"However, the elves who lived in Argolen stayed there, of course. Grainnewyn's magic protected Argolen's people, human, elf, and Dragorian alike, from uninvited intruders. Maedera also became a haven for powerful human wizards, priests, and warriors, and the remaining Silver Elves of Briodun. But in time, the corrupting spirit of Galadon began to influence the city, and the Silver Elves of Briodun who had not left Maedera were cut off from Argolen. Maedera became a city of evil, the city of Galadon.
"Then at last Galadon succeeded in seducing seven of the Dragon Lords to his service with his promises that the Dragorians would help him rule over Arcaendria, over the growing humans who had driven all magical creatures from their western homes. Scathaechir, once idealistically devoted to his King Dragoras, had in time grown jealous of the Dragorian King and resentful that Dragoras did nothing to stop the humans from taking all of the West. So, Scathaechir began to entice the other dragons to join him and side with Galadon.
"Seven of the Dragon Lords promised to help Galadon because they were tired of living in fear that their lands would be taken by invading humans, until they learned that Galadon wished the death of Dragoras. Unable to destroy their King, five of the Dragon Lords betrayed Galadon in the end. They refused to attack Grainnewyn's domain where Dragoras lived."
"But they besieged the rest of the city?" Dylan inquired. He couldn't imagine how that could have been done without the aid of dragons. And someone obviously had destroyed the outer walls.
"No," Galanor shook his head. "At least not all of them joined in the attack. The Dragorians had come as guests to the city to join in the festivities when Aiovel was born. But the Black Dragon Lord Scathaechir and the Fire Dragon Lord Rilath soon transformed into their dragon state at Galadon's command, and they and their minions attacked Argolen from inside the city.
"Then Dragoras drove the Black Dragons and Fire Dragons from the city, aided by the Gold, Ice, Silver, and Water Dragons— the last of the faithful— and the others whose secret pact with Galadon hadn't yet been discovered. Grainnewyn's spells kept the Black and Fire Dragons, now revealed as traitors, from re-entering the city, and as far as I know, none of them have ever returned.
"After the attack, Dragoras and the elven smiths began to forge magic weapons to defend themselves. Dragoras still didn't know that five of the other Dragon Lords had betrayed him, or rather, that they had promised to betray him and recanted. Likewise, Grainnewyn didn't know that it was her own brother who conspired against her husband, but still she feared another dragon plot against the city, so she sent the infant Aiovel to the protection of Elwellyn Forest. Aiovel spent most of her childhood and adult years in the Living Palace, before the fall of the eastern cities."
"What happened to the other five Dragon Lords?" Dylan wondered.
"Ah, yes. " Galanor nodded. "Dragoras discovered their disloyalty in the end, of course, though the news was devastating to him. I think it hurt most of all that his trusted advisor Melesian had been one of the traitors. It was my father who was eventually compelled to tell Dragoras of the treachery of the five, for he had overheard Scathaechir talking with the others in one of the feasting halls at the time of Aiovel's birth. Scathaechir had been persuading the other five to join in the attack on Inverlen; they gave their word to him but never did attack the city.
"As reluctant as Dragoras was to believe their involvement in the plot, he at last learned the truth by confronting Olierin, who has ever had a running mouth. Dragoras' retaliation at being betrayed was absolute and swift, as is the nature of injured dragons; he banished the seven fallen Dragon Lords forever from the city of Dragoras and cursed all of their kind to never again return to their Dragorian form. So it was that when they left Argolen that last time, they remained forever after as dragons, the form that represents Dragorian power. They became magical creatures, giant beasts who will never again walk as noble lords in the fair city of Dragoras."
"How sad, never to be Dragorian again!" Lilia exclaimed.
"Still, they deserved no better," Mygdewyn spat.
"But wasn't it dangerous to punish them so severely?" Dylan wondered. "How could Dragoras risk banishing them? It seems like he was driving them right into Galadon's camp."
