CONTENTS

CHAPTER ONE

DAWN AT PEGANA

Bladus looked in the mirror with awe at his own physique. Every morning again he would do this, and each time he would be genuinely stunned by what he saw: The rather square appearance of an obviously very powerful, tall man with long blond hair and shiny blue eyes.

He bulged the muscles of his upper arm and sighed deeply. The images of his worst nightmares once again turned out not to have become a horrid truth; his mighty biceps were still there for everybody - and himself - to be admired.

Bladus Hafsted-son was born in Port Pylon, on the Southeast peninsula of Ontaflareth on the Southern Sea. He hadn't lived there long, for his parents had been killed by pirates when he was in his early childhood. After that, he was raised by a tutor at Pegana University by the name of Dambrano - a wise dwarf that had already been of significant age when he took upon himself
that task.

He opened the window and took a deep breath of morning air, which seemed to fill his very lungs with a power common yet unique. The sun could be seen about to rise behind some of the other University buildings, and dark threads of clouds were scattered by the fresh morning breeze as if haunted by armies, to be replaced by a clear blue sky with hints of purple and red blazes as if armies seemed to besiege the tops of the roofs.

Down on the yard, he could see a bent figure standing, clad in an ochre robe. With a flinch he suddenly remembered.

'Be in the yard at dawn,' Dambrano had said the evening before, 'don't be late for it is an important thing that I wish to tell you.'

Damnation.

He hurried to wash himself and put on some garments, after which he dashed down the stairs to meet the old dwarf.

Leckie nee thuneb ey. 'Leckie nee thuneb ey?'

Rinakles Savorlin-son shook awoke as he read this line and wondered how it could be that it was the first thing he saw that day.

He found that he was lying on an old book written in one of the older Elvish tongues he was being taught - obviously he had dropped to sleep on it last night. Probably, this was also the reason why his lower jaw ached.

Ever since his childhood, of which he only really remembered the part after he was taken in by Dambrano when his parents had died in a terrible rage of Bubonic plague that had ravished his hometown Port Pylon, he had been troubled by spontaneous gusts of sleep washing over him - something his fellow students referred to as 'nap attacks' in jest. His life seemed like a constant dream to others, really, since he could most of the time be found wandering around Pegana
University in deep thought of magic and poetry rather than something else.

Rinakles was a somewhat slender man, with large eyes that seemed to be constantly radiating with inspired joy of life. In spite of his young age, his hair was already veering towards being grey.

As he sat erect fumbling his goatee, he was immediately absorbed by the sun that was now throwing its first rays of feeble morning light over the rooftops of some of the other University buildings.

Ah...how simple yet beautiful each sunrise appeared to him. This morning in particular, the clouds had their own little ways of seeming to ornament the sun, seeming to encrown it in a tender embrace with tatters of purple, pink and red in all kinds of different shades.

The sight gladdened Rinakles' heart and made him feel he could handle anything fate would throw at him that day. There was magic in the air, and there had always been something about magic that he had loved - in a way even far superior to the sheer joy of beholding a beautiful dawn like this morning's.

Dawn?

'Be in the yard at dawn,' his old tutor had said the evening before, 'don't be late for it is an important thing I wish to tell you.'

Oops. This beautiful dawn had its first touch of failure already.

He quickly went to wash himself and put on a robe, after which he quickly retrieved his magic wand and dashed down the stairs to the yard where the dwarfish tutor would probably be impatiently waiting.

'Woe thee, blasted ghoul! Get thyself away from me or I'll cleave thy rancid skull with my bare hands!'

This quite crude statement echoed through the rather bare quarters of Dobranur Gymli-son, who lay on his cot and seemed to be battling with a rugged piece of animal skin which he normally only used to cover himself with.

When it dropped to the ground next to some of the typical stone furniture present in the room, he opened his eyes and sat up. Immediately, he went to lie down again as though he was struck by an attack of vertigo, shaking his head as if to ward off invisible punches.

As he gained full consciousness that seemed to be flowing into him like a good pint of beer flushing down his gullet, a deep sigh passed his lips when he recognized familiar surroundings - his own room at Pegana University.

