Nor did any of the Knights of Solamnia make a gesture to break the standoff. They stood quietly, their features aloof, even disdainful. Alya searched the group for their leader, Lord Gunthar uth Wistan, finally spotting him in center of the group. Though one of the oldest living men on Krynn, the Grand Master of the Knights of Solamnia still stood tall and proud, like a Knight from a greater age, but one now long passed. He stood perfectly still, his back erect, one hand resting on the pommel of the great sword hanging at his side as he surveyed the dragons and their riders.
A little to the left and just behind the Grand Master lurked another man, a Knight who had been described in detail to Alya. He stood a head taller than Lord Gunthar, and his locks and long Solamnic mustaches were still dark, despite the fact that he was one of the oldest of the active members of the Knighthood. Not so old as Gunthar, but still, he'd been among the Knights at the High Clerist's Tower when the armies of Takhisis attacked the city of Palanthas. Unmarried, with no children and no familial ties to distract him, Sir Liam Ehrling, Lord High Justice, was utterly dedicated to the Knighthood. He was the protege of Lord Gunthar and was universally expected to succeed as Lord of Knights when the ancient Grand Master finally died. Though his face remained as expressionless as stone, his dark eyes smoldered beneath his brows, and he glanced more often, Alya noted with some interest, at Lord Gunthar than at the dragons and Knights of Takhisis gathered in all their glory and terror before him.
"I don't think they trust us," she whispered to Tohr.
"And I don't trust them," Tohr answered. "This still might be a trap."
"Well, we'd better do something, or we'll end up sitting here all night," she said.
"Gunthar invited us. Let him make the first move," Tohr growled.
As though in response, Gunthar stepped forward. A handsome young Knight stepped out with him, but the old Grand Master shooed him back with a wave of his hand. He stepped out into the courtyard and approached the dragons.
"Stay here," Lord Tohr commanded. He rose in the saddle and then climbed down from atop the dragon, using the saddle's straps and decorations to assist his decent. Once on the ground, he walked forward, pausing briefly by the lowered head of the blue as though to confer for a moment.
The dragon whispered, as best as a dragon can whisper, "If he makes one wrong move, I'll blast him."
Without turning or even showing a hint of emotion, Lord Tohr responded. "You'll do nothing. If you pull one more stunt with me, I'll see you spend the rest of your days nursing hatchlings. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, Lord Tohr," the dragon rumbled.
With that settled, Lord Tohr Malen continued across the courtyard. Though his back obviously ached from the chill hours spent in the cramped dragonsaddle, he bore himself with rigid dignity, his left hand resting on the great black mace strapped to his waist, his right hand swinging sharply at his side, marking time in a swift military step.
Gunthar, though no less dignified, approached more slowly. The hand that rested on the pommel of his great sword trembled slightly, but not with fear. His spurs rang as he walked, piercing the near-quiet of the courtyard. A gust of wind stirred the bonfires, making them crackle and sending sparks floating high over the courtyard.
The two great Knights stopped a few yards apart and eyed each other. By the sharpness of Gunthar's glance, Tohr, a quick judge of men, decided the Grand Master was neither deceitful nor deranged, as some had suggested when the unexpected offer to join the two orders was first presented to the Knights of Takhisis. Since Gunthar had made the first move by crossing the courtyard to meet him, now Tohr returned the gesture by speaking first. "Tohr Malen, Knight of the Skull, at your service," he said, bowing slightly at the waist.
"Gunthar uth Wistan, Knight of the Rose, at your service," Gunthar responded, bowing in kind. "Welcome to Sancrist Isle." He stepped forward and extended his hand.
Tohr advanced and met him. Their two hands clasped before them, between them. They stood for a moment facing each other, each tightly gripping the other's hand in a firm handshake. Then they turned so that both parties of Knights could see their joined hands.
Tohr made a sweep of his free hand to indicate the dragonmounted Knights behind him. "I present to you the delegation of the Knights of Takhisis. We beg leave to reside in this land, and look forward to the merging of our two great orders," he said.
"Welcome!" Gunthar shouted, his voice booming across the courtyard. "Welcome to Castle uth Wistan!"
He was answered with a cheer as the Knights of Takhisis began to dismount.
6
Lady Jessica Destianstone's stomach writhed as she watched Gunthar stride across the courtyard to meet the leader of the Knights of Takhisis dismounting from his dragon. Not because she had just devoured enough meat from Gunthar's banquet table to satisfy three ravenous dwarves, or because the tense scene between the other Knights and Lord Gunthar had just been interrupted by the arrival of the Knights of Solamnia's most hated foe; she simply never imagined she'd be this close to a blue dragon, much less twelve of them. Their aura of magical fear had started cold icy sweat rolling down her cheeks, and her stomach felt as if she'd swallowed a cold stone the size of a dragon orb. Nervously she slapped the pommel of her sword as the leader of the Knights of Takhisis stopped beside his dragon's head and muttered something from the corner of his mouth. Jessica tensed, expecting some treachery.
But nothing violent occurred, as yet. The leader of the Knights of Takhisis strode forward, meeting Lord Gunthar in the center of the courtyard. The two great Knights clasped hands, but it was hard to tell whether the handshake was one of friendship or rather more like that of two men wrestling. The muscles of the Dark Knight's arm bulged as he squeezed Gunthar's hand, and Gunthar fought back gamely. They turned, and Gunthar shouted something. The Knights of Takhisis responded with a roar and began to dismount from their dragons. For a moment, Lady Jessica thought they were attacking.
"Sheath that sword, Lady Knight," muttered the older warrior standing at her shoulder.
Looking up, she noted for the first time that Sir Liam Ehrling had moved in beside her. She quailed at the thought that he'd been at her side the entire time and hoped she hadn't been thinking out loud, a habit brought about by her almost constant solitude. Jessica spent most of her time in lonely watch upon the northern frontier of the Knights' lands, in a drafty old tumbledown castle, with only an ancient dwarven squire to attend her horse and arms. She'd come at the summons of Lord Gunthar, though she hardly knew why she'd been summoned. Never once since becoming a Knight of the Crown had she attended a banquet at Castle uth Wistan, and now here she stood, at what was apparently a momentous event in the Knighthood's history. Why she'd been commanded to attend was completely beyond her, and she wished she were back in her comfortable old chilly castle, curled up with a book and a candle by the fire.
Relieved that the Knights of Takhisis were not attacking after all, Jessica allowed her sword to drop back into its sheath. The Dark Knights were gathering around their leader and Lord Gunthar. Gunthar shook hands with a handsome female Knight of Takhisis who'd ridden on the same dragon as their leader. She was head and shoulders shorter than the leader of the Dark Knights, but they bore similar features, from raven curls damp with sweat from wearing the massive dragonhelms, to their thin, somewhat arrogant aquiline noses; the two might have been brother and sister. Next, a man cowled and robed all in gray stepped forward, nodding to the Solamnic Grand Master before retreating to the rear of the gathering crowd of Dark Knights. Finally, a Knight of some importance strode up from the back and was introduced to Gunthar. As he bowed, he removed his dragonhelm, allowing long white locks to spill down upon his shoulders. As he turned his head to say something to another Knight, Jessica noticed his delicately pointed ears, and her breath caught in her throat.