Sleep now, and in your dreams tell me who you are.
Alessa's response seemed to form itself out of her own memories, without any need on her own part to consciously form a response. She was Alessa Vyledaar, now one of the most experienced Fire Wizards in all the Highlands and the leader of her order since the death of Byen Kalestraan and many other traitor wizards the previous summer. She was quite young for a sorceress of such high rank, the daughter of a family of lesser nobility. She had traveled outside the Highlands in the past, and she had been considering going out into the rest of the world again, admittedly to serve her own ambition, when events had brought her to her present state.
Sleep, and in your dreams tell me what became of Byen Kalestraan.
The memories of those desperate days of the previous summer seemed almost to be wrenched from her mind. Even as the Highlands had been preparing for war with the dragons, Kalestraan had sent her to assist the Dragonlord, but her true purpose had been to serve as a spy within his own house. She had known that Kalestraan was planning to seize control of the Highlands in some bold scheme; she had betrayed the mage to the Dragonlord, although her motive had been to further her personal schemes.
But it had been too late, for Kalestraan struck that very night. Assuming the form of a dragon, he had invaded the palace and had slain King Jherridan. And there he had waited, preparing a trap by which he intended to destroy the Dragonlord, removing his last rival to command of the Highlands. But he had either overestimated his own power or underestimated the power of the Dragonlord. The trap had failed. Kalestraan had been defeated and destroyed, and in the process revealed as a traitor and murderer.
Sleep, and dream of what became of the Dragonlord and the war
with the dragons after the death of Kalestraan.
Thelvyn Fox-Eyes had reluctantly agreed to become King of the Highlands, but only for the duration of the war that threatened. But the dragons had mistaken his actions as ambition, and so they had feared him all the more. They had laid siege to the city of Braejr in incredible numbers, thousands in all, and «ave every appearance of preparing for a final confrontation with the Dragonlord. But that battle never happened.
Why not?
Marthaen, the leader of the dragons, was too clever. He knew ihat the dragons could never hope to defeat the Dragonlord in battle, so he had sought to defeat the Dragonlord by other means. In the end, he had revealed secrets previously known only to the dragons themselves. Thelvyn Fox-Eyes, who had been chosen by the Immortals themselves to be the new Dragonlord, was himself a gold dragon in enchanted form and a cleric of the Great One, the Immortal patron of the dragons. And so the dragons achieved a form of victory. Mistakenly fearing that the Dragonlord sought power and conquest, they had made certain that all the other races and nations of the world would never trust the Dragonlord again.
Dream, and in your dreams recall what became of the Dragonlord.
Alessa honestly did not know. He had abdicated the throne of the Flaemish realm after only a short time, recommending that the rule of the king be replaced by the leadership of a council of representatives. In that way, he had broken forever the old struggle for power between the king, the dukes, and the Fire Wizards that had always been so detrimental to their land. Then Thelvyn had simply disappeared into the night, on a quest to break the spell that preyented him from becoming a dragon, eventually to fulfill his destiny among his own kind. Only the old, one-handed knight, Sir George Kirbey, his companion and mentor, had gone with him.
The mysterious voice remained silent for a long moment, as if considering all that it had learned and formulating new plans accordingly. Alessa waited in the darkness and silence. Now that she no longer had the distraction of the questions, she had a brief time to think for herself. She was beginning to feel frightened once again, knowing that she was held by a will far stronger than her own. Even her mind was no longer her own, if her very memories could be so easily summoned forth for review. And now that she had been ensnared, she knew that she would not easily escape.
Sleep, and do not fear, the voice told her. This was not a trap but the only means we had of speaking across the vast distances of time and space that separate us.
"Who are you?" she dared to ask in return, only partly reassured.
That was not for the moment important, she was told. All she needed to know at that time was that the mysterious speaker had ancient ties to her own people, having helped them in the past. The voice then proceeded to relate aspects of the history of the Flaem even she had never known, of events that occurred during their long age of wandering and of the enemies and the friends they had encountered along the way. It spoke to her of matters that touched her own heart, of the great antiquity of her people, of the power and authority and the deep pride they had once possessed. Would she not wish to recapture the power and the pride that the Flaem had once known? Such a question hardly needed to be asked; the Flaem thought of little else.
The Flaem are like a great tree, rooted in glory, the voice said, soothing her with wise and gentle words. They must not be permitted to wither from neglect. They were never meant to be the slaves of dragons; nor mere tools of the Dragonlord, serving the base whims of the Immortals; nor a small, impoverished, and forgotten folk among the barbaric nations of the alien world in which they found themselves. The Fire Wizards are the guardians of their race, and you are now their leader. Do you not have a great and noble responsibility? Who would be the champion of your people if not you?
As she listened, Alessa began to see the truth and wisdom of what she heard. Why indeed should the rule of the Flaem have rested in the hands of a misfit youth who had not even known he was a dragon? Why should the leadership of the Flaemish council belong to a barbarian war maiden, when it rightfully belonged to her? Once, before she had been deluded by the
Dragonlord and his companions, she had understood the truth. But now the power and authority to command even her own fate seemed hopelessly lost. She had no idea how to claim i he leadership of the council from Solveig, who was looked upon as a beloved defender of the kingdom, while the Fire Wizards were regarded as power-hungry traitors. Nor did she know how she could deal with the enemies of her people, enemies like the proud Thyatians and the evil Alphatians, and especially the dragons.
I can promise help in the form of secret knowledge and wise counsel, the voice continued in a low, soothing tone. More assistance, in the form of the magic and the forces needed to take war directly to the enemies of the Flaem, will be forthcoming later. But for now, you must remain patient. Byen Kalestraan was an impatient fool and refused to heed my advice. He acted too soon. You would not make the same mistakes, for you understand well the subtle games of politics rather than the brute strength of magic.
As the voice spoke to her, Alessa began to trust in her ability to do anything. Yet distant and unheard in the deepest part of her mind, the last shreds of her true will screamed in fury and frustration.
CHAPTER ONE
Thelvyn Fox-Eyes stood atop a rounded boulder amid towering pines on the steep mountainside, looking out across the dark, still expanse of forest that lay to the west. It was already nearly midmorning, although the sun was only now rising above the mountains behind him. It was cold for so late in the morning, so that he could still see the white mists of his breath when he stood with the sun at his back. But even the harsh cold of the northland winter had been of little consequence to him in the months since he had assumed his true form as a dragon. The bite of the icy air did not penetrate his thick armor.