Autumn 1372

While Geldman began to go through the particulars for the Abbess, Ashara took the time to cast a few spells. The first to cleanse herself of the filth of the earlier battle and the second to increase the temperature in the area around her. She positioned herself between the two saturated men, Elric and Jorelon. A balmy ninety degrees should stave off any further chill!

The temperature slowly rose and she turned her attention back to Geldman. Tel'kirra.... Selu'kirra... High magic... Ashara didn't pretend that she understood all of the the man was talking about, only that the phaerimm...as all phaerimms, had been out for more power. It was interesting, but the thing that concerned her most at this point, was that the dead magic area would stop growing. That the Dawnspire and her Seekers would be safe.

"Excuse me," she interjected as the mage paused momentarily in his explanation. "Aside from the explosion, has there been any evidence that anything has changed? The DMZ barrier seems to be about the same place as it had been this morning. Do you think that perhaps when the ritual fell apart, the dead magic just froze where it was?"

Ashara smiled hopefully.

"No sister." The abbess said as she turned her attention towards the squeaky clean priestess. "There were fluctuations recorded before you left this morning... but since the death of the Phaerrim there has been nothing.

"We felt the explosion even here... I had hoped, along with your safety of course, that would be the end of the dead magic." Her mouth pressed together in frustration as she glanced toward the west.

"However, it did not end."

"Nor do I think it will." Geldman spoke up again. "I have many notes here from what I've seen... and I believe I have the slightest formation of a theory starting... but I'll need to use the library to know for sure."

"Do you believe we're in any particular danger right now?" The abbess said seriously.

"Particular? Hmmmm...No. I do not believe so. No more than usual right now..."

"How long?" She asked noticing an obvious wince from the half-elf. Apparently Elric knew all to well the dangers of that question. Sure enough the mage shrugged.

"I really don't know... A day, maybe two? Less if the pieces fall together perfectly, but I rarely count on that."

Alaecathra sighed. "Very well. As soon as you have new information inform me immediately. Until then, We'll have to keep extra watch for any repercussions of the actions today.

"Halamor, have the other mages report to you any changes in the dead field. Geldman, use whatever resources you need. I want to know what that creature was up to."

She smiled at the others assembled around her. "The rest of you, by all means... get cleaned up and relax a bit. You've done more than your share of exertion today.

"Tomorrow," she answered as Jorelon made a move to speak. "We'll conduct the 'going down' for Mairlen tomorrow evening."

Elric gave his wife a look that made it clear he hoped that would be the last of them. At least for a while... for the Abbess' sake.

Ashara wasn't looking forward to another heart-wrenching ceremony either. She couldn't imagine having to bear the responsibility of conducting them!

The gathering dispersed quickly, eager to escape any additional questions that the surrounding crowd might have for them. Undoubtedly everyone would know everything by dinnertime anyway, but for the moment even Jorelon was subdued. The priest put an arm around Tirtero's shoulder as they moved into the tower. Ashara was glad to see that her brother would take care of the man. She was more than a little concerned about his state of mind....

As the Everdawns started toward the tower with the Abbess, a ball of fuzz sporting bat wings dove from the skies, knocking Ashara back a few steps.

"Heren!" She laughed as the little kodragon clambered up her platemail and circled her neck a few times before settling down. "We missed you too... Staying out of trouble I hope?"

Though the dragon gasped in shock at the very thought, the Abbess actually snickered.

"Halamor swears your friend has been into his things," she playfully accused with a raised eyebrow. "He claims to have seen him skulking about his study and while he's found nothing missing, some of his texts and scrolls seem to have been rummaged through."

"Looking for anything in particular, little fella?" Ashara grinned.

Heren curled his furry lips into a smile and nodded before jabbing a tiny claw toward the dust cloud that marked the area where Gemblaunt once stood.

She was completely ineffectual at hiding her surprise. "You were looking for information on Gemblaunt?" Heren closed his luminous black eyes and nodded happily. "Because you knew we were going there?" He bumped his head affectionately against her jaw. "And you wanted to help us?" Heren raised his head before her face until he was level with his eyes. He held his stare for a moment and then swiftly licked the tip of her nose before launching himself from her shoulders to Elric's.

