Keep of Dragons (The Azuleah Trilogy Book 3) by Daniel Adorno

Author:Daniel Adorno [Adorno, Daniel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: epic fantasy
Publisher: Lost Coin Press
Published: 2017-08-28T18:30:00+00:00

Chapter 14

The antechamber inside the Uwadi temple had grown darker as dusk gave way to a cloudless, starry sky in the desert. Lucius lit a sconce hanging from the wall of his room and sat down on his cot, listening to the dirge playing outside. Scores of mournful voices sang sad melodies in tribute to the men who had fallen in the battle on the previous day. He had watched the Uwadi widows and their children, garbed in black, wail for the fathers and husbands who would not return to their homes. The dead warriors would rest in the graves Lucius and the others dug just outside the camp.

Digging so many graves in the scorching heat was physically excruciating. But it was a small price to pay to relieve the agony suffered by the families of the fallen. Lucius tried to join in their grieving ritual, but found it emotionally taxing, especially since two of his own group had lost their lives. The melancholy surrounding the funerals only added to the anxiety he felt over everything.

His father, however, seemed to be used to these processions. Living in the desert brought many hardships for the Uwadi people and over the years, they became accustomed to the ever present specter of death in their everyday lives. As a result of living among them, Simeon too had embraced the grim reality of death’s power in this forsaken land. Both he and the Uwadi had lost family and friends. It made all the sense in the world that the charismatic Aldronian outsider found commonality with these desert nomads and their grim rituals.

Outside his chamber, Lucius heard a faint song among the low, melancholic dirges echoing inside the pyramid. He rose from his cot and listened closely. The song was pleasant, not at all sad like those playing outside. He walked into the dark hallway, turning to glance inside Siegfried’s chamber. The room was dark and presumably empty. Siegfried likely stayed with the others to mourn the dead while Lucius slipped away unnoticed. He thought perhaps the temple would be empty and afford him some time to pray alone, but now the faint voice singing had his undivided attention.

The song sounded like a lullaby and the voice came from inside the pyramid. Lucius walked out of the hallway into the circular chamber with the numerous columns surrounding the central throne. There sitting on the throne was his father, who sang the lullaby just loud enough for him to decipher the words.

Gone the shield that defends us

Lost with old King Cervantes

Yesu blesseth he who finds it

For the shield, the shield is gone

Oh whence cometh the dawn?

To defend ye brothers and sisters

Forevermore we travel to Caelum

Lucius walked closer to the throne. His father's back was turned to him as he continued the melody

When he was a few feet from Simeon, the man stopped singing and reared his head up.

"Sabu, is that you?" Simeon questioned. He turned around and saw Lucius standing there in the dim light.

"It's just me, Father," Lucius said.

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