Summaries: Pre-History (Ch. 1- 26)

This page contains descriptions of the cultures of the main groups during the pre-historical era of Summerdream, plus summaries of the individual chapters that cover this time. (Chapter 1 - 26)

The Culture of Dragons: Dragons are two-natured creature who can take two different forms. Their 'natural' form is similar to that of the humans, but they are most known for their their less used form, the giant flying lizard. This is because dragons have strict laws about not revealing their true natures to anyone who is not a dragon, so while many see them take the skies in their dragon form, none know them as people. Even in their humanoid form, dragons retain their strong sense of smell and keen predatory senses.

Dragon culture in the prehistorical era is tribal in nature, brutal, unforgiving, and very tightly structured. They tend to produce more male births than females, and have developed a polyandrous society of nest headed by a female and her mates, who all bear the same tribal makings on their arms. The males keep a strict pecking order, with their First as their leader, who keeps his nest brothers in line. Challenges by a younger mate against the First can occur frequently, depending on how violent a nest's culture is. These challenges often result in the death of either the challenged or the challenger.

Each nest is a government unto itself, but all nests follow the laws set forth by their council of elder females, who make the larger decisions for dragon society as a whole.

No dragon lives outside a nest. As soon as a male comes of age, he must be mated with a female and join her nest, or remain in his mother's nest where he will be considered and treated as a juvenile. Females normally begin searching out for a First among other male juveniles well before coming of age. As soon as she comes of age, she must form her nest with at least one mate to start with. Once her nest is established, it falls to her First to seek out and recruit more mates to grow their nest.

Dragon fertility: Female dragons have long fertility cycles. A young female will be fertile once every decade or so, and the span increases as she ages, so a thousand year old dragon may one be fertile once in a thousand years.

Dragon magic: Dragons are inherently magical creatures. Besides the magic of their transformation between their two forms, they are also able to cast protective wards on their nests that make it difficult for any non-dragons to find.

The Culture of Fairies: Unlike the dragons, Fairies have little in the way of a true culture. They have no laws or government, and simply do as they like. The two oldest and most powerful of their kind, Auberon Nightshroud and Tania Summerdream sometimes take a leadership role, but they have no real position as rulers, nor, being fairies, any true will or desire to govern.

Fairy fertility: Being immortal, fairies tend to have very low birth rates. Unlike dragons, females do not have any set cycle in which they are fertile, it simply happens when it happens.

Fairy Magic: Each individual fairy has his or her own specialties depending on what sort of fairy they are, but all of them have a few basic shared abilities, like being able to cast a simple glamour that can fool humans or dragons into either not seeing the fairy at all, or seeing something else entirely.

The Culture of Humans: Humans are the newcomers to a world long inhabited by magical creatures like dragons and fairies. In this stage of history, human culture is just developing. They live in migratory tribes that follow herds of prey animals. They are led by a chief, traditionally male, and follow the spiritual guidance of a Spirit Talker, or shaman, who can be either gender.

Human fertility: Humans make lots of babies.

Human magic: Humans are not magical creatures. Any magic they have is practiced by their shamans, who are able to enter the spirit realm and channel that power into this realm, usually for the purpose of healing or simple divination, like predicting weather and herd movements.

Chapter Summaries (1 - 26)

Chapter 1: Ico, an undine or water sprite, expresses curiosity about a dragon she and her fairy companions watch flying at some distance from them. Tania Summerdream manipulates Ico into following the dragon to see if she can get closer to him, and possibly even mount and ride him.

Ico follows the dragon through the waters to a high mountain waterfall, only to discover him in his other, non-dragon form.

Aymeri, the dragon, surprised to be found in this state, struggles against the demand of dragon law that no one outside their own kind may see them in this form and live, and instead gives into his own desire for her. The couple spend and afternoon making love, only to be interrupted by an anxious Tania, who came after Ico, hoping her scheme hadn't proved dangerous.

Seeing how things were, Tania immediately called on Ico to bind the dragon, which led Aymeri to believe he'd been seduced and fallen into a fairy trap. Angry, he swims off. Tania convinces Ico to follow him.

Chapter 2: Aymeri returns to his nest and tells his mate, Tearhne, about his encounter with the fairy and how he broke the law by letting her live.

Ico, who followed Aymeri to his nest, is captured by Brys, the youngest of Tearhne's mates. Aymeri then has to admit his transgression to all his brothers, and suggests that they cast him and his fairy lover out, so that only he should be held accountable for breaking the law. As he expects, his nest brothers choose to stand or fall with him, and accept Ico's presence in their nest.

