Chapter 1: The Swirling Vortex of Death

Chapter 1: The Swirling Vortex of Death

A Chapter by csprohar
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All was as it was supposed to be... or was it?

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Kawn was out riding his favorite horse through the woods on his way home from Pelenecki. He had just finished visiting Dofert, who just married Margaret last week. She was Roabla’s sister. She was in training to be an enchantress. Kawn was nearing a familiar stretch of path that wound down towards the Red Dock. Normally he ignores this area except today there is a rather large and unusual sailing vessel landing at the dock. The passengers were all dressed in an unfamiliar garb and speaking different languages. Kawn was startled and thrown from his horse when a man materialized out of no where dressed only in black. Everyone was speaking in strange languages until the man in black spoke. “Greetings, welcome to Dragon planet! It has been a long time since a ship last ventured this far!”
            “Yes, yes it has been a very long time. We would have kept going had the pirates not have been so bad. They forced us to land for repairs to the ship.” said a similarly clad man who looked as ageless as the one who spoke first. “Gao, I feel the time is near for the return of the Jijon King!”
            “Yes, I feel it too. We must watch for the one who fulfills the prophecies.” said Gao, Protectorate of the Dragon planet. “Lao, I have operated on this planet in secrecy since the last great battle for the throne. All the planet drifters have long been gone and I feel it is for the best. No one must know of the rest of the universe here. I feel it would cause great chaos here again.”
            “What would cause chaos here again? What is that vessel? And who are those people?” said Kawn as he rubbed his throbbing head with a puzzled look on his face.
            “Too late for secrecy now Gao. Shall we eliminate him?” asked Lao with a snear.
            “No, He has done many good things here. He will go with you to represent the Dragon planet. If he refuses, then we eliminate him.” said Gao with a smile. “He represents us and his departure keeps others from finding out about us, perfect!”
            “You forgot one thing! I have a large family. Surely they will wonder where I am?” said Kawn with a smile. Gao turned quickly and snatched a hair from his head. 
            “This will keep them in the dark.” sneered Gao as he turned the hair into a perfect clone. “He even holds your memories and thoughts. He is you through and through. You are going now.” chuckled Gao as he knocked Kawn out. “Continue on your way, Kawn.” ordered Gao as the clone straddled the horse and rode off. “How long will it be until you return to the Halla planet?”
            “Halla is just eighteen parsecs from here. It should take us twenty minutes once repairs are complete.” said Lao.
            “Repairs are completed!” shouted the mechanic. “The ship is ready to go. It has started its five minute docking sequence.”
            “Every one gets a free ticket to avoid the check mechanism!” shouted Lao as he levitated to the deck of the ship. “Till the Jijon King returns Gao!”
            “Till the Jijon King returns!!!” responded Gao. “Till the Jijon King returns!” shouted Gao once more as he phased out into his timeless form at the dock. With that the large vessel lifted from the water and rose in an arc over the sea. In a moment a large spinning vortex opened and the vessel vanished. “Good Luck Kawn!” thought Gao as the portal closed behind the ship.
 
            How twisted could fate be? The clone came upon the next clearing completely unaware of the ambush that lay in wait for Kawn. An assassination party assembled by a rebel faction had planned to eliminate him or try to anyway. Kawn had drink from the chalice contained inside the scepter of Cosiximus Laxitus, which gave him immortality; however, the clone is a mere mortal. The clone had no weapon thus unable to even defend himself against the mob. The clone was annihilated in fifteen minutes. The carcass was them taken to town where it was later discovered by Taran.
            “Noooooooooo!” shouted Taran as he hoisted the corpse into his arms and clenched it. “Brother, how could this happen?” he wept. The clone’s body was then taken to the church to be prepared for the Watcher Ceremony and finally burned in a funeral pyre at the end of the week.
            “Who did this?” asked Dofert “Who has slain our brother?”
            “I do not know brother” stated Taran as he started to weep once again.
            “I found a clue!” exclaimed Hobart the priest as he entered the chamber. “I found this… a fragment of a wyvern’s talon was lodged in between two ribs. This is a signature of an attack from the group called the Black Riders.”
            “The Black Riders? Who are they and what did that have to do with my brother?” asked Dofert with a puzzled look on his face. “Why would anyone want to hurt Kawn? He is always helping those in need of anything and everything.”
            “They are mercenaries. They were probably hired by someone who disliked Kawn, but who?” said Hobart as he turned around to resume preparation of the body. “Who would benefit from Kawn’s demise? Keep your eyes open Renduits, keep your eyes open.” said Hobart as he opened his cabinet of funeral oils and pulled out a vial of dragon blood.
            “What is the dragon blood for Hobart?” inquired Taran as Hobart pulled the stopper from the vial with his teeth and spat it into a copper urn across the room.
            “This dragon blood will eat the blood from your brother’s body to keep the body from decaying and help the burning of it during the final ceremony.” said Hobart as he prepared the dragon blood for injection into the body. “This dragon blood will cause a change in the blood of the body by eating the red blood leaving a dark, flammable liquid in its place. This liquid penetrates the body during the Watcher Ceremony and aids in the combustion during the final stage of the ceremony.” Hobart squeezed the trigger and the dragon blood entered the clone’s corpse.
            “Hobart, Why is the body smoking? Hobart… Hobart… HOBART!!!! Why is my brother’s body dissolving?” asked Dofert. Within seconds the body was nothing more than a bubbling pool of goop.
            “I do not know what is happening. This is the first time that anyone from this planet has ever dissolved from the dragon’s blood injection. This means one of two things, either this is not your brother or your family is not originally from this planet.” said Hobart.
            “Not from this planet?!! Do not be preposterous Hobart. Of course we are from this planet. There are no other civilizations anywhere near this planet. Amon has done enough research to prove that with our current level of technology as well as probing around with his mind to feel other conscious minds out there. I mean he does say he feels a larger consciousness that permeates all creation, but other than the Great Elohim, the Holy One, there are no consciousness’ that he can detect. As for not being my brother, that has to be wrong as well, his scars and markings were consistent with what we know of him. There has to be some other explanation for this turn of events.” stated Dofert as he walked to the door. “I will notify the others that we will be modifying the ceremony due to these... ehem, unforeseen circumstances.”
 


© 2008 csprohar


Author's Note

csprohar
Content and flow. Is there enough here or should it be longer?

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Added on February 24, 2008
Last Updated on February 24, 2008


Author

csprohar
csprohar

Oil City, PA



About
I have been working on a book since 1988. (Started writing it in my 7th grade life science class) I have even went so far as creating my hero in an online game to generate adventure ideas for my lates.. more..

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