Dragonmage of Mystara dom-3

by Thorarinn Gunnarsson

  He was almost surprised when they passed southward from the Wendarian Range over the deep pass of the Northern Reach later that morning. He had traveled the Flaemish Frontier in the saddle of a horse often in the past, when a similar journey would have taken three days or more. He was surprised to find that he was holding up well, although Kharendaen insisted that they stop for a brief rest shortly after midday, when they were approaching the southern end of the rugged Colossus Mountains. Thelvyn felt he could have kept going, but he was glad for the rest. Sir George seemed to be having the hardest time of them all. He was no longer quite so used to long hours in the saddle, especially a rather wide dragon saddle.

  "I can make it all the way to Silvermist today, I'm certain," Thelvyn assured his mate. "We should be nearly halfway there by now anyway."

  "That is just as well," she responded. "The Great One wants us to be there by tonight."

  They were on their way again soon, although they had only just returned to the sky when Kharendaen suddenly dropped back close to Thelvyn's side, slowing quickly. He looked around sharply, quickly spying a small band of six dragons approaching them from the west, hurtling forward with long, quick strokes of their wings on a course to intercept them. Since they were coming closer in a hurry, Thelvyn was soon able to see that they were all young red dragons, and he was immediately reminded of the rogue dragons from the time when he had first become the Dragonlord.

  "Will they recognize me?" Thelvyn asked.

  "I suspect they will," Kharendaen replied. "A dragon always knows another dragon by sight, even a dragon who has changed form. Some of them might have been in the Fox-woods on that night when you first took your true form. And, remember, you have rather remarkable features, so they might recognize you by appearance alone."

  Thelvyn realized it was unlikely that these dragons would not know him. And Kharendaen was right about his features being remarkable; his muzzle was long and slender, and his large eyes were set somewhat more forward than usual even for a gold, giving him a distinctly feral appearance. Even in dragon form, he deserved the name 'Fox-Eyes' more than ever.

  "They are all young red dragons," Kharendaen continued. " 1 suspect that one of the red leaders such as Jherdar has sent this band to watch the Highlands secretly from here in the mountains."

  "Perhaps I should handle this," Thelvyn said. "I am an authority they have to respect, as both the Dragonlord and the Dragonking, whether they like it or not. And you have to watch out for Sir George."

  "It's good not to be completely forgotten," the old knight remarked.

  They turned and circled around toward the face of the mountain they had been skirting, preparing to land on the highest of a cluster of jagged boulders standing out from the steep, barren mountainside. This was one of the most difficult n icks that Thelvyn had yet attempted, landing atop a massive stone hardly large enough for him to stand with the cliff face blocking his approach from behind. He knew he needed to do it well, so that he would not appear awkward and inexperienced before the red dragons. He chose the highest of the rocky perches and landed without incident, and Kharendaen settled on a boulder close beside him, so that the young dragons were forced to land farther below them.

  "Greetings, former Dragonlord," the leader of the reds called up to him in a mocking tone.

  Thelvyn glared, aware that he was being subtly challenged. His best bet was to bluff his way through this confrontation, since he still was an unknown factor to these dragons. They could not ignore the fact that he was the chosen of the Great One, destined to become the Dragonking.

  "Whoever told you that was mistaken," Thelvyn answered

  coolly. "I am still the Dragonlord."

  That gave them something to think about, and a few of them began to mutter softly among themselves. They were now more uncertain than ever about daring to confront him.

  "But that is not an issue," Thelvyn continued, not wanting to lose the initiative. "I see that you are standing guard over the Highlands, Did Jherdar put you to this task, or are you here by the order of Marthaen and the parliament?"

  "We are red dragons. We answer to Jherdar," their leader responded proudly. "But jherdar has made it known that he still defers to the leadership of the gold dragon Marthaen, and we are here by his order. But I do not recognize your authority to command us."

