Prologue

Scar stood over the twelve glittering gold eggs and roared in triumph. They were finally his! The perfect centerpiece to his hoard. The mother lay a few yards away, so still she could be sleeping. But Scar knew this wasnt true; he had killed her himself. He hadnt really meant to, but he had caught her as she was sleeping and couldnt resist. All the eggs were dead now too, so it was for the best. Scars icy breath had made sure of that. Moonlight reflected off Scars pearly white scales as he surveyed the egg s. Only now did he realize that there were too many; he could only carry two eggs at a time and he was too far from home to take multiple trips. He howled in dismay and gnashed his sharp, pointed teeth. He hesitated for an instant, then snatched up the two eggs closest to him. Then he leaped into the sky and set off for his homeland.

Chapter One

Sirra stopped, shivered, and knelt down. She examined the prints in the snow in front of her. Yes, they were definitely White dragon prints. Fresh. She smiled to herself, then straightened up, pulling her furs closer about her. The dragon was close, very close, and judging by the amount of prints, this was probably near its lair. Glancing again at the footprints imbedded in the snow, Sirra followed the prints to a dark hole in a snowdrift. This dragon cant be very big, she thought gleefully. This was her chance! This was her chance to prove that she was good enough to stay in Solamnia! Now they cant possibly call me a coward, she thought. It was much colder inside the cave than outside, and Sirra was freezing. She drew her furs tighter to her and continued into the cave. Soon, all light was gone and she was forced to light a candle. It illuminated the rough walls with a gentle blue glow, but it was difficult to distinguish between colors. She supposed the cave must be made of ice, rather than rock like a normal cave. Around one, two, three corners, yet still no sign of the dragon. Sirra came into a chamber piled with treasure. Still no dragon. Sirra began to sense something was wrong. She threw off the feeling and decided to take what she could while the dragon was out. Silver pennies and gold coins weighed heavily in her pockets. An icy wind rushed through the cave, playing with Sirras hair. All was absolutely still. Then a slight movement made her look up: two coins had slid away at the very tip of the mound of treasure,

revealing something that seemed to shed a glittering gold light. Sirra scrambled up to the top of the hoard and scrabbled away the coins. Sitting in a pile of flat, coin-shaped discs were two glittering ovals. Sirra stretched out her hand. A deafening roar shook the cavern. A pure white shape melted out from the walls and leaped towards her. It opened its jaws wide. It was the dragon! Quick reflexes saved Sirras life: when the dragon opened its mouth, she threw herself flat against the hoard. An instant later, a blast of pure cold froze the air above her and a chemical stench filled the room. Tiny crystals of frozen water pattered down on and around her. The already freezing temperature plummeted, and Sirra felt herself slowing down. Before the dragon could blast her again, she summoned a final ounce of strength and grabbed one of the golden ovals. She curled around it, absorbing the tiny amount of warmth it held. Then she passed out.

Chapter Two

Scar stared hatefully at the pitiful human that lay curled around his treasure. It had been easy to blend in with the walls of his lair and then ambush it when it tried to take his treasures. For that, it deserved to die. Scar drew in a deep breath and prepared to destroy the human with an icy blast, but something stopped him. He released the breath and ground his teeth in frustration. Why cant I kill this thing? he growled to himself. Its only a puny human. Ive killed those before. But its coiled around your best treasure, reminded his sub-consciousness. Scar snarled, All right, all right. It gets to live. But Im keeping it prisoner. Maybe Ill eat it eventually. He plucked the treasure from between the humans arms, then nearly dropped it. It was hot! Somehow, Scars icy breath hadnt killed it! The human moaned and shifted. Scar carefully placed the egg back on the nest of pearly white scales, then grabbed the back of the humans furs tightly in his jaws. He carefully dragged it to a little-used cave where he kept his shed scales. He buried the human up to its neck, then went back to the treasure cavern.

