Cole opened his eyes and shot up in bed. The young warrior was covered in sweat and breathing heavily. Leeta rose up near him and laid her hand on his shoulder. "What's the wrong, Cole? Is it the nightmare again?"
Cole nodded numbly. For the past several months, he had been plagued periodically by nightmares of the final battle with Ziatoch. He had tried everything to find out why it was troubling him so, but there didn't seem to be an answer. The Dragonmaster put his own hand on top of his beloved's. "I'm okay, now." He only wished he could believe his own words.
"Why don't you lie back down and try to go back to sleep," said Leeta with a yawn.
"Naah," replied Cole as he slipped out from under the covers. "I think that I'll just go out and get a little fresh air." He leaned over and kissed her lightly. "I'll be back in a while," he told her, but the Princess was already fast asleep.
The Dragonmaster tightened the strap on his pajama bottoms, threw on a shirt, and went out to the balcony outside the Princess' chambers. It was a cool spring night. Lunar shone peacefully down upon the city of Lucitania. Cole, along with Argile, Fox, and Carmen, had returned to the Blue Star with Leeta. By using the Dragon Wings, the group had transported directly to Lucitania. Since then, they had been helping to rebuild the city after Ziatoch's forces had devastated it several months back. Cole sighed and wondered briefly how his cousin was faring.
Carla, Mirage, and Connery had stayed on Lunar and were at this very moment trying to find a way to return Vane to the skies. He missed his cousin and the two Knights, but he knew that they were probably fine.
The temperature suddenly dropped several degrees, and Cole shivered. The Dragonmaster took one more deep breath of air and walked back inside. He quietly slid back into the bed and pulled the covers over his body. Leeta moaned slightly and drew herself closer to him. Cole smiled to himself and slid his arm around her. The young warrior finally decided to try and get a little more sleep. He was going to need all his energy for the treaty meetings with the Emperor of the Eastern Empire later that day. Cole closed his eyes and slowly drifted back to sleep.
The swirls of teleportation magic faded, and the Demon Dragonmaster looked down upon a city below. "Where are we?" he asked Arlax.
"We are in the center of what is known as the Eastern Empire," answered the Dragon. He pointed at a temple in the middle of the city. "During the Great War, both sides created weapons of tremendous power. One of Althena's most powerful creations was the Goddess' Sword. Zophar, too, had weapons blessed with his own dark powers. That temple houses a sword that was built from the same material as Althena's Sword. Except this evil blade was forged in the Green Dragon's fire and then dipped in the Dark God's blood."
Kole smirked. "Sounds like something I would like."
Arlax extended a hand towards the city. "Then let us go and retrieve it, Demon Dragonmaster." There was a quick flash and a huge Dragon, with purple and blue scales all over its body and black scales on its under side, appeared next to him. It looked down at Kole with fathomless black eyes and spoke with a low rumble. "The blade is guarded by a clan of fighting monks called Shao'lin. I don't think they'll pose us any threat."
"I hope they'll put up some of a fight," said the dark warrior with a mocking tone.
Arlax merely grunted as he leapt into the air. Kole watched the Chaos Dragon descend on the city. It released a blast of energy from its mouth, which laid waste to several buildings. The Dragon landed within the city walls and began to reek havoc among the populous. "He certainly loves his work," said the Demon Dragonmaster to himself. "But I don't want him to have all the fun." With that, he teleported into the city.
He reappeared among a group of bald men in pinkish robes. The nearest one threw a punch, but Kole caught the man's wrist. In one motion, the dark warrior snapped the monk's wrist and threw him to the ground. Several more rushed him, but Kole quickly spat out the words to a spell and cried out the activation word. "Pestilence!" A mass of greenish fog appeared before him and surrounded the fighting monks. They all began to gag and vomit as the flesh fell from their bodies. In a matter of moments, there was a pile of bones where the men had been. "Interesting spell," muttered Kole.
There was a mighty roar, and Kole looked over his shoulder to see Arlax tearing the city apart. Bored with just killing the monks around him, Kole made his way to the temple. As he ascended its steps, an eight foot tall monk of pure muscle stepped into view. The Demon Dragonmaster huffed and cast another spell without hesitation. "Shadow Flame!" A dark fire spewed from his extended right hand and engulfed the giant monk. The monk cried out in pain and fell to the ground. Kole walked past the smoldering body and entered the temple.
The inside of the temple was just one giant chamber. In its center was a sword driven point down into a pedestal. Monks were guarding the sword, but Kole just muttered a words and tendrils of Binding Darkness enveloped them all. The dark warrior stopped before the pedestal and read an inscription at its base. "Kasra, the soul crusher."
He looked up and studied the blade itself. Its three foot black blade shone with an eerie glow, the guard was a dark gray and shaped like a pair of small thick dragon wings, the grip was ten inches and wrapped in black leather, and the pommel was a purple arrow head diamond. Without any hesitation, he grasped the hilt and pulled Kasra free. The Sword fought him for a moment, but Kole brought his full will upon it, and the Soul Crusher soon submitted. "Good, Kasra. You know who your new master is."
Kole spun around to the sound of clapping behind him. "Very good, Kole." It was Arlax. "You've found the Soul Crusher. Now we can begin our search for the artifacts needed for the revival."
