Sir Kaliam, Sentinel of Alleble, stood at the large window in a lofted keep high in the castle and stared out over the kingdom and the moonlit lands beyond. Sir Thrivenbard, Alleble’s chief tracker and woodsman, entered the room and stood respectfully behind him.
“Well?” Kaliam demanded.
“My Sentinel,” Thrivenbard said, and bowed to the knight. “It is with a sad heart I bring you the news that the body of Sir Gabriel was found among the twisting paths and dark boughs of the Blackwood.”
Kaliam was silent.
“Sir, it has been three days since our search parties have discovered a survivor. We are only finding those slain, and Sir Aelic was not among them.”
Kaliam did not turn around. “Thrivenbard,” Kaliam said quietly, “I do not expect you to find Sir Aelic among the slain.”
“But my Sentinel,” Thrivenbard said. “So much time has passed since the battle and—”
“Nonetheless!” Kaliam shouted, before mastering himself and turning to face the knight. “Nonetheless, you will not find him among the dead. The Battle of the Blackwood raged from one end of the Forest Road to the other, from the borders of Yewland and into the heart of the Blackwood itself. In such a large area, a lone knight might be missed.”
“My men are skilled,” said Thrivenbard. “They have searched every thicket and under every bough—”
“Then you go, Thrivenbard,” Kaliam exclaimed, “and search every thicket and under every bough again! No one in all The Realm has your skills in tracking and knowledge of the woods—not even the elder scouts of Yewland.” He walked over and put a gentle hand on Thrivenbard’s shoulder. “Thrivenbard, much depends upon your success.”
“I will see to it, my Sentinel,” Thrivenbard replied. “With King Eliam as my guide, I will not rest until I find Sir Aelic.”
“Thank you, servant of Alleble,” Kaliam replied. He knew if anyone could find Sir Aelic, Thrivenbard could.
“Never alone!” the Sentinel said.
“Never alone!” Thrivenbard replied as he bowed. Before taking leave, Thrivenbard stopped. “Sir?”
“Yes?”
“Since we have not found Sir Aelic,” Thrivenbard said, choosing his words carefully, “is it possible that he was taken alive as a prisoner of the enemy, as was Lady Antoinette?”
Kaliam turned his back to Thrivenbard and stared out upon the moonlit realm again. “Losing Antoinette to the enemy is already a great blow to our cause. If Paragor has Sir Aelic as well . . .”
Thrivenbard bowed again and walked swiftly from the chamber.
The moon was much lower in the sky when Lady Merewen entered the library and found Kaliam at the window. “How long will you stand there?” she asked in a gentle voice. With great difficulty she lowered her dark hood, and her long silver hair spilled out upon her bandaged shoulders.
“Merewen!” Kaliam turned, and she went to him. Kaliam looked at her and put the back of his hand to her brow. “Your fever has passed! How do you feel?”
“Sir Oswyn says I was fortunate only to have been scratched by one of the Sleepers and not bitten,” she replied, her violet eyes gleaming. “Herbs to treat my wounds are readily available, but not so for a bite. I am to be fine, Kaliam. But I am not sure you can say the same. You look in need of rest.”
“I cannot rest.” He sighed. “I am the Sentinel of this kingdom. I have charges.”
“And you will do your charges no good if you kill yourself with anxiety.”
Kaliam stared west into the night sky. “Paragor has released the Wyrm Lord and the Sleepers from their tombs. Alleble must prepare. Sir Aelic is still lost, and we cannot abandon Lady Antoinette to torment behind the Gate of Despair!” Kaliam’s head fell to his chest. He seemed suddenly aged, burdened with a weight that he could not bear.
Lady Merewen kissed him on his forehead and gently raised his chin. She stared kindly into his dark eyes. “In the midst of my darkest doubt,” she said, “you lifted my chin and told me, ‘Dwell not in dreary chambers of the past!’ You reminded me of the hope that we have as servants of King Eliam. This hope I return to you now. Stare not west where shadows dwell, but upon Alleble and be reminded!”
Kaliam looked down to the Seven Fountains. The moonlight danced in the high plumes of water and mist, and for a moment, his heart was glad. Then he saw the seventh fountain now so long dry, and his hope fled.
“You see,” he said, “even in the most glorious places in Alleble, the enemy’s black touch can be felt! I see below me a place empty and barren, save for memories of pain, despair, and . . . Paragor’s treachery!”
“Nay, m’lord! That is the site of our King’s greatest victory!”
“But Paragor remains. He has brought evils out of legend into his service and amassed at least an army to match our own.”
“King Eliam defeated death!” Lady Merewen said sternly. “Who shall stand against the one who rose again?”
Kaliam and Lady Merewen searched each other’s eyes and in the silence found hope. In the moonlight, they embraced.
Suddenly, a storm of arrows whistled into the nighttime air from the battlements. Alleb Knights scrambled into action below.
“What is there?” Lady Merewen asked.
“A dragon!” Kaliam said. “Ridden by a servant of the enemy.”
“But why would he send a single dragon rider?” Lady Merewen asked. “Against our defenses, that is madness.”
They watched the creature, black against the moon, streak from the sky. Heedless of the hail of arrows, it dove down over the fountains, and then soared almost straight up. It seemed to climb forever. Until, barely visible, it dropped something jet black from its talons.
The object crashed down upon the wide balcony near the Guard’s Keep. Kaliam leaned over the window ledge and gaped down at the balcony. A chill came over him, and he felt his heart falter. “Antoinette,” he whispered. “It is what she saw in her vision.”
Far below, the pristine white marble altar upon which King Eliam sacrificed his life had been smashed. Lying in the countless fragments of marble was a sinister black stone.
Many voices cried out then from below, and more volleys of arrows whistled into the sky from the battlements. “They come again!” someone roared.
Kaliam and Lady Merewen looked up. The sky was filled with innumerable dragons flying almost wingtip to wingtip! They began to break formation and rapidly descend. Again they dove low before surging up above the tallest turrets of the castle.
As the Alleble archers’ arrows found their marks, dragons crashed bodily into the castle walls or slammed to the cobblestone road.
But countless survived, and dark stones fell from the sky like a deadly black hail. They smashed through thatched roofs, cracked walls, and crushed the few Alleb Knights who could not find shelter. When the barrage ended, Alleble’s streets filled with frenzied activity as knights raced from door to door, and Glimpses awakened by the commotion sought to find out what had occurred.
An enormous Glimpse warrior dressed in black fur stormed into Kaliam’s chamber. He had a tremendous hammer in one hand and a large black stone in the other.
“What devilry is this?!” Mallik demanded.
Kaliam grabbed the huge stone. Red markings were gouged into the diameter of the stone.
“A new weapon of the enemy?” Mallik snorted, brandishing his hammer. “It is so like him to attack without warning while we sleep!”
“No, Mallik,” Kaliam replied, looking up from the stone. “It is not a new weapon but rather his oldest and most favored . . . fear. Since his exile, Paragor has chosen his battles, attacking our weaker allies and waylaying our diplomatic missions. But always, he has known his limitations. The attack on Mithegard was different. The armies of King Ravelle were many and skilled, and yet Paragor attacked. Then, with the aid of the ancient evils, he brazenly conquered Clarion and crippled Yewland! These that drop on us now are The Stones of Omen. Paragor has declared his rule over all The Realm. Soon . . . he comes to claim his throne.”