Chapter 3: Tearhne brings the issue of the fairy her First has brought into her nest with the elder females, suggesting the laws be amended to allow fairies into their circles. Because it is known that a second fairy, Tania, is wandering free with the knowledge of their secret, the only other option for the dragons is al out war with the fae, to destroy them and their knowledge of the dragons' secret. The elders are split between both courses.

Meanwhile, Tearhne's third mate, Riain, is out wandering, and comes upon the first humans ever seen in these parts, two hunters pursuing a horse. The hunters shoot and take down the horse, who turns out not to be a horse at all, but a fairy who had taken the form of a horse. Riain comes out of hiding to stop the humans from killing her, killing the humans. He then takes the unconscious fairy to a place where her kind would find her easily, keeping himself undiscovered. He is not aware that the fairy, Shayeleigh, did actually get a glimpse of him before she fell unconscious.

Chapter 4: Auberon and Tania heal Shayeleigh and question her about the creatures who hunted her, and ask how she was brought back to them. Shayeleigh tells them about the humans, but pretends not to know how she was carried from there to here, keeping what she saw of Riain to herself.

In turn, Auberon and Tania don't tell her their suspicions that a dragon might be involved.

Riain also keeps Shayeleigh out of the story  he tells his nest brothers about his encounter with the strange new creatures hunting their lands.

Worried about Ico, who hasn't returned from following Aymeri, Auberon makes a mental search for her, but cannot get to her through the dragons' protective wards on their nest. So, he calls on Moth, a fairy who can take the form of any flying insect, and commands him to find Ico and see how she is.

Moth finds Ico and gets her away from the dragons long enough for her to tell him that the dragons might be planning war on their kind.

Riain goes out on his own again, and is joined by Shayeleigh, in her horse form, wishing to thank him for his rescue, but too shy to reveal herself to him. Even though they cannot speak while she's in animal form, they form a bond.

Chapter 5: Moth reports to Auberon, who does not take the prospect of war very well.

Aymeri returns to the nest with no decision from the female elders, who remain in discussion, and tells his brothers it's not looking good, as many seem to favor war over changing their ancient laws.

Ico begs to be allowed to leave and return to her kind. Aymeri tells her she's not a prisoner, but asks her to stay, as he's worried about her safety with tensions running so high. And he asks for her continued support as he works to change the laws. Ico agrees.

Meanwhile, Riain meets with Shayeleigh again, and this time she takes her true form, and they make love. They are come upon by a dragon from another nest, Hayder. Hayder is firmly on the side of making war with the fairies and is outraged by seeing another dragon having illegal relations with a fairy, and attacks Riain, throwing him violently against the rocks. With Riain unconscious, possibly dead, Hayder turns on Shayeleigh, who turns herself into a poisonous snake and kills Hayder.

Chapter 6: Emrys, a male from Hayder's nest, comes into Aymeri's nest ad reports on how he discovered Hayder's body, and that he found Riain's blood in the water, but no signs of Riain himself.  Aymeri and his second, Seirian, set off to find Riain, along with Emrys, who is Riain's father, and Ico.

At the scene, Ico uses her affinity for water to see what happened at the spot where Riain fell, while Aymeri tells Emrys that the very pungent floral scent in the area indicates that someone had been making love to a fairy on this spot.

Not knowing where else to go, Shayeleigh had brought her injured lover to Auberon to be healed. Auberon does heal the dragon, but, viewing the dragon as a potential threat looking to make war on his kind,  also keeps him captive and tortures him, trying to get information on where Ico is. 

Tania tries to convince Shayeleigh that Riain lied to her and seduced her.

Chapter 7: Ico admits to Aymeri that she sent a message to Auberon about the possibility of war, and suggests that if Shayeleigh brought the dragon to him, Auberon might hold him hostage. A call from the female dragons, returning from council, compels the males to return to their nests. Ico says that she will go back to her kind and see what has become of Riain, and the dragons can meet up with her later.

Shayeleigh talks Auberon down and gets him to stop torturing Riain, though not releasing him. Shayeleigh also reveals that she's pregnant with Riain's child, something no one had even considered was possible. Riain promises to fight on the side of fairies if it comes to war, despite what Auberon did to him, for Shayeleigh's sake and for their child.

