For a dragon, that would be nothing.
Finally, Ramoch led him into a chamber so enormous, it was beyond his ability to truly grasp. It could have housed all of Nawal, and perhaps even Caledo and Lake Calessa. In fact, the chamber had a lake of molten rock as its basis. The edge of the rock shelf onto which Kerrigan emerged had been worked with odd sigils in an arc. They pulsed with power and he assumed they were what prevented those standing on the shelf from bursting into flame. Above the lake, a huge stone arch held the chamber’s roof in place.
The lake itself had a number of tall stone formations with craggy sides that rose like fiattopped mountains. Elsewhere, cut into the rock walls were other perches, large and small. The ones above the shelf remained empty, but those on the lake and surrounding it had dragons sitting or lying on them. Dragons of every size and color were present. Some were missing toes or eyes, others had broken horns and tails and jagged scars devoid of scales. Kerrigan noticed some appeared to be asleep, and one or two, he could have sworn, were actually just stone statues tucked into a niche.
Kerrigan took all that in before the shouts of others brought him back to the world. Lombo scrambled over, and Qwc circled him happily, then returned to a place at the apex of the shelf’s curve. Alexia was there with Crow, both of them looking very happy. He recognized Prince Erlestoke of Oriosa, and saw he was carrying a fragment of the DragonCrown. Resolute stood beside him and had a hand resting on the hilt of his sword.
Kerrigan smiled and waved, scratching Lombo behind an ear. Seeing them all made his heart swell. Throughout his life he had always felt he was an outsider, but these people accepted him and even liked him. He saw the joy he felt reflected on their faces, and that made him happier yet.
Will, bright-eyed, came running over as Lombo withdrew. “Kerrigan, have you seen this place? It’s huge, like Bokagul, but huger!”
“I know. My master was giving me a tour.” Kerrigan looked hard at Will, for the ghostly shape of a man was clinging to him like a shadow. “Will, what is… ?”
“That?” Will jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “A thing Dranae did with dracomagick. He’s a dragon, you know. He’s the one who healed me, using dracomagick; that’s why your spells didn’t quite figure out what was goins on. He’s called Dravothrak here. That’s him, the big green one, right over there.”
Kerrigan nodded, but the green dragon gave no sign he’d seen him.
Rym Ramoch took a step toward Will, then looked over at Dravothrak. “Dravothrak, have you any idea what you have done?”
The green’s head came up, but the ghostly form flowed from behind Will to eclipse the dragon. The phantom went from translucent white to black, fire erupting from its eye sockets. I’ve seen him before! Ice flushed through Kerrigan’s guts. That is Nefrai-laysh!
Nefrai-laysh’s left hand darted forward, fingers stiffened into a blade. He plunged his hands into Rym Ramoch’s chest with a great snapping sound and the tearing of cloth. As the sullanciri ripped his hand free, the sorcerer collapsed on the ground, his arms and legs twisted unnaturally. Worse yet, the hole in his chest let Kerrigan see that Ramoch was nothing more than a huge wooden doll. The mask had been knocked askew when he fell, revealing a blank face.
The sullanciri danced back, holding aloft a glowing ruby stone. It pulsed with life strong enough to radiate light through Nefrai-laysh’s black flesh, outlining his bones. The sullanciri gathered his feet beneath him, then leaped back and away from the crowd, landing gracefully on one of the flat perches above the shelf.
“Hark unto me, dragonkind; my mistress would have you know her mind. Things here, you will debate, and your decision rests much on fate.” Chytrine’s herald laughed aloud. “Discuss as you must, discuss as you will. Discuss wisely and I won’t have to kill. Listen to them, listen to me, then the world’s fate decided shall be.”
73
Nefrai-laysh spoke in a dismal rhyme, but Will barely heard his words. He looked from the broken manikin and up at Kerrigan’s face. Shock and betrayal dragged at the mage’s cheeks, and they drained of color. His eyes began to glaze over, but Will grabbed two fistfuls of his tunic. “I’m sorry, Kerrigan, I’m sorry, but I need you here. This is bad and we have to fix it.”
Bok reached out, his arm transforming, and swept Will away. The thief spun and fell, landing on his butt not ten feet away from Qwc. As his head came up, he saw Nefrai-laysh on the shelf. His form had become completely black save for the fire burning in his eye sockets and his flaming cloak. He held the glowing gem aloft as if he were going to throw it down and dash it into a million pieces.
A large dragon, with dark blue scales striped with lighter blue, shifted on his stone pedestal. “This Congress would accept testimony from a representative of the court of Aurolan. You need not threaten Rymramoch that way.”
“Alas, parity with them I desire, those before the lake of fire.” The sullanciri pointed at Erlestoke. “A Truestone has he, so even are we.”
The blue tilted its head to the right. “We would treat you with equanimity regardless. You are all guests here, and are bound by the Peace of our Congress. Violence one upon the other is not permitted. Violate the peace and earn our ire.
Crow pointed to the broken puppet. “This was not violence?” Another dragon, this one a mottled grey with one broken horn, pointed its muzzle toward a dragon resting in a niche. The one he indicated had red scales, but their color was muted, as if it lay beneath an inch of dust.
“Rymramoch is not a guest and Rymramoch put Rymramoch in jeopardy. Foolishness paid is foolishness bought.”
Dravothrak spoke. “And totally beside the point. I was sent to travel among men and so I have. We have been told that men mean to collect the Truestones and recreate the Crown to force us to abandon our duty. That is not true. They have held the pieces apart to prevent Chytrine from recreating the Crown and using it to destroy all that lives.”
The grey snorted two jets of flame. “There is a problem with the extermination of men? We created the Panqui to keep men away from our homes, but they still encroach. Chytrine does us a minor service in pursuit of a greater one.”
A black dragon with red stripes spoke, and Will realized two things. The first was that he’d seen that dragon before, at Vilwan. The second was that the wall between him and the lake not only served to keep the heat out, but was functioning to translate the hissing of dragons into words they could understand. I wonder if Resolute hears them speaking Elvish?
Vriisureol’s voice rumbled through the invisible wall. “For how long does she serve us? Now she offers to be our ally. She uses the Truestones in her possession to summon some, then lets them offer her their service. She has enslaved no one, but will this always be the way?”
The blue replied. “The Crown is ever a threat as long as it exists. Chytrine says that when she gets all the pieces and fits them together, she will unmake the Crown, freeing the Truestones and us of their tyranny forever. She is gathering them for this purpose.”