The Starlight And The Storm Of Fire

Chapter the Second

In the opulent Throne Room of Dalriada, a bottle's cork thickly covered in dust was whipped off with a blade, and several measures of priceless liquid was spilled on the floor. The Prince slid his sword into its sheath against his hip, and tipped the bottle so the liquid poured out like blood, straight into his crystal glass.

A servant's twitching fingers were wrapped around a towel, waiting for the order. He was profusely sweating, standing there, knees knocking and trying to contain his bowels from emptying. He watched the cork ricochet off a solid gold vase with a twisted dragon looping around it. A droplet of sweat hung against this full gray beard, swaying like a pendulum.

The Prince arched his neck and sipped at the wine. Soft bursts of fruit. A faint hint of the nectar of honey. "AH!" he smacked his lips lightly. There it was, a smoke-like sweetness, a reminiscent of sweet tobacco on the finish. He swirled the ruby wine around the crystal, and sniffed once, a smile creasing on his stained lips. "A toast." He held up the glass, "To the greatest monsters on earth, who have conquered nations, who now, belong to me."

Indeed, it was true, for high above the two thrones on raised daises, stood two twisting colossal dragons petrified in gray stone. Two Armenian Black Warbringer Dragons, the greatest of all the breeds. A War upon Warbringer...

And the one piece of weaponry to destroy the Black Warbringer Dragons was the Stone of Destiny. It was said to be sacred, and blessed by God, its one curse was to turn anyone who dared to possess it, was solidified into stone. But the great King, Alexander, who wished to covert the stone, had skilled men with wisdom in diamonds, goldwork and fashioning, to encase the stone. He blinded them by his hand so they would never see the beauty of the stone. The men encased it in diamond, fashioning it by a master diamond cutter to ten thousand facets. And for those who displeased him, he asked for a circle to be carved into the diamond to expose the stone. With the stone encrusted in diamond, he brought it to his battle against the Black Warbringers at the foot of Black Wood. The Black Warbringer had been enraged at the king's men who had attempted to steal their precious-inlaid eggs, and set to raze the woods ablaze.

With the male Black Warbringer frozen in stone, the female had screamed in agony and charged at the King, only to be exposed to the Stone of Destiny, petrifying her, too. The two statues were lifted onto carts with twenty horses attached by chains and they were driven back to the palace. The stone, however, became an ancient symbol of Dalriada's monarchy, used for centuries in the inauguration of its kings.

The Prince's mouth pursed, then turned sour. "If then, tell me, why did my father only give me TWO?" he demanded, his voice rising several octaves.

"M-m-my P-prince..."

"Oh, stop your babbling, you useless fool!" Fist at his side, he smashed the glass on the marble, staining the expensive carpet with a pint of the world's most expensive wine. "LUCUS!!"

The servant's voice dwindled. And he finally shat himself. Pee soaked into his trousers and into his socks.

"LUCUS!!" the Prince roared again, sounding more like a child than a twenty-year-old man.

The doors crashed open to emit one Lucus, King Alistair's Tribune. A female servant was close on his heels with a silver tray. Lucus Barrack dropped to one knee before his Prince, one eyebrow cocked at the servant who shat his pants. "My Prince."

"What is going on, Lucus?" he demanded, his voice shrill. "My father told me the oh-great legend of the Black Dragon, and yet I only have two!"

"Why, yes, my apologies, My Lord Prince." Lucus placed one hand over his heart. "It is true that your great ancestor did defeat the Black Warbringers, the mightiest and most powerful of all, I—"