Phaeton was killed. In the end, I was forced to use the Ruhk
Staff. If I had not done so, the city would have fallen.
“My Lady, that is not so!” Barsimmon Oridio could keep
silent no longer. “The army would have rallied. It would have
prevailed. Phaeton took too many chances or he would still be
alive!”
“He took those chances to save us!” Ellenroh was stone faced.
“Do not speak unkindly of him, Commander. I forbid it.” The
big man’s scowl deepened. “Bar.” the queen spoke gently now,
the warmth in her voice evident. “I was there. I saw it happen.”
She waited until his fierce eyes lowered, then turned her
gaze again to the table at large. “The Keel will not protect us
much longer. I have used the Ruhk Staff to strengthen it, but I
cannot do so again or we risk losing its power altogether. And
that, my friends, I cannot allow. I have called you together then
to tell you that I have decided on another course of action.”
She turned to Wren. “This is my granddaughter, Wren, the
child of Alleyne, sent to us out of the old world as Eowen Cerise
foresaw. She appears, the foretelling promises, in order that the
Elves should be saved. I have waited for her to come for many
years, not really believing that she would or that if she did she
could do anything for us. I did not want her to come, in truth,
because I was afraid that I would lose her as I lost Alleyne.”
She reached over and touched Wren’s cheek softly with her
fingers. “I am still afraid. But Wren is here despite my fears,
having crossed the vast expanse of the Blue Divide and braved
the terrors of the demons to sit now with us. I can no longer
doubt that she is meant to save us, just as Eowen foretold.” She
paused. “Wren neither fully believes nor understands this yet.”
Her eyes were warm as they found Wren’s own. “She has come
to Arborlon for reasons of her own. The shade of Allanon sum-
moned her and dispatched her to find us. The Four Lands, it
seems, are beset by demons of their own, creatures called Shad-
owen. We are needed, the shade insists, if the Four Lands are
to be preserved.”
“What happens in the Four Lands is not our problem, my
Lady,” Eton Shart advised calmly.
She turned to face him. “Yes, first Minister, that is exactly
what we have said for more than a hundred years, haven’t we?
But what if we are wrong? What if our problem is also theirs?
What if, contrary to what we have believed, the fates of all are
linked together and survival depends on the forging of a com-
mon bond? Wren, tell those gathered how you came to find me.
Tell them everything that was told to you by the Druid’s shade
and the old man. Tell them as well of the Elfstones. It will be
all right now. It is time they knew.”
So Wren related once more the story of how she and Garth
had come to Arborlon, beginning with the dreams and ending
with her discovery of who she was. She spoke hesitantly of the
Elfstones, uncertain still that she should reveal their presence.
But the queen nodded encouragingly when she began, so she
left nothing out. When she was finished, there was silence. Those
seated at the table exchanged uncertain glances. Gavilan stared
at her as if seeing her for the first time.
“Now do you understand why I think it impossible to ignore
any longer what takes place beyond Morrowindi?” the queen
asked quietly.
“My Lady, I believe we understand,” the Owl said, “but we
need to hear now what you propose to do.”
Ellenroh nodded. “Yes, Aurin Striate, you do.” The room
went still once more. “There is nothing left for us here on Mor-
rowindi,” she said finally. “Therefore, it is time for us to leave,
to return to the old world, and to become a part of it once
again. Our days of disappearance and isolation are finished. It is
time to use the Loden.”