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."Not dragons but the spawn of dragonkind." Ariakas suddenly knew what these things were, whatthey would be called and how they would serve him."They are draconians."He acted then, snatching the star of Takhisis from the patriarch's hand.Fastening his eyes onto thehideous faces of the monsters, he projected his will, his mastery, toward them.The lizard beastsstopped at the sight of the medallion, hissing and bobbing uncertainly."Kneel, wretches!" Ariakascommanded."Kneel before the symbol of your mistress your queenl"And when he raised the symbol overhead, all ten of the draconians collapsed, groveling, onto thefloor.Part ThreeTriumph And TreacheryChapter 18Zhakar RoadAriakas stood in a vast, cavelike chamber, surrounded by a horde of scaly draconians.Beyond themranked legion upon legion of heavy infantry, horsemen, archers, and spearmen.All of them stoodsilently at attention, awaiting his command.But he couldn't make a sound.This mighty host stoodon the brink of conquest, and yet he could not send it forth could not so much as utter astammering word.At his back was his great sword, and he instinctively drew the weapon, raising the gleaming steelinto the air.The army shouted, its collective voice a growing roar, swelling until the noise poundedhim from all sides.Yet now the sword was frozen, even as was his voice.As if some powerful,invisible fist had seized the blade, gripping it with immortal strength, the silvery steel weapon hungin the air before his face.Heaving mightily, Ariakas could not lower it, could not even wiggle itfrom side to side.He snarled, frustration growing within him, and the silvery blade turned white.Snow and iceswirled around him then, masking the troops and the draconians, sending shivers of inhuman coldpiercing through his body.Abruptly the sword became black.Still Ariakas could not twist it free from the invisible grip of theair, and as he struggled, a rich, full darkness surrounded him, cloaking vision in every directionthough the cheering of the troops continued to bombard him.The darkness fell away, and the blade of his sword glowed blood red.The metal bore a shininggleam on its surface that actually looked wet, as if the weapon had just been immersed to the hilt insome fresh, gory wound.Yet still he could not move the sword, though he tugged and pulled andwrenched at its long grip.Fire rose around him, a great circle of crackling, hissing flame, surgingupward higher than his head.He cried out, not from pain so much as outrage, and immediately theflames died away.Ariakas sensed great creatures around him, then, lurking in the depths of the vast chamber, beyondthe reach of his vision.Towering in height, serpentine in shape, they skulked unseen in the shadows,their presence tingling with portent and power.Suddenly he was surrounded by a cool, blue light, and Ariakas could see that the illuminationemanated from his blade.Slowly, reverently, he took the hilt and pulled, gently drawing the swordto him.The force that had imprisoned the weapon gave way easily.Once again Ariakas was the master of his sword, and his fate.Holding the blue blade upraisedbefore him, he turned this way and that, allowing his troops to shout their adulation.For manyminutes they roared, and his heart swelled with martial pride.When he sheathed the sword, the cheering continued, but now it had faded to a background noise,mere accompaniment to the ringing knowledge that had begun to grow in his mind.The blue blade! He remembered the prophecy in the tower, spoken what seemed like a lifetime ago:Hold the blue blade, warrior for in the heart of the world it shall set fire to the sky! Only now didhe begin to sense the meaning.And as he walked the pathway that opened before him amid theranks of his troops, he understood it would be the blue blade that would give him the might to com-mand, to rule.As he marched onward, he realized that the pathway was no longer an aisle, but a bridge.On oneside he saw a bright landscape, stretching to the infinite horizon, lined with columns of troops allof them trundling forward under his command.In an awestruck moment, he beheld the skiesoverhead, filled with vast formations of huge dragons, winging outward to expand the Dark Queen'sdomain.All of this mighty host marched away toward the far points of Krynn.But then Ariakas shifted his eyes to the other side of the bridge, and he could not help but coweraway in reeling terror.Below him, beginning at the very toes of his feet, fell away an abyssalchasm, plummeting all the way to the midnight heavens.Yet within that darkness was no cheery glimmer of a constellation, nor even a lone evening star.Instead, the place was a well of nothing, yawning hungrily forever, promising only pain and blood,darkness and dissolution.without even the eventual respite of death.Ariakas awakened with a start.A chilly film of sweat clung to his skin.The heavens did yawnoverhead, but these were the familiar skies of Ansalon, with a gentle haze of dawn light alreadyfilling in the space of the eastern valleys.So it had been a dream.He exhaled, feeling Lyrelee stir beside him under the bedroll.Theexperience had been so vivid, so real, that he actually felt as though he had commanded that mightyarmy.Then he remembered the horror of that black chasm, and the chill shook him again.For a moment he thought of the woman, so warm beside him.But this was not a problem for whichshe could bring him any comfort.Irritated, he rose into the dawn and looked around their smallcamp.Ferros Wind-chisel would be near, he knew, hiding in the shadows while alertly maintainingthe last watch of their night's bivouac.Tale Splintersteel still slept, which did not surprise Ariakas.Ever since their little group haddeparted Sanction, the Zhakar had been the deepest sleeper of the four.Just as well, Ariakasthought, since Splintersteel could not be trusted on watch duty.That seemed all well and proper tothe moldy dwarf because as he had loudly pointed out he was the one who was taking them toZhakar.In that role, at least, the merchant lord had wholeheartedly embraced their endeavor.As broker ofthe mold that had suddenly developed value, Tale Splintersteel stood to make himself very rich ifthey could get into Zhakar alive.Ariakas cast another look at the sky, seeing that sunrise was still nearly an hour away.He decidednot to roust the others, choosing instead to stroll the dim twilight until he found Ferros Windchisel.Mindful of the trackless Khalkist wilderness around them, he strapped his sword to his back beforehe walked away from the dying fire."Over here, warrior," came the hoarse whisper, making his job that much easier.He found the Hylarnestled in a niche between a great boulder and a sturdy fir tree."Another quiet night," remarked Ariakas, settling himself atop the boulder."That makes twelve now," Ferros agreed."By the Zhakar's reckoning, we don't have much farther togo." The Hylar leaned back, then shifted awkwardly to rub at an itch behind his left knee."Damnedfirebugs followed me out here!" he griped."If anything, the little scuts are worse than ever! Can'tstop scratching.It about makes me crazy [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]