“Yes,” said Calliande. “How did you know?”
“It was written in the shadows of your future long ago,” said Ardrhythain. “As I told the Dragon Knight when we first met, the future is like the shadows cast by the flame, ever changing and ever altering. One of those shadows led to this moment, where we awaited your return here.”
“Then you know why I’ve come?” said Ridmark.
“I believe so,” said Ardrhythain. “But before we begin, I wish to greet Brother Caius again. It has been a long road since Urd Morlemoch, has it not?”
“It has,” said Caius, “though it must seem like a short time to you.”
“The passage of time is fixed, but its perception is quite changeable,” said Ardrhythain. “A year can feel like a millennium and a millennium can feel like a year, often at the same time. You were the first of your people to follow the Dominus Christus.”
“I wasn’t,” said Caius.
“Perhaps not,” said Ardrhythain, “but you were the first to leave Khald Tormen and speak of your new knowledge, and so you were there when the Anathgrimm were freed from bondage. The shadows of your future led you there, and they may lead you further down that path, should we survive the days to come.”
His head turned, and he gazed at Third for a moment, his expression thoughtful. Third met his gaze without blinking, though she seemed puzzled at his attention.
“And you, Lady Third,” said Ardrhythain. “We especially bid you welcome to Cathair Solas.”
“Thank you,” said Third. “Though I am curious why.”
“Because you are something new,” said Ardrhythain. “Just as your sister was. When I met Queen Mara at Urd Morlemoch, I thought her…a fluke, an escape from the inevitability of destiny. A half-breed dark elf is always overwhelmed by the dark elven blood, always, and becomes an urdhracos or another such creature. I thought Mara a happy accident, or perhaps the mercy of God. But then you are here. You were an urdhracos for nearly a millennium, were you not?”
“Yes,” said Third, her voice quieter than usual.
“And now you are here,” said Ardrhythain. “Freed from the dark power in your blood. Mara and Caius showed you the way. Forgive my attention, Lady Third…but it has been a very long time since someone new of elven blood came to Cathair Solas.”
“I do not understand,” said Third.
“In a way, we are cousins,” said Ardrhythain, “sundered pieces of the same kindred.”
“The Traveler was dark elven, and you are high elven,” said Third.
“Once there were neither high elves nor dark elves, only the elves,” said Ardrhythain. “The coming of Tymandain Shadowbearer and the shadow of Incariel sundered us into two kindreds, and we destroyed one another. But long ago, we were only one kindred, and it has been millennia since a new member of our kindred came to Cathair Solas. In all our long millennia of life, you and your sister were the first to be freed that we have ever seen. Were you to come to our gates at any other time, we would greet you as an honored guest.”
For a moment, they stood in silence. Calliande watched the archmage, surprised. She knew it had been nothing short of a miracle that Mara had been able to free herself from the power of the Traveler’s blood. Calliande had never considered what that miracle might mean to the remnant of the high elves.
“I…thank you, lord archmage,” said Third at last, a little unsteadily. She blinked her black eyes a few times, seeming to pull herself together. “I had not given the matter any thought, I confess. Perhaps we can speak of it later.”
“If you grow weary of the world,” said Ardrhythain, “or if Queen Mara does, then Cathair Solas will always be open to you.” Some sadness went over his expression. “The suffering you have endured is because of us, because of our failures long before you were born. It is forbidden for us to seek power over other kindreds, but you are one of us. Perhaps we can help you.”
“I shall remember that offer, lord archmage,” said Third.
“But now we must discuss the matter at hand,” said Ardrhythain, turning back to face Ridmark. The strange device of rings atop his staff kept spinning and twisting around the sphere of light.
“Yes,” said Ridmark. “I fought the Frostborn below the walls of Dun Calpurnia. Even with the sword of the Dragon Knight, it was a close-fought battle, and I was nearly too late.”
Ardrhythain nodded. “The Frostborn are mighty. They already rule an empire of many worlds, and they seek to add ours to their Dominion.”
“I think they are strong enough to take even Cathair Solas,” said Ridmark.