"Any luck?" Elric asked as he tried to contain his grin as the soft fur tickled his cheek. He was almost ashamed to admit it, but he hadn't really considered the fact that the tiny dragon could be of use as a research assistance... As a wizard's familiar it should have been obvious. Remembering his own questionable use in a laboratory or library he suspected the furry creature was better at it than he was! This time the little snout curled up in frustration and Elric patted his head.

"It's all right. Sounds like it's a tough subject. The other's haven't fared much better." Heren didn't seem very consoled. He suddenly stopped his fidgeting and took a closer look at the half-elf he was resting on. Dexterous claws picked at the scraps of bloodied cloth hanging around his chosen perch and he looked back and forth between the Everdawns with an even more concerned look.

"It's been a rough day," Ashara responded to the kodragon's concern by scratching him beneath his furry chin, "but I'm okay now and aside from needing a good scrubbing and a change of clothes, our boy here is okay too."

Heren accepted the throat scratch with pleasure as his furry tail wrapped around Elric's head and under his nose, making it look like the half elf had suddenly sprouted facial hair.

"That's a good look for you, Love," she giggled as Elric struggled to try and reposition the ticklish tail.

After entering the Dawnspire, the Everdawns and the Abbess were about to go their separate ways, when Ashara called the woman's attention once more. There was something that had been concerning them since nearly the beginning of this rescue mission...

"Abbess? The Arm..." She glanced down at the plate Elric still wore. "If I might ask, what do you intend to do with it now? Dismantle it? Hide it away? You well know how powerful an artifact it is and if it somehow fell into the wrong hands," she shuddered at the thought, "it could be devastating."

"A question I have asked myself a dozen times or more..." The Abbess sighed as she looked at the artifact on the warrior's arm. "I've sought guidance on the matter since it was discovered. I understand well the importance of keeping it safe... but the good that it could do..."

"You've done well without it this long." Elric offered what he hoped was a good response.

"We've survived... for the most part." Alaecathra countered. "Prior Gundlar believes that it's a gift... that with the arm we could force the monstrosities out of the city... complete our mission. I'm not so sure. My fear is having such an item could paint a bigger target on our community. Create a rallying point for all our enemies... "

"I shall join you in your prayers on the matter then, Abbess," Ashara bowed, her lips pressed together thoughtfully. "Hopefully the Morninglord will grace us with his will on the matter, for it is quite an important decision."

She couldn't help but wonder if Therogeon would be able to keep it safer within the tower he was building in Impresk. In fact, she knew he could! She was more than a little nervous about bringing such a powerful and potentially coveted weapon to the sleepy village though. What kind of dangers would that bring to their family and friends? If something were to ever happen to Impresk, it would crush her.

Then there was always the possibility of dividing the Arm. Half stayed at the Dawnspire, half went with them? Ashara wasn't sure Prior Gundlar would go for that and possibly not the Abbess either. There was time to decide yet though. A few more days of vacation and a few more days in prayer before the Endless Dawn. They may get an answer from the deity yet.

"But until that decision is reached," the priestess asked, "who should we give the Arm to for safekeeping? You know...after we get it cleaned off a bit."

She crinkled her nose at the blood-tacky artifact, which had grown a bit more smelly since her spell effectively turned the area around them into a hot, summer day.

"Bring it to me if you will." The Abbess said after a moment's consideration. "I'll be either with the Dawnstone or in my office."

"We can do that." Elric said as the Abbess made her farewells. Glancing around the courtyard, the other seekers had drifted back to the day's work. The arms and armor of the rescue/retrieval party were quickly being returned to the armories. Elric drastically hoped that the excitement would be over for today. Glancing up into the clear winter sky he breathed deep and felt the tension drain from his shoulders. Suddenly a gleam appeared in his eye and a mischievous grin filled his face. Quickly he whispered a few words into the fuzzy dragon's ear and watched Heren leap from his shoulder and fly quickly into the tower. Within moments he saw what he wanted to see.

"Well, my dear... before we give up this arm, there is still one thing left to do..."

