Prologue

Normagus gazed at the silver altar as he entered the chamber deep within the mountain. It was a massive room, with images of captured dragons – and of the foul and unholy rituals of the clerics who had once dwelled there – carved on its walls. Flickering torches lined the walls, their flames failing to illuminate the entire room. The large statue of a silver dragon that loomed above the altar dominated the room with an ominous gaze. Crushed bones littered the dusty floor, among fossilized fragments of eggshells. He assumed that this chamber had long been abandoned, despite the flickering torches, and held his nose briefly to block the rank odor of decay. Removing a vial of blue liquid from around his neck, Normagus opened it over one of the piles of bones.

“Thelran, my brother,” he said, pouring a drop onto the bones, “what you have done may be irreversible.” The bones were enveloped in a blue flame. Moments later, only ashes remained. “But there may be a chance,” and he clenched his fingers around the vial.

Normagus looked around the room again, scratching his charcoal-gray goatee as he searched for any unhatched eggs. Across the room from him stood the dais on which the altar waited. Large black runes and grotesque images of demons and dragons adorned its base and sides. The corners of the altar hooked upward like talons reaching for the ceiling. Three eggs, each large as a man’s head, lay on the altar, emitting a gently pulsating glow.

There you are, you elements of destruction, Normagus thought as he approached the dais. A probing sensation suddenly pierced his skull and tore at his brain. He stopped and pulled frantically at his hair, trying to remove something that wasn’t there. The pain slowly subsided, and Normagus paused to catch his breath. Puzzled yet determined, he continued towards the altar. The pain struck his mind a second time, stronger than before. Dozens of sharp invisible talons seemed to grip his head, clenching at his brain. Only a short distance from the altar, he stopped and fell to the floor.

“Stop tormenting me!” Normagus roared. “Stop playing with my mind, Thelran!”

The sharp, icy pain burrowed its way deeper into his mind, like poisoned daggers thrust into his skull. He screamed and howled, beating his fists on his head. Despite the force of the pain pressing him down to the floor, he managed to look up at the warm fire-red luminescence shining from the runes etched into the base of the altar.

I’ll destroy you once and for all! Anger swelled fiercely in Normagus’ body, the energy rushing through his bloodstream and giving him a surge of strength that he had not known for thirty years. He flung his staff at the crimson-glowing runes. A flash of light burst forth from the impact, destroying the altar and illuminating the room.

Once the light had subsided, Normagus rose to his knees and dusted off his now-soiled white robe. The evil presence had left his mind, and the eggs, on the now cracked altar remained unbroken. His staff rested on the dais at the foot of the altar, smoking but otherwise unharmed.

Normagus picked up his staff and used it for support as he stood up. I’ll take these eggs to the High Wizard in Threst. He’ll destroy them and end what my brother started.

He placed his staff in a leather sheath slung across his back and gathered the eggs in his arms. A tear slowly ran down Normagus’ cheek as he turned away from the altar. His heart ached now, and blamed himself for his brother’s betrayal. If only I could have stopped him before he started this madness.

Suddenly the entire mountain began to tremble, and a loud howl echoed in the air around him. “Normagus!” The howling voice sounded angry, and Normagus looked around to hear who or what it was that had called his name. But there was nothing there; the howl was just a gust of wind that made its way in through the tunnel. He took a deep breath and started off for the exit. A loud crash behind him, as if something had fallen, made him jump. He looked back.

Something had indeed fallen.

The dragon’s head had broken from the rest of the statue and crashed onto the altar. The eyes of the statue opened, burning with irate fire. The dragon’s mouth ground open as well and spoke to him in the familiar whispery voice of his brother. “Normagus, ever since we were children, you have tried to foil my ambitions — and you have always succeeded. Now this time you will surely fail.”

Normagus gasped, wondering what his brother had in mind for him. He dashed down the corridor that led to the entrance gate. Behind him, dirt and stones fell as the walls and ceiling began to crumble. The serpent-like hiss of his brother’s last word echoed around him, hanging in his ears. He continued running, legs burning and heart pounding. If he could get past the magical gate, then his brother’s wrath would at least be contained.

Normagus looked ahead to the open door before him: a massive iron gate, engraved with arcane designs and runes. He ran through the gateway and stopped in the tunnel just outside the chamber, breathing heavily with fear. The sphere of light he had cast just before entering the egg chamber was beginning to dim, and it wouldn’t be long before the darkness would engulf him.

The mage gestured into the air, mumbling a few words in the ancient tongue, as the large door slowly slammed shut. A feeling of hope rose in his heart, although he wished he were outside instead of still deep within the dreaded mountain.

Before turning away to start off down the tunnel ahead of him, Normagus withdrew a fist-sized triangular piece from the center of the gate and, sighing with relief, slipped it into his pocket. Unexpectedly, the piercing pain swelled in his mind again, and Normagus let out a bellowing scream.

“No!” The burning shock of pain surged into his back as well, like fire being branded onto his spine. He had little time to wonder what was causing the pain to return, but then he remembered about the staff. Normagus tore the sheath off his back and threw it as far away as he could. The staff created a fiery red glow similar to that of the runes. Damn you, Thelran!

Cracks developed in the ground beneath the wizard. He tumbled to the warm rock floor, dropping the eggs. Quickly, he struggled to grab them and crawled toward the exit with his eyes directed down the corridor ahead. The floor suddenly collapsed under him completely and Normagus plummeted into the darkness with the eggs. The staff, not glowing as brightly as before, rolled down the corridor into the darkness after him.