"Ah, but you don't really understand the mind of a dragon, young prince," Galanor countered. "Dragons live a thousand mortal lives and more; they do not make abrupt decisions—well, not usually. Remember, Galadon had been trying to recruit them for centuries the first time."
Dylan sat back in silence.
"The shame of the five banished lords who hadn't openly attacked Dragoras kept them from siding in the matter between Argolen and Daegoras. Instead, they began to dwell on the issue that had brought enmity between the dragons: the growth of the human populations. The seven dragon races disappeared into their new homes, yet more and more they began to harbor hatred of humankind for the wrongs that had been dealt them. All dragons do, in a sense, resent humans for taking their ancient lands away and the ancient lands of all magical creatures.
"In any case, Dragoras and Grainnewyn left the city of Argolen many times to fight off Scathaechir and Rilath's subjects and the hordes of unnatural creatures, mostly chamaelaeons and brubachwycs, that had appeared around the Hills of Briodun. In the end, though, Dragoras could not prevent the Black Dragons from settling near his own city on the southern peaks of the Silver Mountains, near the southern marshes. Tales of our kind record that the Black Dragon's home turned black as dragon ashes, as black as Scathechir's heart, and it became known thereafter as the Black Mountains."
"So, Scathaechir wanted to punish the city of Dragoras for his woes," Dylan guessed. "I can see that. That dragon had a really sadistic streak."
Galanor chuckled. "Yes, quite."
"But Grainnewyn still didn't know about her brother?" Lilia asked.
"No. He refused all invitations to Argolen, but Olierin told me that eleven years after Aiovel was born, Galadon ordered the seven Dragon Lords to attack the city of Dragoras itself. The five recently fallen Dragon Lords refused, again betraying Galadon despite their exile from Dragoras."
"Why didn't they attack the city of Dragoras?" Ronan asked. "King Dragoras had punished them!"
"Well," Galanor explained, "once they had permanently taken on their dragon forms, they had forsaken the doings of Dragorians, humans, and elves alike and withdrawn from the world, vowing never again to follow another or to listen to the will of others. So, they no longer obeyed Dragoras, but they wouldn't follow Galadon, either."
"Wasn't Dragoras living in Argolen then?" Mygdewyn inquired.
"Dragoras and Grainnewyn lived in both cities, moving from one to another each year. Yet when Dragoras learned that hordes of Black and Fire dragons, evil wizards, and unnatural creatures had descended upon the city of Dragoras, he rushed to defend it. To protect the burning city from the invaders, he cast a powerful spell upon the city walls that forever keeps it from being located. Dragoras city shifted into a formless state in the outside world, appearing as nothing more than a mirage or mist to eyes that would see it, while it remained intact within, and only Silver Elves, the faithful Dragon Lords, and the other true Dragorians can find their way into the lost city."
"So Dragoras won?" Dylan asked.
Slowly, Galanor shook his head.
"In order to cast the spell, Dragoras remained outside." Galanor replied in a low, grave tone. "As Dragoras finished casting his spell, Scathaechir and the bitter Fire and Black Dragons attacked the Dragon King. At the same time, the evil wizards of Galadon in their company sought to somehow destroy the vanished city. They cast such destructive spells of fire and energy that the forested hills surrounding Dragoras for hundreds of miles were reduced to bare desert."
So that's how the deserts had been formed! Dylan shuddered. Where had all of these evil wizards gone, exactly?
"And the King?" Lilia ask
ed, then held her breath.
"Before the other dragons could come to his rescue, the worst came to pass. Dragoras was killed." Galanor replied solemnly.
"I don't like this story!" Lilia wailed, kicking her feet.
"We dragons shared your sentiment, Lilia." Galanor said. "You see, dragons are potentially eternal creatures, but we can be killed, and for this reason every dragon fears the blades of Elwellyn, imbued with the Silver Elves' most ancient magic. I have no doubt that Galadon forged the sword that killed our King."
"What happened to Grainnewyn?" Mygdewyn asked.