Sweeping his arm around, he scooped his wife off the ground and willed himself to soar through the air.

There were few things in this life that Elric enjoyed more than the sensation of flight. Whether it was flaming chariots or fluffy bees, there was just something about the wind through his air and promise of horrific plummeting death that got his heart pumping like none other.

The kodragon watched from the newly opened window curiously. He hadn't understood why Elric had asked him to open it, but he was eager to please. He watched as the couple floated, spun, swirled and wondered if they needed help. Obviously the one doing the actual flying didn't have a clue what he was doing.

Bat wings stretched as the little dragon crouched ready to show them how it was done, when their trajectory changed abruptly. Tiny claws scampered on the window sill as he dove to safety and narrowly avoided being hit by the laughing couple who touched down gently on the stone floor.

He chuffed in amusement as the warrior kissed his bride passionately as he set her gently down. Maybe he knew what he was doing after all, the dragon thought as he flapped out into the sunlight.

"Well... That was fun!" Elric said with a grin.

Tears from laughter and biting wind, were streaked across Ashara's flushed face, and she looked up at her husband incredulously as she wiped the moisture away.

"By the Dawn, I love you!" She swore with the common Lathanderian oath. "How in the world did you do that?? Did you sneak in some extra practice time with the Arm, or is this how you and Therogeon spent your time in Evereska?"

Ashara's own experience with solo flight only amounted to a vertical ascension to a window at the top of the Dawnspire. She wouldn't have had the slightest clue how to pull even one of the handful of aerial stunts Elric just performed! Then again, remembering his morning workouts, aerial stunts weren't exactly foreign to him...

"Just when you think you know a guy..." The young woman smiled affectionately and shook her head in amazement. "You never cease to surprise me, my dear!"

"Practice?!?" Elric laughed gleefully. "You thought that was with practice??" His grin went from ear to pointed ear.

"You know... why not!" He admitted transparently. "If you wish to think that chaotic display was actually skillful showing off... I can certainly get behind that theory!" He let loose after one more quick kiss and started peeling that dirty armor off.

"It's a shame really... that you need the whole arm to do that. Otherwise it'd be a bit easier to decide what to do with this thing... and I'd be a lot more reluctant to leave the 'flight-piece' here...

"I wonder... there's got to be some boots or rings or something that can do that... I wonder what it takes to make something like that... Maybe when we get back, you... Therogeon... someone, can get CoRD in the air!"

After a couple of simple spells, Ashara had the metal tub filled and beginning to heat.

"I've gotten CoRD in the air before, but never like that," she stated as she sat on the edge of the bed and began to unbuckle her own platemail.

"You'd have to see Therogeon for that kind of magic. I know he's busy and all, but I'm sure if you presented him with enough feywine, he'd see it done. Hmm...maybe without, but feywine would certainly sweeten the deal."

A small pile of armor continued to grow on the floor beside the priestess. When she pulled the back and breast plate over her head, she saw the damage that the molydeus had done. Six neat puncture marks from the snake's fangs. Punctured through the mithril!!

Ashara just looked at the newly aerated armor and crunched her eyebrows together in frustration. "The dwarves are going to kill me...," she muttered under her breath, before returning her attention to her husband. Except for the skin that was protected beneath the Arm, poor Elric was covered in blood. It was the only physical evidence of the trauma he'd received down in Gemblaunt, but a grisly reminder of the near-death experiences they'd had already today.

"And mock me if you will, Melamin, but I think you have some natural talent for flight...or maybe it's just death defying stunts." She shot him a playful smirk as she pulled the bindings from her auburn braids and shook out her hair.

"I guess I should just be glad I didn't get my arm shattered again! You know..." Ashara sucked in a sharp breath and winced in phony pain as she gingerly held her arm close to her chest like a broken wing. "It still aches a bit when it rains," she pouted in a whimpery voice, "I...I'm not sure I will ever recover from the trauma!"

Elric's eyebrow raised as she mentioned the old sledding injury from when they were children. He failed to mask his grin behind a pout as his shoulders slumped. "I guess your papa was right.... I'm a terrible influence."

He waved his arm out towards the window that looked out over the ruined city. "Just LOOK at all the trouble I talk you into... Everything from sledding to demon hunting..."

