Heir Of The Fallen Flame

Chapter 22: The Dark Underlord

The mountain shook once.

Dust drifted from the ceiling in thin grey streams while iron chains hanging from the stone walls rattled softly against one another.

Then silence returned.

Far beneath the northern cliffs of Valdrake, where sunlight had not touched stone in centuries, dozens of figures immediately dropped to one knee.

Nobody spoke. No one dared to even breathe too loudly.

At the center of the enormous underground chamber stood a throne carved from black crystal and dragon bone. The bones twisted upward behind it like claws reaching toward the cavern roof.

And seated upon it was Drecon, the rogue mage.

His eyes remained closed as the tremor faded through the chamber. Pale silver markings pulsed faintly beneath the skin of his neck like veins filled with moonlight instead of blood.

Another tremor ran through the floor again, a sign that the power was still very much alive.

Slowly, Drecon smiled. “There you are,” he whispered.

The voice echoed softly through the chamber. Below the throne, several kneeling figures lowered their heads further.

None of them dared speak first.

Drecon finally opened his eyes; a cold silver gaze swept across the room in silence.

A servant near the staircase immediately began trembling harder. The man could not have been older than twenty. He's never been this close to the rumoured Rogue mage. He was terrified but the tremors that rang through the halls like earthquakes made him even more freaking for his life.

Drecon's eyes landed on him. “You tremble.”

The servant swallowed hard. “F..forgive me, my lord.”

Drecon tilted his head slightly, studying him with curiosity rather than anger.

“Why?”

The servant hesitated too long and that was his biggest mistake.

Drecon lifted one hand lazily.

The servant’s body suddenly jerked violently upward into the air like invisible claws had seized him by the throat. His scream cut through the cavern instantly.

Several nearby followers lowered their heads even further, not one daring to watch what was happening.

The young servant clawed helplessly at his neck while blood vessels burst slowly across his eyes.

“My lord…”

Drecon stood from his throne calmly. His long black robes slid across the stone floor behind him as he descended the steps slowly toward the choking servant.

“You tremble whenever the mountain moves,” Drecon said softly. “Do you know what that tells me?”

The servant gagged desperately.

Drecon stopped directly beneath him.

“It tells me,” he continued, “that your fear is stronger than your faith.”

The servant’s eyes widened desperately.

Drecon smiled faintly and closed his fist. The servant’s body folded inward with a wet crack. His bones shattered instantly.

Blood poured from his mouth before the corpse dropped lifelessly onto the stone floor.

Nobody moved.

One woman near the back quietly bit down hard enough on her own lip to bleed.

Drecon stepped over the corpse without another glance.

“Remove it.”

Three followers rushed forward immediately, carried the remains of the boy and hurried out of the room..

Drecon returned toward the throne slowly, silver eyes distant now.

He could still feel it, that power. Even from this far away.

The awakening in the nymph forest had reached across half the realm like a scream through fire.

He had spent years searching for traces of the old bloodlines buried beneath history. Years hunting whispers and forbidden texts while the council burned every record they could find.

And now? Now the flame had revealed itself again.

A grin slowly spread across his face.

“He grows stronger faster than I expected.”

One of the kneeling followers finally dared speak. “My lord…”

Drecon looked toward him lazily. The man immediately lowered his gaze.

“The scouts from Astra have returned.”

“Alive?”

“Yes, my lord.”

Drecon sighed softly. “That is unfortunate.”

A few moments later, armored men entered carefully through the cavern entrance dragging another figure between them. The prisoner barely looked human anymore.

Burn scars covered most of his body while one arm ended at the elbow beneath stained wrappings. The man collapsed hard onto the stone floor before Drecon’s throne.

Drecon recognized him immediately; he must be one of Astra's students and his uniform pretty much gave him away.

The prisoner trembled violently on seeing Drecon. He'd heard of the man. He was like a myth and seeing where his raptors brought him, he knew walking out of here alive wasn't even a choice.

Drecon rested his chin against one hand lazily.

“Tell me.”

One of the scouts stepped forward.

“We searched the ruins as commanded. The council has tightened control over Astra. Ronan Pelson now rules in his father’s place.”

Drecon’s expression remained unreadable. “And the boy?”

The scout hesitated. That hesitation alone made several nearby followers visibly nervous.

“We tracked signs of him eastward. There are rumors spreading among villages now. Some speak of golden fire. Others claim he destroyed an entire spirit forest.”

Drecon’s smile returned slowly. “Spirit forest?”

“The nymph haven, my lord.”

Several figures in the chamber shifted uneasily. Even among criminals and rogue mages, the tree nymph territories were avoided whenever possible. Ancient forests carried ancient things and the nymphs hid their secrets very well from the rest of the realm.

Drecon stood once more. “And?”

