Delegation to the Fey Queen

Lamashan the 8th, 4712



"You know Kaz. . .  You look quite striking in crimson."

The aasimar's mirthful eyes slid to the aging ranger at her side, who'd been tugging at the collar of his gold and crimson doublet since they'd left Akiros that morning.  As expected her words elicited only grumbles, though she noted with the most ephemeral of smirks, that he stopped fidgeting and sat a little taller in the saddle after the compliment.  She really could not help but adore the man in spite of his bluster!  It was good to have him riding by her side once again.

It was at her insistence alone that Kazimir agreed to the formal attire, emblazoned with the crest of King Thaddeus, though he rarely did anything without putting up a bit of a fuss even if just on principle.

The two trusted guards, Destin and Tikhon, seemed much more honored by the prospect of serving in this delegation and more than a little anxious to meet their future queen.  They might be young, but Wynnsaren trusted them enough to keep their tongues from lolling out of their mouths.  Hopefully their eyes appropriately placed as well. . .

The group was small, but distinguished, with each of the guards -- and Kazimir -- dressed in the formal regalia and carrying the banners of the king of Novastasia.   Lady Sarala, the king's own sister, had decided to accompany them, which delighted the Ambassador, who was glad of any additional time spent with the sylph though she knew of the personal reasons for Sarala's coming.  She sought answers. . .   Answers that Wynn likewise, desired to have made known!

It was closing in upon evening when the small delegation was finally nearing the nixie's domain.  The ride had been particularly beautiful in Wynnsaren's view.  She had never personally been in this area of the Narlmarches, but gods knew she'd heard the tales of the nixie and the lumberjacks!  It was good to see it with her own eyes, for though the rough terrain with its hills and streams and ravines made it a bit slow going, the vast variety of trees, colorful in this late season, and the abundant vegetation, made it a most pleasant journey.  

For such an important and official meeting, Mairis Parkin had provided the Ambassador with a lovely riding gown in shimmering gold taffeta with an overdress of blood red velvet which laced up the front, sporting a deep hood and long, sweeping sleeves.  Admittedly the joke had crossed her mind how terribly overdressed she might be for the occasion, but she had no desire to scandalize the poor clothier who had been so kind and generous with her from the beginning!

A short while later, out ahead of them, Wynnsaren was soon able to spy a small, sparkling pond, ringed by trees, which fed into the river they were following.  Her sight having been granted by the darkness provided beneath the forest canopy.

Realizing that this must be the place they were searching for, Wynn brought Xiaobo alongside Sarala's mount and smiled up at the sylph.

"Would you like to alert the nixie to our presence, my lady?  You are well known to Melianse after all, and I should not like to cause her any undo disquiet in this place of peace."

Sarala tipped her head in assent to Wynnsaren before dismounting off her horse. She hid the little smile that came to her lips in response to Wynn's "my lady" comment. Wynnsaren was always completely and utterly polite and proper, especially when they were around other people. Sarala didn't much care to be called someone's lady, especially by a friend, but protocol must be followed so she tried to graciously accept Wynn's respect whenever it was shown.

Sarala pulled a small leather sack out of her saddlebag before proceeding on foot through the dusky trees toward the grove. Clothed in a dark maroon cloak the deepening shadows soon hid her from sight. Once she reached the bank of the nixie's pool Sarala carefully gathered the rich fabric of her skirts and bent over a smooth flat rock by the water's edge. With her other hand she began to spread a handful of gems and jewels on the rock's flat surface. Most of them were small semi-precious stones but there was one that stood out among the rest. Twice the size of the others, this stone shown with all the colors of a deepening sunset in the evening sky over a verdant glen. It was one of the few rare topaz from her private collection and she hoped Melianse would enjoy it's exotic beauty.

"Melianse," Sarala whispered toward the water, "I hope all is well in your fair glen. Have you time to meet with me this evening?"

Less than a moment later, rings of ripples disturbed the pristine pool's surface as a small head covered in hair the color of bright kelp popped up. Large, round eyes of vivid blue-green looked toward the visitors, rivulets of water flowing around them and over them like tiny waterfalls. Her smile gleamed like that of a child caught between the excitement of a new gift and the bashfulness of being spied upon by strangers.

