The halls of the Roxundam Monarch Castle darkened with each step Loranna Van Sin took toward the throne room.
Now the tomb of a forsaken dynasty, the castle represented the throbbing heart of evil that had corrupted the kingdom, home to abominations and wicked magic.
Loranna felt the raised collar of her black palace gown, rimmed with gold, squeeze her throat as she inhaled a stuttered breath.
I am her words. I am her ears. I must show no fear.
The black gown fell to her feet, trailing three meters behind while Loranna's hidden boots announced her impending arrival like a clock sounding the hour.
Tap. tap. Tap. tap.
Loranna's head was covered in a red wedding veil, but she was no bride. As the voice for the Dragoness in the outside world, her presence needed to represent regality and strength. Beyond the castle walls, she held authority over the serpent armies, yet inside the nest, she remained an inferior servant, a slave to greater power.
Loranna was stopped by two serpent guards blocking her path to the throne. Their sharp, twisted horns and long snouts covered in grey scales cast an insidious silhouette over her body. Their crooked spines rounded further as their heads stretched out on long, winding necks that came to rest on her shoulders.
The serpents snorted and inhaled her sweet scent, then retracted their necks until almost humanlike in length and stood back, allowing her to pass.
The darkness of the room on the other side of the doorway devoured everything, Loranna's eyes lost in a sea of black. The faint stench of smoke and ash wrapped around her, pulling her inside.
I am her words. I am her ears. I must show no fear.
Loranna lifted the red veil off her head, revealing two amber eyes rimmed with blue dragon scales piercing her pale skin. Her blood-red lips and dark hair projected a gothic allure, her mature appearance making it almost impossible to believe she was only twenty years of age.
Without further delay, Loranna proceeded inside the throne room. The weight of the black void seeped into her lungs and pressed down on her chest, and her legs lost their strength the further she advanced.
Soon, Loranna was reduced to crawling on her knees, and finally, before the weight of the darkness could snap her fragile body in two, she sat up straight and lifted her eyes.
A hot breath warmed her cheeks, and the faint outline of a creature's face, sculpted in the likeness of a woman, revealed itself before her.
"Speak, Daughter Forsaken."
"Mother Dargoness," Loranna began, hardening her voice. "I come before you, mighty sovereign, to reveal the location of another Oracle. Two days ago, a she-elf claiming to know the map to the light of the world arrived in the pirate sanctuary of Port Haradem. Serpent spies declare she is recruiting a company to embark on a quest to find Roxundam's mysterious saviour. It must be stopped."
The Dragoness remained still for a moment, her heavy breaths sending echoed tremors throughout the room. Loranna felt the ground tremble beneath her.
"Lead my children, great daughter of Roxundam. Burn everything where it stands. We must snuff out this ember of hope before it sparks a rebellious fire. Kill everyone."
Loranna nodded slowly, partially unsatisfied with the answer.
The Dragoness sensed this and hummed. "What troubles you, Daughter Forsaken?"
"My brother," Loranna said, her eyes glazed over with tears. "He and a young dwarf also seek this elf. I believe they wish to conspire against you, my queen. They wish to find the light."
YOU ARE READING
RISEN | ONC 2024
FantasíaA boy born with Serpentblood. An exiled dwarf in pursuit of his destiny. A she-elf guided by a religious prophecy. Together, they must rise to find the coveted Light of the World, a saviour who promises to tip the scale of waging Spiritual War in t...