The injured student lowered his gaze.

“The forest survived.” the scout said.

Disappointment crossed Drecon’s face. “Pity.”

“The tyrant is still in pursuit of the boy, my lord.” The scouts added.

“Uhm.”

Drecon descended the steps again slowly.

“I sent the Tyrant for one purpose,” he said calmly. “Do you remember what that purpose was?”

The student’s breathing quickened as he crawled away from the dark lord.

“To retrieve the dragon-blooded.” the scout said.

“And what happened instead?”

The man’s voice shook now. “The creature failed.”

Drecon stopped directly in front of him. “Failed?” he repeated softly.

“The boy escaped with the woman.” The scout corrected himself immediately.

Drecon crouched slowly before the student. He'd never liked those.

“No,” he whispered. “The Tyrant did not fail.”

The student visibly shook with fear now.

Drecon’s silver eyes gleamed faintly.

“It will find the boy. That is what it was made for.” He glanced down at the horrified student. “It was blood bound.”

The student glanced up at Drecon in horror, blood bonding was forbidden. The dark lord smiled. “Mind bending isn't it?”

A cold silence spread through the chamber.

“The beast awakened the flame exactly as intended.”

Understanding slowly crossed the prisoner’s face.

“The attack on Astra…” he whispered.

“Yes.”

Drecon smiled. “Chaos forces truth into the open.”

The student's expression slowly twisted into horror. “You sacrificed all those people just to force his power awake?”

Drecon looked genuinely amused by the question. “Just?”

The student immediately regretted speaking.

Drecon rose smoothly.

“You think small,” he said quietly. “That is why your precious council buried knowledge instead of embracing it.”

He turned away from the kneeling student and began walking slowly through the chamber.

“The old bloodlines ruled dragons,” Drecon continued. “Not beasts. Not mounts. Dragons.”

His voice echoed softly against the cavern walls.

“Do you understand what such power means?”

Nobody answered.

Drecon smiled faintly. “Of course you do not.”

He stopped before a massive object covered beneath black cloth near the far end of the chamber.

Several followers nearby immediately lowered their eyes. Even they feared it.

Drecon gripped the cloth slowly.

“The council feared the dragon-blooded because they stood above mages.”

The cloth dropped. Beneath it rested a skeleton larger than any creature should have been.

A dragon skull.

Its enormous jaws remained partially open while blackened teeth the size of swords gleamed beneath torchlight.

The entire chamber seemed colder near it. Several ribs stretched across the cavern floor like prison bars.

The student prisoner stared in horror.

“You…” his voice cracked. “You truly found one…”

Drecon rested one hand against the skull gently.

“Not found,” he corrected. “Freed.”

Drecon’s expression darkened slightly as he looked into the dragon’s empty eye socket.

“They murdered them,” he said quietly. “Every last one.”

“The council called them tyrants while stealing their knowledge. Their power. Their blood.”

He turned slowly toward the room again. “And now they hunt the last heir.”

The silver markings beneath his skin brightened faintly.

“I will not allow them to claim him first.”

The kneeling student suddenly found courage somewhere beneath terror.

“You speak as though you care for the boy,” he spat weakly. “But you only want his power.”

Drecon smiled. “Of course I do.”

The honesty of the answer seemed worse somehow. The student stared at him and Drecon walked closer again.

“The difference between myself and the council,” he said softly, “is that I do not lie about what I am.”

The prisoner tried to rise suddenly but Drecon’s hand closed around his throat instantly.

“I have spent twenty years searching for the dragon flame,” Drecon whispered. “Twenty years watching kingdoms bury truth beneath fear.”

The student clawed desperately at his wrist.

“And now,” Drecon continued calmly, “a frightened orphan boy carries enough power to remake the realm.”

His silver eyes narrowed slightly. “Tell me honestly… if you were me…”

The pressure around the student’s throat tightened.

“…how far would you go to claim it?”

The student could not answer. Drecon snapped his neck effortlessly and his body collapsed at his feet.

One of Drecon’s closest followers finally stepped forward cautiously. A woman dressed in dark leather armor with white markings carved into her scalp.

“Shall we prepare the hunters?”

Drecon stared thoughtfully toward the cavern ceiling. He knew he wasn't the only one who wanted the boy. By now, the council will want him gone for good.

Slowly, Drecon smiled again. “Yes,” he said softly.

The torches around the chamber flickered violently.

“Send every shadow I own.”

The armored woman bowed immediately. “As you wish, my lord.”

She bowed her head and walked right out of the hall.

A faint rumble echoed through the mountain again. It wasn't tremors from the mountain this time but an unnamed monster right beneath Drecon's throne.

Several followers immediately looked terrified. Drecon merely smiled toward the darkness below the cavern.

“Soon, my love,” he whispered. “Soon.”