"There was no way for you to know what it intended," his friend said. "And if it hadn't done what it did, you'd be dead right now. I don't know what these dragons want from you, but whatever it is, they obviously think it's worth dying for."

"The Dragonvein family has always had a deep connection to dragons," said Jonas, who had been listening to their conversation from his bedroll nearby. "It's in your blood. And your particular connection seems to be extraordinarily strong. Stronger than I would have thought possible."

"Was my father's connection strong too?" asked Ethan, wiping away the last of his tears.

"I believe so. That's what he said, though I never actually saw him with a dragon. He told me that he could hear them whispering to him. He didn't talk about it often, but I do know there have been times in the distant past when the Dragonvein family actually lived amongst them."

"Where are they now?"

"They live on the other side of the world in a land of vast jungles and rolling hills. They prefer to stay away from everyone elves, dwarves, and humans."

"There's no jungle now," said Markus. "The Dragon Wastes are about as inhospitable as it gets. From what I hear, Shinzan destroyed everything there after the war. Most people think he killed all the dragons too. But I guess they were wrong. Makes me wonder though. How many of them are left?"

"That would be something well worth knowing," sighed Jonas.

They both looked at Ethan, as if expecting him to have the answer. He spread his hands. "How should I know? I'm still trying to understand all this. I suppose we could go to the Dragon Wastes and find out."

Markus laughed. "Not a chance! Ships won't go there. None that I've heard of, anyway. And even if you had your own ship and a crew willing to risk it, the trip would take months. It's on the other side of the b.l.o.o.d.y world."

"First things first," said Jonas. "There's still the matter of King Halvar and the prophecy. Once that's sorted out, then we can move on."

"Speaking of moving on," observed Markus.

The dwarves had begun to gather their gear, ready for another march.

Ethan spent most of his time during the journey in quiet thought. The voices in his dreams were continuing to grow stronger and ever more urgent.

Come to us. Time is running out.

By the time they arrived in Elyfoss, his nerves were completely frazzled. He'd hardly slept for more than a few hours at a time and was finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate. He hoped he would not be forced to confront King Halvar in this condition, but knew it was likely. The king had sent out a.s.sa.s.sins, who were now returning as protectors of the very person they were meant to kill. This was sure to cause something of a sensation.

The former a.s.sa.s.sins surrounded him and marched through the street as if they were an honor guard on parade. People rapidly gathered on the sidewalks and followed them as they made their way to the king's manor.

On reaching it, the two guards at the door stepped forward and shouted for them to halt.

"You have no business here," one of them said, his eyes centered on Ethan. "The council is still in session."

"Step aside," commanded Birger. "We come bearing important news."

"I don't care what news you have," he shot back. "You're not getting in. King Halvar was very clear that..."

Birger took a menacing step forward. "King Halvar will see us now whether he wishes to or not."

The guard's eyes shifted past Birger and moved along the line of armed dwarves staring at him unflinchingly. The crowd in the street behind them was growing by the second. It was an intimidating scene.

"Wait here," he said after a brief hesitation, then turned sharply and disappeared inside. He returned a few minutes later, pale-faced and with an uncertain expression.

"Only Ethan Dragonvein may enter," he said.

The dwarves lurched forward, shouting their objections. Ethan held up his hands until they had calmed.

"It's fine," he told them. "I will meet with King Halvar alone."

"He's already tried to kill you once," objected Jonas. "Who's to say he won't try again?"

"I don't think he will," said Birger. "He knows what will happen if he does. All the same, you should be careful."

"I will," promised Ethan.

He allowed the guard to usher him inside. The council chamber door was already wide open with a line of council members filing out. Ethan spotted Lady Thora among them. She gave him an almost imperceptible nod and a smile.

When he stepped inside, the chamber was completely empty apart from King Halvar, who was still sitting in his chair. The monarch's eyes bore dark circles beneath them and he was rubbing his chin as if in deep thought.

He pointed to a chair on the opposite side of the table and took a deep breath. "I see that in spite of my best efforts, you are still among the living."

Ethan nodded, but remained silent.

"I hear that the dwarves I sent after you have actually escorted you back, and at this very moment are ready to charge in should they suspect your life is in danger."

Ethan nodded again.

"Then it is safe to a.s.sume that something extraordinary has happened to change their minds."

Ethan considered his words for a moment. "Your Highness, I understand why you tried to have me killed. If I were in your position, I might do the same thing."