"Hello Sarala Tree-mender," the nixie, Melianse, greeted with a bubbly soprano voice. "You've brought pretty things!" she giggled, even as her face lowered shyly towards the water. "And pretty people that I, oh, so do not know . . . "

Laughing softly at the nixie's antics Sarala glanced back at the small group waiting a few yards away. It was true they looked stunning in their royal raiment, even in the fading light the deep tones of the crimson contrasted well with the brighter gold. She looked back at the nixie peering coyly over the edge of the water.

"They are very fine to look at, aren't they? A special trip calls for special clothes. But there's no need to be shy. These 'pretty people' are all my friends as well as friends and servants of my brother, King Thaddeus. Would you like to meet them?"

"Perhaps I should, if they're coming is special as their clothes!" the nixie answered, bobbing in the water. Webbed fingers tread through the pool with absolute ease, and now and again a soft gown of green algae slipped above the surface. Despite the sylph's reassurance, she made no attempt to come closer to shore.

"Have they come to plant more trees?" she asked, her eyes sparkling. "These need not grow in a day. That was exciting, so true, but trees are more adorable before they are wizened! The bark is softest when they are saplings . . . Oh yes! Surely one dresses pretty when there are trees to take root for the first time!"

"Unfortunately the purpose of our visit is not to plant trees again. Perhaps we can arrange to do that again soon." Sarala looked kindly at the expectant fey. Melianse had such an effervescent personality that ever visit with her was enjoyable. It was nice to have a reason to keep coming back to the beautiful grove that the nixie protected.

The sylph looked over her shoulder and beckoned the rest of her companions over to the pool. Kaz and the other guards may not have any interest in meeting their unusual go between but she knew that Wynn enjoy making her acquaintance. And Melianse was eyeing Wynn's beautiful gown from a far so she was sure the nixie wouldn't mind getting a closer peek.

"We have come today to ask you another favor," Sarala said, turning back to Melianse. "We seek audience with Queen Feluanil and we came to ask if you would be gracious enough to pass the message on to her and her court.

"Your queen is as beautiful as she is mysterious and she guards her secrets well, even to the point that we do not know how to find her on our own. So we come to you, knowing that your wisdom and knowledge far surpasses ours when it comes to things of the fey, and we hope that you will once again grant us this favor."

As soon as she had been waved over, Wynnsaren turned to the ranger to find that he had already dismounted and was offering her his hand in assistance. The aid was much appreciated. Leather leggings were one thing, but the fashions of these lands and all their skirts made removing oneself from the saddle in any sort of a graceful manner, dreadfully treacherous!

"My lady, I suggest the rest've us wait here," he said after his charge was back on her own two feet. "Little thing looks as if she's liable to turn n' bolt at the drop of a hat!"

"No doubt you are correct, Kaz," Wynn agreed with a nod of her head. "It is probably not often that she receives so many visitors."

The aasimar squeezed his arm in thanks before gliding over to the pool where the nixie kept residence; the water sparkling under the emerging stars. It was a magically beautiful grove and she immediately understood why her friends had been so enchanted by the childlike Melianse and rushed to aid her against the loggers who threatened to destroy such a place of tranquility. Wynn imagined she would have done much the same.

"Greetings, Miss Melianse!" She bobbed a curtsy while flashing a warm and disarming smile in an attempt to put the nervous fey at ease. "It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance! Sarala has told me much about you, though I daresay she could not have properly described to me your loveliness.

"My name is Wynnsaren and I am a friend of our lady here and of King Thaddeus."

"Oh, so, yes!" Melianse beamed.  "Pretty and smart!" she blushed at Wynn's compliment.  "What a kingdom King Thaddeus must have with such pretty women everywhere!"  Her eyes darted from Wynn to Sarala a couple times before settling on the men left behind.  "And all the men so fuzzy and burly!" she cried, puffing out her cheeks while holding her arms out and down from her body in a mockery of a muscle-bound man and rocking back and forth.  As she did this, she slowly sank back into the pool and disappeared for a long moment before the crown of her head broke its surface again down to her eyes.  She giggled underwater, though its sound suffered no impediment.

The nixie permitted her face to rise up above the water again, a smirk painted upon it.  "It truly is no wonder you remain mateless," she whispered conspiratorially.  "Fuzzy men are so scratchy, and burly men smell so!"  Immediately after relaying this information, she waved joyously at the small entourage in the distance, as if to mask that she'd just been talking about them.

"But the trees can wait, then," she suddenly changed subjects, appearing a mixture of content and forlorn all at once.  "You wish to see the Queen, of course," Melianse nodded at Sarala, then grew instantly sober, "and the Queen has heard you."