He trailed a dirty finger into the water of the tub. Warm. Getting warmer...

"Just imagine the peace and... safety you could know, if I didn't put such wonderful ideas into your head..." He teased with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Imagine, how... boring life would be!"

"You're right, of course," Ashara admitted, returning her husband's cock-eyed smirk before starting the work of removing her leg plates. "Life would be pretty boring.

"There would be no risk of death. No need to suck demon poison out of your back. No need to patch up your broken body and push you back into the fight. No need to harvest troll blood in the field, or bring down city-sized dracoliches. No familiarity with the feel of cold steel slicing through my flesh or teeth ripping into me. Nor would I have the unique experience of having an ilithilich lick my brain. There would be no need to hide from evil gods or put an end to their minions. No memories of what I did when the Mad God..."

She let that particular comment die there. "No nightmares..."

Ashara cleared the emotion from her throat and ran weary fingers through her hair. The last of the plate was tossed into a haphazard pile to be dealt with later. Her layer chain mail soon joined the heap.

"But," she began again with a soft smile on her face, "I wouldn't know the joy of saving so many lives. I wouldn't have gotten to see so much of the world in only a few short years or experienced flight on the back of a bumblebee! I certainly would never have seen the Plane of Radiance or held Dawnspeaker in my hand."

Pushing herself from the edge of the bed, she stood and moved slowly and purposefully over to the half elf warrior, her smile never fading and her eyes filled with passion and mischief.

"I wouldn't have gotten to serve the Morninglord in such an important capacity. I wouldn't have experienced the elation of helping to thwart the plans of the Dark Goddess or breaking her curse over the dwarves."

Ashara slid her arms around her husbands waist and pulled herself tightly against him.

"There would've been no 'third watch discussions' or that first kiss down in the black tunnels of Dagadar... Nor the one following the death of the Shade."

Raising herself up onto her toes, she kissed him softly between words.

"No...honeymoon in Evereska... No evening... in Sune's glade..."

She tangled her hand in his already knotted hair and pressed her lips firmly against his. Then, in one quick motion, Ashara slid her left foot behind his, and pushed Elric backwards, sending him tumbling into the tub of warm water that she'd backed him up against.

"You're right of course, my dearest love," she grinned evilly as she stood over him, "I just couldn't choose a boring life and I have no fear of that with you around!

Heren flapped to a quiet place onto one of the Dawnspires many jutting stones. His eyes gazed out over the ruined city and he sighed. It was truly beautiful. He still remembered the awe and wonder when he'd first arrived with Arminius. That thought pulled at his tired heart as he reminisced. They had been good friends, as good as one could be with a wizard of the Red robes. His power had been greatly reduced on this plane, but despite his attempted warnings, Arminius would hear nothing of it.

The thoughts of the new and wondrous magic he could take back to Krynn with him had dominated the mage's mind. Now he was gone. The fuzzy dragon had been pondering what to do now. His studies had proven what he already knew. This city was a crossroads. So many portals in so close an area... some intentional, others probably not. Though plane hopping wasn't entirely foreign to him, his own abilities were vastly depleted here... Which struck him peculiar since unlike Arminius his powers were not tied to the gods of Krynn and their moons...

Perhaps something with this 'mythal' he kept hearing about. Though to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure where he would go. Krynn? The Astral Plane? His thoughts drifted back to the young couple who he'd found.They seemed an interesting lot, not really looking for a new familiar (which suited him JUST fine... Arminius' death had hurt him greatly. Some bonds are not meant to broken easily...) Perhaps it was time to retire for a time...

A loud squeal shook him from his reverie. He recognized it as the woman... Ashara a few floors below. Panic caught him immediately as he leaped from his perch. Diving as fast as he could he landed on the window sill with his back arched and claws and fangs ready for battle. He quickly realized his aid was not required in this battle. Flapping away from the sound of splashing and laughter he tried to regain his line thought. Those two could make excellent companions...


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Elric dug through the bag's for clean clothes some time later. What he found didn't impress him much. "We are really going to have do some shopping next time we hit civilization..." He chuckled as he glanced at his wife getting dressed. "If we run into more trouble... this could get embarrassing."

