Impresk - Alturiak, 1377

And just like that, the effects of the feywine were gone. Pity too, he had a wonderfull buzz going. Still, the words his friend had spoke, the ones that he was sure he wasn't supposed to hear caused something inside him to sober up quickly.

He looked sadly at his friend, "What happened my brother?" A sudden thought had him worried. "Is it Ashara or the kids? Has something happened?"

"Hmm???" Elric attentioned snapped back. "No... nothing like that. Nothing that drastic."

"My minds just been traveling down dark paths since I'd found the truth about my heritage... So many extra years...." he poured himself another drink and took a sip.

"We're adventurers you know... We fight gods entirely too often to believe that we'd never be parted... But at least if one of us fell in battle, there'd be some consolation... that we'd done everything we could, and we went down swinging."

"How do you fight time? Biology?" He could feel the effects of the wine, but unlike his elven companion couldn't choose to ignore the effects. Common sense told him to stop while he was ahead, but he just couldn't stop the words from coming.

"Think about it... We were both born and raised a stone's throw from each other. I'll walk this world for centuries... She won't! Where's the justice in that?!? What did I do to deserve that! Regardless of whether it's a blessing or a curse... An accident of heritage gets to decide who live and who doesn't?!?"

"It just isn't right!"

Therogeon closed his eyes as his friends words sunk in. He finally understood what was bothering Elric. Yes, right now everyone was fine but in a hundred years it's probable that even his children would be dead and he would still be young. His friend was coming to grips with the fact that he would outlive his great grandchildren by centuries. When one seriously thought about it, it was indeed a daunting thing. He did understand of course.

He and Almara had talked about it for a long time shortly after they had gotten together. There were ways through magic that could extend one's life dramatically but Almara had refused all of them. If through her research her life got extended then so be it but if not, she was going to cherish every second she spent with him. Here also with his ability to Reverie he could relive every memory he had made with Almara. Still the thought of losing her in a couple centuries was heart wrenching.

Soft tears formed at his eyes as he leaned forward and put a hand comfortingly on Elric's knee, "My brother, I understand. Let me ask you this though...do you love her?"

"More than life itself..." Elric answered without a seconds hesitation. "It just... It won't be long enough. It'll never be long enough..."

"I don't know what to do... Remember, I was raised amongst the elves." His mind drifted back to the Evereska of his youth. "There I was the shorter lived one. The one who would be reduced to a memory of the rest." He shook his head in disgust. "Or at least so we thought..."

"Regardless, I wasn't supposed to be the survivor." Leaning back he sighed long and loud. "I can't help but think of this as a battle... A fight I should be able to win." He grinned a mirthless grin. "I think of most of life's difficulties that way."

"After Kaimelithil, she almost got some years back... The ones she'd lost back destroying that Rod of Shadows... When she brought back the dryad..." The wine was causing him to remind the mage of the situation, despite the fact that nobody who'd lived it would forget. "She'd planned it for some time, but always put it off. After Kaimelithil she had made her decision to go... Fortunately we found out about the baby before she did it..." He shuddered a little at the thought. "I don't want to think about what the magic would have to the child..."

"It's daunting isn't it?" The wizard spoke softly, "The prospect of centuries passing as a warm summer day." Therogeon leaned back in his chair, his glass of feywine held lightly in his hand. "The elves...the ones born and raised elves, have a saying, something like 'Cherish love when you find it and live not for the future, but enjoy today'. Of course I know I'm not remembering it excately but the gist of it is that you should live for today and remember yesterday but not..." He waved his hand, cutting off his own words, "Ahh, but you probably understand it better than I, having been raised with them.

"You and I though...we're different. We suddenly had centuries open upon us with little time to prepare. I will admidt, at first I was happy being an elf. That was before I admited my feelings for Almara. Now...the thought of losing her in time while I stay young is...well, it hurts." The wizard drained his glass of feywine and set the goblet on the table. "And no, it isn't fair."

He leaned back in his chair, lightly rubbing a had across his face, his thoughts flying nearly a mile a minute. "All we can do is live life to it's fullest while we have them. Unless somehow their lives are magically extended, we cherish them and take solace in the fact that no matter what happens, we will always love them and always remember them."

