"Who did, then? Takhisis?"
Mirror was surprised to hear her name, then realized that he shouldn"t be. He was not the only one to have recognized that voice in the storm.
"You might say that. The girl called Mina wielded the magical bolt that brought about his death. She acted in self-defense. Skie attacked her first, claiming that she had betrayed him."
"Of course she betrayed him," said the Blue. "When did she ever do anything else?"
"I am confused," said Mirror. "Are we speaking of Mina or Takhisis?"
"They are one and the same, to all intents and purposes. So what are you doing here, Silver, and why is the stench of Malys heavy about the place?"
"Malys took away Skie"s totem. Skie was mortally wounded, yet he still managed to defy her. He wounded her, I think, though probably not severely. He was too weak. She did this to him in retaliation."
"Good for him," growled the Blue. "I hope gangrene sets in and she rots. But you didn"t answer my first question, Silver. Why are you here?"
"I had questions," said Mirror.
"Did you receive answers?"
"I did," said Mirror.
"Were you surprised to hear these answers?"
"No, not really," Mirror admitted. "What is your name? I am called Mirror."
"Ah, the Guardian of the Citadel of Light. I am called Razor. I am"-the Blue paused and when he next spoke, his voice was heavy and tinged with grief-"I was the partner of Marshal Medan of Qualinesti. He is dead, and I am on my own now. You, being a Silver, might be interested to hear that Qualinesti has been destroyed," Razor added. "The Lake of Death, the elves call it. That is all that is left of the once-beautiful city."
Mirror was suspicious, wary. "I can"t believe this!"
"Believe it," said Razor grimly. "I saw the destruction with my own eyes. I was too late to save the Marshal, but I did see the great, green dragon Beryl meet her death." His tone held grim satisfaction.
"I would be interested to hear the account," said Mirror.
The Blue chuckled. "I imagine you would. The elves of Qualinesti were warned of her coming, and they were ready for her. They stood on their rooftops and fired thousands of arrows at her. Attached to each arrow was cord that someone had strengthened with magic. The elves thought it was their magic, naturally. It wasn"t. It was her magic."
"Takhisis?"
"Simply ridding herself of another rival and the elves at the same time. The thousands of strands of magical cord formed a net over Beryl, dragged her down from the skies. The elves planned to kill her as she lay helpless on the ground, but their plans went awry. The elves had worked with the dwarves, you see, to dig tunnels beneath the ground of Qualinesti. Many elves managed to escape through these tunnels, but, in the end, they proved to be Qualinesti"s undoing. When Beryl landed on the ground, her great weight caused the tunnels to collapse, forming a huge chasm. She sank deep into the ground. The waters of the White-Rage River left their banks and flowed into the chasm, flooding Qualinesti and turning it into a gigantic lake. A Lake of Death."
"Beryl dead," Mirror murmured. "Skie dead. The Qualineseti lands destroyed. One by one, Takhisis rids herself of her enemies."
"Your enemies, too, Silver," said Razor. "And mine. These overlords, as they call themselves, have slain many of our kind. You should rejoice in our Queen"s victory over them. Whatever you may think of her, she is the G.o.ddess of our world, and she fights for us."
"She fights for no one but herself," Mirror retorted. "As she has always done. This is all her fault. If Takhisis had not stolen away the world, these overlords would have never found us. Those who have died would be alive today: dragons, elves, humans, kender. The great dragons murdered them, but Takhisis herself is ultimately responsible for their deaths, for she brought us here."
"Stole the world . . ." Razor repeated. His claws scratched against the rock. He shifted his tail slowly back and forth, his wings stirred restlessly. "So that is what she did."
"According to Skie, yes. So he told me."
"And why would he tell you, Silver?" Razor asked, sneering.
"Because I tried to save his life."
"He a blue dragon, your most hated enemy! And you tried to save his life!" Razor scoffed. "I am not some hatchling to swallow this kender tale."
Mirror couldn"t see the Blue, but he could guess what he looked like. A veteran warrior, his blue scales would be shining clean, perhaps with a few scars of his prowess on his chest and head.
"My reasons for saving him were cold-blooded enough to satisfy even you," Mirror returned. "I came to Skie seeking answers to my questions. I could not let him die and take those answers to the grave with him. I used him. I admit it. I am not proud of myself, but at least, because of my aid, he managed to live long enough to strike a blow against Malys. For that, he thanked me."
