of the line of Aenarion from the face of Ulthuan. He would make this world pay for all of the long millennia of his incarceration. He roared with the ecstasy of it.
He began work on another spell, one that would reach out to all those whose dreams he had touched and who were vulnerable to his influence. It would draw those he needed to him and it would let him sense their presence.
He would need followers, an army of them if he was to achieve his goal and he would need other things, daemons to follow him and slay his enemies on his command. He would need worship to nourish him and souls on which to feed.
His great bellow echoed for scores of leagues and those who heard his voice above the crack of thunder shuddered.
chapter nine
Lothern, 10th Year of the Reign of Finubar
At first it was a day like any other. They followed the coastline of Ulthuan as it grew steadily more rugged. The breeze was strong, the weather warmer than Tyrion was used to. It had been getting steadily hotter as they made their way south.
In the mountains of Cothique, winter was still present but here in the south it felt like spring. Tyrion sat on the highest cross-spar on the ship and watched the sun spring over the horizon and the day grow ever warmer. The sea and the sky were of almost matching blue. In the distance, he could see more and more ships, converging from every point on the horizon, all of them heading towards the same goal.
There were mighty elven warships and larger, slower but still sleek cargo clippers. There were ungainly looking vessels that he guessed must belong to humans. There were small fishing boats and huge galleons and every size of sea-going craft in between. He felt as if the Eagle of Lothern was becoming part of a great crowd of pilgrims all heading towards the same holy spot. He had been keeping his eyes open for pirates but this interested him just as much. He would not have guessed there were so many ships in the world. Just the vessels he could see and count probably held as many people between them as the population of a city in Cothique.
It was not long before he caught sight of what he was waiting for. On the horizon, rising like the masts of a ship heaving into view, he caught sight of first one huge tower and then another. They were tall and slender, tipped by elongated minarets and swirling spires. Flags fluttered on their tips. He looked over at the sailor occupying the crow’s nest. It was Karaya, the pretty one who he had seen many times before. He had not had a chance to talk to her since the storm.
‘Lothern?’ he asked.
‘Your eyes are very good,’ Karaya said, once she lowered her spyglass. ‘Yes, those are the towers of Lothern. We shall pass through the sea gate this evening – wind, weather and the favour of the gods permitting.’
Tyrion grinned at her. ‘The last time I was here, I was a small child. I don’t remember much about the place.’
‘I am surprised you could forget,’ she said with a teasing smile. ‘Lothern is the greatest seaport in the world, the greatest city of the elves as well. And I am not just saying that because it’s my home. I have seen many cities here and in what the humans call the Old World and in Naggaroth too, although I went there only to burn them.’
‘You have seen the land of the Witch King?’ Tyrion asked, envying her all of her experiences. He got up and walked along the cross-spar until he reached the crow’s nest then dropped in beside her. Their bodies were very close. She did not object. ‘What was it like?’
‘Cold and bleak and harsh and full of people who did not like us very much. Their hospitality was execrable and we did not stay for long.’
Tyrion laughed. ‘I have heard that said.’
‘It is nothing but the truth. We would give Malekith and his people a warmer welcome if they chose to come visiting us.’
‘I do not think that is very likely.’
‘Nor do I. Their land was empty. There were few dark elves to see. I think the druchii are dying out more quickly even than our people.’
‘I had heard that Lothern was a lively place.’
‘That it is,’ she said. There was sadness in her voice. ‘But even Lothern