“They are,” said Ardrhythain without sadness or rancor. “Cathair Solas and, I think, Khald Tormen shall be the final two strongholds to fall if the Frostborn are victorious. Of course, the taking of Cathair Solas would cost them dearly, and before the city fell, we would reduce everything for a thousand miles in all directions to molten glass. But we would fall. Long before that would happen, though, Imaria Shadowbearer would enter the Citadel and take the Well, and the shadow of Incariel would devour the Frostborn and all other kindreds.”
“Then help me stop that from happening,” said Ridmark.
“What would you have us do?” said Ardrhythain.
“I have seen the kind of magic you can wield,” said Ridmark. “The Frostborn have powerful magic, but yours would be a match for them. The combined armies of Andomhaim, the Anathgrimm, the dwarves, and the manetaurs might not be enough to defeat the Frostborn. With your help, the odds will be closer to even.”
“Perhaps,” said Ardrhythain, “but we cannot. You know our threefold law.”
“Threefold law?” said Third.
Ardrhythain looked at her. “It is the threefold law that binds all high elves. First, we must honor God in all things. Second, we must oppose the shadow of Incariel in all things. Third, we must never seek power over the other kindreds of this world. That would lead us down the path taken by your father and the Warden and the Confessor and so many others.”
Calliande had known that Ardrhythain would not make this easy for them, and she suspected the archmage might refuse them outright. Yet Ridmark remained calm.
“You are forbidden from seeking power over other kindreds,” said Ridmark.
“That is correct, Dragon Knight,” said Ardrhythain.
“But you have followed the Dragon Knight into battle many times,” said Ridmark. “I saw the statues in the Tomb of the Dragon Knight. I’ve seen some of the memories that the sword has shown me.” Calliande blinked. He hadn’t mentioned that. “In that way, you have exercised power over other kindreds.”
Ardrhythain smiled. “Self-defense is not the same as seeking power. And the Dragon Knight fought to defend the high elves from our foes.”
“Then if I commanded it of you as the Dragon Knight,” said Ridmark, “would you follow me against the Frostborn?” He held out his right hand, and the red sword appeared in his grasp, the blade dancing with flames. “For you would not wield command over the other kindreds. Rather, I would command you as the Dragon Knight, and the responsibility would be mine, not yours.”
Ardrhythain said nothing and did not move. Yet the other high elves shifted. Calliande saw a brief smile flicker over Rhyannis’s face before her expression returned to its usual ageless mask of serenity.
“Then as Dragon Knight,” said Ardrhythain, “you command us to make war against the Frostborn?”
It seemed absurd. Calliande had seen firsthand the kind of power Ardrhythain wielded, and it was hard to imagine anyone commanding him to do anything. Yet the sword of the Dragon Knight also commanded vast power, and that sword was in the hands of her husband.
“I do,” said Ridmark.
The high elves stood in silence. The metal rings atop Ardrhythain’s staff seemed to spin faster around each other.
Then, all at once, Cathair Solas stopped.
The towers had continued their slow revolution around the Tower of the Sun while they spoke, some moving slowe
r, some faster. Yet they all stopped at once, and a strange stillness fell over the caldera lake.
“So be it,” said Ardrhythain.
He turned to the other high elves.
“The hour has come at last,” said Ardrhythain. “The hour of decision, foreseen by the Seers before they were all slain. As they foretold, a man of alien kindred has come to us, bearing the sword of the Dragon Knight, and asking our aid against the unwitting servants of Shadowbearer. It is the hour of doom. The hour of the Final Defense has come.”
The Final Defense? Calliande heard the ominous weight those words carried.
“Call the Captains and the magi,” said Ardrhythain, “and bid the remaining bladeweavers to gather. The master of the stables is also to harness his beasts and prepare them for flight. Cathair Solas is going to war. May God be with us.”
The other high elves bowed and disappeared into the city, leaving Calliande and Ridmark and the others alone with Ardrhythain.
“I do not ask this of you lightly,” said Ridmark.
