Mythborn: Rise of the Adepts (26 page)

“Someone should sneak into that camp and put an end to their leader. See if that makes them feel like singing and dancing,” Yetteje added, her voice dripping with vehemence. Then she spat over the wall. “I’ll wager we wouldn’t hear laughter and drums then.”

Niall opened his mouth but the sergeant raised her hand, forestalling anything he might have said. She looked over the encampment, her eyes calculating. They could manage the guards... a small group, perhaps no more than four or
five...
couldit
be possible?

D
RAGON
V
ISION

Think of the moon on the water.

It shines close by, yet it hangs far above.

You must forge your tactics the same way.

Stay close to your opponent, yet feel far away.

Be the moon’s reflection on the water’s surface.

—Tir Combat Academy, The Tactics of Victory

R
ai’stahn winged low over the desert, sighting a small, vertical stone shaft rising from yellow, sun-stroked dunes. The shaft quickly grew into a tower, its minarets broken and its walls crumbled, open to the gritty winds. The great dragon braked and for all his bulk landed softly, scattering only a little sand and debris. He dipped a wing, allowing Silbane and Arek to disembark.

“What is this place?” Arek asked, drinking in the sight of the ancient ruin.

Having landed, they lacked the benefit of the cool breeze of flight. Hot dry air hit him like the blast of a furnace and he found himself instantly sweating. The desert seemed empty in all directions, a vast flowing sea of dunes set against a deep orange sky. Strange Rai’stahn had chosen such a desolate place for his stop. Still, the motivations of dragonkind were not always apparent, Arek reminded himself, despite their affectation of taking on human form.

He looked about, his eyes drawn to the ancient tower that stood listing to one side, and said, “This is a Far’anthi Tower. The stone looks dead, though.”

Silbane had suspected as much when his eyes fell upon the pedestal at the tower’s base holding a great globe of ash colored rock in a three-pronged grasp. He looked at Arek, “Yes, the stone would be glowing blue.”

He motioned to the pile of gear on the dragon’s back. “Once Rai’stahn changes, see to our things.” He started to move up the slight rise to the tower base, but then remembered something and turned back, fumbling through his tunic to bring forth the lore father’s small charm. “Before I forget, Tempest was not your only gift.”

Silbane held the talisman aloft for Arek to see, then took it between his hands and broke it in half, triggering the enchantment. As he did so, a sparkle of blue surrounded the break, then disappeared. Each half now sought the other. “It is a
Finder
... do you understand?”

Arek nodded. One half the adept strung around his neck; the other, Arek slipped into his pocket, careful not to touch it with his bare flesh. “Thank you.”

“I assume you understand its use?” Silbane asked. “As long as we live, each half will glow.”

Arek did not particularly care for how his master worded that. Still, he knew in an emergency, either could crush their half. Doing so would create a temporary portal between their locations, allowing them instantaneous transport to the other.

“You’re expecting we’ll lose each other,” Arek concluded.

Silbane shook his head. “I’m just trying to keep you safe.” With that, he turned to look as the great dragon completed his change, once again becoming the dark-armored knight.

Rai’stahn strode purposefully up to the tower walls and looked at the weathered stone. “It has the scent of magic, though long dead.” His yellow eyes mirrored the setting sun, shining like liquid gold, inhuman, but expressive nonetheless.

To Arek it was as if all the light had pooled there, giving the dragon-knight’s face an unearthly countenance. He felt himself drawn into Rai’stahn’s simple martial beauty, as one would feel looking upon a war god incarnate. Here was a dragon lord, and nothing Arek had seen before could compare. He drank in each moment as it passed.

Just then, Rai’stahn’s image wavered and there were two of him, superimposed upon each other. One stood looking at the Far’anthi Stone, the other staggered a step to the left, taloned hand to head. Wings flexed to steady the dragon-knight, bat-like and black, then the vision was over. The two images collapsed back into one. Whatever had affected Rai’stahn had passed like a desert breeze. Arek watched, but neither his master nor the dragon gave any indication that anything was amiss.

Then Rai’stahn turned around, spearing Arek with his golden gaze, and he felt an almost physical heat where that gaze fell. It accused him, as if the great dragon knew exactly what Arek had just seen, and wanted to pull his very soul apart.

