Chapter Five
What The Irda Knew

Shortly After the Events in Blue Star

She cradled the stump of her right hand. It hurt like the Abyss but that could not be helped. It would continue to hurt until the bones would regrow and the flesh fill back in. She walked through the forests North of Tarsis, knowing that eventually she would find the small village.

As she walked over the last crest to see the wooden tile roofs she collapsed in the fresh snow.

The elder Irda of the village stared down at the human woman as she slept with the herbs she had been given to drink. What was disturbing, and made her wonder, was how the stump of where her right hand should be looked like it was growing back. It still looked like it pained her, and perhaps the whole process of it growing back was painful, but as she lay the pain filled lines were smoothed out in her sleep.

This Irda looked up as another Irda entered the room. He was also an Irda old enough to remember the Cataclysm and the lessons brought by it. Unlike Taneryl, however, Keryl had not been kidnapped and forced into hard slave labor by the minions of the Queen of Darkness like Taneryl had during the war that they both knew was about to break out. "Decider," he began. "I must leave soon."

"Keryl..." she began. "Is it true about your elder brother on Selesia?"

"Yes," he answered. "Janil is dead. He hung on as long as he could but his wounds were too severe. Tomorrow, Mishakel willing, I leave for Kalaman and for a boat that can get me to that area. I have... things... to check up on. How is your guest doing?"

If the sudden change of subject startled her, she did not show it. With a sigh, she answered, "Her hand is growing back. This suggests one of two things; she is either blessed by some God or is not wholly human herself. But the process causes her great pain. Her burns are healing at an accelerated rate as well. I think that by this time next week all signs of whatever befell her will have faded completely."

He mused over this for a second, "Perhaps I can hold off for another few days, then. I know that you will not want her to stay here so perhaps I can travel with her and have her gone that much sooner."

"How so?"

"Well, if she travels with someone she can leave you before all marks are gone," he answered thoughtfully. "The next town is not all that far away. So long as traveling won't kill her we can leave."

"Are you truly that anxious to be gone from here, Keryl?" she asked.

"Yes, unfortunately," he grimaced. "With my brother dead there is no one else trained in the forgotten arts to protect Selesia, nor any trained enough to lead them even if there were."

Taneryl, the chosen Decider of the small Irda encampment, sadly gazed out the window. "That is too bad," she said. "Since Amberyl's passing you have been saddened."

"Amberyl gave her life to tell me of our brother's death. Her child..." neither spoke at that point.

Amberyl had been Keryl's younger sister. In a culture where it was rare for Irda to stay together, or even speak to another, Keryl's family had strayed widely from the norm. It was closer to say that they were closer to the elves they appeared to be. In fact, while the entire village remained in Kagonesti Elven form, only Keryl's family remotely stayed close to that culture more so than that of their own. Keryl was the third of four children, an unheard of size family in Irda history. Perhaps when they had still been called Ogre, but not after becoming the Irda..

But even with the unbearable noise of that particular home on Anaiatha was still something other Irda marveled over- the sound of numerous child voices that played together instead of one lone child in the midst of numerous, and solemn adults. Their antics were still the talk of the Irda, and mentioning any one of the four was enough to bring a rare smile to most Irda faces.

Perhaps it was due to this that Keryl found himself traveling more and more into human or elven lands as the need for contact with people who liked contact with others grew. Amberyl was well known for her child as Amberyl's son was the first Irda-elven child in both Ogre or Irda history. He was a bright child in the care of the Irda as Keryl was not overly sure how the elves would take such a mixed stock, especially given their view of the half-elves from the stock of Neutrality. How would one, born of a mother whose race was made by the Queen of Darkness for her own pride, be accepted by the children of Paladine?

Present Day

"So how does this fit into the unknown history of the Blue Star?" asked Dalamar.

The Decider, Taneryl, looked up. With a small sigh, "I rather suspected you would ask that. I find it... ironic... that your name does not follow the naming conventions of the Silvanesti, do you as well?"

"Are you saying this also has something to do with me?" his eyes widened.

"You could say that," answered the Protector. "While you constantly accuse Usha and Dezra to be cousins and call Usha your "Shalafi's daughter', you have ignored the true reason she was sent, not to Raistlin, but to you."

Usha and Dalamar looked at each other suddenly, "I was sent to him?!" "She was sent to me?!"

Taneryl smiled only a little, "Yes. In a way, you were sent to each other. Dalamar, what I am about to tell you may come as a surprise to you, but you know that you never did belong in Silvanesti. Well, not completely. Your home was here until we bound your Irda half so that you would fit in among your elven cousins. You, Dalamar, are Amberyl's child. Not Usha, nor any 'fictional' daughter of Raistlin. That part of the legend was erroneous, and we knew it was. We found it..."

