‘During the Tests, the dragon orb...’—Alhana hesitated, seeming to search for the right words—‘spoke to him, to his mind. It feared some terrible calamity was approaching. “You must not leave me here in Istar,” it told him. “If so, I will perish and the world will be lost.” My father—I suppose you could say he stole the dragon orb, although he saw himself as rescuing it.
‘The Tower of Istar was abandoned. The Kingpriest moved in and used it for his own purposes. Finally the mages left the Tower of Palanthas.’ Alhana shivered. ‘Its story is a terrible one. The Regent of Palanthas, a disciple of the Kingpriest, arrived at the Tower to seal the gates shut—so he said. But all could see his eyes lingering on the beautiful Tower greedily, for legends of the wonders within—both fair and evil—had spread throughout the land.
‘The Wizard of the White closed the Tower’s slender gates of gold and locked them with a silver key. The Regent stretched out his hand, eager for the key, when one of the Black Robes appeared in a window in one of the upper stories.
‘ “The gates will remain closed and the halls empty until the day when the master of both the past and the present returns with power,” he cried. Then the evil mage leaped out, hurling himself down at the gates. As the barbs pierced the black robes, he cast a curse upon the Tower. His blood poured down on the ground, the silver and golden gates withered and twisted and turned to black. The shimmering tower of white and red faded to ice-gray stone, its black minarets crumbling to dust.
‘The Regent and the people fled in terror. To this day, no one has dared enter the Tower of Palanthas—or even approach its gates. It was after the cursing of the Tower that my father brought the dragon orb to Silvanesti.’
‘But surely your father knew something about the orb before he took it,’ Tanis persisted. ‘How to use it—’
‘If so, he did not speak of it,’ Alhana said wearily, ‘for that is all I know. I must rest now. Good-night,’ she said to Tanis without looking at him.
‘Good-night, Lady Alhana,’ Tanis said gently. ‘Rest easily this night. And don’t worry. Your father is wise and has lived through much. I’m certain everything is all right.’
Alhana started to sweep past without a word, then, hearing the sympathy in his voice, she hesitated.
‘Though he passed the Test,’ she said so softly Tanis had to step closer to hear, ‘he was not as powerful in his magic as your young friend is now. And if he thought the dragon orb was our only hope, I fear—’ Her voice broke.
‘The dwarves have a saying.’ Sensing for a moment that the barriers between them had been lowered, Tanis put his arm around Alhana’s slender shoulders and drew her close. ‘ “Trouble borrowed will be paid back with interest compounded on sorrow.” Don’t worry. We’re with you.’
Alhana did not answer. She let herself be comforted for just an instant, then, slipping free of his grasp, walked to the entrance to the cave. There she stopped and looked back.
‘You are worried about your friends,’ she said. ‘Do not be. They escaped the city and are safe. Though the kender was close to death for a time, he survived, and now they travel to Ice Wall in search of a dragon orb.’
‘How do you know this?’ Tanis gasped.
‘I have told you all I can.’ Alhana shook her head.
‘Alhana! How do you know?’ Tanis asked sternly.
Her pale cheeks stained with pink, Alhana murmured, ‘I—I gave the knight a Starjewel. He does not know its power, of course, nor how to use it. I don’t know why I gave it to him, even, except—’
‘Except what?’ Tanis asked, amazed beyond belief.
‘He was so gallant, so brave. He risked his life to help me, and he didn’t even know who I was. He helped me because I was in trouble. And—’ Her eyes glimmered. ‘And he wept, when the dragons killed the people. I’ve never seen an adult weep before. Even when the dragons came and drove us from our home, we did not weep. I think, perhaps, we’ve forgotten how.’
Then, as if realizing she had said too much, she hastily pulled aside the blanket and entered the cave.
‘In the name of the gods!’ Tanis breathed. A Starjewel! What a rare and priceless gift! A gift exchanged by elven lovers forced to part, the jewel creates a bond between souls. Thus linked, they share the innermost emotions of the loved one and can grant strength to each other in times of need. But never before in Tanis’s long life, had the half-elf heard of a Starjewel being given to a human. What would it do to a human? What kind of effect would it have? And Alhana—she could never love a human, never return love. This must be some sort of blind infatuation. She had been frightened, alone. No, this could only end in sorrow, unless something changed drastically among the elves or within Alhana herself.
Even as Tanis’s heart expanded with relief to know Laurana and the others were safe, it contracted with fear and grief for Sturm.
9
Silvanesti.
Entering the dream.
The third day, they continued their journey, flying into the sunrise. They had lost the dragons, apparently, although Tika, keeping watch behind, thought she could see black dots upon the horizon. And that afternoon, as the sun was sinking behind them, they neared the river known as Thon-Thalas—Lord’s River—which divided the outside world from Silvanesti.
All of his life, Tanis had heard of the wonder and beauty of the ancient Elven Home, though the elves of Qualinesti spoke of it without regret. They did not miss the lost wonders of Silvanesti, for the wonders themselves became a symbol of the differences that had developed between the elven kin.
The elves in Qualinesti lived in harmony with nature, developing and enhancing its beauty. They built their homes among the aspens, magically gilding the trunks with silver and gold. They built their dwellings of shimmering rose quartz, and invited nature to come dwell with them.
The Silvanesti, however, loved uniqueness and diversity in all objects. Not seeing this uniqueness existing naturally, they reshaped nature to conform to their ideal. They had patience and they had time, for what were centuries to elves whose life spans measured in the hundreds of years? And so they reformed entire forests, pruning and digging, forcing the trees and flowers into fantastic gardens of incredible beauty.
They did not ‘build’ dwellings, but carved and molded the marble rock that existed naturally in their land into such strange and wondrous shapes that—in the years before the races were estranged—dwarven craftsmen traveled thousands of miles to view them, and then could do nothing but weep at the rare beauty. And, it was said, a human who wandered into the gardens of Silvanesti could not leave, but stayed forever—enraptured, caught in a beautiful dream.
All this was known to Tanis only through legend, of course, for none of the Qualinesti had set foot in their ancient home since the Kinslayer wars. No human—it was believed—had been allowed in Silvanesti since a hundred years before that.
‘What about the stories,’ Tanis asked Alhana as they flew above the aspens on the backs of the griffons, ‘the stories of humans trapped by the beauty of Silvanesti, unable to leave? Do my friends dare go to this land?’ Alhana glanced back at him.
‘I knew humans were weak,’ she said coldly ‘but I did not think they were that weak. It is true humans do not come to Silvanesti, but that is because we keep them out. We certainly wouldn’t want to keep any in. If I thought there was danger of that, I would not allow you into my homeland.’
‘Not even Sturm?’ he couldn’t help asking wryly, nettled by her stinging tone.
But he was not prepared for the answer. Alhana twisted to face him, whipping around so fast her long black hair flailed his skin. Her face was so pale with anger, it seemed translucent and he could see the veins pulse beneath her skin. Her dark eyes seemed to swallow him in their black depths.