  "I have not given you any command," Thelvyn replied. "We are traveling to the sanctuary of Silvermist, and our business does not concern you. By the will of the Great One, you will allow us to pass."

  The leader of the red dragons lifted his head sharply, responding to the challenge, then dropped his neck slowly as he began to hackle in rising fury. His companions rose to stand with their wings half-furled, ready to leap into battle. Thelvyn stood slowly, a gesture that was quietly menacing in its confidence, and he arched his long neck and back so that his crest lifted. He was bluffing, only too aware that his inexperience left him overmatched if there were a fight, but dragons settled most of their differences with posturing and bluff. His advantage was not only in his size as a gold dragon, but also in the formidable weight of his reputation.

  The red dragon did not back down at once, but the fact that neither did he spring proved that he was hesitant to take on the Dragonking. After another tense moment, Thelvyn crouched forward toward his enemy, arching his back and lifting his half-furled wings. If he pushed his opponent too hard, the red dragon's fury would be stirred past the point of no return. But the red dragon relaxed slowly, careful that he did not look frightened or ashamed for backing down.

  "Then I can only wish you well," he remarked darkly.

  That seemed to be the end of the matter as far as the leader of the band was concerned. Without another word, he leapt outward from the large boulder on which he had been sitting, spreading his wings to head west, back toward the border of the Highlands. The other dragons followed him quickly. thelvyn waited until they were well away before he relaxed, lowering his head and laying back his ears.

  "That went rather well," Sir George commented. "It was perhaps the first time I've seen you impress a dragon without to much threat of force. Except for Kharendaen, who had her own reasons for being impressed with you."

  "I have to agree," Kharendaen said, bending her long neck lo glance briefly at the old knight. "The great, almost mindless fear that the dragons have held for the Dragonlord seems to be lading, replaced with the seeds of respect. Of course, so far that respect is due mostly to the fact that the Great One has endorsed you, and they are tremendously relieved that the Great One has returned. They also will not forget that you did not kill dragons during their conflict with the Highlands."

  "Which is not to say that simply wearing the Collar of the Dragons will be enough to make me accepted as the true 1)ragonking," Thelvyn said. "I recognize that I must earn their respect, and I know that older dragons like Jherdar will be difficult to impress."

  They continued on, passing swiftly over the rugged, desolate wastelands of the northeastern fringe of the Broken Lands. They did not dare to land or even fly too low, since there was no guarantee the ores or other evil folk who dwelled there would have the sense not to attack a pair of dragons. Renegade dragons often made alliances with ores or goblins, buying their loyalty with plunder, or simply capturing and enslaving all the warriors they required to serve them. But gold dragons were never renegades, so Thelvyn and Kharendaen would be recognized as enemies. *

  Night was falling swiftly by the time they began to descend over the dark woodlands of the Canolbarth Forest on the far northern border of Alfheim. Already it was too dark to spot the clearing of the sanctuary of Silvermist, so Thelvyn was forced to follow his mate and trust to her instinct to find her way. Kharendaen had been here often and had even lived here for several years in the guise of the elf maiden Sellianda, so she

  found it relatively easy to know where she was going.

  The dragons descended into darkness, and Thelvyn braced his legs to catch himself when he lan
ded. Suddenly warm lights appeared out of the deep shadows beneath the forest, and a moment later he landed in the wide yard before the large, rustic house that was the sanctuary of Silvermist. The main door burst open, and several elves hurried out to greet their visitors, keeping a discreet distance while the dragons folded away their wings. Sir George had already dropped down from his saddle, and Kharendaen crouched so he could remove his bags.

  Silvermist was just as Thelvyn remembered it from nearly six years earlier. This place had always been special to him, although he had been here only once before. This was where he had first met Kharendaen, even if he had not known that it was her until recently. He was now aware that Silvermist was not a sanctuary of the Immortal Terra, as most outsiders believed, but of the Great One himself. For the first time, he was able to see that several of the elves were actually dragons in enchanted form. Previously, his natural ability to detect dragon-kin had been suppressed as a part of the spell that had prevented him from assuming his true form.

