Kardia beat his wings, urging even more speed out of them. Through a break in the clouds, he saw his target. It was a small village, only about twenty men and twice that in women and children. He folded his wings and dove.
Ordinarily, such a small gathering of huts would be beneath his notice, but he had received news from one of the messenger harpies that one of the rebels, those accursed Sons of the Dawn, had been recruiting here. They would enlist young men and women, those who were angry at having their land ruled by monsters and wished to see the old days return. That kind of thinking was dangerous. If the Sons gathered enough people, they might start an army and challenge him for rule of this land. Of course, they had no hope for their king was dead and had left no heir. Without the King and the Steward, no rebellion would ever be successful, but still. It would be annoying to have to kill all of those vermin, who could be used so much better as slaves. No, this man would have to die. The only problem was, he didn't know what the Son looked like, or, in fact, whether if it was male or female. He could land and ask the townspeople, of course, but he hated talking to such lowly creatures. It always made him feel dirty, and it could be that a brave, and foolish creature would step forward and take the Son's place, allowing the real traitor to escape. This could not be allowed. Kardia would take the simplistic approach. He would kill them all and burn the village to the ground.
Kardia hurtled down bursting through the clouds and zeroing in on the town. When he was one hundred feet from the ground, he unfolded his wings and pulled up, skimming the rooftops. Opening his jaws, he let forth a burst of fire. Instantly, half the huts burst into flame. Turning, he made another pass, and the whole village was burning. Men grabbed their swords and women snatched up the children and began to run. Kardia smiled. There was no use in that for he could fly far faster than any man could run. The men of the city had assembled into a formation of archers. A tall man with long blond hair shouted an order, and twenty arrows streaked upwards, shattering on the dragon's hide. With a roar, Kardia flew past and lashed his tail through the company. Covered in spikes as the tail was, it shredded the archers and flung them through the air, heads and ruined limbs cracking sickeningly against the sturdy walls of the flaming huts. Looping about, he threw flame at the survivors. He was about to turn and chase the women and children when he spotted a child of about seven years of age. He was desperately shaking a man, probably his father's, body. Kardia opened his mouth to burn the boy alive, but he reconsidered. Was it worth the effort for just one measly boy? He closed his mouth but then noticed a boy sized bow laying at the child's side. He had been one of the archers! This runt, this pathetic human worm, had dared fire on the king of dragons! Kardia again opened his mouth to burn the boy when a teen of about sixteen leaped in the way. He wore fine silver armor with a golden sun emblazoned on the chestpiece. This, at last, was the Son of the Dawn. He would kill this traitor, not with fire, but swallow him whole. Kardia pumped his wings, gaining height, then turned and dove down at the two humans. He smiled, knowing that his massive body and gleaming teeth would be the last thing this traitor saw. He adjusted his course slightly, aiming dead at the sun on the breastplate of this boy. But, as he opened his mouth, he was wracked by tremors, not of pain, but just waves of power. Losing control, he tried to pull up but was going much too fast. He slammed into the ground, crushing three huts beneath him. Seeing his opportunity, the young warrior grabbed the child and ran. Kardia pulled himself to his feet and loosed a roar of fury. He knew what those tremors were. Anyone with any sense of magic would know what those tremors were. They were the intangible waves of power that were unleashed when a being with a gift discovered its powers for the first time. There were only two humans that had power of this magnitude though. He had killed the Steward, and the King, but they must have had heirs, kept hidden from him for thirteen years! Somehow, they had passed the family gift on, most likely before they went to war. And now, the two heirs had first used their powers, at the same time no less!
Kardia launched himself into the air, the Son and child forgotten. He had to kill the heirs before they discovered the true extent of their power, or they might start a true rebellion. He turned, heading toward the river Erundil where the closest tremor had been located. As he beat his wings ever harder, a sudden doubt sprang to his mind. It was possible that there were two heirs, gifted with their fathers power. But why then, had he felt three tremors?