Back in her nest, Tearhne reveals that no decision has been reached. The council broke only so Radhari, who had just lost her First, Hayder, could attend to her nest's transition.

Aymeri sets out as soon as she delivers her news to find Ico. Emrys, now the new First of his nest since Hayder's death, faces a small challenge from one of his younger nest-brothers, but stops it from becoming violent while asserting his authority as First. He then talks his mate, Radhari, into supporting the peace side in the council.

Walking alone at night back to find Auberon, Ico is taken captive by a pair of human hunters.

Chapter 8: Auberon senses Ico's distress as she's taken captive, and asks for Riain's help in finding her. Riain agrees, if only for the greater good. They come upon Aymeri and Emrys, also out looking for Ico, and the two groups team up. Since Ico never made it back to the fairies, they worry she might have been taken captive by a hostile dragon nest.

Ico wakes to find herself in a human hut, held prisoner in a magic circle she cannot step out of. Her captor is an older woman, the tribe's shaman, named Aven. Aven's teen daughter, Uvie, finds herself curiously drawn to the fairy her mother caught.

Chapter 9: While searching for Ico, Auberon and the dragon's run across a young dragon couple, Arienh, the juvenile daughter of Radhari, and Kirwyn, a younger son of Aymeri's mother Aithne, who will be Arienh's First when she comes of age. Since Aithne is one of the mot hostile nests, pressing for war, they question about Ico, but he has no information.

Impatient with their slow progress, Auberon tries to find Ico in his own way. He's been unable to make mental contact with her, so he makes it rain, and puts a piece of his consciousnss into each raindrop, so that should one fal on her, anywhere in this world, he will find her. This process exhaust him greatly.

Back in the human camp, Uvie learns that her mother plans to sacrifice the fairy and take her power somehow, and decides to help. Inside the hut, Ico can sense Auberon's presence in the rain he made fall, but cannot touch it to make contact with him. Uvie expresses her wish to help her, but cannot undo the magic circle her mother made. Ico imbues a bowl of water with her own spirit, and instructs Uvie to carry it somewhere away from he camp, and to tell the fairy that will appear where she is.

When his raindrops hit the water in the bowl, Auberon feels Ico and teleports himself to that location, leaving the dragons behind. Finding a human girl and no Ico, Auberon is suspicious and demands information.

Chapter 10: Uvie explains the situation to Auberon, and makes him promise to not take revenge on her people. He agrees, but makes no promise about her mother. Having little energy left after the rain magic, and needing to save some to confront the shaman that holds Ico, Auberon finds himself in a difficult position when they get to the outskirts of the village. Creating a glamour to make himself invisble while he walks through the village would use up more energy than he can spare. So Auberon takes a risk and gives a jewel to Uvie, one that contains a piece of himself, and instructs her to take it into the hut and summon him.

In her hut, Uvie is attacked by her abusive crazy mother for leaving the fairy unattended. Auberon appears and pulls Aven off the girl. He offers himself in trade for Ico. Aven releases Ico, and Auberon then cuts Aven's connection to the spirit world, leaving her in a near catatonic state.

He leaves with Ico, forgetting that Uvie is till in possession of his jewel.

Chapter 11: Left behind by Auberon, Riain and Aymeri start heading for the fairy lands, assuming Auberon would bring her home with him when he found her. On the way, Riain reveals to Aymeri that  he's fathered a child on his fairy lover.

Auberon collapses from exhaustion once he's back home, and Ico immediately sets out in search of Aymeri. They meet and the two dragon-fairy couples discuss their futures.

Chapter 12: Uvie is hiding her mother's incapacitation from her tribe, but knows that can't last, so she takes her first spirit journey, to become a true shaman and take her mother's place in the tribe. In the spirit realm, a crow demands she hand over the heart. Realizing the crow mens Auberon's jewel, which she still has, Uvie takes it out, and whispers his name. Auberon appears, but cannot be sustained in this realm, so collapses at her feet. An evil spirit in the form of hr mother fights Uvie and attempts to take the jewel, which vie swallows to protect it. Swallowing Auberon's heart gives her new powers, which she uses to mentally push the Aven spirite off a cliff.

When she returns to reality, she finds her mother has died because of what she did in the spirit realm. Auberon appears again to comfort her, tells her that his magic became a permanent part of her when she swallowed his heart, and promises to help her learn to use it.

