and tearing it away like scraps of paper. Diamond released a final sustained flash of intense light, and the massive, grotesque body of the Overlord dissolved in the glare.
But even that was not yet the end of the Overlord. Floating in the air where his body had been was the source of his will and power, the true self he had kept hidden inside the shell of the Overlord. It didn't even seem alive. What Diamond saw was a strange, utterly alien entity of crystal, bristling with quartzlike spikes of rose and gold and blue and green. This was a creature of the most remote of the outer planes, where all things were utterly different from the familiar life of the mortal realms. Long ago it had wandered through the planes, whether by chance or by misfortune or by deliberate choice, coming at last to a world where its unearthly powers had made it seem like a god. But mortal life was deadly to it, so it had been forced to create the protective form of the Overlord in which it could hide.
The pure light of Diamond's very being was destructive to it. The crystal structures of its being began to grow cloudy and pale, cracking and crazing. Then the dying shell exploded, and thousands of small lengths of crystal flew apart and scattered across the floor of the chamber, where they evaporated like mist.
Diamond subdued his brilliant light, transforming himself once more to the manifestation of his mortal form, the Dragonking. The battle was done, and he realized now that the Immortals had chosen their champion wisely, for the pure diamond light of his very being had proven to be his most deadly weapon. Spreading his wings, he leapt into the air and flew up through the great hole that had been blasted through the fortress. As he emerged into the sky above, he employed his powers a final time to seal the chamber and transform it into the tomb of the Overlord. The vast stronghold shook and began to collapse. In moments, the chamber that had been the
place of his final battle with the overlord was buried deep in a mound of crushed and broken stone.
Thelvyn turned and flew back toward the mountains of the east. There was no longer any need for haste All the creatures and objects sustained by the will of the Overlord weie now falling apart. The great worldgate sealed itself in a sudden flash of flame, while the last of the gemstone dragons fled into the wild. The Overlord's armies were now without direction, lost and frightened, and the strange beasts that had been enslaved to his will ran wild in an unfamiliar world.
For the moment, Thelvyn felt as lost and bewildered as any of the Overlord's former slaves. The purpose of his very existence had been fulfilled. For the first time in recent memory, there were no immediate challenges to face, no dire enemies to be fought, no sense of desperation driving him from one moment to the next. For the first time, his life was now his own. He hardly knew what to do with it.
Of course, there was still a large part of his world needing to be set right after the devastation of war. But that was a task he
would leave to others, for his time was drawing to an end.
The dragons sensed that Thelvyn had defeated the Overlord when they saw the fortress of storms begin to disperse, the lightning grow still, and the dark clouds blow off in the wind. But they had not truly dared to believe in their victory until the Dragonking himself returned out of the wilderness to assure them that their enemy was destroyed. That night they celebrated the triumph of their king in the mountains of the Wendarian Range. They hunted that afternoon and roasted the meat they caught in great, cheerful blazes, drinking from barrels of wine and ale their messengers had brought back from the Highlands and Darokin and other lands when they spread the news of the Dragonking's victory. It was the first time in their long history that the entire race of dragons had been brought together in celebration.
The dragons had more than enough to keep them busy over the next few days. The most immediate problem was what to do with an invading army of vast proportions that no longer wished to fight. The Masters had ceased to exist with the passing of the Overlord; they were now only gemstone dragons, not so terribly different from their estranged brethren. The moment they felt the death of the Overlord, they had become free of him forever. And so they had begun to timidly seek out the dragons even that first night, drawn by the lights of the fires of celebration. The Dragonking had pardoned them and called upon them to gather together their scattered numbers so that they could help to set right many of the troubles left from the invasion.
The Overlord's countless other slaves presented a much larger problem, and one that proved more difficult to solve. With the help of the gemstone dragons, the dragon sorcerers reopened the great worldgate to the main stronghold of the Overlord in his old world, and from there they were able to locate many of the lesser gateways into other worlds that had been invaded. In this way, many of the slave races of the Overlord had returned to their own worlds, homes that most of them had not seen in generations. There were some who could not be sent home, either because their worlds had been destroyed or the gates were lost. After some negotiation, many of the nations of the Grand Alliance agreed to take in these wanderers, so that they came to settle in the Highlands, in nearby Darokin and Traladara, and even in distant Alphatia.
The beasts were also a problem, not only in the mountainous west but also in places like the Highlands and Rockhome, where large numbers of them had escaped during previous battles. Most were of exotic breeds, too dangerous to be allowed to run free in this new world, and there was nothing else to be done but have the dragons hunt them down and slay them. Those that could be captured were returned to the worlds of their origin whenever it could be determined. Inevitably, some escaped into the wild despite the best efforts of the dragons.
At last the day came when the dragons had done all they could, and it was time for them to go home. Some departed for Windreach in the distant east, but most of the dragons would be returning to their own territories throughout the world. Thelvyn would soon be going to Windreach himself, but first he had to go to Braejr with his companions for a final meeting of the Grand Alliance. Marthaen and Jherdar had to leave for the east immediately to attend to responsibilities of their own, but Kharendaen would not be parted from her mate. Once again Sir George rode in the saddle she wore.
The Highlands had been greatly unsettled during the war, and Braastar stood partly in ruins, but the Flaem were joined by many of their kinsmen who had been held in slavery by the Overlord. Some other captive races settled there as well, and the newcomers worked very hard to rebuild their new homeland. Thelvyn met with the delegates of the Grand Alliance for the last time, thanking them for their assistance before dismissing them to return to their own lands.
Of course, no one but the dragons knew that Thelvyn was now the Immortal called Diamond; that was a secret they would keep to themselves forever. After his battle with the Overlord, he didn't resume his Immortal form but returned to his manifestation as a gold dragon. He was now a lesser Immortal and bound by the laws that governed the actions of the Immortals; soon he would be required to distance himself from the affairs of the world. He met that night for the last time with his companions in the lair at Solveig's house. Darius Glantri was there, as well as Korinn Bear Slayer and Perrantin, who had arrived by dragon that same morning to represent Traladara in the Grand Alliance. As much as Thelvyn regretted it, he couldn't allow even his old friends to know his secret, and so he didn't know what to tell them when they asked what he would do now and when he might return.
'Are you well?' Solveig asked Thelvyn as he reclined in the large bed, a barrel of sweet Flaemish ale beside him.
Thelvyn was surprised by the question. 'Don't I look well?'
Solveig shrugged. 'Actually, you do. That's the part I'm worried about, considering all you've been through these last few weeks. When you came here a few days ago after your adventures in the world of the Overlord, you looked nearly dead.'
'Be assured that I am feeling very well indeed,' he insisted. 'For the first time, my life now belongs to no one but me. And
I have places to go.'
'But first to Windreach,' Sir George declared as he stared at a glass of his favorite cherry liqueur.
'Are you going along as well?' Korinn asked the old knight.
'I have asked Sir George to come with me,' Thelvyn said. 'Perhaps this will be our last journey together. We will see.'
'Well, I've been keeping you out of trouble this long,' Sir George said, a remark that caused the dragons to twitch their ears.
'Just don't forget your other friends,' Korinn declared. 'At least now, for the first time in all the years I've known you, I won't have to be worrying about you.'
'We've all spent enough time worrying about Thelvyn to last a lifetime,' Solveig said. 'For such a strange,
