by Mark Tyson
Morgoran smirked at Dorenn. “Was that your plan?”
Dorenn knew at that moment that Morgoran still believed he was the naïve boy the old wielder knew before the trial. “Actually, no, it isn’t. I would never face General Sythril alone; this is my plan.” A dreadful scream from the skies above made Morgoran take a step back. Fire bathed the undead corpses, replacing the rotting-flesh smell with that of burning flesh. Dorenn held up his hand, and the crystal returned to him. He did the same to get the amulet from the corpse of the general. “You should have listened to me, old wielder! You should have stayed in the portal chamber where you were safe.” He leaped into the air with the help of a burst of essence and was plucked out of midair by an enormous black dragon. As Dorenn was carried away, a hoard of black, green, and earth-tone dragons swept the city with fire behind him.
“The dragons of Kragodor!” Melias cried out as he changed his form. “Get back to the portal chamber!”
“No,” Morgoran countered. “The portal is useless now.”
Melias flew to intercept a green dragon bearing down on the party, but was struck from the side by a black dragon and again from the other side by another green. He fell to the ground and did not move. Morgoran looked upon the incident with horror. Trendan pumped arrows into the attackers, but they mostly bounced off the dragons’ hard scales, leaving the dragons without a scratch.
“Take cover, all of you! Fighting that many dragons alone is folly,” Morgoran commanded. The small party took cover in a mostly intact building nearby.
Fayne clung to Vesperin, much to Vesperin’s astonishment. Trendan perched below a window, watching as the dragons systematically swept the area with fire.
Morgoran rang his hands nervously. “I never should have allowed you to come through that portal. I am sorry. I thought we were going to deal with undead, and I thought I could use a couple of clerics. I didn’t know I was leading you to slaughter.”
“It was our choice too, Morgoran,” Vesperin said. “Don’t fill your last moments with regret.”
A crash of thunder rocked the building, and bits of stone crumbled from the ceiling.
“Something is happening out there,” Trendan told them. “Flashes of lighting.”
Morgoran moved to the window. Lightning outlined the skies and showed him the extent and sheer numbers of dragons. Hundreds of dragons swarmed above. Soon the lightning became more intense. Winds blew with impressive force just above the city, making it difficult for the dragons to maintain flight. Soon they gave up the search and flew away as fast as they had appeared. The storm continued to rage.
“What is happening?” Trendan was dismayed. “It’s as if the Plain of Storms moved over the city.”
Morgoran’s face lit up for a moment. “Maybe it has.”
“Or maybe this is a new threat we will have to deal with,” Vesperin said.
“We will wait out the storm here. As far as a building that is falling down goes, this one seems steady enough for now.”
Vesperin looked at the wavering structure and grimaced.
“I may be able to help stabilize it with essence for the duration of the storm,” Morgoran said.
The storm went on for two more hours before finally giving way. Morgoran had forgotten that it was actually daytime. The city was shrouded in darkness, first by the curse of the general, and second by the dark storm clouds. He looked upon the relieved faces of his young companions and noticed there was some kind of tension between Fayne and Trendan. Vesperin had managed to wiggle his way clear of Fayne’s grip and was peering at the sky from the opposite window.
“I found them!” came a voice from the doorway as Kyrie stepped, almost bounced, into the room.
“Kyrie? Who are you shouting to?” Morgoran asked.
“Ianthill, Sheyna, Gondrial, and the others.”
“How did you know we were here?”
“The mindwielders.” He grabbed Morgoran by the hand. “Come on, this way.”
Morgoran followed the little Kylerie elf out into the street where Ianthill, Gondrial, and the others waited. He looked for Melias in the rubble where he saw him fall, but he was not there.
Morgoran embraced Ianthill. “It’s so good to see you, brother. I thought it was over.”
“Not quite yet, brother, you aren’t getting out of work that easily. I would come to the spirit world and resurrect you if I had to!”
“I bet you would at that.” He moved to Lady Shey. “My apprentice, as lovely as ever.”
