chunk: When the lottery begins anew, Princess Elspeth rigs the draw so that only her name can be chosen. The King returns the amulet to Galen so that he might save Elspeth. Galen uses the amulet to enchant a heavy spear that had been forged by Valerian's father (which he had dubbed Sicarius Dracorum, or "Dragonslayer") with the ability to pierce the dragon's armored hide. Meanwhile, Valerian gathers some molted dragon scales and uses them to make Galen a shield, and the two realize they have romantic feelings for each other. As Galen attempts to rescue Princess Elspeth, he fights and kills Tyrian. The Princess, determined to make amends for all the girls whose names had been chosen in the past, descends into the dragon's cave and to her death. Galen follows her and finds a brood of young dragons feasting on her corpse. He kills them and finds Vermithrax nesting by an underground lake of fire. He manages to wound the monster but the spear is broken. Only Valerian's shield saves him from