Dragonmage of Mystara

CHAPTER NINETEEN

The dragons lifted over the final ridge and descended into the deep, narrow valley below the peak of Dragonwatch Keep just as the sun was sinking behind the mountains of the End-line Range to the west. The towering bulk of the citadel stood on a ledge high on the side of the peak, nearly level with the dragons when they first came into the valley, although they were careful to keep their distance. For most dragons, the citadel was a place of evil legend, the place where the Dragonlord had slept for more than thirty centuries waiting for his return to the world. They knew now that history had proven very different from the legends, but the tales of death and fear they had heard since the time of their hatching remained to haunt their imaginations.

But for Thelvyn, this was almost like coming home. His life seemed almost to have begun in this place, on the day when he first put on the armor of the Dragonlord. This was where he first began to learn of the prophecies that surrounded him and the duty he was required to fulfill. It was also the place where he had first met Kharendaen. They were events that now

seemed like a very long time ago, a part of a life he would soon be leaving behind.

Kharendaen led the way, since she was the only member of their party who had been to this place before. Of course, both Thelvyn and Sir George had been here once as well, but they had approached by the trails from the south, while only Kharendaen knew the way on the wing. She selected the place where they would wait, descending into the evening shadows deep within the valley, gliding low over the towering trees until she found a meadow beside a swift mountain stream. When Thelvyn landed beside her, he glanced back over his shoulder to see that there was a clear view of the Citadel. Now he knew why she had chosen this place.

Marthaen circled around to land closer to the woods, while Jherdar came down near the edge of the stream. Sir George quickly dropped down from the saddle worn by the red dragon. The old knight immediately turned to stare up at the Citadel of the Ancients, over a mile distant.

"I never thought I'd be coming back to this place," he said. "At least not so soon. Perrantin will burst with jealousy when he learns that he missed this trip. My word, it seems like only yesterday."

Thelvyn glanced at the old knight, smiling fondly. Apparently they had very different views regarding the passage of time in the last few years. His life had changed tremendously in those six years. Sir George was still very much his old self, although somewhat wealthier for his troubles and with his left hand restored, a gift from the Great One. He had had the adventure of his life and more than enough dragons to satisfy him.

"I suppose that we should hunt up something to eat before it gets completely dark," Marthaen remarked, looking around at the rapidly darkening sky. "Jherdar, we should be able to catch a couple of elk in, say, an hour or so."

"Yes, an hour sounds sufficient," the red dragon agreed. "Back in your saddle, worthy knight."

Sir George looked confused. "You don't need me to hunt."

"We need your company more than they do," Jherdar told him as discreedy as possible.

Sir George finally got the hint. He climbed back into the saddle as jherdar lowered himself to the ground. Then the two older dragons leapt into the sky, following the valley southward before they began to rise and move away to the west. With the deep forests of the Sylvan realm only a few miles to the southwest, between the mountains and the coast, they would be able to find good hunting as well as keep themselves away for the promised time. Thelvyn and Kharendaen both had been trying very hard to hide their amusement, but now they sat back and smiled.

"I didn't know your brother was so considerate in such matters," Thelvyn said as he lowered himself slowly to lie down in the soft grass. The long journey from the east had left him weary and in considerable pain, and he had never quite recovered from his fight with the gemstone dragons the evening before.

"Marthaen is finally beginning to recognize that some things are inevitable," Kharendaen said, moving slowly to lie down close beside him. "Although it seems a little late now."

Thelvyn stared at the ground. "Everyone, including myself, lias been assuming that this is a time for farewells. But that seems a little premature. There would be no point in my undertaking this quest if I weren't going to return to fight the Overlord."

"But you cannot stay with me," she complained.

"I cannot stay," he said, "but there might be some other place where we can be together. I don't know where, but there seem to be many possibilities. You loved the person I used to he, before I assumed the shape of a dragon. Will you love whatever person I become?"

Kharendaen did not answer in words. Instead, she rubbed her cheek gently along the side of his neck. "I do not know what is going to happen, but I cannot help but be very anxious all this is over with and we have discovered just what our futures hold. Perhaps we were fools to love so much when we have always known our futures were so uncertain."

