Septern took a few steps into the Melde Hall, heading right around its periphery, taking in the statues of dragons and portrayals of battles, laid out in mosaic, that punctuated the enormous stone openings.
The arches themselves were wide and tall, each better than thirty-five feet wide by twenty high. The surrounds were carved with leaf and plant motifs, great creepers denoting growth, winding their way to twine, in flower, at each apex. Septern moved to the nearest arch. Looking within, totality and oblivion clashed in his mind. He’d felt the sensation before and it set his heart racing.
‘You are intrigued,’ said Sha-Kaan.
‘What is this place?’ asked Septern. ‘The power is almost palpable. ’
‘It is our version of your gateway. You are looking at a melde-corridor. Choose one and enter. I will be behind you.’
‘If it’s all the same, you can go first. Call it a fear of the unknown.’ Septern smiled thinly.
‘Or a mistrust of the Kaan,’ said the dragon. ‘Very well.’ Sha-Kaan strode across the Melde Hall, his wings unfurled to balance him, his feet leaving deep imprints in the soft ground, which vibrated sharply with every fall. Septern followed but the Kaan, who showed a surprising turn of speed despite the clumsy-looking half-waddle of his walk, disappeared into a corridor just left of centre as the Balaian mage looked on, shouting: ‘Hurry, human, the next phase of the Kaan is upon us.’
To the right of the Melde Hall, another dragon appeared, standing tall before relaxing to the ground. Vestare in attendance, the movement of displaced air blowing loose grass on the ground and the hair on Septern’s head. A third dragon shifted into the space directly behind Septern, ruffling his cloak and, with sudden fear of being crushed beneath one of the massive gold creatures, the mage began to run hard.
As he neared the arch Sha-Kaan had chosen, Septern heard more dragons arrive in the Hall, their audible calls combining gently to fill the space with a soft animalian music, at once welcoming and frightening. A last look revealed a Hall that seemed full of raw power, twisting necks and expectancy. Dragon after dragon shifted into the hall, the press of reptilian majesty taking his breath. He chased Sha-Kaan into the rip.
So unlike his own magically-assisted dimensional travel with its attendant pain and uncontrollable forward motion, the short - or so it seemed - journey down the corridor was akin to walking in dense, cloying fog.
Behind him, the Hall and all its sound and light had gone. All around him was the crush of what had to be interdimensional space. He put out his hands but could feel nothing. Below his feet, the outline of a path blew in the surreal light, and enclosing his body, a gentle pressure that sucked in his lungs and constricted his chest. But there was no pain.
And before he had time to truly register his speed, he stepped out into another great domed hall, this time with tall, iron-bound wooden double doors set in the opposite wall. Sha-Kaan faced him, standing in front of one of dozens of landscape tapestries that hung on the walls. Light from torches, lanterns, ornate carved candle pillars and braziers filled the room with stark moving shadows. In a dozen places around one end of the chamber, fires burned high in grates, producing a sweltering heat. And from beyond the doors, he could hear noises of dragging and shuffling and the fall of multiple footsteps.
Feelings of calm and humour filled Septern’s mind. He looked up at Sha-Kaan.
‘You’re going to tell me this is Balaia, right?’ he asked.
‘No,’ said Sha-Kaan. ‘This is a construct in interdimensional space. One day, I’ll explain to you how it is done but suffice to say it is akin to a pier built into the sea, with its roots anchored firmly on land.’
Septern looked behind him. There was no evidence to tell him where he had entered the hall. The wall behind him was blank.
‘You cannot find your way back that way,’ said Sha-Kaan. ‘You need the Kaan signature to reach the Melde Hall.’
Septern nodded. ‘I see. And all those arches back there, they all come to places like this?’
‘Yes. Eighteen to serve the Kaan with a melde-dimension. It is the maximum number we can safely shield from our enemies when all are linked to our melde.’
‘All right, I’ll accept that,’ said Septern, clutching at comprehension. ‘How far are we from Balaia? If distance means anything here.’
‘It does not and that statement tells me a great deal about your understanding. As an answer, let me say that there is no need for a corridor such as you have just travelled. To enter your domain in your dimension merely requires you to identify your preferred point of entry. Using your signature, I can ensure that happens and beyond that door, we will nominate an entry point in the construct’s outer chambers.’
‘That’s it?’
‘Yes.’
Septern found it all so plausible. But there had to be a catch. Something that Sha-Kaan would keep hidden. As the true cost of making a pact with the demon dimension was hidden from the mages who requested it.
‘And then you have all you need?’
‘By no means,’ said Sha-Kaan. ‘Protection of your dimension has a price, but it is small.’
‘Let’s hear it.’
‘For you and the other mages of the Dragonene calling, all we demand is that you be available and respond whenever we call you. The weak and the damaged will use these chambers to recover their strength but the corridor must be open and that means the Dragonene must be in attendance.’
‘I’ll be a prisoner in my own house,’ said Septern. ‘Waiting on your call. That is unacceptable. No deal.’
Sha-Kaan pulled his head back sharply.
‘You misunderstand,’ he said. ‘Now I have your signature, if you agree to be my Dragonene, I can touch your mind wherever you are and open the portal, if I have to, anywhere in Balaia. It is you who is the key to the link but the most effective corridor will always be at the root of your power, which I take to be your house.’
Septern considered Sha-Kaan’s words, realising he actually had very little choice, having already given Sha-Kaan not only the signature of the Balaian dimension, but his own personal mark too.
‘Why does being here help you recover? Presumably it’s better than resting in your Broodlands.’
‘Yes,’ said Sha-Kaan. ‘I would describe it like this. At either end of the chambers is a dimension of coalesced energy. Within each dimension, the energy is still random in its direction. But the open corridor forces a flow of energy in one direction only. It is this flow in which we bask that so speeds our healing process. We call them Klenes.’
Septern caught his breath. The dragon was talking about harnessing dimensional flow. It was a technique he had only dreamed about understanding. There was one thing, though.
‘But surely these flows are visible to any dragon blind-flying in interdimensional space? Surely they could follow the flows to your Melde Hall or to Balaia?’
‘The chances are so small, I can’t calculate them,’ said Sha-Kaan. ‘Not only do we shield the corridors as we do your dimension, but flying in interdimensional space is like walking in impenetrable fog for you. Sanctuary could be within arms’ reach and you would walk by none the wiser.’
‘Unless you walked right into it.’ Septern scratched his head. ‘See my point?’
‘Yes. But the difference is that an effectively-shielded signature is, to all intents and purposes, not there at all. A dragon without the signature would fly through the same point in interdimensional space without touching what he was seeking.’ Sha-Kaan snaked his neck down, giving him eye-to-eye contact with Septern. ‘Now,’ he said. ‘Will you agree to be my Dragonene?’
Septern nodded. ‘It would be an honour. One more question, though. You talked about it being important to protect the fabric of melde-dimensions. What did you mean?’