Free Rise of the Darekian's, The by Andrew Wood Page B

difficult , they decided to set camp. After making sure all the younger members of the group were all fed, blankets were distributed and the few tents they had were erected. They utilised some of the crates that stored vegetables, padding them with blankets to use as cribs for the babies, and these were placed in the small white canvas dwellings. Everyone else had to make do with being open to the elements, though thankfully for them, the ground was dry and the spring night was mild. Luken had asked the soldiers to take shifts to patrol around the perimeter of their camp, before finally slumping down on the floor next to a very worried and confused looking Taylor. He put a comforting arm around the small boy, "come here" he said giving him a hug, and having had nothing to eat, the pair quickly consumed the bowls of stew that had been made by some of the women, whilst they had been setting the camp.
    Luken made sure Taylor was comfortable and warm enough, before asking Dareen once more to keep a watchful eye on him, before moving off and sitting with two others seated by a nearby fire. One of the men, a tall middle-aged man and well built, wore the tunic and colours denoting he was an officer in the elite palace guard. These soldiers had proved themselves, and excelled in combat and survival.  The other man wore a more standard uniform, with two stripes indicating him to be an officer of the General guard. "Your highness, I am General Thomas Skalton of the Elite Guard. Do we have any idea, what by the gods has happened today?" he asked, "I am afraid I have as much idea as you General" Luken replied, fidgeting trying to get himself remotely comfortable. The three talked, and threw around ideas as to what to do and where to go, before it finally struck Luken, that they all now looked to him for guidance. Despite the others, he was fairly certain being far more knowledgeable in logistics, and organising civilian and military matters, they always run each suggestion via him. He supposed as a prince of the realm everyone would look to him to see them through these disastrous times. Not yet eighteen years of age, already with an adopted son, and now he had over five hundred homeless people, many of them children, and each one of them would be looking to him to lead them.
    Father Dagon trotted his horse away from the fallen city, leaving the once great capital crumbling to the ground. Each building erupting into its own cloud of dust and debris as it fell. Only several hours had passed and the icon of Corlan, its heart of trade and wealth was now little more than a graveyard filled with rubble. Its grandeur now little more than crumbling stones, and its people perished, now just an accumulation to the particles of earth being blown by the spring breeze. Finding a small clearing, the elderly man dismounted and tied his mount up to a nearby tree, before sitting down on the grass. Holding his smooth stone pendant in his hands and slowly feeling its warmth, he heard his master's voice, 'Tell me, what has happened?' With fear in his voice Dagon replied, "Master, they are all gone, the city has fallen, and its citizens have all perished with it. What could have caused such a monstrous act Master?"
    Dagon listened, 'I thought Fenlor would try something, the planet alignment sought to incr ease any magic he may have cast. Thus, it will have bought to fruition our young disciple, but something on this magnitude must have cost him many sacrifices, and bought himself to the brink of his own destruction. I have seriously underestimated what he is capable of'. "But Master, I fear the one you speak of is gone, the city is collapsing and I saw no living thing alive within" Dagon replied. 'Fear not Dagon, our young friend is still alive I can sense that much, though I am still unable to reach him, you must go with haste, I sense he is moving westwards from the city. Explain to him what he is, as awkward as it will be I will have to communicate