With a single stroke of her arms, the nixie shot like a dart back through the pool, towards its center.

"and she comes at your request," a voice thick with the passing ages of Golarion reached out to them.

Even as they communicated with the nixie, a tiny rivulet from the pool had snaked away to the south of them and filled a small depression in the earth there with crystal clear water reflective as a mirror.  Queen Feluanil practically floated in the air above it, though she appeared much as one who remained encased by the depths of the sea.  Only her toe rested gently upon the mirrored surface of the small, newly-formed pool; her second foot raised slightly up the first's ankle but anchored on nothing.  Though nude, incredibly long, thick sable hair with the fineness of silk floated in the liquid air all about her, cleverly ensuring her modesty.  Timeless eyes encapsulated both women in them without having to individually look at either.

The forest around them had gone completely quiet and supernaturally still.  The leaves on the trees no longer flitted and the delicate touch of the breeze that once was but now had ceased.  The men and horses continued their long gaze toward Melianse's pool with glassy eyes gone empty.  No birds protested the cool autumn air, no field mice burrowed beneath fallen leaves, and no squirrel scratched at tree bark.  All the world had paused, except for the two women and the fey.

"envoys bearing the fragilities of their king come to entreat with his future queen.  and yet, also seeking answers for their own curiosities."  Her voice was soothing, sensual, and seething with power.  "speak your minds, that i might hear your thoughts given strength through voice."

Her presence was a tangible thing. A force all its own. Wynnsaren felt it wash over her and ripple though her, nearly forcing her to take a knee before this transcendent creature.

What is your purpose in demanding my king's betrothal?

The words were there, brought to the fore by the queen's spoken will, only a fraction of a moment from tumbling artlessly from her lips! The near misstep shocked a bit of sense into her and strangely it was only then that she realized that she'd become too close to this. She had not maintained the grain of aloof regard that allowed her to deal with these missions from a practical perspective, for the first question that entered her mind was not borne of oracular concern for the terror that loomed ever nearer. It was for him. For Thaddeus.

Wynn didn't think for a second that this queen of the fey had chosen him for his good nature or his heart, for she had no previous experience with him to her knowledge, and frankly she seemed quite. . . well. . . beyond falling helplessly for his more physical charms. Not that the paladin-king had none to speak of! Much to the contrary. He was tall, young, fair of face and broad of shoulder with limbs that hinted at years of physical and martial labor even beneath the meanest of clothing. She herself had borne witness to more than one swooning in his presence and one flat-out fainting after bidding on a date with a girl during the Founder's Day celebrations! The best part was, that he had no appreciation for the effect he could have on unsuspecting women. Then, of course, there were his eyes. Deep blue pools with the light of youthful life and innocence within them. They had not dulled in spite of all of the responsibilities Fate had thrust upon him, and though thoughts of war would occasionally cloud them over, even so it was not long before that gleaming spirit shone through once more.

That was the crux of her fear.

That the light in his eyes would go out. Three things Wynn knew of that could dull a man's spirit faster than ought else. War, loss and women. . . specifically wives of the contentious sort. She did not wish that for him. She prayed that even under Fate's heavy hand he could somehow find a modicum of solace with someone whom he loved.

Maybe she had misjudged the situation and was being overly critical without any evidence that might support such fears With that thought, Wynnsaren decided to stop being concerned and start being hopeful. The deal had been struck. This union would go forward.

All of these thoughts were crammed haphazardly into the space of a mere moment. To any layperson observing her, it would have appeared that the Ambassador had not faltered in the slightest. . .anyone that is, with the exception of Queen Feluanil. Gods but she hated it when people poked about her mind! There seemed to be an insufferable amount of it going on these days. . .

"Magnificence. . ." Wynnsaren swept into a deep and graceful curtsy that she reserved for royalty alone. Well, royalty and a certain unofficial prince. If Feluanil was nothing else, she was indeed a queen, and would be treated as such!

"Thank you for honoring us with your presence. As you say, we have sought you out at the behest of our estimable King Thaddeus and while we indeed have our own curiosities about our future queen, his desires for this delegation will necessarily come first and foremost."

The Ambassador finally rose to her feet and removed a scroll of parchment, sealed with the king's crest, from its case. She held it out before the fey queen with respectfully bowed head, observing her through long, dark lashes.

