Battlefield of the Sacred Land

by Mark E. Tyson

  Shey nodded and then took one of Dorenn’s hands in hers. “Dorenn, what I am about to tell you may seem strange or unbelievable at first. You must let me explain, all right? Can you do that?”

  The boy nodded, and Veric wondered what she was about to tell him.

  “I am the daughter of Sylvalora, the Silver Drake. She is my mother and the wife of Veric. Until Toborne took her away at Brightonhold Keep, she had been searching for my father while she helped me find you.”

  Toborne has taken her! I will kill that fool! Veric thought.

  “How is that even possible?” Dorenn asked.

  “She was given the gift of life from Loracia, the goddess of life. With that gift, and being female, also came the gift to create life, just like any other living woman. She met and fell in love with my father, Veric. Since she is essentially a unique form of drake, he became her dragon knight. He can sense her and find her wherever she may be, just as any dragon knight bonds with their dragon. That is, unless someone finds a way to trap him.”

  “Is Sylvalora a woman, an elf, or a drake?” Dorenn asked.

  “She is all of them. One of the gifts she received from the gods was to represent all the races they created. Each time she has to become the Silver Drake, she returns as a different race. The last time she returned as elven. If she is not the Silver Drake now, she will be another race of the world.”

  “So . . . why is your father here?”

  “I have no idea,” Lady Shey said. “We have not seen him since the War of the Oracle. I had almost given up hope. Now, if you don’t mind, can we free him?”

  Veric felt his soul stiffen at the thought of being freed. He suppressed the dark god within him again.

  “It’s Toborne. It has to be his work,” Morgoran grumbled. “I wouldn’t be so quick to free him. We better check for traps.”

  Veric felt his teeth clench. You old fool, his thought. Toborne is no dragon and he would never be intelligent enough to learn dragon magic. Think, old man, only Kambor, Golvashala, could do something like this to me!

  “The War of the Oracle!” Dorenn gasped. “He’s been here since before the Sacred Land, trapped in a bleeding library.”

  That’s it, the land I saw in my dreams of the future, the Sacred Land. That’s where I will find Kambor! Veric’s eyes focused sharper now, and he could make out the blond-headed young man intently looking at his face.

  “I don’t like hearing you swear, Dorenn,” Shey scolded him. “I hold you in too high a regard.”

  “Sorry, my lady,” he apologized.

  “Holy bloody fire! Is that Veric Namear?” Gondrial said as he stumbled into the library.

  “I thought you didn’t want to be here!” Lady Shey said.

  “I got bored. Also, my hangover is better.”

  “Lucky us,” Shey said. “Aye, this is my father. We are about to free him, and I would hope you would have respect for him.”

  “I do, I do. I have an incredibly high respect for him.” Gondrial looked at Dorenn. “Does he know everything now?”

  “Aye, I just told him about my mother,” Shey said.

  “So, you finally got around to letting Dorenn know where you came from.” He shook Dorenn’s hand. “Welcome to the club, lad. There are many more life-shattering secrets to come with your new membership.”

  Gondrial! You have no idea! Veric thought amusingly.

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Gondrial,” Ianthill said as he took the half-empty bottle of elvish wine his former apprentice had just produced from his robes away from him.

  “Hey, that’s mine.”

  “Not anymore.” Ianthill turned the bottle bottoms up and swigged the whole of it, slamming the bottle down on the desk afterward. Gondrial watched, disappointed.

  Veric realized he was very thirsty and hungry too.

  “If you two are finished, can we get back to the issue at hand?” Morgoran stated.

  “This is what she meant,” Dorenn said. “I would be the one who could find her. The best way to find her would be to free Veric.”

  “How did you arrive at that?” Gondrial’s words dripped with sarcasm. “That’s not the brightest observation you’ve come up with.”

  “What about this?” Dorenn reached out and touched the blackfire barrier as his hands sparked with purple lightning until the black flames lit up in yellow and orange and flashed out. Veric fell to the floor.

  He did it! The boy has freed me! Veric tried moving, but his body was not ready to animate again yet.

  “Or it could work, I guess,” Gondrial stated. “Brave. I wouldn’t have done it.”