The Blue was silent. Mirror could not tell what Razor was thinking. His claws sc.r.a.ped the rock, his wings brushed the blood-tainted air of the lair, his tail swished back and forth. Mirror had spells ready, should Razor decide to fight. The contest would not be equal-a seasoned, veteran Blue against a blind Silver. But at least, like Skie, Mirror would leave his mark upon his enemy.
"Takhisis stole the world." Razor spoke in thoughtful tones. She brought us here. She is, as you say, responsible. Yet, she is our G.o.ddess as of old, and she fights to avenge us against our enemies."
"Her enemies," said Mirror coldly. "Else she would not bother."
"Tell me, Silver," Razor challenged, "what did you feel when you first heard her voice. Did you feel a stirring in your heart, in your soul? Did you feel nothing of this?"
"I felt it," Mirror admitted. "When I first heard the voice in the storm, I knew it to be the voice of a G.o.d, and I thrilled to hear it. The child whose father beats him will yet cling to that parent, not because he is a good or wise parent, but because he is the only parent the child knows. But then I began to ask questions, and my questions led me here."
"Questions," Razor said dismissively. "A good soldier never questions. He obeys."
"Then why haven"t you joined her armies?" Mirror demanded. "Why are you here in Skie"s lair, if not to ask questions of him?"
Razor had no response. Was he brooding, thinking things over or was he angry, planning to attack? Mirror couldn"t tell, and he was suddenly tired of this conversation, tired and hungry. At the thought of food, his stomach rumbled.
"If we are going to battle," Mirror said, "I ask that we do it after I have eaten. I am famished, and unless I am mistaken, I smell fresh goat meat in the lair."
"I am not going to fight you," said Razor impatiently. "What honor is there in fighting a blind foe? The goat you seek is over to your left, about two talon-lengths away. My mate"s skull is in one of those totems. Perhaps, if we had not been brought to this place, she would be alive today. Still," the Blue added moodily, slashing his tail, "Takhisis is is my G.o.ddess." my G.o.ddess."
Mirror had no help to offer the Blue. Mirror had solved his own crisis of faith. His had been relatively easy, for none of his kind had ever worshiped Takhisis. Their love and their loyalty belonged to Paladine, G.o.d of Light.
Was Paladine out there somewhere searching for his lost children? After the storm, the metallic dragons left to find the G.o.ds, or so Skie had said. They must have failed, for Takhisis remained unrivaled. Yet, Mirror believed, Paladine still exists. Somewhere the G.o.d of Light is looking for us. Takhisis shrouds us in darkness, hides us from his sight. Like castaways lost at sea, we must find a way to signal those who search the vast ocean that is the universe.
Mirror settled down to devour the goat. He did not offer to share. The Blue would be well fed, for he could see his prey. When Mirror walked the land in human form, he carried a begging bowl, lived off sc.r.a.ps. This was the first fresh meat he"d eaten in a long time and he meant to enjoy it. He had some notion now of what he could do, if he could only find the means to do it. First, though, he had to rid himself of this Blue, who appeared to think he had found a friend.
Blues are social dragons, and Razor was in no hurry to leave. He settled down to chat. He had seemed initially a dragon of few words, but now they poured out of him, as though he was relieved to be able to tell someone what was in his heart. He described the death of his mate, he spoke with sorrow and pride of Marshal Medan, he talked about a Dark Knight dragonrider named Gerard. Mirror listened with half his brain, the other half toying with an idea.
Fortunately, eating saved him from the necessity of replying beyond a grunt or two. By the time Mirror"s hunger was a.s.suaged, Razor had once more fallen silent. Mirror heard the dragon stir and hoped that finally the Blue was ready to leave.
Mirror was mistaken. Razor was merely shifting his bulk to obtain a more comfortable position.
If I can"t get rid of him, Mirror decided dourly, I"ll make use of him.
"What do you know of the dragon-skull totems?" Mirror asked cautiously.
"Enough." Razor growled. "As I said, my mate"s skull adorns one of them. Why do you ask?"
"Skie said something about the totems. He said"-Mirror had to do some fancy mental shuffling to keep from revealing all Skie had said about the totems and the missing metallic dragons- "something about Takhisis having taken them over, subverted to her own use." What does that mean? It"s all very vague," Razor stated.
"Sorry, but he didn"t say anything more. He sounded half crazy when he said it. He may have been raving."
"From what I have heard, one person alone knows the mind of Takhisis, and that is the girl Mina, the leader of the One G.o.d"s armies. I have spoken to many dragons who have joined her. They say that this Mina is beloved of Takhisis and that she carries with her the G.o.ddess"s blessing. If anyone knows the mystery of the totems, it would be Mina. Not that this means much to you, Silver."