"...Amusing," finished the Protector.

"Yes," answered Taneryl.

"But that would mean that she and I are cousins," said Dalamar, then he paled. "And that I am half-Irda...?"

"Your connection with magic should have told you that," came the Protector's input. "While the elves have an incredible connection to magic, the Irda, and indeed the Ogre as we were once known, always were inherently arcane. We only mourn that you fell to the very vices that forced the curse upon all ogre."

"Now that we know that..." started Usha. "Dalamar isn't about to sprout warts or grow bigger, is he?"

Taneryl shook her head and laughed musically, "Oh no! Nothing like that. Remember how very, very long it took the Ogre to fall to that state. It took an entire age for their evil to consume them."

Dalamar rolled his eyes, "Now that we have that little scare over, I get the feeling that this isn't the end of your tale, is it, Decider?"

"No, it is not."

Shortly after the events in Blue Star

The human woman did recover exceptionally quick, as the Decider had suspected. A few days later she opened her eyes and looked at her hand, which, while now there was a hand where a stump had been, was still lacking two thirds of each finger. Sitting up, Marion Uth Maleste looked around the simple room in which she lay.

Her bed was little else than a padded mattress on what appeared to be some sort of wood fiber mat. In fact, this same woven mat appeared to be the flooring in her entire room except for the highly polished wood floor. Poking a finger to touch the wall, she realized that the builder had not used any stone, but used wood in its various forms. The walls were made of either wood, as it appeared she was in an exterior room, or thick paper. Now, if she could find a door...

A panel in the wall slid aside and a Kagonesti elf came in, sat on the mat by sitting on her knees and slid the door panel shut again. In all her travels she could easily say that she had never seen any elves that dressed like this Kagonesti, nor lived like this elf.

Not even other Kagonesti.

"Hello?" she asked, tentatively, not even sure if the elf spoke Common.

"Hello," greeted the elf woman. "My name is Taneryl. I have been tending your wounds... you heal very fast for a human."

"Taneryl," mused Marion, as the name was not elven either. "My name is Marion Uth Maleste."

"Welcome to our humble village, Dame Uth Maleste," said Taneryl.

Marion found her curiosity piqued. Here was a Kagonesti elf who gave her the very impression of being better mannered, or bred, than many of the Silvanesti. Doesn't that throw the whole Kagonesti are barbarians theory right out the proverbial window, she mused. Strange, but according to Astinus they are supposedly like the plainsmen... live off the land, wear animal skins... and life like that...

If anything, a warrior tribe they definitely were not. In fact, for all she had seen of the plainsman way, and those of the Kagonesti on the Ergoth Isles these were not Kagonesti. Elven, maybe, Kagonesti no. But she could not for the life of her put her finger on what exactly they were and why they were hiding behind it.

Sighing she laid back on the pallet. "Where is 'here' exactly?" she asked."

Taneryl frowned, "Not too far from Wayreth, but far enough South to make it a difficult journey."

"I thought Avanti got me pretty far North before I fell off of him," she mused. "I didn't expect this far North, and past Tarsis... I am past Tarsis, am I not?"

The Kagonesti pursed her lips, "A good and well couple hundred miles. I can only guess that your steed sought to take you to..."

She trailed off as another called from outside. Turning back to Marion she said, "Tomorrow you leave us. I can see by how fast you have healed, and continue to heal, that you will be well enough on your own. But I am not so cruel as that. I send you with our greatest scout, Keryl. He has a great need to continue North. I would consider it a favor returned, although I would not demand it."

"I get your meaning, Taneryl," said Marion. "You don't want me around because I attract too much of the wrong attention. And you asking me to take Keryl with me is payment for services rendered in my healing and staying here as long as I have."

"You are blunt for a Solamnic Knight," responded Taneryl ruefully. "And as boorish as your lesser neighbors."

"And you're clearly more than you let on, Lady," said Marion astutely. "I come from Ergoth, Taneryl, and we deal extensively with the Kagonesti, and Kagonesti you're not. Your name doesn't follow Elven, any Elven, naming conventions that I've ever heard of so why don't we lay our cards plainly on the table?"

Taneryl smiled slightly, then her face began to change. Marion, there are times when I'd wish you learn to shut up! she told herself. In the span it took to blink her eyes twice in disbelief an elf no longer sat there, but a creature unlike Marion had ever seen in her life. She was statuesque, beautiful, and equally stony. She had skin the shade of blue of the evening sky before it gave itself fully to night and her hair was ebony black. Her silver eyes reminded Marion of the very stars themselves, or of freshly minted mithral. Unlike elves whose beauty reminded one of the trees and their life, her beauty was cold like the stone of a majestic peak. Like the elves, her ears remained pointed, however the points were angular, sharp and not gracefully chiseled although they were still beautiful.

