by M. L. Forman
“I will give you my true name,” the dragon answered.
Alex considered the offer. He knew that dragons often had many names, but they each had only one true name, a name that gave them their power and made them what they were. He also knew that having that true name would give him power over the dragon, power to control and command the dragon to do whatever he wanted it to do.
“How will I know the name you give me will be your true name?” Alex asked.
“You will know,” said the dragon with what might have been a smile on its face. “I am Salinor, oldest remaining of my race. I am the lord of dragons, the most ancient, the guardian of the past.”
“Salinor,” Alex repeated, feeling the incredible power of the name even in his dream. “Yes, I will trust you. I will look into your eyes.”
Even before he looked, Alex knew that Salinor had told him the truth. As their eyes met, Alex could feel Salinor’s power, and he could see some of the details of the dragon’s long life. Salinor was far more powerful than Slathbog had been, and Alex knew that he could not defeat this dragon, not in the same way he had defeated Slathbog and not in any other way he could think of. Then, to his surprise, Alex realized that Salinor could not defeat him either. They were equals, an even match.
“There is more to you than I thought,” Salinor said, sounding pleased and perhaps a little proud. “It is good that we have met this way. If we had been forced to battle, I think we both would have lost in the end.”
“I am glad we have not met as enemies, then,” said Alex, letting his mind move closer to Salinor’s.
The mixing of thoughts was amazing, and for a moment Alex considered breaking away and forcing himself to wake up. At times Alex had felt that his own mind was cluttered and full, but that feeling was nothing compared to what he felt now. And he sensed something else as well—the same wild, reckless feeling he had felt twice before on his journey.
“Open the third level for your friends, then come and talk with me,” said Salinor, blinking and breaking the link between the two of them. “There are things we need to speak of, things you will need to know.”
“I will come,” said Alex.
“Until then,” said Salinor, turning to leave the beach of Alex’s dreams. “I will see you soon, young dragon lord.”
“Dragon lord,” said Alex, waking up with a start.
“What’s that?” Thrang asked, turning away from the cooking fire to look at Alex.
“Oh, nothing,” said Alex, looking around to see if anyone else had overheard him.
“Well, come and get your breakfast,” said Thrang. “We have a long day ahead of us.”
Alex got up, still thinking about his dream. He knew that it had been real, though he had never actually spoken to anyone in a dream meeting before.
“We’ll go down to the third level this morning,” Thrang said as they finished breakfast. “It should be worth our time to look around and perhaps find a bit of treasure.”
“I have something to do after I open the door to the third level,” said Alex.
“Oh? What is that?” Thrang questioned, a puzzled look on his face.
“I have to go and talk to someone,” answered Alex.
“Who are you going to talk to?” Thrain asked, looking even more puzzled than Thrang did.
“A friend,” Alex answered with half a smile.
“That’s no kind of answer,” said Thrang, standing up and running his hand down his beard.
“A dragon, then,” said Alex, and almost laughed at the shocked looks on his friends’ faces. “That’s where the uneasy feelings are coming from and what Kat could feel but not get close to. There is a dragon on the island, and I’m going to talk with him.”
“How do you know about the dragon?” Nellus asked, looking worried and pale.
“Because I spoke with him last night in my dreams,” said Alex. “I don’t have time to explain everything, but I can tell you there is no reason to worry. I’ll open the door to the third level where you should find the remains of some dwarfs and the dwarf wizard, Languinn. Once that is done, I will be leaving for a few days.”
“You’re going to talk with a dragon?” Thrang repeated, looking confused.
“The risk is great,” said Kat, looking from Alex to Thrang and back again.
“No, it’s not,” said Alex. “Enough talk. Let’s go and open the door to the third level. Or perhaps I should show Thrain how to open the hidden doors in the houses first.”
“You seem determined to go,” Arconn said.
“I am. And I’m sure there is no danger,” said Alex.
Thrang and the others looked as if they wanted to argue, but Alex wouldn’t hear any of it. He turned and walked into the stone building behind their camp, and the rest of them had no choice but to follow.
The door to the third level was better protected than either of the previous two. It appeared that Languinn had spent most of his time casting spells on the third door to protect himself and his comrades from the dragon. Just as Alex thought he had removed all of Languinn’s spells, however, he started sneezing uncontrollably.
“I didn’t expect that,” Alex said, shaking off the effects of Languinn’s spell. “A strange spell to put on a door.”
“Not so strange.” Thrang laughed. “Dwarfs often use such spells if they’re afraid of someone sneaking up on them. The sneezing would alert them to an enemy’s presence.”
“Yes, I see,” said Alex, wiping his nose.
Returning to the door, he removed the sneezing spell and quickly checked for anything else he might have missed. Confident that he’d removed all of the magic from the door, he told his friends to move to the sides of the short hallway. He carefully pushed the door open with his staff and a volley of arrows came flying out of the darkness, clattering against the stairs behind them.
“You should be careful as you search the third level,” Alex said, checking his staff for arrows.
