The fact that Thelvyn could now prove the details of that treachery was less useful to him than he might have wished. Under the circumstances, no one in the Highlands doubted the existence of a plot. The problem for Thelvyn was to get the Parliament of Dragons to forgive the Flaem for the accusations that had been made. To that end, he issued the order that the line of defensive forts was to be drawn back
from the northern border to the southern frontier.
How the dragons responded to that move would determine what he would have to do next. There had been no indication yet whether the dragons even knew of the treachery of the wizards or the death of King Jherridan. Individual dragons continued to patrol the frontier, but there had been no actual attacks upon either the towns or settlements or upon the army itself. Even so, Thelvyn was certain that they would know of the events in Braejr soon, within the next few days at most, and he was just as certain that their plans would change accordingly.
Thelvyn was working in the king's private chamber when there was a knock at the door and Taeryn entered. "My lord, there is an elf lady here to speak with you."
"A representative from the elvish holdings in the south?" Thelvyn asked. His first thought was that the elves were withdrawing their support, having decided that they weren't in any trouble with the dragons as long as they didn't ally themselves with the Flaem. He wondered if he actually dared to hope that he might be getting more support.
"It's not one of the Highlands elves," Taeryn explained. "This is an elf lady out of Alfheim ... a cleric."
Thelvyn knew who it was even before Taeryn had stepped aside to permit her to enter. In all the dangers and concerns of the last few days, he had completely forgotten about the spirit of his mother telling him that someone would be sent to assist him in Kharendaen's place. He realized now that he should have guessed who that would be. Aside from the dwarvish clerics of Kagyar, who would never have left their own land, Sellianda was the only other cleric he knew.
Even so, he almost didn't recognize her at first. She hadn't changed in the least; indeed, she appeared to be dressed the same as she was the last time he had seen her. It had simply been such a long time that he had nearly forgotten the details of her appearance. She was tall for an elf, although still much shorter than he. Her face was long, with delicate features, and her flowing hair had the color of burnished gold.
"I told you we would meet again," she said simply. "Were you not told that I would be coming?"
"Not specifically," he said. "I was told only that a new advisor would be sent to replace Kharendaen."
Sellianda paused a moment to look at him; she seemed pleased. "I said you would grow up to be someone very remarkable, and I see that I was not mistaken. I have been sent to assist you in any way I can. I have been told much of your situation already, but I will have to know everything. The question now is how we can defuse the problem with the dragons. If it is already too late, we must prepare for war. Our time is brief."
"I've been doing what I can," Thelvyn assured her. "I can prove now that the dragons never broke the truce. The problem is getting them to listen."
"We will do what we can," she said. Then she glanced about the room. "Do you live here at the palace?"
"I'm trying to avoid that as long as possible," he replied. "You probably noticed the mess from the battle. But I have a room for you at my house."
Then he recalled that Alessa Vyledaar was there. He could see already that it would be a very interesting time at dinner. He also thought that he had better lock his door at night.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nightfall came late as the season moved toward midsummer, and the evening shadows were growing long when Thelvyn and Sellianda came to the courtyard of his house. Thelvyn no longer had to be concerned about closing the gate; even though, strictly speaking, he was not the king, he already had a small garrison on hand to watch his house and grounds at night. Sellianda paused a moment in the courtyard, staring at the warehouse that had come to be known as Kharendaen's lair. There were lights in the windows again; the young cleric Seldaek was now in residence.
"Is that where the dragon stayed?" Sellianda asked.
"I wish she were still here," Thelvyn replied, then flushed with embarrassment as he realized how that must sound. "That's not to say I'm sorry to have you here."
Sellianda glanced at him. "You love her very much."
He shrugged. "She's been a remarkably good friend, and I've never had many friends. She was always there for me, always and completely a friend. Her only concern was what
was best for me. I suppose I became entirely too used to that, although I hope she never thought I took her for granted."
"I'm sure that you did not," she assured him. "Perhaps I cannot put you on my back and fly you to other lands, but I will do what I can for you."
Thelvyn gave Sellianda's horse to a servant and helped her carry her things to the room where she would be staying, which was next to his. There wasn't much to carry; she had traveled light, her luggage containing mostly clothing of the elvish style and a few books. Unlike wizards, clerics carried no spellbook or magical devices, although they sometimes bore talismans or artifacts of their order. As a cleric of Terra, Immortal spirit of the living earth, Sellianda's sacred artifact was the land itself.
As he had expected, things began to get interesting when they came down to dinner a short time later. Sir George was surprised by Sellianda's sudden appearance; Thelvyn had apparently forgotten to tell him a new advisor would be taking Kharendaen's place. Solveig was less surprised but obviously quite amused; she knew already what to expect, and she wasn't going to complicate the situation by entering the competition for Thelvyn's attention. Alessa Vyledaar was caught completely by surprise and didn't know what to make of Sellianda's sudden appearance, since none of the stories she had heard about the Dragonlord had ever mentioned a female elf cleric. Indeed, she had no idea just how matters stood between Thelvyn and Sellianda, and she remained quite subdued for some time.