“I am thankful you are safe,” she replied.
“Enowene, we have a few issues to discuss. I ran into Kimala.”
“We will talk later. For now, I am pleased we found you.”
Morgoran looked at Ianthill. “Aye, how was that possible?”
Ianthill pointed to Rennon, who was busy hugging and being hugged by his own friends. “That boy has cured the afflicted, and he may have brought about the return of the mindwielders.”
“The storm was brought on by him?”
“He and about one hundred former afflicted camped out near the old gated entrance. We caught up to him just before the hoard of dragons appeared. We knew they had to be after something or someone. Deylia, Rennon’s female companion over there, could not sense the cursed ones anywhere in the city, but she could sense you. How did you defeat Sythril?”
“Did you see the body of Melias here? He was taken down by three dragons.”
“No, just the burning bodies of the cursed.”
“Dorenn was here. I put the general in the Aroanian Crystal right before Dorenn took it and flew off with one of the dragons.”
“The Aroanian Crystal? So he is looking for the keys.”
Gondrial and Theosus joined them.
“It is true, old friend, you are back and looking much better than the last time I saw you.”
“Theosus Fiderea, I see you managed to carry out our plan.”
“Aye, the boy was difficult to convince, but your vision was true to the letter.”
“I think we are missing something,” Gondrial said.
Morgoran gave him a reassuring gaze. “I will fill you all in.”
“Oh, I sent the Ganas boy to Draegodor as you wished,” Theosus said.
“Good, we need to get that army back here as soon as we can, but I fear we have a more pressing problem, and it’s going to take you coming out of exile and going back to Draegodor. Dorenn needs the golden serpent key from King Amarantus’ treasure hoard in Draegodor. I wasn’t worried about it before because I thought it would be impossible for him to get, but from what I just witnessed, Dorenn is cleverer than I thought. In order to defeat a stronghold of dragons, you—”
Theosus winced. “Attack it with a stronger force of dragons.”
“We need to get word to Draegodor.”
“I think we have a pretty quick way to get there,” Ianthill said.
Gondrial chuckled. “We managed to enchant a decently-sized ship. Sanmir is securing it by the front gates now.”
“That’s extraordinary. We needn’t waste any more time; we must get going then.”
“Morgoran, I can’t go with you to Draegodor. I am needed in Ardenia. There are people there still being executed.” Theosus was clearly struggling with his emotions. “I am also needed to help Rennon; he will need my guidance now more than ever.”
“All right, my friend. We can manage. Go rescue your afflicted.”
“Thank you, Morgoran. I will join the fight as soon as I return.”
Morgoran nodded. “Now, let’s go see this ship.”
As Ianthill led Morgoran away, Rennon stopped him. “Morgoran, I have some information that may be of some importance.”
Morgoran stopped. “What is it, Rennon?”
Rennon motioned to Deylia. “This is my friend Deylia. She is the one that sensed you were in the city.”
“I am indebted to you, Deylia, and nice to make your acquaintance.”
Deylia genuflected. “Likew
ise.”
“What is the matter?”
“When the dragons were overhead and I was trying to find the cursed of the city, I sensed something else, something vile and evil.”
“Was it coming from Dorenn?”
“I don’t know Dorenn, sir, but I don’t think it was him. What I felt was something I have felt before, in Trigothia. It was like a dragon, but smaller and twisted.”
“Are you certain it wasn’t one of the dragons?”
“Aye, it was looking for something, and as soon as it found it, the thing was gone.”
“Thank you, dear. I will think about what it could be.” He assured her by patting her on the back. He walked away more briskly than before. Ianthill had to make strides to catch up to him. “I know that look, what is it?”
Morgoran didn’t stop but still answered. “Melias fell to the dragons. I think a Drasmyd Duil must have taken the opportunity to steal his body.”
“Why would Toborne want Melias?”
“I am not certain, but I am sure he could twist something out of him.”
“Does he know anything?”
“I don’t think he knows anything that might hurt us. Most of what he heard is common knowledge. I didn’t discuss any real plans with him.”
