Page 91 of The Dragonrider and the Void
“Barrik has always craved power above all else,” Cheyanne said bitterly. “First through conventional means: politics, dragons, armies. When those proved insufficient, he turned to more dangerous pursuits.”
Venrick remembered his encounter with the King beneath the Vermillion Keep, the silver starlight in his eyes as the Void Drinker’s influence waxed and waned. “The Entity said Barrik believed he could control the rimeshade, use them to reshape Nordraven into an empire with himself at its helm.”
“And who better to lead such an empire than a man who could control the very power that threatens to destroy the world?” Cheyanne finished.
Hardin shook his head in disbelief. “But the Void Drinker isn’t something anyone can control. It’s ancient, cunning. It would be using Barrik, not the other way around.”
“Precisely why we must complete the original ritual as intended,” Sasja insisted. “Not pervert it for personal gain.”
Horgen ran his hand through his beard, a habit when deep in thought. “There’s something else here,” he said, returning to the metal pages. “References to a vessel. The ritual requires a conduit through which both magics can flow without destroying each other.”
“A vessel?” Venrick frowned. “Like a container?”
“No,” Horgen replied, his voice dropping lower. “A living vessel. Someone who can withstand the convergence of opposing powers.”
A chill ran through Venrick as he remembered the King’s words:The ritual requires a half-magical soul. One foot in each world, you might say. The perfect bridge.
“That’s why they wanted me,” he said quietly. “The King, the Void Drinker, they need someone who bridges realms naturally.”
“A half-elf,” Yarla whispered, looking to Venrick. “Someone with blood ties to both worlds.”
“It makes a terrible kind of sense,” Cheyanne acknowledged. “The elves’ connection to ancient magic, combined with human adaptability. A living bridge.”
Hardin looked troubled. “But if Barrik is pursuing this ritual too, he’ll need his own vessel. Another half-elf.”
“They’re not common in the North,” Horgen pointed out. “Most half-elves live in the border regions between Lamar and Gambria, or in the great trading cities.”
Venrick’s mind turned to the corrupted hatchling back at the rebel camp, its cream-white eyes rimmed in gold. “Perhaps he doesn’t need a half-elf,” he suggested. “Perhaps he’s found another kind of bridge.”
“The corrupted dragons,” Sasja said, feeding off his suggestion.
“Of course,” Yarla said. “Creatures already touched by the Void Drinker’s influence yet still tied to Sataran through their dragon nature.”
“Would that work?” Hardin asked, looking to Horgen.
The dwarf frowned deeply, his thick fingers tracing the symbols again. “The text speaks of balance. Equal measures of both realms. A corrupted dragon might serve, but it would be an imperfect vessel at best. Unstable.”
“Which might explain why Barrik still needs the Vaerdium,” Cheyanne concluded. “To stabilize an otherwise dangerous conduit.”
Venrick studied the diagrams etched into the metal pages. Intricate patterns showing how the channels of Vaerdium would be arranged to contain and direct the combined magical forces. The complexity was staggering, yet beautiful in its precision.
“We need our own Vaerdium,” he said finally. “Without it, we can’t complete the ritual as intended.”
“And where do you propose we find an alloy that hasn’t been forged in centuries?” Cheyanne asked, though her tone suggested she already had suspicions.
“What happened to the Vaerdium that was used in the original binding, the Concordant that trapped the Void Drinker before?”
“It would still be in the Sanctuary,” Horgen said.
“I didn’t notice any alloy when Lark took us there,” Venrick said. “Did you Yarla?”
“I wasn’t fully myself at the time, but no, I didn’t,” she responded.
“It was likely built into the foundation of the Sanctuary,” Horgen said.
“Would the other sanctuaries have Vaerdium built into their foundations?” Venrick asked.
“Barrik found it in Wintermire. With his connections to Hierro and the Vermillion Keep, he would’ve tried there first if it had been.”