What felt like an eternity swept by under the dragon’s scrutiny, then Rai’stahn growled low and said, “I wouldst speak with thee privately, Silbane.” He did not wait for a response, walking away from the lone tower and into the Wastes.

* * * * *

Silbane was worried. Under Rai’stahn’s gaze, Arek should have been reduced to a cowering supplicant and yet he withstood the great dragon’s Sight, ignoring it as one would an uncomfortable wind. It was not Arek that worried him, but the great dragon’s actions now. Silbane felt with a growing dread he was about to learn what this sojourn was all about.

The dragon-knight continued to walk away with Silbane in tow until the tower grew smaller behind them. His long strides ate up the distance, carrying him quickly and surely to whatever destination he had in mind.

Silbane hurried to follow, knowing any emotion the dragon felt was a magnification of whatever emotion he felt himself. Dragons were passionate creatures and their actions were often ruled by need as much as expediency and logic. Dragons do not measure time as we do, he also reminded himself. He crested a small rise and approached the armored knight.

Rai’stahn had stopped and looked back at the tower, his golden eyes narrowing. A moment passed, then another, as he seemed to ponder how best to begin. Of course, Silbane reminded himself, dragons did not hesitate to speak their minds. Still, the expression on Rai’stahn’s face reminded Silbane of what a person might look like if an unpleasant subject were about to be broached.

He looked down at the mage, then cleared his throat. “Now that we are clear of the Isle, I am left with a difficult choice. Tell me truly, what is thy purpose?”

“My lord? I have spoken plainly.” Silbane hesitated to reveal more about their mission until he knew where Rai’stahn stood. The dragon could be a powerful ally or deadly enemy, depending on how he saw the situation. Moreover, it bothered the adept that the dragon-knight cared to mention they were “clear of the Isle.” What did he mean by that? A deepening knot of worry grew in the master’s stomach, accentuated by the fact that they were far from anything in this remote place, and alone with a creature of immense power.

“The lore father sensed a stirring in the Way,” Silbane said. “Something at Bara’cor.” He watched the dragon closely for any signs betraying his inner thoughts.

Rai’stahn’s eyes became slits. “Thou speakest of the Gate and slip the question,” he stated. “Dost thou know why I brought thee here?”

Silbane looked back at the dragon, the initial shock at the mention of the Gate receding. Dragons were attuned to the Way, and there was little a dragon of Rai’stahn’s age would not know. Silbane decided to say more, hoping to find an ally. “Do you oppose our quest to find this Gate?”

“The Gate is not what should concern thee.”

Silbane cocked his head. Everyone knew the demons had brought the world to the brink of destruction, flooding into their world through these rifts. They possessed a person in their attempt at life. Nonetheless, he continued, “Our council worries Lilyth may not have been destroyed, but rather banished.”

Rai’stahn closed his eyes, “The doom this world faces is brought by thee, Magus.”

Silbane knew dragons were far more sensitive to the magical currents and eddies present in the world. It was possible Rai’stahn sensed things beyond Silbane’s ability to comprehend. “What do you mean, my lord?”

The dragon-knight nodded once, a short, hesitant nod that surprised Silbane more
because
of its hesitancy. It occurred to him the dragon’s demeanor reflected an emotion he had never thought to see in his kind: fear. Silbane decided to press further. “My lord, if there is something I should know...?”

A moment passed before Rai’stahn answered, “Dost thou seek the truth? The price will be high.”

Silbane looked down, but when his head rose, there was a steely determination in his slate blue eyes. “Why do you test me? I have done nothing but request conveyance to a destination. Is that so difficult for you, my lord?”

The dragon-knight walked a slow circle around the mage, and his voice barked out, “Do not question me, mortal! I have walked this earth when thee and thine were nothing!” The dragon-knight seemed genuinely angry and Silbane found himself wondering why.

He continued, his voice low and deadly, “Thou wouldst hazard all races of this world, save thine own.” Rai’stahn looked at Silbane and said, “I hath been given special dispensation for thee, Magus.”

Silbane stepped back a pace, sensing deadly intent in those words and said, “For what?”

