Mark of The Dragons Bane
#6 of Legend of the Tiger Clan
After two weeks of bed rest Zeng was back on his feet and spending time with his new mate; The princess Linda, as usual the nobles of the land detested such a union but the people were happy that the princess had finally found love. It was time for the spring festival and outside the city walls was the faire, filled with classic events such as the archery contest, pie eating contest and of course the joust, Zeng and Linda toured the faire grounds while Zeng won Linda a few prizes in between, then out of the corner of his eye Zeng spotted an elderly hooded feline gesturing him to come towards her while Linda left for her tent at the tournament grounds.
"Allow me to tell you fortune young one."
As Zeng reached for his money sack the gypsy stopped him and simply offered him a seat as she shuffled a deck of strange cards then laying then spreading them out in front of Zeng.
"Take four cards from the deck without looking at them and your fortune will be told."
Zeng then grabbed four random cards while the gypsy re-stacked her deck, as she laid out the four cards she closed her eyes for a short moment then an eerie white light glowed from her as she re-opened her eyes leaving Zeng feeling a little frightened.
"The first card is the blessed family. this card means that you came into a couples life filling them with happiness and pride....the second card is the divided heart, it shows that you are torn by both sorrow and vengance....the third card is the shield of courage, this card means that after years of struggling you found something or someone worth fighting for and the final card-*GASP!!*"
After flipping the card the gypsy suddenly fell out of her trance and nearly collapsed to the ground but thankfully Zeng was there to catch her and after helping her back to her seat he stared at the card which appeared to be the same mark tattooed on his arm.
"That mark! what does it mean?!? tell me!"
"That is the mark of the dragons bane, it is a mark only given to those who have the power to face the ultimate evil."
"Glayce?"
"No child something far more powerful and ancient then that frost dragon....a dragon whose name has not been spoken in centuries...."
Before he could ask who the dragon was the trumpets sounded for the tournament to begin and as he turned around the gypsy was gone and only that one card was left on the table for him, as he slipped the card into his vest pocket he arrived just in time to see the start of the joust; his most favorite event.
From the stands he could see the guard captain in his finest armor and on the other side he saw a werewolf about his age in dark armor with the full moon as the emblem representing the household which he came from.
"Linda who is that?"
"That's Kerric from the northern region, he comes from a long line of hunters and mercanaries, he usually participates in the weapons ring but this is completely new."
At the sound of the horn both riders charged at each other with great speed and within five seconds the captain was knocked off his horse and his lance unbroken while Kerric trotted by with ease rasing his arm to the cheering crowd, leaving some of them amazed.
"Captain! can you continue?"
"Yes...My lance!"
As they prepared for a second charge Kerric eyed Zeng through his visor and gave a short smirk before he signaled the referee that he was ready. This time the captain hit his mark and both lances shot out with splinters and small shards of metal but in the midst of all that chaos Kerric purposely allowed his lace to fly out of his hand toward Linda but Zeng knocked it out of the way with his sholder leaving only a small cut on his arm.
While both riders recovered Kerric walked up to the tent to make sure everything was alright. Or so it seemed, as he neared the tent he could see the tattoo on Zengs arm and a short look of shock filled his eyes as he offered is hand in apology.
"Forgive me my friend I got careless."
"No real harm done, I am Zeng of the Tiger Clan."
"Sir Kerric, pleasure to meet you and your higness I hope the event didn't startle you too much."
"Oh no, it's fine Sir Kerric please continue."
"As you wish...(fools)"
Unknown to them Kerric was the leader and founder of the Necrons who were one of the most feared mercanarie groups in Gaia and the most ruthless when it came to capturing their target, as Kerrics squire equipped his lance he eyed the crowd making sure nobody got suspicious.
"Boys I figured out why our client wants that kid dead so badly."
"Sir?"
"He bares the mark....tell the men we move tonight but remember....the tiger is mine."
The End.