  Shey went directly to her father, who was slowly coming out of his sleep. She knelt down and put her hand on his forehead as he woke. He looked up at her with astonishment. She was so beautiful, and she reminded him of Sylvalora. “Sheyna, is that you? You’re all grown up, but I would recognize that smile and those eyes anywhere.”

  Gondrial rolled his eyes.

  “It is I, Father. We have just freed you from a dragon’s blackfire curse.”

  “How long?” He gasped and coughed. “How long have I been here?” I must keep the truth a secret for now, he thought.

  “What is the last thing you remember? Was I still an adept at the tower?” Shey asked.

  “Aye, I had just left you and that boy on my way to find Toborne. He had to answer for taking Sylvalora. I vaguely remember that man you called the Oracle, and then nothing.” He grabbed ahold of Shey. “Your mother, where is Sylvalora? I can feel she is in danger.”

  “Not now, Father, rest a moment. I will tell you all you need to know about Mother when you regain your strength.” She ran her fingers over the shiny silver daggers her father still clutched in his hands. “Our daggers—the daggers I held on to as a child. These daggers made me feel safe.”

  “Aye, dear daughter, I would never part with them. The dragon that put me here tried to take them from me,” he lied. “He tried to take all of my weapons away, but I fooled him into letting me keep them with me. In the end, he let me keep them for my honor as a dragon knight.” He hated lying to her, but he had to keep his secrets until he figured out what exactly had happened while he slumbered. Had his visions of the future all come true? The odds were that not all of his predictions had come to pass.

  “What did this dragon look like? Was he one of the Draegodor broods?” Morgoran asked.

  “You will not believe me, Morgoran. He was a gold,” Veric said.

  “A gold-scaled dragon? Are you sure it was a gold?”

  “As sure as I am here telling you.” I just gave you the biggest clue, Morgoran! Think!

  Morgoran and Ianthill exchanged worried glances. “What is it now?” Dorenn asked.

  Morgoran rubbed his forehead. “Why would Golvashala want Veric imprisoned?”

  There! You know now. Can you arrive at the rest on your own? Veric thought. You must go after Kambor. He is awakening.

  “How do you know it was him, Morgoran?” Ianthill asked.

  “No other gold-scaled dragon would have been down from Mount Venifyre at that time. He must have wanted to keep Veric from going after the Silver Drake.”

  “Which means he did it to allow Toborne to steal her back, then,” Ianthill said.

  “What are you two talking about?” Dorenn was confused.

  Gondrial absently swirled his finger in the dust of the main front desk. “Before the War of the Oracle, Toborne first stole the Silver Drake to try and take control of dragonkind. Morgoran tried to stop her from killing Toborne and was cursed by her with clear eyes, where he could only see into the future, for the attempt. A gold-scaled dragon was rumored to be in Toborne’s control for a while, controlled by the manipulation of the godly power of the Silver Drake. That’s a big deal because according to legend, Fawlsbane Vex himself created the gold and silver dragons. They are supposed to be celestial beings and therefore cannot be easily manipulated.”

  Not exactly true, but close, Veric thought. S
o, Morgoran was cursed as I foresaw. Does he know about me, then? He glanced at Gondrial. I had better divert attention. He looked at Gondrial. The vein in his forehead began to throb, and his face turned red with anger. “You are still consorting with the likes of him?” He pushed himself up to standing position.

  “Father, stop,” Shey said.

  “Veric, don’t do anything hasty. That was a long time ago,” Gondrial pleaded.

  “Not to me it wasn’t,” Veric countered.

  “Surely we can have more civil heads,” Morgoran said. “We have more pressing issues than something Gondrial may have done a thousand seasons ago.”

  “He coated the inside of my armor with honey and placed it on an ant bed! I probably still have the welts from the stings.”

  Gondrial started chuckling. “I was young. I didn’t do it on purpose,” he mused.

  “I’ll kill him!” Veric lurched forward, but Shey pulled him back. “If you were merely young and inexperienced, then why would you coat my armor with honey? You had to do it on purpose.”

  Gondrial was trying to hold his laughter. “I swear. I had a best friend back then who liked to play jokes on me. He told me that the honey would take out the tarnish. I didn’t know any better.”

