NOVEL NEXT Chapter 14: Run It Back
The final night of the newly awakened Lukas Drakos' Royal Procession had finally begun and the Seas were full of life like the people had not seen since before the Great War.
The crowd seemed to double with each town Lukas travelled to and eventually thousands began to follow the dragon who was likely to become their new Lord. It was clear to the Seas of Linemall who would inherit the throne from Lord Rodan. Not only was he capable, Lukas Drakos knew how to throw a party.
Admittedly, Lukas was making up for lost time. Julien Fronterra was a legendary fighter but to build such a legacy, he'd had to sacrifice everything for it. Partying, getting drunk and having a wild night was not something a champion could do.
As Lukas Drakos, he relished in it.
Every single night, it was a festival where all came together to forget about the problems of past and present; allow themselves to be lost in the joy and happiness that came with letting loose. After times of what seemed like endless tension, it was his Royal Procession was what allowed the Seas to forget about their worries; even it was just for a moment.
Tonight was no different and with the army of followers Lukas had gathered, it had become the greatest gathering thus far. Outside the Palace, the townspeople and visitors from towns across the Seas lined up to partake in the celebration. The training grounds had been turned into a large dining area welcome to all, benches filled with thousands of dragons who were just happy to be there.
Lukas Drakos wolfed down plates of food without hesitation and laughed heartily as the people urged him to down another barrel of alcohol. It did not take much persuasion as Lukas drank to his heart's content.
Despite the fact that the Kraken was still nowhere to be found, Lukas was still in a good mood. He was relaxed, even. A bit too relaxed.
The crowd continued on with their celebrations as a lone figure walked past the throngs of people gathered in the training yard. Lukas did not seem to notice as the large hooded humanoid seemed to approach him. Dragons and wyverns seemed to glance in his direction, confusion passing over their faces only for a split second before returning to whatever they were busy with; as if they'd never seen him at all.
Lukas' face was red as the wine he downed and he stank of alcohol, clearly intoxicated after having single-handedly having finished eight barrels of alcohol all by his lonesome. He did not even notice the figure taking a seat across from him. When Lukas finally glanced upwards, the figure was hunched over a few bottles of cider.
And then Lukas saw those eyes, like red daggers piercing into his own.
"Lukas Drakos. You really are a thorn in my side." The Kraken said with a laugh before taking a drink from his cup.
Lukas remained silent, setting down the plate of food in his hand.
"Really, I'm impressed. You've done more damage to my reputation, to the power I've built up over the last few decades, to my pride than I ever could have imagined. Replacing the currency...Tritons. You're far smarter than you look, Drakos. I must admit that even your father has never angered me to such an extent. You should be proud, Lukas. Truly." The Kraken stands and reveals his hideous features, pulling the cloak off of his massive frame.
The armies of giant octopuses? Lukas had been behind all of those attacks, for he knew the kind of message it would send if he took them all down. All of Kraken's wealth came from his control over the coin that he had spread across the lands and the minds that he did control, well it no longer mattered. The creation of the Merchant Guild had made it hard to remain in control of his businesses and the installation of the Tritons had rendered his pools of wealth useless.
The crowd did not seem to take notice the two, continuing on with their celebrations.
It was as if the Kraken doesn't exist. They were being influenced by the magic of the mind.
Lukas had sobered up now, his smile completely vanished. But he did not move. Nor did he dare to speak.
"I am nothing but persistent. I will build my wealth once more, even with these new systems in place. In the end, I will be the one to rule the Seas. But I am also someone who holds grudges, Lukas Drakos. So before that, I must ensure I pay you back for all that you have done to me. Right now, your mother is in the Palace. I hear she does not like the noise. I know that she has turned in for the night." The Kraken laughed now, taking a bottle by its neck and gulping it down greedily.
The Kraken's laughter was deep, it was...unsettling.
Lukas stood, the bench behind him falling with a crash. Lukas' face was grim but the Kraken held up a hand to stop him before he could utter a single word.
"Right now, thirty of your Dragonborn are heading towards her room on the upper left wing. Their minds are under my control. I have ordered them to slaughter her. Do you understand that? I want you to drink with me, young Drakos." The Kraken pushed the table standing between them away with a simple flick of the wrist, before popping open another bottle for Lukas to take.
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The Kraken held the glass out to him, grinning as his tentacles squirmed in disgusting glee. The monster was savouring this moment with every fiber of his being. "Drink with me, Lukas Drakos. Drink with me as your world falls apart."
Then Lukas Drakos laughed. It escaped his lips and soon Lukas could not hold it in any longer. He doubled over, one hand clasping the Kraken's shoulder to hold himself up.