The gold egg that the human had touched was rocking back and forth. As Scar watched, a crack appeared. Brilliant gold dust floated in the air around it, and Scar thought he could see a tiny eye peering through the crack. The egg was still for a few seconds, then split down the center. A small, golden, exhausted wyrmling flopped out, followed by a bunch of mucus. It lay there for a minute or so, then stood up and wobbled over to Scar. As it peered up at him, Scar thought about what am embarrassing situation this was. Half his best treasure, gone. He was housing a human, the one who had stolen his treasure. And, worst of all, he had a wyrmilng Gold dragon to look after. Or kill. Then, as the wyrmling scrambled up his tail, and idea occurred to him. He could make the human raise it! Scar smiled and complimented himself on his brilliant idea. Come on, he grunted to the tiny serpent. He flicked his tail and the Gold flew off into a pile of silver. I should call you Trouble, he said, because thats all youll ever bring me. Nothing but trouble. Scar nosed through the mountain of silver and scooped up the hatchling on his snout. It shivered at his icy touch and squeaked. Already Scar was thinking about the possibilities of a metallic dragon raised like a chromatic dragon. He would teach it to worship Takhisis instead of Paladine, and he would raise it to kill, and No! he thought. What am I thinking? I have to kill it! Still, Scar could not quite bring himself to end its life. Besides, he had already named it. Trouble. Trouble was its name and Scar was not going to kill it. He started plodding off down the tunnel to the room with the shed scales. And the human. Despite the cold, Trouble was leaping up and down, flapping its stubby wings, and shrieking with excitement, obviously enjoying the ride. Scar glared up at Trouble but refrained from doing anything else. He was already beginning to dislike the wyrmling. Scar reached the scale cavern to find that the human had woken up and was staring up at him in fear. Scar dumped the hatchling at the humans feet. The wyrmlings name is Trouble, Scar said. You will raise it until it can talk. Then I will take over its instruction. The human stroked the calf-sized wyrmling. It purred and undulated with pleasure. Then the human spoke. I was supposed to kill you, dragon. Scar roared in outrage. Trouble hid behind the cowering human. My name is not Dragon! The human stood defiantly, but Scar saw its knees knocking. Then who are you? I am Scar the Mighty! I can crush you and that pathetic wyrmling with a single blow!

I, the human said quietly, am Sirra.

Chapter Three

The White dragon stormed out of the scale chamber, leaking white clouds from his nostrils. Sirra was left alone with Trouble, the Gold hatchling. Trouble was shivering hard now, and Sirra knelt to comfort him. She took off one of her outer furs and wrapped it around him. Then she dug a comfortable hollow in the dry, brittle scales for him. Im sorry, she said, I cant spare any more furs. Trouble gave a mournful peep and curled up in the makeshift bed. As far as Sirra could tell, he was asleep almost instantly. Sirra studied the Gold wyrmling, lost in thought. What she should do is kill the thing now, so she could go back to Solamnia and never return here. But Trouble looked so cute lying there, and besides, Scratch or Scrape or whatever his name was had told her to raise the wyrmling, or at least take care of him until he could talk. If she killed Trouble, she would have to face Scars wrath. She had already done that once, and barely escaped with her life. She had no intention of doing that again. Sirra sighed and looked again at Trouble. He really was beautiful. His minute wings started at his shoulder and flowed all the way down his tail. His scales were a brilliant gold and covered his entire body. The wings stuck straight up, almost at right angles to his spine. His overlarge head had funny little bumps around the muzzle and was tucked under puppyish front feet. He was around four feet long and about knee height, although he had looked smaller than a kitten on the Whites nose. His eyes were closed and he was breathing deeply. Sirra tucked the fur more tightly around him and dug out a hollow for herself. Before she knew it, she was asleep. She was awakened suddenly by Scar, who blew a frosty breath into her face and dropped a bloody arctic hare on top of her. Ew, she said, thats disgusting. If you expect me to eat that, youre mistaken. Dont humans eat rabbit? said Scar. He sounded a bit confused. Yes, but we cook it first. Barbarian, thought Sirra and Scar at the same time. Why would you cook it? said Scar. Why didnt you cook it? retorted Sirra.