The king huffed a disdainful laugh. "You would, would you? Let me tell you something, boy. You can't begin to imagine the responsibility I bear. I live to see my people endure. And regardless of what anyone says, enduring is the best we can hope for. The life my people are speaking of, now that you have appeared, is not possible. Even so, they are beginning to believe that it is. You have them preferring death to the life we have. The life we have had for centuries. The life that has prevented us from being driven from memory."

He leaned in and narrowed his eyes. "Now, tell me why my men parade you through the streets as though you had cast down Shinzan himself."

Ethan thought for a moment and decided to hold nothing back. He told the king in detail everything that had happened to him since leaving the manor including what had occurred during his memory lapse.

"I never intended any of this," he finished off. "And I don't want your people to die. But I can't control how they feel. If they want more from their lives, then there's nothing I can do to change that."

"You can leave," Halvar shot back. "You can leave and never return." He regarded Ethan for a long moment and then shook his head. "But you won't, will you? Now that the dragon has revealed itself, you're going to stay and be the doom of us all."

"To tell you the truth, I haven't decided what I'm going to do," Ethan told him. "Ever since arriving in Lumnia, I've done nothing but try to stay alive. I haven't had much time to think ahead. So far, almost everyone I've met has tried to kill me."

Halvar chuckled. "I suppose that would be a bit off-putting. Well, you don't have to worry about me any longer. I won't pose a threat to you again. I swear it."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

"I also give you leave to remain here as long as you wish...whatever the consequences may be. You already appear to have the protection of my people. So I will bend to their will and give you mine as well. I just pray that neither of us will live to regret it."

The king paused then fixed his gaze. "Regardless of what I have done, or what you might think, I believe you to be a good and honorable person. And know that I felt my honor was sullied when ordering your death. But at the time I believed I had no other choice. I still foresee disaster looming, though for once in my life I want nothing more than to be proved wrong."

He rose and walked toward Ethan. "Come with me. There is something you need to see."

Ethan followed the king out into the receiving hall and through a door on the far right side. After making their way through a series of long hallways, they eventually came to a narrow stairwell that led into an empty bas.e.m.e.nt roughly the same size as the council chamber. Moving over to the far left corner of the room, Halvar pulled on a bra.s.s handle set in a recess on the floor. In response, a trapdoor with a metal ladder attached to the side slowly opened. Halvar stepped onto the ladder first, then called for Ethan to follow.

Ethan looked down the shaft. The king had already vanished into the darkness by the time he had his foot on the top rung. While climbing down he could feel the air getting dramatically colder. After what he guessed to be about thirty feet, his boot touched solid ground. There was still no light, and the cold was causing him to shiver.

"I suppose if I really wanted to kill you, this is where I should have brought you."

The king's voice was somewhere off to his right. For a second Ethan wondered if he was simply having fun with him, or had really set up a trap.

"You're fortunate I didn't think of it before," Halvar added. A dim glow appeared above where he was standing a few yards away.

Ethan forced a half-hearted laugh. "Yeah. I guess I am."

The light gradually grew in intensity. Soon, several others appeared on the ceiling of a long but quite narrow pa.s.sage.

"What I am about to show you is known only to myself and a very few others," Halvar said. "You are not forbidden to speak of it, but I urge you to give this knowledge only to those you entirely trust."

Ethan nodded. "I promise."

Satisfied by his response, the king led him several hundred yards down the pa.s.sage until it seemingly came to a dead end. There, he placed his finger in a small recess in the top left corner. With a sharp crack, the entire wall blocking their further progress slid to the left.

Beyond was a natural rock cavern, roughly fifty feet wide and double that in length. The small rajni stones set at regular intervals gave off a much dimmer light than those in the manor.

At first, Ethan was confused. The cavern appeared to be completely empty. But then Halvar strode to the far wall and touched a second control. A section of the stone opened as if on hinges. Ethan stepped closer. Halvar's body was blocking his view, but he could see a light shining from within.

The king stepped aside. "This is Lylinora," he announced.

Placed inside a recess was a six foot tall crystal. Much like the Shantara stones, its perfect facets glowed with pure white light. But it wasn't the crystal that was capturing Ethan's attention.

He blinked to make sure his eyes were not deceiving him, then gasped.

"It's a...girl."

