Dragondoom

NOTES

The source of this tale is a tattered, partially burned copy of Commentaries on the Lays of Bard Estor, an incredibly fortunate find dating from the time before The Separation. Compiled by an anonymous scholar, the titles of each of Estor’s lays is recorded, then augmented with historical accounts of the events surrounding the legends depicted in the bard’s work. Unfortunately, the music itself is missing, as well as the exact lyrics, though internal references at times quote specific passages therein. It is clear that Estor gained fame by singing of Elgo and Elyn and Thork, and of Sleeth and Black Kalgalath.

There are many instances in this tale where, in the press of the moment, the Dwarves, Humans, and others spoke in their own native tongues; yet, to avoid the awkwardness of burdensome translations, where necessary I have rendered their words in Pellarion, the Common Tongue of Mithgar. However, some words do not lend themselves to translation, and these I’ve left unchanged; yet other words may look to be in error, but are indeed correct-e.g., DelfLord is but a single word though a capital L nestles among its letters. Also note that waggon, traveller, and several other similar words are written in the Pendwyrian form of Pellarion and are not misspelled.

From my study of The Commentaries, the archaic tongue of the Utruni is similar in construction to archaic Pellarion, but with an Anglo smack to it. I have attempted to render this language into one that imparts the flavor without ruining its taste to the tongue.

In the main, this tale is about Elyn of Jord. Yet her story is so tightly entwined with those of the Dragons, Wizards, Dwarves, and Men, that to properly tell it, I deliberately moved back and forth in time: Chapters labeled [The Present] indicate the story of Elyn’s and Thork’s Quest for the Kammerling, as well as its aftermath; chapters labeled [This Year] indicate events occurring in the same year as the Quest, typically weeks or months previous, although in some cases the events occur at the same time as the Quest; the time labels on the other chapters are likewise referenced to the Quest.

In addition, because the Commentaries on the Lays of Bard Estor had been partially burned, when originally writing Dragondoom I made assumptions about the Sundering which have since proved erroneous: 1) I assumed that Mages came from Adonar when in fact they come from the Mageworld of Vadaria; 2) I assumed that the Draega had been stranded on Mithgar because of the Sundering, but have since discovered that to be in error as well; and, 3) I found the full of the Kammerling Rede (see Silver Wolf, Black Falcon), and learned of a flaw in this tale concerning the final war. In this revised version of Dragondoom I have corrected these faults, and I apologize to my readers for the previous inaccuracies. I shall take greater pains in the future to avoid such mistakes where possible. Yet because my primary sources are so meager, I cannot but help in places in this tale (as in all others) filling in the gaps with assumptions; in the main, however, the tale is true to its root material.

Finally, there are various historical events referred to in this story. For those interested in more detail, I refer you to the works listed in the front of this book.

“Tell me, my son, what is the color of the Dragon?” “Crimson, Master, ever crimson, no matter what sees the eye.”