Quest for the Dragon Soul Pt. 04

"Alliances are indeed fickle," Ziel-Tan said as she glanced at the attentive Blade Bride. "You just graduated from quisling to the key to triggering a revolution."

IV

Khaln moaned as the elaborate system of pulleys and chains creaked as he felt himself rise out of the water and be hoisted above the main deck before being lowered and dropped onto the cold wood of the ship he was unwittingly guiding to the Isles of Seven Thunders. The sailors who attended him cut away from his pallid, scarred flesh, the determined parasites that suckled his limbs. Once he was clear, the sailors shackled him to a mooring ring.

The Matron Sonorous approached Khaln while he laid prostrate on the cold deck. The ship was anchored and swayed gently on the rarely calm Ardent sea while the sky was still under the light of the twin moons. The ship cast a haunting profile onto the clear waters of the sea - luminescent sea life floated near the surface of the water, and in their suspended state they lived and died.

The Matron kneeled next to Khaln and took a piece of her tattered white cloak and dipped it into a bucket of warm water a crewman had left for her. She used it to wipe his face clean while her other hand rested on his manhood. Her gestures would have seemed gentle and caring to a witness.

"Can you hear me, Khaln?" the Matron asked, leaning close to his ear. Her voice was soft and lithesome. "We've stopped. A visitor will be boarding."

Khaln shook his head and grunted as he tried to regain his bearings - he managed to peer over the starboard side of the ship and he focused on the massive barge that was approaching the anchored vessel. The barge was so large that it could have been its ow island - it dwarfed the two masted ship sailing for the Isles of Seven Thunders. The barge's hull looked to be built of interlocking bones covered in tightly wound leather - it heaved forward under the paddling motions of dozens of wing like appendages that skimmed the water from its sides while a cloud of ash floated around its hull.

Khaln spat into the sea.

"You will be witness to an important wedding, second son," the Matron Sonorous said as she petted Khaln matted, black and stone colored hair while she continued to hold his cock.

"Whoever it is," Khaln said, his voice a growl empty of menace, "they're not my type."

The Matron Sonorous stifled a chuckle and gazed upon the shackled warrior before laying a kiss to his forehead. "You are resilient, aren't you? Exposure to the elements should have killed you long ago, and yet you live to jest. I could learn to admire that."

"So, if I'm not the groom, who is?" Khaln asked, sitting back on the swaying deck - he savored the respite the arrival of this visitor granted him.

"He is the Dread Lord of Ax'Herith," the Matron said as she sat in front of Khaln, her legs crossed while she leaned over and caressed his bruised thighs. "Each Matron is betrothed to a Dread Lord - but the lord of Ax'Herith is a widower."

"I thought it was impossible to kill a Matron of Skaelor," Khaln said as he observed the Matron Sonorous - his confusion was confounded by his need to hate her and his creeping desire for her.

"Oh - the Dread Lord killed his own wife," the Matron Sonorous said gravely - she paused before continuing, taking her hands away from Khaln's thighs and tucking them beneath her tattered cloak. "After he ... disposed of her, he had found a new wife - and Oracle - yet he was thwarted by a wizard of some skill. But since you presented us with a suitable candidate, he could not wait to meet her."

"Wh ... What candidate?"

"The woman who betrayed you - we took her along with you," the Matron said.

"Tayne? Tayne who betrayed me? She's on this ship?!" Khaln's flesh suddenly burst with increasingly brilliant flashes of crimson light while the veins beneath his skin pulsed from head to toe as his anger grew manifest. He lunged forward with enough force to almost shatter the shackles binding him.

The Matron Sonorous smiled as the lie she planted fueled Khaln's rage and the radiant power it gave him. "Yes - she has all the qualities to make a formidable Matron."

"You enjoy saying things meant to torture me," Khaln spat bitterly as his body lost its red hue and returned to normal.

"I am the voice of the Call of Skaelor, I must be heard."

"Am I the only here who listens to you?" Khaln asked as he sat back on the deck.

"You have the most to gain by listening carefully," the Matron Sonorous said as she rose and walked towards the aft of the ship. She paused, however, before going below deck. "You will make an appearance at the ceremony," the Matron said, uncharacteristically softly. "Vengeance and betrayal are not exclusive to human experience, Khaln Dharrec."