  Veric settled down. “I knew you would end up in his company the first time I saw you together.”

  “Father, no. Gondrial and I never did get together. I listened to you. I promise.” She gave Gondrial a mournful glance. “We never had anything together.”

  Gondrial’s jovial smile abruptly ended with a somber, angry expression. “It was a promise to your father! That’s why you left me feeling like a fool? That’s the reason you married my best friend!” He admonished Veric. “How ironic. You blame me for your armor, and the one who actually talked me into doing it your daughter married.” Gondrial stormed away into the darkness of the library.

  “Gondrial, wait!” Shey called after him.

  “Let him go,” Veric said to her. “Who did you marry? Where is he? I should like to meet him.” His heart was breaking, but he didn’t show it. Gondrial would have been a good match. Veric loved Gondrial’s father, Gondolar. I know exactly who married Sheyna, and I don’t like it one bit.

  Lady Shey gave him a sour look. “You don’t want to know, Father. Let’s just say he turned out to be a lot worse than your fear of Gondrial.” She yanked her arm away from him and went looking for Gondrial.

  Veric pulled himself up by steadying himself on the desk. Dorenn rushed to help him up. “I don’t believe we have met, young man,” Veric said.

  When Veric could stand, Dorenn held out his hand. “Dorenn Adair of Brookhaven.”

  Veric took his hand. “I don’t believe I have heard of Brookhaven. Where is it located? Trigothia?”

  “Symboria, near the Southern Pass.”

  “Symboria. I see,” he said. “There appears to be much I need to catch up on.”

  “Where are you from?” Dorenn asked.

  “I am from Symboria as well. I am from Paladine.” Dorenn’s face showed no recognition. “I am sure you have heard of it being from a village near the Southern Pass. It is a large city just south, near the coast. Its ports service the isle of Arillia.”

  “I think you are describing Symbor.”

  “Symbor? Symbor is hundreds of leagues to the east, on the other side of Lake Trenan.”

  Dorenn’s face lit up with recognition. “That was before the Sacred Land. The city of Symbor you knew is mostly in ruins now and is known as Old Symbor. The capital and palace of the king was moved just after the War of the Oracle to what you apparently remember as Paladine, and then the city was renamed Symbor by the king. Paladine doesn’t exist, as you knew it, anymore.”

  Shey returned without Gondrial. “He slipped away. I will catch up to him later.”

  “Sheyna, let me apologize. I didn’t know,” Veric said.

  “Father, let me stop you. This is not the place to discuss it. I haven’t seen you in a thousand seasons, and you managed to make me feel just like that young girl you left at the Tower of Morgoran.”

  Veric glanced over at Ianthill, Dorenn, and Morgoran in turn. They were all trying to occupy themselves with one thing or another. “Perhaps you are correct. I need to talk to your mother, anyhow. She must be worried sick if she has not been able to find me for so long. Where is she?” I will choke the life out of that idiot Toborne when I find them!

  “She never stopped looking for you, Father, that’s true, but she isn’t here at the moment. In fact, we stumbled upon you quite by happy accident. No one knew where you were.”

  Veric tried his best to look concerned. “What do you mean she isn’t here? If she has been looking for me for so long, where else would she be? How is it that no one found me in a thousand seasons?”

  “General Sythril, sir,” Dorenn answered. “You were guarded in the ruins of By’temog, Ishrak, by the undead, cursed spirit of General Sythril.”

  “No, this cannot be! Where is my bride; where is Sylvalora?”

  “Father, just as you were looking for her a thousand seasons ago, you will be looking for her now. Toborne took her again. This time, he may actually have a way to use her to create the army he has always dreamed of creating.”

  Not very bloody likely! Veric thought. I need to find out if this boy was chosen by Sylvalora. It would mean he is the descendant of Ardenia.

  Veric abruptly confronted Dorenn. His face was so intense, Dorenn took a step back. “You were the one who opened my prison?”

  Dorenn swallowed hard out of fear. “Aye, I did.”

  Veric took him by the shoulders. “Then she chose you, did she not? She should have said the words I choose you, or something to that effect. Did she say it to you?”

  “Aye, she did.”

