entire race. The whole of the strength of the Elven nation went
into invoking the Loden’s magic.” He cleared his throat. ‘When
it was done, all of Arborlon had been picked up like . . . like a
scoop of earth, shrunk down to nothing, and sealed within the
Stone. And that’s what I mean when I say Arborlon was brought
to Morrowindl. It was sealed inside the Loden along with most
of its people and carried by just a handful of caretakers to this
island. Once a site for the city was found, the process was re-
versed and Arborlon was restored. Men, women, children, dogs,
cats, birds, animals, houses and shops, trees, flowers, grass-
everything. The Ellcrys, too. All of it.”
He sat back and the sharp eyes narrowed. “So now what do
you say?”
Wren was stunned. “I say you’re right, Owl. I don’t believe
it. I can’t conceive of how the Elves were able to recover some-
thing that had been lost for thousands of years that fast. Where
did it come from? They hadn’t any magic at all in the time of
Brin and Jair Ohmsford-only their healing powers!”
The Owl shrugged. “I don’t pretend to know how they did
any of it, Wren. It was long before my time. The queen might
know-but she’s never said a word about it to me. I only know
what I was told, and I’m not sure if I believe that. The city and
its people were carried here in the Loden. That’s the story. And
that’s how the Keel was built, too. Well, it was actually con-
structed of stone by hand labor first, but the magic that protects
it came out of the Loden. I was a boy then, but I remember the
old king using the Ruhk Staff. The Ruhk Staff holds the Loden
and channels the magic.”
“You’ve seen this?” Wren asked doubtfully.
“I’ve seen the Staff and its Stone many times,” the Owl an-
swered. “I saw them used only that once.”
“What about the demons?” Wren went on, wanting to learn
more, trying to make sense of what she was hearing. “What of
them? Can’t the Loden and the Ruhk Staff be used against them?”
The Owl’s face darkened, changing expression so quickly
that it caught Wren by surprise. “No,” he answered quietly.
“The magic is useless against the demons.”
“But why is that?” she pressed. “The magic of the Elfstones
I carry can destroy them. Why not the magic of the Loden?”
He shook his head. “It’s a different kind of magic, I guess.”
He didn’t sound very sure of himself. Quickly Wren said,
“Tell me where the demons came from, Owl?”
Aurin Striate looked uncomfortable. “Why ask me, Wren
Elessedil?”
“Ohmsford,” she corrected at once.
“I don’t think so.”
There was a strained silence as they faced each other, eyes
locked. “They came out of the magic, too, didn’t they?” Wren
said finally, unwilling to back off.
The Owl’s sharp gaze was steady. “You ask the queen, Wren.
You talk with her.”
He rose abruptly. “Now that you know how the city got
here, according to legend at least, let’s finish looking around.
There’s three sets of gates in the Keel, one main and two small.
See over there . .
He started off, still talking, explaining what they were seeing,
steering the conversation away from the questions no one
seemed to want to answer. Wren listened halfheartedly, more
interested in the tale of how the Elves had come to Morrowindl.
It required such incredible magic to gather up an entire city,
reduce it to the size of an Elfstone, and seal it inside for a
journey that would carry it over an ocean. She still could not
Conceive of it. Elven magic recovered from out of faerie, from
a time that was barely remembered-it was incredible. All that
power, and still no way to break free of the demons, no way to
destroy them. Her mouth tightened against a dozen protesta-
tions. She really didn’t know what to believe.
They spent the morning and the early part of the afternoon
walking through the city. They climbed to the ramparts and