"Do you have any regrets?" Thelvyn asked.

"I have no regrets," she said. "But now that the moment is at hand, I find that I do not want our time together to end."

Thelvyn shook his head slowly. "I never expected this parting to be an easy one. Even having these last few weeks to prepare myself has not made it any easier."

She looked at him. "You knew that this was going to happen?"

"I suspected it," he admitted. "Ever since the night when we spoke with the Great One at Silvermist. I realized then that there was only one reason why an Immortal should take such trouble to have a child."

"I should have guessed," Kharendaen said, sitting up on her haunches. "Are you going to take your harness and weapons when you go?"

"I don't think so," he answered uncertainly.

Responding to her gentle prompting, he rolled over on his side so that she could release the buckles of his harness. Then he sat up for a moment so she could pull away the heavy leather straps, tossing the harness and the massive sword to one side. After that, she carefully removed the Collar of the Dragons from his neck and laid it aside, returning to press herself closely against his breast. For a time, he sat upright so that he could hold her against him in his arms, and the two dragons gently rubbed their cheeks and muzzles together.

"How is your back?" Kharendaen asked as they lay very close against one another.

"Not too bad," he admitted. "In fact, it might even help to give it some exercise."

For their last hour together, they were able to forget their concerns as they made love in the fading light of evening. They were still lying together, stroking each other's necks, when their companions finally returned. Day had long since given way to a cool, star-filled night. Marthaen and Jherdar circled discreetly for a time, waiting until they were seen before landing. Each carried the carcass of an elk, already dressed out and ready to be cooked. Jherdar collected firewood from the forest while Sir George hurried to prepare a fire, and in a short time, dinner was cooking.

Thelvyn thought that they should hurry, since he had no idea how long it would be before he was called. He had already put on the Collar of the Dragons once more, waiting patiently while Kharendaen fastened it about his neck. In the absence of other instructions on the matter, he had decided he should wear the collar. It had been made for the Dragonking, and as such, it seemed to be tied to his fate. He also considered again whether or not he should wear his harness and weapons, electing to leave them behind with Kharendaen.

Before they knew it, the meat was cooked, but no one had much appetite. It might be only minutes before Thelvyn was summoned. Kharendaen was bearing the wait with the calm patience of a cleric, but Marthaen couldn't hide his unrest. Sir George was also obviously quite worried, although he had always felt he was something of a father to Thelvyn, and he tried to seem good-natured and unconcerned. Curiously, Jherdar was having the hardest time of all. He was both sad and also rather sullen that the Dragonking was having to make some sacrifice that he did not entirely understand.

"I am reminded of a story told to me by my friend Alendhae, a sorcerer among the Eldar," Marthaen said as they sat staring into the fire. "The Eldar once believed in a concept they called the Burden of Time. On the first day after the world was created, the elemental Immortals brought into being the Eldar, the first and oldest of all the races, who were granted the power to remember, to measure, and to mark the passage of time; They believed that time began only when there was someone in the world who was aware of its passage, and that time would end when no one was left to mark its passage. Of course, Alendhae thought the story only proved the egocentricity of his ancestors."

"That somehow sounds like a very draconic concept," Sir George remarked.

"Remember, they were also our ancestors."

Jherdar sighed loudly, almost a low growl. "Do you know what is going to happen?"

Thelvyn shook his head. "I know nothing of what to expect. Those who have taken this path before me have not said much about what they saw. Cheer up. A few weeks ago, you would have done anything to be rid of me."

"It's not something to laugh about," the red dragon complained, looking off into the night. "You turned out to be a better king than I expected you would. I don't want you to do this, but I love you all the more because you are willing to do it to protect our people. You've never lost your capacity for surprising me."

Thelvyn glanced away. "I should have come alone. This wait is a torment to us all."

"Perhaps it is," Sir George agreed, "but I would still rather be right here with you."

