Keith Baker - The Gates of Night

Blood rushed into Lei’s cheeks, but it was Daine who spoke first. “What are you talking about?”

“I speak of the Dreaming Dark, of the force that has used you since the day you arrived in Sharn. For tens of thousands of years they have been trapped in nightmare, awaiting their own destruction. Now you have given them the key to escape that prison and overrun your world.”

“We did this?” Daine said. “When?”

“The moon …” Lei breathed, her eyes distant.

The faerie queen smiled, but there was no warmth in it; this was the smile of an indulgent adult entertained by a child’s deduction. “Well done, Lei. It’s not quite so simple, but you have grasped the heart of it. In ages past, the giants of the land of Xen’drik found themselves at war with Dal Quor, the plane of dreams and nightmares. An ill-advised conflict, fueled by arrogance on one side and desperation on the other. When the mage-lords of Xen’drik realized that they could not win this war, they sought other ways to end it, heedless of long-term consequence.”

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. Lei. A child. A child who had been lying on the slab next to his.

“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.”