TWENTY-THREE

EPILOGUE

THE DEMISE AND DEMESNE OF DRAGONS

By order of the emperor, in consultation with the High Mage, a delegation of mages and warriors set out to the demesne of the White Lady.

Unlike other lairs of dead dragons, the tunnels still showed signs of recent soot drake activity. Furthermore, the delegation encountered no fewer than five dragon-dead. Previous records indicate that such creatures are not usually found in a lair more than six months to a year after the dragon’s demise (although see the Silken Sigh, the Ancient Terror, and the Deadly Wyrm for notable exceptions).

When the delegation reached the heart of the lair, they reported that the White Lady was still corporeal. Her corpse had not decayed or destroyed itself in the manner of all other dragons on record but was whole and covered in frost. The spear that the Mage’s Champion used to fell the beast still protruded from the creature’s mouth; blood was crusted upon it. After careful examination, it was declared that the White Lady was not breathing, nor did she have a heartbeat. Yet despite lacking vital signs, the dragon was seen to twitch her claws, much like a dog will twitch its leg while dreaming. All but two of the eight-strong party witnessed this.

After much discussion, it was held that the White Lady was not dead but merely held in some deep—possibly magical—sleep. It is beyond our skill to say whether the sleep was instigated by the weapon or an act of self-preservation by the dragon herself, whether the sleep will end, or what it is that she dreams about.