After the hugs and goodnight kisses from the grandparents, Arturo, Romen and Me'awen were herded out the Rosemorns' door into the chilly night. It was quite late now, and though she was exhausted from the day, Ashara was hoping to hear the details of Elric's first use of the Scepter! He was nervous about it, and it seemed to have never been far from his thoughts over the past week. She thought at first that his pensive state may have been caused by the cold he'd come down with, but once he recovered, the concern remained. Meeting his father again, and like this?? She could understand how he must feel about it. The opportunity was there to Speak with Sulime if she so chose, and though there were definitely questions she'd like answers to, she hadn't yet been able to work up the courage.

The children ran on ahead, playing their own version of knights and dragons. After Kaimelithil, it just didn't seem right to have the kids assuming that all dragons were evil monsters, so they compromised. One would get to play the knight, while the others each got to play a dragon. One good and one evil. If the knight could discover which of the dragons was the good one, they would join forces against the evil dragon. If he attacked the good dragon by mistake, BOTH of the dragons would turn on him. Then turn on each other of course, but such was the way of things. Arturo would almost always end up being the knight, since he was old enough to better grasp the concept of the game, and all the twins wanted to do was to go at each other... Ashara laughed, wondering if it was as much fun playing the game as it was watching it!

They didn't yet know the truth of their heritage. How does one explain that to a two or three year old? There really was no rush, and until Elric himself felt more comfortable with the recent revelations, it was possible more harm could be done than good.

When they finally reached their home on the other end of town, the priestess noticed that there were no lamps lit on the second floor. Elric's students were winding down their evening in the first floor sitting area, she wished them all a restful night as she followed the kids who were tromping up the stairs to their rooms.

Some time later, when the children had all been tucked in, Ashara was at the fireplace in the meeting room pouring a couple cups of tea. Elric hadn't returned home yet, but she wasn't overly concerned. There were occasional nights when her husband would go to visit Therogeon in his tower, just to unwind a bit and enjoy each other's company.

Ashara smiled as she set the cups on the table next to the apple pie she'd brought from her parents, wondering if Dhara had been there when Elric had gone to the tower... She laughed at the thought of the young girl blushing every time they came by to visit. It wasn't all that long ago that SHE had been that girl, and Elric had been just as clueless! It was probably for the best. If his eyes were opened, he would see a town full of young woman nervously twirling their hair and fumbling over their words when he was around, and that would just make him nervous! She certainly didn't mind it, she admitted to herself, grinning as she took a sip of the hot tea. It only made her more proud that he had chosen her to be on his arm.

The priestess sat down on the couch with a blanket and a book that she'd borrowed from the Spirit Soaring entitled, 'An Overview of the Upper Planes'. A bit of light reading while she waited. She was certain Elric would be home soon and she happily anticipated hearing how his experience with his father had been!

Despite his best intentions he wasn't quite as drunk as he wanted to be by this time. Something the mage said cut through the fog. If he was honest with himself it was the question that had brought him to Therogeon's doorstep in the first place. He'd hoped the wine would chase it away, but now that it was actually brought up he couldn't stop himself.

"How do wizards do it? Magically extend their lives?" He looked at his goblet as if it had betrayed him and pushed it away.

"I know there are ways... Short term solutions like potions and amulets... Hastes and resurrections that give and take life... But surely these wizards who live for centuries aren't doing 2-3 years at a time!?!"

"And I'm not talking about something horrific... so let's not even discuss THAT stuff!" He was able to slur out. "I feel I should be able to DO something. I just... I hate feeling so helpless."

"Dragon's are supposed to be these great, immortal, innately magical things... I don't feel magical. Not even half... I just wish..." His eyes perked up a bit as he looked to his friend. "Is there a way? Some magical way, to share my life force with her?"

Elric wrote:"Dragon's are supposed to be these great, immortal, innately magical things... I don't feel magical. Not even half... I just wish..." His eyes perked up a bit as he looked to his friend. "Is there a way? Some magical way, to share my life force with her?"

The elven wizard inhaled softly. He exhaled very slowly. His eyes closed as he sat back in his chair and searched his thoughts. How he phrased his next few sentances would be very important.

"Yes....and no. It is far easier to get or create potions or items that increase one's life. In terms of living longer, for those not born naturally born to it, it is the safest way." Therogeon opened his eyes and leaned forward, a small seemingly silver light relfected in them. "What you are asking is possible, but....dangerous."