Dobranur was a sturdy dwarf with a rugged beard that made him look ancient in spite of his age - he was only just adult. He was about two thirds the size of a regular man, but had a stature almost just as broad, and he was no doubt very strong. His eyes always seemed strangely dim - only when someone spoke of his kin or things sprouting forth from the earth, would his eyes assume a keen sparkle that seemed to arise from somewhere deep within him.

Dobranur, born in a small settlement near Brindil-Bun, had been brought to the care of his distant uncle, a tutor at Pegana University by the name of Dambrano, when his parents decided they wanted to live in seclusion somewhere near Luthag and wanted their little son to be brought up decently. His parents were never heard of again, and were feared to have been slaughtered in one of the many raids scavenging that part of Ontaflareth in recent decades.

He closed his eyes again to the sound of swords and shields clattering outside his window as the first fighting lessons in the University yard had obviously started. These always started just after dawn, and...

By Galganoz the Evil One! May the Stone Wrath forever turn Gold into Granite! May Dragonfire forever burn all dwarves' beards!

'Be in the yard at dawn,' his distant uncle annex tutor had said the evening before, 'don't be late for it is an important thing I wish to tell you.' It was already well beyond dawn, as the sun was already gaining power and turning to a bright yellow in the unadorned light blue sky.

He jumped out of bed, quickly washed himself, put on his leather fighting gear and dashed down the stairs.

Andariel woke to the sound of thunder that seemed to penetrate her dreams that were mainly concerned with wielding woodlore and lavishing herself to grotesque Elvish feasts. When she opened her eyes she beheld the ceiling and regretted ever having woken up from her apparent divine slumbering. The thunder turned out to have been heavy footsteps in the hall outside her room, that now faded away on the stairs. In her dreams, she had almost felt the taste of berries on her tongue, had almost learned how to heal wood which she so greatly desired to be taught.

Andariel was a beautiful elven maiden on all accounts: She was pleasurably built and had long blond hair that covered part of her shoulders as though they were covered by silk with a golden glimmer. Her smile had the power to change even the worst of moods, and the permanent light kindling in her small eyes made her appear to be the incarnation of joy and happiness.

Her thoughts would often linger back to the time she used to spend roaming Gandomil Forest with her father, Traveliel. He had been killed by a wild boar when she was but six, after which her dying mother had decided to put her in the care of a famous old tutor called Dambrano, she still seemed to recall nearly every day before that sad event. Oh, how she had loved the woods - and still did! She hadn't had much time to go there recently, mainly because of her study occupation at Pegana University. How she would love to once again see the sun rise to a beautiful dawn above the great trees of Gandomil...

Sunrise?

Dawn?!

She cursed to herself as she looked outside to see the sun standing freely above the other University buildings, shining bright and yellow, with the birds already settling down their songs of early morning.

May healing of trees never become revealed to the elvish race again! May the taste of berries never again soothe an elves' tongue!

'Be in the yard at dawn,' the old dwarf tutor had reminded her the evening before, 'don't be late for it is an important thing I wish to tell you.' She hurried to wash herself and comb her long hair, after which she slipped into some comfortable clothes and ran out of her room to join Dambrano and the others who would probably be waiting eagerly in the yard.

CHAPTER TWO

PURPOSE

The gentle face of Dambrano, strengthened with innumerable impeccable lines of sheer age,showed no sign of irritation or impatience whatsoever as Andariel joined the others in the warmth of the morning sun and excused herself for being late. When she glanced at the others, she sensed with some relief that she hadn't been the only one who had overslept.

A dim flicker of anxiety could be seen in the old dwarf's eyes as he spoke. His manners
momentarily seemed to indicate he had trouble suppressing an urge to reproach the elf, but he managed and greeted her in his usual fashion.

'Hail, Andariel daughter of Galadrol Traveliel-mate, and be welcome to this meeting. Please sit down and make yourself comfortable.'

Andariel nodded, and with a slight blush sat down on the soft grass that was still slightly wet with the morning's dew. Once she had settled, Dambrano shifted and, with a more stern look in his eyes, addressed the others as well.

'It is not for naught that I have called you all together here, for the time has come upon me to tell you of something for which I have been preparing you for ever since you were put under my care and started to study here at Pegana University.'