Chapter 13: Aymeri barges in on the female council, revealing that Riain has gotten a child on a fairy, and makes the case for peace. Tearhne stands with him, against his mother Aithne, who accuses him of weakness and argues for war. A decision for peace is finally made. 

Back in the privacy of their nest, Tearhne chastises Aymeri for not conferring with her before going before the council.

Auberon tells Tania about the human girl who has his heart. Tania suggests he kill her and take it back. They argue. Auberon asserts that Uvie is under his protection, and Tania secretly vows to get him back somehow.

Uvie proves herself worthy to take her mother's place to her tribe's chief.

Chapter 14: Auberon visits Uvie'sdreams to help train her in the use of magic. 

Aithne, unable to accept the ruling for peace, breaks off with a few other nests flowing her, and sets off to find a new home somewhere. Her son, Kirwyn, still not mated while he waits for Arienh to come of age, refuses to leave with his mother. She sends a message to the other dragons by beating him cruelly, nearly to death, before leaving.

Chapter 15: A new group of humans arrives, the remains of tribe that had been nearly destroyed by Aithne and her followers, who have grown even more violent out on their own. The group have their own shaman among them, a man named Ardax, who immediately notices something different about Uvie.

Uvie and Auberon continue to met in dream world he says are created by their merged consciosness. Of late, a strange new image, a statue of woman, keeps appearing in their shared landscape, though neither can say what it is or its significance. Uvie and Auberon's relationship grows romantic.

Chapter 16: The chief of the human tribe decides that having two shamans would divide the tribe, so he suggests Uvie mate with Ardax to solve that issue. Uvie rfuses, and angrily confronts Ardax about the plan. Ardax calmly explaind that he's still in mourning for his mate and their children who died in the dragon attack, and is not interested in her, either. He also offers to help her in her new position, as he's older and has more experience.

Tania sent Moth to listen in on this discussion, and comes up with a plan to use Ardax's grief against him for her own ends. She comes on the shaman alone and makes him a promise he cannot refuse.

Later that night, Uvie awakes to find a possessed Ardax leaning over her with a dagger, prepared to kill her. They struggle, and Auberon appears to protect her. vie stops him from killing Ardax, knowing that he's been possessed. Auberon quickly realizes it's Tania in control of Ardax's body, and, found out, Tania flees, leaving Ardax's consciousness locked away in a dream.

Uvie uses the lessons her mother taught her to find Ardax in the dream world, back with the mate and children he'd lost, and help him find his way back into his body.

Once Ardax is safe, Auberon returns to Uvie and they make love for the first time.

Chapter 17: Auberon confronts Tania about her attempt to kill Uvie through Ardax. Tania accuses him of becoming soft under the influence of his mortal lover. Auberon admits he is changing, and that he likes it. He then casts a spell on Tania that will cause her to fall in love with the first person she meets on waking.

That unfortunate person is Tegan, a dragon whose mate had followed Aithne when she left. Tegan had become increasingly disturbed by the violence they had be perpetrating, and decided to return on his, and is now seeking out Aymeri.

Tania is able to lead Tegan to Aymeri's nest, where he informs them of what has been happening with Aithne's followers.

Uvie confids in Ardax about her fairy lover, anddiscovers she's pregnant. She tells Auberon, asking him to take her to live with him. He says he cannot do that, but that he's always with her in spirit.

After night falls, Tania continues to throw herself at Tegan until he finally succumbs. That night, Shayeleigh also gives birth to her son with Riain, who they name Ametair. The birth is witnessed by a unicorn who enters their camo and seems to confer his blessing on the newborn.

In the morning, Tania's spell is broken, and she reacts angrily to waking in Tegan's arms.

Chapter 18: Tania and Auberon have a frank discussion about their relationship, in which she expresses her desire to have a child and her jealousy that his mortal lover is carrying his. Auberon expresses some regret that he can't give her what she wants.

Ardax and Uvie discuss her situation. Many in the tribe believe he's the father of her unborn child and is doing her wrong by not taking her as a mate. Ardax doesn't like being thought of as a crap father, but promises Uvie he won't say anything about the real father of her child, and offers to be her mate, not for real, but to stop all the gossip, and so her child will have a human father to help raise her, since her real father won't be around much. Uvie agrees.

Shayeleigh and Riain worry about their growing son, who seems to be neither dragon nor fairy, but something else entirely.

Tania's jealousy and desire for a child grows, and she finds herself still under the lingering attraction for the dragon, Tegan.

