'But he is still the Dragonlord,' Korinn insisted. 'Remember, I was there from the first. I know that his duty was to protect all of us, even the dragons themselves, from war. And he won't let them go to war now, I'm certain of that. The dragons might have decided that he cannot or will not oppose them, but I suspect that they have a surprise coming to them.'
'I agree,' Darius Glantri said. 'I knew the Dragonlord well, and I've never lost my faith in him. Emperor Cornelius agrees with me on that score. I was on my way to confer with Solveig White-Gold, to see if she knows how to find the Dragonlord and call him back to defend us. If King Daroban agrees, I think that Korinn Bear Slayer should go with me.'
Daroban remained hesitant. 'I will believe that the Dragonlord is still our defender when he has actually returned to defend us and the dragons have been sent back into the north-lands. In all the history of our race, the dragons have been the demons of our waking nightmares, and I will never trust them. I cannot easily place my faith in the Dragonlord.'
'Do we really have any choice?' Korinn asked. 'If the dragons want to make war upon us, there's not much we can do about it. They're too strong, too fast, and too powerful in their magic. In all the history of our race, have we known any force that could stand against them except the Dragonlord?'
Dorinn frowned. 'Father, Korinn speaks the truth. The Dragonlord defended us for five years, and we had no complaint. If the Dragonlord is still willing to defend us, then it is best for us that we should let him. That does not mean that we should not prepare our own defenses, or that we should not speak with our neighbors such as the Thyatians about defending ourselves against a common enemy.'
His dwarvish pride stung, Daric started to protest. But the truth was that Rockhome could never hope to fight the Nation of Dragons alone, even if they locked themselves in their deepest caves.
King Daroban nodded at last, with great reluctance. 'We have no choice. While my heart can find no trust in a dragon or hope that he will defend us against his own kind, I cannot deny that we need the Dragonlord. Korinn, if you and Solveig can find your one-time friend, then do everything in your
power to bring him back here at once.'
*****
The cool, clear night was deep and silent, and the darkest shadows had filled the streets and passages of Braejr when Solveig heard the familiar sound of large, strong wings descending with powerful strokes into the courtyard. Her first thought was that Thelvyn and Kharendaen had returned for some reason, even though they had been gone barely an hour, and she hurried to the door expecting to find the dragons in the courtyard. But she heard the fierce cry of a griffon even before she stepped out into the yard, so that she knew even before she saw the beast that her visitor was a messenger from Thyatis.
Solveig saw at once that the griffon rider was Darius Glantri, but she was rather surprised and mystified to see that his passenger was a dwarf. Until that moment, she would have thought that nothing could have convinced a dwarf to mount a griffon, especially in the precarious position of holding on tightly behind the rider. Darius struggled to calm the restive beast just long enough for the dwarf to leap down from the griffon's wide rump and move aside. Indeed, the young dwarf kept moving stiffly once he found himself safely on the ground, staggering almost to where Solveig waited in the yard at the edge of the paved court.
'Korinn Bear Slayer!' she remarked once she could see who it was. 'If I had been asked to wager whether any dwarf would dare to ride a griffon, I would have placed my bet on you.'
'I'm not much in the mood for mirth, if you don't mind,' the dwarf said, still disgruntled over the manner of his arrival. 'The city looks peaceful enough. I take it that the dragons haven't attacked here yet.'
'No. . no, they haven't,' Solveig answered, too startled by that statement to know quite what to think.
'I would have thought they would have struck here first,' Korinn said with a shrug. 'Perhaps they just don't want to seem predictable.'
Solveig could only stare in shock. It occurred to her that her two old friends might be perpetrating some foolish jest at her expense. She hoped that they were, since new attacks by dragons would be the worst possible news at that time, not only to her plans for unifying the Highlands but also to Thelvyn's plans to unify the dragons. Darius began leading his griffon away to the warehouse.
She elected to follow him. Korinn had to run to keep up with her long-legged stride. After hours of sitting on the haunches of a flying griffon, his legs were reluctant to move so quickly.
'What is this talk of attacks?' Solveig demanded. 'If dragons are indeed attacking, I've got to prepare the defenses of the Highlands right now.'
With considerable effort, Korinn caught up to her. 'Dragons attacked both Rockhome and Thyatis last night, although the damage was light enough to make it seem like nothing more than a warning. Captain Glantri has sent griffon riders to Alfheim and Darokin to discover if there have been attacks there as well.'
Solveig came to an abrupt stop.
'You help Darius with his griffon and bring the captain into the den when you're finished,' she said, turning back toward the house. 'I've got to do something about the defense of the city.'
By that time of night, Solveig had only Taeryn to carry her messages, and he could only go in one direction at a time. The best she could do was to have him saddle a horse from the stables and spread the word through che streets. She instructed him to go first to the Academy and summon Alessa, then go on to the garrison at the north gate to alert Captain Harl Geirstaan,
who was now the commander of the Highland army.
Darius and Korinn came inside a short time later, having srabled the griffon for the night. They joined Solveig in the den, explaining what they knew of the attacks so far while they had something to eat and drink. Darius had sent his griffon-rider bodyguards to Darokin, Alfheim, and Traladara to discover if the dragons had attacked there as well. Solveig sat in the chair across from him and listened, staring aimlessly at the floor, obviously very deep in thought. She could only shake her head.
'This doesn't make any sense,' she said at last. 'I suppose that you should know that Thelvyn, Kharendaen, and Sir George have been here. In fact, they left hardly an hour before you arrived. Needless to say, they're searching for the Collar of the Dragons.'
'Is it true that Thelvyn has become a dragon now?' Korinn asked.
'He's been a dragon since shortly after he left here last summer,' she explained. 'They really didn't say much about i heir affairs, except that the Great One himself has sent them to find the collar. It seems that Thelvyn is to be the Dragonking, some legendary figure from draconic lore who is to rule all the dragons of the world. The collar was set aside for the Dragonking long ago so that the dragons would recognize his authority as their first true king.'
Darius had been watching her closely. 'Could that be why Thelvyn needs the collar now, so that he can order these rogue dragons back in line?'
'I don't know,' Solveig replied. 'Thelvyn hasn't been among the dragons, so he might not be aware of what they're doing. This situation reminds me of the attacks of the rogue dragons six years ago. The young dragons, especially the headstrong reds, might be so opposed to having Thelvyn as the Dragonking that they've convinced themselves they must do something about it while they can. These attacks might be the work of rogue dragons rather than a declaration of war from the Nation of Dragons itself.'
'Does that make any difference to us?' Korinn asked sourly.
'Indeed it does,' she assured him. 'In fact, it might explain why the attacks seem to be nothing more than a warning. The rogues might be afraid to engage in open warfare. For that matter, they might only be throwing down the gauntlet, so to speak, to the Dragonlord, to force him to respond.'
'Then Thelvyn is still the Dragonlord?' Darius asked, surprised. 'How could that be, if he's now a dragon himself?'
'That was my understanding,' Solveig answered. 'You see, both he and Kharendaen have the ability to change form.'
'Then there is really only one last question,' Korinn said, looking quite uncomfortable. 'Is there any possibility that Thelvyn would betray us to his own kind? Not that I'm really worried about that, but I'm sure that others will be. My father sent me to find the Dragonlord if I can and request his protection, but he doesn't hold out much hope that a dragon will take our side against his own people. Even the Dragonlord.'
Solveig sat back in her chair, frowning. 'Wonderful. Everyone who wanted to chase the Dragonlord away only a few months ago will be crying for him to come back to save them. But I'm sure that the Dragonlord, or
