Avess carried the two Magus, one alive and one dead, across skies threatening to burst with activity. It was eerily similar to the moment he was truck by lightning and forced into his dark discovery.

Ildor, we may need to land for a bit. I fear the storm ahead may bring trouble.

“Only until the storm passes. We must hurry back to Kulketh.”

Avess slowly dropped from the sky, circling a small stand of pine trees. He landed next to them and carefully laid Amorith down while Ildor scrambled off his back. Once the Magus was on the ground, Avess shifted into his human form.

“Come this way, the rain is near.” Avess led them under the trees where the rain struggled to penetrate, leaving them dry. Lightning flashed and thunder rolled across the sky. The wind picked up, and rain came down in torrents. Lightning and thunder continued to make their presence felt, growing more powerful by the moment.

“Seems like you were wise to stop Lord Avess.”

“Ildor, no need to call me Lord. We’re friends.” He smiled then set about clearing a space for them to rest for the night.

Ildor created a small globe of flame to warm them and helped Avess get the place situated. They placed Amorith opposite them underneath the low hanging branches so as to keep her body from the elements. Once they were settled, the two old friends fell into comforting conversation.

“Avess, when you pass on—“

“That’s a terrible way to start the night! Why wish my death upon me?” He gave Ildor a slight punch on the arm and both men fell to laughing.

“No, no you misunderstand me!”

“Do I?”

“What I meant was when you eventually do pass on from this place, how confident are you that Etain will rule in your stead? Do you believe she has the strength to hold the Drakku together?”

“My sweet daughter…” Avess leaned back against a tree trunk and looked up, thinking about Etain.

“I do think she will make a fine Dragon Lord. Her mind is sharp and her friends are many. There are some who would challenge her, but if I know my daughter, she’ll do whatever it takes to secure her rightful place.”

“For the sake of your legacy and the future of the Drakku, I do hope you’re right. We’ve been hearing from sources that dissension grows amongst your dragons. The conclave with the griffons but one sign of growing discontent.”

“Discontent? At what? Lives that are free of danger? Comfort and security? It makes no sense. Who amongst the Drakku would have anything to complain about?”

Ildor shrugged. “Only rumors I hear within the halls of the Order. Most things cannot be believed, though some in the Order want them to be true, to give them an excuse to break our alliance.”

Avess narrowed his eyes, trying to imagine who might be willing to break apart the Drakku and for what reason.

“The Onyx?” he asked aloud.

“Onyx?”

“The only clan I have any concerns with are the Onyx dragons. They’ve been making overtures to the other clans to support one of their own to succeed me as Dragon Lord. A young dragon named Grymryg. He’s actually quite capable of ruling the Drakku, but I fear he’d sever ties with the Order the moment he gained power. The Onyx have never been comfortable with the Order.”

“Aye, such sentiments pervade the Black Tower as well. Must be something about their nature. Good thing neither one of us wears the black!” He laughed, a good sign to Avess since the younger novice’s death.

“To that I agree!”

The two quieted down as thunder boomed. A small stream of water ran into their dry shelter, pooling in a low spot. Avess watched the water gather, creating a larger whole from the smaller line.

“How much interaction do you have with the southern Magus? They seem free of the divisions you face in the north.”

“Often they turn their nose up at us when we fight amongst ourselves, but they have their own problems. One of the smaller kingdoms is threatening to expand and my brothers and sisters to the south have been occupied with trying to keep the peace. We’ll see if they succeed!”

“I’ve heard of these rumblings from my clans. If the Order needs us, we will be there. We must do whatever it takes to preserve peace. War is good for no one.”

“Says the great hero of the Battle of the Invasion!”

Avess chuckled, shaking his head slightly. “Well, there is that. Someone had to repel those beasts!”

Ildor went from amusement to concern, a clear shift in his thought expressed through his face.

“What is it friend?”

“The gray-soul appearance. The rumors within the Order about breaking our alliance. The horrid things I’ve heard some want to inflict on the Drakku…all of it is dangerous. I fear what might come for our two sides. We were meant to live in harmony, but darkness has invaded the thoughts of some.”

“At times, fear of the unknown causes hate to rise. It masks facing a truth some are unprepared for. If we allow anger to lead us forward, we shall never grow closer. I don’t know what caused this division among the Order, or the Drakku, but something exists that we must fight against. These murmurs of division can go unchecked like a spark of flame in a dry field if we don’t stand together and denounce them. When I return to the Drakku, my dragons will know where I stand. It might be tense for a little while, but they will see reason. They must!”

“I can only hope the Kull Naga is as wise as you. He’s already shown how susceptible he is to the whims of the vocal minority. They don’t speak for all of us. We must silence them.”

“There is danger in shutting down opposition. It’s good to know some are not happy with the way things are. We should work with them to see why they’re angry and what we can do to alleviate it. I don’t think we ought to succumb to their whims because they’re loud about it, but they should be listened to. There has to be some nugget of validity to their concerns.”

“Sometimes you amaze me. Maybe we ought to confirm you as the next Kull Naga!”

Avess raised his hands in protest. “I have more than enough responsibility with the Drakku! I’m not part of the Order. It can’t be done nor would I wish to hold the position.”

The two had a good laugh with Ildor’s suggestion and after some time, they settled in for the night. Occasionally lightning would illuminate the sky and thunder boom, but they too quieted down, the rain finally giving up and leaving them in the after-storm silence.

Sometime in the morning as the sun rose bright over the horizon, they gathered Amorith from under the trees and carried her out into the open. Avess shifted into a dragon and reverently lifted Amorith while Ildor climbed onto his back.

The skies above were clear and crisp, and Avess flew into the heavens with his two Magus passengers. He climber higher and higher, going to where the air was cooler and birds dared not fly. Once he felt they were high enough, he leveled out and headed for the Dragonback Mountains.

“Pretty high this time!” Ildor called over the rhythmic beating of Avess’s wings.

The air is smoother here. I spend less energy when we’re up like this.

They continued eastward, the mountain range coming into sight.

“Such majesty. If only more could see this view.”

We do all the time. I guess it’s something we’ve grown accustomed to over the years. Still, I think its one of the most wonderful places in all of Rowyth.

“More than the cliffs along the southern sea? I think I’d rather be there than anywhere!”

It’s so humid down there! I prefer the hardier northern climes.

“Good thing you’re here then.”

Avess roared and emitted a fountain of flame, the three of them flying through it with ease.

“Warn someone next time you do that! I could’ve burnt something!” Avess could feel the humor in his voice and roared his reply.

They soared across the sky, growing closer to the rocky mountains that divided Tregaron in the north and the various southern kingdoms. Brown, snow capped peaks jutted from the ground, rising high into the crisp air. Stripes of green ran along many of the mountain sides indicating forests of mostly pine and spruce. Rising higher than all the rest was Opaline Mountain.

It was easy to spot as its peak pierced the clouds around it, protruding through the other side. It towered over all the rest.

Avess flew wide of the mountain and then circled the summit in a long, graceful glide.

“By Deavos, what a magnificent sight.”

Indeed it is. I never tire of it. If I could live anywhere other than the Dragon Lands, it would be there.

“It takes my breath away.”

They circled the mountain twice before Avess led them north, skirting past the city of Woodpine as he headed for Kulketh and the Black Tower, the seat of power for the current Kull Naga.