Read Dragonlance 15 - Dragons Of A Fallen Sun Online
Authors: Margaret Weis
mered in the light of the newly risen moon. "The prize they
sought is within your grasp. You didn't particularly want it
before, but now that it is offered, why not take it?"
Silvan's reflection rippled as a breath of wind passed over the
surface of the water. Then the wind stilled, the water smoothed,
and his reflection was clear and unwavering.
"You must walk carefully. You must think before you speak,
think of the consequences of every word. You must consider your
actions. You must not be distracted by the least little thing.
"My mother is dead," he said, and he waited for the pain.
Tears welled up inside him, tears for his mother, tears for his
father, tears for himself, alone and bereft of their comfort and sup-
port. Yet, a tiny voice whispered deep inside, when did your par-
ents ever support you? When did they ever trust you to do
anything? They kept you wrapped in cotton wool, afraid you'd
break. Fate has offered you this chance to prove yourself. Take it!
A bush grew near the stream, a bush with fragrant white flow-
ers shaped like tiny hearts. Silvan picked a cluster of flowers,
stripped the blossoms from the leafy stems. "Honor to my father,
who is dead," he said and scattered the blossoms in the stream.
They fell upon the reflection that broke apart in the spreading rip-
ples. "Honor to my mother, who is dead."
He scattered the last of the blossoms. Then, feeling cleansed,
empty of tears and empty of emotion, he returned to the camp.
The elves started to rise, but he asked them to remain seated
and not disturb themselves on his account. The elves appeared
pleased with his modesty.
"I hope my long absence did not worry you," he said, know-
ing well that it had. He could tell they had been talking about
him. "These changes have all been so drastic, so sudden. I needed
time to think."
The elves bowed in acquiescence.
"We have been discussing how best to advance Your
Majesty's cause," said Rolan.
"You have the full support of the kirath, Your Majesty," Drinel
added.
Silvan acknowledged this with a nod. He thought on where
he wanted this conversation to go and how best to take it there
and asked mildly, "What is the 'kirath'? My mother spoke of
many things in her homeland but not of this."
"There is no reason why she should," Rolan replied. "Your
father created our order to fight the dream. We kirath were the
ones who entered the forest, searching for the parts that were still
held in thrall by the dream. The work took its toll on body and on
mind, for we had to enter the dream in order to defeat it.
"Other kirath served to defend the Woodshapers and clerics
who came into the forest to heal it. For twenty years we fought
together to restore our homeland, and eventually we succeeded.
When the dream was defeated we were no longer needed, and so
we disbanded, returned to the lives we had led before the war.
But those of us in the kirath had forged a bond closer than broth-
ers and'sisters. We kept in touch, passing news and information.
"Then the Dark Knights of Takhisis came to try to conquer the
continent of Ansalon, and after that came the Chaos War. It was
during this time that General Konnal took control of Silvanesti,
saying that only the military could save us from the forces of evil
at work in the world.
"We won the Chaos War, but at a great cost. We lost the gods,
who, so it is said, matle the ultimate sacrifice-withdrawing from
the world so that Krynn and its people might continue on. With
them went the magic of Solinari and healing powers. We grieved
long for the gods, for Paladine and MishakaL but we had to go on
with our lives.
"We worked to continue to rebuild Silvanesti. Magic came to
us again, a magic of the land, of living things. Though the war
was over, General Konnal did not relinquish control. He said that
now the threat came from Alhana and Porthios, dark elves who
wanted only to avenge themselves on their people."
"Did you believe this?" Silvan asked indignantly.
"Of course not. We knew Porthios. We knew the great sacri-
fices he had made for this land. We knew Alhana and how much
she loved her people. We did not believe him."
" And so you supported my father and mother?" Silvan asked.
"We did," Rolan replied.
"Then why didn't you aid them?" Silvan demanded, his tone
sharpening. "You were armed and skilled in the use of arms. You
were, as you have said, in close contact with one another. My
mother and father waited on the borders, expecting confidently
that the Silvanesti people would rise up and protest the injustice
that had been done to them. They did not. You did nothing. My
parents waited in vain."
"I could offer you many excuses, Your Majesty," Rolan said
quietly. "We were weary of fighting. We did not want to start a
civil war. We believed that over time this breach could all be
made right by peaceful means. In other words"-he smiled
faintly, sadly-"we pulled the blankets over our heads and went
back to sleep."
"If it is any comfort to you, Your Majesty, we have paid for
our sins," Drinel added. "Paid most grievously. We realized
this when the magical shield was erected, but by that time it
was too late. We could not go out. Your parents could not come
within."
Understanding came to Silvan in a flash, dazzling and shock-
ing as the lightning bolt that had struck right in front of him. All
had been darkness before and in the next thudding heartbeat all
was lit brighter than day, every detail clear cut and stark in the
white-hot light.
His mother claimed to hate the shield. In truth the shield was
her excuse, keeping her from leading her army into Silvanesti.
She could have done so anytime during the years before the
shield was raised. She and her father could have marched an
army into Silvanesti, they would have found support among the
people. Why hadn't they?
The spilling of elven blood. That was the excuse they gave
then. They did not want to see elf killing elf. The truth was that
Alhana had expected her people to come to her and lay the crown
of Silvanesti at her feet. They had not done so. As Rolan had said,
they wanted only to go back to sleep, wanted to forget Lorac's
nightmare in more pleasant dreams. Alhana had been the cat
yowling beneath the window, disturbing their rest.