He glanced at the pile of artifact that he had left on the floor. The metal was covered in dried blood and dirt. He reached for a rag to clean them off, but then stopped. The cleaner it was, the more awe-inspiring the artifact became... the harder it would be for the Abbess to decommission it. "Any thoughts on this thing?" He asked hopefully.

She was already well along the thought path of how she could get them into more trouble before hitting civilization, when Elric drew her attention back to the Arm of Valor.

"Oh...I have plenty of thoughts on the matter," Ashara smirked as she smoothed the wrinkles out of her cassock and cinched the golden sash about her waist, "solutions are the thing I'm coming up short on. Whatever we do with it or the Seekers do with it, there will be the potential that it ends up in the wrong hands."

The priestess picked up the rerebrace...the piece that had started it all, and turned it over in her hands thoughtfully. It seemed like so long ago they'd dug this from the rubble.

"If the Seekers keep it and use it then it will draw all the wrong attention and I fear it may even interest the castle full of devils to the northeast. Even if they don't use it and something happens to the Dawnspire, it could be discovered and used for evil. If we take it than the same thing could happen, and although I believe Therogeon could hide it away better than it could be here in Myth Drannor, it's still far too powerful an item. Someone or something would hear of it. Someone or something would come looking... I'd hate to bring more trouble to Impresk than we will already by our mere presence."

Ashara sighed deeply and flopped backwards onto the bed, holding the dingy blue-black piece of the Arm above her in the rapidly dwindling light.

"I don't know, Elric. I think maybe the best thing to do would be to divide the Arm again." She rolled her head to the side to gauge her husband's reaction.

"If two of the pieces were left here, then perhaps they could help to defend the Dawnspire against her enemies. It was meant to aid the city after all! Then maybe we could take one to Evereska under the protection of Vailis and the priests of Corellon. High Magic must have created the Arm and it seems only right that the last bastion of the elves on Faerun would hold part of it."

Her eyes lit up as the gears turned in her mind. "We could take another one to the deep vaults of Dagadar! No one makes a vault like a dwarf and Myth Drannor was all about the races coming together! The dwarves there worked with the elves centuries ago, perhaps someday that fellowship will be reclaimed.

"And last," Ashara looked back to the rerebrace she held aloft, "we could take this piece back to Therogeon to tuck away in his own magical vaults. The least of the five, yet necessary for the whole.

"What is your opinion, A'maelamin? Am I completely over thinking this?"

Elric shrugged noncommittally.

"I don't know... On the one hand, I don't really want them to use it here... but on the other, I also want them to have it if they need it." He looked over the various pieces thoughtfully. "I also thought splitting it up was a good plan... Maybe keeping a piece for ourselves... But then if we ever heard about the tower falling and knew the arm could have helped... I don't want to think about what kind of guilt thatwould bring...

"I don't know what the dwarves would do with it... but if the elves knew that something like this existed, I could see them wanting it all. Actively hunting for it. Especially considering their state after the phaerrim... I... I hate to say it, but it may be better if the elves just keep thinking it's lost to history."

"If we go looking for guilt, we can find it in spades... All we can do is make the best decisions we can, for the right reasons and live with the results. No one can ask for more than that!"

That was one of those things Ashara had to keep telling herself as well. Guilt from past events still weighed heavily during quiet times in the darkness, and far more often than she liked to admit to herself or her husband.

"If we take the whole Arm or parts of it and learn that the Dawnspire fell, we would feel... You're right," she winced up at the ceiling, "I can't even imagine. But how much worse would it be if we left the whole thing here and then demons or WORSE got a hold of it?! That could be catastrophic!"

The young priestess growled in frustration and sat up. Grabbing a cloth, she began to scrub the ick from the day's events from the rerebrace.

"I'd like to think you're wrong about the elves," she said softly, meeting Elric's emerald eyes. "I'd like to think they'd understand the danger of if. I mean even the creators of the Arm understood that it was only to be assembled if the city was in dire need! I think Vailis would understand, but there are always the ones hungry for power I suppose... Unless he kept it secreted away in the temple's hold somewhere."