  “By the gods. You are the key to finding her.” He embraced his daughter. “I was not around to teach you what a father should teach a daughter, but I can teach you this. Nothing is a happy accident. Sylvalora gave Dorenn the ability to free me, and she gave me the means to find her.”

  “It still seems like a random coincidence to me,” Gondrial said as he strolled back to the group. “If Sylvalora had been looking for you for a thousand seasons, how did she, or how could she, know Dorenn would stumble upon you? It’s a bit far-fetched. It wasn’t even his idea to explore the library, as I recall.”

  Veric stiffened. Don’t spoil this, Gondrial, he thought.

  Shey tried to go to Gondrial, but he held his arm out, stopping her.

  The Lora Daine, Veric thought. He blanked his expression as he produced the Lora Daine and tossed it to Dorenn. It was pale blue in color until Dorenn caught it, and then it began to swirl in multi-colors and pulse. “Aye, he is the one. Gondrial is still a fool. All is right with the world.” He took the stone from Dorenn and stepped to talk to Morgoran. “You know what this means as well as I, Morgoran. It isn’t safe here. If the general was truly guarding me and you defeated him, our enemy will take steps to move on with his plans.” Do I really need to spell this all out for you, Morgoran? Kambor, Kambor!

  “Aye, Toborne will retaliate by trying to eliminate you and everyone around you,” Morgoran agreed.

  No, not Toborne. Kambor!

  “Why would Toborne care to do anything of the sort? I would assume he would be running for fear of me in pursuit of what he has taken from me,” Veric said. “I was referring to his ultimate goal of creating his dragon army.” He clutched his head. Lady Shey moved to steady him. “I remember now! My mind has cleared.” There. If I point to Toborne and his supposed army, you can leap to Kambor from there. I wish I could just tell you without exposing myself!

  “Surely Toborne used one of his exiled dragon allies to imprison you here,” Ianthill stated. “Perhaps you are mistaken about the gold-scale.”

  Oh, for the love of . . . Veric had to fight not to roll his eyes.

  Morgoran studied Veric’s face. “No, not Toborne. He couldn’t have come here befo
re or during the War of the Oracle. What are you remembering, Veric?”

  Here we go. Come on, Morgoran!

  “I am remembering that Toborne was involved, but only as a lieutenant.”

  “I still don’t follow,” Ianthill said.

  “I see you, Ianthill, and you, Morgoran, have either forgotten or were kept from the truth. Do you not remember what you were fighting for in the War of the Oracle?”

  Morgoran shrugged. “You forget, Veric, I didn’t fight in the war. I was already cursed at the time.”

  Ianthill tapped his mouth with his index finger. “The Oracle had convinced the general population that magic was evil and would destroy everyone and everything, and then proceeded and conspired in secret to make it happen. He planned to eliminate as many magic wielders as he could so he could ultimately take over the kingdoms with ease.”

  Veric was relieved. Finally! I can just come out and say it now.

  “Perhaps you never knew,” Veric said. “The Oracle went by many names to deceive. Sylvalora found his true name to be Golvashala in dragon tongue. It means gold scales in common, which means the Oracle was the gold dragon. He imprisoned me here, not Toborne.”

  Morgoran shook his head. “But that doesn’t make sense. Remember, the gold dragons were created by Fawlsbane Vex himself, and guard the godly realm of Venifyre. They are celestial beings.”

  No, No, No! Veric suppressed his frustration.

  “Aye, which means your war did not destroy him.” He looked to Dorenn. “This Sacred Land you spoke of. What is it? Explain it to me.”

  “The battlefield of the War of the Oracle. The overuse of essence drained it and made it into a barren wasteland.”

  “What happened to the Oracle?”

  “No one knows,” Dorenn said. “I have asked some of these same questions, but the people who were there will not answer them.” He looked at Ianthill.

  “I did answer you to the best of my knowledge. Maybe my answer isn’t satisfying to you because we do not know exactly what happened. Toborne was with the Oracle, and then the war ended with the Oracle dying in the midst of a blinding light. It looked to me as if Sylvalora had used a form of dragon’s fire, as I recall. It’s been a thousand seasons!” He looked at Lady Shey. “Shey was there.”