He sighed sadly as he continued, "I do not want to even speak of them but you are my brother. This decision must be your's and Ashara's as surely as anything else is. By Mystra I do not even know if Lathanderian priests are allowed to extend their lives." Therogeon refilled his goblet and took a small drink, using the pause to collect his thoughts ere he said something foolish. His eyes closed as he continued in a soft whisper, "There are ways to bind your souls together so that if one is alive, the other is alive. That way would keep her alive until one of you died and there is no guarantee that she would not continue to age. Also, if one of you should happen to fall in combat or from some accident, you both would die. That way is the most dangerous.

"The other way...is taking from your life force and giving it to her. It would not make her half dragon, but it would increase her life span by diminishing yours. If you have six hundred years left and you gave her half, you both would have aproximitely three hundred years. There is no way of knowing of course how much time any of us have left, but you get the idea." He held up a hand to forstall the questions he knew would be coming, "While this may seem like the best option, it too has it's drawbacks. For one, your life is shortened significantly. For another..." The wizard sighed again, softly, "you may not be able to. Your unique heritage is not something that has been studied much. I do know that dragons, while magical in nature are also resistant to magic." Therogeon's eyes slightly unfocused as he continued, almost lost in his own thoughts as the subject ran away with him. "True you have shown no signs of being resistant without your mask, but this magic is powerfull and....dark. Your resistance might kick in or her natural aversion to the dark might prevent it. The fact that you have kids together is a sign for the positive, but..."

His eyes opened and he looked deep into his friends eyes as he spoke, "The spells you are looking for are necromantic."

The Half-dragon couldn't repress the shiver that went through him. Necromatic magic never amounted to anything good.

"You know I'm not talking about anything 'evil'..." He protested. "Liches, undead, necromancy in general... It goes against everything she fights for. How can... sharing your life be considered Necromancy?!?"

"Your second choice there... That's more what I was wondering about. That first one is fairly horrible. I don't know if I could stand the responsibility that every chance I face danger, I'd put her in danger! I just wondered if I could share the years I had left..."

"Besides... I'm not sure what she would say about it anyway." He put his hand to his head. Whether it was the wine or the discusion of magical theorums or the long day leading up to it, he didn't know... But his head was starting to hurt.

"We're very protective of each other's life energies... I've got centuries to spend, but she still gets flustered when I suggest Haste as viable option for me. And I've told her outright not to use those Ressurections anymore, even for me..."

"Necromancy of it'self isn't evil, just as a sword by it'self isn't evil. The intent of how is it weilded determines how it is viewed." He waved away the thoughts of intelligent swords and stuck to his point, "The study of necromancy has over the years been closely associated with the undead and it is true that most of the spells in that area deal with the raising and controlling of the vile things. However...it is actually the study of the force of life. There are numerous spells in that school that deal with cleansing life energy and purifying it and just as many spells to destroy undead as there are to make them."

Therogeon leaned back in his chair and took a small sip from his goblet. "Now, I am not purposing that you do this thing. At the very least I'm saying talk it over with her. It's very likely, given how protective of your life she is, that she would refuse. And again, there is no guarentee it would work. And if the spell fails or is miscast, you might find yourself or her or both dead or with greatly shortened life spans.

"As for how wizards do it, well....the truth is, that no matter what the stories and bard's tales might tell you, most do not. A few do...the chosen of Mystra are given our goddess' blessing and do not age. The old wizards of the crown in Cormyr have magically blessed elven blood but every generation it weakens. Vangerdehast, the last of the old line was only royal wizard for one human lifetime. Manshoon, a powerfull wizard of Zhentil Keep, used carefully prepared clone spells. The Lord Wands in Waterdeep uses a specially prepared potion of longevity that keeps for fifty years instead of the normal range such potions. I do not know how Halaster the mad mage of undermountain does it. I do know that unless one becomes a lich, magic it'self does not grant one longer life."

Therogeon leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees, his fingers clasped together and his thumbs supporting his chin as he rested his head on his hands. "The shorter life span of humans is why they will never be able to use or even grasp the concept of high magic. It takes an elf wizard centuries of studying to even be prepared to see high magic. And again, with your drag...." The wizard stopped in midword and his eyes opened in amazement as a thought entered his mind.

Dangerous, suicidal probably. It was however, the best or at least surest way, of finding an answer to his friends question.

