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
