of faerie. They did so after discovering that the magic had its
source in the earth and its elements. Even before we came to
Morrowindl, years ago, long before my time, a decision was
made to attempt a recovery.” She paused. “That effort was not
entirely successful. Eventually it was abandoned completely.
What magic was left went into the formation of the Keel. But
the magic exists only so long as there is need. Once the city is
gone, the need is gone. When that happens, the magic disap-
pears.”
“And cannot be reinstated once you return to the West-
land?”
Ellenroh’s face turned to stone. “No, Wren. Never again.”
“You assume . . .” Gavilan began.
“Never!” Ellenroh snapped, and Gavilan went still.
“My Lady.” Eton Shart drew her attention gently. “Even if
we do what you suggest and invoke the power of the Loden,
what chance do we have of getting back to the Westland? The
demons are all about. As you say, we have barely been able to
hold our own within the walls of the city. What happens when
those walls are gone? Will even our army be enough to get us
to the beaches? And what happens to us then without boats and
guides?”
“The army cannot hold the beaches for long, my Lady,”
Barsimmon Oridlo agreed.
“No, Bar, it can’t,” the queen said. “But I don’t propose to
use the army. I think our best chance is to leave Morrowindl as
we came to it-just a handful of us carrying the Loden and the
rest safely captured inside.”
There was stunned silence.
“A handful, my Lady?” Barsimmon Oridio was aghast. “They
won’t stand a chance!”
“Well, that’s not necessarily true,” Aurin Striate quietly
mused.
The queen smiled. “No, Aurin, it isn’t. After all, my grand-
daughter is proof of that. She came through the demons with
no one to help her but her friend Garth. The truth of the matter
is that a small party stands a far better chance of getting clear
than an entire army. A small party can travel quickly and with-
out being seen. It would be a hazardous journey, but it could
be done. As for what would happen once that party reached the
beaches, Wren has already made those arrangements for us. The
Wing Rider Tiger Ty will be there with his Roc to convey at
least one of us and the Loden to safety. Other Wing Riders can
remove the rest. I have thought this through carefully and I
believe it is the answer to our problem. I think, my friends, it
is the only answer.”
Gavilan shook his head. He was calm now, his handsome
face composed. “My Lady, I know how desperate things have
become. But if this gamble you propose fails, the entire Elven
nation will be lost. Forever. If the party carrying the Loden is
killed, the power of the Elfstone cannot be invoked and the city
and its people will be trapped inside. I don’t think it is a risk we
can afford to take.”
“Isn’t it, Gavilan?” the queen asked softly.
“A better risk would be to summon further magic from the
earth,” he replied. His hands lifted to ward off her sharp protest.
“I know the dangers. But this time we might be successful. This
time the magic might be strong enough to keep us safe within
the Keel, to keep the dark things locked without.”
“For how long, Gavilan? Another year? Two? And our peo-
ple still imprisoned within the city?”
“Better that than their extinction. A year might give us the
time we need to find a method to control the earth magic. There
must be a way, my Lady. We need only discover it.”
The queen shook her head sadly. “We have been telling
ourselves that for more than a hundred years. No one has found
the answer yet. Look at what we have done to ourselves.
Haven’t we learned anything?”
Wren did not comprehend entirely what was being said, but
she understood enough to realize that somewhere along the line
the Elves had run into problems with the magic they had sum-
moned. Ellenroh was saying they should have nothing further