"She traveled to Dragoras to visit the King's Tomb, and remained there several years, I believe. Then on her return to Argolen, she recalled her brother Galadon, still unaware his heart had turned evil, or that he had ordered the death of Dragoras. And so Galadon returned to Argolen, still secretly joyful at the Dragon King's death."
"Wasn't his treachery ever discovered?" Ronan asked.
"Yes—by Aiovel herself." Galanor said. "When Aiovel turned one hundred years old, the Elwellyn Elves sent her to rejoin her mother in Argolen. As Aiovel met her uncle, she perceived his dislike of dragons, and she began to fear that he had been responsible for Dragoras' death. So she used her elf powers and hid in his chambers, where, undetected, she overheard news of his plot as he spoke with his wizards in Maedera. Thus Galadon's treachery was revealed at last.
"Banished from Argolen, the evil Galadon journeyed east to Maedera and led the wizards on an attack on Briodun before it could receive aid. The mines were destroyed, but Galadon crossed the mountains when he discovered that his sister and the Silver Elves had reached Maedera behind him. With the aid of the remaining four loyal Dragon Lords, the elves utterly destroyed the evil city. Believing Argolen to have perished in the destruction, Grainnewyn returned to Inverlen.
"However, Galadon dwelt safely in the town of Gildorland over the mountains, and his power slowly grew. Later, Galadon seized the ancient elven Dun Rigor from the human hands that now occupied it; Dun Rigor had fallen to the ownership of the human kings of Gildorland in times long passed, and from that shining castle Galadon's malevolent creations soon poured west. You see, Galadon was not content taking back only the East from human hands. He wanted to reclaim all of the West as well, and he was bitter that both Grainnewyn and Dragoras had let their kingdoms dwindle. When the dragons betrayed him, he thought to conquer the entire continent, human and dragon lands alike, and restore the ancient lordship of the Silver Elves.
"Galadon never has taken back the West, but his influence spread on the eastern coast of Daegoras, where he remains the feared overlord called the Dark Wizard."
"He's the Dark Wizard!" Lilia and Mygdewyn cried at once, only a moment ahead of the others. Dylan had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Aiovel's quest must be to depose her own uncle!
Galanor nodded. "Only after two hundred years did Galadon return to the Hills of Briodun to claim Inverlen with creatures spawned by his evil experiments." Galanor continued. "Unprepared as the city was, the people who could not escape in time remained with Grainnewyn in Argolen as Galadon's creatures and armies besieged the city. Then, a few of Scathaechir's Black Dragons appeared and destroyed the outer towers.
"To protect the Elwellyn Forest and Argolen from Scathaechir's horde, Grainnewyn cast a spell to prevent the Black Dragon King and his most powerful captains from ever crossing the River of Argolen. Nevertheless, the city was already in ruins, and as the walls crumbled around her, she cast another spell with the last of her magic power, the spell that created the magic boundary. Though she knew casting the spell would exhaust her power, Grainnewyn used the last of her magic to protect the innocent descendents of the human invaders that had taken the ancient elf lands. Her spell is what has kept any monsters, including Galadon's abominations, from crossing the Elwellyn River and into the West— even I cannot cross the magic boundary in dragon form."
"So Grainnewyn died?" Lilia asked, sniffing.
Galanor balked slightly. "Not exactly. As she was finishing the spell, Galadon perceived her actions and cast a counter-spell upon her; in the backlash she died horribly, I guess you might say— but she didn't die, either. She became a—a ghost. A wraith that cannot rest."
"Oh, how horrible!" Lilia cried. A wraith was a dead spirit cursed to remain in the world without retaining any of its former memories, yet bound by unfinished business in its life to linger near the place of its death until its business could be finished and its curse could be removed. Usually only the wraith's former identity knew what that business was, so that the wraith's release almost never happened. Lilia stole a glance over to the castle's outer walls.
"Of course, this all happened more than three thousand years ago, and the city has lain undisturbed, except by Aiovel and me, and magically preserved by the wraith's power as it was when Grainnewyn died." Galanor continued. "Those brave Dragorian and Silver Elf warriors who fell in its defense were thrown into the lake by the creatures that destroyed this place. But Galadon's monsters no longer tarry around these ruins, aware of the power of the tormented soul that haunts the castle within.
