and find out the hard way whether or not he could do such a thing. Setting one of the stones on the ground before him, he sat upright with his tail wrapped around his legs and closed his eyes while he opened himself to his inner powers. As he had once relied upon the enchantments of the armor and weapons of the Dragonlord, now he was learning how to make use of the unique powers that were the legacy of his remarkable heritage as the son of an Immortal who had briefly taken mortal form.
After some experimentation, he was able to convert the first stone into an artifact of magic. He began by making it the focus of an opening to a plane of natural magical force, like a well or spring where magic was drawn out at a controlled rate. This was the most difficult part, since without an actual knowledge of the many unseen planes of existence, he had to feel his way. His next step was to divert most of that native magic through a spell of his own that created a shield against the will of the Masters. Finally he set most of the spells of protection against magical tampering that he knew into the stone, so that it could also protect itself against any hostile magic used against it.
Thelvyn was able to complete only four of the ward stones before he needed time for his powers to recover, but he hoped to prepare more stones later that day. When he was done, dragons carried the stones out into the wilderness north of the city. The effect of the four stones was limited, but together they nearly doubled the power of the Radiance. That spared him the need to use his own spell of shielding when he should be working on other problems, and it also spared the need for the Fire Wizards to overtax the powers of the Radiance.
And that was all for the best, because Thelvyn now found himself in a race to find a way to fight the Masters before they defeated him. Not only did the power of their will gain slowly but steadily in strength, but also the army they were gathering at Braastar was obviously intended for an attack on Braejr. He knew he didn't dare attack the Masters in their own stronghold, so the most obvious tactic seemed to be for him to wait until the Masters moved against him, then strike swiftly and with overwhelming force. As far as he knew, he had enough dragons to deal with the two hundred or so gemstone dragons thought to be at the stronghold. But he would not easily be able to summon more dragons if he needed them; the Masters had made certain of that, attacking at random in many parts of the world so as to present a constant threat. Because of these attacks, he was forced to keep most of his own dragons scattered among other garrisons.
For the moment, the most immediate problem was finding a way to make certain that the people of Braejr were not in danger of falling under the control of the Masters, even if the siege came to the very walls of their city. If the Flaem were enslaved, the dragons and all other allies would be forced to abandon Braejr and, for all purposes, surrender all the Highlands to the domination of the Masters.
Late that morning, the dragon sorcerers asked to speak to the leaders in charge of the defense of Braejr, or at least those who were aware of the existence of the Radiance. For now, that meant Thelvyn, Kharendaen, Perrantin, Sir George, Solveig, and Korinn Bear Slayer. Marthaen had been elected to speak for the dragon sorcerers, while Alessa Vyledaar stood by in case she was needed.
'We've confirmed something the Fire Wizards always had strong reason to suspect,' Marthaen began. 'We've located the source of the Radiance. We know that it's a magical artifact or device of some type located far below the city.'
'Is it a Blackmoor device?' Thelvyn asked.
'That would seem the most obvious answer,' the older dragon agreed. 'We don't know that for certain yet, but I can't think of anyone else except the dragons who could have constructed an artifact of such power, and we know that the dragons didn't create it. The only part that mystifies us is the depth that thing is buried beneath the city. It doesn't seem possible for something to become buried so deep in three thousand years, even considering the effect of the Rain of Fire and the shattering of the world.'
'That suggests it was put there on purpose,' Sir George remarked. 'If you wanted something to stay buried, the best place would be beneath the joining of two rivers. The city itself is almost a marsh in places.'
'But the Masters could have it dug out if they're determined and resourceful enough,' Marthaen said.
Thelvyn frowned, then glanced up. 'I hate to speak of such things, but the problem must be faced. I'm not even sure if we can hold Braejr, and therefore I'm concerned that the Radiance could fall into the hands of the Masters. Can we destroy it, or perhaps force it to destroy itself somehow?'
'That may not be advisable,' Perrantin interrupted. 'I suspect that this is a Blackmoor device of great power. The elves who once inhabited this land found a similar device centuries ago. We know almost nothing about the object they found, except that they caused it to explode with such force that the northlands were devastated. The evil lands surrounding the World Mountain in the steppes were created as a distant result of that same explosion. I don't think we dare try to destroy the Radiance ourselves, or we may do worse damage to our world than the Masters could ever do. For that same reason, however, the Masters must not be allowed to capture the Radiance. I fear what they may do with such power, whether accidentally or deliberately.'
Thelvyn considered that briefly and sighed. 'I agree. Unless we come to understand the Radiance well enough that we can shut it down for all time without risk, then we must defend it at all costs. Unfortunately, that also means that the dragons might have to turn on the people of Braejr and either destroy them or expel them from the city if they fall under the control of the Masters. I'd rather send the Flaem away to the south before that happens.'
Solveig nodded. 'I've been thinking the same thing. Perhaps we should evacuate the people of Braejr while we can. Alessa, what do you think? If anyone should speak for the Flaemish people about this matter, it's you.'
'The Flaem seem to be caught in the worst possible position,' Alessa said bitterly, not looking up. 'Now the dragons who came to defend us might have to destroy us in order to defend our world. Our protectors could suddenly become our enemies, and our true enemies could enslave us. But I agree. I would rather see the Flaem leave the Highlands than have them become slaves in their own lands. Until we can understand the Radiance enough to know that it can protect us, then we should begin evacuating the city. The Masters must not capture the Radiance, no matter what. I would rather lose it than have it used against us.'
'I'm aware that this is an extremely hard and dangerous time for your people,' Thelvyn assured her. 'But why are the Masters so determined to possess the Radiance when its powers are so limited in range? Do they understand it better than we do, or are they ignorant of its limitations?'
'I cannot say,' Marthaen answered. 'Perhaps the Masters themselves came into our world and probed the secrets of the Radiance before they sent the Flaem here to guard it. I cannot guess what the Radiance can or cannot do, but I can say this: Our dragon sorcerers believe the Radiance can be made to reveal its secrets to us very soon, perhaps in only a matter of hours.'
Solveig hurried to prepare for the evacuation of the city, and the boats and barges that had brought the refugees from Braastar once again made ready to take the people of Braejr farther to the south. If necessary, the Flaem could be sent on into Darokin, although they would need the protection of the dragons to safely pass the bands of orcs and goblins in the Broken Lands. It was also possible that the barges would not survive the rapids.
The race to find a way to defend the Highlands soon became even more desperate. That same afternoon, reports arrived that the invasion army being gathered at Braastar was already marching south, with the Masters accompanying their forces in great numbers to insure that their army was not harassed by the dragons. Their pace was difficult to guess, but the invaders seemed likely to arrive at Braejr and begin their siege some time on the fourth day of their march.
Now Thelvyn had some difficult choices to make. With the Masters and their army moving out from their strongholds, they were now much more vulnerable to attack from the dragons. Thelvyn could attack at once in full strength and hope to defeat the Masters quickly, or he could organize a series of quick hit-and-run strikes designed to draw the Masters away from their army. Or he could simply wait, summoning all the dragons that could be spared from other lands to assemble an overwhelming force. The dragon sorcerers might unravel the secrets of the Radiance in the meantime and finally turn it into an effective weapon of magic.
He elected to discuss the matter with Marthaen, who had firsthand experience with what dragons could do in battle, since he had led the dragons in war against both Alphatia and the Highlands the year before. Marthaen had to admit that the problem was a difficult one, mostly because they could not accurately predict just what the Masters could do in battle. He pointed out that, unlike opposing the Dragonlord, fighting Alphatia had been relatively enough.
That reminded Thelvyn that he was still the Dragonlord, a fact he had been overlooking lately. The first
