01 Dragons of Autumn Twilight by Weis & Hickman

Author:Weis & Hickman [Weis & Hickman]
Format: epub
Published: 2010-04-10T22:59:06.258000+00:00

Now Sleep, Our oldest friend, Lulls in the trees And calls Us in. The Leaves Give off cold fire, They blaze into ash At the end of the year. And birds Coast on the winds, And wheel to the North When Autumn ends. The day grows dark, The seasons bare, But we Await the sun's Green fire upon The trees.

Points of flickering lantern light spread from the courtyard like ripples in a still, calm pond, through the streets, into the forests and beyond. And, with each lamp lit, another voice was raised in song, until the surrounding forest itself seemed to sing with despair.

The wind Dives through the days. By season, by moon Great kingdoms arise. The breath Of firefly, of bird, Of trees, of mankind Fades in-a word. Now Sleep, Our oldest friend, Lulls in the trees And calls Us in. The Age, The thousand lives Of men and their stories Go to their graves. But We, The people long In poem and glory Fade from the song.

Gilthanas's voice died away. With a gentle breath, he blew out the flame of his lamp. One by one, as they had started, the others around the table ended the song and blew out their candles. All through Qualinost, the voices hushed and the flames were extinguished until it seemed that silence and darkness swept over the land. At the very end, only the distant mountains returned the final chords of the song, like the whispering of leaves falling to the ground. The Speaker stood. "And now," he said heavily, "it is time for the meeting of the High Council. It will be held in the Hall of the Sky, Tanthalas, if you will lead your companions there." The Hall of the Sky, they discovered, was a huge square, lit by torches. The giant dome of the heavens, glittering with stars, arched above it. But it was dark to the north where lightning played on the horizon. The Speaker motioned to Tanis to bring the companions to stand near him, then the entire population of Qualinost gathered around them. There was no need to call for silence. Even the wind hushed as the Speaker began. "Here you see our situation." He gestured at something on the ground. The companions saw a gigantic map beneath their feet. Tasslehoff, standing in the middle of the Plains of Abanasinia, drew in a deep breath. He couldn't remember ever seeing anything so wonderful. "There's Solace!" he cried in excitement, pointing. "Yes, Kenderkin," the Speaker replied. "And that is where the dragonarmies mass. In Solace"-he touched the spot on the map with a staff-"and in Haven. Lord Verminaard has made no secret of his plans to invade Qualinesti. He waits only to gather his forces and secure his supply routes. We cannot hope to stand against such a horde." "Surely Qualinost is easily defended," Sturm spoke up. "There is no direct route overland. We crossed bridges over ravines that no army in existence could get through if the bridges were cut.

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