Eat the rabbit, growled Scar. Rrreep! peeped Trouble Scars expression darkened. Feed it. You feed it. You hatched it. Rraar! I told you its your job to raise him. You should still feed him, said Sirra, so he doesnt become afraid of you. If he does, hell be nearly impossible to teach. Scar used one razor-sharp talon to tear morsels of bloody meat off the hare. He offered it to Trouble, who gobbled them up and begged for more. When Trouble was full, Scar said, I suppose you wont be eating this. Sirra shook her head, so Scar said, Too bad, and ate the rest in one gulp. Sirra reached into her pocket and pulled out her pouch of dried venison. Euagh! That looks like petrified polar bear droppings. Its dried banana slugs, said Sirra sarcastically, rolling her eyes. * During the day, enough light filtered down through the ice so that Trouble and Sirra could see; night was a different story. All the light disappeared except for the light from Sirras everdiminishing candle. The temperature dropped, and it got so that Trouble and Sirra could not get within ten feet of Scar. Scar found the temperature very agreeable, and was usually in a better mood after night fell. Fortunately, Sirra had built up an immunity to dragonfear before she left Solamnia, and had had no problems with it. Every few days, Scar would add shed scales to the scale cavern. These were always icy cold, so Sirra shoved them to the back of the room. One long, boring day, she and Trouble dug out all the oldest scales, the ones that had been there for centuries, and put a thick layer of them on top. Scar wasnt very pleased, but Sirra insisted. Scar kept feeding Trouble, and Trouble kept eating. Sirra, however, was running out of dried venison. She had tried burning some scales, but even the oldest ones seemed to repel fire. Sirra gave up and resigned herself to eat raw meat. Nearly a week after Troubles accidental hatching, Scar came up to Sirra and said, Take the wyrmling and get on my back. When Sirra hesitated, Scar threatened to blast her with his chemical smelling cold. Sirra called to Trouble and laboriously clambered up Scars tail.

As soon as she was settled, Scar bounded down the entry hallway and took off into the cold, open air. Trouble shrieked with excitement and flapped his stubby wings. Sirra lifted one hand from Scars crest to hold him tighter to her. Scar few low over the snowdrifts, occasionally swooping down to carve a deep cleft in one with his tail. The sun was out and the sky was brilliantly blue. As far as Sirra could see ahead of them and to either side were vast expanses of snow that glittered and shone as bright as the sun. Twisting around, Sirra saw the opening of Scars lair retreating into the sunset. Briefly blinded, she turned forward again, but Scar sparkled as brightly as the snow. Sirra closed her eyes and watched the afterimages dance in the darkness behind her lids. They flew on, Trouble eventually tiring of the ride, until night began to fall and Scar began to radiate cold like a reverse fire. A storm was gathering. Sirra could tell by the way the sky was turning whitish and the wind was battering her. Scar did not seem to be bothered by either thing. As soon as the sky was fully dark, Scar let out a thunderous roar.

Chapter Four

Seconds after Scar roared, three more White dragons sailed silently out of the gale. Or maybe they were noisy, Sirra wasnt sure. Scar called out something in Draconic and all four dragons descended to the snowdrifts below. These are my siblings, Clash; Etch; and Bone, said Scar. The dragons snarled each in turn. I have told them about you, human. Sirra, she said, but no one noticed. I have also told them about your inability to speak Draconic, Scar continued. One of the dragons, Clash, gave a barking laugh. Trouble hissed. Where did you get that one, Scar? said Bone. Stole a gold dragon egg or two, answered Scar. He launched into a complex monologue about his battle with the adult female Gold dragon called Mixsarra. All the while, the dragons were walking eastward. In a few minutes, Scar stopped. I can smell them, he said. The other dragons took that as a cue to be quiet. Scar said something in Draconic, and the dragons took to the air. Below them, Sirra could see a group of humans being held at sword point by five draconians.

Scar landed on a snowdrift a ways away from the group. Get off me, he said. Watch. Sirra and Trouble did as they were told. The draconians carried lanterns, so they were easy to see from the vantage point Scar had chosen. The dragons were visible only as blurs against the cloudy sky. Scar lay down in the snow beside them. Watch, he said again. As they watched, Bone, Clash, and Etch dove from the sky, straight at the humans. Look out! Sirra cried, but too late: the dragons swept down on the humans, breathing out clouds of ice to immobilize them. One dove to the side just in time but ran into a draconian, who held him in a headlock. Then the dragons were upon their prey, tearing, rending, gobbling up the entrails and enjoying the humans dying screams. The fourth, the one caught in a headlock, yelled his companions names as he fought against his captor. Scar laughed darkly. Hear their mewling? Thats what youll sound like if you try to escape. He roared, evoking answering sounds from his siblings. Finally, the dragons were done. Sirra picked up Trouble, a tricky feat because he was heavy and kept wriggling, and set off after Scar, who was bounding over to the draconians. She got there as Scar was saying to the draconian: Give me the human. It was more of a threat than a request. Give me the human or else. I need another servant. And give me the provisions I told you to get. The draconian shoved the human towards Scar, who grabbed him. The draconian hurried away, then returned carrying a bulging sack. This it handed to Scar. Go, growled Scar. It went. Get on, he snarled to the human and Sirra. Neither dared to disobey. Bone, Etch, and Clash left soon after Scar took flight. He flew low, following the trail of furrows he had left in the snowdrifts. He landed outside the lair and slipped inside. Scar carried his passengers to the scale room. He dropped the sack from his jaws and said, If you dont stay inside this room tonight, I will personally burn you with my breath. The boy spoke. But White dragons dont breathe fire. Scar hissed. Cold burns too, human. The boy cowered against the wall. Then he jumped away because the wall was made of ice. Scar turned and left the cavern. Sirra jumped into action. She put Trouble down, then dragged the sack and the boy into the scale room. The boy, who was quite overcome by dragonfear, couldnt stop shaking. Who are you? she asked the boy.

