Chapter 87: Namesake II
(Third Person POV)
[The Stormlands, Present....]
The sounds of horses stampeding through the fields were quite loud, around ten of them could be seen making their way toward a small village.
It was a cloudy day in the Stormlands, the sky seemed like it was going to burst into rain any moment. The pungent smell of rain was quite noticeable, enough to cause anyone to jerk backward upon smelling it.
The riders wore silver and black armor, bearing the Sigil of the Trinity, House Drakkengard's religion. These were members of the Duskguard, which was Drakken's personal army. They had gone to the Stormlands under Lady Mya's orders to help their God in a task.
As they reached the village, they stopped, their horses shifting in their feet as the men looked around.
"It's quiet..." One of them said, "Is this the location our Lady gave us?"
"It is." Another rider said, "Ser Jon confirmed when I discussed it with him."
"I don't hear anything...." a third rider commented, "Is Lord Drakken really here?"
"You're late." a voice said
They all turned to see Drakken sitting on the steps of a stone house, holding a dagger in his hand as he filed his fingernail with it.
The riders all dismounted their horses and walked towards him, stopping and kneeling down several meters in front of him.
"My Lord!" One of them said, "Forgive us for our tardiness! It was a long ride from Harrenhal, Great One!"
Drakken boringly waved them away, "Eh, forget it." He said, "Everyone was put to sleep with a simple spell.....since you were late, I took the liberty of interrogating those who might have the information I was looking for."
The front soldier stood up and straightened up, "I am Ser Braxton, My Lord..." He said, "Lady Mya told me I was in charge of this detachment. I am to follow your orders, Great One."
Drakken stood up and looked at him, "Three miles from here, northwest, there is a group of huts on a hill." He said, "There should be an old woman. Go there and bring her to me. I need to ask her something and according to what these fools told me, she has to know what I need."
Ser Braxton nodded, "Consider it done." He said before turning around and taking a step, "Let us go, men."
The others did the same, turning around and beginning to head over to their horses.
"Wait." Drakken said
All of them froze and slowly turned to face their Lord.
"Tell me..." Drakken said seriously, "What do you know of the women who conjure up storms?"
Ser Braxton blinked, "My Lord?"
"Do you speak of Stormsingers, My Lord?" another man asked
Drakken nodded, "Yes." He said, "What do you know of them?"
"Apparently, they are elusive.....and a rare sight.." he said, "They stand on the hills and sing, bringing about a few minutes worth of rain and thunder....but I thought they were stories...."
"They are not." Drakken said, "They exist. And I need to find them."
Ser Braxton nodded, "Is that so? Well, we'll find them." he said, "Worry not, Great One."
"Not just them..." Drakken said, "I heard whispers that there was this one individual.....a man....he sang on a hill with flowing black hair as the storm was brewing...he had a face as beautiful as a woman. His song was enough to produce a storm that could shook the massive castle this land's Lord had...."
"A man....?" Ser Braxton asked, "You want us to find him?"
"Do that." Drakken smirked slightly,
"I have use for him."
************
[Another World, Many Years Ago]
Drakken entered a large room at the massive sub-basement level of the Keep where he was housed. He felt the cold chill that the walls emitted, which annoyed him greatly.
There were massive glass containers that were filled with a strange white liquid that bubbled frequently with small organs floating about in it. Massive steel pipes were connected from the containers as steam was emitted from some vents all around.
As the Dragon Calamity walked past the tables filled with bloody tools and shattered glass jars, an icy mist began to spread around the floor.
Drakken ignored this and stopped, looking ahead at him and at Riktor who stood over a table, wearing nothing but pants. His pale skin was reflecting the light of the lanterns that were hanging near the Vampire who was working on dissecting a human body that was mutilated.
"You're not sapping that one's blood now?" Drakken asked
Riktor straightened up and looked back, his strange yet alluring eyes shining in the light, "Ho?" He said, "You're back early....did killing Syrus's Royal Wyverns not take long?"
Drakken shook his head, "No." he said as he pointed to the side, "What the fuck is that?"
Riktor looked over to where he pointed at; hanging from what looked like some sort of wooden contraption, the dismembered head of a man was hanging, his spinal cord dangling down as several tubes were injected into the man's face as blood was being pumped into. The man's eyes were wide open and his face was distorted with shock and pain.
Drakken saw that the blood was being pumped into the man's face, causing the eyes to twitch and occasionally shift. It was clear to the Dragon Calamity that this man, despite being reduced to a decapitated head connected to a spinal cord, was still alive.
"Oh." Riktor said as he dropped the scalpel that was in his hand, "Can you slap on an Immortality Mark on this one? Repair him up a bit too. I am not done."
Drakken frowned, "What?"
Riktor walked over to the man's head and stood behind it, holding it with both hands, "Go on, help me out a bit." He said with a wicked smirk, "Don't you recognize him?"
"No." Drakken said
"He's that one Archmage.....from down south!" Riktor said, "The guy with the word sorcery!"
Drakken frowned, "Seriously?" He said, "What did you do? Viktor won't be happy about this."
"I don't give two shits. Check this out." Riktor said, "I have found it odd.....despite every piece of his body disconnected from each other, as long as his brain is in tact....along with his vocal cords....his Sorcery still works!"
Drakken raised his eyebrow, "Seriously?"
"Seriously." Riktor said as he caressed the head, "The thing is....I want to dig into this guy's brain....see how the nature of this Sorcery works....since things like those have to be complex and ingrained into the anatomy of a human.....come on...help me out...."
"Why though? Why do you want to do that?" Drakken asked
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"To extract it...." Riktor pointed at the dissected at the body on the table, "And perfect my flesh puppet....my mindless automatons! I'll be able to replicate this guy's Word Sorcery and amplify it to the point where he won't need to even speak....or at least audibly speak....It's a work in progress....."
"Hm...." Drakken said, "What do I get out of this?"
Riktork smirked, "A little lesson or two on how to do what I do." He said as he smacked the head, causing it to dangle violently, "Besides, this could be beneficial for you too. If you extract the fundamentals of something powerful like this, you can create a Dragon with that power."
"Hm....." Drakken tilted his head, "Interesting....."
"I'll do it."