Now recovered, Black Kalgalath glared full at him. "That is not for you to know."
The Mage stood. "What are its powers?"
Daagor roared. "Fool! Did we not say that was not for you to know?"
Undaunted, the Mage said, "This I do know: here we have a mighty token, one that even Dragons fear. If you would have our pledge of warding, then we need to know something of it, else you can go from here unsatisfied, the stone yet in your grasp."
Daagor and Kalgalath exchanged glances, but Quirm blurted, "We cannot sense it, Mage, and he who holds it and learns of its powers will command-"
["Silence!"] roared Kalgalath in the ancient tongue, turning on Quirm in fury. Yet at the same time flame roared forth from Daagor, and his claws slammed against the green Drake's skull, driving him hindwards. ["Yield nothing, nothing, to these Mages!"]
["Daagor, cease!"] bellowed Black Kalgalath. ["We can trust none but the weakest of us to bear the stone."]
Reluctantly, Daagor lowered his claws and muted his flame and stepped back from the cowering green Drake.
The Mage had scrambled away from the fury of the Dragons and now stood near the gate, ready to flee through the postern at need. But when he saw that the fighting was done, he called out, "I will bear your request to my fellow Mages. We will confer, and I will bring you our answer tomorrow."
But Magekind debated for three days instead of but one, for such a critical issue could not be decided overnight. They speculated on the powers of the green stone and mulled over the reaction of the Drakes. And they considered Quirm's words and the attack of Daagor upon the green Drake for revealing what little he did.
It was of no moment that the Dragons at times had spoken in their ancient tongue, for the seers within had understood their every word. Given the import the Drakes placed upon the stone-now referred to as the Dragonstone-they debated what they would ask in return for their own unbreakable oath. The debate was long and heated, for there were many who vowed to make no pledge whatsoever unto Dragonkind, and a few who called for all to pledge falsely and study the stone and its hold over the Dragons, to use it to force them into abject submission, if indeed it held that power.
In the end they came to their conclusions and took a binding vote, and only a few renegades refused to stand by it, and these would be no longer welcome in the Wizardholt should the Dragons agree to the Mages' demand.
When the bargaining Wizard finally returned to stand before the gate, Black Kalgalath and Daagor and Quirm- and the green stone-were yet there, as were the Drakes on the peaks above.
And the Wizard said, "We will ward your Dragonstone, and take the pledge you require, but this we demand in return:
"Dragonkind will no longer plunder at will but instead will let the world be: all cities, towns, dwellings, farms, ships at sea, ports, forests, Mageholts, Elvenholts, Dwarvenholts, human habitations…" The Mage droned on and on, naming and restricting, proscribing and banning, describing and detailing, but in the end finally saying, "… and if you do not agree, and swear a binding oath on it, then you can take your stone and fly away."
All the while he had been speaking, Daagor and Kalgalath and even Quirm had lashed their tails and flexed their claws as their fury had grown, and even at times had roared, for to command compliance, obedience, in a Dragon was intolerable, insufferable, not to be borne.
Yet in the end Black Kalgalath glanced once more at the leather bag in Quirm's possession and said, "We will consider your despicable demands and give you our answer on the morrow."
But the Dragons debated for nearly two weeks, and the mountains roared with wrath and rage. And some flew off in fury-Sleeth and Redclaw and Skail and others, Daagor among them.
At last Black Kalgalath and Silverscale came to the Wizardholt, Quirm between the two, the green Drake yet bearing the bag.
"This we will agree to, Mage," said Kalgalath.
"We will remove ourselves to remote places and limit our raids to that which is needed for sustenance-a horse, a cow, or other such now and again.
"We will not plunder unless we are plundered ourselves, though I cannot imagine a creature who would even attempt to do so.
"We will not seek to take treasures owned, yet treasures abandoned are fair game.
"We will not mix in the affairs of humans, Dwarves, Mages, or aught others, unless they first meddle in the affairs of Dragons, in which case we will be free to take our just retribution."
Black Kalgalath continued to detail that which the Dragons would accept and that which they would reject, and the Mage took their proposal back unto the Council.
Mages had not sworn the oath either-each side had their renegades. And so it was settled at last.
And the pledged Mages took the Dragonstone into the darkness of Black Mountain and locked it away in a deep vault, and as they had sworn they did not probe into its secrets at all… though some Mages beyond Black Mountain, Mages who had not taken the oath, would now and then meddle in the affairs of the Drakes.
And the oathbound Dragons took to their remote fastnesses and for the most part let the world be-but for an occasional stolen cow or horse-and peace reigned for millennia… except for the scattered ravages of the unpledged renegade Drakes, Daagor's savage plunderings among the worst.
But then one day it was discovered-virtually by accident-that the Green Stone of Xian had vanished, had disappeared from the vault; just when this might have occurred, none knew. And when they plied their Wizardly talents to reveal what had happened, and where the missing green stone now lay, to their dismay they discovered that the Dragonstone was completely unscryable, hence anything concerning it-past, present, or future- stood beyond the reach of their arcane arts.
And thus things stood until Arin of Blackwood came.
CHAPTER 23
They sat in a small, remote, darkened chamber, where nought but a single candle burned, and that but a scanty taper. Arin's eyes were fixed on the flame as Lysanne spoke softly to her. Aiko knelt nearby on the dark stone floor. None else were present. Arin's eyes were heavy-lidded as Lysanne murmured gently, and at last they closed.
Lysanne set the candle aside, then turned to the Dylvana deep in an unforced trance.
"Can you hear me, Dara Arin?"
"Mmm," replied Arin.
"You may speak, Lady."
"Vi oren ana."
"Speak in the common tongue, Dara. Can you hear me?"
"I hear thee."
"Good." Lysanne glanced at Aiko. "Remember, child of Ryodo, all that you see and hear."
Aiko's black eyes glittered, and she nodded sharply once.
Now Lysanne turned back to Arin. "Dara, you too shall remember all that passes within. Do you understand?"
Slowly, Arin nodded.
"Good." Lysanne leaned back in her soft, padded chair and steepled her fingers. "I want you to return to that night in the glade when you saw the vision."
Arin shifted uneasily and her breathing sharpened.
"It is all right, Dara," soothed Lysanne. "I am here, as is Aiko, and nothing evil is at hand."
There came the whisper of steel being drawn as Aiko slid her swords from their scabbards. "I will protect you, my Lady."
Lysanne frowned at the yellow warrior, but Arin seemed to relax slightly, though her breathing was yet sharp.
"What do you see and hear, Dara?"
"I see the flames. I hear the horns."
"Horns?"
"The hunting horns. I know the stag now runs."
"Ah." Lysanne nodded. "I understand. But now, Dara, I would have you move forward in time, to when the hunt is done and the hunters returned, to when the vision comes. Tell me now what you see."
"Blood."
"Blood?"