The Dragon in the Sword Read Free

The rest of it I do not care for at all. I want no more talk of destiny, of swords, of ships and strange countries. Where is Tanelorn?
    – The ship sails there, does it not? I understand that Tanelorn is her final destination. There are so many cities called Tanelorn and the ship carries a cargo of so many identities. Yet all are the same or some aspect of the same personality. Too much for me, Sir Champion. You must go back aboard.
    – I do not wish to return to the Dark Ship.
    – You disembarked too soon.
    – I did not know where the ship was bearing me. I was afraid I would lose direction and never discover Ermizhad again.
    – So that was why you left! Did you think you had found your goal? That there was any other way of finding it?
    – Did I disembark against the Captain’s will? Am I being punished for that?
    – It’s unlikely. The Captain’s no great punisher. He is not an arbiter. Rather he is a translator, I would say. But all that’s for you to ascertain for yourself once you return to the ship.
    – I do not want to be aboard that Dark Ship again.
    I wiped a mixture of tears and perspiration from my eyes and it was as if I had wiped Jermays from my vision, for he had gone.
    I rose and clad myself, yelling for my old armour. I made them put it on me, though I could scarcely hold myself steady on my feet. Then I ordered a great sea-sled harnessed with the mighty herons trained to pull it across those salty, undulating plains, those dying oceans. I snarled at those who would follow me. I ordered them to go back to the Scarlet Fjord. I refused their friendship. I sped from the sight of all humankind, into the brine-heavy night, my head lifted back as I howled like a dog and I cried for my Ermizhad. There was no response. I had hardly expected any. So I called instead to the Captain of the Dark Ship. I called to every god and goddess I could name. And lastly I called to myself—to John Daker, Erekosë, Urlik, Clen, Elric, Hawkmoon, Corum and all the others. I called lastly to the Black Sword itself, but I was received by a most terrible, unkind silence.
    I looked into the faded light of dawn and thought I saw a great cliff lined with gaunt warriors. It was those same warriors who had stood upon the edge of that cliff for an eternity, each one with my face. But I had seen nothing but clouds, thick as the ocean on which I sailed.
    – Ermizhad! Where are you? Who or what will take me to you?
    I heard a sly, unpleasant wind whispering near the horizon. I heard the flap of my herons’ wings. I heard my sea-sled thump upon the surface of the waves. And I heard my own voice saying that there was only one thing I could do, since no power would come to my aid. It was, of course, the reason I had come out here alone. Why I had clad myself in the full battle armour of Urlik Skarsol, Lord of the Frozen Keep. –
You must throw yourself in to the sea
, I said. –
You must let yourself sink. You must drown. In dying, you will surely find a fresh incarnation. Perhaps you will even be taken back to Erekosë and be reunited with your Ermizhad. After all, it will be an act of faith even the gods cannot ignore. Perhaps it is what they are waiting for? To see how brave you are prepared to be. And to see how truly you love her
. And with that I let go the reins of those massive birds and prepared to dive into the horrible and viscous ocean.
    But now the Knight in Black and Yellow stood upon the platform beside me and he had put a steel glove upon my shoulder. And in his other hand he bore the Blank Standard. And this time he lifted his visor so that I might see his face.
    That face was a memory of greatness. It displayed enormous and ancient wisdom. It was a face which had seen far more than I would wish to see in all my incarnations. The bone structure was ascetic and fine, the huge eyes penetrating and authoritative. His flesh was the colour of polished jet and his voice was deep, full of the power of approaching