"Our king has penned you a letter in his own hand, and wishes that we might return with your response, including any desires you might have with regard to him or your impending nuptials."

"i demanded nothing of him, ambassador wynnsaren star-dreamer, and i expect nothing more than that which was agreed upon by oath. the twistings of fate too often preside over us, do they not? leading our feet to tread upon dreams not of our making; within nightmares not of our choosing.

"of course, i would be pleased to join my betrothed on the winter solstice," Feluanil changed the course of the dialogue with practiced ease, though her hand never extended for the sealed scroll. "those with so few years to live are in constant need of reassurance. they must know that those lost lived for a purpose and will never be forgotten. my place will be at his side on that evening. you may assure him, if it please you.

"all that is not understood within the mortal mind remains mystery. undoubtedly, i remain one to him for the foreseeable future, and this will concern him greatly. let me assure you--and in doing so assure him--we are never so far apart that i do not know his whereabouts or hear his fears. for one whose goddess grants him immunity to the dangers of the battlefield, thaddeus medvyed, the first of his name, suffers greatly with the concerns of the unknown. his first lesson must be to vanquish these fears of uncertainty. perhaps, i will be a boon in this. if ever he needs me or wishes to speak to me, he need only do so, and i will hear.

The hint of a smile played upon her lips. "patience will be his second lesson."

Wynnsaren considered her words a moment while she slid the missive, read but unopened, back into its case.

"King Thaddeus is young and has many worries, it is true, but though it has been made known to us who have seen visions of what he is to become, he himself has not seen these things. He was not raised to the understanding that he would be king one day. It is within him assuredly and he is proving that, but the reality is still new in his own mind. He previously had no aspirations to rulership though Fate would provide otherwise, and he had not even intended to marry, let alone produce heirs, but instead believed he would live his life in service to the Dawnflower alone. These recent events have turned his world upside down.

"Since he has had no visions regarding this Fate which has swept him up, nor the ability to read minds, you have him at a distinct disadvantage. You are holding all the cards, Your Majesty and until most recently, he was not even aware he was playing the game. So yes, our king is prone to worry and I fear it may grey him unnaturally early," she considered with a small grin, "but he accepts change and new responsibilities without complaint. It yet takes him some time to adjust to these things, yes, but this will come with experience when he is more confident in himself and you most certainly may be a boon to him in that regard.

"In the face of these many uncertainties that surround him, what he desires most from this delegation is simply to extend a hand. To make contact. He wishes to get to know you, his betrothed. No doubt the knowledge that he might speak with you at any time will be a comfort to him and he will most certainly look forward to meeting you again at the winter solstice."

"Now you asked that we give our thoughts voice," the aasimar bowed, continuing respectfully but undaunted," and I speak now as his friend. I do not know whether such notions of love and happiness carry weight with you," she stated in all sincerity, "but they are important to him. He does not expect, but he hopes. As his friend I desire his happiness, for not only will he be a great man in the future, he is a good man now. A good man with a good, pure and honest heart. Life is a fleeting and tenuous thing. I would see him happy within that span."

It was important to Wynn that the queen understand these things for she could not imagine King Thaddeus speaking to her about them! Then again. . .all he really needed to do was to think them for her to know. . . Still, she felt it better to voice such thoughts aloud in order to give them proper weight, that she might hold them in consideration.

"I have offered this concern for him as a man. . .as a friend, but now, Queen Feluanil, please allow me to express my concern of purpose, for I too have seen his Fate and the threat that encroaches from the space between the stars. You are hearing my thoughts, so you know why I have come to these lands."

Wynnsaren dropped abruptly to silence as she allowed the nightmarish visions to filter through her mind. Then just as abruptly she picked back up with the conversation as if she'd never stopped speaking.

"They must be ready you see, lest all fall to ruin.

"His Grace told me that you also mentioned seeing what Fate has laid out for him, and I am here not only as Ambassador to our king, but as an oracle in service to those powers that would see that this threat -- not only to the region, but the whole of Golarion -- put down permanently.

"My question, Magnificence, if you would permit me, is this. Does the Fate you have seen regarding our king coincide with the one made known to me by the gods? Are you to be an aid to him in that most monumental of tasks ahead?"

Feluanil regarded the Ambassador for a long moment before striding forward with natural balance to stand only a couple feet from her. A strand of the fey queen's silky hair placed itself beneath Wynn's chin and lifted the woman's eyes upward into her own. She contemplated the oracle with dark orbs which held more depth in them than the limitless Great Beyond. "you serve many powers," the fey queen agreed, then brought her hand up to softly caress Wynn's cheek in an almost sympathetic gesture. "do not be trapped into believing those powers are all on the same side."