He halted momentarily, gauging the effect of what he had said.

Bladus, the tall warrior, seemed to sense battle already and had familiar sparkles in his eyes. If he would have had one, he would have gently caressed his sword's sheath.
Rinakles seemed once again to be in deep thought, but it could be seen by the focus of his eyes that he wasn't thinking of magic or poetry now. He was trying to foresee what Dambrano would tell - or at least try to estimate to what extent it would affect him and his friends.

Dobranur was habitually toying with his beard as he listened tentatively to what his distant uncle annex tutor had to say, exchanging looks with Bladus as he in turn comfortably stroked

his own hard knuckles.

The look in the eyes of Andariel seemed inconsistent - there was still a trace of feeling
comfortable for being so well received after being too late, whereas there was clear anxiety to be seen as well, as she glanced at Dobranur and Bladus who were both gently stroking their knuckles. She had always hated violence and something deep in her led her to believe that there would be plenty of it before this thing Dambrano was going to talk about would be over. She'd rather devote herself to woodlore and conquer worlds and enemies using only this particular elvish kind of magic.

The old dwarf proceeded.

'You know that I have always regarded you as my children since you all lost your parents, and that I have sought to teach you everything within my knowledge - even things that are not officially taught any more since the parting of White and Black Magic. I have taught each of you aiming at your individual strengths, and the time is nigh to bring in to practise all knowledge you have gained. You are adult now, and the time has come upon you on which your study will be finished and you will be ready to travel the far lands you have up to now only read about in books - so that you can satisfy your hunger of longing to see the world with your own eyes.'

A smile seemed to dawn upon the tutor's face, and shaped the flesh of his lips into a somewhat uncomfortable wrinkle. It disappeared a mere instant later, as though he suddenly remembered old grief or joys lost.

'You know me and my long speeches,' he continued with a slight hint of sadness in his voice, 'but I want you to hearken the tale I wish to tell you - which is the purpose I brought you all together. You already know much of what I will tell you now, only now I wish to reveal some of the connections between many of those tales you might, or, indeed, might not have heard before.'

Dambrano closed his eyes, and it seemed as if he closed them never to open again; the deepest of sighs came forth from his being as if it were his last one. Rapid eye movements behind his eyelids seemed to indicate the forming of pictures in his mind that sent shivers down his spine.

After he had been sitting like that for several moments, he suddenly opened his eyes as if startled at a sight too abhorrent to behold - something the others could now only guess at.

The old dwarf breathed deeply and began his tale.

CHAPTER THREE

THE MURDER OF GUAMS

Many, many years ago, when it was still early and young, and men, elves and dwarves were still primitive and unlearned, the land was inhabited by dragons. They were similar to lizards, only usually much bigger. They were usually red to orange in colour, they had enormous claws and long tails, and were highly intelligent although they did not find it necessary to use their mind to create shapes or devices of any kind. They also had the remarkable ability to spout hot breath which could, according to old stories, set trees aflame. But the most remarkable fact of knowledge about these animals was that they could lift themselves up in the sky like birds, and fly great distances - for which purpose they had enormous wings set on their backs.'

The eyes of the two men, the elven maiden and the young dwarf looked at him with disbelief. Surely, roaming the skies was a privilege set aside only for the birds? It was hard to imagine an enormous lizard flying through the sky, and they shuddered at the thought of actually meeting one of these mystic creatures.

The old tutor's eyes kept looking serious so their doubt was set aside, and went on: 'Not much more can be read about these animals, not even in the very oldest scriptures that can be found deep down in the dungeons of this University - and therefore I am afraid that I can't tell you everything there is to be known.'

Dambrano assumed a look of regret, as if a deep feeling of blundering incompetence had manifested itself in him. His pupils sensed that he found it a sign of impotence not to know everything he sought to tell about something as important as the dragons of the land - he who knew virtually everything about anything.

'But I can tell you this,' the wise old dwarf resumed, 'the dragons already roamed the vastness of the early land way before any of our kindred did. There were hundreds of them - maybe even thousands. It is said that this earth was actually created for them in the days of old, though this can of course only be believed rather than known for sure. One thing is certain: The dragons weren't evil beasts like many people nowadays would like to believe.