As she scrubbed the filth from the adamantite, she caught a glimpse of her disheveled appearance in the mirror-like reflection and chuckled. It had been quite a day indeed.

"See what I mean," Ashara smiled at him, "lots of ideas...no solutions... I told the Abbess that I would do some petitioning of the Morninglord on the matter. His opinion carries a goodly amount of weight around here I think!"

"Vailis I trust... I guess I'm more concerned about the seekers not having the power if they truly 'need it'.... Keeping one piece may be reasonable... but each piece has it's uses. I don't think we should scatter them that far... "

He sighed as he sat next to her and picked up a piece of his own to clean up.

"Maybe... we can arrange something with Therogeon... If they can get a message to use, maybe he could teleport us back if we're needed..

"OH!!!" He said as his eyes lit up. "What about that ranger... of Shaundakul?... Shamus?!?

"One of the pieces was at his temple originally, and he gave it up easily enough when the need arose... I mean, he was a jerk, but it would separate the power a bit... and any allies are good allies..."

"Oh I don't know about him being a jerk," she chuckled, playfully bumping Elric with her shoulder as she scrubbed at the armor. "Prickly...sure, but the poor guy does nothing but kill demons and consort with windghosts all day long. His people skills are sorely lacking!

"That said, I think he'd be a pretty good choice as long as he could keep the piece of the Arm safer than he did last time. It would definitely foster a more working relationship between the temples of Shaundakul and Lathander, and I'm all for that!"

Ashara set the shining rerebrace on the end of the bed and picked up the pauldron next.

"It'll be interesting to hear what the Abbess thinks of handing over one of the pieces to Shamus..." She snickered. "Maybe even more interesting to hear what the Prior has to say about it! Hmmm.... You know, maybe you should be the one to bring that up instead of me. You've already bested him in combat after all!"

Laughing, Ashara leaned over and kissed her husband on the cheek.

"That my dear, was a tie!" He chuckled as he remembered the nearly embarrassing incident. He shot a quick wink as he added, "As far as anyone knows that is... "

Soon the armor was looking as good as new. Seeing the gleam on the dark metal, it was difficult to believe the horror's that it had so recently seen. Like the Everdawns themselves, all trace of the battle was gone.

Elric packed up the pieces to hand over to the Abbess. The warrior still had nagging doubts about that... but it was a show of good faith. That greed wasn't a factor when they questioned the leader of the Seekers about her intentions.

As they left the room he laughed aloud at the memory of his affectionate wife's sneaky tub dunking. "You know... apparently you know a few moves that Eldorath never taught me the counters for, Melamin...

"We MAY have to practice that move a few times..."


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The next few days passed peacefully enough. The Abbess seemed to have as many doubts as they did about the future of the Arm of Valor. The idea of separating it and lowering the temptation for abuse appealed to her, but the idea of taking pieces out of the city did not.

Elric wasn't surprised at that... It was made for the city. It's purpose for the defense of Myth Drannor, and it's powers were based in part on the Mythal surrounding the city. She wished it to be separated, but still available should the need come again.

The entire conversation resulted in no more decisions than the Everdawn's had earlier. It was finally agreed to continue the prayers and meditation and meet back when Geldman had more answers with what they had dealt with.

And dealt with it they had it seemed. The Dead Magic Zone still existed. However, the growth of it had stopped.cold. The tower did not come under attack, though scouts mentioned more than one unsavory individual poking around the former site of Gemblaunt isle. A modicum of peace seemed to descend on the Dawnspire.

The wizards were rarely seen. Kaldric had returned and eagerly helped the others with his vast knowledge on mythal lore. Mairlen's spirit was put to rest in a heartfelt funeral, and for at least a couple days, no deaths darkened the Seeker's mood.

Tirtero left soon after. Elric had hoped that he would stay a few days longer... leave as a group. The pain, however was still to fresh for the warrior, and so he left. He described a popular Tavern in Shadowdale, should the couple find there way there, and Elric promised they'd try.

1st of Nightal...just barely...

