Wielder of the Flame Read Online Free PDF

lamp to better see the stranger’s face.
    He drew a breath in surprise and turned to Soren and
Zildjin.
    They returned his gaze with confused looks of their own.
    “What?” Zildjin said.
    Sesuadra, usually the quiet one, had not spoken for almost a
day and a half, but he deemed it important enough now to say, “I recognize
him.”

 
 
 
 
 
Chapter Three 
Leaderless
     
     
    A black bird soared across the sky,
in search of food.
    It was a hot day. The sun was bright, unhindered by clouds.
    The bird had flown from its cliff-side perch down to the
basin below, a thriving center of civilization known as Concord Valley.
    The races who dwelt here were many and diverse, but united
under a single ruler. When commanded, together they formed a sizable and rising
force to be reckoned with. But without direction, they struggled to maintain
alliances. Towering mountains surrounded the valley on one side, an immense
dark lake covered the other. The water of the lake was always rough and uneven,
blown by the wind sweeping through the valley. There were many towns and cities
across the way, but at the heart of the numerous territories within the valley
was a vast city, the center of which was dominated by a massive fortress.
    It was an impressive structure, designed by a genius, yet
dark mind. Thousands of slaves had died in its construction, their bodies
thrown into the walls, sinking deep into the very mortar of the construct. Where
the hands of men failed to work, powerful enchantments had been used to finish
the great building. Shattering the skyline with its height, all of its
spiraling towers, winding corridors, arches, balconies, walkways and staircases
accentuated the tall, gigantic dome in its center. From its highest, dizzying,
point, the buildings surrounding it far below appeared as small pebbles along
the shore. Its surface was that of charred black rock, cold and dark. Gargoyles
and statues adorned its vast exterior. Some wore ugly faces of bloodthirsty
rage and horror, others the façades of tormented souls in anguish. It was
hideous, and yet awe-inspiring, frightening and otherworldly, a powerful and
unbreakable mighty stronghold.
    The enormous dome, even with the use and aid of powerful
magic, was a feat of architectural engineering.
    But the bird did not notice any of these details while it
flew in-between the many spiraling towers. It only had an eye for potential
food.
    As it circled lower and lower it drew near a large open
balcony. A cornucopia of food was laid out on tables, right in the open, but
there were several large figures in the room connected to the balcony and
though they were mostly distracted, talking amongst themselves, they were a
possible threat to the bird. Two more figures were on the balcony, browsing
through the food, picking up pieces of meat and fruit here and there and eating
them. The bird’s hunger overcame its fear and it flittered down, landing on the
guardrail of the balcony furthest away from the moving figures, but still near
something edible. It was not a very intelligent bird and gave a loud squawk or
two after a few moments of its landing, ruining any sort of chance it had of
not being noticed. Perhaps it was simply voicing its hunger, or was warning the
figures nearby that it was going to eat some of the food now and would defend
itself if attacked. Regardless, the bird failed to see the third figure on the
balcony in the shadows nearby.
    There was a quick flash of pink as a long extending tongue
whipped out and wrapped around the bird and retracted. There was a crunch and a
spurt of blood and the figure in the shadows stepped out.
    His name was Sklan.
    He was tall, easily six and a half heads high, and for the
most part looked humanoid in stature, but with the facial features of something
different entirely. He had small overlapping scales instead of skin, which
appeared oily and shiny in the hot golden light of the sun. The majority of the
scales were a murky emerald in