Her Royal Majesty, Queen Dahlia of Altea sat in her ivory and ruby chair in crystal carved war room. She gave a sinister appearance, dark red and crimson eyes with skin the color of a bleached skull. Dressed in black and silver with matching black and silver-tipped hair. Her bright white feathered wings brazenly contradicted her dreadful impression.
Sam and Kaguya entered the crystal carved war
room. Military personnel were going over the various maps detailing
the Domain's forces across the planet. Gareth was already in the room
with them, he gave a curt nod to Sam. One of the feeds that held the
elven knight's attention was that enforcement droid, Sam called the
Tarantula. It sprayed death from the heat ray in its mouth. Two
large guns on its side fired bolts of plasma destroying any static
positions.
Similar images played from other feeds. The
machines had control over most of the southern hemisphere with
sporadic fighting in other areas of the planet. The skies were
heavily contested but the machines had not gotten to the northern
areas of the continent. Where refugees were being brought and
defenses were being formed.
It raised a question of how Daimos was able to unleash his grey goo in an area so far north of the planet. The only explanation Sam could think of is that Daimos rolled the dice hoping to take out a potential enemy as quickly as possible. Was Daimos programmed to be bold when needed or was that an emergent quality from gaining self-awareness?
Pulling his mind back to the situation at hand. He and Kaguya walked up to the second level of the room where they bowed and curtsied respectfully to the Queen. The Enchantress was standing next to her, which was surprising to Sam. While he was aware she would be involved in this meeting he expected her to join by way of magic mirror. Her actually leaving the Mystic Woods was not a thought that would come to his mind. Then Dahlia must be an old friend, but was that literal or in terms of her family?
“Rest assured, Sir Bailey. The concealment will not dissipate due to our brief departure from the Mystic Woods.”
Sam would question if the Enchantress had read his mind. But he assumed she's just good at reading people. She had plenty of time to learn after all.
“Sir Bailey,” said Dahlia. Her voice was not what Sam expected. It was husky and seductive. Like a lounge singer from a noir movie. “Your Radiance. It is an honor to meet you both.”
“The honor is ours, Your Majesty,” said Kaguya. “How may we be of assistance?”
“Melchior must be awakened from his slumber. His power will be necessary to end this threat."
“Considering the invasion hasn't woken him up. I'm guessing this isn't any ordinary dragon nap,” said Sam.
The
Queen nodded. “To prevent Melchior from growing restless and
endangering us. He requested that a Hymn of slumber be placed on him.
Only the Hymn of awakening can break the spell.”
“A hymn,
ma'am,” Sam questioned.
“Yes, are you not aware of the nature of dragons?” Sam answered in the negative. The winged elf turned to the Enchantress. “Keeping your champion in the dark I see,” she said raising an eyebrow.
“No, It was simply not relevant to share the information before this time,” said the Enchantress. She turned to Sam. “Dragons, like the Emissary, are angels only of a lower rank. They simply take the form of scaled winged beasts while in the physical plane.”
“Wait, but the dragons I read about are normally evil. Would those be fallen angels?”
The Enchantress nodded.
“Saint George and the Dragon is making a lot of sense now,” Sam said under his breath. Getting back to the task at hand he continued. “Okay, I'm going to take a wild leap of logic and guess the Hymnbook is not here but somewhere else. Somewhere that is currently under occupation.”
“You are correct on all counts,” said the Queen. “The Hymnal was placed in the city of Myrsida under the protection of the Jade Monks. Due to their neutrality, they were considered trusted not to abuse its power.”
“What do we do once we acquire the Hymnal?”
“You will take it to an isle in the west. There you will go to the Dragon's shrine where the Sprites will begin the ritual.”
“Forgive me for this question, your Majesty. But why was the book not left with the Sprites,” asked Kaguya
“There were other uses for the songs in certain celebrations and services. It was more convenient to keep it on the mainland in trustworthy hands. The distance from the shrine was also thought to ensure no one could abuse the power and awake the dragon prematurely.”
“Okay grab the book wake the dragon. Do you know any way we can enter Myrsida?”
“The Bright Wings mercenary company can aid you in that endeavor,” said the Queen. “They have local knowledge of the Greenfield region and up-to-date information on the invader's forces. I will inform them that you arrive with my blessings.”
“Then it's time to set sail.”
Sam's Talisman began beeping urgently. Peace was conscious.
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