The Kraken did not even move away, completely dumbfounded by such an absurd reaction. Had Lukas gone insane?
"Do you know what my mother's name is, tentacles?" Lukas snatched the bottle from the Kraken's hand, accepting his offer and downed it one go.
In the distance, there was a giant boom as the upper floors of the Palace exploded with a cacophony of screams and shouts. There was another incredible thunderous crash as the Kraken watched five of the Dragonborn under his control being flung through the walls of the Palace.
"My mother's name is Selene. Selene of Dawn."
Selene of Dawn. Perhaps the most decorated and fearsome warlord of Linemall and the only General of the Monarch to have survived his reign and the war that he began. Though unrecognizable in her human form, not a single person in Linemall could not recognize the red serpent-like wyvern who emerged from the Palace. In her jaw there were three Dragonborn who she spat out before letting out a rumbling roar that shook the Palace grounds.
The crowd roared with approval at the spectacle, recognizing the Sea's heroine.
Thirty Dragonborn?
Not even an army of them would be able to make a scratch on her.
There was a reason why Lukas had come to her to learn how to move in this new dragon form of his.
Not Katrina. Not Lady Kaitlyn.
Lukas had went to his mother.
During that one month of training Lukas had underwent, there was not a single time that Lukas had ever been able to best her mother in a clash of titans when both of them were in their draconic forms.
Lukas did not think there was any in the Seas that stood a chance, regardless of magic.
The Kraken did not know what to say. Selene of Dawn had killed many of his own kin, hundreds of them.
The Kraken realized that in all of his centuries of living, he was up against somebody who was two steps ahead of him.
The Kraken was up against a master of tactical warfare. Caught off guard, the minds that had been under his control were suddenly set free.
In that instant, the winds swirled through the water as wyverns, dragons and dragonborn all around them were whisked away. Tables and benches, plates and goblets, everything was cleared away all thanks to the Sterlings who had been preparing for this moment since the festival had started.
Lukas grabbed the Kraken by his tentacles, pulling him close. The Kraken reeled back but found that he was unable to pull away for Lukas' grip was like iron.
"Tonight is the final night of my procession. And I say we finish off with a bang!" Lukas shouted, his voice amplified through the Crown to the crowd who seemed to all be watching in great fascination. They roared in approval, the spirit of the festival still very much alive in the air.
"What do you say, you ugly bastard? Let's put on a show, shall we?"
Lukas' body convulsed as the Draconic Flow surged through his veins, a raw, unrelenting force that tore apart his human form from the inside out. His spine cracked and lengthened, vertebrae stretching into jagged ridges that split through his back, flesh giving way to overlapping plates of obsidian-hued scales. His ribs groaned, twisting outward as his chest expanded, the sound like wet branches snapping underfoot.
Fingers blackened, nails warping into hooked talons as his hands elongated, caught in a grotesque in-between state of beast and man. His jaw unhinged, splitting wider than it should, teeth multiplying, reshaping into jagged fangs as his tongue slithered out, lengthening into something serpent-like. His skin peeled away in places, revealing sinew and shifting muscle beneath, until it was no longer flesh but armored hide.
The Draconic Flow was far from graceful in nature. It was like horror you could not take your eyes off of.
From his sides, short but powerful wings tore free, the membrane glistening with fresh, viscous ichor as they stretched, adapting to their newfound freedom. His eye, once human, bled into a haunting abyss of sea blue, pupils splitting like a serpent's; inhuman and predatory. It was as if the depth of the ocean had found itself in those eye sockets.
Lukas took his time, allowing the crowd to see the full transformation through the Draconic Flow.
The final shift came with a sickening crack as his skull elongated, reshaping into the unmistakable visage of an ancient sea dragon, crowned with straight razor, jagged horns that dripped with residual energy. The transformation was a thing of bloody beauty, his body thrumming with power and his breath thick with the taste of brine and blood.
Lukas' humanoid form was gone. All that remained was the dragon that stood before for all the Seas to witness.
These were the sea serpents, the beasts of the ocean, the ones who had ruled the Seas of Linemall since the first of their kind. This was the power of House Drakos.
Oh, how Lukas had waited patiently for this day to come. Lukas had been dreaming, salivating at the thought of this moment and it was finally upon them. He was going to enjoy this.
Tonight would be the execution of an escaped criminal of Kuria Prison and the end of a rivalry that had gone on for far too long.
The Kraken watched on in horror, his tentacles still tight within the grasp of his claws.
This was going to be a night for all the Seas to remember. For tonight was the night of a long awaited rematch and this time, Lukas was not going home as the loser.