The Leviathan Prophecy

There weren’t always dragons in the Valley. None considered the reclusive creatures a threat before Queen Ekran, Daughter of Aurum, managed to marshal the might of the great winged beasts. The Queen sought to expand her seat of power in the shadow of the Steelspire Mountains south across the Leviatear River, aiming to spread the prosperity of her kingdom to the far reaches of the continent. The dragons, however, were not so easily controlled. The monsters blanketed the sky and were overcome with bloodlust as they scoured through the verdant lands of the southern tribes. The Queen’s Blight War the people began to call it; a colorful name for the expeditious and total eradication of two thirds of the Tribal Coalition and the rainforests of the continent of Prose, in just three days. The dragons’ frenzy would not be contained by the will of the Queen, however, and they soon rained their infernal ire down upon Ekran’s kingdom as well, the mountains serving as little more than a convenient perch for the scaled creatures to roost between bombardments. The Kingdom of Ekar, Queen Ekran’s seat, fell swiftly beneath claws and flames with the dragons expending four days of effort to reach total dominion of the Steelspire Valley kingdom. Thanks to the hubris of the Queen, the dragons had taken control of the majority of the known kingdoms of Prose within the span of one week.

Roosting in the heights of the Steelspire Mountains north of the Valley of Ekar, the dragons seemed unstoppable. Stone could not break their thick scales and steel was but a nuisance to them unless fired from slow operating ballistae. In the final day of the dragons’ week of destruction, only the kingdom city of Aurum remained as a bastion for the people of Ekar, and the Queen gathered her forces within. Queen Ekran, flanked on either side by The Queen’s Talons, her six most powerful sorcerers, led Ekar’s final push against the dragons as the creatures swept down from the mountains. On a battlefield already riddled with the broken and burned army of Ekar, the Queen’s Talons were crushed and consumed by the scaled monstrosities. As night fell and the people of Ekar awaited their ultimate destruction, the Queen miraculously appeared, though she was badly burned and bloodied. Amidst cries for her apprehension and execution in some sort of last act of penance, Queen Ekran disappeared back into her keep, the remnants of her royal guard barring her inside against the raging masses. The people of Ekar, raging and rioting against the walls of Castle Aurum, were momentarily quelled as golden light erupted from the throne room, piercing the clouded night sky as though it were the light of the sun itself. As quickly as the light appeared, it disappeared into the thick clouds of the night and the people returned to their rage, and the dragons descended upon the city.

Across the Leviatear River, southeast of the outer border of the Ekar Kingdom, High Seeker Mahmon peered north across The Barrens through a spyglass of incredible proportion as a ray of golden light pierced the sky and, just for a moment, flashed in a dome expanding from the northernmost point of the Steelspire Mountains to the northern bank of the Leviatear. Mahmon eased back from the spyglass with a mournful smile, nodded, and began to descend the stairs of the Seeker Observatory back to his chambers.

Upon entering his chambers, Mahmon’s thoughts returned to the unusual audience he had collected as he regarded each person currently seated around the meeting table in his study. King Xander, the warrior king of Sonnet in the west, stood uncharacteristically unarmored choosing instead to dress in a dark blue, gold threaded tunic emblazoned with his chained-axe and shield emblem, and dark blue trousers of the same design. Seated directly in front of King Xander and dressed in a resplendent silver gown worked with dark blue thread, Queen Robin of Sonnet peered into a small tome regarding crop acceleration through arcane interactions. Directly across the black marble table from the King and Queen of the Sonnet Kingdom, the High Warchief of the Tribal Coalition peered intently into an ornate glass case at the ancient battleaxe within. Warchief Basilio Lupus, the elected military commander of the Tribal Coalition, stood tall adorned in a dark colored sleeveless leather tabard and soft leather trousers as he moved from the battleaxe display to another ancient weapon case with a variety of knives and daggers. Standing at the back of the library, dressed in a similar garb as Basilio in lighter colors, Divine Shaman Maira Talar perused a shelf containing collected writings that catalog the various flora and fauna of different regions of Prose.

