The seven other rulers of the noble houses were females. Dyx-tra the Silver was near the age of Anora and Maristara. Dyxtra had known both dragons in their youth and, according to her, had not been shocked by Maristara’s actions in seizing and enslaving a nation of humans. Dyxtra had never seen the need for a walker and always refused to take part in the spell-casting that created the supreme illusion. She snorted, as though this was only to be expected.

Reyal was a middle-aged dragon who, far different from most dragons, thought very highly of her powers of creativity and conversation, and was always inflicting her dreams on others. She did not like humans either, having once caught a human intruder in her cave once when her children were still in the egg, as the saying went. The human had never come near the baby dragons, but Reyal had been outraged and to this day would go on and on about it, if encouraged.

Alisha was also middle-aged, but far different from Reyal, being serious, grave, introspective. Alisha never spoke during a session, never demanded the Speaker’s Rod, never asked a question. She listened intently and took in everything, giving no indication of her thoughts.

Nionan liked humans. She had wanted to be a walker in her youth, but had not been chosen, and it was rumored, though no one knew for certain, that she used her illusions to lure humans to her cave for the pleasure of observing them. She was, like Malfiesto, regarding Anora with grim suspicion.

The last of the rulers, Shrireth, looked half asleep. But then, she always looked that way. She was said to have a violent temper, though Lysira found that hard to credit.

“All of you know that the rogue dragon, Maristara, seized the human kingdom of Seth many hundred years ago,” Anora was saying. “She has been ruling the humans secretly in the guise of a human, and she and her male consort, a lesser dragon known as Grald, experimented with the breeding of humans, mingling their blood with the blood of dragons. You all know that they produced humans who have dragon-magic in their blood. You know, for Draconas informed you at the last meeting, that he had discovered a city known as Dragonkeep, where Grald and Maristara were holding these humans, a city kept hidden from both humans and dragons by supreme illusions.

“And you know, for, again, Draconas told you, that Grald and Maristara have a spy in Parliament who is feeding them information. Thus they were prepared to repulse the dragons when they attacked Seth to try to free the humans. Thus Grald knew our secret plans for the human female, Melisande. The information the spy gave him provided Grald with the opportunity to breed with this human, a union that produced a son.”