Now it was Thelvyn's turn to work his strongest magic. Standing at the opening leading into the cluster of great stones where the dragons had been hiding, he closed his eyes and opened himself to his own powers, seeking the means to open a worldgate. The spell revealed itself to him, but from the first, his greatest struggle was against himself, for he was in pain and his strength was failing. With great effort, he was able to command his full powers. Then he released the magic, tearing an opening in the continuum. But the substance of space and time resisted his efforts to force the tear to open into an actual passageway large enough for the dragons to use, and he needed great will and effort to slowly force his way in.
He succeeded just in time. Glancing to his right, he suddenly saw the dark form of one of the warriors approaching through the clouds of gray dust, slowing as it came within sight of the island of stone where the dragons were hiding. Thelvyn turned to Kharendaen and shook her back to awareness, and then they leapt one after the other into the tunnel of darkness that now stood open before them.
The dragons knew from the moment they entered the passage that something was very different about this gate, something that was not at all right. They realized they weren't moving through the passage but instead hung suspended between worlds, for there was nowhere for them to go. They could see no distant end to the tunnel, since the far end of the passage had not yet opened. In growing alarm, Thelvyn began to wonder if he had failed. He wondered what would happen if the passage collapsed, whether he and Kharendaen would be thrown back into the cold, desert world of the Overlord or if they would be forever stranded between worlds.
Then, just as he was preparing to reinforce his spell, the dragons began to feel themselves drawn forward along the length of the passage. Thelvyn could only hope that they were being drawn to their own world. Then the light opened before them at last to show them a distant, distorted view of fields of deep grass standing under a bright sun.
Thelvyn emerged from the worldgate moments later, moving quickly to one side to make room for Kharendaen. They were standing in the middle of a pasture bordered by stone walls, with more fields or small stands of woods beyond. A river flowed only a few hundred yards behind them, not the Aalban but the Areste, and the city of Braejr stood only a few miles to the southeast. A small group of farmers were rushing across the field, bearing axes and pitchforks, still too far away to see that the trespassers in their fields were gold dragons and not the Masters.
For the moment, Thelvyn had a more immediate concern. He moved well to one side of the worldgate, indicating for Kharendaen to follow him, and then quickly invoked the magic that would destroy the passage. The gate seemed almost to snap shut, drawing in upon itself in an instant until it became nothing more than a point of darkness standing in the air. A moment later that, too, vanished with a great flash of flames that leapt outward to singe the grass in a fan-shaped patch several yards long.
'We made it,' Kharendaen breathed, looking very weary. She lifted her ears as she watched the approaching farmers, who had slowed to a walk now that they were certain that the visitors that had appeared in their field were in fact gold dragons. She sighed heavily. 'I feel the need of a long drink and a good bath.'
'Soon,' Thelvyn assured her. 'First I must find out what the enemy has been up to during our absence.'
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Thelvyn and Kharendaen returned directly to the lair at Solveig's house, unheralded and entirely unexpected. Sir George and Solveig ran out to meet them in the moments after they landed on the stones of the court. Thelvyn folded away his wings slowly, feeling more weary and in greater pain now that the need for action was behind him. The dragons wore no clothes to become travel-worn, but he could see that Kharendaen looked dusty and exhausted, and he was certain that he must look much the same. When he saw the way his old friends stared at them, he knew it must be obvious that he and Kharendaen had been through the worst.
Marthaen arrived a moment later, approaching not from the direction of the Academy but flying in swiftly over the city from the wilderness northwest of Braejr. Thelvyn guessed he must have been somewhere in the western mountains of the Wendarian Range, leading the dragons to prepare a line of defense against their enemies. The First Speaker undoubtedly came in a hurry in response to the opening of the small worldgate, so he must not have been too far away if he could have gotten back to Braejr in only a few short minutes. He circled around to cut his speed before he landed in the court.
'Where have you been?' he demanded.
'What a question,' Thelvyn remarked sourly, sitting back on his haunches. 'Obviously we had a little more trouble than we expected, but we've made it back. The only important thing now is the question of what has been happening here since we left. I assume that you've moved the dragons to the west.'
'I had to,' Marthaen answered. 'There's an army of incredible size and strength coming out of the northwest. I've sent out a call, in the name of the Dragonking, for all the dragons in the world to gather here to fight this invasion.'
Thelvyn nodded. 'That's good. We have seen lines of soldiers and supply trains that stretched for miles, waiting to be sent into our world. I'm sorry to have caused you concern by being so late, but I'm glad you took the initiative for commanding our defenses in my absence.'
'When you did not return after the first day, the Great One advised me to prepare our defenses at once,' the First Speaker explained. 'He assured me that he would bring you back as soon as he could.'
'Then he was waiting for us,' Kharendaen remarked. 'No wonder we were able to make contact so quickly. I feel better knowing that.'
'I don't,' Thelvyn said. 'If I had thought, we could have been home last night and avoided that last fight.'
'Last fight?' Sir George asked, his eyebrows arched. 'How many did you have?'
'The Masters are not presently engaged in any actual attacks anywhere you know about?' Thelvyn persisted, ignoring the old knight.
Marthaen shook his head. 'They simply disappeared after their invasion of the Highlands fell apart. As far as we can tell, they've been gathering all their strength for a final battle, and we are doing the same.'
Because the two young dragons looked so miserable, their discussion was suspended for a time so that they could fly out to the foothills of the Colossus Mountains and bathe in a small lake that Kharendaen knew about from the years when she had lived in Braejr. By the time they returned to the lair, Solveig had arranged for food and drink to be brought to them. They still looked very worn and abused, even after cleaning up. Marthaen threatened to call the clerics to inspect them. Kharendaen reminded him that she was a cleric.
They gave a quick account of their journey through the world of the Masters. Thelvyn was grateful that Kharendaen was willing to relate the events of their journey, since there were long periods of time he did not recall. He was also grateful she didn't speak of certain things he found painful or embarrassing. The others were clearly concerned by all they heard, especially about the Overlord. Indeed, Marthaen laid back his ears and stared at the floor, looking defeated.
'Then for all our efforts, we face an enemy we cannot defeat,' he said. 'Do we have any hope?'
'I see many reasons for hope,' Thelvyn assured him. 'Ever since he first encountered the gemstone dragons, he has planned to gather his strength until he could lead them here and make his home in our world. The Veydran told me he will lose some of his own strength when he leaves his own world. It is my hope he will not be nearly as strong as he was when I faced him in his own stronghold.'
'And you said you made him retreat from you in fear once already,' Sir George pointed out hopefully.
'Do not attach too much importance to that,' Thelvyn warned. 'I do not know why he fled. He appeared to have every advantage, yet he himself made no effort to prevent our escape. Perhaps he could no longer estimate my own powers, and he preferred not to take a chance. At any rate, the next time he faces me he will be in our world, where I am stronger and where I will be supported by the powers of the Immortals.'
'Of course, he will also have the support of the Masters,' Solveig added.
Thelvyn shook his head slowly. 'I don't think so. Think of the Masters as clerics of the Overlord. We have seen already that he shares his powers with them. For that reason, their presence does not make him more powerful, because he has to divide his strength among them. Indeed, if he were forced to fight me directly, he might possibly have to withdraw his support from the Masters to strengthen himself.'