R . . . R . . . Rano, came the hesitant reply. Well, then, Rano, make yourself at home. Dig out a sort of nest in the scales, like this Sirra showed Rano how to create a bed-hollow, and line it with one of your furs. Im Sirra, by the way, and this is Trouble. Now, whats in that sack? In the sack were five candles, a flint striker, several sheepskins, and lots and lots of food. An assortment of dried meats, fruit, and fish, along with nuts, berries, and seeds lay on the bottom of the sack. Sirra grabbed a sheepskin and a dried apple and went over to her bed-hollow. This should last us for months, she said with her mouth full. Rano, who hadnt taken anything, said, So, how did you and a baby Gold dragon end up as servants to a juvenile White dragon? Sirra sighed. Its kind of a long story. Were not going anywhere. Fine. I dressed up as a boy and joined the Solamnic Knights. But my good -for-nothing brother blew my cover, so I got banished to the far south. I cant go back until Ive proved my loyalty to them by killing a dragon and bringing back its hoard as proof. So thats how I got here. Now tell me why youre here instead of somewhere warmer. Rano frowned. I was traveling to Purespring with three of my closest friends. He swallowed. Family tradition. We were nearly there when we were captured by those draconians. They took all our provisions, then put sacks over our heads and told us to follow them. They took us to the coast of . . . wherever this is. Then they took the sacks off and held swords to our necks so we wouldnt run away. We couldnt move. We stood there for hours, until we saw the dragon that lives here Scar, interrupted Sirra. land a few drifts away. Then you got off, and Trouble, and I heard you scream, so I threw myself to the side and a draconian grabbed me. My friends, they didnt hear you, and they all got eaten. Then the draconian handed me over to your dragon. You know the rest. Scars not mine, Im his servant. I have to raise little Trouble here, at least until he can talk. You dont know much about dragons, do you? said Rano. You know how big that White is? Id guess hes about 200 years old. Trouble is what, a week old? Hell stay that size until hes five. Hell be fifty before he can fly anywhere, so if youre planning an escape, I hope youre comfy. But hell be able to talk before then, wont he? Sirra asked. Then Scar will let me go.

Rano snorted. Do you really believe that? Hes a White dragon. Theyre evil, its in their nature. Hell sooner eat you than let you go free. Sirras expression stiffened. He didnt eat you. Thats because Im such a failure, he sobbed. I failed my family, I failed my friends, I even failed to die when I should have. Sirra went over to him. Its all right, she said. Youre not alone here, like I was. Leave me alone! Rano retreated to the far side of the cavern. Trouble woke up as he passed and hissed. Just leave me alone. Well think of something, Sirra said into the darkness. Dont worry. We will. Ill kill Scar and take his treasure back to Solamnia, and youll go on to Purespring to see your family. There was no answer from the shadows, but Sirra thought she heard Rano crying.

Chapter Five

The days dragged by in the same pattern, over and over again, until the only real difference between them was the pile of scales Sirra kept outside the entrance to the scale room got one scale larger each day. Every day, Rano got surlier, only answering direct questions and even then only minimally. Every day, Trouble got a little bigger. He also kept finding new ways to get into the treasure chamber, which was forbidden. Every day, Sirra got more and more bored. After the night when Rano arrived, Scar never let anyone leave the cave. He, however, left it every night to do unknown things with his siblings. One night, he came back covered in blue-black blood. He said only, Silver dragon, and went to count and re-count his treasure. Sirra assumed he had been in a fight with a Silver dragon. She did not know the outcome, and did not want to know. Nearly a month and a half after Trouble hatched, Sirra began exploring the maze of tunnels and ice caves she was imprisoned in. She usually took Trouble, and would walk alongside him because he was no longer light enough to carry. She found, near the back of the cave network, several caves whose purpose she didnt know. She guessed that they were where Scar had slept when he was smaller. One of them had strange ice formations in it; this she used as Troubles playroom. Trouble was beginning to talk now, and there was no way to conceal that from Scar.