The others paused, suddenly aware that Thelvyn and Kharendaen had both lifted their heads and were staring across the fire into the night. Turning quickly, they saw the image of the Great One standing at the edge of the woods behind them, just as he had appeared to them in the mountains far to the east the night before. Marthaen and Jherdar both rose and moved quickly to the other side of the fire, standing almost behind the Dragonking. Sir George retreated as well, nearly hiding behind Kharendaen.

"I am ready," Thelvyn said, trying to sound brave.

"The time is at hand," the Great One told him. "Now you must go alone into the Citadel of the Ancients, where you will surrender the armor of the Dragonlord. Tonight your time of service as the second Dragonlord will come to an end. Wait there. When all is ready, I will come for you."

"I understand."

"Dismiss your companions to return to the east, where the other dragons need them," the Great One continued. "You will join them soon."

Thelvyn bowed his head, and the Great One was gone when he looked up again. He sat again for a moment, feeling very uncertain now that the moment had come. Then he saw that Kharendaen was watching him, and he leaned forward quickly to rub his cheek against hers. The best parting, he thought, would be a quick one, sparing no time for painful farewells.

"I will be back as soon as I can," he assured them. "Keep the dragons out of danger until I return."

"Remember me," Kharendaen called after him as he moved farther out into the clearing.

Thelvyn looked back at her, surprised by her words. "How could I ever forget you?"

Spreading his wings, he crouched low and then sprang upward, launching himself into the air. He circled once to gather speed, then climbed quickly toward the dark form of the Citadel of the Ancients standing on the side of the peak high above. The others watched him for as long as they could, but after a few moments, he disappeared into night.

Kharendaen lowered her head, looking alone and frightened as she stared at the ground. After a moment, Marthaen moved close to her side and placed his arms around her shoulders, holding her tight. Sir George sighed softly and put his hands in his pockets as he walked away to gather his things for travel. Jherdar pulled what was left of their dinner from the spits and the meat to the edge of the woods for the wild animals. Then he sat down and turned his long neck to stare up at the ancient fortress on the mountainside, as if hoping for a last glimpse of the Dragonking. All the world was silent, waiting. Brooding.

"What a night," he sighed sadly. "I feel almost as if the world is waiting for one of the ancient gods to die, and nothing will ever be the same."

"The world waits for a new god to be born," Marthaen corrected him. "If we did not fear for our friend, this would be a time of hope and joy."

*****

Thelvyn landed just below the steps of the citadel, surprised to see that the double doors were opening slowly at his approach. The doorway was small for a dragon, and he had to crouch and crawl through almost on his belly. A soft light came from portions of the smooth, blue-gray stone, just enough so his sharp eyes could see the inside of the citadel clearly. He paused for a moment, looking up through the eight-sided central chamber, where ring after ring of narrow balconies rose into the darkness far above. The inner wall of each level had heavy wooden doors leading into plain, win-dowless cells like strong rooms. These chambers once held many of the greatest treasures of ancient Blackmoor.

For a moment, he paused to recall his first visit to this place. He was rather surprised to notice how familiar this place seemed to him, even after all that had happened to him in the last six years. But his errand this night would not lead him into the levels above. He moved out onto the floor of the central chamber, which was sunken slightly, like a shallow pit surrounded by many steps. Once again he paused in the center of the chamber, this time sitting back on his haunches so that he could remove the Collar of the Dragons and carefully lay it aside for a brief time while he completed his first task.

Once the collar was removed, he shifted to his Eldar form and teleported himself into the armor of the Dragonlord, feeling the protective embrace of its deceptively light weight for the last time. No longer used to two legs, he crossed the floor awkwardly to a short passageway in the back wall of the main chamber. The inner door of ancient wood opened easily at his touch, leading him into a larger version of the cells or storerooms in the rest of the fortress. The remains of ancient tapestries and other furnishings lay in dusty fragments on the floor.

In the center of the chamber was the place where the armor of the Dragonlord had waited through the centuries, or at least the shell of that place. All that remained was a circular stone rail, like those that might encircle a fountain or pool, with a matching circle of stone on the ceiling, once the frame of the pillar of protective crystal that had encased the armor. In the center of the circle stood the empty frame that had supported the armor itself.

