Read Aetheric Elements: The Rise of a Steampunk Reality Page 7

  Grenedal Dragonblood, a man who had been changed by time and magics, watched. In the Kingdom of Humbrey to the north, was the Duchy of Velent. It was the southernmost noble house of thirteen. It was on a small stretch of land between the Lost Swamp and just north of the border of the Kingdom of Trysteria, and the Duchy of Malvor. Duke Malvornick was often seen in Velent, and was recognized to be a close friend of the Duke and Duchess. To the north of Velent was the County of Trism. The Count often appeared in Velent, also, but did not seem quite as friendly as the southern Kingdom’s Duke did.

  At that very moment, the Count was leaning close to the ambassador from Malvor and whispering. They both looked up, at the same time, at the man watching them.

  Grenedal looked down, staring at his skin. The lines on it had become deeper and more pronounced in the past year. People thought it was hair that was on his arm, but if you looked closely, you could see that the lines were too close to the skin and too uniform. They resembled scales more than anything else. In the shadows of the evening festivities of the Autumnal Equinox and holy day of the Changing Wheel, few people noticed the oddities. People noted his height though, which was more than two meters tall.

  Duke Malvornick had plans for this Kingdom, but Grenendal knew not what those plans were. The dragon-kin could not counter any of the Duke’s intentions without that information. Grenedal was good at getting information, though, and had spread enough coins through the hands of others in the past few days to buy a fourteenth noble house in Humbrey. Soon, information would begin to trickle down to him. Once it did, he would piece it together and start to ask the questions that would uncover the well-hidden schemes of Malvornick.

  Lord Jaeken stood by another noble. The aristocrat had been making many visits to Velent lately. He had not been sending messengers or knights, but rather attending the meetings himself. Both of Lord Jaeken’s sons had disappeared, and each of them had once been priests of Jonath with promising futures. The Lord spoke with great feeling, and the Earl listened to every word he said.

  Grenedal turned to his companion. They had dressed for the celebration and wore matching finery in golds, browns, and yellows; his breeches and vest tight and creased, her gown full and flowing. A slim woman with exotic features, she sipped at the crystal chalice of wine, eyeing the men in the room with an almost predatory gaze.

  She noticed him looking down at her, and raised her glass in toast. “Well, Lord Dragonblood, here is to the upper echelon living up to its exciting possibilities.”

  “I know what you mean; there is a reason I wasn’t disappointed when I was disowned. You missed nothing by being raised on the streets.”

  “But you got it back easily enough.”

  Grenedal glared at her for a moment, and shrugged. “My whole family being murdered was not necessarily easy. At least, not for them, I would guess. Ironic though, if they had not sent me away, they would all still be alive.”

  “You sound like you had it done for the sake of revenge.”

  “You know where I was when it happened, strapped to a machine that killed most people in less than a week. You found me there, three months after you lost me.”

  “Yeah, but look what came of it.” She snaked her arm around his body. “Tall, dark, and handsome. Not to mention the magic you now have. That machine brought out more, much more, than just your family’s dragon blood.”

  “We don’t have time for this. You have a job to do. Talk to the Earl; find out what Lord Jaeken has been doing. I will put a tail on Malvornick’s envoy.”

  “Oh, you have a tail too now?” she asked, her hand slipping to his posterior.

  “Go on, and don’t use your real name, Kaht.” He pulled himself free of her groping hands.

  “Have I ever?” She sauntered into the crowd, every male head turning to watch her sinuous movements.

  When Kaht returned, she told Grenedal dire tales of Malvornick’s plans to overthrow each land in the north, and control all the people. Rumors of hordes of monstrous beasts and dead in the land added to the urgency of bringing leaders forward to guide the people. It was in Grenedal’s dragon blood to plan for centuries, urging him to look beyond the lifespan of a single human. They would need to travel north to Trism, to find allies.