“What’s this?” he asked the small group who were sitting around on rocks, attending to their wounds. There were about five or six of them. The rest of their companions, a number closer to twenty lay dead in the dust below them. For a moment, he recalled hearing that the Angdar used to fight among themselves while they served Strahd if their masters weren’t there to supervise them. He wondered if that had happened here.
“We were attacked,” one of the survivors groaned, clutching at his side. Now that he had a better look at them, Karafae saw that they were all in bad shape.
“By who?”
In reply, the Angdar nodded to some of the dead and when Karafae turned around to see what he meant, he realized that not all the fallen were Angdar after all. Most were, but there were four creatures that weren’t. They were large and broad like the Angdar, with horns that came down from their foreheads, but they were graceful in their appearance, handsome even, and there was no mistaking what they were.
He had heard Elenskaer’s news about the Ulak on the plains in the east, and he had wondered how they could have lived so close to Cirreone without Marshal Artaeis knowing about them. Now he knew. They hadn’t lived there. They had lived here in the mountains during the war and only afterwards, they had headed east.
However, it was also clear that some had remained and this was not a revelation he was particularly pleased about.
Standing up, he turned to the wounded Angdar. “When did this happen?”
“Last night,” one replied.
“Then why haven’t you returned?”
The Angdar didn’t reply.
“I’m still waiting,” Karafae told him..
The Angdar hesitated. “We were waiting for help. We can’t travel. Six of our companions went for aid. We thought maybe you were bringing that aid now.”
They thought he was going to carry them, Karafae realized in disgust. It was all right though. He would send Nera and Araestae to do it.
About a week later, Savenya looked out from her room in her fortress at Wyvern’s Peak and saw an emerald dragon flying in from the south.
Throwing her legs over the edge of the bed, she pushed herself up and went to the wardrobe. Then she selected one of her cherished velvet dresses, which she had quite a large selection of now. She put it on, brushed her hair back and left the room.
She climbed the stairs until she reached the ramparts above, the highest section of the fortress and a place she adored. It was here the emerald dragon alighted, transforming into a woman as she reached it. It was an impressive landing, given how tight the space was.
“Nera,” Savenya greeted her. “This is a surprise. What brings you away from the mountains? I rather thought our business with each other was concluded.”
“I thought it was too,” Nera replied, scowling at the remark. “Though if Elenskaer sees fit to share her news with the rest of us, why shouldn’t I? Especially when it concerns us all.”
“Does it now?”
“Karafae’s been injured.”
Savenya snorted. “Stupid of him. So are you here to tell me your lord and master can’t take care of himself?”
“He’s not my lord and master,” Nera said. Then she reeled from a slap across the cheek.
“Mind your tongue, girl,” Savenya told her. “Along with myself, it was Elenskaer and Karafae who orchestrated this. If it weren’t for us, you’d still be starving and fighting for scraps on Drach’nsvoiya. And let me tell you, you wouldn’t survive your fortieth year there. Do you remember when we found you?”
Nera hung her head, stung far more by the rebuke than the physical blow.
“Do you?” Savenya asked again.
Tears came to Nera’s eyes as the memories flooded back, but Savenya didn’t relent. “Scrabbling around in a hole chewing on the carcass of a black dragon you hadn’t even killed yourself. Just how long do you think you would have lasted if we hadn’t found you?”
“I’m sorry, Savenya,” Nera stammered, sniffing.
“We survived centuries,” Savenya told her. “And that was while Dominicon was actively hunting down anyone who made it past a hundred.”
Nera let out a little sob and Savenya eased off. The girl had learned her lesson. However, it was important to keep the younger dragons they had brought with them in line because if they didn’t, then it would only be a matter of time before they started challenging them for leadership. And that was one aspect of Drach’nsvoiya life she’d been very happy to leave behind.
She waited a moment and then stroked Nera’s hair, running her hands down her cheek. “Now come, Nera. What is it you wish to tell me? What’s happened to Karafae?”
“Some of his Angdar were killed by Ulak.”
“Ulak in the mountains?”
“Karafae thinks that all the Ulak must have lived there during the war,” Nera explained. She still appeared chagrined.
Savenya nodded. “Yes. That makes sense. And it would explain how they were able to go unnoticed for so long. So after the war, most of them headed east to the plains north of Cirreone, while some remained in their mountain homes.”
“Yes.”
“Go on,” Savenya prompted her. “What happened then?”
“Well, Karafae went looking for them,” Nera replied. “And Araestae and I were with him too. We found what looked like the remains of Ulak settlements farther north in the more barren areas of the range and there was a small community of Ulak living there. We attacked them and some of them fired burning arrows at Karafae and well, that’s how it happened.”
“And did you wipe out the rest of these villagers?”
“We tried to,” Nera said, with an insistence in her tone that suggested she was afraid she’d get another rebuke. “But they disappeared into some caves.”
Savenya nodded. “I see. So when did all this happen?”
“Five days ago,” Nera told her, now with a hint of relief in her tone. “Karafae’s not too badly injured, but he’s been spending a lot of time in his room, going into trances to heal himself. Oh, he also sent some Angdar into the caves to hunt the Ulak down and they never returned.”
