pillars were carved in the likeness of the towering trunks of forest giants, and light curtains of green hung like leafy branches.
He paused, seeing that the Great One waited for him.
'There is much yet to explain, and I must speak quickly,' the Great One began at once. 'The Overlord is on the move, and the time of your final confrontation is at hand. But there are words I wish to impart to you before you return to your world.'
The Great One joined him, sitting down on the stone floor and then lowering himself to recline his full length with his neck raised. 'As you know already, until now I have now been the only dragon who ever attained the status of an Immortal. There has always been much that I have wanted to do for our people, but I have only very recently become powerful enough to begin acting upon policies of my own. There are two situations that I have desired to act upon, by two different but related means.
'First, I have always been distressed that dragons have been relegated such minor roles in the events of the world. On the whole, they are the most intelligent, the most magically gifted, the strongest, and among the longest-lived of all creatures. In them are combined elements of monsters, mortals, and Immortals. They should be counted among the major races, equal to men, elves and dwarves, and yet they have been little more than animals, the pawns of both mortals and Immortals. Dragons are routinely slain by the designs of mortals and the Immortals guiding them, for their treasures, for the magic artifacts in their keeping, or simply to magnify the reputation of the slayer.
'In part, the problem is due to the fact that dragons have so few advocates and little representation among the Immortals. This is doubly odd, since dragons may become Immortal comparatively easily by the Hidden Path, a path to Immortality that is almost unique to dragons because of their dual nature as both mortal and magical beings. By the Hidden Path, a dragon can be selected in advance-predestined as it were-to be a candidate for Immortality, since he should not even be aware that he is following the Hidden Path until the time of his final quest. So your purpose is not merely to fight the Overlord. I have long needed you to help me unite the dragons and to stand with me as their advocate and to prevent the other Immortals from using them as pawns in their policies.
'The problem is also in large part with the dragons themselves, for even the lawful dragons can be solitary and fierce, even violent, creatures, and few have been motivated to seek the world outside of their own narrow lives. My presence unified to a limited degree, but I have always sought to change the character of the dragons to make them more sociable, much as Kagyar altered the nature of the dwarves. You have already done much to continue the process of unifying and civilizing the dragons.'
'I, too, have seen that need,' Thelvyn admitted. 'I could ask for no more honorable task than to help the dragons to realize the nobility that I see in them.'
The Great One nodded. 'To that end, you are now to become Diamond, the first dragon ruler, lord of all lawful dragons. Since until this time the only lawful dragons have been the golds, your subjects will be joined by new races of lawful gemstone dragons, the crystal, sapphire, and ruby, once they are freed from the will of the Overlord. In time, I will also create two new dragon rulers: Opal, ruler of the neutral dragons; and Pearl, ruler of the chaotic dragons. Their presence will help to guide the races of dragons into the future that has been planned for them, for while the primary need of the dragons is for law and guidance, they must also maintain the greater balance, with chaos tempered by neutrality. But of the three, Diamond will always be wisest and most powerful.'
'But what about the Overlord?' Thelvyn asked. 'Can I defeat him?'
The Great One hesitated, considering the question carefully. 'You can defeat him if you are very careful. Since he has come into our world, we can see him now, and we understand his secrets better than previously. The huge, terrible creature you see is not his true self, only a manifestation of his will and magic. That is why you can break his will by knowing his true name, since knowing it disrupts the spells that allow him to function through his manifestation. Knowledge of his true name tells you how to stop him, but you must not only stop him but also destroy him. I do not yet see how that knowledge will help you to accomplish his destruction.'
Thelvyn sat for a moment, trying desperately to make sense of the problem. 'Perhaps what you have said does tell me what to do … or at least how to begin. When will I be ready?'
'You are ready now,' the Great One told him. 'Look at yourself.'
Only then did Thelvyn realize how he had changed. He had assumed his new form as a lesser Immortal so slowly and sub-rly that he hadn't even been aware of the transformation. Now he understood why his new name was Diamond. His appearance now was that of a great dragon very much like the gold he had been, but with scales that glittered like cut diamonds. He had become the very thing the gemstone dragons had tried to make of themselves, so that they were only pale and incomplete copies of himself.
'Go now, but be careful,' the Great One said. 'Do not try to rely only upon your new powers to defeat your enemy, for the Overlord is very powerful. You must be patient and clever.'
CHAPTER TWENTY
As soon as the Overlord began to suspect the dragons were in retreat, he ordered his forces to press forward. He had been trapped by the cleverness of the Dragonking once before, and therefore he proceeded cautiously, sending out the Masters to search out the dragons. He learned that the dragons were attempting to hold a defensive line along the western spur of the Wendarian Mountains, but they were evasive and seemed reluctant to fight. Now he could use the Masters to keep the dragons occupied farther to the east, giving the rest of his vast army the opportunity to advance quickly.
Of course, the one thing that the Overlord could not know was that the Dragonking was gone, having already departed for the distant west. Without the Dragonking, and with his lieutenants, Marthaen of the golds and Jherdar of the reds, away as well, the dragons had scattered into many small bands to hold out as best as they could. They would attack the gemstone dragons that hunted the mountains any time they had the element of surprise and a clear advantage in numbers, but otherwise they were content to flee or hide from their enemies.
And so they passed that first day and into the restless night, while the Overlord became increasingly bold. Yet even now he did not become reckless. He couldn't forget that the Dragonking was still out there somewhere, and that nothing would be certain until the Dragonlord was defeated. He was totally unaware that, on that same night, Thelvyn had been transformed into the dragon ruler Diamond.
Marthaen and his companions returned to the mountains the next morning. They had flown all night and looked rather the worse for wear after such a long journey, but there was no time now for rest. The main camp was still in the same place, on a remote, wooded plateau in the eastern edge of the mountains. Dragon couriers began seeking him out at once, and he soon had a fairly clear report of all that had happened in his absence. With no better idea of what to expect, Marthaen knew only that he had to maintain the best defense that he could for an uncertain amount of time, possibly several days.
Once he had heard the reports, he called together his chief advisors, Jherdar of the red dragons, Thalbar of the blacks, the cleric Kharendaen, plus many lesser kings and queens among the dragons who had gathered as quickly as they could. His younger sister had proven herself to be one of the most capable and clever fighters they had, although he was concerned that she might be reaching the limit of her strength. Sir George had invited himself to attend the council, and Marthaen was desperate enough that he was not about to deny the devious but resourceful mandrake.
'The Overlord obviously knows something is up,' Marthaen said as he sat back on his tail. 'I would like to know if he is just pressing the advantage while it seems to be his, or if he thinks that we have been forced to retreat.'
'The Masters have grown very bold,' one of the dragons offered. 'They seem to think we no longer dare to oppose them.'
Marthaen sighed, frowning. 'We must convince them that we can hold our own, or they will force us into a retreat. I don't know how long we'll have to hold out before the Dragonking returns.'
'I told you I'd hurry back,' someone said.