“I know,” said Ardrhythain. “You are within your rights to do so, and you are helping us to fulfill our duties. For the second of our threefold laws requires us to oppose the shadow of Incariel in all things, and the Frostborn are the tools of Shadowbearer, whether they know it or not. Therefore, we shall heed your commands.”
“Thank you,” said Ridmark. “Then I ask you…”
“Command,” said Ardrhythain with a brief smile.
Ridmark inclined his head. “Then I command you to go to Tarlion as fast as you can. The High King Arandar Pendragon is marching there with all speed, and he will defend the city against the Frostborn. He knows that the true purpose of Imaria Shadowbearer is to use the Frostborn to seize the Well of Tarlion, and he will defend the city at all costs. Help him however you can.”
A shudder went through the causeway, seeming to come from the island holding the city. A wave went out from the island, spreading through the caldera to splash against the base of the cliff.
Ardrhythain nodded. “Then your plan is to bring the host of the dwarves, the Anathgrimm, and the manetaurs against the Frostborn as they attack the city, and then to smash them against the walls of Tarlion.”
“Yes,” said Ridmark.
“It may well work,” said Ardrhythain. “The Frostborn have devoted the bulk of their strength in this world to the attack. If you break them against Tarlion and strike quickly, you may be able to seize their world gate and close it before they bring over reinforcements.”
“That is my hope,” said Ridmark.
“A suggestion, then,” said Ardrhythain. “You will need to find the leaders of all three allied armies. Have the Keeper seek them out with the Sight. Mated to the power of the sword, you will be able to travel far more accurately than you could otherwise.” He shrugged. “The high elves had the Dragon Knight, and the humans of Britannia upon Old Earth had the Keeper. Yet perhaps both offices shall be far more effective when performed in concert.”
“I shall,” said Ridmark.
The causeway shuddered, and another wave went through the lake. A low grinding noise started to come from Cathair Solas. That caught Calliande’s attention. The city’s towers had revolved around each other in perfect silence before. To hear the city making noise was disturbing. The Sight also showed that the spells on the city were coming to life, flaring and glowing with harsh power.
“Lord archmage,” said Calliande. “What is the Final Defense?”
“The last weapon of the high elves,” said Ardrhythain. “One I hope we shall never have to use. For many years, we realized that we might fail, that the bearer of Incariel’s shadow might find a way to use the Well of Cathair Tarlias to free Incariel from its prison. We could not allow that to happen, no matter what the cost. So, our magi created the Final Defense, a weapon we prayed would never be used. But if we faced the choice between our destruction and the freedom of Incariel, then we would use the Final Defense.”
“What is it?” Calliande started to ask, and then the grinding noise drowned out her question.
Cathair Solas started to rise into the air.
Calliande was so astonished that she could do nothing but stare. The Tower of the Sun and the lesser towers rose higher and higher, and soon the city was above the level of the island. The grinding noise and the vibration ceased, and Calliande saw that Cathair Solas floated upon an inverted cone of rough-cut rock, streams of dirt falling from it.
The last city of the high elves was flying.
Calliande craned her neck back as the city rose higher into the air. The Sight saw the titanic bands of power that lifted Cathair Solas aloft, as powerful as the great spell that Imaria had worked to open the world gate for the Frostborn. Golden shapes flashed from the towers, and Calliande glimpsed bladeweavers riding atop strange beasts that had the heads and wings of eagles and the bodies of lions.
“What are those creatures?” said Third, blinking in surprise.
“We call them griffins,” said Ardrhythain. “Like us, they are almost extinct, but the hour has come for them to return to battle, just as the hour has come for us. Cathair Solas is going to war, and the last remnant of the high elves shall perish or triumph alongside you.” He turned back to Ridmark. “We shall await you at the walls of Tarlion, Dragon Knight, and hope to meet you on a field of victory.”
He gestured and tapped the end of his strange red staff against the causeway. There was a flash of white light, and Ardrhythain vanished. He had used his magic to take himself back to Cathair Solas. The city had to be nearly two thousand feet into the air by now, and it was going south. It didn’t look like it was moving fast, but that was only an illusion caused by its great size. Soon it would pass over the southern edge of the caldera and vanish from sight.
