feet and was initially defiant. Kitiara then pointed out Tanis, apparently willingly serving her, to Laurana. Laurana was initially hopeful upon seeing Tanis, but to mask his true intentions from Takhisis, Tanis treated Laurana very coldly, disheartening her. Kitiara then roughly handled Laurana and offered the elfwoman as her gift to Takhisis who proclaimed that Laurana was to be tortured to death. Kitiara then asked Takhisis that Tanis be allowed to join the Dragonarmies, and Tanis, who was ordered to stand before Takhisis, prostrated himself before the evil goddess. Kitiara then also asked Takhisis to grant Laurana's soul to Lord Soth. Laurana was devastated at seeing Tanis worshipping Takhisis and terrified at the prospect of being enslaved for all eternity to the death knight. Kitiara then told Tanis to fulfill his promise and present his sword to the Emperor Ariakas as a sign of fidelity to the Dragonarmies. Tanis was furious about Kitiara offering Laurana's soul to Lord Soth but knew he must continue to play along if he wanted to save Laurana. As Tanis approached Ariakas, he realized what he must do and then, pretending to lay his sword at the Emperor's feet, stabbed Ariakas. Tanis then grabbed the Crown of Power, intending to ransom the Crown for Laurana's life. Kitiara agreed to exchange Laurana for the Crown and allowed Tanis to release the elfwoman, but Laurana was unaware that Tanis was trying to save her, and so she broke free on her own. Laurana attacked Kitiara, stealing the Highlord's sword and knocking her to the ground. Tanis then tried to stop Laurana from running off, but after seeing him seemingly serving Kitiara and worshipping Takhisis, Laurana no longer trusted Tanis, and so she shoved him off the platform. This caused the half-elf to drop the Crown and all of the Dragonarmy factions to start fighting each other over its ownership. Laurana fought her way out of the Council chambers in the confusion with Tanis chasing after her. Tanis finally caught up to Laurana but then Kitiara caught up with them as well and offered Tanis the chance to rule at her side. She also warned Tanis that Lord Soth was coming to collect Laurana. Tanis rejected Kitiara's offer, telling her that he would die to protect Laurana. This convinced Laurana that Tanis was not evil and that he did love her. Kitiara then surprisingly allowed Tanis and Laurana