After the four worlds Alfred has at last found  his people on Chelstra, the realm of sea. But his  travels have taught him to be cautious... and  Alfred soon realizes his caution is justified, even  among his own kind. The one person Alfred can trust  is, strangely, Haplo the Patryn. But Haplo's lord  has decreed all Sartan to be the enemy, and Haplo  dares not go against his lord. Now the companions  have arrived in a land where humans, elves, and  dwarves have learned to live in peace. Unaware of an  even greater threat to all the realms, it is  Sartan and Patryn who will disrupt this alliance of the  lesser races in their struggle to gain control of  all four worlds. Only Alfred and Haplo realize  that they have a much older -- and more powerful --  enemy than each other... After the four worlds Alfred has at last found his people on Chelstra, the realm of sea. But his travels have taught him to be cautious... and Alfred soon realizes his caution is justified, even among his own kind. The one person Alfred can trust is, strangely, Haplo the Patryn. But Haplo's lord has decreed all Sartan to be the enemy, and Haplo dares not go against his lord. Now the companions have arrived in a land where humans, elves, and dwarves have learned to live in peace. Unaware of an even greater threat to all the realms, it is Sartan and Patryn who will disrupt this alliance of the lesser races in their struggle to gain control of all four worlds. Only Alfred and Haplo realize that they have a much older -- and more powerful -- enemy than each other... After the four worlds Alfred has at last found  his people on Chelstra, the realm of sea. But his  travels have taught him to be cautious... and  Alfred soon realizes his caution is justified, even  among his own kind. The one person Alfred can trust  is, strangely, Haplo the Patryn. But Haplo's lord  has decreed all Sartan to be the enemy, and Haplo  dares not go against his lord. Now the companions  have arrived in a land where humans, elves, and  dwarves have learned to live in peace. Unaware of an  even greater threat to all the realms, it is  Sartan and Patryn who will disrupt this alliance of the  lesser races in their struggle to gain control of  all four worlds. Only Alfred and Haplo realize  that they have a much older -- and more powerful --  enemy than each other... After the four worlds Alfred has at last found his people on Chelstra, the realm of sea. But his travels have taught him to be cautious... and Alfred soon realizes his caution is justified, even among his own kind. The one person Alfred can trust is, strangely, Haplo the Patryn. But Haplo's lord has decreed all Sartan to be the enemy, and Haplo dares not go against his lord. Now the companions have arrived in a land where humans, elves, and dwarves have learned to live in peace. Unaware of an even greater threat to all the realms, it is Sartan and Patryn who will disrupt this alliance of the lesser races in their struggle to gain control of all four worlds. Only Alfred and Haplo realize that they have a much older -- and more powerful -- enemy than each other... Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman published their first novel in the Dragonlance Chronicles series, Dragons of Autumn Twilight, in 1984. More than thirty-five years later, they have collaborated on more than thirty novels together in many different fantasy worlds. Hickman is currently working with his son, Curtis Hickman, for The VOID, creating stories and designs for whole-body, fully immersive VR experience. Weis teaches the competitive dog racing sport flyball. She and Hickman are working on future novels in this series. CHAPTER  1       THE NEXUS     “Damn it! get out of the way!” Haplo kicked at the dog.   The animal cringed, slunk away, and endeavored to lose itself in the shadows of the hold, hide until its master’s bad mood passed.   Haplo could see the sad eyes, however, watching him from the darkness. He felt guilty, remorseful, and that merely increased his irritation and anger. He glared at the animal, glared at the confusion in the hold. Chests and casks and boxes, coils of rope, and barrels had been tossed in hurriedly, to stand where they landed. It looked like a rat’s nest, but Haplo dared not take time to rearrange them, stack them neatly, stow them away securely, as he had always done before.   He was in haste, desperate to leave the Nexus before his lord caught him. Haplo stared at the mess, ill at ease, his hands itching to sort it out. Turning on his heel, he stalked off, heading back to the bridge. The dog rose silently, padded soft-footed after him.   “Alfred!” He flung the word at the dog. “It’s all Alfred’s fault. That blasted Sartan! I should never have let him go. I should have brought him here, to my lord, let him deal with the miserable wretch. But who’d have guessed the coward would actually have nerve enough to jump ship! I don’t suppose you have any idea how that happened?”   Haplo stopped, glow