The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [85]
Xu’sasar spoke up. “When the host of horrors tore through the veil of the world, the mighty ones plucked a moon from the sky and used its power to force their foes into the darkness of the mind, where they were soon forgotten.”
“There is some truth to the legends of your people, night child,” Thelania said. She raised her hand, and the lights above the table moved; what had first appeared to be a chandelier was now a mass of living sparks, obeying the will of the queen. They formed into thirteen brilliant orbs, circling a larger central sphere. “There is a link between the moons and the planes of existence, though it is no simple thing to explain. In the planar arsenal of Karul’tash, the giants sacrificed the moon to break the orbit of Dal Quor, severing its bond to Eberron and preventing its inhabitants from setting foot on the world.” She snapped her hand, and one of the circling spheres exploded in a burst of light. “The orb that you restored serves as an anchor, a representation of moon and plane. Now it is intact once more, and in the clutches of the Dreaming Dark. An army is gathering in the heart of Dal Quor, a nightmare horde beyond anything your world has seen in this age—and your people do not have the power of the giants of old.”
“What of the dragons?” Lei said. “Surely the dragons of Argonnessen wield more power than the giants ever did.”
“Indeed they do. And if they unleash that power in battle, it will shatter humanity in its wake, like insects scattered before a storm. It was the dragons who finally destroyed Xen’drik, and if Khorvaire becomes their battleground, you are just as doomed. And so it falls on you to go Dal Quor and shatter the lunar crystal before the Dreaming Dark opens its own Gates of Night.”
Daine pushed back his chair and rose to his feet. “You set a nice table, lady, but your stories don’t hold wine. None of this makes sense. If all these nightmares needed was to find someone to fix that orb, why didn’t they do it thousands of years ago?”
The fey queen remained impassive in the face of Daine’s outburst. “The crystal moon is a product of a forgotten age, of magic humanity has yet to master. Even the giants who forged the orb were meddling with powers beyond their understanding, and they could not have restored it. The sphere was made to be destroyed, not to be rebuilt. You might as well pour wine into the ocean and seek to reclaim it again. It was an impossible task—for anyone but Lei.”
“That’s ridiculous,” Lei said, rising to her feet. “I’m still learning the craft of artifice. I haven’t even mastered the arts of the fifth circle. There are a hundred heirs of the house more skilled than I—”
“Hush,” Thelania said, and it was a command.
Even as Shira warned him of the use of magic, Pierce felt a wave of calm settle over his thoughts, and he saw Daine and Lei relax.
“Sit,” the fey queen said, taking the seat at the head of the table. “And let us continue. Lei, you speak the truth. There are many in your house more skilled than you. But your nature allows you to touch magic in a way no human can.”
“Human?” Daine said. The calming effect kept his voice steady, but it couldn’t stop his interest.
Pierce was thinking the same thing. Memories flashed through his mind. I may even spare you and sister Lei, Harmattan had said. At the time, Pierce had thought it was a figure of speech, as they were all children of House Cannith. Then there was another memory, a vision he’d seen when he lay on the verge of death, a dream that might have been the moment of his creation. Protect my daughter, a woman had said.