All through dinner, Sellianda listened carefully as the others explained the situation to her. She seemed familiar with the events leading up to the death of King Jherridan, but she had only a general idea of what had followed. After dinner they retired to the den, where Sir George insisted upon passing out glasses of cherry liqueur to celebrate the occasion.
"I can appreciate your problem," Sellianda told Thelvyn. "I do not see how you can avoid accepting the tide of king, and yet that would only hinder your ability to function as
Dragonlord at a time when you need complete freedom to act. Have you considered what you will do if the dragons force you to fight?"
Thelvyn shook his head helplessly. "All I could do is fight a purely defensive battle. I'm not interested in placing Braejr at risk, but this is where we have our greatest concentration of strength. If nothing else, the presence of the Radiance is strongest here, and the wizards will be able to give me some support in battle. But I still hope to avoid war if I can. The Flaem are willing to concede that they have no complaint against the dragons. The problem is that the dragons feel they have been accused falsely and have been the victims of aggression by the Flaem."
"That is true," Sellianda agreed. "However, I suspect that their greatest concern now is with the Dragonlord. They believe they have the means to deal with you now if they can use your disadvantages against you, and they want the question settled. That is the position they are least likely to back down from, and the only real issue as far as they are concerned. The Flaem are incidental."
"Then how should I be trying to negotiate with them?" Thelvyn asked.
"I'm not certain that you can," she told him, sniffing her cherry liqueur with a rather confused expression. "There is nothing you can say to them short of offering to surrender. Your gesture of drawing the army back from the border is quite irrelevant to them. Perhaps the best you could do is to make a demonstration of the powers of the Dragonlord to convince them of the hopelessness of f
ighting you."
"That's probably only going to happen in battle," Thelvyn said. "I have the impression that the Immortals still support me, even the Great One. Could he have his clerics, like Kharendaen, intercede to stop this war?"
Sellianda shook her head. "You must recall that the Great One has been required to distance himself from the affairs of dragons to insure that other plans are not compromised. Remember also that, while we ourselves might not want to go to war, such events may suit the purposes of the Immortals perfectly. If you can defeat the dragons, then they will know that they simply cannot expect to have their way in the world."
"Then it seems to me that war is almost unavoidable," Alessa observed. "We could waste a great deal of time in pointless negotiations when we should be preparing for battle."
"I'll do what I can to avoid war, but I'm also doing what I must to prepare for battle," Thelvyn insisted. "Even withdrawing our forces from the northern border works to our advantage now as well. We can't hope to fight the dragons with our strength spread out across the entire northern frontier. And I can't be everywhere at once, even if I should regain the capability of flight. Our greatest strength lies in concentrating our defenses in one place. I want those catapults back here, where they'll be of most benefit."
"There is much virtue in that," Sir George agreed, holding his glass up to the light to peer at it. "But I'm not sure that the northern dukes are going to like the dragons going through their lands to get here."
"I'm beginning to believe they have nothing to worry about," Thelvyn said. "It does the dragons no good to ravage the north."
"I agree," Alessa added. "War is a desperate matter, and there are no perfect solutions. While it goes very much against my pride to leave the northern lands defenseless, I know that we must not be so concerned with winning every battle that we lose the war."
"The wizards must do their part," Thelvyn said. "I still need that cape of flight, and the remaining senior wizards have got to learn to use the Radiance effectively. And this time, they can't afford to be overconfident. That was Kalestraan's undoing."
"We won't fail you," Alessa assured him.
As much as she hated to leave, which put her at a distinct tactical disadvantage in courting the Dragonlord's attention, Alessa had to spend time alone studying her spellbook. Once she had learned just how briefly Thelvyn and Sellianda had actually been together in the past, she decided that she was still very much in contention. Thelvyn had been watching her, trying to determine whether her interest was personal or there was something else she was after. To her credit, she had seemed genuinely hurt by the elf cleric's unexpected arrival.
Of course, Thelvyn had no idea himself about Sell-ianda's intentions regarding him. She had been rather forward the last time they had been together, but that was five years ago. He realized that she hadn't come to Braejr because she had chosen to; whether she desired his company or not, she was there only because her patron had sent her. He could be just as sure that her patron hadn't sent her to him for the sake of companionship or affection, but to offer him advice and to help him interpret the will of the Immortals. She also knew that Kharendaen would eventually return, and when that time came, Sellianda would almost certainly be sent somewhere else where she was needed.
Thelvyn wondered if it would be best for him to keep his distance from the elf cleric. His duties as Dragonlord could involve him for years to come, taking him to other distant places. It would be best if he didn't become attached to someone who either could not or would not accompany him wherever he needed to go.