“Pay heed. I offer thee a chance to see events from this world’s past. Dost thou accept?”

Silbane looked about the desolation surrounding them, empty and beautiful. It was clear now there could only be one reason Rai’stahn had agreed to transport them.
Isolation
. The great dragon had offspring nesting on the Isle. Whatever transpired here would have no witness, no collateral damage.

A part of him hated to think this way, as if everything ended in betrayal, but knowing what the dragon knew was now imperative if he was to keep himself and Arek alive. This simple journey had suddenly turned into a life and death situation, and whether or not his thinking was the result of paranoia or preparedness, he was not taking any chances. He nodded, not trusting himself yet to speak.

“Very well,” Rai’stahn nodded, then placed his fingers at a point on the center of Silbane’s forehead. Where the talons met, a yellow fire erupted in a thin line, piercing the master with a light shining like a miniature sun, hanging on Silbane’s forehead like a star. “Thou art given Sight. Behold, then choose...”

Around Silbane the sand stirred, then rose in a swirling column sealing him and the dragon-knight from sight. Inside, Silbane could hear sibilant female voices, whispers coming from all directions.

Rai’stahn stood facing the mage, his eyes glowing with power. Then, the whispers became a vision filling Silbane’s head, and he
Saw...

* * * * *

The leader moved through the darkened tunnels, his armor catching and reflecting the firelight flickering from torches along the cave walls. He was accompanied by two guards, each wide-eyed, their faces covered in sweat from what could have been either fear or heat, most likely both.

“Far enough, General.” The voice came from a dwarven soldier, who stepped out of the shadows and held up an armored hand. Though he towered over the men, he seemed somehow smaller.

Perhaps it was the aura of power the leader projected, or the fact his gaze did not waver from the guard’s own. After a moment, the dwarf moved back an involuntary step, as if his body had been commanded to do so.

“You’ll summon your masters,” said the leader in armor, dismissing his men without a sound or gesture. He didn’t say anything else, his pale eyes locked straight ahead, as if looking through the stone itself.

Two more dwarves appeared and one bowed deferentially. “General, you have been granted audience. Please, follow me.” He turned, and to Silbane he seemed clearly accustomed to men of rank and just as clearly shielded from it by his own station. No doubt, it was this comfort that had seen him chosen to greet this general.

The general had no choice but to follow, his eyes drinking in the details of this passage even as the chamber widened into an open basin. Arranged around the upper lip some distance above were shapes, reptilian and massive. They hinted at armored scales and promised fire.

With a start, Silbane realized this man stood before ancient creatures more powerful in the Way than any known in the land. As if in answer, the man looked about the chamber, searching for the greatest of these, the dragon-king Silbane knew was Rai’kesh.

Rai’kesh had ruled his kind for over a thousand years and now turned glowing red eyes upon the general, his posture showing that the mere presence of this man was an affront to dragonkind and the Way.

As their gazes locked, the man smiled. It seemed as if he knew what harm that could befall him and dared it anyway. He said one word, which echoed throughout the vast chamber, “Coward.”

A low rumble resulted and the ancient creature pulled back lips to reveal dagger-like teeth. “Have we not stayed our hand?” His voice was deep and sounded like gravel against stone.

The leader nodded. “And thousands die.”

The dragon-king raised a taloned claw and asked, “Who hath died?”

The armored man stepped back. “If you can ask that, you have turned your backs on this land.”

“Then thou dost not understand the war thee wages, nor the Aeris and their nature,
halfling.”

The general cocked his head. “Halfling? Even I, a mere mortal, am not beneath your insults?”

A growl promising menace sounded, followed by, “No insult was meant, General. Without the Aeris, thy kind are not what thou couldst be, like the reflection of the moon on water, compared to the moon itself.”

“Aeris?” he retorted. “I thought so once and chose a peaceful path. Then this happened. I name them demons now.”

The great dragon Rai’kesh raised himself, his dark red scales glowing in the rocklight of the cavern like smoldering iron. His eyes narrowed and brightened into two embers. “What dost thou want, Archmage? We suffer thy presence because of duty, yet with thine every breath and word, our patience is tested.”