DRAGONTIARNA: VISIONARY progress update

Making good progress on DRAGONTIARNA: VISIONARY – currently on Chapter 12 of 24. Almost halfway through!

Let’s share a short excerpt.

If you have any experience of large organizations – especially academic and government ones – you will know that “CYA” is the standard operating procedure. Indeed, it often exceeds the organization’s actual mission as the chief priority. 🙂 The slave-trading dvargir of Great House Tzanar, as you might imagine, follow a similar philosophy, as the following excerpt shows.

The “misfortunes” that Malabrance describes occurred in SEVENFOLD SWORD: SERPENT.

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“You know that Ridmark Arban was the ultimate author of our misfortunes in Najaris,” said Malabrance.

“Well, him and Thazmek,” said Karsax.

That was true enough. Great House Tzanar had supplied the xiatami snakemen with slaves, and the Dzark Thazmek had been in charge of the dvargir embassy to the city. Thazmek had made the mistake of capturing some of Ridmark’s companions and selling them as slaves. One thing had led to another, and Najaris had almost been destroyed by a mad wizard who had tried to turn himself into the god of the xiatami. Thazmek and the other dvargir had fled the city, certain that Najaris was about to be destroyed…but the Shield Knight and his allies had slain the wizard and saved the city.

To say that the xiatami had been enraged at the dvargir would have been a gross understatement.

Fortunately, the lords of the xiatami weren’t about to grow their own crops and scrub their own floors, and Thazmek had gotten himself killed, providing an acceptable scapegoat for all involved. Nevertheless, the anger of the xiatami had not been sated. In the end, Rzarn Malvaxon had managed to regain permission to sell slaves in Najaris, albeit at a much reduced rate. Though Thazmek had the official blame for the losses, Malvaxon’s anger at Thazmek’s surviving men had been considerable.

Which was how Malabrance and Karsax had found themselves assigned to the enclave in Caelvhast, surrounded by people who hated them and spiderlings who might kill them on a whim.

-JM