Dwarven Nations - Hammer And Axe Part 17

"I have t-:rsl watch;' Tanis said. He paused, then added, "You seem afraid your father might have tried to use [his dragon orb. Surely he would know its history. If I Remember what I knave of your people, he was a magic-user::

"He knew &,.,here the orb came from; Alhana said; her voice quivering before she could regain control. 'The young, mage was right when he spoke of the Last Battles and the .destruction of the Tower=_. But .he was wrang when he said the other three orbs were to :. -One was brought is Silvanesti by my father for safe-k.eFing:'

"What were :he Lost Battles?:' Tanis .asked. ':caning on the rocks next to Alhana,,

"Is no _-Xe at all kept in Qualincsti?' she reformed,, regarding Tanis with scorn. -What barbarian you have become since mingling with humans!"

"Say the fault is my own," Tanis. said, 'that I did not pay enough heed to the Loremaster"

Alhana glanced at him, suspecting him. of being sarcastic.

Seeing his serious face and not particularly wanting him to leave her alone, she decided to answer his question. "As Istar rose during the Age of Might to greater and greater glories, the Kingpriest of Istar and his clerics became increasingly jealous of the magic-users" power. The clerics no longer saw the need for magic in the would, fearing it-of course-as something they could not control. Magic-users themselves, although respected, were never widely trusted, even those wearing the white robes. It was a simple matter for the priests to stir the people against tire wizards. As times grew snore and more evil, the priests placed the blame upon the magic-users. The Towers of High Sorcery, where the magicians must pa.s.s their final, grueling tests, were where the powers of the mages rested. The Towers became natural targets. Mobs attacked them, and it was as your young friend said: for only the second time in their history, the Robes came together to defend their last bastions of strength:'

"But how could they be defeated?" Tanis said incredulously.

"Can you ask that, knowing what you do of your mage friend? Powerful he is, but he must have rest. Even the strongest musk have fume to renew their spells, recommit them to memory. Even the eldest of the order-wizards whose might has root been seen on Krynn since-had to sleep and spend hours reading their spellbooks- And then, too, as now, the number of magic-users was small. There are few who dare take the tests in the Towers of High Sorcery, knowing that to fail is to die."

"Failure means death?" Tanis said softly.

! "Yes;' Alhana replied. "Your friend is very brave, to have taken the Test so young. Very brave-OT very ambitious. Didn't he ever tell you?"

"No;' Tanis murmured. "He never speaks of it. But go on:"

' Alhana shrugged. "When it became clear that the battle was

hopeless, the wizards themselves destroyed two of the Towers.

The blasts devastated the countryside for miles around. Only

three remained-the Tower of Istar, the Tower of Palanthas, and the Tower of Wayreth But the terrible destruction of the other two Towers scared the Kingpriest. I-le granted the wizards in the Towers of Istar ante' Palanthas safe pa.s.sage from these cities if they left the Towers. undamaged, for the wizards could have destroyed the two cities, as the Kingpriest well knew.

"And so the merges traveled to the one Tower which was never threatened-the Tower of Wayreth in the Kharolis Mountains. To Wayreth they came to nurse their wounds and to nurture the small spark of magic still left in the world. Those spellbooks they could not take with them-for the number of books was vast and many were bound with spells of protection-were given to the great library at Palanthas, and there they still remain, .according to the fare o my people:"

The silver moon had risen, its moonbeams graced their daughter with a beauty that took Tanis's breath away, even as its coldness pierced his heart.

"What do you know of a third moon?" he asked; staring into the night sky, shivering. "A black moan . . ."

"Little;' Alhana replied. "The magic-user draws power from the moons: the White Robes from Solinari, the Red Robes from Lunitari. There is, according to lore, a moon that gives the Black Robes their power, but only they know its name or how to find it in tile sky:"

Raistlin knew its namo, Tanis thought, or at least that other voice knew it. But he did not speak this aloud.

"How did your father get the dragon orb?"

"My Father, Lorac, was an apprentice;' Alhana replied softly, turning her face to the silver moon. "He traveled to the Tower of High Sorcery at Istar for the Tests, which he took and survived. It was there he first saw the dragon orb."

She fell silent for a moment. "I am going to tell you what I have never told anyone, ands' what he has never told-except to me. I tell you only because you have a right to know what-what to expect.

"During the Tests, the dragon orb . . ."- Alhana hesitated, seeming to search for the right words-"smoke to him, to his mind. It feared some terrible calamity was approaching. 'You must not leave me here in lstar; it told him. 'If so, I will perish and the -world will be lost. 'My father-I suppose you could say hg stole the dragon orb, although he saw himself as rescuing it.

"The 'Tower of ]star was abandoned. The Kingpriest moved in and used it far his own purposes.. Finally the merges left the Tower of Palanthas:' Alhana shivered.

"Its story is a terrible one The Regent of Palanthas,. a disciple of the Kingpriest, arrived ad the Tower to seal the gates shut-5o 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 merge 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 approached 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. "Haw to use it-'

"If so, he did not speak of it;" Alhana said wearily, "for that is all I knave.

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 anti has lived through much. I'm certain everything is all right:'

Alhana started to sweep past without a word, then, hearing tine sympathy in his voice, she hesitated.

"Though he pa.s.sed the Test;" she said so softly Tanis had to step closer to heat, "he was net as powerful in his magic as your young friend is now. Arid if he thought the dragon orb was our only hope, I tear-" Her voice broke.

"The dwarves have a saying:' Sensing for a moment that the barriers between them had been lowered, Tani:; put his arm around Alhana's slender shoulders and drew her ..-lose. " 'Rouble borrowed will be paid hack with interest compounded an sorrow: Don't worry. We're with you:'

Alhana did not answer. She let herself be comforted far just an nstant, 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:'

Them, as if realizing she had said too much, she hastily gulled aside the blanket and entered the cave.

"In the name of the gads!" 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 laved 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 gives 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 lave. 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,

Chapter 9.