"Now... I'm confused, again." He tried to clarify. "In one breath you say that the information is 'Powerful... and Dark, necromantic spells'... Then in the next you say that Necromancy isn't evil in itself..."

"So... am I to take that NECROMANCY isn't Evil... but what I'm interested in is?" He shook his head to try to clear his senses, but that only helped the room spin a bit more.

"Forgive me brother, the wine has dulled my senses a bit..." he thought about how to phrase the next. "I guess... I guess I just wanted to know what our options were... IS this thing possible? What were the risks..."

"I know enough to know it's not a decision to take lightly... I was just curious if there was even a decision that... could be made? Please don't tell Ashara we had this talk..."

Therogeon sighed softly, "Forgive me, apparently the effects of the wine are not as easily turned off for me as I first thought." He paused for a second to gather his thoughts, "Necromancy is dark, but all dark is, is the opposite of light. Without dark there would be no light. If the sky never darkened into night, then Lathander's dawn would never come."

He waved his hands dismissively. "No, this is a theological discussion for another time. You asked about options, so yes...feasably you could share your life force with Ashara and theoretically it would work. I say theoretically because with your heritage it might not. We know so little about half-dragons that to assume everything would work out like it does with other races is folly. The only mortal spell caster who might know anything is one I will -NOT- approach. He and I might be equals in the eyes of the City of Hope but he has too much of a reputation for using dragons to power his spells. I will not put you or the children in that kind of danger.

"However....there may be a way to find out more information." The elven wizard looked tired, "Let me check into some things and I will let you know if it is even viable. In the meantime I won't say anything to Ashara.....but you should.

As the evening wore on, Ashara was disappointed at how terribly dry her 'light reading' had turned out to be, and she soon realized that though she was still flipping the pages, she wasn't actually reading any of the words. Instead her mind was given free reign to wander where it will, as she waited for Elric to return home.

The mage and the martial artist had grown very close over the last years, and it had pleased her immensely that Therogeon decided to stay in Impresk! Since he had become involved with Almara, Ashara tried to make it a point to get to know the woman better. Therogeon was an excellent judge of character of course, but still, he was a good friend and it would be terrible if he was unnecessarily hurt. The young mage was a good match for him though. Bright and witty, and she loved him truly. The priestess secretly hoped that someday soon they would call upon her to marry them!

Perhaps she and Almara could become close friends as well. She hoped that could be the case! Perhaps now that they weren't traveling as much there would be more time for socializing... Ashara realized then how much she missed Gwilly. There were very few people in her life she could completely open her heart to, and none of them were female. Back when they were full-time adventurers, she and the pixie would spend many evenings talking and laughing about both important and frivolous things. Much like Elric and Therogeon did, she assumed. She missed those poker nights when all of the guys would gather together, leaving the girls to their own devices for the evening. It was unhealthy not to have that, and Ashara decided that she would do a better job of fostering such a relationship with Therogeon's companion.

In three days it would be the first of Ches, marking the seventh anniversary of the founding of CoRD! It was her birthday as well actually, and she'd be twenty-seven this year. Well, thirty-one until she had a chance to get the unnatural aging fixed... She hoped that many if not all of their friends could return for at least the day! Kaber was likely thousands of miles to the north, among the minotaur clans in the Spine, so it was unlikely he would make it back, but she missed her great furry friend dearly... Eddick could be in Mazteca one day and Cormyr the next and so far he'd always attended each of their yearly gatherings and she hoped that this year would be the same! Gwilly was still traveling with Marinelle and Tomar, and they hadn't seen her since the fall of Kaimelithil. Perhaps she could use the pendant to speak with Marinelle about coming to Impresk for a visit and dragging the pixie along with her! Definitely something to speak with Elric about when she got the chance!

It was growing very late now, and she was beginning to have some concerns. Not for Elric's safety, as she knew he was uninjured and in good hands, but for what may have happened to him earlier in the day. Had Speaking with his father been unsettling somehow? Did he receive some bad news? Perhaps his father hadn't answered the call of the Scepter... That would be heart-wrenching! Maybe he had a wonderful experience and was just celebrating the end of a happy day with his best friend!