Uvie gives birth to a blue-skinned baby girl, which frightens the tribe's chief. Ardax attempt to allay his concerns. Uvie names her daughter Evenfall. Auberon visits his daughter after they've all gone to sleep. After he leaves, a pair of green feet are seen approaching the sleeping Uvie and her child.

Chapter 19: Uvie and Ardax wake to find Evenfall gone, replaced by a strange and disturbing doll. Uvie tries to make mental contact with Auberon, and fails, frightening her further. She calls out to Ico for help. Ico sees the fetch doll and realizes it must be Tania. She tries to reassure Uvie, and sets off to find Tania and the baby.

Ico returns to Aymeri's camp to find Moth there, asking for help, saying Tania had put Auberon under a spel. Ico and Tegan go with Moth, and find Tnia with the baby and un unconscious Auberon. She says th spell he's under will keep him asleep until Uvie dies, and that she intends to raise the baby herself. After a stern lecture from Tegan, Tania hands the baby over to Ico. But she's not able to undo the spell she put on Auberon.

Ico returns Evenfall to Uvie, and promises to protect her. That night, Uvie meets Auberon in a dream, and he tells her he won't be able to see her outside of dreams while under Tania's spell.

Chapter 20: Evenfall grows into a toddler. She's very obviously inherited her father's fae nature. Uvie tells Ico that she's not seeing Auberon even in dreams very much lately, and she's worried. 

Ico visits Auberon in his dream realm, and suggests that when Evenfall gets older, she'd be strong enough to break Tania's spell and allow him to reunite with Uvie. Auberon tells her hedoesn't want to be released, that he's sen some greatness in Uvie's future that won't happen if he's around to distract her.

Having lived so long without even deam contact with Auberon, Uvie has grown a bit ditant from him, and closer to Ardax, who is her mate in name only, as they lived together in a celibate relationship. Uvie admits to Ardax that she'd like more, and he admits that his own memories of his dead wife are not enough anymore, either. They make love for the first time.

That night, Auberon does visit Uvie in her dream, giving his blessing to her new relationship and informing her that she's pegnant, and that even her human children will carry the magic she got from him when she swallowed his heart jewel.

Chapter 21: Time has passed, and Evenfall is a teen. Uvie has had two children with Ardax, a boy, Kvornan, and a girl, Kairi, both also teens.

Evenfall sees her father in dreams and offers to free him from his prison, which he refuses, telling her that dreams are his natural home, anyway.

Tegan visits the nest of his adult daughter and plays with his young grandson, and muses on the changes in dragon culture since he was young, a time when it was unheard of for a parent to have much contact with adult children or grandchildren. He also meets up with Tania; the two have continued their sexual liaison, compelled by the spell that entwined them. Tania begs him for a child, and he tells her her infertility is her problem, not his, and that it's probably for the best that she hasn't conceived.

Late that night, Evenfall is awakened while she sleeps in the hut with her human family by her lover, the dragon Talfryn, Aymeri's son by Tearhne, also a teen. She admonishes him for taking such a risk by coming ino the human village, but goes out to the woods to make love to him. Unbeknownst to her, her sister Kairi awoke and followed her.

Chapter 22: Coming back from her tryst with Talfryn, Evie is confronted by Kairi, who wants to know all about her sister's boyfriend, and what tribe he's from. Knowing the strict dragon laws against humans knowing about their secret form, Evie uses her magic to erase her sister's memory of that night.

Kvornan, Uvie's son by Ardax, makes his first spirit walk. His vision is very different from expcted; he finds himself in a room made of stone, watching as two ghostly figures fight. The male figure accuses the female of witchcraft, and kills her in front of an altar. Kvornan notices that he woman's features resembles his mother's, and his own.

Chapter 23: Kvornan's vision continues. A raven offers to teach him to take his form. In the form of the ravem, Kvornan perches outside the window of a house, and looks in on a girl inside. The girl sees him, and opens the window, coaxing him. She realizes he's no ordinary bird, and casts a spel on him to revert him back to his true form. She tells him her name is Jennail of House Tricou, and there is an obvious attraction between the two teens. Kvornan's vision ends abruptly.

Evie decides the only way to keep Talfryn from exposing the dragon's secret to the humans is for her to move into Aymeri's nest with Ico, who welcomes her. Aymeri also welcomes her, and questions the two of them until they reveal that Talfryn had been visitng her in the human village, which is forbidden. Aymeri has words with his son, and comes close to striking him, which he feels badly about, as he worries about becoming as violent as his mother. Ico assures him that that's not the case.