“I must admit, it is lost on me why a warrior’s instruments would interest one such as yourself, Basilio,” King Xander sneered, “though I suppose the art of weaponfaire must astound even the lowliest of brutes.”

“Pomposity such as yours must be the reason the Rampha and Siluri tribes were able to so easily rebuff the Sonnet Armada,” Basilio replied lazily, still gazing at the beautifully crafted weaponry. Xander bristled at the sleight, his clasped hands balling into fists behind his back, and opened his mouth to retort but was stayed by a brief touch of Queen Robin’s hand on his.

“You two may resume plotting the mindless destruction of one another when we are returned to our respective lands,” Queen Robin spoke in a lilting, yet commanding voice. “But for now, it appears our host has returned.” Robin closed her book as Mahmon entered the library doorway. High Seeker Mahmon bowed reverentially to each of his four guests before he took his seat at the head of the marble table, gesturing for the three standing others to do the same.

“Indeed. Thank you Queen Robin,” High Seeker Mahmon spoke without embellishment or performance, but commanded the attention of these gathered leaders nonetheless. “The alliance we Seekers have asked of you may be temporary, but I must insist that you all respect the great sacrifice the world has just made to contain the dragon threat. Had the Daughter of Aurum been successful, your insignificant quarrels would have been quashed in a blaze of all consuming dragon fire.” Mahmon gave a moment for the others to absorb his words and continued, “Fortunately for you and your peoples, I have confirmed the success of the dragons’ containment. Through the combination of Seeker Rune Wardens and the respective arcane competencies of the Sonnet Warlocks and the Coalition Shamans, the Light of Binding has secured the dragons.” And condemned the people of Ekar to their fates, he thought morosely. “As High Seeker of Truth I, Mahmon Afsari, implore you all to continue to adhere to the Ironblood Treaty and maintain the peace between your lands,” Mahmon continued, “Only through the continued cooperation of your arcanists will the Dragon Internment Zone be upheld. Should we falter in our duties and allow the Light of Binding to fail, the scaled beasts will be released once more upon the world and bring about the total annihilation of your peoples.”

Mahmon let the others ponder his words for several moments, regarding the expressions of each of his respected guests. He saw King Xander, who had rested his hands on the arms of his chair sporting a jovial grin when Mahmon began speaking, sat with a deeply furrowed brow and clutched his chair arms with a white knuckled grip. Mahmon watched as Warchief Basilio bristled at each mention of the dragons and he found it necessary to remove his hands from the table as they began to form fists at the mention of future threat to his people. The Seeker noticed as Divine Shaman Maira muttered a prayer to herself and seemed to be instinctively checking the pouches and pockets of her sash in which she carried medicinal herbs and salves. Last, Mahmon’s eyes found Queen Robin, her expression unreadable betraying nothing of her feelings towards the plight of the Ekar Kingdom or even the consideration of her own people’s future. Mahmon made a mental note of each of their reactions, pausing for a few more moments to let them process what he said.

Satisfied with what he saw, Mahmon stood and dismissed his guests. As each dignitary stood and bowed or nodded to the High Seeker, Mahmon gave one final reminder of the deed that bound them together.

“In accordance with the Ironblood Treaty and the Seeker Runes by which it is sealed; peace must be maintained between the Sonnet Kingdom and the Tribal Coalition until the Light of Binding can consecrate the land permanently. The Binding will be championed by the Sonnet Warlocks and the Coalition Shamans until the day that noon becomes night and the blue sky becomes black as pitch. Should conflict arise before that day, fury and destruction will be unleashed upon the world, greater even than the force that was contained by the Light, as dragons and leviathans become unbound.”

Mahmon bid his guests farewell and began to once more ascend the stairs to the observatory as they took their leave. He peered once more into the looking glass; the golden light surrounding the kingdom of Ekar was completely opaque now and nothing could be seen of the lush valley or the stalwart mountains. Mahmon pulled back from the looking glass and took a deep shuddering breath as tears rolled down his high-boned cheeks. Mahmon Afsari, High Seeker of Truth for what would be known in the Seeker Archives as the Age of Insight, wept openly for the suffering he had wrought. And for how insignificant it was compared to the suffering to come.