Now that the moment had come, he found himself strangely reluctant to part with the armor. He had not actually physically removed the armor in the six years since he had become the Dragonlord. Each time he had needed to remove it, he had simply teleported it by will into its unknown place of waiting until he had need of it again. The armor had always been a source of tremendous security to him, never failing him even during some very difficult tests of its powers, saving him again and again. One of the first things he had to learn when he became a dragon was having to deal with being vulnerable once again, dependent upon his own strength and magic.

But he dared not delay too long, knowing that he was expected. He removed the armor piece by piece, laying it out on the floor until he had removed it all. Then he fastened all the pieces back together on the stand in the center of the stone ring. Finally he removed the old clothes that he had worn beneath the armor, folding them carefully and laying them on the floor just below the stand. When all was ready, he stepped out of the stone circle and turned back to face it, willing it to seal itself again. The air within the circle shimmered with a pale silver light, and the pillar of crystal returned, encasing the armor once more until some distant day when a third Dragonlord might be called to serve.

At last he left the inner cell, closing the door behind him. When he was back in the open central chamber, he returned to his dragon form. As he was fastening the Collar of the Dragons around his neck, the fact that he was no longer the Dragonlord was finally beginning to seem very real to him. Parting with his former life was sadder than he had expected. He had done many good deeds during his time as the Dragonlord. For the first time in a life of great uncertainty, he had finally found some cause to feel proud.

Once the collar was fastened, he lowered himself slowly to lay his full length on the cool stone floor while he waited. He was glad to rest; die pain in his back had followed him even during the brief time that he had changed form, although he had no idea why that should have been. The relentless pain of the last few days was almost enough to make him satisfied to be leaving his former life behind. He was still very young for a dragon, but in the last few days, he had begun to feel old and weary. He knew that, given time, a dragon would recover completely even from terrible wounds, an aspect of their dual nature as creatures both magic and mortal. Nevertheless, he realized he had given too much of himself lately; there would be no going back to the boundless joy and energy of youth.

Had he succeeded? Had he performed his duty completely enough to feel that he had done well? He hoped that he had. Certainly he had been a hero worthy of being called the Dragonlord, not only in his deeds but also in the spirit of his duty, knowing the joy of giving to others without concern of honor or reward. He had been a king of men, and a king among dragons. And the dragons that had once feared and cursed him had come to respect and even to love him. And of all the events of his life, that was the one thing he cherished most, that the dragons seemed to be the better for his example.

If anything was lacking at that time, it was Kharendaen. She had been with him from the moment he had first become the Dragonlord, the moment he had begun to fulfill his destiny. And she had been at his side constandy since he had become a dragon, absolute and uncomplaining in her devotion to him, quick and capable in her service. She had become so much a part of his duty that it had been almost as if they were two equal parts of the same destiny. Because he had no choice in his service to the dragons, he had come to overlook the fact that all she had done and all she had suffered had been by her own choice, out of her love and devotion to her people, to the Great One, and to himself.

"There is a time for duty, and a time for reward."

Thelvyn looked up and saw that the Great One stood before him. "Father?"

The Great One looked surprised and troubled. "I cannot expect you to acknowledge something that exists only as a matter of convenience to serve a greater end."

"I have not been unaware of your concern and regret about what you have had to ask of me," Thelvyn said as he rose. "And I think I am not wrong in suspecting there may have been love behind that concern."

"And more pride than you may ever know," The Great One agreed.

Thelvyn placed one claw to his breast and bowed his head. "I have come, and I have done as you asked. As I understand such matters, I must now present myself for the final test."

"It seems that you do indeed understand," the Great One said. "You understand that you were prepared by the events of your life, even by the circumstances of your conception, to become the second dragon Immortal. What you may not understand is that there are four common paths to becoming an Immortal. The one element they share is that each requires a lifetime of absolute devotion and unflagging effort. But there is also a Hidden Path, open only to dragons and other creatures of strong magic, by which one is chosen by the Immortals who sponsor him because of his special qualities of worthiness.