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A swirling cloud of dark ash formed over the massive barge that was now anchored near the smaller vessel commandeered by the Matrons of the Call of Skaelor. The barge had the size of a small island and its surface was covered with spouting, round chimney and long buildings of incoherent design. Strange trees with red and blue foliage were scattered across the barge while a small pyramid dominated the center. The cloud of ash focused above the pyramid and lightning lept from its tip, to the cloud, and back again.

The three Matrons of the Call of Skaelor stood on the deck as the cloud of ash floated towards the ship - the Matron Sonorous, the voice of the Call of Skaelor, stood at the center of the main deck; the Matron Tenebrae, the suffering of the Call of Skaelor, stood at the aft part of the ship; the Matron Chameleonedae, the Body of the Call of Skaelor occupied the fore part of the vessel. They each hummed as the ash cloud stopped above where the Matron Sonorous stood - lightning burst from cloud and struck the deck long enough to deposit a tall box of black wood in front of the Matron Sonorous.

"Honored Dread Lord of Ax'Herith, Father of the silence and warden of the Shadowed Moors - welcome aboard," the Matron Sonorous proclaimed as the box was hefted by entranced crewmen and carried below deck.

Khaln was already awaiting in the cargo hole - he had bee cleaned, fed and given drink before being dressed in a simple blue robe with orange trimming at the collar and cuffs. He was shackled to the floor while seated on a simple wooden chair that faced the stairs that lead down from the top deck; he witnessed the crewmen carry a large wooden box into the cargo hole that was to serve as the reception area for whatever the Call of Skaelor considered a marriage ceremony. Khaln assumed the box being placed in the center of the cargo hold was somehow connected to the flash he saw from above deck. He scanned the shadows, and he was surprised that event though he still felt weak, he was alert and lucid.

Behind the box, the three Matrons of the Call of Skaelor descended into the converted cargo hold and flanked the unadorned container. Khaln watched as each Matron, in turn, pressed their heads to the box in a kiss - but only the Matron Sonorous had lips. The shadowed figure of the Matron Tenebrae seemed to merge with the box while the fluid form of the Matron Chameleonedae rippled upon contact with the container.

Khaln could not help but observe the ceremonial gestures he was witnessing - the similarities with the ceremonies he'd seen while traveling with the Ordeyirgossian volunteer army with his father and brothers was striking. He understood he was offered privileged exposure to the workings of the Call of Skaelor - how to use that knowledge was left to be discovered.

The tall black box vibrated and the corners cracked and plumes of smoke drifted upward from the box before spreading across the cargo hold, filling it with the noxious smell of ash. After a few moments, the box fell apart into a collections of jagged pieces and Khaln saw the Dread Lord of Ax'Herith for the first time.

The tall figure stood into the light and Khaln could see the connection to the Quieting Angels: the Dread Lord's body was comprised of an elongated skeleton with long, elegant limbs and exaggerated hands and feet. There were no skin or muscles to hold the bones together, but they were trapped in a thick web of brown and green nerves extending from the side of spinal column. Where it should have had a skull, an oversized brain with large, brown eyes floated above the spinal column. The pale matter of the large brain occasionally pulsed and bubbled, spurting dark blood into the air.

"Blessed Matrons," the Dread Lord said. His voice resounded but it was generated by the quivering of his hideous brain - each word was punctuated by flying drops of blood. "As per the law, upon my first presence I do not set foot, but am brought here. I thank you."

The three Matrons bowed to the Dread Lord as it glided across the floor of the cargo hold. He stopped before the matron Sonorous and touched her hair. "You remind me of your sister," he said as the Matron stiffened ever so slightly. "I pray her replacement is as worthy as she failed to be."

Khaln saw the Matron Sonorous swallow hard but maintain her head bowed.

"With this new wife," the Matron Sonorous said as she gestured towards a dazed Khaln, "I present the harbinger of the Pneuma Dracona."

Khaln watched the web of nerves constricted and heaved as the Dread Lord turned to gaze upon him with his expressive eyeballs. "You believe in the prophecies of men, Matron?" the Dread Lord asked with his squirting brain.

"I have tasted him, Dread Lord," the Matron Tenebrae said, stepping forward. "The spark is present - he will awaken the Primal Dragon. The world will be remade for us."

"You appear to be a point of convergence for prophecies," the Dread Lord of Ax'Herith groaned as he stared directly at Khaln, his sickening brain quivering with his words. "I killed my wife for she spoke to me in human terms of prophecy - she had been an oracle and a sister. She failed as a Matron."