Kole stepped down from the pedestal and walked calmly over to the Chaos Dragon. "You think too quickly, my friend. There are certain things we must do before we start our search. First, we have to neutralize my counter part and his Knights. Then we must bring the Blue Star and Lunar under my control. Once those things have been accomplished, then we can look for the three artifacts."
Arlax scowled. "You seem to be forgetting who gave you the powers you have now. What I have given, I can just as easily take..."
Kole raised his left hand quickly, extended one finger, and slowly curled it inwards. Arlax stopped in mid speech and grabbed his throat. "And you seem to have forgotten who you've given these powers to, my dear Arlax," snarled the Demon Dragonmaster. "Not only do I have the powers you and your brethren gave me, but I also have the powers I stole from the Green Dragon. You have made me the Master of the Demon Dragons, therefore, I am in charge. Do you understand?" Arlax nodded vigorously. Kole released the Dragon. "Good. I'm glad we got that straightened out."
The Demon Dragonmaster willed a sheath into existence and placed Kasra in it. He walked past the Chaos Dragon and continued to speak. "Now, what kind of forces do you have under your control?"
Arlax took several deep breaths before he answered. "We Demon Dragons have dominion over many creatures of the underworld. I can summon them at moments notice if you wish, my lord."
"Excellent," said Kole. "Now we will return to Lunar and retrieve the Demon Knights and the other Dragons." He stopped walking and looked at the devastated city about him. "Then we begin the conquest of the Blue Star."
There was a knocking at her door, and Leeta went to see who it was. The Princess opened the door and found a messenger awaiting her. He clicked his heels together and bowed. "Your Highness."
"What is your message, good man?" asked Leeta.
The messenger rose and looked her in the eye. "The Emperor's barge has been sighted several miles from the city."
"Very good," said Leeta. "Have the council of ministers prepare the treaties that are to be discussed."
"Yes, Princess." He bowed again and walked away.
"Who was that?" came Cole's voice from the bathing chamber.
"Just a messenger," said Leeta. "The Emperor will be here soon."
"Great," said the Dragonmaster as he entered the room. "I just can't wait," he muttered sarcastically.
"Oh stop it," said Leeta as she sat down in front of her mirror. She took her brush and began to comb her shoulder length blue, blond hair. "We have to do this."
He sat down on the bed with a frown on his face. "But that guy is such a pompous ass." He got up and walked over to a rack holding the Dragon Armor. "Do I have to wear my Armor?"
"Yes, you do," replied Leeta sternly. "This is a formal affair, and we need to look our best." She looked over her shoulder and smiled. "Besides, no one will try anything with a Dragonmaster at my side."
Cole came up behind her and started to massage her shoulders. "Is there anything else this Dragonmaster can do for you?" he whispered into her ear as he kissed it.
Fighting the urge to kiss him back, Leeta stood up and walked past him. "Yes. Put on your Armor." She gave him a half smile. "Now, if you can control those animal instincts of yours, we just might see about that other thing later."
Moments later, the Princess and the Dragonmaster left the royal chambers. Cole, dark tan cape billowing as he walked, was fully garbed in his Dragon Armor with the Dragon Helmet in his right hand, the Goddess' Sword strapped to his left side, and the Dragon Shield strapped to his left forearm. Leeta walked beside him in a silk aqua dress with no sleeves. Around her neck was her mother's pendant.
The two of them walked through the palace until they arrived in the main hall. As they descended the stairs, Leeta saw Argile and Fox waiting at the bottom. She smiled down at them. "Good morning, boys," said the Princess cheerfully.
Both Knights were in their armor. "Good morning, Princess," they said in unison. They both looked at Cole and nodded. Cole gave them both a brief nod and then said he'd be right back.
"Is he all right?" asked Argile.
Leeta looked at her lover as he walked away. "He's just a little tired." She turned back the the two Knights. "It's that nightmare again. The damn thing keeps waking him up at night." Leeta suddenly realized someone was missing. "Where's Carmen?"
"She wasn't feeling well this morning," said Fox. "It might be that flu going around. She decided to stay in our room and rest."
Leeta frowned. "Well, I hope she feels better. I think I'll go and see her after this business is over."
Fox gave her a little smile. "I know she'd like that."
"How long do you think this is going to take?" asked Argile. The Black Knight looked longingly in the direction of the kitchen.
Leeta patted him on his massive forearm. "Don't worry, Argile. The kitchen will still be serving breakfast by the time this is over."
"Excuse me, ladies," interrupted Cole. "I really hate to interrupt your gossiping, but the Emperor is here."
Fox blushed at Cole's remark, Argile slightly stiffened, and Leeta just made a face at him. Leeta slid her arm into Cole's, and the two of them led the way outside. The four friends, followed by the council of ministers and the royal guard, came out of the main gate and looked upon the giant sail barge of the Emperor of the Eastern Empire. It was a giant ship that floated by aid of air magic. Leeta put on her diplomat's face and readied herself for the Emperor.
Trumpets sounded, and a small regiment of soldiers, in blue and black armor, made they're way towards the Princess and her friends. They stopped a few feet from her and parted. A small man marched over and looked up at Leeta with rage in his eyes. "The only reason I've come here, is to say that we are now at war!" shouted the small man.