Gatekeepers Book 3: Redemption

Vinkex was resting in the makeshift throne placed in the Rogue’s Castle courtyard when a loud explosion rocked the air. Alarmed, his eyes snapped open as he leapt to his feet. Looking around for the source of the commotion, he noticed that smoke was rising from the high castle tower where he had stationed the spellcasters for the storm barrier.

What in the world happened up there? Did someone lose focus and self-destruct? Vinkex shook his head in annoyance. Unfurling his wings, he flapped them once and took off in the direction of the tower. That would be a pain if it’s true. I don’t have that many troops to spare that are capable of using joint-magic like that.

While flying towards the tower, he noticed that his surroundings were suddenly getting brighter. Pausing in confusion, he spun around as he hovered on the spot. The storm barrier was falling apart. It only took a few seconds before it dissipated completely, flooding the flying archipelago with the early morning light.

Why is the barrier down?! Vinkex began panicking slightly as he stared around in shock. What the hell are those spellcasters doing?! Don’t tell me all of them bit the dust!

Vinkex returned his attention to the tower and saw a large figure standing in a hole in the wall near the top. Even from this distance, Vinkex could make out the golden gleam of the figure’s gold-edged crimson scales.

“Damn you!” Vinkex roared at Theravor. He flapped his wings and shot through the air like a rocket as he flew at the Dragon King. “What are you doing here?!”

Theravor gave him a sly smile as the gap between them quickly grew smaller. “I’m here to make a statement,” Theravor stated simply once Vinkex was almost on top of him. Vinkex’s talons flashed out at Theravor, but the Dragon King simply vanished just before the attack connected. Vinkex’s talons swung through empty air.

Thrown off balance by his missed attack, Vinkex unsteadily landed inside the tower. Whirling around, he glared out at the skies to see where the Dragon King had fled to. But Theravor was nowhere in sight. Vinkex couldn’t even sense any magic from the king anymore.

Theravor is certainly fast; I’ll give him that much. Vinkex thought to himself with a snort. It appears I’ll at least have to chase him down a bit before I take him down. He sighed to himself and turned around to assess the damaged Theravor had wrought. It was a bloody massacre; there wasn’t a single survivor. Body parts and blood littered the floor in a complete mess, and the magic circle that had been used to produce the storm barrier was completely destroyed.

Looks like we’ll have to give up on the idea of approaching with our stronghold heavily fortified. I’m not that worried, though; the dragons of this era are still too weak to stop me. An image of Theravor suddenly popped up in Vinkex’s mind. He shook his head to rid it of the thought, irritated with himself for questioning his belief.

Vinkex noticed that the blood and bodies were scattered about in an odd manner. Perplexed, he stared intently at the scene for a few moments before his vision shifted slightly and he was able to see something quite obvious. The body parts and blood splatters throughout the entire room were arranged in a way that it looked like someone had written in Dragonscript with a massive hand. Fury filled Vinkex’s mind, and he uttered a soft growl. His fist curled into such a tight ball that his hand started bleeding as he read the simple message Theravor had obviously set up.

“We will win.”

"Damn him!" Vinkex roared, throwing a fist at the wall. The roof of the tower was blown off by the punch, surrounding the ancient dragon in a dust cloud as debris rained down around him. Panting hard, Vinkex's fist fell to his side before it curled up even tighter. A smile slowly grew on Vinkex's face before he tilted his head back and laughed at the sky while blood dripped from his fist.

Well, I'll be damned. Guess I lost this round. He stopped laughing as he felt pain throb through his fist. Turning his attention to it, he healed it with a quick Restoration spell. Looks like I have to admit that at least the king isn't all talk.

A spot near the center of his chest suddenly throbbed, momentarily robbing Vinkex of his breath. However, his smile didn't change in the slightest from his body's actions. Vinkex knew all too well what this reaction meant. His smile only grew bigger as a smokey black aura shrouded body. Vertex looked up at the sky once more, showing that his right sclera had turned black while the iris remained blue.

This is gonna be fun.

