The Forging of the Dragon (Wizard and Dragon Book 1) Read Online Free

user!”
    Seagryn stopped, and waited, but Ranoth said no more. When it became apparent that no one else intended to speak, Seagryn made his attempt. “I ... I was only trying to help —”
    “You destroyed the house of my ancestors!” Talarath croaked. “You call that help?”
    “But I saved you from the Marwandians!”
    “Now who will save us from you?” This came from Ranoth — his teacher!
    “I swear I will do nothing to harm any Lamathian or —”
    “Then prove it by leaving! Immediately!”
    Seagryn paused, his mind racing. For years he’d dreamed of meeting exactly this reaction. He knew there was no hope. Yet now that he faced it, he found he couldn’t give it up without at least trying to make them understand. “This isn’t my fault!” he pleaded. “Do you think I want to be like this?”
    “It makes no difference!” Ranoth responded, his voice quavering with passion. “Just go!” Seagryn was startled. He’d never seen the ruling elder this agitated.
    “But — but I’m a Lamathian! I belong here!”
    Ranoth drew himself up straight and squared his shoulders, then stretched a bony finger out at Seagryn and shook it accusingly. “Young man, the people of Lamath are people of faith! Two centuries ago we withdrew from the magic users and other heathens because we could not abide their presence among us! You suddenly reveal yourself to be one of these infidels, a spy, a mudgecurdle in our midst. And do you now expect us — the arbiters of Lamathian justice — to let you remain? Go, Seagryn — or whatever your true name is! Go swiftly, or we shall certainly send an army equipped to dispatch you! Go!” Ranoth now pointed that trembling finger westward toward the region of the hated Marwandians.
    “But Ranoth, just today you spoke of — of drawing together with the neighboring lands, of joining together with those of the other fragments to —”
    “I said nothing of the kind!” Ranoth screamed, his face turning a brilliant red. “You are a liar, a heathen, and a magic user! Begone!”
    “But the Marwandians will not welcome one who routed them —”
    “Who ate them whole?” Talarath added scornfully. “What they do with you is their affair. Depart, Seagryn. But know this — we’ll have an army on your trail by the morning!”
    Desperate now, Seagryn searched through the crowd for just one understanding pair of eyes. He saw only terror and hatred there — even in the gaze of Elaryl.
    “You said you could forgive me anything,” he murmured flatly. “Can’t you forgive me this?” She trembled at his question, then hid her face against her father’s sleeve.
    That was enough. A few more words passed between him and Ranoth, but he couldn’t recall them later. Elaryl had cut him off, and he saw no use in further attempts to redeem himself. After a moment, he shuffled away, moving westward, not because he’d chosen that course, but because that way had been chosen for him by those who’d been his life’s authority. After an unremembered time of walking, he was deep in an unknown forest. He walked on ...
    Several hours later he came to his senses and stopped beside a large clump of bushes. “I’ve got to make plans,” he announced aloud. An anger he’d kept dammed up within himself for years suddenly exploded, and he raised a defiant fist to the sky. “Very well then! I’ll be a wizard!” Energized by his commitment, he thrust off toward the west with thoughts of vengeance boiling through his mind. Now, at least, he had chosen his fate.
    He stalked away so rapidly he didn’t see the enormous bear rise up out of the clump of brush to watch him go. The bear’s black lips curled away from its fangs, which gleamed pink in the light of the setting sun. A malevolent intelligence burned in the great beast’s eyes, a human intelligence that was at the same time more than human — and utterly, irredeemably selfish.
    When Seagryn disappeared over a tree-covered rise, the bear