Ashara was truly glad of that relationship between Therogeon, and her husband. She had a feeling that the two of them would be very important in each other's lives as the centuries wore on! Elric needed that connection. Something that would remain steady in his life when everything else was in flux around him, and she could only be that for him for so long. No point in dwelling on all that again, though! Eddick's gift from the wedding would hopefully buy them a few more years together, and as soon as their child was born she intended on going out to Waterdeep to get her magical aging reversed, but other than that, there was nothing to be done for it. Ashara simply intended on loving him so much in her one human lifetime, that he would have no course but to remember her for the remainder of his! Perhaps it was naive, but helped to drive the dark thoughts from her mind.

For the hundredth time she wondered if she should just head to bed and speak with him in the morning. That would probably be the wisest course, but she never could sleep well when he wasn't there, and she figured she'd probably just end up tossing and turning until he got home anyway. Deciding in favor of waiting, Ashara stood slowly and refilled both of the tea cups with hot water before returning to the couch and making herself slightly more comfortable than she had been, curling up on her side against the cushioned arm.

It was with some reluctance that she picked up her book and flipped back to the page she last remembered reading. Her eyelids were growing heavier by the moment, but Elric should be back soon.

Maybe if she just shut her eyes for a second...

"I probably will..." Elric acknowledged. "It's just... a touchy subject with us."

"If she'd even be willing to accept my gift... and she got her hopes up, and it's suddenly not... viable as you say. What would have been accomplished? Knowing I've been dwelling on this would likely upset her, and I don't want to do that."

He was quiet for a moment as he let the conversation sink in. Since he's been with Ashara and Therogeon, he's stopped acknowledging the word 'impossible.' After destroying god dragons, watching the dead come back to life, and seeing cities and kingdom's destroyed in moments... Nothing was truly impossible. Therogeon had just confirmed it.

The true question was not if he 'could' keep his wife alive, but what would the cost be? Would the mere attempt cost him the few years they already had? Would they become so obsessed over fighting for more life, that they forgot to live the life they had? Anything was 'possible'...

"Maybe if we had answers... possibilities, plans, or something... But I just don't see any reason to concern her just over an idea I'd had... "

The wizard slowly rubbed his hand over his mouth, his eyes alight with both sadness and the furious swirling of his thoughts. "I can do some looking. It just happens that I am acquainted through our shared work in restoring Rhymanthiin a gold dragon spell caster named Tlanchass. Through her I can make subtle inquiries about the nature of half dragons and magical working." Therogeon smiled grimly, "Do not worry. Though I often lack the quality I can be subtle when I need to."

The thought crossed Therogeon's mind then of the two new spells he was working on. One to draconic blood in a person and the other to allow him to watch, and protect, Elric's children from magic. The second spell was by far the easiest since he had a basis for the spell in hiw weavesheilding of Impresk, however the cost of the shadow weavesheild was expensive and he did not know if he could afford to keep them both up at the same time for long. Still, perhaps the newer working would prove more susceptable to being made permanent then his original was.

Therogeon then again looked deep into his friends eyes, his hand comfortingly on the warrior's knee. "There is another option," he started, "I could..., well I could give you the gift of Reverie or something similar. I do not know how much you understand about that particular elven ability but...it would allow you to relive your memories as if being there again. It would not take away the pain of someone's passing but it would, " and does thought the wizard, remembering his first student Maris, " help make it easier to bear."

Elric smiled a wry grin. Many times now Ashara and he had explored his memories. Each time was as if he had lived them all over again. "I'm familiar with the concept." he said simply.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'd question it's value in this case..." He wasn't sure what Therogoen had in mind. From what he knew, reverie could be a blessing and a curse. You sacrificed the ability to dream for the ability to relive memories. Much like the memory reads they had been employing, but without any control. Elves couldn't control which memories they lived, and they couldn't choose 'not' to relive things. All the good, all the bad. All of them thrown into a pot and randomly scooped out. Even the good memories could hurt...

"The problem with living in memories and dreams, my friend... is that I'll still have to wake up alone."

"That my brother, is an unfortunite reality we both must bear." The wizard said softly as he leaned back in his chair and softly closed his eyes.

The former half-elf opened his eyes and looked back at his friend, "Talk with her. Find out if she would even accept an extension on her life. Otherwise....cherish every moment you have together."