******

It was at about the usual hour when Ashara's eyes fluttered open sleepily. Fourth watch. Even during the times when it wasn't necessary, some routines were difficult to break and while normally she'd simply drift back off to sleep, this day was a bit different.

Today Elric Everdawn was twenty-three years old!

A grin of excitement lifted the corners of her lips as her eyes adjusted to the muted red light of the room. Ever since CoRD's time spent in the pitch black of Dagadar, the young woman found herself needing the comfort of at least some form of light as she slept, be it fire, stars, moss...whatever. In lieu of any of these her Continual Light-imbued holy symbol would work in a pinch as long as something was placed atop it to dim the blinding daylight. That evening the holy symbol had been tucked into her neatly folded priestly robes and placed on the floor beside the bed, which cast a light which she found quite pleasing. Certainly easy on weary eyes.

The last two days Ashara had spent much of her time copying the large compilation of the history of the Dawnspire. The Scribe spell allowed her to do it much faster than she would be able to normally, but it was still her hand doing the scribing and her eyes scanning the texts for eight continuous hours a day, and still so much more to do!

It was worth it though... SO worth it! The beginnings of the Seekers of the Dawn, the construction of the first temple, the destruction of that one and then the building of the current one in the new area, maps of the ruins, the visitation of the Morninglord himself!! Fascinating history... Riveting! Ashara would see to it that the rest of the world knew of the bravery and sacrifice of these pious followers of the Dawn!

But today all of that would be put aside for the time being. She'd been preparing something for this day for a very long time and while she wished for her husband to get his rest, Ashara knew there was no way she'd be able to go back to sleep now!! Instead, she sat up quietly and pulled her hair over one shoulder, quickly wrapping it into a haphazard ponytail before hopping out of bed and padding across the floor wearing one of Elric's old and relatively intact shirts as a nightshirt.

She glanced behind her when she thought she heard the ever alert salk-sirra master stir, but he seemed sound asleep.

The priestess knelt beside their pile of gear and rummaged a bit through the Haversack before her hand emerged holding an elegantly wrapped gift. She clutched it to her chest giddily and did a quick little dance of silent excitement! Shooting another suspicious glance over her shoulder, she ensured that Elric was still asleep.

Bare feet quickly paced back to their bed. Ashara sat down and hid the gift behind her back.

"Melamin?" She whispered softly and grinning from ear to ear, leaned in to tickle his nose with one of the laces from the neck of his shirt that she wore. "Lle sinta mani re ta naa? <Do you know what day it is?>"

The half-elf squirmed and twisted as the tickling woke him from a pleasant dream to a better reality.

"Huh... wha?!" He blinked as the tassel bounced across his nose. "mani re??... " <What Day??> His still drowsy mind wasn't sure what day it was. "Hyanda re?" <Blade day?> His eyes snapped open hopefully before he realized that wasn't it at all. It was his birthday!

Looking up at his vision of a wife, he grinned wide as he realized that this was already the best one yet.

"Quel amrun vanima." <Good morning beautiful.> he said as he snatched at the dangling tassel and pulled her in for a kiss.

Ashara giggled and returned his affection with enthusiasm. "Valina nostare... Yaaraer <Happy birthday... Ancient one>," she whispered against his mouth playfully. "I have something for you."

Now that it came down to the giving she found herself a little nervous. Would he like it? Was it good enough? When you pour your heart into something and then hand it over to be critiqued, it can create a few butterflies and Ashara had them flapping around her innards in droves!

"It's...early I know," she offered apologetically as she sat up, glancing toward the blackness outside the window , "but it is technically your birthday and your gift has been burning a hole in my pack...and now the Haversack for far too long! Would you do me the favor of opening it now?"

The present, wrapped in blue silk and tied securely with braided silver thread, was retrieved from behind her back. A folded note tucked beneath the bow. Though feeling very vulnerable indeed, Ashara smiled and offered the package to her husband.

"Will I please open your present?!?" He laughed aloud. "I can truly say I think that's the first time I've been asked THAT so sweetly!" He pulled himself up to a sitting position with a gleam of giddy excitement.

