Nightchild

Washing and dressing quickly in a pair of pale brown breeches, a wool shirt and leather jerkin supplied by Ren'erei, Erie

Normally a bundle of energy that rose with the dawn, Lya

Up on deck, Erie

Throughout an anxious day, they crawled between islands. An idyllic lagoon setting would give way to a scatter of lifeless rock fists or a sweeping volcanic atoll, its ridges obscured by cloud. Up in the rigging, the crew stood waiting as they had yesterday, ready to reef or unfurl sail on barked command, and the jib was slackened any time the wind picked up pace.

The threat beneath the waves removed the romance of this final leg of the voyage, and though Erie

In the middle of the afternoon, with the cloud blowing away to leave a blanket of blue sky, the temperature rose as the wind dropped. Lya

'What is it, sweet?' asked Erie

'We're here,' said Lya

Skirting the edge of the island, the ship turned slowly to run down a cha

cliffs towered above them on both sides now, closing in above their heads, the shrill cries of gulls echoing down to them from where they circled high above or sat on precariously sited nests.

But it was at the end of the cha

Moving steadily down the widening cha

'You are here, Lya

The name sent shivers down Erie

Yet the idea that descendants of the One had survived had never been conclusively disproved and through the centuries, enough mages had been strong enough to state their beliefs and perpetuate what had appeared at best a myth.

Now, Erie

'How many are there?' she asked.

'Only four remain,' replied Ren'erei. 'Your daughter truly

represents the last hope for furtherance of our cause.' She placed a hand on Lya

'Are they dying then?' Erie

'They are very old,' replied the elf. 'And they've been waiting for you a long time. They couldn't have waited too much longer.'

Erie

'What will we find there?' she mused, not really expecting an answer.

'Peace, goodness, purity. Age.' She looked into Erie

'She is,' said Erie

'Tell me, Ren'erei, how many of you serve them? The Al-Drechar, that is.'

'We are few. Forty-three in all, but our sons and daughters will carry on the work until we are not needed any more, one way or another. We've served them for generations, ever since the Sundering, but the honour is undiminished.' She stood tall, pride on her face. 'We are the Guild of Drech and we will not falter until our service is fulfilled. All else is secondary.' She turned from Erie

The ship dropped anchor about a quarter of a mile off the bleak northern coast of the island. Only the most tenacious of vegetation clung to the towering rock wall ahead of them and waves raced into crash against hard stone. In the sky, a few birds circled, their calls lost in the breeze.

Immediately they were stationary, the crew began unlashing the three long boats and lowering them into the water. Scrambling-nets and ladders followed, and a brief flurry of activity saw luggage and supplies passed swiftly down to be securely fastened to two of the craft. Each boat took four oarsmen and a skipper. Erie

shoulders, very quiet and pale, as the elf descended swiftly to the boat that would carry them ashore.

The crews pulled away strongly, heading for a shore apparently barren of landing sites. But rounding a spit hidden from shipboard view, they beached on a narrow stretch of shingle, away from which a path climbed up and disappeared through a cleft in the rocks. Ren'erei helped Erie

'Not far now,' she said. 'Just one last climb. The crew will bring up all your things.'

The path was well kept, its steps long, carefully carved and shallow in the rise, and it wound up in a deliberately gende incline overlooked by birch trees.

Looking back down the stairway, Erie