Savenya shrugged in response. “I can’t say I’m too upset about that. Now, what about everything else? Ilara and that worthless desert they call Maharei. Have you taken them yet? We haven’t heard anything about it.”
Nera hesitated. “Um... this business with the Ulak...”
Savenya scowled. “Independence be damned. If Karafae doesn’t bring those two countries in line, it could ruin everything. One of those two cities down there – Ensari or Kalishar, I’m not which – may well be sheltering the last mages of the Greater Realms.”
“I thought you said they weren’t important any more,” Nera said.
“They’re probably not important,” Savenya told her. “But I’d feel better if they were gone. And if we take away their last refuge, there’ll be nowhere else for them to hide.”
“Why couldn’t they just stay in Ensari or Kalishar?” Nera asked. “Have you seen how big those cities are?”
“Because you’ll make the residents of those cities terrified by the idea of what will happen to them if we find out they’re harboring these mages,” Savenya explained. “It’s all illusion, my sweet Nera. Create the illusion and let their fear do the rest.”
“It really works?” Nera asked her, with more than a hint of doubt in her voice.
“Of course,” Savenya replied, surprised by the question. “It’s working here, isn’t it? And last I heard, Elenskaer wasn’t having any problems.”
Nera sighed. “No. But I guess I just don’t understand why.”
Savenya smiled. “It works, my dear, because people are stupid.”
“So,” Nera asked, “what shall I tell Karafae then?”
“Don’t tell him anything,” Savenya told her. “I’ll come south with you.” She thought for a moment. “And I’ll bring Ilvenghaast. Perhaps if there’s another dragon in the skies for a little wh
ile, those Ulak will come to their senses and retreat as far down into their little caves as they can and stay there.”
IX. Khalahi
Later that day, Tal, Morgiana and Lorial’s small band set off for Khalahi. The ship Queen Isabelle had provided them was large enough to accommodate them and some horses as well. The first stage of the journey went well and they reached the other side of the Hellesan strait the following day. Then, after disembarking, they followed the Kanafwae River south. For a brief moment, they caught a glimpse of the palace of Bellasaire to the west of them but the fleeting view soon disappeared in the forests of Hellesa. After a good day’s ride, they made camp for the night and continued riding the next day while, up north, Kalishar fell.
In her prison under an Entruscian mountain peak, Queen Heptapshu looked at the morning light filtering through the window. It was too high for her to see anything but a view of the sky, but it was better than nothing. In fact, as far as prisons went, this one was quite civil. Food was brought to her regularly and she’d been treated well.
What had quickly brought her down however was the boredom. There was nothing to do, nothing to see and she wondered how long she would be able to endure it. Karafae had told her that she would be released once he was satisfied that the people of Ilara had accepted their new state of affairs, but somehow she doubted it.
Just then, the door opened. More sunlight flooded in and a woman stood there between two Angdar guards.
“Isabelle!” Heptapshu gasped, climbing to her feet.
Isabelle smiled back as her guards untied her wrists. “Hello, Heptapshu. I thought you could do with some company.”
The guards closed the door behind her and she inspected her new home, sucking on her wrists where the rope had rubbed them.
“Are you hurt?” Heptapshu asked her, remembering her own journey to the prison.
“Not much,” Isabelle told her. “Although those bonds pulled a bit when I was on the back of the dragon.”
“I remember the feeling,” Heptapshu replied.
They both sat down.
“Karafae’s being a little more thorough that Savenya was up north,” Isabelle said.
“Oh yes?”
“Well, he set up forges run by the Angdar and while his dragons watched, they collected weapons from all the armories in the city and melted them.”
Heptapshu nodded. “They did the same thing in Ilara. They melted thousands of weapons. It makes sense, I suppose. They know we still have many well–trained soldiers.”
“You know, it’s strange,” Isabelle admitted. “They were melting good weapons too. You’d think they’d like to keep a few of them for their Angdar, wouldn’t you?”
Heptapshu frowned. “I’m not sure about that. I get the impression they don’t trust the Angdar very much. They’re thorough in making sure that they’ve accounted for all contingencies and that makes good sense. But there seems to be an air of paranoia about it.”
“You may be right,” Isabelle agreed. She then sighed. “Do you know, they even raided the weapons on display in the palace?”
“All of them?”
“All of them,” Isabelle told her. “And then they melted them with the others. They melted Sól’s old sword.”
Heptapshu put a hand on Isabelle’s knee. “It was only a tool, Isabelle. And it served its purpose.”
“I know, but...”
“I know what you mean.”
“How far do you think the dragons intend to take this?”
Heptapshu shrugged. “It’s hard to say. I don’t think they know exactly what they want. This whole scheme of theirs, while it’s working so far for them, seems very poorly thought out. It’s almost childish.”
“They’ve got the entire Greater Realms under their control now,” Isabelle reminded her.
“And why would nine or ten dragons need that much territory?”
“How do you know there are just nine or ten?”