Chapter 24: Another jump forward in time. Ardax is an old man. His daughter Kairi is grown up and mated to the current chief of their tribe, the son of the old chief, and his son Kvornan is a skilled shaman like himself, with his mother's magic. Understanding that this is his last day, Ardax spends it with each of his family members. He tries to get Kvornan to finally choose a mate and have a family, but the young man intends to continue pursuing the girl he saw in his first vision, who he is convinced is out there somewhere.

Ardax then says goodbye to Uvie. He dies and is buried in a new cave tomb the formerly wandering people have built now that they've made a permanent settlement here.

That night, Uvie dreams she is young again and with Ardax. Very quickly, she understands it's Auberon she's with, and she's overcome with grief. Auberon apologizes, saying he only wanted to help. She makes him promise to help her son find the girl he's looking for, and care for him the way Ardax had cared for Evenfall.

Auberon seeks Kvornan in a dream, and tells the young man of his promise to Uvie.

Chapter 25: A few more years have passed. Jennicor Winterdream, sister to Tania, has returned from long journeys afar, bringing with her a gandharva named Suchandra, looking for help from the dragons here. His people have been at war with Aithne and her followers and are not faring well. Many dragons agree to go with him to war.

Jennicor visits Auberon as well, trying to enlist his considerable powers against the dragons. She points out that he always had the ability to break Tania's spell. Auberon refuses to help, saying their war isn't his business. Remembering his own promise to Uvie, which he's still not been able to fulfll, he asks Jennicor if in her travels she's ever encountered a girl called Jennail, or a House Tricou. Jennicor has heard of neither.

Kvornan trains his niece, Zamira to be a shaman inside a great stone circle he's had erected over the tomb of his father. He has never mated or had children of his own. Evenfall visits him, to say goodbye before she sets off to war with Talfryn and the other dragons. Kvornan suggests she visit their mother, who won't be around much longer. Evie, not comfortable with old age and mortality, refuses. 

The dragons fly off to war. That night, Uvie passes. Kvornan holds a funeral for her in the tomb, during which Auberon casts a spell of light to shimmer around her body. This frightens the people, and Kvornan quickly comes up with an explanation that it's a sign that Uvie's spirit will continue to watch over them.

Once Kvornan is alone in the tomb, Auberon appears. He kisses Uvie one last time, and takes the heart jewel from her body, giving it to Kvornan.

Chapter 26: The war is over, and many died defeating Aithne's followers. Among the dead are Tearhne, Brys, Tegan and Kirwyn. It's a few years after the war, and Seirian is sitting alone, musing. He stayed behind to raise the young daughter he had with Tearhne, and now she's gone, and he lives in Aymeri's unconventional camp. Though he's had offers from other females, he won't leave Aymeri and remains unmated. Arienh, another war widow who has chosen to remain in Aymeri's camp,  joins Seirian in his solitude. As a healer, he'd been treating a fever she'd been having, but it's now clear the fever was actually the first sign of hr oncoming fertility cycle, which has onset several years early than wold be normal for her.

After Kirwyn's death, she had still not taken a new mate. Seirian suggests she do so now, as the scent  fertile female dragon gives off has a powerful effect on males, and an unmated female would be a target for aggression in that state. Arienh asks Seirian to be her mate, and that they could continue living in Aymeri's nest rather than breaking off to form their own, as tradition would have.

Kvornan passed the haman position onto his niece as soon as she was old enough, and then he set out into the world in earch of the girl from hi vision. Along th way, he meets many other humans, teaches them how to build the stone circles that function as calendars, and tells stories about his mother that spread her name throughout the human tribes. But he never does find what he's seeking and returns to his home as an old man. He collapses some ditance from his village, and is carried away by Evenfall, who regrets not being with their mother when she passed, and intends to d o better for her brother. Auberon is also in attendance at the death bed, upset that he was unable to fulfill his promise to Uvie. Kvornan forgives him, but Auberon is not appeased. As Kvornan dies, Auberon catches his departing spirit and binds it to a gem, intending to keep searching for the girl and carry out his promise. Evenfall reproaches him, saying he trapped Kvornan's spirit unfairly. Auberon gives her the jewel to do with as she pleases. Evenfall considers freeing her brother's spirit, but finds that she cannot, and holds onto the jewel.