Lord travelled alone.
The decision had not been made lightly, nor received quietly. Uru had argued fiercely to stand at his side. Owen had readied himself for a vanguard assault, and the elder drakes had offered the full, terrifying weight of their fury. But Lord had denied them all.
"If I am compromised," he had told them, his voice leaving no room for debate, "someone must hold the network together. If the leadership falls in one stroke, there is no one left to rebuild from the ashes."
They had conceded, but the heavy silence of their worry followed him through the dimensional gate.