"Of course... since you DID ask so nicely, I Suppoooooooose, I can wake up and get presents!!!" He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he examined the intricately wrapped item. She'd done her job well, As he tugged and pulled at the ribbon, he realized that his hands were more effective breaking walls then untying ribbons. Soon enough though the note fluttered to the bed sheet and he snatched it up triumphantly.

"AH HA!!!" He said with glee as he unfolded the note, "How long has this been tied up?! It seems like.... like... " His voice trailed off as his eyes scanned the carefully penned elven script.

'A'maelamin Heru Everdawn,

Lle rine e'tella nostare lle mone e'Impresk iire lle nae hin? Ta nae ere' ai coiasira n'ala lle lembe lye ar' lle nae ikotane dina ar' nwalme tanya lle atar nae ilyassen lle no' tanya re. Amin ontaror ar'amin ume iluve lye nowe en' a' karna lle ialysha, nan' i'awra sal' nae neva.

Lle caela aute imya ikotane nir' arrnar e' lle coia. Lle coiasira e' Evereska, san' no' i'malle' vee' CoRD... Lle men ilcaela nae avaene rashwe, ananta ta naa lle termara imya tanya rashwe, tanya kante lle e'a i' tininin elen en' edan re' edhel! Lle il'naa ai'ner tanya ai hin tyavien ikotane ereb ar'uumele e'palurin manke lle ilume tyava creoso.

Ikotane, amin kyerma ten' lle nostare naa tanya sina naa er tanya lle nauva iloio demada! Tanya lle nauva sinta sut tumba lle naa mele ed'nosse, mellonea ar' lle voronda verne', ar' yassen tanya sinta...sina nostare, lle nauva ialysha!

Ilya en'melamin, ilya en'coiamin,
Ashara


<My beloved Lord Everdawn,

Do you remember the last birthday you spent in Impresk when you were a child? It was only a short time before you left us and you were so quiet and sad that your father was not with you on that day. My parents and I did everything we could think of to make you smile, but the pain was still too near.

You have gone through so many trials in your life . Your time in Evereska, then on the road as CoRD... Your path hasn't been without trouble, and yet it is your endurance though that trouble that has shaped you into one of the brightest stars among men or elf! You are no longer that little boy that felt so alone and unloved in a world where you didn't feel welcome.

So my prayer for your birthday is that this is one that you'll not ever forget! That you will know how deeply you are loved by family, friends and your adoring wife, and with that knowledge...this birthday, you'll be able to smile!

All of my love, all of my life,
Ashara>

He blinked away a tear as he looked up at her and took her hand. "I do know melamin... I do... And I fully expect to smile plenty this year! I have more to be happy about this year, than at least twenty of the years before it. As for remembering this one... Well... With Gwilly out and about with Eddick, the odds of that are MUCH better than last year!" He laughed as he remembered what he could of the impromptu surprise party Ashara and Gwilly had thrown him. The pixie had still been working on perfecting her 'Pinanna wine' back then.

"The details of that one are still a little fuzzy..."

"Well now, I'm not sure the possibility can be totally ruled out quite yet." Ashara laughed and squeezed her husband's battle-hardened hand. "The day hasn't yet been born and it's dangerous to assume that a group of cloistered priests living in the most perilous of circumstances don't enjoy their drink now and then!"

She'd caught the familiar scent of Aster Ale once or twice in the hall during mealtimes and it brought back memories of her days spent at the Spires of the Morning. Apparently (and not too surprisingly) the brewing secrets of the temple in Waterdeep had made their way here to the other side of Toril! Ashara hoped yet to rummage around to see if she could find some. She found she had a fondness for the stuff on her earlier visits to the west coast and in spite of her tendency to shy away from any kind of beverage that could put her under the table, she made special exception for this one.

"Hmm....maybe it's my memory I should be worried about!" She grinned after a moment's reflection.

As Ashara had done on a thousand occasions before, she pulled Elric's hand to her lips and kissed the scars that lined his knuckles.

"But now, my dear, you need to put me out of the misery of this anticipation and open your gift!! Perhaps your eyes are weakening in your old age?" She teased, resting his hand on top of the package. "There... The seam is just... Yep! Right there. Shall I start it for you, Ianter <Old one>?"