"On the contrary," Mirror said thoughtfully, "it might mean more than you imagine. I knew Mina as a child."
Razor snorted, skeptical.
"I am Guardian of the Citadel, remember?" Mirror said. "She was a foundling of the Citadel. I knew her."
"Perhaps you did, but she would consider you her enemy now."
"So one would think," Mirror agreed. "But she came upon me only a few months ago. I was in human shape, blind, weak, and alone. She knew me then and spared my life. Perhaps she remembered our experiences together when she was a child. She was always asking questions-"
"She spared you out of sentimental weakness." Razor snorted. "Humans, even the best of them, all have this failing."
Mirror said nothing, carefully hid his smile. Here was a blue dragon who could grieve for his dead rider and still chide a human for being sentimentally attached to people from her youth.
"Still, in this instance, the failing could prove useful to us," Razor continued. He gave a refreshing shake, from his head to the tip of his tail, and flexed his wings. "Very well. We will confront this Mina, find out what is going on."
"Did you say "we"?" Mirror asked, astounded. He truly thought he hadn"t heard correctly, although the words "we" and "I" in the language of dragons are very distinct and easily distinguished.
"I said"-Razor lifted his voice, as though Mirror were deaf, as well as blind-"that we will go together to confront this Mina and demand to know our Queen"s plans-"
"Impossible," said Mirror shortly. Whatever he himself planned, it did not involve partnering with a Blue. "You see my handicap."
"I see it," said Razor. "A grievous injury, yet it does not seem to have stopped you from doing what you needed to do. You came here, didn"t you?"
Mirror couldn"t very well deny that. "I travel on foot, slowly. I am forced to beg for food and shelter-"
"We don"t have time for such nonsense. Begging! Of humans!" Razor shook his head so that his scales rattled. "I would think you would have much rather died of starvation. You must ride with me. Time is short. Momentous events are happening in the world. We don"t have time to waste trudging along at a human"s pace."
Mirror didn"t know what to say. The idea of a blind silver dragon riding on the back of a Blue was so utterly ludicrous as to make him sorely tempted to laugh out loud.
"If you do not come with me," Razor added, seeing that Mirror was apparently having trouble making up his mind, "I will be forced to slay you. You speak very glibly about certain information Skie gave you, yet you are vague and evasive when it comes to the rest. I think Skie told you more than you are willing to admit to me. Therefore you will either come with me where I can keep an eye on you, or I will see to it that the information dies with you."
Mirror had never more bitterly regretted his blindness than at this moment. He supposed that the n.o.ble thing to do would be to defy the Blue and die in a brief and brutal battle. Such a death would be honorable, but not very sensible. Mirror was, so far as he knew, one of two beings on Krynn who were aware of the departure of his fellow gold and silver dragons, who had flown off on the wings of magic to find the G.o.ds, only to be trapped and imprisoned by the One G.o.d. Mina was the other being who knew this, and although Mirror did not think that she would tell him anything, he would never know for certain until he had spoken to her.
"You leave me little choice," said Mirror.
"Such was my intent," Razor replied, not smug, merely matter-of-fact.
Mirror altered his form, abandoning his strong, powerful dragon body for the weak, fragile body of a human. He took on the aspect of a young man with silver hair, wearing the white robes of a mystic of the Citadel. He wore a black cloth around his hideously injured eyes.
Moving slowly on his human feet, he groped about with his human hands. His shuffling footsteps stumbled over every rock in the lair. He slipped in Skie"s blood and fell to his knees, cutting the weak flesh. Mirror was thankful for one blessing-he did not have to see the look of pity on Razor"s face.
The Blue was a soldier, and he made no gibes at Mirror"s expense. Razor even guided Mirror"s steps with a steadying talon, a.s.sisted him to crawl upon the Blue"s broad back.
The stench of death was strong in the lair where lay Skie"s maltreated corpse. Both Blue and Silver were glad to leave. Perched on the ledge of the cavern, Razor drew in a breath of fresh air, spread his wings and took to the clouds. Mirror held on tightly to the Blue"s mane, pressed his legs into Razor"s flanks.
"Hold on," Razor warned. He soared high into the air, wheeled about in a huge arc. Mirror guessed what Razor planned and held on tightly, as he"d been ordered.
