The Gates of Night_ The Dreaming Dark - Keith Baker [86]
“I’m … warforged?” Lei said.
“No,” Thelania said. “Yet neither are you human. You are a creature of magic and flesh, a woman of two worlds. But this is not the time to discuss your future or your past. I brought you here to guide you to the path that lies ahead, so you may undo the damage you have done.”
“Why us?” Daine said. “You said it yourself. We’re not even as strong as the giants. You know what’s going on. Why don’t you fix this, and we’ll handle the next one?”
“I cannot. My fellow lords and ladies wield great power in Thelanis, it is true. But there is a delicate balance between the planes. We are but one aspect of your reality. Dream and nightmare are another thread in the tapestry, one beyond our dominion. We cannot bring our power to bear against Dal Quor without catastrophic repercussions, even worse than what will happen if the Dreaming Dark takes your world. But you are children of the mortal world, and you have a place in every plane.”
“And yet there are only four of us,” Pierce said. “Would not an army have a greater chance of success?”
“You begin to try my patience,” the queen said. “An army could not enter Dal Quor undetected, nor match the full power of the Dreaming Dark in the region of dreams. There are other heroes in your world, but each has his own path to follow, his own destiny. Your journeys have prepared you for this task, in ways you have yet to realize. There is a web of fate, what the dragons call prophecy, and it falls to you to face this challenge.”
Daine slammed his fist on the table, drawing all eyes toward him. He pointed at the flagon in front of him. “Lady, if you want people to follow your stories, you shouldn’t serve goblin mead with the meal. Let me just get this straight. Lakashtai tricked us, and she used my weakness to get Lei to do what she wanted.”
“With the aid of others, yes. Lakashtai is an emissary of a host of malevolent spirits.”
“And now all those spirits are going to come to Eberron?”
“That is the least of my fears. Dal Quor has shifted from its orbit. I believe that the Dreaming Dark seeks to merge with Eberron—to make your world a living nightmare.”
“Fine,” Daine said. “I don’t care how you know all of this. If I follow your path, will we find Lakashtai at the end of it?”
“Dal Quor is beyond my sight, Daine. But I suspect that if you find the crystal moon, you will find Lakashtai at its side.”
“Then tell me how to get there,” Daine said. “Because that woman is going to pay for what she’s done.”
“Every time you dream, you touch Dal Quor,” Thelania said. “But in this instance you face many challenges. The bridge of dreams brings you only to the edge of the realm and leaves your thoughts distant and scattered. Thus you can rarely remember your dreams or even fully control your actions. Furthermore, in this fractured state you would be unable to inflict any lasting harm upon the inhabitants of the realm. You must dream to reach Dal Quor, but you must dream in a place where the walls between the worlds are as thin as possible.”
Though Shira was not sharing her thoughts with Pierce, he could feel her rapt attention. He phrased a query in his mind but received no response.
“You’re talking about manifest zones,” Lei said. “Places where the planes merge. The very thing I was hoping we could use to get us back to Eberron. But there aren’t any manifest zones bound to Dal Quor.”
“Not now,” Thelania replied. “The work of the giants broke all bonds, save those formed in sleep. But the spirits of Dal Quor have been working to restore this connection for centuries. In the realm you know as Riedra, servants of the quori have built monoliths of crystal and steel. These monuments are themselves anchors, pulling the planes back together.”
“So now you want us to go to war with Riedra?” Daine said. He poured another glass of murky mead, downing half of it in a gulp.
“Not at all. Stabilizing the planes in this manner is the work of centuries, and not all of those who build the pillars even seek to harm your