"As for the Dragorians, many of them remained in the hidden city of Dragoras. But with the High King of the Dragons gone, it will never again match its former glory. I have never seen it myself because we Ice Dragons don't like going to the east, since we run the risk of encountering the banished seven Dragon Lords— not to mention the other foul land monsters in the wilds.
"So, many of us have spread across Daegoras and across the Great Western Ocean to East Vilna, creating our own cities. You'd be surprised how many dragons there are living in Gyfen alone! But your people aren't the only ignorant creatures in the West. Until I encountered Aiovel again in Gyfen four hundred years ago and she told me who she really was, I thought that the daughter of Dragoras had been destroyed in the fall of Argolen, as is told in the history of our race."
"And now Scathaechir knows she's alive," Dylan said.
"Yes." Galanor agreed. "Still, who knows what will happen? Scathaechir no longer obeys Galadon, though his fledgling ibruns do join in on a few monster raids for the sake of blind malice, and because it is good practice for them to learn the art of attack."
"It's hard to believe that none of your people knew about Aiovel." Mygdewyn said. "When they had once got along so well with the elves."
"Well," Galanor admitted, "after the elf Galadon had made the dragons turn on each other and attack the elves, the Dragorians and Silver Elves went their separate ways. My mother told me that the Dragorians have had nothing to do with the Silver Elves since the fall of Argolen. We travel among the human races out of our own interest, to live where we please, and the humans see us as strange-looking Elves. We have no use for those who dwell in Elwellyn Forest. At least, the others don't." Galanor amended sheepishly.
"I certainly never imagined you were a dragon," Dylan agreed.
"As for Aiovel," Galanor went on, "she has traveled across Daegoras for three thousand years, hoping to free Queen Grainnewyn from her uncle's spell, waiting until her powers grow enough to confront Galadon. I have no doubt that Aiovel has kept her identity secret because the cursed dragons resented her. You see, they believe her birth brought the fall of the dragons. And now, with Queen Grainnewyn's spells of protection growing weak, Aiovel has little time left to reach Dun Rigor to stop her uncle from conquering the entire continent."
"Can Aiovel fly?" Mygdewyn wondered. "I mean— can she transform?"
Galanor nodded.
"Then why doesn't she just fly east?" Dylan asked. "That would save her a lot of time."
"And Galadon would see her coming miles away," Galanor said. "As would every other monster from here to Gildorland, and the dragons as well. Dragons do not like others invading their territory, you know. Even Aiovel is no match for a flock of them, and they won't be aski
ng her questions first— if they see her presence as a threat. If she comes as a dragon, they certainly would; as a Dragorian, they are more likely to be curious."
"I see," Dylan nodded, reflecting. "Say, why does Aiovel care about stopping her uncle, anyway?" Dylan wondered. "When she could be safe in her forest and leave the humans to fend for themseves."
Galanor stared at him incredulously.
"I suppose because her mother died trying to save your people."
XI: Reunion
**Some meat, young Gil?** One of the Emerald Dragons asked, indicating the charred carcass of a deer.
**No, thank you,** Gil said, queasily eyeing the slavering dragons.
**Ah, yes, so you see, Scathaechir led us Emerald Dragons to believe that we would receive a great treasure if we agreed to help him conquer humankind. A horrible trick it was, and we were forced to leave our beautiful city behind forever.** Olierin continued his story wistfully. **But, as you can see, we have made our home here in the hills. Those days were long ago, and we now prefer being dragons.** Olierin added.
**As for young Galanor, well, we can hardly feel bitter toward him any longer, considering what he has done for us. But the other dragons, the high and mighty Gold dragons, the oh-so-pure Silver—**
**But it was the Sun Dragon Lord's fault we agreed to join Scathaechir,** Wistid broke in. **They told us the others had all joined him.**
**No, I remember it as the Wind Dragon Lord's fault,** Vertilio interrupted.