinion of his involuntary vow of justice, but the

vow was still in effect.

“I have come to ask you what changes you made to me while I was still in the shell.” Karz bluntly

stated, snarling and growling even more aggressively than the language required, waving his wings

and writhing his tail for emphasis.

“You are me, reborn.” Zarkog returned just as bluntly in his awesomely thunderous voice, without

looking away from the eyepieces. “Not as I was when I was born, but as I was when you were

conceived, with all of the improvements I have made in myself over the last eighty-seven million years.

You think Tekritimaki is your blood-mother, but she is not, for you did not have one. She was merely the

female whose body created your egg and laid you. You inherited none of her traits or characteristics in

any way. You are me, younger.”

“I see.” Karzog stated. “So I ask again, what are the changes you have made in yourself, and in me?”

“My size is obvious, beyond that I will not say specifically.” Zarkog answered, still gazing through the

device. “To do so would reveal the details of too many of my own advantages, which would be tactically

and strategically unwise for me. Suffice to say that you are inherently superior to every other dragon

who has ever lived, in every way, with the obvious exception of myself. Beyond that, you will have to

discover your capabilities for yourself.”

“I thank the Source that I did not inherit your personality.” Karz growled. “I realize that your

observations of the demons are important to all of Kellaran. None-the-less, you are being discourteous.

I think you could spare me a glance as a sign of basic respect.”

Zarkog waited a long and leisurely moment, making an obvious point, before he turned from the device

and considered his son. “What a ridiculous costume. You earn no respect for trying to appear more

impressive than you are in this immature way. You are a barely-born infant, and you are verging on

serious disrespect yourself. We agree on one thing. You have not inherited my personality, more’s the

pity.”

“The appearance of this Simulacrum is no more mature than my abilities, which are far more advanced

than you would expect from me at my age. My companions chose to wear such things as a courtesy,

so that they could converse fluently in this language. We chose this size so that you wouldn’t have to

strain your tired old eyes to see the subtleties of our communications.”

Zarkog stared at him for a moment, then suddenly rocked forward and back with his tail raised a bit a

few times; the laughter of dragons. “My tired old eyes can see you with sufficient acuity still. But now

you have piqued my interest, and I have considered you with almost half of my attention. You are

indeed correct. You have emerged from the time-bubble early, and you have only experienced twenty-

two years. Your determination and your eloquence are both far beyond your age. And your mind…”

Zarkog trailed off as he Probed the youngster psionicly, and met a blank wall of Shielding. He pushed

harder, then harder still, to no avail.

“Amazing. You have the finest Psionic Shielding of any being I have encountered beyond the gods.

Now I am truly curious. I ask you with all due respect and courtesy. Remove the silly costume and let

me see you, and share your surface thoughts.”

“I will let you see what I really look like.” Karz stated as he altered his Simulacrum to have his true

appearance. “But that is all. When you have given me the specifics of how you have altered me, I will

share more with you.”

“Hmm. You look as I expected you to.” Zarkog stated, and turned his attention to his son’s three

companions. He focused on Fire.

“That is very attractive. If I were still Lord of Serminak and that was more than a costume, I would rape

you quite vigorously.”

“You might have tried.” Fire returned derisively. “One of us would have died before that happened, and

it might not have been me. And if it was, you would still have to fornicate my corpse.”

“So you think.” Zarkog snorted, with the equivalent of a chuckle. “Many others thought the same, and

were proven wrong.”

“None were me.” Fire shot back, and snorted two rings of fire from her nostrils. Content bel0ngs to Nôvel(D)r/a/ma.Org.

He considered her again. “You know, I think you are not really a dragon. And if that is the case, you are

more fluent in Draconian than any other small folk I have met.

“Why are you here? To provide this cub with moral support, or to marvel at my magnificence? Or

perhaps to try to protect him from me, should I overcome the vow of justice?”

“We each have our own reasons for wishing to speak with you.” Fire stated. “My own personal reason

is to marvel, not at your magnificence, but at the most colossal failure in the history of Kellaran. You

could have had it all, you could have ruled the world, you could have been the greatest person who

ever lived, you could have saved us from the demons. You could have ensured it!