They were as severe as the woman.

They were the ears of an Ogre.

"Irda," murmured Marion in shock. "You do exist..."

Taneryl nodded her head, "Indeed we do. And now I ask the same of you. Who are you that wears the armor of Solamnia but speaks as crudely as the Kurdish?"

"Exactly as I told you," answered Marion, then she murmured. "Armor of the Blue Star protect your Guardian..."

In about the same span as it had taken Taneryl to change to her true form, Marion allowed the golden tinged armor to change her skin. "Ah," Taneryl eyebrows lifted. "And now there is no more deception between us. I now know what you hide, and what you serve, and you know what I hide, and those I serve."

"We're not enemies, Taneryl," reassured Marion. "But trying to pass yourself off as a Kagonesti... well... to anyone who knows Kagonesti you tend to stick out like a sore thumb."

Taneryl lifted an eyebrow. "I see," she said, then she shook her head. "But we cannot give up our culture. We will move on... if you have found us then the servants of the Dark Queen will not be far behind."

"Not yet," said Marion tersely. "Avanti found you because he's a Daymare, a servant of Solinari. Daymares find things that Solinari sees. There is the possibility that you are still under his protection."

Again, the male voice called, and this time, in the language of the Irda, which sounded suspiciously too much like the language of magic, she answered. "Now, if you are well enough, I would like you to meet Keryl."

The panel slid aside and a male Irda entered. He, like Taneryl, wore his black hair long. Only she was surprised to note that Keryl's skin was a lighter blue, closer to midnight blue than the near blue-black that Taneryl exhibited and his hair was also sporting an interesting, but rich and earthy tone of brown in the form of a highlight. His eyes were still silver like Taneryl's. What she found interesting was that there was literally no way to tell between a male Irda's name and a female's. Stop overanalyzing, she chided herself. There is no way you are going to be able to catalogue anything about them and actually have them let you keep what you learn anyway...

Finally, Keryl nodded to her, "You are much improved from the last time I saw you"

"Thanks, I think," said Marion.

Present Day

"Is this how the Conclave came to know what little they knew about the Irda," mused Dalamar.

Taneryl shrugged, "I cannot say for certain. Possibly."

"So... if Dalamar is Amberyl and some unnamed Silvanesti's son," spoke up Dezra. "How does Usha fit into being Keryl's daughter?"

"Taneryl sighed, but for now ignored Dezra's question and addressed Usha and Dalamar, "I find it ironic that you would travel here, and in each others company, and yet still not see what is in front of both of you."

"I am the Guardian of the Blue Star, like Raistlin and Marion before me..." Usha then put two and two together, as did Dalamar. "By the Gods..."

Taneryl nodded, "Yes. I can only guess that the reason you were sent to Dalamar in the first place was because the Protector of Selesia knew of the relation. Perhaps Keryl told him. Who can tell? Either way, as I said at the beginning, you were sent to each other."

"Dalamar and Usha looked at each other in surprise, as if seeing each other for the first time. Usha looked at Taneryl as if searching her for any sign of falsehood. "It was not by chance... none of it was..."

Dalamar, for his part, appeared close to fainting. Dezra could sympathize with him. It was a lot to accept in the span of a few hours. Not only had he been told of a dead mother, who was Irda of all things, but now he had a cousin. He had an aunt, which they searched for. He had an Uncle who still wandered... they hoped. Usha hung her head suddenly, "We have been blind. So, now our search goes from finding someone whom none of us have met but to finding our next of kin. All of us exiles."

Taneryl smiled sadly, "All of us are exiles. Whether or not we know it. At one point we have all been removed from what we hold dear. Whether it be our land," this said in Dalamar's direction, "Our innocence," this to Usha, then finally to Dezra, "Or our family."

They were all a little startled at this pronouncement. "You... know who Dezra is?" asked Usha in surprise.

"Dezra Majere, youngest daughter, and youngest child, of Caramon and Tika Majere," said Taneryl. "Proprietors of the Inn of the Last Home in Solace, and Heroes of the Lance. Yes, we know much of what happens outside our village. The ability to shape shift also means that we can walk among you without you never knowing the wiser."

"We have need of trade for the things we cannot grow here, raw materials, the like," said the Protector. "To do so requires we walk among you from time to time. In return we trade 'Elven' linen, woven fabric, produce, as well as other things."

