“Our enemies would rejoice if Baga Loa exploded,” Andromadus said. “Guard her well.”
“As always, we will do our duty,” Savani said. “Tell me of the war.”
Andromadus sighed. “Frosted Peaks has fallen. It happened quickly. Celebrant grows bolder. He is organizing the dragons from the fallen preserves. The remaining sanctuaries are besieged, whether they know it or not. The wizards of the Small Council have openly joined Celebrant.”
“Openly?” Savani asked.
“They have declared war alongside the dragons,” Andromadus said.
“What is the Small Council?” Kendra asked.
“Wizards have never been great in number,” Andromadus said. “We tend to operate individually, but the Major Council of Wizards forms when we need to work together or take disciplinary action, and every wizard has an equal voice. The Small Council, on the other hand, has long been an unsanctioned group of dissidents among us. Most of the wizards who joined the Society of the Evening Star were members of the Small Council.”
“You’ve learned a lot about wizards in a short while,” Kendra said.
“I have consulted with some of the others,” Andromadus said. “Most of them were young dragons or not yet hatched back when I was the Dragon King. In fact, they have asked me to oversee the Major Council and to lead Dragonwatch.”
“You accepted?” Kendra asked.
“I pledged to do my best,” Andromadus said. “You know I didn’t want any of this. My longtime attempts to withdraw from world events have utterly failed.”
“We’re grateful for your aid,” Savani said.
“The Small Council formed to champion the rights of dragons,” Andromadus said. “I applaud their original mission, but their intent has evolved from protecting the rights of dragons to promoting their darkest ambitions to the detriment of all. The Small Council has now shamelessly joined the fight to help dragons destroy humanity.”
“What can the Small Council do?” Kendra asked.
“All kinds of mischief, unfortunately,” Andromadus said. “Several members have official access to certain sanctuaries and preserves. One of them was responsible for the dullions that attacked this sanctuary today.”
“Aren’t the wizards mostly against the dragons?” Kendra asked.
“Do not misunderstand,” Andromadus clarified. “None of us are against dragons. We all were once dragons. Our ancestors, our families, our descendants are dragons. But many of us are against the unnatural desire for dragons to combine into a society and raze their hunting ground. Dragons are solitary by nature. Do we hunt? Almost anything. Do we hoard? Everything of value. Do we wreak havoc? On occasion, especially if provoked.
“Before now, we had never sought to rule. We had never tried to organize a nation. And only once had we sought the level of destruction that would leave the world in ruins.”
“The dragon war,” Kendra said. “After they lost, the dragons were put into sanctuaries.”
“I fear this new war is more deliberate and better organized,” Andromadus said.
“Do all the dragons want this war?” Kendra asked. “Or mostly Celebrant?”
“I believe this way of thinking originated with him, largely as a reaction to his incarceration,” Andromadus said. “How deeply the other dragons have been indoctrinated, how truly they desire this new pattern of behavior, I cannot guess. But I believe that Celebrant is exploiting our innate desire for dominance to extremes that harm our best interests.”
“What chance do we have against them?” Kendra asked.
“Celebrant has organized a hunt for the five legendary Dragon Slayers,” Andromadus said. “It is a vulnerable time for those retired heroes—they have essentially been in hibernation since the dragon war. Nobody knows where to find them. Some or all of them might be asleep to their true identities. But the dragons remember them well and wish to eliminate those ancient foes before they can regain their former stature.”
“We have to find the Dragon Slayers before they do,” Kendra said.
“Just as we must recover the talismans hidden in the dragon temples—the Sage’s Gauntlets, the Emperor’s Shield, and the Harp of Ages. All dragons fear these items for good reason. And of course, at all cost, we must protect the Sovereign Skull, which augments the unbelief of mortals to potently repel dragons. If those deterrents are lost, Celebrant will ravage the globe.”
“Are you ready to fight for us?” Kendra asked, knowing that Andromadus had always been committed to pacifism in the past.
“I will stand with you,” Andromadus said, “for as long as dragons are determined to pursue a course harmful to their kind and to all the world.”
“Will you fight?” Kendra repeated.
“You know I am a pacifist,” Andromadus said. “I recognize that there are times when even the peaceful must defend themselves from the violence and aggression of others. I cannot commit to physically harm my kind, but I commit to aid in your fight.”
Kendra considered the wizard. His direct willingness to help represented progress. “I don’t want to fight dragons,” she said. “I don’t want to fight anyone. But I can’t let evil harm those I love.”
“I understand that you intend to visit Titan Valley,” Andromadus said.
“How did you hear that?” Kendra asked.
“I was talking to Tanu,” Andromadus said. “He informed me about Seth.”
“I have to find him,” Kendra said.
“There is strategic value in you going there,” Andromadus said. “For one, Titan Valley is the most secure of the dragon sanctuaries.”
“By deplorable means,” Savani said.
“What do you mean?” Kendra asked.
“The Giant Queen does not respect the creatures in her care,” Savani said. “She doesn’t serve them. At best, she views them as resources she controls.”
“Few caretakers approve of her methods,” Andromadus said. “And no wizards do. But we may need her aid in the war. And it works to our advantage to keep her sanctuary standing.”
“How did she become the caretaker?” Kendra asked.
“By treaty, long ago,” Andromadus said. “Appointing her to the position made the giants less of a threat and granted them a homeland. It did not go well for the dragons in her care. Before this war, if there were any sanctuary where I might have aided a dragon rebellion, it would have been Titan Valley.”
“But you want me to go there?”
