Legends of the Dragonrealm, Vol II - By Richard A. Knaak Page 0,242

chance it. Time is short. Nimth won’t die today, but we might.”

Xiri looked up again. “The sky?”

“This glow from the clouds is a new phenomenon… very new, I think. There is also a storm brewing. It won’t be a normal rain like you might expect. We’ve not had a rainstorm for years. If it strikes, it will be magical.”

“Which means it could produce anything. Will it necessarily be bad?”

He swept his arm across what lay before them. “Look around you. Do you see anything good coming from what the Vraad have done so far?”

His point was obvious, but something seemed to disturb her. “Will not your spell aggravate conditions? Is there not a chance it will act as a catalyst?”

“It might, but our choices are few. I either use my sorcery or we walk.”

Her hand slipped from his as she visibly struggled with herself. “There is one other way.”

“What might that be?”

Elfin eyes lowered. “I could try my own powers. Like you, mine have been returned to me.”

In the suddenness of their release by the founders, Dru had forgotten that his companion also worked magic of some kind. “Do you need anything?”

Xiri smiled. “Luck?”

He stepped back as she concentrated. The natural, if they could still be called such, forces of Nimth stirred as they were summoned. Her way felt different from that of his kind, however. It was more gentle, asking instead of taking. A glimmer of light materialized before the elf. Dru rubbed his chin, trying to understand the nuances of her spell. Was this the course in which Vraad sorcery should have developed?

He heard a gasp then, and saw Xiri starting to crumple. Instead of following her desires, it almost appeared as if Nimth sought to use her. Not only had power answered her summons, but it was trying to pervert her spell, almost as if it consciously desired to do so. With the swiftness born of centuries of careful practice, Dru seized control of her spell. The power fought back, not as a living thing but in the way that a raging river might fight against a dam that had broken partly away. Yet he did not turn the spell to the way it would have been had he been the originator. Instead, the spellcaster strained to make a hybrid of the two sorceries, at least long enough to perform the spell. Dru doubted the two could really be joined without a cataclysm resulting.

The strain was horrible, but in the end a shining, circular portal stood open before them. His concentration still monitoring the strength of the spell, Dru reached down and helped Xiri to regain her footing.

“That should never have happened!”

Dru knew better. “You tried to use the binding forces of Nimth as you would those of your own world. Nimth no longer follows the same laws of nature, if it ever actually did. We Vraad have made it too much like ourselves. Vicious and hungry. Still,” he added as encouragement, “I think what you accomplished was likely more effective than the results I would have obtained.”

“We have not crossed through yet. Save your congratulations for then.”

Stepping through the portal was only slightly less unnerving than entering the founders’ living gateway. Dru had a brief vision of a path, one that reminded him greatly of those Darkhorse had utilized to escape the Void, before he and his companion stood once more on the surface of his home world.

They stood in the courtyard that Dru had stared down at only… only… the Vraad gave up trying to count the days since his unexpected departure. After all, those who had ripped the massive structure apart had probably only needed hours, not days. He could not help glancing away from his companion, however. Seen up close, the devastation that had overcome the city was even worse than he had imagined.

“The city of the elders fell to time,” Dru whispered, again shamed of his kind. “Before a fraction of the same time has passed, this place will be a foul blot in comparison.”

“A ruin is a ruin,” Xiri said, more to mollify him than because she believed in the simple statement. “What do you hope to find here?”

“Nothing. I hoped that there might be someone. They can’t have all crossed over. Not so many and not so quickly. This was done by those left behind… the ones I’m supposed to help.”

“What do we do now?” Xiri clearly did not want one of their choices to be to remain in this