“How did you know about the trap?” Arconn questioned, looking at the open door in concern.
“I thought Languinn might do something like this,” said Alex. “He was afraid, and he couldn’t be sure that his magic would be enough to protect him from a dragon.”
“The same dragon that had trapped him,” said Thrang, looking Alex in the eye. “The same dragon you want to talk to. The same dragon that killed my people on this island.”
“I told you I would explain later,” said Alex, his voice stern and slightly cold as it echoed into the darkness of the third level. “Languinn acted foolishly. He was only trapped here because he would not listen to reason.”
“But . . . a dragon?” said Barnabus softly.
“Enough,” said Alex, trying to stay calm. “I know what I’m doing.”
“We are concerned for your safety as much as our own,” said Arconn soothingly. “We aren’t questioning your ability or belief.”
“Forgive me,” said Alex, taking a deep breath. “I know you don’t understand and would like an explanation, but there isn’t time. Believe me when I say that I will be safe and that the dragon will not bother you. Languinn’s traps might be another story, though, so be careful.”
“Very well,” said Thrang, though he still looked unhappy. “We’ll all go up while you teach Thrain to open the hidden doors. We’ll need to make torches anyway, before we can search the third level since we won’t have your weir lights.”
With Thrang’s words they all moved back up the stairs. Alex felt bad that he couldn’t tell his friends everything he knew, but he wanted to hurry to his meeting with Salinor and telling his friends about his dream would only lead to dozens of questions that he didn’t have time to answer, even if he knew all the answers.
Thrain quickly learned how to open the hidden doors once Alex had explained how it was done and taught him the correct magical words to use. Thrang also paid attention, and, with some effort, he was able to open the hidden doors as well. With that task completed, Alex walked
into the street and turned to look at his friends.
“I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I promise to return before the Seeker gets here to take us back to Dunnstal,” said Alex. “I suggest you spend your time gathering everything of value here, including the archives. Once we leave this island, no one will ever be able to return.”
“Why not?” Thrang asked.
“I’ll tell you this much and then I have to go,” said Alex, leaning on his staff. “When we leave here, I will be casting a spell that will make the island impossible to find. The dragon has asked me for this favor. He regrets what happened to the dwarfs here, and he doesn’t want anything like that to happen again. I agree with him, and as he was here first, the island is rightfully his.”
“How do you know all of this?” Arconn questioned.
“The dragon told me,” said Alex, turning away. “I’ll answer the rest of your questions when I return.”
Alex walked quickly through the empty dwarf village and into the woods without looking back, making his way toward the low rocky hills. He knew where he would find Salinor, and he hoped that the dragon was as friendly in real life as he had been in the dream. Of course, knowing the dragon’s true name gave Alex an advantage. He still wondered why Salinor had done that; usually dragons closely guarded their true names. Still, Alex knew that Salinor had told him the truth and there was little chance the dragon would change his mind now.
Salinor’s cave was extremely well hidden, and it took Alex more time to find it than he thought it would. Salinor had cast several spells over the entrance of his cave in order to remain hidden from anyone or anything that might come to the island, and the dragon’s magic was impressive. It was only because Salinor had told him where to look that Alex was able to find the cave at all.
Alex spent the next eleven days and nights with Salinor, learning from the ancient creature and telling his own story to the dragon. Time seemed to melt away, and Alex didn’t remember sleeping or eating at all; he wasn’t even a little bit tired or hungry. When it was finally time for him to go, Alex was reluctant to leave the dragon behind. There was so much that Salinor knew, and so many more questions that Alex wanted to ask. Salinor also seemed sad that Alex was leaving, but he promised to visit Alex in his dreams from time to time.
“You are now a dragon lord,” said Salinor as Alex was preparing to leave. “If ever you need me, you need only call my name.”
“You have been very kind, my friend,” said Alex. “I hope I will never need to disturb your rest.”
“There are a few more things,” said Salinor, turning his giant head toward the back of the cave. “There are books that you should take with you.”
“Books?” questioned Alex. He’d never thought of dragons as reading or writing books.
“Ancient writings,” said Salinor. “Mysteries and knowledge that have long been lost. You may need what they hold.”
Alex went to the back of the cave and found a small gap in the wall. Moving through the gap, he entered a second cavern full of old-looking books. The number of books in the cave surprised him, and he wondered how they might have gotten there. Salinor could never have slipped through the gap, not even when he was a very young dragon. Alex picked up one of the books and glanced through its pages. The writing was different from the magic letters he had learned, but yet also strangely familiar. Without taking time to look at all the books, Alex held up his magic bag and moved them to his own library.
“The books are not written in letters that I understand,” Alex said when he returned to the main cave.
“They are not so much read as experienced,” said Salinor. “When you read these books, it will not be like reading, it will be as if you are there.”
“I don’t understand,” said Alex.
“In time you will,” answered Salinor in a confident tone. “And now one last thing before you go.”
“Yes?” said Alex, looking up at Salinor’s ancient face.