"Magic items," said Dalamar. "Now I know where I have heard that voice before. Johiran of the White Robes."

"Dalamar the Dark," said the Protector, Johiran, with a small nod.

"But why not walk among us as yourselves?" asked Dezra. "The people in Solace know and respect Usha, knowing that she is half-Irda..."

"That is because they know her and associate her with Caramon Majere," said Johiran. "They would not extend the same courtesy to us. To them we are the same lot that freed Chaos and caused the Summer of Chaos and the Chaos War."

"Or, those such as the elves, those with longer memories," said Taneryl. "We were the slavers that came upon them in a fury from our mountainous peaks to kill and enslave those we could carry off to our grand cities."

"And to the Ogres as we know them," Dalamar grimly, quietly added. "The Irda are traitors to the Dark Queen. They would be wiped out, if not by human or elven hands, then by Ogre hands."

"It hardly seems fair," noted Dezra. "You haven't done anything to deserve it..."

"Life seldom is fair, Dez," said Usha, then she turned back to Taneryl. "You said that you had information on how to find Marion, a lead..."

"I do," said Taneryl.

During the Chaos War

Taneryl stared out her window and to the North. The red glow that now spread to cover almost all the North could only mean one thing; a war more horrible than any ever previously fought now raged full across Krynn. Johiran also stared to the North, only from his veranda. The sound of a horse running at full gallop brought both of their attention to the massive white horse carrying the Solamnic Knight upon it.

Only this was no ordinary horse as its very hide seemed to glimmer in Solinari's light. Unlike most Solamnic steeds, this one wore no barding and its tail and mane flowed freely. Although the horse had been running in the mud and dust it remained clean as if blessed by some god.

It was blessed by a God, actually, realized both Taneryl and Johiran when they saw the rider for who she was. The woman had gold skin, gold eyes and her silver white hair was braided in the dread lock braided style favored by the old Ergothian Empire.

"Avanti," murmured both Johiran and Taneryl, as they realized the horse was the Daymare, and the rider was Marion Uth Maleste, Fragment of the Miiro and Guardian of the Greater Balance.

For her to come fully armored, in more ways than one, meant that the situation up North was more than dire, it was outright deadly. "What news, Guardian?" called Taneryl.

"Chaos himself has awoken," said Marion, not even dismounting as if she had more warnings and a longer ride ahead of her. "Taneryl, end your journey back to Anaiatha and Selesia, both have been utterly destroyed."

A shock rippled through the entire village of Irda. More than a few simply collapsed to the dusty street in a dead faint. "Wha... what?" asked Taneryl once she was able to regain her voice.

"The Decider of Selesia somehow captured the Greygem and cracked in twain," she answered, falling back to her old Ergoth accent in her hurry. "And so released Ionthas, known to you as Chaos and the Father of All and Nothing. Ionthas completely razed Selesia to the ground. All of your brethren, unless they were already off the island, were slain."

"It took Johiran to support the fainting Decider, and he thickly asked, "None survived, Guardian?"

"None. I am certain of it."

"Johiran closed his eyes in sorrow, and so quietly that she had to strain to hear it, "Thank you for telling us this."

"I am sorry, Johiran," said Marion regretfully. "I know some, a few that were not there, likely still live. I have heard rumors of a 'Daughter of Raistlin' being found by Dalamar. It could be Usha...." and more quietly, "I only hope to the Gods it was Usha..."

"If it was not, Guardian, then we mourn for your lost daughter," said Johiran. "Any word of Keryl?"

"None," said Marion. "But our paths may cross again someday."

"Where do you go now?"

"Where I am needed," answered Marion. "Ionthas will not limit himself to Krynn and already I can sense Mystra's presence as well as a few others. Perhaps I may take advantage of the tears and walk another world and help where I can."

"The Gods go with you Guardian," said Johiran as Marion, using her knees, turned Avanti around.

"And with you, Johiran!"

With that Marion Uth Maleste was gone.

Present Day

The guests had retired for the night and only the Protector and the Decider remained awake in the whole village. Taneryl, as if in pantomime of the night a bare three years ago when Chaos entered Krynn stood staring out the window to the North. This time, however, she was joined by Johiran who also stared out, looking to the North. "The son of Amberyl," said Johiran.

"And the daughter of Keryl," mused Taneryl. "Do they realize what part they have to play on Krynn and beyond yet?"

A/N: For those who play D&D, I do have the 'Blue Star versions' of these characters, and if I don't have them yet, I'm working on them. So far all I have is Raistlin, Dalamar, and Marion, but I'm working on Usha, Caramon and Dezra, as well as Tanin and Sturm, if you want to play through the series.