A ripple of magic passed from Ancaladar to Jermayan, and slowly the air between them began to… condense as Jermayan cast his spell.
The Mountainborn often joked about the temperature being cold enough to freeze fire. This was as if the air were freezing, though the temperature in the pavilion was no colder than it had been a moment before. But slowly, in the space between the three of them, the air itself darkened and solidified, until it had become a perfect egg-shaped piece of ice.
It was so cold that its surface smoked in the pavilion's cool air; so dense that its color was the pale blue of a winter sky; so pure that Kellen could see right through it to the other side.
"Memory," Jermayan said, staring at the ice-egg. "The most ancient memory of all."
"Look," Idalia said.
Kellen looked.
* * * * *
HE was no longer Kellen Tavadon, Knight-Mage.
He was Vielissar Farcarinon, Great Queen, victor of a thousand battles. Since she had been old enough to hold a sword, she had fought against the Centaurs, against the Minotaurs, against the Bearwards. She had fought the warring Elven tribes who would attempt to take her crown from her, and united them beneath her banner. She had brought her rule to the land from the Forests of Ulayna to the Golden Isles, and united the Hundred Houses. All of them had acknowledged her right to rule, for she was wise, favoring no House over another.
Then, in the moment of her greatest victory, when all the land was at peace, a new enemy had come. Not just an enemy of the Elves, but an enemy of all who walked beneath the Light.
The Endarkened.
* * * * *
HE was no longer Jermayan, son of Malkirinath, Elven Knight, Ancaladar's Bonded.
He was Vielissar Farcarinon, Great Queen, victor of a thousand battles, Elven Mage. Since she had been old enough to enter The Sanctuary of the Star, she had studied the mysteries of the Great Magic that bound the Children of Leaf and Star to the heartbeat of the world, and mastered all its secrets. With that power had come great wisdom, and so she had planned her battles carefully, knowing that the Elves must not forever expend their substance on petty wars between House and House, but must unite together beneath a strong ruler, and end their bickering forever. For there had been omens revealed in the stars at the moment of her birth that foretold that a great enemy was coming, and she knew that she must be there to meet it.
She labored long and bloodily, and at last there was peace. And then, as the prophecy foretold, the enemy came. Winged creatures of Shadow, with sorcerous powers greater than those of the greatest Elven Mage. Once more she rallied her armies beneath her banner, and found, to her horror, that all their power, all their magic was not enough.
But she had been planning for this day for a very long time, and she did not despair. She went into the deep earth, armed only with her wits, her magic, and her love, and found new allies.
The dragons.
There, she made a pact that would change the world forever. She made it willingly, knowingly, gladly, for the enemy they faced was worth any sacrifice. But it was still not enough to save them.
* * * * *
SHE was no longer Idalia Wildmage, tool of the Wild Magic.
She was Vielissar Farcarinon, Great Queen, victor of a thousand battles, Elven Mage.
With all the limitless power of a dragon to draw upon, she was still not the equal of the enemy she fought. She could destroy them one by one upon the battlefield, but the Power They served walked the land beside them, and its power was as much greater than Theirs as Leaf and Star was greater than hers.
It was that Power that she must seal away from the world, if all who walked beneath the Light were to survive and prevail.
There were yet Allies upon whom she might call. Those who loved her people well, who had answered their prayers upon a thousand battlefields, to whom offerings were made at the Nine Shrines in every season. Allies as bright and dangerous as a swordblade, as powerful as the lightning.
As powerfulperhapsas He Who Is.
* * * * *
IDALIA opened her eyes. She couldn't remember closing them, but obviously she had. The egg-shaped ice crystal was gone. Only a clear pool of water remained, slowly freezing into the ice beneath.
She remembered as if she had done it herself what Vielissar Farcarinon had done. It was a spell, but more than that. A Greater Summoning, a magic so old that, like the spells of the High Magick it required precision of place and timing. There were only eight times in the year, and thirteen places in the world where such a spell could be cast, and of those thirteen places, Idalia, even with the help of the spell Jermayan had just cast, knew the location of only six and two of them were in places where no human could go and survive, no matter how great their magic.
The next time she could attempt the spell was Midwinter, just a day from now.
If she could not cast it then, she did not think they would all survive until Kindling, when she could try again.
Across the circle from her, Kellen and Jermayan were rousing from their trance. Both men looked dazed and only half-aware.
"You've remembered," Ancaladar said with pleasure.
"Yes," Idalia said. "Thank you, my friend."
"I think we've all remembered," Kellen said, still sounding slightly groggy. "I'm just not sure what we've remembered. I remember being a… an Elf. And doing a lot of fighting. And then, just when I'd gotten everything sorted out, They showed up to ruin everything. So I had to start over again."
"And I," Jermayan said, "I remember making the Great Pact, for I was, then as now, an Elven Mage. Yet even that was not enough to stop Them, for Their master was on the field of battle as well."
"And I remember what I did to send He Who Is back where he came from. But I don't see how I can make it work!" Idalia said.
"Idalia," Jermayan said, his voice taut with frustration.
Idalia made a rueful noise, half laughter, half despair. "Tell me, if you can, then, how I am to gain the consent of every living creature in the land to cast a Greater Summoning in less than a day."
On the face of it, the question was absurd, but Jermayan gave it serious thought.
"We must ask Andoreniel."
"Andoreniel! Jermayan, you saw him. He is too weak even to speak!"
"For this, he must find the strength. If anyone knows the answer, it is the King. There are secrets in the House of Leaf and Star held closely against the time of greatest need. And we are in great need now."
There was no way for Idalia to argue with this assessment. All the Wildmages had felt the Shadow grow in strength over the past several sennights, without understanding how, or why. If there was anything she could do to keep He Who Is from granting the Endarkened ultimate power, she must do it at once.
"We'd better go and ask him, then," she said, getting to her feet.
* * * * *
"YOU'LL be careful, right?" Kellen asked. "Whatever you end up doing?"
He was preparing to return to the camp at Halacira. As much as he wanted to stay and see this through to the end, Kellen knew that his place was there, not here. An army needed its commander, no matter how much his heart wanted to stay with his friend and his sister.
"I'll be at least as careful as you would be in my place and probably more so, little brother," Idalia assured him gravely. "It's a simple spell, really assuming I can figure out some way to gain the consent of all the land in less than a day, of course. And assuming the Allies that Vielissar Farcarinon summoned up are still around after all this time. But if I can, and they are, I just need to go and call them, and see if they're still willing to help."
"Simple," Kellen said, with a faint smile.