The fey queen lowered her appendages--hand and hair. "oh, child, you hold an honored place in the king's court, and your desires for his hope and happiness are pure and true. sometimes, in some things, for some matters, hope and happiness can be mutually exclusive. thaddeus, the first of his name, dreams of love, and you dream that he should find it. if he were a lesser man of lesser duty, perhaps the fates would not be so fickle. the king must cast such boyish fantasies away. they will not help to succeed, nor understand. his people do him honor; his court loves him. that is more than any other in his position receives with honest intent."

Feluanil practically floated away from the oracle. "those of his court will appease his need for love," she explained. "i will prepare him for the dangers that await and enable him to perform his duties properly. we must all play our parts."

Wynnsaren was thunderstruck. It was not that the queen had shocked her with this insight, but more that she had so unexpectedly given voice to her own fears! Over two years ago now -- when that violent vision brought her to Candlemere Island, it was then that she'd first felt someone. . . or something, seeing the vision along with her. She'd had a sinking feeling that there was a new power at play within her mind. Something new? Or perhaps something that had been there all along. . .

The visions during her protracted time of unconsciousness seemed intent on soothing, lulling her into complacency as they whispered songs and words that she knew could not be true. Wynn knew them to be foreign and given to her by an unknown source. She saw the tentacled horror and it saw her, and even though at that time she was able to reject the sweet promises, would it always be thus? Would she be driven mad by those whispers? Would she herself be the one to compromise this mission?

The aasimar suddenly felt very, very tired, like an old marionette whose strings were stretched and hopelessly tangled. There were times when she was truly grateful for this life she led. The adventures in far flung regions, the new faces and new friends, the feeling of accomplishment when she'd completed her task. . . But then there were other times when she just felt detached from the world and everything in it. Lonely. Weary.

Wynn understood better than most that hope and happiness could be mutually exclusive. It had been her hope that it would be different for King Thaddeus, for if anyone deserved it, it was him, but that fleeting hope now lay in shattered fragments upon the glade. The love of friends could be enough, she rationalized. It would have to be. She had learned long ago to be content whatever the circumstance and she believed that Thaddeus could too.

"My part, for now, is to serve my king in the capacity in which he has appointed me. When the time comes, it will be an honor to serve you as my queen." The ambassador offered a sweeping curtsy and a sincere, if slightly melancholy smile.

"Words fail to express my relief in knowing that you likewise seek to prepare him for his Fate, and in so doing also aid the other three lives in particular that are so steadfastly tied to his own."

Wynnsaren's eyes, now lambent beneath the stars, slid over to her tall, sylph companion and she reached over to squeeze the girl's hand.

The hand squeeze from the oracle brought Sarala out of the reverie of her own thoughts. She looked up and gave Wynn a smile like few had seen from Sarala before, pure and full of childlike honesty. Then letting go of her friend's hand she stepped forward and with impulsive grace she sat down on the soft green grass in front of the fey queen.

"I waited," Sarala's voice was eager. "because I knew that Wynn's questions would be more important to many more people. But my questions are for me, as you already know.

"They aren't even the questions my brother wishes I would ask... because I don't always understand the things that seem so important to him even when I feel like I should..."Sarala faltered, blushing a little, but never turned away from looking into Feluanil's ever stoic face. The sylph's eyes were searching, expectant, hopeful, and filled with a childlike trust. She spoke again with wonder in her voice.

"You knew me before, didn't you? Before I became who I am now. A Medvyed...
Before Thaddeus and I knew who you were, who you are, your name... And you came to me... in a dream... out in the wild lands of the Narlemarches... before..." she gestured vaguely to the land around her. "Didn't you? I remember it, some of it, and I was afraid of the memories at first, uncertain, but I feel more assured now...

"Were you the one who gave me to the Medvyeds? Was I meant to be some sort of a catalyst for this marriage? Have I done well, done what was expected of me? What is my purpose now? Will you tell me or will I just know when the time comes?

"Will your people require me back again, or am I to live among those with shorter years than I have for the rest of my life?

"Has the debt been paid?"

Finally taking her eyes off the queen Sarala bowed her head in belated courtly manners. With slight penitence she spoke again. "You gave me leave, my lady, and so I have asked."