The sun was in the height of its arc across the sky by the time Theravor returned to Dragonspire Castle. Landing in the opening on the castle walls meant for the royal families, he noticed that a large crowd had already gathered just inside the opening. The dragons who’d been occupying the Dragon Council Chamber when he left earlier stood there, waiting for the Dragon King’s return. Vertex was struggling to get off the bed of clouds with Damrabe’s assistance.

“I see that someone’s finally able to move,” Theravor commented. He strode over to where Vertex now stood by heavily leaning on Damrabe with an arm over Damrabe’s shoulder. “What inspired the quick recovery?”

“It was you and your reckless actions!” Vertex snapped, glaring at the king. “I understand that you’re more powerful than you’ve been letting us think, but throwing yourself into enemy territory all alone is just asking to give Vinkex exactly what he wants!”

“I’m here now, though, aren’t I?” Theravor tilted his head slightly in confusion to Vertex’s reaction. “I don’t see what the problem is anymore.”

Vertex began sputtering and hissing in fury, too agitated to form words. He regained his composure after a few moments and sighed deeply.

“Some things never change, do they?”

Theravor cracked a smile. “You’ve known me long enough to know the answer to that.” Getting serious, Theravor turned his attention to the entire group. “I’d like to advise everyone here that there’s another reason for my little adventure just now. I was flying at a consistent speed there and back so I could ascertain how much time we have before Vinkex and his forces arrive. Judging by how much time it took me to get there and then to get back, we’ll most likely be seeing them at some point close to midnight.”

“Why is that information so important that the Dragon King had to go out himself to get it?” A small voice asked. Theravor looked around for the source of the voice for a moment before spotting Clyad lounging on the bed of clouds Vertex had been resting on. He heard a soft growl from close by and noticed that Boreta was giving Clyad quite an intense stare. Lifting one hand, Boreta snapped her fingers, and the bed of clouds disappeared with a poof. Clyad fell to the ground and landed on both feet, looking unperturbed.

“It means we know how much time we have to prepare ourselves,” Boreta hissed. She obviously wasn’t fond of the fact that Clyad took advantage of her conjuration.

“That’s right,” Theravor confirmed. He walked over to Zero and placed the Vizard’s goggles atop the blue dragon’s head. “We have roughly twelve hours to prepare for an attack. That’s plenty of time to get ourselves set up.” Theravor turned his head and looked at each family head in turn. “I assume all four of you already know what needs to be done?”

Zero, Vinzgar, Boreta, and Drax all nodded their heads in unison.

“Good. Let’s not waste any time, then.” There was an excited glint in Theravor's eyes that betrayed his emotions. “Vinkex thinks that the dragons of this age are weak? Let’s prove to him that our blood is just as strong as it was a thousand years ago." Theravor glanced down at Zero, who still stood next to him. "Zero, do you think you can have that 'toy' you've been tinkering with the last several years ready by midnight?"

Zero's eyes widened in shock at Theravor's suggestion. "Are you serious, Theravor?!" he cried. "Getting it prepared by midnight might be pushing it, but do you seriously want to use 'that thing' on our enemies during the battle?!" He shook his head morbidly. "There won't be anything left of them if they get hit by that."

Theravor shook his head. "I"m sure if you and Boreta work together, you can reconfigure it so that it won't just kill any targets it hits. As I've stated over the years, our goal during any civil battles that may pop up is not to kill our enemies. Dragonkind is still recovering from nearly being hunted to extinction a thousand years ago. Just modify that thing so it'll just put our enemies out of commission for a while."

"That's a tall order, Theravor."

"Can you do it? I thought nothing was impossible for the 'Master Tinkerer'," Theravor challenged.

Zero thought hard about Theravor's proposal for a few moments, tracing quick calculations in the air with his talons. A smile eventually grew on his face.

"If I have Boreta's assistance, I think I can manage," he finally answered. He rubbed his hands together excitedly. "To think I can finally finish that project of mine... I'm going to have plenty of fun before midnight." He walked over to the edge of the opening and took off at top speed, heading in the direction of his workshop. Boreta exchanged glances with Theravor before nodding and taking off after Zero.

"Now, then," Theravor started, rubbing his hands together in the same manner as Zero. "The Managuard and Vizard families have started on their duties. It's time for the Stormfang and Killwings to do the same."