Omega's Rebirth

"Tracks are left behind, it’s trail is a continued path of death and destruction through the forest..."

"And suddenly, it stops and you cannot determine what has happened?" King Jian asked with a raised brow, hoping he fully understood what report was being presented to him by two of his best trackers.

Rauron and Mauldray stood before the dragon king, their heads lowered at his wrath.

The stronghold had been at peace for centuries, the wars at the borders were within control since the dragon king claimed the throne, it had been a while the dragon lords had to deal with a foe that was actually worth concern.

For Rauron and Mauldray, it was already hard for them to believe their inability to track down the troll golem when they had never failed at anything before.

"My Liege, it is exactly as we report. The tracks just disappear...it should not be possible but it is so." Rauron replied, his tone calm and steady.

The dragon lords understood King Jian required an objective report and they would give just that even in the light of his displeasure, only then could he determine the next course of action.

King Jian did not speak for a moment, quietly mulling over the reports he had been given since arriving here and out of the corner of his eyes, King Jian noticed Rauron and Mauldray exchange a look.

"You have not said all there is to say, have you?" King Jian asked in a matter of fact tone.

"My Liege, Rauron has spoken of his concern. Troll golems are not like any other golems, they are enchanted by necromancy, forged from the dead."

"Hence they have intelligence beyond any other kind of golem and all their actions are guided by one clear objective." Mauldray began.

"They are moved by the will of the sorcerer behind the spell but even so, they are independent of the will of the sorcerer. They understand what is necessary to maintain the life essence granted to them and would stop at nothing to get it." Mauldray added.

"This is true." Cassian agreed from where he stood beside King Jian.

"For a troll golem forged from the dead, it’s spell of resurrection would require just one sustenance." Rauron continued from where Mauldray had left off.

"Blood... human blood" This time it was Rodvan who spoke, an ever assured presence by the side of the dune lord.

"It would be okay to make do with animal blood or the blood of anything living for the first few days after it’s awakening, but afterwards...it would be aware of the need to acquire something more... efficient." Mauldray chipped in.

"Your point is the human settlement is endangered?" Cassian asked.

Rauron shook his head slightly and walked over to the map on the table, pointing at their present location and the location of the human settlement.

From the map, it could be seen that the human settlement was far closer to the forest itself than even the camp of the Lord Dragons.

It was only that camping any closer would alarm the humans and that was the last thing the dragon lords wanted.

"The human settlement is endangered and rightfully so as golems know nothing but death and destruction, this is already within our expectations." Rauron continued 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

"The human settlement is just a hair’s breadth south of the forest, yet the tracks of the troll golem disappear eastwards, some distance to the overturned caves."

"This is the farthest destination from the human settlement. Notwithstanding the will of the sorcerer who had cast the spell, the troll golem’s first instinct is to acquire sustenance."

"It is a beast that can smell life from great distances, it certainly knows of the human settlement not far from it. It should not be able to resist the urge to feast...yet it does not head for the human settlement."

"This troll golem...it is moving in the wrong direction." Rauron expressed his concern

King Jian hummed quietly in agreement, the route the troll golem was taking was completely opposed to every established knowledge on the behavioral pattern of golems.

"Could it be binding it’s time, then? But for what purpose exactly? It would only be at it’s strongest if it consumes more human blood..."

"Otherwise, the spell would weaken and the golem knows of this, as does the sorcerer who had cast it. What could be their purpose?" Rodvan asked.

King Jian did not speak, instead he thought over it. A troll golem cast by necromancy absolutely needed human blood, it could not survive without it.

And the more human blood it consumed, the stronger it grew. The troll golem’s first purpose should have been to attack the human settlement, yet it was doing the exact opposite and lying low, hiding away in the forest?

It could only be that the golem was binding it’s time as Rodvan had said, there was a purpose and a certainty that it still would acquire the blood it needed for sustenance.

As King Jian thought over it, a thought crept up in his mind.

"Every race have their ways and live by their own rules, we are not familiar with the ways of the humans... their cultures..." King Jian murmured aloud as he sorted through his memories.

He had flown over this settlement more times than he could count in his younger centuries, what was it that happened around this time?

The next moment, King Jian understood it and his eyes narrowed in displeasure.

"By this time... every decade, there is a festival amongst the humans. A festival of nature, characterized by a great celebration...in the heart of the forest itself."

"This festival begins on the 41st week by human year count..." King Jian revealed.

"This is the last day of the 40th week!" Rodvan exclaimed.

"Then the troll golem does not march for the human settlement because it knows... that at dawn, the humans would come straight to it themselves! It does not bind it’s time...it lies in wait!" Rauron announced audibly what all the dragon lords had already realized.