“When Savenya subdued Valahir, Arahir and Erahil, she had just two dragons with her. Always two dragons. And think about how they were used. One dragon had to remain unchanged at all times to protect the others so that they weren’t all killed by an angry mob. When Savenya landed, one dragon would come down with Angdar. The Angdar would get off, and secure Savenya’s prisoners on that same dragon. Then they would stay on the ground while that dragon took off to take guard duty and then the other dragon would come down to carry them.
“If Savenya had more dragons, that wouldn’t have been necessary. She could have had additional dragons in the air at all times. So she could only have had two with her. And it was the same with Elenskaer as well. Now, Karafae had three when he arrived in Ensari but I have my suspicions about why that was. How many did he have with him in Kalishar?”
“Just two,” Isabelle replied.
“Just as I thought,” Heptapshu said, a note of triumph in her voice. “The additional dragon must have come from Savenya or Elenskaer and from this, I can tell you that there are only nine dragons in the Greater Realms. And this is why I think their plan is a childish one. Think about it. Why do they need to tax a third of everything our people produce?”
“Well, I imagine most of it’s to feed their Angdar.”
“Exactly,” Heptapshu told her. “They’re doing it so they can support an army they don’t even trust. That they don’t even like. How ill–conceived is that idea?”
Isabelle nodded. “Yes, it doesn’t make much sense but I think I understand why they’re doing this. As I understand it, these dragons had a brutal existence back on Drach’nsvoiya and the only thing any of them really wanted was to be powerful enough to be free from the daily struggle to survive. And to do that, they needed to be a dominant dragon on the island.
“Unfortunately for them, it sounds as though for the last five or six thousand years, Dominicon enjoyed that privilege and him alone. And he grew so powerful that none of the other dragons could contend with him. Also, whoever took his place after he left would have had to be another quite formidable creature as well. So while Savenya and the others have told us all that they are here to enjoy the bounty of our lands, I think that deep down, they have a natural urge to gain power over others because that’s instinctively what they’ve been trying to do all their lives.”
“I think you’re right,” Heptapshu agreed. “However, now that they’ve got that power, the question is what they’re going to do with it.”
“War with Drach’nsvoiya?” Isabelle suggested.
Heptapshu scowled. “There’s a cheerful thought. Then instead of having nine dragons, we can have hundreds fighting in our skies. And over a grievance that doesn’t concern us.” She sighed. “Well, let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Maybe they might realize themselves that they don’t need this power.”
“And just step down?” Isabelle asked.
“I don’t know if that would happen,” Heptapshu said. “But I guess we’ll see. However, I doubt they’ll be able to sit back idly for too long.”
“They might get more paranoid and over–protective of their power,” Isabelle pointed out.
“Yes, the thought had occurred to me.”
“Well, at least Tal and Morgiana are safely on their way to Saharei,” Isabelle said, changing the subject.
“They are?”
“Yes. And so’s Lorial’s family and Kelahil.”
“So we’ve got two mages down south then, along with Karn and Shaala. Wherever they’re going.”
“Against nine dragons up here,” Isabelle said.
“Those are better odds than you think.”
“Well,” Isabelle said, “there’s also the fact that the dragons have the Angdar and they’re the only soldiers left in the Greater Realms who haven’t had their weapons taken away from them.”
“Well, I don’t know if Savenya and Elenskaer melted everyone’s weapons, but that doesn’t matter. While the dragons will step in if anyone tries fighting the Angdar, I doubt the Angdar
would do the same for their masters.”
Two days later, Tal and the others arrived in Saharei. The central city of Khalahi was built around the Kanafwae River, but the buildings were set back from the banks and raised on semi–pyramids of large stone blocks because the river was prone to flooding out on the plains. Although, as they felt the sun beating down upon them, Tal found it hard to imagine that was likely to happen any time soon.
“There’s nothing like the plains of Khalahi to make you feel like a minuscule speck,” he told his companions as he surveyed the flat dry land around him and that endless deep blue sky above. Everything was dwarfed by that sky. The people he saw, the buildings of the city, the river and even the plains themselves.
“It’s something, all right,” Lorial agreed with a little smile. “But you’ve got to admit, it sure gives you a sense of freedom being out here, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” Tal said. “Come on. Let’s go and say hello to the king.”
King Nabahar had been the ruler of Khalahi for ten years now, since his late father Ashaki had stepped down. Lorial remembered meeting him for the first time back in Ensari before the Marshal Artaeis had launched his failed attacks against the lands of the west. She hadn’t known him well then, but his men had fought within the ranks of the Ilara and Maharei armies and she had come to know one of those men very well. Once they had discussed the formalities and Nabahar invited them to join him at his table in his great wooden hall with its thatched roof, she decided to ask about that man.
“I wonder,” she said, “if Gandon Tasutiki is still stationed in this city.”
King Nabahar smiled. “Of course. He is the commander of my guard.” He then turned to one of his men. “Khatari. Find the commander and tell him that I would like him to join me here with my guests.”
“At once,” the man replied with a curt bow. He soon returned with a familiar face accompanying him.
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