For that reason, he was even more surprised when Sellianda hurried after him when he went to return his glass to the bar. "Your affairs are entirely your own, of course, but I must ask why, of all people, that ardent sorceress is staying at your house."
"It was none of my doing," he insisted, suddenly feeling guilty. "I asked Byen Kalestraan for a wizard to stay with me at all times to warn me of any developments in the north. With so many of the former senior wizards either dead or fled, Alessa is one of the highest-ranking wizards in Braejr. She's served me well since the attack on me."
"Yes . . . she is eager to serve," Sellianda remarked mysteriously, then paused and smiled to herself. "Just listen to me. I must sound terribly jealous, and I have not even seen you in such a long time. Except for the circumstances, we would not be together even now."
"And the circumstances being what they are, we still do
not have time for each other," Thelvyn observed sadly.
"Come outside with me for a time," she said.
They stepped out the front door into the courtyard. The summer night had finally given way to darkness; the moonless sky was clear and dark, and the stars glittered brightly overhead. They walked together out into the yard to a small wooded corner away from the front gate. The elf maiden seated herself on a bench beneath a large tree and indicated for him to sit beside her. After he was seated, she took his hand in hers.
"I have only myself to blame," she said softly. "I chose to become a cleric, and for a long time I was certain that there could never be anything else important in my life other than my work. But you had no choice in the matter. The circumstances of your life left you no choice about becoming a cleric."
"Except for the occasional use of some very remarkable magic, I'm not sure I'm much of a cleric," Thelvyn confessed.
"Do not worry about that," she told him. "As Dragonlord, you are doing the service required of you by the Immortals. Few clerics can say they accomplish half as much as you do."
"I do regret being so alone," Thelvyn admitted. "I'd feel better if there were other clerics loyal to my patron."
"There are," Sellianda told him, much to Thelvyn's surprise. "But it would not be entirely accurate to say that they belong to the same order as your do. The Dragonlord is a clerical order unto himself. Although the dragons say the first Dragonlord was a wizard of such power that he was almost an Immortal, he was not a cleric. In that, you are different. I do not know how you came to bear the right to claim the armor of the Dragonlord or command its enchantments, but it means that your circumstances are more unusual than you may think."
"They seem strange enough as it is."
Sellianda laughed. "I suppose they must. All I can tell you is this: You possess certain unusual qualities. Your association with your patron is based upon the fact that those remarkable qualities are something you share together, qualities that draw you to one another. Also, your patron is one of the more unusual Immortals. Normal rules do not apply, either to your patron or to you. For that reason, it is not entirely accurate to say that you are a cleric. The association may appear the same, but you are something more than a cleric."
"I suppose I'm still not allowed to know which Immortal is my patron," Thelvyn said.
"No . . . not yet," Sellianda replied regretfully. "That knowledge would influence decisions that you must make alone, and it is something your enemies could use against you."
He sighed audibly. "I've been told that before."
Alessa came to the palace in the middle of the morning bearing news from the wizards in the north. Dragons of all types were gathering along the border, although so far they were staying in the mountains and not crossing into the Highlands. Thelvyn recognized the implications of the message from the first. This was the worst possible news short of actual invasion. He was running out of time much sooner than he would have liked.
Obviously he was facing some very important decisions, and he wanted to have a hasty meeting with his advisors. The problem was that he presently had a shortage of advisors; Jherridan had never confided in many people, and most of those had either died the night of the attack or were in the north with the army. Aside from the captain of the city garrison and the mayor of Braejr, the only advisors he could call upon were his own companions. Solveig had insisted that she was able to move about now, and so she had accepted a position as a captain in the king's army. Gairstaan, who was still in t
he north, would remain as captain of the larger Highlands army.
They gathered in the palace at the long table in the meeting room, this group being too large for the king's private chamber. Alessa Vyledaar was there to represent the Fire Wizards. Although the Academy was officially in the hands of a senior wizard who had returned from retirement because of the present need, he was an elderly gentleman and rather frail. He concentrated on keeping the demoralized wizards working on the problems they faced, while Alessa handled duties outside the Academy, including serving as the king's advisor.
"The message tells us more than it might seem to," Thelvyn stated when Alessa had reread it aloud. "The most alarming part is that it specifically states "dragons of all types.' I asked Alessa to confirm the wording, which she has done. Now red dragons, even greens and blacks, are one thing. But the presence of gold dragons can only mean that this action is being taken on behalf of the entire Nation of Dragons and was ordered by the Parliament of Dragons. It means, in short, that they are ready to go to war."
Sir George nodded. "I'm sure you are correct. That's not the same as saying that they actually intend to invade the Highlands, however. They could simply be testing us to see how we'll react. It might also be a trap to lure the Dragonlord north, where they would prefer to wage this war. They know their advantages, and they're quite clever enough to anticipate what we might be thinking."
"Do you think this means they've heard about the troubles here?" Solveig asked.
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