“Your family,” said Salinor. “You need to find your family to find yourself.”
“I have no family,” said Alex, turning away.
“We all have families,” said Salinor with a booming dragon laugh. “Your parents had families before they were your parents. Seek them out. They will need you, and you, I think, will need them as well.
“I will tell you this as a final gift in parting,” Salinor went on. “There was a time—a time long forgotten by most—when dragons and men were of one race. Not all men, but the great and noble men, the men who later became kings and rulers in the known lands, had the blood of the dragon in their veins. I was there, so I know what I say is true. I also know something about you that you have not yet guessed.”
“What is that?” Alex questioned nervously.
“You are of my own bloodline,” Salinor answered. “Both of your parents had dragon blood in their veins, and it flows very strongly in you as well, my child. In fact, I think that you alone among wizards could take the dragon form without fear of losing yourself.”
“The dragon form is warned against by all wizards,” said Alex.
“That is because most wizards would lose themselves in the form of a dragon. They would feel what it is to be a dragon and forget that they were ever men.”
“And you think I should take this form?” Alex asked.
“Not until you are ready,” said Salinor. “You will find great power in the dragon form, greater than you have now, greater than any I have ever had. Yet even with this power, I think you will be able to return to your human form at will. Unless I am much mistaken, you have two true forms—man and dragon.”
Alex wanted to ask more questions but Salinor lowered his head to the cave floor and closed his eyes. Alex bowed to the great dragon, and then left him in his hidden cave. It was a long walk back to the dwarf village, and as he went Alex considered everything Salinor had told him and the promises he had made to the dragon.
The first promise was a small thing, really, and one that Alex had decided to do before ever meeting Salinor face-to-face: cast a spell on the Isle of Bones to hide it from any who might come looking for it. The other two promises Alex had made were more complicated, and he needed time to consider exactly what they meant.
Salinor’s words about his family filled his mind as well, and Alex wondered why he had never thought to ask about his parents’ families before. The idea that he might have living grandparents, aunts and uncles, even cousins, was something new; he wondered how he could find them.
There was one other promise that had come as something of a surprise to Alex, hardly something he’d expected the dragon to think about.
“Always go to your friends in their times of need,” said Salinor in a serious tone. “If a friend calls for your help, go as quickly as you can.”
Of course he would, wouldn’t he? If any of his friends were in trouble, of course he would go to them. That’s what friends did. It seemed natural, the kind of thing he would do without thinking. So why had Salinor made him promise to do it?
As he approached the deserted village, Alex reflected on Salinor’s parting words. Salinor thought that Alex could take the dragon form and still return to his own form again. That was something no wizard had ever done, at least as far as Alex knew. Most wizards would not even try to take the shape of a dragon. Every wizard Alex had read about who had tried had either flown away as a dragon or gone completely mad and died. As he walked along, lost in his thoughts, Alex thought he could hear Salinor’s voice echoing inside his own mind.
“Through your friends and your family you will find your true self,” the dragon’s voice said softly. “Go to them when they need you.”
What did that mean? Alex knew who and what he was, didn’t he? Well, no, he didn’t. He was still learning about what he was, and he had no real idea about who he was. Iownan, the Oracle of the White Tower, had told him on his first adventure that he was a mix of races. He’d always thought of himself as human, but that wasn
’t exactly true. Somewhere in his family’s history there were other races—elves, dwarfs, and apparently even dragons, according to Salinor. Could that be part of the reason Salinor had told him to look for his family? Was there something in his future that the dragon could see? The questions were enough to drive him crazy, so he tried to push them to the back of his mind. There would be time to think about them later, right now he had to get back to his friends and prepare to leave the Isle of Bones behind.
Chapter Fourteen
The Road to Kazad-Syn
Alex soon left the woods and entered the empty dwarf village. It was a depressing sight now that he knew how sorry Salinor was that the dwarfs had been destroyed. Alex could see that his friends had been busy while he was away, because when he entered the town square piles of treasure glimmered all around him. Some of the piles were stacked almost as high as he was tall, and it was like moving through a giant maze to find the company’s campsite. It was almost midday, and Alex quickened his pace, hoping to reach his friends before they started their meal.
“Well, look who’s back,” said Nellus, looking up with a smile as Alex approached the camp. “Been hiding and getting out of the real work.”
“Something like that,” said Alex, returning the smile. “Though eleven days and nights with a dragon is no easy task.”
“I think I’d rather sort treasure than spend any time with a dragon,” Barnabus said as he stacked wood on the campfire.
“I would say both have been profitable,” answered Alex. “Where are the others?”
“They’ll be along soon,” said Nellus. “Thrang’s had us all working down on the third level for days.”
“The colony was rich, then,” said Alex.
“They were doing well, that much is clear. Took us nearly a week to collect what you see here, and that’s just what came out of the houses.” Barnabus shook his head. “I’m not sure we’ll be able to get Thrang to leave.”
“The Seeker returns tomorrow and we must leave on it,” said Alex.