Twice he'd tried to walk away from his post, but his feet wouldn't do it. The dragon's compulsion held him in place. Deep in the night the rain ended and the air turned frosty cold. Kirak shivered and inched up to the door. He found it open and stepped inside. The common room lay empty. He made his way to the fireplace and huddled down beside it. The fire had long since gone out, but the stones around it were still warm.

   He dozed and dreamed of Palanthas when he'd first seen it during the war. The great towers of the Old City Wall glimmered overhead. The dragon army had come within miles of conquering it before the knights, mounted on silver dragons and led by their Golden General, pushed them back. Kirak was glad the dragon army had failed.

   During the fighting he'd gotten a glimpse of the Golden General and been awed by her beauty. But the sight of the silver dragons swooping through the sky had brought him to his knees. The other draconians nearly trampled him.

   His heart had screamed out to him that he must join them in the air above. He leaped up, flapping his wings, but the stubby appendages wouldn't carry him more than a few yards into the air. A silver dragon sped past above him, attacking a blue. The dragonlance shimmered in the sun.

   He cried out and leaped into the air again. Up there was where he was meant to be, with the other silver dragons. He hovered a moment, then floated back to the ground.

   Redclaw dove toward him, chivvying him back into the battle. His sword hilts bit into his hands as he cleaved enemy after enemy. Filled with rage and frustration, he held his ground until long after the other draconians had fled.

   He might have perished, surrounded by the humans, but Redclaw had plucked him out of their midst and carried him back to the regrouping army.

   He'd never been the same after seeing the silver dragons. He knew in his heart, that's what he was meant to be, what he should have been and would have been if the Dark Queen's minions hadn't perverted him. Though it had been a devastating day for Kirak, it had been a glorious moment of triumph for Palanthas.

   "Beautiful city," Kirak murmured, then woke with a start when a door creaked open in the halls above. Pale morning light slanted in through the windows. A thump from the kitchen showed that the cook had already set to work on breakfast.