Dragons of Spring Dawning by Weis, Margaret

“There are sea dragons, half-elf,” said a voice, and the elven woman reappeared in the water once more. Moving with a flash of silver and green, she glided through the dark sea until she reached the stone steps. Then, resting her arms on them, she gazed up at him with brilliant green eyes. “And we have heard rumors of their return. We did not believe them, though. We did not know the dragons had awakened. Whose fault was that?”

“Does it matter?” asked Tanis wearily. “They have destroyed the ancient homeland. Silvanesti is a land of nightmares now. The Qualinesti were driven from their homes. The dragons are killing, burning. Nothing, no one is safe. The Dark Queen has one purpose-to gain dominance over every living being. Will you be safe? Even down here? For I presume we are below the sea?”

“You are right, half-elf,” said the red-robed man, sighing.

“You are below the sea, in the ruins of the city of Istar. The sea elves saved you and brought you here, as they bring all those whose ships are wrecked. I know where your friends are and I can take you there. Beyond that, I don’t see what more I can do for you.”

“Get us out of here,” Riverwind said flatly, understanding the conversation for the first time. Zebulah had spoken in Common. “Who is this woman, Tanis? She looks elven.”

“She is a sea elf. Her name is . . .” Tanis stopped.

“Apoletta,” said the elven woman, smiling. “Forgive me for not extending a formal greeting, but we do not clothe our bodies as do you KreeaQUEKH. Even after all these years, I cannot persuade my husband to quit covering his body in those ridiculous robes when he goes onto the land. Modesty, he calls it. So I will not embarrass either you or him by getting out of the water to greet you as is proper.”

Flushing, Tanis translated the elven woman’s words to his friends. Goldmoon’s eyes widened. Berem did not seem to hear, he was lost in some sort of inner dream, only vaguely aware of what was happening around him. Riverwind’s expression did not change. Apparently nothing he heard about elves could surprise him anymore.

“Anyway, the sea elves are the ones who rescued us,” Tanis went on. “Like all elves, they consider life sacred and will help anyone lost at sea or drowning. This man, her husband-”

“Zebulah,” he said, extending his hand.

“I am Tanis Half-Elven, Riverwind and Goldmoon of the Que-shu tribe, and Berem, uh-” Tanis faltered and fell silent, not quite knowing where to go from here.

Apoletta smiled politely, but her smile quickly faded. “Zebulah,” she said, “find the friends the half-elf speaks of and bring them back here.”

“We should go with you,” Tanis offered. “If you thought I was going to swallow you, there’s no telling what Caramon might do-”

“No,” said Apoletta, shaking her head. The water glistened on her hair and sparkled on her smooth green-tinged skin. “Send the barbarians, half-elf. You stay here. I would talk with you and learn more of this war you say could endanger us. It saddens me to hear the dragons have awakened. If that is true, I fear you might be right. Our world will no longer be safe.”

“I will be back soon, beloved,” Zebulah said.

Apoletta reached out her hand to her husband. Taking it, he raised it to his lips, kissing it gently. Then he left. Tanis quickly translated for Riverwind and Goldmoon, who readily agreed to go in search of Caramon and Tika.

As they followed Zebulah back through the eerie, broken streets, he told them tales of the fall of Istar, pointing out various landmarks as they went along.

“You see-” he explained, “when the gods hurled the fiery mountain onto Krynn, it struck Istar, forming a giant crater in the land. The seawater rushed in to fill up the void, creating what came to be known as the Blood Sea. Many of the buildings in Istar were destroyed, but some survived and, here and there, retained small pockets of air. The sea elves discovered that this was an excellent place to bring mariners they rescued from capsized ships- Most of them soon feel quite at home.”