"As you have already guessed, I renounced my own Immortality for a time in order to become your father. By that means, you were predisposed to the Hidden Path. The way has always been open to you, as long as you remained constant in your worthiness. Still, the final decision must remain your own. That too is ordained. Because you did not choose to take this path, you alone have the right to choose whether you want to take the final steps at the end of your path. Do you wish to take the final test?"

"I do," Thelvyn agreed. "My being here testifies to that."

The darkness closed about them, so that Thelvyn could no longer see the walls of the citadel. Glancing up, he could see stars shining in die night sky, and he knew they were no longer within the ancient fortress. Now the forest surrounded them, the edges of tall pines barely visible in the deep, moonless darkness. As he watched, others stepped out of the forest to join the dragons, but they remained quiet on the edge of the clearing. The Immortal Terra stood behind the Great One, and he also saw the bearded Kagyar, lord of the dwarves, and the elf-king Ilsundal. They had come to witness the ascendancy of their chosen champion. He realized now the chance they had taken in trusting in the compassion and devotion of a dragon, a trust they must be anxious to see vindicated.

"You must answer these questions," the Great One said. "First, by what great deeds are you worthy to become an Immortal and an advocate of the dragons?"

"I have served as the Dragonlord," Thelvyn answered, although he was certain the events of his life must be well known to those gathered here. "I have been a king among men and among dragons. Twice I have helped the dragons to avoid a war that would have only served the purposes of their enemies, and I have united the dragons in battle against their true enemy."

"You have served well and wisely," the Great One told him. "Now, what gift have you brought in honor of your service?"

Thelvyn was startled and confused. He recalled now those things that he had learned from the dragon clerics of

Shadowmere during the previous winter. One who wished to present himself for ascendancy as an Immortal must prove his worth by his deeds, and he must bring to the meeting a treasure of immeasurable wealth that he has made or acquired as a gift for his sponsor. Thelvyn had never considered himself a candidate for Immortality, and so he had not prepared for this meeting. Suddenly he was afraid that he would fail.

"I have brought with me only the Collar of the Dragons," he said at last, still uncertain. "But the collar belongs to the dragons, and it is not mine to give. All that I can offer as a gift is my own life, all that I have been and might have been, all that I have done and might have done, all the love and companionship that I have known and might have known."

The Great One nodded. "You could offer no greater or more beautiful gift, for dragons value their lives above all treasure, and thus the offer of their lives is the greatest treasure they can give."

The Great One paused a moment, glancing briefly at his companions, as if to see if anyone wished to challenge his judgment. Thelvyn suspected it was not enough for the Immortals to simply choose for him to become one of them. Perhaps it was a part of the magic itself, or perhaps just to circumvent any challenge from hostile Immortals, but he had to satisfy all points of the tests or he could not proceed. The fact was that he had not brought an actual gift, but the others seemed to think the offer he had made was acceptable.

"There remains only the question of the Seven Tests, each of which must have been satisfied by the deeds of your life," the Great One continued. "You have proven your honesty and trustworthiness. Certainly you have proven your dedication to your service, and no one could have been more persistent in the face of adversity. You have proven your bravery, and also your mercy. You have proven your wisdom. And above all, you have shared these noble gifts with your people, teaching the dragons that they, too, can be wise and even great. You have changed the lives of your people for the better for all time to come, and that above all else is the most important deed required of one who would complete the path to Immortality."

Thelvyn became aware of some subtle change within himself. The pain and weariness of recent days was gone. He felt young again, stronger than he had ever been, so full of life and energy that he felt as if he could leap halfway to the stars before he even spread his wings. His mind was clear and alert, his heart was overflowing with delight. He knew he had begun his final great journey, leaving behind his mortality to become a creature of magic.

The others vanished into the darkness, leaving the two dragons alone in the clearing. Thelvyn's right to ascend to the status of an Immortal had been established, and now the time had come for him to complete his journey. The Great One's form began to glow, becoming transparent as he, too, prepared to depart.

"To complete the process of becoming Immortal, you must continue now into the outer planes" the Great One told him. "Spread your wings and fly, and the proper way will be opened before you. As you travel through the places I will show you, I will explain things you must know."