  The only member of the gathering Thelvyn recognized was Derrion, a true elf. He approached Kharendaen eagerly, as if they were old friends. The tall female elf in his company, an enchanted dragon, was clearly the senior cleric of this sanctuary. Thelvyn suspected that this dragon cleric in enchanted form had come here to replace Kharendaen when she had left here five years earlier to serve the Dragonlord in her true form.

  "Ferial," Kharendaen said, greeting the dragon cleric. "The last I had heard, you were at a sanctuary in the south of Alfheim."

  "I have been here since you departed," Ferial replied. Then, to Thelvyn's surprise, she led the others in turning and bowing to him in respect. "Hail, Dragonking."

  "That remains to be seen, but I thank you anyway," he answered awkwardly.

  "How may we serve you?" Ferial asked.

  "We have been directed here to speak with the Great One ti might at his sacred place," Kharendaen explained. "We must he going there soon."

  "We can at least offer you a quick meal," Ferial suggested.

  Kharendaen removed her saddle and changed form, since the bulk of a gold dragon was awkward and inconvenient indoors. She did not return to the shape of the elf maiden Sel-lianda but took her Eldar form, taller and darker than modern olves, as she had when Thelvyn had last seen her. Thelvyn also removed his harness, but then he hesitated. He hadn't changed form since the night when the Great One had broken the spell that had held him in Eldar form. For a moment, landing on two legs was as difficult for him as walking on four had been at first.

  "There are perhaps fewer of us here than you might recall," Ferial said as they walked slowly toward the house. "Several of i he dragons flew back to the north last autumn when the northern sanctuaries were opened once again."

  "Did many clerics of the Great One stay here in Alfheim during the last few years?" Thelvyn asked.

  "That is so. Although we were not exactly in disgrace during the time of the Great One's absence, disappearing for a time helped us avoid difficult questions we were not permitted to answer."

  They were given food and drink, then talked with the clerics of Silvermist for a time. Later Sir George was shown to his room, while Kharendaen and Thelvyn returned to dragon form and followed the forest path to the Great One's sacred place. The small, quiet pool below the waterfall was just as Thelvyn remembered it, and he was more sensitive than ever to the sense of ancient magic and a strange, mystical presence. This place was much smaller and more intimate than the sanctuary at Shadowmere. Even cleriis did not often enter the sacred places unless they were invited.

  The dragons did not sit together on the narrow bank at the near end of the pool as they had before. Instead, Kharendaen led them to the wide bank at the far end, where the cool water drained into a small forest stream. This bank was clad in deep, thick grass, not easily damaged by the armored bulk of dragons. Kharendaen settled herself on the bank to wait, and

  Thelvyn sat close beside her.

  "I do not believe that our wait will be a long one," she offered. "The Great One is no longer so restricted in his ability to act."

  "And so it begins," Thelvyn remarked softly, almost to himself.

  Kharendaen turned her head to regard him curiously. "Are you concerned?"

  "I'm not frightened, if that's what you mean," he explained. "I've come to trust that I will always be granted the powers and even the guidance I need to do any task required of me. However, I am worried about making mistakes, especially because of my inexperience as a dragon. And more than anything else, I find myself regretting that we never had any real time together, to lead a common, uneventful life."

  "I fear you ask the one thing that I cannot give you," a voice said, speaking out of the darkness.

  They looked up sharply to see that the Great One had quiedy manifested himself before them. He had not assumed the fierce and intimidating form of the great three-headed dragon as he sometimes did. Instead, he appeared in what may have been his true form, that of an old, wise dragon of some ancient breed, perhaps the ancestors of the golds. His ghostly form, radiating a soft light, seated itself on the mossy bank to their left.

