“Of course, Goldmoon found her,” Dalamar said. “She was meant to find her.”
“What do you mean?” Palin glanced at Dalamar, but the elf’s expression was enigmatic. Dalamar shrugged, said nothing, gestured back to the dark pool.
“Mina!” Goldmoon whispered, rocking her adopted daughter. “Mina! Child . . . why did you leave us when we all loved you so much?”
“I left for love of you, Mother. I left to seek what you wanted so desperately. And I found it, Mother! I found it for you.
“Dearest Mother.” Mina took hold of Goldmoon’s hands and pressed them to her lips. “All that I am and all that I have done, I have done for you.”
“I... don’t understand, child,” Goldmoon faltered. “You wear the symbol of evil, of darkness... Where did you go? Where have you been? What has happened to you?”
Mina laughed. “Where I went and where I have been is not important. What happened to me along the way—that is what you must hear.
“Do you remember, Mother, the stories you used to tell me? The story about how you traveled into darkness to search for the gods? And how you found the gods and brought faith in the gods back to the people of the world?”
“Yes,” said Goldmoon. She had gone so very pale that Palin determined to be with her, cost him what it might.
He began to chant the words of magic. The words that came out of his mouth, however, were not the words that had formed in his brain. Those words were rounded, smooth, flowed easily. The words he spoke were thick and square-sided, tumbled out like blocks dropped on the floor. He halted, angry at himself, forced himself to calm down and try again. He knew the spell, could have said it backward. He might well have said it backward, for all the sense it made.
“You’re doing this to me!” Palin said accusingly.
Dalamar was amused. “Me?” He waved his hand. “Go to Goldmoon, if you want. Die with her, if you want. I’m not stopping you.”
“Then who is? This One God?”
Dalamar regarded him in silence a moment, then turned back to gaze down into the pool. He folded his hands in the sleeves of his robes. “There was no past, Majere. You went back in time. There was no past.”
“You told me the gods were gone, Mother,” Mina said. “You told me that because the gods were gone we had to rely on ourselves to find our way in the world. But I didn’t believe that story, Mother.
“Oh”—Mina placed her hand over Goldmoon’s mouth, silencing her—“I don’t think you lied to me. You were mistaken, that was all. You see, I knew better. I knew there was a god for I heard the voice of the god when I was little and our boat sank and I was cast alone into the sea. You found me on the shore, do you remember, Mother? But you never knew how I came to be there, because I promised I would never tell. The others drowned, but I was saved. The god held me and supported me and sang to me when I was afraid of the loneliness and dark.
“You said there were no gods, Mother, but I knew you were wrong. So I did what you did. I went to find god and bring god back to you. And I’ve done that, Mother. The miracle of the storm. That is the One God. The miracle of your youth and beauty. That is the One God, Mother.”
“Now do you understand, Majere?” Dalamar said softly.
“I think I am beginning to,” said Palin. His broken hands clasped tightly together. The room was cold, his fingers ached with the chill. “I would add, ‘the gods help us’ but that might be out of place.”
“Hush!” Dalamar snapped. “I can’t hear. What did she say?”
“You asked for this,” Goldmoon demanded, indicating her altered body with a gesture. “This is not me. It is your vision of me....”
“Aren’t you pleased?” Mina continued, not hearing her or not wanting to hear. “I have so much to tell you that will please you. I’ve brought the miracle of healing back into the world with the power of the One God. With the blessing of the One, I felled the shield the elves had raised over Silvanesti and I killed the treacherous dragon Cyan Bloodbane. A truly monstrous green dragon, Beryl, is dead by the power of the One God. The elven nations that were corrupt and faithless have both been destroyed, their people dead.”
“The elven nations destroyed!” Dalamar gasped, his eyes burning. “She lies! She cannot mean that!”
“Strange to say this, but I do not think Mina knows how to lie,” Palin said.
“But in death, they will find redemption,” Mina preached. “Death will lead them to the One God.”
“I see blood on these hands,” Goldmoon said, her voice tremulous. “The blood of thousands! This god you have found is terrible god. A god of darkness and evil!”
“The One God told me you would feel this way, Mother,” Mina responded. “When the other gods departed and you thought you were left alone, you were angry and afraid. You felt betrayed, and that was only natural. For you had been betrayed. The gods in which you had so misguidedly placed your faith fled in fear. ...”
“No!” Goldmoon cried out. She rose unsteadily to her feet and fell away from Mina, holding out her hand in warding. “No, Child, I don’t believe it. I won’t listen to you.” Mina seized Goldmoon’s hand.
“You will listen, Mother. You must, so that you will understand. The gods fled in fear of Chaos, Mother. All except one. One god remained loyal to the people she had helped to create. One only had the courage to face the terror of the Father of All and of Nothing. The battle left her weak. Too weak to make manifest her presence in the world. Too weak to fight the strange dragons that came to take her place. But although she could not be with her people, she gave gifts to her people to help them fight the dragons. The magic that they called the wild magic, the power of healing that you know as the power of the heart . . . those were her gifts. Her gifts to you.”
“If those were her gifts, then why did the dead need to steal them for her . . .” said Dalamar softly. “Look! Look there!” He pointed to the still water.
“I see.” Palin breathed.
The heads of the five dragons that guarded what had once been the Portal to the Abyss began to glow with an eerie radiance, one red, one blue, one green, one white, one black.
“What fools we have been,” Palin murmured.
“Kneel down,” Mina commanded Goldmoon, “and offer your prayers of faith and thanksgiving to the One True God. The One God who remained faithful to her creation—”
“No, I don’t believe what you are telling me!” Goldmoon said, standing fast. “You have been deceived, Child. I know this One God. I know her of old. I know her tricks and her lies and deceits.” Goldmoon looked at the five-headed dragon.
“I do not believe your lies, Takhisis!” Goldmoon said defiantly. “I will never believe that the blessed Paladine and Mishakal left us to your mercy!”
“They didn’t leave, did they?” Palin said.
“No,” Dalamar said. “They did not.”
“You are what you have always been,” Goldmoon cried. “A god of Evil who does not want worshipers, you want slaves! I will never bow down to you! I will never serve you!” White fire flared from the eyes of the five dragons. Palin watched in horror to see Goldmoon begin to wither in the terrible heat.
“Too late,” said Dalamar with terrible calm. “Too late. For her. And for us. They’ll be coming for us soon. You know that.”