The image of the Great One faded away into the darkness, and he was gone. Unhesitatingly Thelvyn spread his wings and leapt into the night sky. He climbed rapidly, ascending almost straight up toward the stars in a way that no living dragon ever could, as if he had become almost as light as the wind itself. He found that he was rising swiftly above the dark forest of a mountainous land far different from the place where he had been, for there was no sign of the Citadel of the Ancients or the peak where it stood, or of the valley where he had left his companions. This was the place of dreams, that strange land of illusions where the Great One brought his clerics to speak with him, the place where Kharendaen had taken him on the night he confronted the dragon that became himself.

"There are many planes of existence," the voice of the Great One said, speaking to him out of the darkness. "Many are natural in their origin, as old as time itself, entire universes like our own that exist side by side like the pages of a book, each bearing its own story. There are also lesser planes created by magic, many that we Immortals have opened by ourselves and made our own."

As Thelvyn flew, a shaft of pure silver light, like a beam of intense moonlight, although no moon had yet risen in this world, reached down from the stars to intercept him. He continued to climb into the light, which became brighter with each passing moment.

"A place of your own has already been prepared for you," the Great One continued. "Your home plane is created from your memories, from your desires and your hopes. And so it will always seem to you like a perfect place, your own personal world that is a reflection of what you wish the real world could be. It is as large as you require it to be, as small as a stand of woods or a quiet valley, or as immense as an entire world. It is shaped by your own will, so you can adapt it to suit your needs."

The light had grown steadily to a blinding intensity until Thelvyn could see nothing but the light itself. Suddenly he realized he was passing through a swirling white mist like the inside of a cloud. A moment later the mist parted before him, and he found himself gliding gendy on the wind above a land very much like the one he had just left. But this appeared to be a more northerly land than the Great One's place of dreams, a place where forests of towering pines carpeted the deep valleys between high, stark ranges of stone and vast peaks crowned with white snow. He felt a slight bite of cold in the wind, just enough to be brisk and refreshing.

He became aware of the shapes of dragons riding the winds of the distant heights, chasing and playing through the forests, or sitting on high ledges to watch the night. Then he became aware that they were only the images of dragons, nothing more than ghosts. They became more clear and distinct as he watched them, until he could see gold dragons or dragons of great and noble breeds that did not yet exist in his former world.

"This is the home of your heart, a world of dragons you wish in your heart could exist, where good and noble dragons can live in peace and contentment. Through your influence, some portions of the true world may someday resemble your vision. Later, when your present task is done, you will return to this place and adapt it to your will. You will make yourself a great castle, where you will live with four gold dragons who will attend you, earning their tides by proving their worth."

"Any four dragons?" Thelvyn asked.

"As long as they are worthy to serve you," the Great One answered. "Do not forget that you are an Immortal. While your service remains to me and to the cause of all dragons, the golds and the other noble breeds will look to you as their champion, and certain clerics of my own order will elect to devote their special interests to you."

The shaft of silver light reached down to envelop him once again, and he moved into the light as it grew in intensity. Then the mists parted, and he found himself in a very different world, a place of still, deep, magical forests. He knew this was the home world of the Great One, although he did not have to be told that, remembering the sacred place of the Great One in the forest of Alfheim. He recalled now that Kharendaen had once told him the Great One had been a cleric loyal to the Immortal Terra, who had sponsored him. This was the place where the Great One was most at home, in the ancient, mysterious forests whose existence predated the coming of men.

A great palace stood on a hill that rose out of the dark woods, waiting vast and silent just beyond the place where the mist had parted. Thelvyn didn't change direction, settling into a slow glide that led him directly toward the main gate, which opened to receive him as he approached. For a moment, he sailed along a wide, dark passage that led in time to an immense chamber. This was the Hall of the Great One, although it felt more like a place of woodland magic than a castle of cold stone. The walls and ceiling were lost in darkness; great stone pillars were carved in the likeness of the towering trunks of forest giants, and light curtains of green hung like leafy branches.

He paused, seeing that the Great One waited for him.

