When Avess spotted the tall Black Tower on the horizon, he welled with a sense of pride. The five Towers of the north and the five southern Towers were a marvel to behold. Decorated with intricate details such as battle scenes and images of the Drakku and Magus working together, they took his breath away. Built before he was born, they were a joint effort of Drakku and Magus. The Order needed a home to study and learn their craft, delving deep into their art while learning from one another. The activity inside reminded Avess of how the cavern was ordered. The various towers were like the Drakku clans organizing themselves, congregating with their own in order to increase their knowledge.

What he most enjoyed about the Tower was the secret on the top, something no living Magus had known.

On all the Towers, what appeared to be a spire at the top actually hid a resting place for the Drakku. Inaccessible from the inside, the only way to even know it existed was to fly to it. Nestled within a ring of spikes was a large, flat open area meant to house several dragons. He wondered if Ildor knew about it. No Magus he’d ever known did.

Let me show you something.

“Show me what?”

You’ll see.

Avess crossed the land, his shadow forcing people to look up and wave at the dragon passing by. He exhaled flames in a gesture of greeting, and flew toward the Tower.

The walls of the city appeared closer and soon he was over the city. Small streams of smoke rose from chimneys and the market was full of morning activity. He approached the Tower, slowly circling it.

“It’s such a beautiful view from here! Those fine details are impossible to see from the ground! Look at that, a Magus and Drakku flying in the sky much like us now!”

The craftsmen and dragons who built this were extraordinary. How I wish I could’ve been there to help. What a glorious monument to our long-lived cooperation.

Large puffy clouds drifted across the sky. Avess flew through one and when he came through the other side, he climbed higher until he was above the Tower.

Look down.

“If it’s all the same to you, I’d rather not.”

Avess chuckled and slowly descended toward the spikes at the top of the Tower.

“Avess, what exactly are you doing? We cannot land on the top!”

Actually, it was made for exactly that.

“It…what?”

Avess dropped in between the spikes until he landed on the flat stone surface gently lowering Amorith, scaring away an eagle that had roosted there. When he landed, he heard Ildor whistle.

“Wow, I had no idea.”

None do. Not that I know of. It was built for us, for the Drakku. If needed, we could rest here or use it as a perch to watch over the Tower in times of trouble.

“Why keep it a secret?”

I have no answer for you. All I know is what has been handed down to me. There is no way for the Magus to reach this place other than flying and the only way to fly—

“Is on the back of a dragon. Or griffon I suppose.”

True. A griffon could bring you here too. If they weren’t so busy trying to break free of the Drakku.

“I’m sure they’ll see reason soon enough.”

No matter, it is not a concern of the Order. However, the gray-souls are. Are you ready to let the Kull Naga know? I can be there with you. It might be better if he hears it from both of us.

“I think that’s a wise decision.”

Avess lifted from the stone platform with Amorith in his arms, flew out of the spikes, and back out into the open air. They lazily drifted downward until they were in the courtyard of the Tower. After Ildor climbed off his back, Avess laid Amorith down and shifted into a human, straightening his robes and pulling back his long hair.

“Ready?”

“How you do that astounds me.”

Avess smiled and patted him on the shoulder. “If only you were fully Drakku my friend. Then you’d be able to fly alongside me.”

The two men quickly marched across the stone courtyard to the closest guard.

“Take my novice to the graveyard outside the walls. She is to be buried amongst the other novice.”

The guard looked past Ildor. “Sir?”

“My novice was killed by a—“ he paused, not yet ready to divulge what happened. “She was killed in the wild. Lord Avess was kind enough to bring her back to the Tower. She deserves a proper burial. It would be better if she were at the Crimson Tower, but we don’t have time. She will at least be among her kind.”

“Yes sir.”

“Is the Kull Naga here?”

“Yes sir, in his study I believe.”

“Thank you. Please, tend to Amorith.”

The guard raced off, calling to others to help him carry the body to a nearby cart for transporting out to the graveyard.

“I really wish she could be back at the Crimson Tower, but I think she’ll forgive me if we have to convince the Kull of pressing matters.”

“She’s with her people, she will be fine. Her memory will serve us as we try to warn the others.”

“If only the Kull listens. My greatest fear is that he’s succumbed to the loud grumblings of those Magus who would do your Drakku harm.”

“I’m sure he’s a reasonable man and can decide to follow the truth.”

Ildor raised an eyebrow then opened the wooden door leading into the servants entrance of the Tower.

Inside was a hive of activity. Cooks and their help were furiously scrambling in the hot kitchen, pots of boiling water over open flames and loaves of bread baking added to the image before them of butchers carving goats and lamb. Young helpers were scolded for being late by the butcher. One young boy was swatted on the hand with a hot ladle from one of the large cooks, a woman big enough to scare even Avess.

“I wouldn’t want to be on her bad side!”

Ildor chuckled and led them past the chaos into a narrow hallway.

“This way. We’ll get there faster taking the servants passageway. At least we’ll encounter fewer people. The more that see you, the more they’ll want to talk and gossip. Or…” he looked back to Avess, “Or try and do something stupid to you.”