Therogeon knew his words were a poor excuse for comfort but he really did not know what else to say. This was something that Elric was going to have to come to terms with on his own. The wizard knew however, that if the warrior did not talk to Ashara about this the depression he was in might consume him. Especially, Mystra forbid, if Ashara happened to die. He again sat back in his chair, contemplating life and just watching his friend.

The mages words followed him as he began the walk back home. There was little more advice Therogeon could offer him and by now it was extremely late. Tomorrow was going to be rough. His head was already hurting, whether from the wine or events of the day he didn't know. Didn't really matter.

Dawn was only a few hours away now, and he knew he'd have to be wide awake. Ready to be an example for the students. Wouldn't do at all to oversleep, regardless of how much he'd want to. He'd worked to hard getting them accustomed to 'the way things were.'

Feeling a pang of guilt, he walked up to the dark house. The kids and Asahra would be asleep by now. He didn't make it a habit, staying out this late. Quietly he slipped in through the door and headed upstairs.

The first stop like so many nights before, was to check on the children. Carefully he opened the door and with the light of infravision watched them sleeping. Three little quarter-dragons sleeping peacefully. The thought always made him smile. After a few minutes he left them to their dreams and headed for his own bed. Seeing a light under the door to the meeting room surprised him. Gently he pushed the door open farther.

There lay Ashara on the couch with an open book and two very cold cups of tea. Suddenly he felt a lot guiltier. Apparently she'd been waiting up all night for him. As late as it was, he wasn't sure if he should wake her or not. Dawn wasn't THAT far away and she could always use her rest.

As he watched her for a few moments and listened the gentle breathing, he finally decided it would be for the best. He didn't like the angle of her neck and a whole night like that would probably result in painful day.

Gently he brushed her hair around her ear and with a gentle kiss whispered, "Ashara, wake up..."

Ashara's eyes drifted open slowly, and she smiled when Elric's features came into focus.

"Hello, love," she whispered, rubbing her eyes, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep!" She had hoped to be awake when he returned home. The priestess sat up and closed her book, setting it next to the pie.

Looking up at her husband again, she found that she was unable to read the expression on his face. That was unusual...

"Did you have a good time with Therogeon?"

When she caught the strong scent of fermented flowers and honey, she started chuckling.

It wasn't often he broke into the feywine. Only for very special occasions. Ashara herself could barely handle an ale, let alone the strong elvish drink, and obviously not any alcohol in her current state. Perhaps he had been celebrating after Speaking with his father, though his unreadable eyes were telling...or not telling...a different story...

"It smells like you two enjoyed yourselves," she grinned at him hopefully.

He thought back to the conversation he'd had and 'good time' wasn't a great description.

"It was a good... Talk." he admitted. Therogeon had answered many of his questions, and given him more to think about. Such is the way it was when mages... or druids gave advice. "Sorry I'm so late... I didn't realize you were waiting up." He sat down beside her.

"You know how it is when the Master Mage gets going, Time just slips away!" He grimaced as soon as the words were out of his mouth. What a horrible phrase to use tonight.

"How were your folks?"

"They're fine," Ashara answered with a lopsided grin and a slight shake of her head. "Even though we won't be travelling so much, they're still worried about the baby. Apparently my mother thinks I should spend those nine months in bed! If she knew what this child lived through five months ago..."

She could joke about it now, but when she and Elric had first realized that she'd been two months pregnant during the battle with Zabos, they had been very concerned. Seemed like all was well though. The child surely had its father's fortitude!

"And there's no need to apologize, I'm glad you're able to spend time with him!" She smiled and took his hand in hers. "I was just waiting to hear how your talk with your father went!" Ashara's eyes sparkled at the idea of having a conversation with the man that had been little more than a memory and a hero in so many stories!

As she twined her fingers between his, she felt the ring she had made for him, and realized that it was on his right hand instead of his left... The switched rings signaled that she should skip over that particular memory during their yearly Memory Reads. It seemed that in his slightly inebriated state, that he'd forgotten to switch them back.

The smile faded from her face and she closed her eyes briefly as she let out a slow breath. Should she even ask? Would he be upset if she noticed? Ashara was certainly concerned now... His words had been pleasant enough, but strained as if stronger emotions were rippling beneath the surface. Had something gone wrong with the Scepter?