"The sea swirls with tides of vengeance, Dread Lord," Khaln found himself whispering. He locked gazes with the disembodied eyeballs of the Dread Lord of Ax'Herith. Khaln felt dizziness seize his head and he slumped in the chair.

"Vengeance is a holy act," the Dread Lord said, its quivering brain dripping blood onto the floor - the frontal lobes bubbled unevenly, forming a grotesque, crimson drooling smile. "As is this wedding - where is my betrothed?"

V

"Would you really have shot me in the face," he asked with his raspy voice echoing in the contoured tunnels that lead to his chambers.

"I would've grazed you," she said flatly.

"No one would believe that," he pointed out. "You never miss."

"Perhaps you're just that fast."

"Ziel-Tan, I would never be that fast."

Ziel-Tan, Qoazti archer, found herself pushed roughly past a veil of thick curtains into a well sized chamber lit from bowls of burning oils dangling from the four corners the ceiling. The far end of the chamber was occupied by a large, straw filled mattress covered with red and green linen.

Ziel-Tan flew across the room and landed onto the mattress in a heap of laughter. Behind her, entering the chamber with resolve was general Dagleon Talveiss - he unhooked the clasps of his cloak just as the Qoazti archer launched herself at him. He pivoted to sidestep her rush but she managed to grasp his wrist and was able to transfer her momentum to him and she slammed him against the chamber wall - but the momentum caused her to fall into his arms and his response was to press his lips to hers in a harsh kiss.

Ziel-Tan savored his rough lips, enjoying the restraint he showed when he picked her up and held her close to his silver breast plate. She ran her fingers through his short brown hair and grasp a reluctant handful of his locks and yanked his head back - Dagleon grunted when the Qoazti archer kissed and nibbled the stark skin of his neck. Ziel-Tan felt his rough hands touch her toned back while she struggled with the side clasps that held his breast plate tight.

"It's been so damn long, I've forgotten how to do this," Ziel-Tan whispered in the general's ear before nibbling its lobe. She felt his lips curve into a smile when he slid his hands down her back and past the waist of her pants. He cupped her toned ass just as the first clasp of his armor snapped open.

"A practiced hand never forgets," Dagleon said as Ziel-Tan undid the rest of the armor. She stepped back and they lifted the breast plate off his shoulders. She then helped him remove the mail shirt and the gambison that finalized his cavalry armor.

Free of his armor, Dagleon attacked the leather bindings that threaded Ziel-Tan's bodice and it fell easily from the archer's torso, exposing her small, firm breasts to the chilled air of the underground tunnel system - her nipples grew long and she hissed when his calloused thumbs pushed down on them. Dagleon released her breasts and wrapped his arms around the Qoazti archer and their lips met again in a fevered kiss as the pair danced around the chamber while their limbs intertwined. They bounced of the wall from one side of the chamber to another in a mock battle where hateful fury was replaced by relentless desire - their roaming fingers traced each other's life histories in a map of scars.

When they finally arrived at the bed, Dagleon swept Ziel-Tan's legs from beneath her and she landed heavily onto the mattress. She snarled when he grabbed the waist of her britches and he yanked them down unceremoniously. Ziel-Tan shivered when he pushed her legs up and took a deep whiff of her musky pussy. Ziel-Tan had seen her general do the same gesture time and again and it always filled her with amorous anticipation for what followed.

Dagleon Talveiss looked down upon the pink folds of Ziel-Tan's pussy framed by exquisitely shaped buttocks completing a lovely, heart-shaped ass. His erection strained against the bindings of his pants but he ignored his manhood's plea and leaned forward and ran his wet tongue against the moistening slit of the the Qoazti archer.

"Ooohhh," Ziel-Tan moaned as Dagleon started to move his tongue up and down the length of her pussy - his tongue dashed left to right at a furious pace while his head movements were slow and deliberate. Ziel-Tan squirmed but her britches bound her ankles and the general braced an arm across the back of her knees, keeping them pressed to her slight chest. Dagleon would stop shy of her electrified clit and he would repeat the motion, nearing her nub with every completed cycle.

"You devil to torture me like th ... this!" Ziel-Tan hissed as her limbs fought to express her mounting bliss but Dagleon's strength held her steady.

"That's for leaving me for so many months and for allowing the Ordeyirgossian to touch you," Dagleon Talveiss snarled as he climbed onto the bed and pressed down on Ziel-Tan's knees, forcing her ass in the air in an awkward position. He then started to suck on her clit while rubbing her pussy lips with the fingers of his free hands, his middle finger occasionally entering her cunt.