His mother had refused to admit this to herself and thus,
though she railed against the raising of the shield, in reality the
shield had been a relief to her: Oh, she had done all she could to
try to destroy it. She had done all she could to prove to herself
that she wanted desperately to penetrate the barrier. She had
thrown her armies against the shield, thrown herself against it.
But all the while, secretly, in her heart, she did not want to enter
and perhaps that was the reason the shield had been successful in
keeping her out.
Drinel and Rolan and the rest of the elves were inside it for the
very same reason. The shield was in place, the shield existed, be-
cause the elves wanted it. The Silvanesti had always yearned to
be kept safe from the world, safe from the contamination of the
crude and undisciplined humans, safe from the dangers of ogre
and goblin and minotaur, safe from the dragons, safe amidst ease
and luxury and beauty. That was why his mother had wanted to
find a way inside-so that she too could finally sleep in warmth
and in safety, not in burial mounds.
He said nothing, but he realized now what he had to do.
"You pledge your allegiance to me. How do I know that when
the path grows dark you will not abandon me as you abandoned
my parents?"
Rolan paled. Drinel's eyes flashed in anger. He started to
speak, but his friend laid a calming hand on his arm.
"Silvanoshei is right to rebuke us, my friend. His Majesty is
right to ask this question of us." Rolan turned to face Silvan.
"Hand and heart, I pledge myself and my family to You.
Majesty's cause. May my soul be held in thrall on this plane of ex-
istence if I fail."
Silvan nodded gravely. It was a terrible oath. He shifted his
gaze to Drinel and the other two members of the kirath. Drinel
was hesitant.
"You are very young," he said harshly. "How old are you?
Thirty years? You are considered an adolescent among our
people."
"But not among the Qualinesti," Silvanoshei returned. " And I
ask you to think of this," he added, knowing that the Silvanesti
were not likely to be impressed by comparisons with their more
worldly (and therefore more corrupt) cousins. "1 have not been
raised in a pampered, sheltered Silvanesti household. I have been
raised in caves, in shacks, in hovels-wherever my parents could
find safe shelter. I can count on my two hands the number of
nights I have slept in a room in a bed. I have been twice wounded
in battles. I bear the scars upon my body."
Silvan did not add that he had not received his wounds while
fighting in those battles. He did not mention that he had been
injured while his body guards were hustling him off to a place of
safety. He would have fought, he thought to himself, if anyone
had given him a chance. He was prepared to fight now.
"I make the same pledge to you that I ask of you," Silvan said
proudly. "Heart and hand, I pledge to do everything in my power
to regain the throne that is mine by right. I pledge to bring wealth,
peace, and prosperity back to our people. May my soul be held in
thrall on this plane of existence if I fail."
Drinel's eyes sifted, searched that soul. The elder elf appeared
satisfied with he saw. "1 make my pledge to you, Silvanoshei, son
of Porthios and Alhana. By aiding the son, may we make restitu-
tion for our failures in regard to the parents."
"And now," said Rolan. "We must make plans. We must find
a suitable hiding place for His Majesty-"
"No," said Silvan firmly. "The time for hiding is past. I am the
rightful heir to the throne. I have a lawful claim. I have nothing to
fear. If I go sneaking and skulking about like a criminal, then I
will be perceived as a criminal. If I arrive in Silvanost as a king, I
will be perceived as a king."
"Yet, the danger-" Rolan began.
"His Majesty is right, my friend," Drinel said, regarding
Silvan with now marked respect. "He will be in less danger by
making a great stir than he would be if he were to go into
hiding. In order to placate those who question his rule, Konnal
has stated many times that he would gladly see the son of
Alhana take his rightful place upon the throne. He could make
such a promise easily enough, for he knew-or thought he
knew-that with the shield in place, the son could not possibly
enter.
"If Your Majesty arrives triumphantly in the capital, with the
people cheering on all sides, Konnal will be forced to make some
show of keeping his promise. He will find it difficult to make the
rightful heir disappear, as have others in the past. The people
would not stand for it."
"What you say has merit. Yet we must never underestimate
Konnal," said Rolan. "Some believe he is mad, but if so, his is a
cunning, calculating madness. He is dangerous."
"So am I," said Silvan. "As he will soon discover."
He sketched out his plan. The others listened, voiced their ap-
proval, offered changes he accepted, for they knew his people
best. He listened gravely to the discussion of possible danger, but
in truth, he paid little heed.
Silvanoshei was young,and the young know they will live
forever.
CHAPTER NINE
GALLIVANTING
The same night that Silvanoshei accepted the rulership of
the Silvanesti, Tasslehoff Burrfoot slept soundly and
peacefully-much to his disappointment.
The kender was deposited for safekeeping in a room inside
the Solamnic garrison in Solace. Tas had offered to return to
the wonderful kender-proof Solace jail, but his request was
firmly denied. The garrison room was clean and neat, with no
windows, no furniture except a stern-looking bed with iron
railings and a mattress so stiff and rigid that it could have
stood at attention with the best of the Knights. The door had
no lock at all, which might have provided some light after-
dinner amusement but was held in place by a wooden bar
across the outside.
" All in all," Tas said to himself as he sat disconsolately on his
bed, kicking his feet against the iron railings and looking wist-
fully about, "this room is the single most boring place I've ever
been in my life with the possible exception of the Abyss."
Gerard had even taken away his candle, leaving Tas alone in
the dark. There seemed nothing to do but go to sleep.
Tasslehoff had long thought that someone would do a very
good service to mankind by abolishing sleep. Tas had mentioned