Gurzil (The Wars of Wrath) Teaser Chapter
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And it came to pass when the children of men had multiplied that in those days were born unto them beautiful daughters. And the angels saw and lusted after them, and some said to one another: “come let us choose us wives from among the children of men and beget us children.” ... and these took unto themselves wives, and each chose for himself one, and they went into them and defiled themselves with them, and they taught them charms and magic… … and the women became pregnant and they bore great giants. Who consumed all the acquisitions of men, and when men could no longer sustain them, the giants turned against them and devoured mankind.
The Book of Enoch
As Alba opened the massive door to the temple, he was struck by the putrid smell of death.
“I wondered when you would come,” a voice hissed in the darkness.
In the years since the Cult had taken up residence in his city, Alba had heard and seen many strange things. Voices behind smoke, figures in the shadows, the sound of drums over the sands. There had been times he had even thought that perhaps the dragon Gurzil might be real. Other times, he was almost certain that it was all just a con. But nothing could have prepared Alba for what he saw as the smoke cleared.
There, before him was a giant that defied the human experience to describe. The monster was covered in hard red scales and horns. It stood at least thirty ells high, even the massive domed temple seemed inadequate for its size. Its claws and teeth were razor sharp and wet with blood, and below its massive head lay the charred remains of human beings, piled like rubbish.
“You can’t be real,” Alba said, choking on the stench of burning flesh as he looked upon the impossible horror.
“Of course, I am. All your senses tell you that I am. Even before you saw my glorious might, you knew me to be real. That is why it took you so long to find the courage to open that door. That is why you sent away my bride.” The dragon hissed darkly as it circled him, moving with a speed that should have been impossible for something of its size.
“Five years. Five years, I have been denied my bride. I could have continued to darken the sun and poison your waters, but instead, I have indulged you. But only because I wanted my temple built.”
“That was you?” he asked, unable to move. Even so, part of him still wanted to believe that it was all a dream. A trick. Nothing but the Cult’s lies.
“Of course, it was me,” the dragon hissed. Though, it did take quite a bit of effort. This is why, I have been willing to wait, rest, and amuse myself in other ways,” the creature said, moving over to a pile of gold and silver.
Looking around, Alba now realized that the massive circular room was full of treasure. There were towers of gold and diamonds, glittering in the dim light of the torches that illuminated the room. Among the gold were piles of raw ivory tusks and reams of silk.
In the center, stretched out over a pile of gold and gemstones, was a beautiful, slender young woman with long ice-blonde hair. Her Arian tattoos showed bright on her lightly tanned skin.
Alba had been so stunned by the sight of the dragon that he had completely missed the woman half-buried in the gold.
“A Vandal!” Alba said breathlessly, looking at the woman. “You serve the Vandals!” By all the gods, how had he been so blind?
“I SERVE NO ONE!” the dragon boomed, bringing itself to full height.
“She is nothing but a gift from one loyal to my ends. She is my pet. An attractive distraction that has proven more useful than originally expected,” the dragon said, snaking its tail possessively around the woman, with the lusty indifference with which a sultan embraces a concubine.
The beast turned on the aging king. “I have allowed you these years, but I am no longer in a position to indulge you. The drums of war now beat loudly over the desert, and I fear that the chaos may soon draw the interest of other parties whose interference would be … annoying. Go to Leptis Magna as you have promised your allies. Pretend to be relevant once again, if you wish. Deal with the Romans as you will. It is of no consequence to me. Your fate is sealed, and your daughter will be brought to me.”
“No, please leave my daughter in peace. Take my gold, my kingdom, all that I have, my life even—”
“You have nothing that I do not already possess!” the dragon roared. “You will bring me my bride, or I will see you and all that you still hold dear burned to glass on the sand. And if that proves insufficient, if you still refuse me, if she refuses to be mine, then I will drown your world in war, poison, and plague until she comes willingly to heel!”
“You will not have her!” Alba yelled, his hand going for his sword, but it had been so long since he had drawn the blade. His joints were stiff and the move that he could once perform in a single fluid motion was now awkward and clumsy. The blade had not even left the sheath before the woman was behind him.
As her hand lightly touching his head, Alba felt his world go white. A confusing mix of pain and pleasure suddenly set fire to every nerve in his body. He fell to his knees as the steel sword clattered uselessly to the ground.
“What are you?” Alba asked the woman, gritting his teeth against the alien sensation.
“I am his, and he is freedom and power pure. I have given myself to him body and soul,” the woman whispered, almost seductively. “You will submit to the will that is Gurzil.”
“My daughter is under the protection of her mother’s people. Kaboan loves her no less than his own daughter. Even if you kill me, for his love of her, and his love of his departed sister, he will not let you have her,” the King said. Mustering what strength he could to resist the Vandal woman’s magic.
“You believe he loves her as his own seed? Let me tell you something about your brother-in-arms, whom you trust with that which you value most. I have watched him and my bride, and I have had them watched. Princess Sabra is not his daughter, nor his wife. She is his soldier, and he will sacrifice her in a moment for his own ends. You will see your daughter soon, old king. My minions have arranged this. What comes of that meeting will be your choice. Betray me, and you and yours will die, perhaps by my hand or perhaps by the treachery of another. I can kill you a hundred different ways, and those who wield the blade would not even know they do my bidding. But let me leave you with this small prophecy, lest you get ideas.”
The dragon’s forked tongue twitched over Alba’s shoulder as it whispered in the King’s ear. As he listened, Alba’s mind refused to believe what he was hearing, but in the depths of his soul, he knew the words to be true.
“This cannot be. It won’t happen,” Alba said, shaking his head, as he tried and failed to convince himself that the dragon’s prophesy was a lie.
Smoke and flame issued from Gurzil’s nostrils as the dragon laughed. “This was written in an age long past. It has been foretold, and it will come to pass.”
The dragon turned and nodded to the tattooed witch saying, “Leave us, go to Ierna. He has gone to treat with our allies. We may soon need them.”
The woman nodded, releasing Alba from her spell. The old king crumbled in a heap as he felt the last of his will leave him.
“The princess will be mine,” the dragon snarled before slouching back to the pile of corpses to resume its feast. Too weak even to stand, Alba could do nothing but kneel in the putrid smoke and weep.
Watching the dragon consume its prey, the aging king realized that there was nothing he could do to prevent the doom that his weakness had brought upon his daughter.
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