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Land of Dragon 57: Secret of the Dragon
Chapter 1The Panthers entered the Throne Hall of the Royal Castle with uncertainty in their hearts and guilt weighing heavily on their shoulders. They walked slowly, almost dragging their feet, trying in vain to delay their meeting with the King. Thoran had summoned them, but not only the Panthers; he had also summoned Gondabar and Raner. And if, as a rule, when the monarch requested their presence it was not usually for anything good, the fact that their leaders had also been called indicated that the meeting was not going to be a pleasant one, especially after what had happened at the Royal Wedding.Gondabar was leading the group down the long corridor toward the throne. His steps were unsteady and he moved slowly, almost as slowly as the Panthers. Raner was walking behind the leader of the Rangers, watching in case Gondabar stumbled and required his assistance. The Healer Edwina had been performing her arts of healing magic on the afflicted body of the octogenarian leader and he h
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“A dragon! Do you think I’m an idiot? Is that what you think?” Thoran asked, pointing at Gondabar and Raner.“Very much the contrary,” Gondabar replied. “Your Majesty has a very lucid and intelligent mind.”“And yet you come to explain the death of the leader of my Magi with a fallacy? With a children’s tale?”“With a mythological fable, rather,” a voice said suddenly. All those present turned to see the Queen enter,accompanied by her bodyguard Valeria and the Druid Aidan.“What fable are you talking about!” Thoran protested, still beside himself.Queen Heulyn walked up to the throne. Ignoring everyone present, she sat in her throne beside her husband, the King.“Dragons appear in fables based on mythology. There are dragons in many regions of Tremia. In Irinel, for instance, and among the Druids too, isn’t that so, Aidan?”“It is, my lady,” Aidan replied. He had stayed beside Valeria
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Chapter 2Thoran pointed his finger at Orten.“Stop, brother! Don’t shed blood!” he shouted like someone giving an order to a bulldog not to attack.His sword already half-unsheathed, Orten’s face was red with rage. He looked unable to hold back; he was not going to listen to his brother. He was going to attack them.“Incompetent cretins!” he yelled, glaring at Gondabar and Raner.Lasgol began to slide forward stealthily and gently.“Stop! I’m ordering you!” Thoran shouted at this brother.Orten stopped. He was struggling to control his rage. For an instant everyone watched tensely, hoping he could control himself. Finally, he took a step back and sheathed his sword.“They deserve a severe punishment for their stupidity and foolishness,” Orten said to his brother.Lasgol returned to his previous position with another swift move. He hoped no one in front had seen him; it seemed as though no one had. They were all too concentrated on what was happening with Orten to notice him. Everyone
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Chapter 3“That went great,” Viggo said bitterly as the Panthers walked into the room they all shared in the Tower.“We already knew something like this might happen if we went to the King,” Astrid replied, coming in after him and shaking her head, saddened. “A sorry spectacle.”“That’s why Gondabar and Raner didn’t want to go to the King without solid evidence. Now it’s clear they were absolutely right,” Lasgol said, coming in with his head down.“I wasn’t so sure about not informing the King of what we had found out,” Ingrid said, following the others with a crestfallen look on her face. “Whenever Gondabar and Raner opposed telling the King, I thought it was risky. I thought it would be worse once they found out about the existence of the dragon and that we’d be accused of having hidden what we knew. I have to admit though, after what we’ve witnessed, that I was wrong. Now I understand our leaders’ fear. Their worst expectations have come to pass. I had guessed it might go badly… bu
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Chapter 4The atmosphere in the Royal Dungeons was as lugubrious as could be expected of such a place. Many were the stories that ran throughout Norghana of what this place had witnessed. All of them were horrendous tales about nobles, traitors, and beggars who had entered the place to never come out again. The poor wretches who had suffered the ill fate of ending up there died screaming in the cells with rock walls, windowless, cold, and damp. Their screams did not even reach the upper levels. It was as if the dungeons had been built for that purpose, to drown out the prisoners’ cries of despair.It was a place with an atrocious reputation in the kingdom. Just the mention of it made people cringe. It was said that illustrious people had vanished in there, from nobles to princes and even kings, both Norghanian and foreign. A lot of the talk was exaggerated, but part of it was true. The soldiers and executioners who had served in the dungeons had let their tongues run on more than one
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Chapter 5The door opened and Ellingsen walked into the cell, followed by two large Royal Guards. Half a dozen more waited outside. The Panthers had to step back to let them in, the cell could not fit any more. Ellingsen realized this and made a sign to the two guards to wait outside. Then he turned to Gondabar.“Leaders of the Rangers, Royal Eagles,” he said with a brief nod.“Commander,” Gondabar greeted him. The others nodded in turn.“Is there a problem?” Raner asked suspiciously.“Not as such. I was informed of this meeting and sent down,” Ellingsen explained.“The King doesn’t mean to stop the leaders of the Rangers from meeting to plan their work and missions, does he?” Gondabar asked, but it sounded like a statement instead of a question.“He doesn’t oppose the leaders meeting, no,” Ellingsen confirmed. “I’m here for another reason.”“What reason has made you come to such an inhospitable place?” Raner asked him.“I come to inform you that the King doesn’t want his Royal Eagles
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Chapter 6Lasgol went over to the Royal Stables. His heart was divided. On the one hand he was feeling sad, and on the other he was feeling happy. A stable boy with platinum-blond hair and skin as white as milk came to greet him as soon as he saw Lasgol approach.“Needing a horse, sir?” he asked, willing to help. “No, thanks, not today.”“Can I do anything else for you?” the boy offered, seeing that Lasgol was entering the stables anyway.“Yes, I have a horse being cared for here, a pony…” “I’ll come with you.”“Thank you,” Lasgol smiled at the boy, grateful for his good cheer.“Of course, sir. Follow me, please.”The boy led him to a small enclosure behind the great sheds. There were several horses and ponies resting there. They all looked healthy; they were well fed, rested, and groomed, their coats shining from a recent brushing. They had hay and fresh grass and were all quiet and content.With pain in his heart, Lasgol had come here to say goodbye to his faithful friend and partne
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Chapter 7 Lasgol reached the first trees of the forest and stopped. He touched the trunk of one of the rare snow-white oaks with his gloved hand. The bark, the roots, the branches, the leaves— everything seemed to indicate it was a regular oak tree and in good health—everything but for a small detail. The oak was white in its entirety, from its roots to the leaves. He looked at it with great interest, wondering how such a thing was possible. He raised his gaze and saw that the rest of the trees in that place had the same characteristics as the oak that had caught his eye.He remembered studying Albus Forest in one of the tomes of Nature at the Shelter, albeit in passing. He sifted through his memory, searching for what the tome said about this strange variety of oak. It was a unique species and indigenous of Norghana. For some reason the scholars could not fathom, this variety of oak was pure white a