“Good, then what’s to worry about?”
“Ianthill, we must get Dorenn back in control. We are fighting too many battles. While we chase after him, Toborne entrenches Naneden deeper into Lux Enor and makes his plans to conquer and control unopposed. We still have to get the army of the West back into the fight. I don’t want to do it, but if I am forced, I will have to kill Dorenn. His role in my vision is unclear now anyway.”
“I thought your vision was clear. Dorenn is supposed to bring the dragons of Draegodor back to help our cause, not to mention he is the only one that can find and take us to the Silver Drake. Don’t forget she chose him.”
“Well, now he has allied himself with Kragodor, and his dragon knight girlfriend has gone off and accidently married Bren, the other dragon knight, whose life Dorenn is supposed to save and become best friends with.”
“How do you get accidently married? Isn’t that like getting almost pregnant?”
“Never mind that. If Dorenn brings a battle to Draegodor, they will never follow him to fight against Toborne. The only plan that has worked out so far is Rennon.”
“So what is the next step?”
“We have to get to Draegodor. My hope is that if we warn them and prepare them, they will feel some kind of loyalty to us and we can still bring them into the coming war on our behalf. I need you to help me convince King Amarantus; you know how he feels about me. Then you and I will go after Dorenn together. He is growing far too powerful, and I need your help to defeat him, Shey and Gondrial’s help too. Enowene will have to get back to controlling her spy network and send Kimala back to Naneden before he gets suspicious.”
“What about Sanmir?”
Morgoran stopped from his brisk pace. “Sanmir is sentimental. I would love to have his abilities with us, but I think he may be too attached to Dorenn. If it comes to a fight, he might not be able to do what is necessary. I think we will send him with Dorenn’s friends, back to Symbor. I will send him after the king’s staff before Naneden takes over the capital.”
Morgoran picked up the pace again. “Once we get to your enchanted ship, we will round everyone up and get moving. Dorenn destroyed the portal, so the ship is our only means at the moment.”
“It is good to have you back, brother.”
Morgoran cracked a sly grin. “See if you still feel that way tomorrow.”
Toborne worked for two days and three nights to perfect his creation. He used all of the stolen power of the gods he had at his disposal, along with the power of the gods given to him. This creation could not be as commonplace as mere Dramyd or Drasmyd Duil. No, it had to be deadlier, stealthier, and more ruthless in order to exact his revenge on Dorenn. It might have taken him months to create the Drasmyd Duil, but now that he possessed the knowledge needed, this new creation would take only a few days of intense work. An abomination of dragonkind so cunning that it would not only dispatch Dorenn but it would be at Toborne’s side to do all of his dirty work after he secured the Sacred Land and the known world for himself.
Other than a few harmless tricks, Toborne had feared to allow his creations to use too much of the dragon magic in the past. In fact, it was dangerous to allow any of his creatures to wield magic of any kind other than what he could expressly control. Besides, training a creature to use magic took time and effort that he usually did not have, but this time he had found a way around that. He would use, in his creation, a being already capable of using and wielding magic, the Brae Daun. He carefully removed all the memories of the one called Melias and erased all vestiges of his old life. To insure that his old ways were truly eradicated, he magically infused the racial memories of the Duil brood, which he was using to stabilize his creation. This beast’s mind was a clean slate. He made sure the creature would remember how to take the form of the one called Melias, however, because the form might come in useful to give the element of surprise.
Chapter 20: Friends and Enemies
By the time Mount Urieus came into view, Morgoran could see the smoke rising up from Draegodor, and he realized that one of his most dreaded fears had already come true. Dorenn did not wait to attack Draegodor but instead had gone there directly from By’temog. Morgoran briefly wondered if Dorenn had been smart enough to plan for his involvement in getting the amulet or if it was just a coincidence. It was of no matter; the boy already had two of the four keys and was closing in on his third.
The ship lurched to a stop before it passed over Mount Urieus. Sanmir joined Morgoran on the deck from the bridge. “Kyrie has disappeared again.”