  "I know that you both must have many questions," he went on. "I fear that even now I cannot tell you everything that you might wish to know, but my powers are still returning, as you will soon understand. It is best that you proceed only a step at a time. The dragons face a new and unexpected danger. Only by acting together will they survive and prosper, and only you can bring them that unity."

  "I recall being told, when I first became the Dragonlord, that a part of my task was to bring unity to the dragons in their time of conflict," Thelvyn said. "It is my impression that their conflicts have been largely resolved."

  "Only their conflicts with themselves," the Great One answered. "The future of your people begins with you, and you must begin by understanding your past. All that you have been told is true. You are indeed Thelvaenir, a gold dragon and the child of the dragon cleric Arbendael. Have you given any thought about who your father might be?"

  "That matter has eluded us," Kharendaen answered for him. "We know that none of the senior gold dragons such as Gheradaen or Lhorandyn could be his father, which leaves us with no hint of just who it might be."

  "That is because his father is not a gold dragon," the Great One said. "I thought the full extent of my involvement in this matter would have been more obvious. You see, I am his father."

  The Great One's statement was so unexpected that Thelvyn did not even appreciate its implications at first. He had to know more, and he needed time to consider what he was hearing before he could make sense of it. Kharendaen was so surprised that she had to sit down, and her unusual reaction distracted him from his thoughts.

  "I always thought that was impossible," she said after a moment. "The Immortals have great powers, but their ability to interact directly with our world and the people in it is rather limited. Some of these restrictions they have placed upon themselves and each other to prevent insensitive or ambitious Immortals from using our world as their own. But it was my understanding that there were some things an Immortal simply did not have the power to do, such as having a child."

  "That is true," the Great One said. "But my need for a special champion was great, so great that many other Immortals aided me or at least promised not to interfere in my quest to bring forth a champion to lead the dragons and save their world. But I will speak more of that in the near future. I confided the details of the danger and my secret need only to the gold dragon Arbendael, and she agreed to bear my child. But to accomplish that, I had to surrender for a time the greatest part of my own Immortality, so that I again became little more than a mortal dragon cleric."

  "And that was why you removed yourself from the affairs of the dragons?" Kharendaen asked, lifting her head. "For more than two decades now, we have not known if you were forced to abandon us or if you had done so by choice."

  "It was a dangerous time for the dragons, and I knew th
at it would be," he continued. "That was why I could give only limited help when Thelvyn's mother was pursued by the rogue dragons. At the time, I realized that Thelvyn would be best protected if he was brought up apart from dragons, and safer still if the dragons had no knowledge of his birth. I was required to spend many years since then in my own plane, regaining my former strength. I have not yet recovered fully, and I admit that Thelvyn is not as ready as he could be, but we are running out of time."

  Thelvyn looked rather bemused. "At least now I have the answer to one question that has always bothered me. Why me? Now I know."

  "That is so," the Great One agreed. "You were created for a specific purpose, to lead the dragons through their time of greatest danger and to set them on the path that will guide them toward a higher stage in their development. Needless to say, you are more than just a dragon, and more than just one of my clerics. Because of your heritage, you are inherently wiser and more powerful than other dragons and therefore suited to your task. But the dragons, especially the lesser, more violent breeds, already upset because I had removed myself from their affairs, did not understand the prophecy and assumed that you were being sent to subjugate them."

  Thelvyn sighed. "Then what choice do I have? If I am needed, I must serve."

  "You have always had a choice," the Great One insisted. "You are not my tool or my slave. You are my son, and that means no less to me than it would to any other dragon. But you serve best if you do so by choice, as your own master. And for now, we both have much to do. Do you accept this responsibility?"

  "Of course I do," Thelvyn said without hesitation.

  "Then this is the task I set before you, if you will accept it. The war of the dragons is not over. Mighty forces are allied against them, and the dragons face defeat if you do not rally them. To this end, you must find the lost Collar of the Dragons."