"Like that! Tiengal curse me I love it!" Ziel-Tan screamed as her body rocked under the force of her orgasm - the walls of her pussy spasmed in search of a cock to milk and a swell of fluids dripped from her opening. Dagleon continued to rub her pussy and suck her clit even while she tried to pull away as her flesh was inflamed and made oversensitive by his experienced touch.

"Oooaaaahhhh," Ziel-Tan cooed when Dagleon released his grip on her pussy and moved up the bed and planted hot kisses dripping of his saliva and her juices onto her neck and breasts. "You can make me come so hard," she said as she touched his short cropped hair.

"Is that how he made you come?" Dagleon asked with his raspy voice as he rolled onto his back.

"I won't say it wasn't good - it was," Ziel-Tan said. She rested on her side and propped her head on her shoulder, the long tress from the center of the back of her shaved head dangling over the side of the bed. "I had to prove to the daughters of the Vanguard that I was one of them - they demanded I help seduce him and I took pleasure in it."

"I'm not jealous," Dagleon said. "I've been around long enough to know that jealousy is a wasteful emotion. But I also know a young heart can be a fickle one."

Ziel-Tan sat up and removed her britches completely and then went to undo the general's - he did not protest when she pulled them off, releasing his semi erect cock.

She gently stroked his shaft and said: "Ever since I saw you carry the standard of Melit'Zay, leading the Rogue Riders straight into the maw of the Scything Souls that pursued us up from the Savanni coast, I knew you were to be my general."

Ziel-Tan leaned over and kissed her general gently while squeezing his cock. "My heart will always be yours, my general Dagleon Talveiss."

"What was he like?" the general asked as Ziel-Tan cupped his balls and licked the tip of his manhood.

"Khaln was ... young. Strong - frighteningly so. I'd even say he was fearless but - there was a sadness to him. It was like he was heartbroken, and no matter how hard he tried, his heart just kept being torn."

"You pity him?" Dagleon asked.

"Pity isn't the word, Dag," Ziel-Tan answered, her hand cupping his cock. "I think I envy him. With what he's probably going through, what he's already suffered ... I don't know if I'd have had the strength to keep fighting.

"In that respect, he reminded me of you."

"My little arrow," Dagleon whispered in her ear before pulling her face close and kissing her unscarred eye. "Let's pretend you'd never met him and that this world never existed."

Ziel-Tan returned Dagleon's kiss while straddling his waist and reaching between her thighs to grip his cock and place it at the entrance of her pussy. She dripped in anticipation as she rubbed the tip of his manhood against the gate of her inner folds - Dagleon thrust upwards, passing her gentle guidance and burying his cock deep up into her pussy. She hissed as his girth split her in two and a fiery rupture of pleasure shot up from her pussy and spread across her limbs, filling her with a sense of well being - she fell forward and while her hips rocked violently against Dagleon's; her lips met his with a gentle sway.

Their tongues met once their lips split open and they moved together like undulating sea creatures carried by competing currents - Dagleon placed his hands on Ziel-Tan's breasts and she moaned while he moved him hands in circular motions, one hand moving clockwise and the other counter. Deep in her mind, Ziel-Tan did as he suggested and imagined a world where there had never been a Call of Skaelor or even magic. They would have lived in a coastal retreat where he would go out on the open sea with a strong net and fish while she would tend to picking fruit and clearing the garden and at night they would sit by a fire on the sand and sing and make love beneath the moons.

Dagleon felt his Qoazti lover wrap her arms around his neck with desperation while he pulled her close - his hips shot upwards and his cock slid in and out of her slick, wet pussy. His every thrust was punctuated by a grunt while Ziel-Tan's cunt quivered and seemed to strip the flesh from his cock so the their union could be more complete.

"Oh yes! Yes!" Ziel-Tan moaned as Dagleon held her hips steady and just fucked her with abandon - his cock was angled in such a way that it stroked her clit during the complete cycle of his fuck. Within a few moments, the Qoazti archer felt her body stiffen and her back seemed to arch past the point of breaking and she came, drenching the general's thighs with her musky juices.

Dagleon could almost taste Ziel-Tan's orgasm as it dripped down the shaft of his cock and he reveled in the satisfaction he could deliver her - but he was far from done with her. In a fluid movement beguiling his imposing physique, the general flipped the Qoazti archer onto her back and pinned her arms above her head.