Morgoran nodded. “He gets bored hanging around. He’ll turn up again somewhere down the road, when it suits him.”
“What do you wish to do now? If we get much closer to Draegodor, the dragons will burn this wooden ship out of the sky with all of us on it.”
“Just hold here for a moment, Sanmir.”
“Aye.” He watched Morgoran as he scanned the skies above Draegodor. Beads of sweat pooled and ran down his forehead. “What are you up to? For whom are we waiting?” Morgoran curled his upper lip and gave Sanmir a wink.
“You sly dog, that’s why you sent Kimala,” Sanmir said.
“There!” Morgoran pointed to a snow-white figure weaving around two green dragons. “Turn the ship around, Sanmir, and put as much wind in those sails as she can take.”
“Aye, Morgoran,” he replied. As soon as he got to the wheel, he realized it did absolutely nothing to turn the ship. He concentrated on the sails as Ianthill and Lady Shey concentrated on getting the ship maneuvered into position. The ship creaked and groaned as Sanmir commanded the wind to fill the sails. It lumbered off through the skies.
In the distance, Shadesilver flew as fast as her young drake wings would carry her. Morgoran could see that she strained a bit carrying three passengers, but he knew she could manage. She came crashing down on the deck just as The Shooting Star was picking up speed. She stopped to let down Kimala, Tatrice, and Bren, and then she whirled around and fired a stream of searing-hot flame on the last pursuing green dragon, who dived in flames.
“Do you have it?” Morgoran asked.
Kimala took off her pack and rummaged around in it for a moment before producing a golden serpent. It was about the length of her elbow to wrist with emerald eyes, its body in a zig-zag pattern. Morgoran took the key and tucked it away in a pouch on his side.
Kimala’s dazed expression triggered him to look up. A fireball streaked through the sky and took out the mainsail in a fiery blaze; pieces of burning sail fabric blew down onto the deck and overboard amidships. The Shooting Star slowed. Morgoran summoned essence and pushed the ship onward so violently that he stumbled, and Kimala fell to the deck. As soon as he regained his footing
, he hurried aft. Two black dragons trailed the ship.
Sanmir left the bridge to Gondrial and joined Morgoran at the aft railings. “It appears your plan did not go off without a hitch.”
“If you came over here just to tell me that, you can march yourself right back to the bridge.”
“I only meant that Shadesilver must have been seen leaving Draegodor.”
“A number of things could have happened, but I am only interested in the here and now.” He squinted. “Do they look like they are gaining on us, or is it just me?”
“They are closing in; of course, they are not hampered by weight as we are.”
Morgoran stammered. “Sometimes when you say fool things like that, I forget your magic works differently than mine. This ship is being held aloft and pushed along by essence; weight has nothing to do with it. We could be on an enormous flying boulder just as well.” He inspected the rest of the sails. “Still, your wind isn’t doing much for us anymore without that mainsail. You can stop sending it now.” He mumbled a fire spell and set it in motion with essence. The remaining sails burned away. “This is a ludicrous way to travel anyway,” he grumbled. “I can think of a dozen better ways to get from here to there. Flying a damned ship was always a silly novelty, even in the old days.”
“Here comes another fireball. I’ll handle it.” Sanmir pulled in his right fist and pushed out the palm of his left hand at the same moment. The resulting blast of wind sent the fireball back toward the dragons in a hail of sparks.
“That’s enough of that. It’s time to teach those dragons not to follow behind a ship full of master wielders,” Morgoran said. “Do me a favor and go fetch Shey, Ianthill, and Gondrial.”
Sanmir took off, and a few moments later, Lady Shey and Gondrial appeared. A few moments more and Ianthill appeared with Enowene. Shadesilver also showed up in the form of an elf maiden. Angry, she started to transform.
“No! Stay onboard,” Ianthill told her. “Those drakes out there will tear you apart in your true form. They have both size and ruthlessness over you. If you want to help, use your dragon magic from here.”