They stood in silence for a moment, amazed at the sight.
“It seems that when the archmage said Cathair Solas was going to war,” said Third at last, “he meant it literally.”
###
Ridmark watched the flying city drift away to the south.
Part of his mind was awed. The rest of his mind calculated the change in the odds. The high elves wielded immense power, especially Ardrhythain, and they would be a valuable help against the Frostborn. Would that be enough? Perhaps. They would need the dwarves and the manetaurs and the Anathgrimm as well. A great alliance of kindreds and nations, just as Calliande had forged centuries past and as she had forged anew.
“What do you think the Final Defense is?” said Caius.
Ridmark turned, shaken out of his thoughts.
“I don’t know,” said Calliande. “It must be some magical weapon of terrible power, something so dreadful that the high elves never dared to use it.”
“It must indeed be terrible,” said Third, “if they refrained even as the dark elves and the urdmordar reduced them to a remnant.”
“Yes,” said Ridmark. “Let us hope that they need not use it now.” He turned to Calliande. “We should start contacting the others and getting them to head for Tarlion. Can you do as Ardrhythain said and find their hosts?”
“Yes,” said Calliande. “I don’t think I could normally, but if I can draw on the power of the sword of the Dragon Knight, I can use it to augment the Sight and find them.”
Ridmark nodded and shifted Caledhmaer to his left hand, holding out his right hand to her. “Don’t touch the sword directly. I don’t think it would respond well. Take my hand instead.”
Calliande nodded, took his right hand, and put it over top of her left hand where it gripped the smooth wood of the staff of the Keeper, and then put her other hand over top of his. Her fingers felt very warm against his palm, and he met her gaze and gave her fingers a gentle squeeze, recalling the stolen moments they had shared before leaving Castra Marcaine. Calliande blinked and smiled, and to his surprise, she blushed a little.
“All right,” said Calliande, her eyes going unfocused. “This…might feel a little odd.”
&n
bsp; Ridmark felt Caledhmaer’s presence in his mind, his link to the sword, and he felt a sudden tugging on the link. The sword reacted with wrath, but Ridmark calmed it, telling the sword that Calliande was not an intruder. The wrath subsided, but the sword’s flames kept burning hot.
Calliande gasped, and her eyes went wide.
“Something wrong?” said Ridmark.
“No,” said Calliande. “That was…just more power than I was expecting. I found Mara. I think she’s with Arandar and the other high nobles. The Anathgrimm are marching south with the army of Andomhaim.”
“Most likely Mara saw the frozen river and seized the opportunity to cross before the Frostborn could stop her,” said Caius.
Third nodded. “My sister was ever ready to seize an opening.”
“Should we go to the dwarves, then?” said Calliande.
“Not yet,” said Ridmark. “Let’s find the manetaurs first. The dwarves were closer to the Moradel, and they will realize what has happened soon enough.”
Caius nodded. “The manetaurs are farther away, and it will take them longer to change direction.”
“Exactly,” said Ridmark.
He wasn’t sure yet, but he thought he might be able to get the armies to Tarlion far faster than anyone anticipated, even the Frostborn.
“Very well,” said Calliande. She took a deep breath, her expression going unfocused again, and once more Ridmark felt a tug on his link to the sword.
Then he felt the surge of power, and the gate opened of its own accord a few yards away, the curtain of mist and pale light rising from the white stone of the causeway.
“Ah!” said Calliande. “I wasn’t sure that would work. But that gate will take us to northern Caerdracon, somewhere near the Lake of Mourning. The manetaurs and the tygrai are there, marching for the Northerland.”
Ridmark nodded and slipped his hand free from Calliande’s grasp. “Then let us go to meet them.”
He led the way through the gate.
Chapter 8: Assassins
The march south was a nightmarish blur of exhaustion, but Gavin had endured worse.
Frostborn: The Shadow Prison (Frostborn #15) Page 10