"Elric..." She began softly, and ran her thumb over the red topaz to draw his attention to the ring. "You know I will never ask you to share something with me that you want to keep private, but if there is something I could help with... If there is something hurting you..." She paused and looked up into his eyes, trying to understand. "I trust you would tell me."

Elric looked down at his hands and saw what she'd seen. Silently he cursed (in pixish) everything from the wine to his own stupidity. This was precisely what he had been wanting to avoid. Precisely why they'd set the system up in the first place.

"Talk to her!" he heard Therogeon's voice as clear as if he was in the room. Ashara's eyes never left him, so it was probably just his imagination... Not that it was wrong. He wasn't a fool. He fully realized the mood he'd been in since she gave him the scepter. Nobody had said anything, but he knew he hadn't been a joy to be around. If he let this smolder than nothing would get any better, in fact he could easily slip into a deeper depression. That he was certain of.

"Forget this..." He said as he sat down next to her and quickly rearranged the rings to their traditional locations. "That was... I don't even know..."

"I'm sorry for the way I've been acting lately... Y'know since I realized what the scepter was for... I must have seemed pretty ungrateful. It's an amazing device, and I can only imagine how difficult it was to create! It's just... the thought of using it for... well, you...."

"This," she gestured to indicate the rings, "is none of my business. You certainly never need to explain yourself, it's forgotten!"

"Now about the scepter..."

Ashara sighed sadly and leaned against the back of the couch as her eyes rested, unfocused, on the displacer tiger skin that hung on the opposite wall.

"Perhaps I should never have made it. At least not this...soon..." The woman began twisting a lock of hair around her finger.

"It was difficult to make physically yes, but emotionally too. Knowing that I was creating an item that you may use to Speak with my spirit in the future? Yeah, it was hard. The Scepter certainly does make the inevitable feel more...concrete, doesn't it," she turned her head to study Elric's face.

"We knew this from the beginning though, A'maelamin... That it would be this way. Knew it and accepted it, I thought, because of how deeply we care for each other..."

"There are different levels of acceptance maelamin..." The half-dragon shook his head sadly. This was easily the hardest conversation he'd ever been a part of. If he had any sense he realized they should just go to bed, and finish this after a good nights sleep and after the wine had run it's course. But he didn't.

"We accepted the fact that I would... live longer. There was nothing as petty as that would come between us... "

"We accepted that life together would provide us with our own unique hurdles..." He tried to force a weak smile. "We never imagined the scope of those hurdles, but we persevere... We always will."

"Every moment has been worth it, I wouldn't change a thing. You know that..." he wiped some moisture from his eyes. "It's just... I'm a warrior by nature Ashara... There's just something about an enemy I can't fight. A battle I can't win."

"After all that we've been through... that I find harder to accept!" The warrior let out a weary sigh.

Her own eyes began shining with tears as she watched him struggle with the harsh realities of what their life together would bring. Ashara wrapped her arms around the well-muscled arm of her husband and rested her head gently on his shoulder.

"How I wish this burden could be mine alone! That I would be the one to have to learn how to live again when you're gone..."

She sighed again and swallowed her tears, not wanting her own pain to magnify his. "But Elric, I won't be gone really... Just away for awhile! A longer while than we had first expected I realize, but we will meet again!"

The words sounded hollow even to her. It was true, every word of it, but that didn't make the idea of separation any less difficult to bear.

"There are times," she confessed quietly with a squeeze of his arm, "that I wish I had been born an elf. That I could remain youthful and beautiful and spend the centuries of my life with you... But that's just not our reality, love. I hopefully have many decades left to me, but that's all they are. Decades. But by Lathander, I'm going to make the most of them," she stated, managing a weak grin.

Ashara paused for a moment to calm her slightly trembling body. There were things about about the future that caused her more pain than she wanted Elric to know about. Things beyond either of their control. In an effort to allay his fears, she was confronting her own, and doing everything she could to maintain control of her emotions. She knew he hated upsetting her, but this conversation was a long time in coming, and while they'd skirted the issue for years, the Scepter had brought everything to a head.

"I don't think of death as an enemy to be fought, but merely a transition, albeit one that I am destined to make before you... You will never truly lose me though, Elric, even though we won't be together for a few years," she said turning her glistening eyes to him once again, "and I swear by every dawn from tomorrow to my last, that no matter how many centuries pass between us, I will be there in the Halls of the Morning waiting for you when come home to me."