"There is much yet to explain, and I must speak quickly," the Great One began at once. "The Overlord is on the move, and the time of your final confrontation is at hand. But there are words I wish to impart to you before you return to your world."

The Great One joined him, sitting down on the stone floor and then lowering himself to recline his full length with his neck raised. "As you know already, until now I have now been the only dragon who ever attained the status of an Immortal. There has always been much that I have wanted to do for our people, but I have only very recently become powerful enough to begin acting upon policies of my own. There are two situations that I have desired to act upon, by two different but related means.

"First, I have always been distressed that dragons have been relegated such minor roles in the events of the world. On the whole, they are the most intelligent, the most magically gifted, the strongest, and among the longest-lived of all creatures. In them are combined elements of monsters, mortals, and Immortals. They should be counted among the major races, equal to men, elves and dwarves, and yet they have been little more than animals, the pawns of both mortals and Immortals. Dragons are routinely slain by the designs of mortals and the Immortals guiding them, for their treasures, for the magic artifacts in their keeping, or simply to magnify the reputation of the slayer.

"In part, the problem is due to the fact that dragons have so few advocates and little representation among the Immortals. This is doubly odd, since dragons may become Immortal comparatively easily by the Hidden Path, a path to Immortality that is almost unique to dragons because of their dual nature as both mortal and magical beings. By the Hidden Path, a dragon can be selected in advance-predestined as it were-to be a candidate for Immortality, since he should not even be aware that he is following the Hidden Path until the time of his final quest. So your purpose is not merely to fight the Overlord. I have long needed you to help me unite the dragons and to stand with me as their advocate and to prevent the other Immortals from using them as pawns in their policies.

"The problem is also in large part with the dragons themselves, for even the lawful dragons can be solitary and fierce, even violent, creatures, and few have been motivated to seek the world outside of their own narrow lives. My presence unified to a limited degree, but I have always sought to change the character of the dragons to make them more sociable, much as Kagyar altered the nature of the dwarves. You have already done much to continue the process of unifying and civilizing the dragons."

"I, too, have seen that need," Thelvyn admitted. "I could ask for no more honorable task than to help the dragons to realize the nobility that I see in them."

The Great One nodded. "To that end, you are now to become Diamond, the first dragon ruler, lord of all lawful dragons. Since until this time the only lawful dragons have been the golds, your subjects will be joined by new races of lawful gemstone dragons, the crystal, sapphire, and ruby, once they are freed from the will of the Overlord. In time, I will also create two new dragon rulers: Opal, ruler of the neutral dragons; and Pearl, ruler of the chaotic dragons. Their presence will help to guide the races of dragons into the future that has been planned for them, for while the primary need of the dragons is for law and guidance, they must also maintain the greater balance, with chaos tempered by neutrality. But of the three, Diamond will always be wisest and most powerful."

"But what about the Overlord?" Thelvyn asked. "Can I defeat him?"

The Great One hesitated, considering the question carefully. "You can defeat him if you are very careful. Since he has come into our world, we can see him now, and we understand his secrets better than previously. The huge, terrible creature you see is not his true self, only a manifestation of his will and magic. That is why you can break his will by knowing his true name, since knowing it disrupts the spells that allow him to function through his manifestation. Knowledge of his true name tells you how to stop him, but you must not only stop him but also destroy him. I do not yet see how that knowledge will help you to accomplish his destruction."

Thelvyn sat for a moment, trying desperately to make sense of the problem. "Perhaps what you have said does tell me what to do … or at least how to begin. When will I be ready?"

"You are ready now," the Great One told him. "Look at yourself."

Only then did Thelvyn realize how he had changed. He had assumed his new form as a lesser Immortal so slowly and sub-rly that he hadn't even been aware of the transformation. Now he understood why his new name was Diamond. His appearance now was that of a great dragon very much like the gold he had been, but with scales that glittered like cut diamonds. He had become the very thing the gemstone dragons had tried to make of themselves, so that they were only pale and incomplete copies of himself.

"Go now, but be careful," the Great One said. "Do not try to rely only upon your new powers to defeat your enemy, for the Overlord is very powerful. You must be patient and clever."