*****
Marthaen stood at the front of his ledge before the assembled parliament, watching the dragons as they argued fiercely among themselves. As First Speaker, he knew he should do something to maintain order, but the parliament was almost beyond his control, and he thought it best to allow the members to vent their fury before he called them back to order. He was aware of his sister Kharendaen standing behind him; he had tried his best to ignore her for as long as he could.
But he knew that he would be forced to relent eventually. At last he turned and followed Kharendaen down the short passage from his ledge to the main corridor beyond. Thelvyn waited there, boldly wearing the Collar of the Dragons within the Hall of the Great One itself. Sir George Kirbey stood nearby, looking both startled and very pleased with himself at the same time.
"I don't know if this is the proper time," Marthaen said before any of the others could speak. "As I expected, the dragons are hesitant. They still fear the Dragonking, who is still also the Dragonlord and to them their most dangerous enemy. And they are reluctant to go to war in the defense of others. Since the Masters appear to be dragon-kin, that also causes them some concern. I'm afraid I will need more time to convince them to accept you as Dragonking."
"I'm not sure you could ever convince them," Thelvyn replied. "If they are ever going to accept my leadership, it will have to be me who convinces them."
"Perhaps so," Marthaen agreed with great reluctance. "Go down the stairs and follow the passage almost directly below where we stand. That will lead you out onto the floor of the Hall of Parliament and directly to the speaker's dais. You can address the parliament from there."
He turned and strode back out onto his ledge, leaving Thelvyn to find his way to the parliament floor. The dragons were still arguing furiously, and Marthaen despaired of ever getting them to set aside their fear and suspicion long enough to listen. But time had become too critical for such nonsense. If the Immortals had invested so much effort in making Thelvyn Fox-Eyes the Dragonking, he was not about to argue.
"Silence!" he declared, startling the dragons. They turned to stare at him. "Silence, I say! I demand that you stop chattering and screaming like frightened wyverns and maintain the dignity and wisdom that befits this assembly."
The dragons muttered among themselves but finally fell silent, staring in astonishment when they saw Thelvyn step out onto the floor below them and advance toward the speaker's dais. He was wearing the Collar of the Dragons, and that by itself was enough to leave them shaken and uncertain. One of the oldest and most important legends of their people had indeed come to life, for the Dragonking stood before them. Thelvyn carried himself with the supreme dignity and confidence that dragons instinctively respected, as if to prove that he had earned the right to wear the collar.
Marthaen sat back on his haunches, smiling to himself with grim satisfaction. Now that they could actually see Thelvyn standing before them, the dragons could see that the legend of the Dragonking was no longer a matter of debate but a reality. They could no longer find it easy to deny his existence. Marthaen watched the red dragons carefully, certain that Jherdar would never allow the issue to be resolved easily. The red dragon would undoubtedly think that the hated Dragonlord was trying
to usurp the place of the beloved Dragonking.
Thelvyn advanced to the speaker's dais and seated himself in a pose of great dignity, sitting upright with his long tail curled around his legs. His neck was drawn back in a proud, graceful curve. He paused for a long moment, then began to speak. "Marthaen has spoken to you of the gemstone dragons, who were once of our own kind. The Great One has told me about how he and the first Dragonlord fought the gemstone dragons long ago and drove them from our world. He has told me how the gemstone dragons have prepared their invasion for centuries, and how the Immortals have planned to counter it by having me serve as both Dragonlord and Dragonking and lead the dragons in the defense of our world."
"You know that I fought with you against the renegade Murodhir," Jherdar said, growing impatient. "I told you then that I would rather see you wearing the Collar of the Dragons than have it remain missing. But I cannot lightly accept that you seem so eager to lead us into war when we do not yet know even the strength or the intentions of our enemy."
"I have not yet summoned the dragons to war," Thelvyn replied. "But we must prepare for its likelihood."
"These gemstone dragons may have attacked our world, but they have not yet done us any harm," the red dragon responded.
"Haven't they?" Thelvyn demanded. "The Masters have tried to implicate us for their attacks on other lands, with the intent of forcing us into war with those who are not our true enemies. The Masters were behind the theft of the Collar of the Dragons. There was a time when you were very eager to punish those who stole the collar, but you do not seem so eager now. Are you in sympathy with our enemies now that you know who they are, or is it that you fear them?"
There was a loud muttering among the dragons when they heard Thelvyn's bold accusations. Marthaen watched apprehensively. Thelvyn wasn't about to compromise himself to placate the red dragon. He couldn't afford to. He had to earn the loyalty of the dragons even if he must fight Jherdar for it.
"I am not in sympathy with our enemies," Jherdar answered coldly. "Nor do I fear them. You are young and hardly even know
what it means to be a dragon. You are too eager to go to war."
"I am not eager for war," Thelvyn insisted. "And I am not proposing that we carry the battle into their world. We would be at a distinct disadvantage if we tried to fight them on their own ground. But at the same time, we can put them at a disadvantage when they invade our world. We must be prepared to defend not only ourselves but our world, wherever the Masters attack. If we wait until our enemy brings the war directly to us, we will have already lost."
"Never!" Jherdar shouted, crouching in fury at the front of his ledge. "If the enemy comes to us, then we will fight in our own defense, but never for a world that hates and despises us."
Marthaen tensed, moving closer to the front of his ledge. He could see that Jherdar, caught between his anger at the other races of the world and his fear of the Dragonking, was desperate enough to challenge Thelvyn for the leadership of the dragons. Dragons were forbidden to fight within the city of Windreach and were required to take their challenges into the wild, but Jherdar looked furious enough to forget the law. It had happened before in the past, and Marthaen's duty as First Speaker was to insure that there were no fights on the floor of parliament.
"Yes, we will fight to defend the other nations of the world," Thelvyn said patiently but firmly. "We have no choice. What hope do we have if we allow the Masters to turn people who should be our allies into their slaves? Are we to wait until they besiege Windreach? What would you have us do?"
"We are fools to fight in the defense of those who hate us," Jherdar insisted stubbornly.
"And do you believe that I am eager to do so?" Thelvyn demanded. "I was their champion for five years before they chased me away in contempt, and now they beg for my protection. If anyone has cause to be angry with our world, surely it is I. But I will defend them just the same, because in so doing, it is my best chance to defend the dragons as well."
"Then defend them alone," Jherdar said coldly. "That is your appointed task. The Immortals supposedly gave you all the power you need as both Dragonlord and Dragonking."
"If I must fight alone, I will," Thelvyn answered in a voice that was as cold and hard as ice. "Do you think that I have forgotten the injuries I received from the dragons when I was forced to oppose you for your own good? I will defend you if I can, but if you prefer to act like a coward, then you deserve to be enslaved."