Scorpio Triumph

Dray Prescot

Dray PrescotThe picture we have of Dray Prescot, as painted by himself in his narrative and by one who has seen him on Earth, is at once enigmatic and intriguing. He is a compelling figure, dynamic, dominating, demanding, yet there is in him that odd vulnerability. He is a man over middle height, with brown hair and level brown eyes, with enormously broad shoulders and powerful physique. There is an aura about him of abrasive honesty and indomitable courage. He moves like a savage hunting cat, quiet and lethal, sudden. Reared in the harsh conditions of Nelson’s navy, he has been transported to the exotic and barbaric, beautiful and cruel world of Kregen, four hundred light years from Earth, under the double star Antares, the twin Suns of Scorpio.

Paz, the hemisphere of Kregen where Prescot has adventured and succeeded, is threatened by the reiving Shanks from Schan, the other half of the planet. He has been pitchforked into the job of organizing the resistance, a so-called Emperor of Paz, and has managed — temporarily — to drive off the Shanks and their mentor, the mysterious Carazaar. In all he undertakes, he is immeasurably assisted by Delia, Delia of the Blue Mountains, Delia of Delphond. Their family are now generally about their own affairs.

To his great surprise, his comrade Wizard of Loh, Deb-Lu-Quienyin, tells him he must concentrate on finding the rubies forming the Skantiklar. These have been scattered in seasons past, and if brought together will confer stupendous sorcerous power on the possessor of the Skantiklar. Down in the continent of Loh expeditions have ventured below the City of Eternal Twilight into the Realm of the Drums in search of one of the rubies. A Wizard of Loh, Na-Si-Fantong, has been collecting the rubies, and it is believed he wants them for no good purposes. He has succeeded in obtaining a ruby and vanishes into the maze of tunnels under the city. Not really convinced in the importance of the Skantiklar, Prescot has to go in pursuit. Alone, he threads his way through the labyrinth, already feeling he will never catch Na-Si-Fantong...

Alan Burt Akers