"How far must you go before you escape his influence?"
"We can never really escape him," the crystal dragon explained. "There is no place in this world far enough distant that his will cannot reach us once he comes. But if we are not here, he will not know we are still alive. If he sees us fighting in your ranks, he will turn us against you. That is why we must not be here."
Thelvyn nodded. "I understand. Gather your people and lead them into the east. We will find you when the fighting is done."
"You must be very careful," the gemstone dragon said, becoming fearful again. "The Overlord has changed the gemstone dragons in incredible ways so that we may better serve him. He can share his strength with us, making us stronger and our magic far more powerful."
"Yes, I am aware of that," Thelvyn told him.
"But you have not yet seen the worst. When the Overlord comes, he can command the Masters who remain under his will to transform into terrible creatures of fire and destruction. When this happens, you will not be able to fight them at all. Their touch will bring pain and death. Their breath will rend the sky and crack the earth. However, they will not be able to fly any faster than before, so at least you will be able to flee from them."
Thelvyn stared at the ground while he listened to those words. He looked up after a long moment. "Is there anything else I should know?"
"I can say nothing more," the crystal dragon said. "If the time should come that you must fight the Overlord himself, I am not sure what he will do. I can tell you this, however. What you see is only his magic, layer upon layer of powerful magic. To slay him, you must destroy the ancient spells he has woven about himself. I know not what you will discover hidden deep beneath the magic. No one has ever seen his true form."
"I see." Thelvyn straightened and sat upright. "I do not know whether anything you have said will help me defeat the Overlord, but at least I have a better understanding of what I face. I thank you for that. Now gather your people and go."
The three gemstone dragons bowed their heads in a gesture of respect, then turned and hurried away. Thelvyn continued to sit for a long moment, staring out across the miles of wilderness toward the distant armies of the invaders. The dragons remained silent, watching him closely. They could only wonder if he saw more hope in their situation than they did.
"Ah, well," he sighed at last. "Just when we seemed to be getting ahead, we find out just how far behind we really are."
"If you can believe the words of the gemstone dragons," Jherdar muttered darkly.
"I'm sure they were telling the truth," Thelvyn said, glancing over his shoulder at his companions. "I can't really say that things are worse than I hoped. I was expecting the worst, and this was confirmation of my fears."
He rose and walked slowly a short distance into the deep shadows of the woods. The others followed him, gathering around him when he sat down beneath a large tree. They were frightened to see him look so troubled. He still appeared somewhat weary from his trials in the world of the Overlord, but now he looked sad as well. He glanced up at them.
"There's no point in making any small gestures of defiance," he said. "Jherdar, gather the dragons as quickly as you can."
The red dragon nodded grimly. "I will have the dragons ready for your orders as quickly as I can."
"I have only one last command to give the dragons," Thelvyn said. "I realize now that this is my appointed time. I must face the task that I alone was created to accomplish, or else fail in the attempt. The dragons cannot help me. I can no longer in good conscience ask them to risk themselves in battles that will not matter in the end. I dismiss the dragons from my service, and I beg you to lead them to safety. Do whatever you must to take them to a safe place, even if you must open gates of your own and flee this world."
"You speak as if the battle were already lost," Marthaen declared.
Thelvyn shook his head firmly. "I do not believe that, but I must admit the possibility and be prepared. It is my duty to protect the dragons from their enemies. If I can defeat the Overlord, then the dragons will be safe. If I cannot, then they can't hope to defeat him by themselves. There comes a time when it is better to save what we can than risk losing everything."
The others protested, but Thelvyn refused to argue the matter and he would not listen to their pleas. As much as they hated to admit it, there was some truth in Thelvyn's contention that he alone must fight the battle that would decide the outcome of the entire war. At last Jherdar withdrew reluctantly, still grumbling his dissatisfaction even as he began to gather the dragons to lead eastward. In spite of Thelvyn's assurances, they couldn't help but feel that his dismissal of the dragons was meant that the worst was now inevitable.
Thelvyn realized that some dragons would refuse to leave until the final battle was at hand. He needed Marthaen for a while yet, and he knew neither Kharendaen nor Sir George would leave him until there was no choice. Indeed, he wondered how he could possibly convince Kharendaen to leave short of ordering Marthaen to have the dragons carry her to safety. So many hopes seemed to be coming to an end.
Later that afternoon, the dragons who had remained behind with Thelvyn became aware that something was happening to the west. One by one, they paused and lifted their heads to stare into the distance, sensing something. Even as they watched, great banks of clouds began to gather quickly in the west, spreading quickly across the sky in all directions. Within moments a vast, towering storm loomed dark and threatening above the western wilderness. Even as they watched, the clouds continued to expand, as if reaching out for them.
"What is it?" Sir George asked. The first breath of a cold, damp wind suddenly rushed over them, stirring the branches of the trees.
"The Overlord has come," Thelvyn said. "With things going badly for his army, it was inevitable."
"Does he always wrap himself in storms?" Marthaen asked.
"I'm not sure what purpose the storm serves," he replied as he watched the first sheets of lightning ripple across the dark, seething mass of clouds. "Perhaps he needs to hide himself from light and warmth. Perhaps he's lived in darkness so long that he fears to leave it."
Thelvyn had to make some important decisions in a hurry. Now that the Overlord had entered their world, the time was at hand for him to complete the task that he had been created for. He had to find some way to destroy the Overlord, and failure was not an option. The price of defeat was too great. Whatever choice he made had to be the right choice, because
he would not have a second chance.
He couldn't escape the feeling that the Great One must have provided him with some means to fight such a powerful enemy. And yet he found himself reluctant to make the final commitment to the fulfillment of his destiny because he knew the price that he would have to pay. There was an inescapable sacrifice to be made in attaining the full powers that had been ordained for the Dragonking, a sacrifice he must pay even in victory. He realized now that he had been trying to work his way around his fate, hoping that cleverness or luck would show him a way to defeat his enemies. Now he knew that he was only delaying the inevitable.
What else was there for him? He had reached the end of his hope, and he had found no other answer. He would not sacrifice the dragons in an attempt to escape his own duty, knowing that they would fail and he would still be left with the same choice. If his concern had been only for himself, for his danger of losing his new life as a dragon, he might have been filled with the same fear and regret, but he would not be hesitating. His deepest regret, he realized, was that Kharendaen would feel he had betrayed her.
As the dragons watched the gathering clouds, their sharp eyes eventually caught sight of the distant forms of gemstone dragons approaching swiftly. There were eight alien dragons in all, more than a match for the small group that remained with the Dragonking. And as the long moments passed, they were alarmed to see that the Masters were heading directly toward them.