“Then what do you advise, Galdar?” Mina asked, her voice cold. “Since you are so certain we cannot win.”
“I advise we get the hell out of here,” Galdar said bluntly, and her Knights loudly echoed his opinion. “If we leave now, we can evacuate the city, escape into the mountains. This place is honeycombed with tunnels. The Lords of Doom have protected us before, they’ll protect us again. We can retreat back to Jelek or Neraka.”
“Retreat?” Mina glared at him, tried to wrench her arm from his grasp. “You are a traitor to even speak those words!”
He held onto her with grim determination. “Let the Solamnics have Sanction, Mina. We took it away from them once. We can take it away from them again. We still own Solamnia. Solanthus is ours, as is Palanthas.”
“No, we don’t,” Mina said, struggling to free herself. “I ordered most of our forces to march here, to come to Sanction to be witness to the glory of the One God.”
Galdar opened his mouth, snapped it shut.
“I did not think there would be dragons!” Mina cried out.
He saw the image of himself in her eyes growing smaller and smaller. He loosed his hold on her.
“We will not retreat,” she stated.
“Mina—”
“Listen to me, every one of you.” She gathered them together with a glance, all the tiny figures frozen in the amber eyes. “We must hold this city at all costs. When the ceremony is complete and the One God enters this world, no force on Krynn will be able to stand against her. She will destroy them all.”
The officers stared at her, not moving. Some flinched and cast glances skyward. Galdar felt a twinge of fear twist his gut—the dragonfear, distant yet, but fast approaching.
“Well, what do wait for?” Mina demanded. “Return to your posts.” No one moved. No one cheered. No one spoke her name.
“You have your orders!” Mina shouted, her voice ragged. “Galdar, come with me.” She turned to leave. Her Knights did not move. They blocked her path with their bodies. She bore no weapon. She had not thought to bring one.
“Galdar,” said Mina. “Kill any man who tries to stop me.” Galdar laid his hand on the hilt of his sword.
One by one, the Knights stepped aside, cleared a path.
Mina walked among them, her face cold as death.
“Where are you going?” Galdar demanded, following after her.
“To the temple. We have much to do and little time to do it.”
“Mina,” he said, his voice low and urgent in her ear, “you can’t leave them to face this alone. For love of you, they will find the courage to stand and fight even golden dragons, but if you are not here—”
Mina halted.
“They do not fight for love of me!” Her voice trembled. “They fight for the One God!” She turned around to face her Knights. “Hear my words. You fight this battle for the One God. You must hold this city in the name of the One God. Any man who flees before the enemy will know the wrath of the One God.”
Her Knights lowered their heads, turned away. They did not march proudly back to their posts, as they might once have done. They slunk back sullenly.
“What is the matter with them?” Mina asked, dismayed, confused.
“Once they followed you for love, Mina. Now they obey you as the whipped dog obeys—in fear of the lash,” said Galdar. “Is this what you want?”
Mina bit her lip, seemed to waver in her decision, and Galdar hoped that she might refuse to heed the voice. That she would do what she knew to be honorable, knew to be right. She would remain loyal to her men, who had remained loyal to her through so much.
Mina’s jaw set. The amber eyes hardened. “Let the curs run. I don’t need them. I have the One God. I am going to the temple to prepare for the ceremony. Are you coming?” she demanded of Galdar. “Or are you going to run away, too?”
He looked into the amber eyes and could no longer see himself. He could no longer see anyone. Her eyes were empty.
She did not wait for his answer. She stalked off. She did not look to see if he was following. She didn’t care, one way or the other.
Galdar hesitated. Looking back at the West Gate, he saw the Knights gathered in knots, talking in low voices. He doubted very much if they were determining a strategy for battle. A babble of screams and cries rose from the streets as word spread that hundreds of golden and silver dragons were bearing down on Sanction. No one was acting to quell the terror. Each man thought only of himself now, and he had only one thought in his mind—to survive. Soon there would be rioting, as men and women devolved into wild beasts, bit and clawed and fought to save their own hides. In their miserable panic, they might well destroy themselves before the armies of their enemies ever arrived.
If I stay here on the walls, I might rally a few, Galdar thought. I might find some who would brave the horror and fight alongside me. I would die well. I would die with honor. He watched Mina walking away, walking alone, except for that shadowy five-headed figure that hovered over her, surrounded her, cut her off from everyone who had ever loved her or admired her or cared about her.
“You great bitch!” Galdar muttered. “You won’t get rid of me that easily.” Gripping his sword, he hastened after Mina.
Mina was wrong when she told Galdar that he was the only one who had ever cared for her. Another cared, cared deeply. Silvanoshei hurried after her, shoving and pushing his way through the crowds that now milled about in panic in the streets, trying to keep her in sight. He had stayed in Sanction to hear some word of Mina. Silvanoshei’s joy when he heard she was alive was heartfelt, even as her return plunged him once more into danger. People suddenly remembered having seen an elf walking about Sanction.
He was forced to go into hiding. A kender obligingly introduced Silvanoshei to the system of tunnels that criss-crossed beneath Sanction. Elves abhor living beneath the ground, and Silvanoshei could remain in the tunnels for only short periods of time before he was driven to the surface by a desperate need for air. He stole food to keep himself alive, stole a cloak with a hood and a scarf to wrap around his face, hide his elven features.
He lurked about the ruins of the totem, hoping to find a chance to talk to Mina, but he never saw her there. He grew fearful, wondered if she’d left the city or if she had fallen ill. Then he overheard a chance bit of gossip to the effect that she had moved out of the Temple of the Heart and had taken up residence in another temple, the ruined Temple of Duerghast that stood on the outskirts of Sanction.
Built to honor some false god dreamed up by a demented cult, the temple was notorious for having an arena where human sacrifices were sent to die for the entertainment of a cheering crowd. During the War of the Lance, Lord Ariakas had appropriated the temple, using its dungeons to torture and torment his prisoners.
The temple had an evil reputation, and there had been talk in recent days, during the reign of Hogan Bight, of razing it. Tremors had caused gigantic cracks to open in the walls, weakening the structure to the point where no one felt safe even going near it. The citizens of Sanction had decided to let the Lords of Doom complete the destruction.
Then came the news that Mina was planning to rebuild the temple, transform it into a place of worship of the One God.
The Temple of Duerghast lay on the other side of the moat of lava that surrounded Sanction. The temple could not be reached overland, not without bridging the moat. Therefore, Silvanoshei reasoned, Mina would be forced to enter the temple via one of the tunnels. He traipsed about the tunnel system, losing himself more than once, and at last found what he was searching for—a tunnel that ran beneath the curtain wall on the southern side of the city. Silvanoshei had been planning to explore this tunnel when the alarm was raised. He saw the dragonrider fly overhead and land outside the West Gate. Guessing that Mina would come to take charge of the situation, Silvanoshei concealed himself in the crowds of people who were eager to see Mina. He pressed as close as he dared, hoping against hope just to catch a glimpse of her.