Totally encased within the crystal was a young woman. With flaxen hair and ivory skin, she looked to be only slightly older than himself. A silken blue dress tied at the waist by a white sash hugged her feminine form, while on her delicate feet were matching slippers. Her eyes were closed as if sleeping. For a short time Ethan could only stand there, slack-jawed and amazed by her sheer beauty.

"She's gorgeous," he finally managed to say. "Who is she? And why is she inside this crystal?"

Halvar sighed. "She is the daughter of Lord Killian Jaymonte, the only mage ever to make it to our mountain at the end of the war. He left her here for us to watch over, protected within this crystal."

"Is she alive?"

"Of course she is."

Ethan ran his finger along the surface. "Can you get her out?"

"No. Whatever magic her father used to seal her inside is unknown to us. He left her this way in the hope that one day Shinzan would fall and she would be safe again."

The king placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder. "If the prophecy is true, you must free her, then find the others. That is the only way you may defeat Shinzan."

"What others?"

"There are supposed to be five in total. That is what the prophecy states. But it doesn't say who or where the others are. I'm hoping that King Ganix will know more. He's by far our greatest scholar."

"Where does he live?"

"He rules in the north under the Salisar Mountains. Lady Thora sent for him more than a week ago. I suppose she thought he'd be able to change my mind about you. Unfortunately, travel on the surface is very dangerous for a dwarf, so there's no way to tell when he'll arrive."

Ethan stood there for several more minutes just staring at Lylinora. She was perfect in every way. He began to imagine what her voice would sound like, what color her eyes were, how she looked when she walked. Only when hearing Halvar clear his throat did he snap back to reality.

"Come," said the king. "The council will be getting impatient."

By the time they returned to the chamber, Ethan could hear hundreds of voices seeping in from outside the manor. The idea that he may have to talk to a large crowd produced a rush of nervousness. This didn't go unnoticed by Halvar.

"If I'm still king, I'll address them on your behalf if you would like," he said.

"What do you mean, 'if you're still king'?"

"I tried to a.s.sa.s.sinate you. That was in defiance of our own laws, and against the will of the council. They must now decide if I am to remain on the throne."

Ethan watched the king closely as he returned to his seat. He was showing no sign of fear.

Soon after, the council returned and took their positions around the table. It seemed that word of the dragon had already reached their ears, for they all stared at Ethan in wonder.

Once everyone was settled, he could see that Halvar was about to speak and knew he had to act fast. Jumping up from his seat, he slapped the table twice to gain attention.

"I'm sorry if this is out of place," he announced. "But before we get started, I want to thank King Halvar for sending his guards to find me. Also, I wish to apologize for my temporary lack of courage. I shouldn't have run away. Thanks to the king, I'm back and now confident that I can face whatever comes next." He bowed low.

Halvar looked at him, absolutely stunned. For the moment, he seemed unable to speak.

Lady Thora took up the responsibility. She spoke in a strong, clear voice. "Indeed, our king was most wise to bring you back. Let us hope this lesson has been well learned and the incident is not repeated."

Halvar's eyes moved between the pair of them. Finally, he lowered his head and smiled. "I'm sure it won't be."

Ethan took his seat feeling very satisfied with himself.

Following this, several of the guards along with Birger were summoned to tell the council exactly what they had seen.

When they were done, the king stood to address the council.

"Although I am still uncertain as to the wisdom of the course we are preparing to take, there is no denying that the dragons have returned. This holds true to the prophecy. I still believe that it will be the end of our people should we challenge Shinzan, but perhaps Lady Thora was right when she said that our people died long ago. That we now only breathe air and occupy s.p.a.ce, bereft of culture and purpose. If that is so, then we cannot die. We can only be resurrected."

He drew a deep breath. "So, unless there are any objections, I say we should begin to make preparations for war."

Thora was the first to applaud, quickly joined by another and another, until the entire council was clapping vigorously. Ethan felt the hairs on the back of his neck rising. What would be his role in this? Would he be expected to lead? The enormity of the situation slowly began to press down on him.

Halvar held up his hands and the room settled down. "There is no more we can do here today. And I'm sure Lord Dragonvein is tired from his journey. So, until tomorrow."

Each member bowed to Ethan before departing the chamber. Lady Thora gave him a friendly smile and squeezed his hand fondly.

"I'm not used to that kind of treatment," he said to the king once everyone had left. "It feels a bit strange."

"You had better get used to it," Halvar told him. "My people will be looking to you for courage in the days ahead. I pray you can provide it."