and the third . ? ? well, you have seen the third."
"All in the region have seen the third, dear Brynn," said Master Cheyes, smile. ?Our gratitude is with you this day, for the treachery Giezhou-Lei would have brought even more tragedy to the Walk of rl 'uds had it not been for you and your... friends."
"N rlv a score of my brethren are dead," Pagonel added. ?And many are wounded, some badly. But all of us who went down to do honor- "bf^battle would have died this day, had it not been for the arrival of the count the Behrenese losses in the hundreds," the woman replied. ?In-luding nearly all of the Chezhou-Lei who came against you. It is a great "Victory?" Master Cheyes echoed skeptically. ?We do not view war of any kind as a victory, dear Brynn, but as a loss for all of mankind."
Brvnn steeled her jaw, not about to agree. ?Yet war lies in my path, un-doubtedly so," she declared. ?And I go with my heart full of hope that my homeland will be free once more. The arrival of the dragon, and of my other two friends, gives me the beginning I will need to drive the Behrenese from the steppes."
"Beware the power of your dragon," Master Cheyes gravely warned.
"More important than the companions are the reputation that they have allowed me this day," Brynn explained, not wavering in the least. ?All of the To-gai-ru who witnessed the flight of the Dragon of To-gai will whisper to their fellows, and so the news shall spread throughout the steppes, and so I shall find many, many warriors willing to rush to my side!"
"Many of whom will die," the pacifistic Master Cheyes pointed out.
But again, Brynn was not to be deterred, not in the least. ?Then so be it."
Master Cheyes looked to Pagonel then. The other Jhesta Tu did not re-turn the stare, but kept his eyes locked on the remarkable Brynn.
"My time here has come to an end," the woman announced.
"This stay, perhaps," said Pagonel. ?The future may hold a day when you, and I, might return to the Walk of Clouds, to study together as we try to make sense of this existence."
His words had Brynn's jaw dropping open, and had Master Cheyes clos-ing his eyes tightly, as if wanting to deny them.
"You will come with me?"
1 agonel nodded. ?This is my course, I do not doubt, though neither do I understand. But if you and your friends will have me, then yes, I will stand sside you."
"When I walk into Dharyan," said Brynn.
PART 4 THE DRAGON OF TO-GAI Chapter 25 The Walkaway
PART F O U R THE DRAGON OF TO-GAI
When first I encountered Agradeleous in his cavern lair, I recognized, or thought I had, the power of the beast. The mere sight of the dragon froze me in my tracks, for a moment at least. I have seen volcanoes and mighty rivers, wild hailstorms on the open steppes, and heard - felt! - the thunder of a buffalo herd charging through the grasses. In all these things I am reminded of the sheer power of the world around us, dwarfing us in our hopes and dreams.
So it is with Agradeleous. He is a volcano, a flood, an earthquake, a catastrophe of the highest order, and unbelievably, his power has been given to me! Thatjuraviel even managed to make such a friend boggles my sensibilities.
With Agradeleous has come hope, so say the elves. Upon his back, I can fly the length of the steppes in but a day or two, gathering my armies, inspiring them with the knowledge that they will travel into combat against the hated Behrenese behind the power of a dragon. Is any outposter settlement too great a fortress for us now?
Is Dharyan? Isjacintha itself?
But there is another side to the lucky coin that is Agradeleous the dragon. Is his a power truly leashed, truly under my control?
I have sought out my answers in Oracle, but have found nothing more than the reminder of my murdered parents. I feel their anger keenly, more at the loss of our old ways than at the particular injustices they suffered. At Oracle, I am convinced more than ever that the ancient traditions of the To-gai-ru must be returned to the steppes, that we cannot tolerate our subjugation to the Chezru Chieftain and his Yatols.
Still, I cannot dismiss this power I have been given, this awesome and awful responsibility.