Mirror felt Razor"s lungs expand, felt the expulsion of breath. He smelt the brimstone and heard the sizzle and crackle of lightning. A blast and the sound of rock splitting and shattering, then the sound of tons of rock sliding down the cliff face, rumbling and roaring amidst the thunder of the lightning bolt. Razor unleashed another blast, and this time it sounded to Mirror as if the entire mountain was falling into rubble.
"Thus pa.s.ses Kh.e.l.lendros, known as Skie," said Razor. "He was a courageous warrior and loyal to his rider, as his rider was loyal to him. Let this might be said of all of us when it comes our time to depart this world."
His duty done to the dead, Razor dipped his wings in a final salute, then wheeled and headed off in a different direction.
Mirror judged by the warmth of the sun on the back of his neck that they were flying east. He held fast to Razor"s mane, feeling the rush of wind strong against his face. He envisioned the trees, red and gold with the coming of autumn, like jewels set against the green velvet cloth of the gra.s.slands. He saw in his mind the purple-gray mountains, capped by the first snows of the seasons. Far below, the blue lakes and snaking rivers with the golden blot of a village, bringing in the autumn wheat, or the gray dot of a manor house with all its fields around it. and gold with the coming of autumn, like jewels set against the green velvet cloth of the gra.s.slands. He saw in his mind the purple-gray mountains, capped by the first snows of the seasons. Far below, the blue lakes and snaking rivers with the golden blot of a village, bringing in the autumn wheat, or the gray dot of a manor house with all its fields around it.
"Why do you weep, Silver?" Razor asked.
Mirror had no answer, and Razor, after a moment"s thought, did not repeat the question.
6.
The Stone Fortress of the Mind.
The Wilder elf known as the Lioness watched her husband with growing concern. Two weeks had pa.s.sed since they had heard the terrible news of the Queen Mother"s death and the destruction of the elven capital of Qualinost. Since that time, Gilthas, the Qualinesti"s young king, had barely spoken a word to anyone - not to her, not to Planchet, not to the members of their escort. He slept by himself, covering himself in his blanket and rolling away from her when she tried to offer him the comfort of her presence. He ate by himself, what small amount he ate. His flesh seemed to melt from his bones, and he"d not had that much to spare. He rode by himself, silent, brooding.
His face was pale, set in grim, tight lines. He did not mourn. He had not wept since the night they"d first heard the dreadful tidings. When he spoke, it was only to ask a single question: how much farther until they reached the meeting place?
The Lioness feared that Gilthas might be slipping back into old sickness that had plagued him during those early years of his enforced rulership of the Qualinesti people. King by t.i.tle and prisoner by circ.u.mstance, he had fallen into a deep depression that left him lethargic and uncaring. He had often spent days sleeping in his bed, preferring the terrors of the dream world to those of reality. He had come out of it, fighting his way back from the dark waters in which he"d nearly drowned. He"d been a good king, using his power to aid the rebels, led by his wife, who fought the tyranny of the Dark Knights. All that he had gained seemed to have been lost, however. Lost with the news of his beloved mother"s death and the destruction of the elven capital.
Planchet feared the same. His Majesty"s bodyguard and valet-de-chamber, Planchet had been responsible, along with the Lioness, in luring Gilthas away from his nightmare world back to those who loved and needed him.
"He blames himself," said the Lioness, riding alongside Planchet, both gazing with concern on the lonely figure, who rode alone amidst his bodyguards, his eyes fixed unseeing on the road ahead. "He blames himself for leaving his mother there to die. He blames himself for the plan that ended up destroying the city and costing so many hundreds of lives. He cannot see that because of his plan Beryl is dead."
"But at a terrible cost," said Planchet. "He knows that his people can never return to Qualinost. Beryl may be dead, but her armies are not destroyed. True, many were lost, but according to the reports, those who remain continue to burn and ravage our beautiful land."
"What is burned can be restored. What is destroyed can be rebuilt. The Silvanesti went back to their homes to fight the dream," said the Lioness. "They took back their homeland. We can do the same."
"I"m not so sure," Planchet returned, his eyes fixed on his king. "The Silvanesti fought the dream, but look where it led them-to even greater fear of the outside world and an attempt to isolate themselves inside the shield. That proved disastrous."
"The Qualinesti have more sense," insisted the Lioness.
Planchet shook his head. Not wanting to argue with her, he let the subject drop. They rode several miles in silence, then Planchet said quietly, "You know what is truly wrong with Gilthas, don"t you?"
The Lioness said nothing for long moments, then replied softly, "I think I do, yes."
"He blames himself for not being among the dead," said Planchet.
Her eyes filling with tears, the Lioness nodded.