“I appreciate the concern. I’m confident I can handle myself.”

“I believe you could.”

They continued along the dark corridor, lit only by torches that never went out. From his previous visits, Avess knew they’d been burning for hundreds of years. The powerful Magus spell enthralled him.

“This way.”

Ildor turned down a hallway on the right, then at the end, turned left. Soon they were at a small unassuming wooden door.

“This is it. Are you ready?”

Avess nodded, more sure of this than anything he’d done before.

Ildor knocked.

“Come in,” a voice grunted back at them.

Ildor ran a hand along his robe then opened the door.

Kull Naga Ornas was seated at a table with a young novice at his side. Avess thought he was close in age to Etain.

“Magus Ildor and Lord Avess! What a surprise!” He turned to the boy. “Drexon, we’ll continue this later.” The boy nodded, gathered his book, and scurried out the way Ildor and Avess had come in.”

“Please, have a seat.” Ornas gestured to the table and both men took a seat.

“What causes you to visit from the servants entrance? Who else knows you’re in the Tower?” He titled his head when he spoke, inspecting Avess.

“Not many. We’ve just arrived from the Dragon Lands. There’s something you need to know.”

Ornas held up a hand. “If it’s in the Dragon Lands, isn’t it under the control of the Drakku and Lord Avess here? What problems there could mean anything for us?” he said, waving a hand dismissing the notion.

Avess sensed something dark in his tone. The Order and the Drakku had been allies for a long time and always helped when there was trouble for the other side. Ornas’s odd behavior seemed to indicate he didn’t subscribe to that. At least maybe not as strongly as before.

“Kull Naga, I beg your pardon, but the Drakku are our allies. What happened there is something that goes beyond borders.”

“Magus Ildor, I’m quite aware of our relations with the Drakku.”

“Ornas, please, listen to him.”

Ornas narrowed his eyes at the slight from Avess. “It is Kull Naga Ornas.”

Avess felt the hate drip from his words. Something was clearly not right here. “Forgive me Kull Naga Ornas. I’m not here to argue over titles or decorum. I’m here to warn you. There’s a village to the west—“

“Nighthill. The empty village?”

Avess and Ildor looked to each other in shock. None had known about this as far as they knew. How could he possibly have any idea?

“Yes Kull. How did—“

“Lord Avess, do you think something of that magnitude would escape my attention? When the Drakku wipe out an entire village, even if it’s in your lands, don’t you think I’d know about it?”

Avess jumped to his feet. “How dare you accuse the Drakku of such horrors? We’ve done no such thing! We’ve come here to warn you of someone using a dark magic to create gray-souls! We think they’re the ones who made the people of Nighthill vanish!”

Ornas slowly stood from his seat. “Do you accuse us of it then?” His words were dark and full of implications. They tempted Avess to retaliate.

“Gentlemen, please, let’s think about this rationally. We can figure it out together,” Ildor said in an attempt to diffuse the situation.

“Indeed we can Magus Ildor. We shall convene a tribunal within a week. Lord Avess, if you fail to attend I see no other option but to label the Drakku an enemy of the Order. Am I clear?”

“The Drakku have done no wrong,” Avess began, his anger nearly boiling over. The urge to change into a dragon and burn everything grew fierce in him. “I will attend this tribunal and you shall see the truth.” Avess left the table and clutched the handle of the door. When he did, he turned and faced Ornas. “Whatever evil has taken hold of you, I pray it leaves soon. The Drakku and the Order need each other.”

“We need no one but ourselves. A week Lord Avess.”

Avess swung the door open and stomped out into the hallway. Ildor was on his heels, trying to calm his temper.

“Avess, something isn’t right. This tribunal is not common for the Order. I fear the creeping danger has taken hold of the Kull. You cannot go through with this!”

“I must. For the honor of the Drakku, I have to. I need the Order to see the truth, to see that we are not the enemy, no matter what some small group says. If I deny the tribunal and refuse to appear, how will that look to your people?”

“But…”

“You know as well as I that it must be done. I will appear and I will defend myself. You know the truth. In the end, the truth always wins out. It may take time to get there, but nothing can stop it.”

They hurried through the stone corridor until Ildor directed Avess to leave through a different door than what they entered.

“This way Avess. We can find the guest quarters in this hall. You’re more than welcome to stay with me.”

“I’ve got much to do before the meeting. I’ll need to get word to Etain so she doesn’t worry. The last time I was gone for some time, I discovered this mess we’re about to discuss. She’ll need to know the situation. Just in case…”

“In case of what? The Kull may be angry, but what can he do in the end? It would be unwise to dissolve our partnership and harming the Dragon Lord would not bode well for the Order.”

“No, it would not. May Deavos protect us all.”

Ildor lead them to the guest quarters for the Red Magus, securing two adjacent rooms.

It would be a long week, but Avess felt he’d soon have his opportunity to share the truth. The Order needed to know what evil waited among them.