Feluanil guided portions of her hair into spiraling patterns as she listened to the sylph, the first clue that she might have a whimsical side. However. when the youth had spent her questions in what seemed almost a single breath, all signs of flamboyance quickly disappeared. "no debts are ever repaid in full, child," the fey queen instructed. "they only accrue.

"i knew your mother," she continued without hesitation. "i was present when the spark of life extinguished from her eyes when you came into the world. i know your father. you will meet him one day, and you will rue it.

"you were a strong infant come into this world," Feluanil proclaimed, gliding forward with barely distinguishable steps. "strong and curious. when i learned that you were to be given to the medvyeds to procure the oath for thaddeus, i protested to no avail. you showed far to much promise, and olivarious medvyed acted too much the fool. he would ruin you, i explained, and he has. i see only a glimmer of the intuitiveness you possessed in your earliest days. that is why i came to you those years ago: to open your eyes. something dark this way comes, child. if you cannot see its encroachment before the arrival, thaddeus, the first of his name, will be doomed. find your curiosity again and wield it for the good of all, lest those you love--known and unknown--will die long before their mortality catches up to them."

Silky strands of sable laced through the sylph's soft white hair and brushed it in an almost motherly fashion. "for what it is worth to you, i am sorry for the life they forced upon you. it should never have been. however, it is now, and you must do with it all you are able."

Feluanil's hair disentangled itself and she drifted back a step from Sarala.

Desnus 15th, 4714, nighttime

The world was pitch black. Sarala felt off balance, slipping as the ground beneath her slowly tilted until is was perpendicular to the sky, neither of which she could see though she knew they were there. She couldn't help but wonder if this is what it felt like to be blind when the pit of her stomach sank hard and she felt the sensation of a never ending fall. She was starting to panic when ethereal beams of light shot through the darkness, past her falling body into the great void beneath her. She looked toward the light and saw that it outlined a beautiful feminine figure that was wafting towards her in fluid grace. Dark tendrils of hair danced in the light. Stray tendrils floated down into the nothingness, smoothly arresting Sarala from her fall and suspending her gently in pock lit space.

She could see a face, pearlescent, the eyes, deep gems piercing her soul.  

              "i see only a glimmer of the intuitiveness you possessed in your earliest days."

The world was bright again. Sarala could feel the grass at her finger tips.  

              "that is why i came to you those years ago: to open your eyes."

Wynn was there, and the nixie from the woods. Sarala was dressed in something stiff and sparkly. She looked down and saw Feluanil's sable tresses entwined with her own.

"something dark this way comes, child.  if you cannot see its encroachment before the arrival, thaddeus, the first of his name, will be doomed.  find your curiosity again and wield it for the good of all, lest all those you know and love--known and unknown--will die long before their mortality catches up to them."

Sarala could hear the words even though the queen's lips weren't moving. Suddenly Wynn's face was before hers. "Something dark... child..." Then is was the nixie, her voice like a bubbling stream. "Find your curiosity again.

"Find it, Sarala!

"Find your curiosity again!"



Sarala awoke with a gasp. The sky was dark again but she could see stars. She reached out a shaking hand and felt for the ground beneath her. Much to her relief it was still there, solid, unyielding, comforting. Slowly she sat up, wrapping the blanket around her shoulders. She could feel someone looking at her in the darkness. She smiled.

"It's alright, Paido the ever vigilant," she called into night, "I was awoken by a dream. I just needed a minute to gather my thoughts and I will be off to Slumberland again."

Sarala stared into the glowing embers of the fire. Her dream haunted her thoughts. Why had she dreamed of that event? It had happened nearly two years ago! She let her mind wander back through the memories of that early autumn day. She remembered being somewhat speechless after the fey queen had spoken to her. Feluanil had filled her mind with so much that she had had trouble trying form any questions in response. Their time with the queen had ended with the normal pleasantries of such a formal meeting and shortly there after she and Wynnsaren had gone back to Akiros.

Last fall Sarala had even gotten up the courage to ask Feluanil the questions that had begun to form in her head during the meeting of the delegation. Even though the answers weren't exactly what she wanted she had at least felt like she had gotten some sort closer out of the deal. So why was she dreaming about it now?

"something dark... child.

"find your curiosity again..."

The words rolled over and over in her head. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was important. Maybe when they all got back to Akiros she would try to find Wynn and have a long chat with her again.