Darkvision

Eined's seat was empty. No surprise there. But so was Grandfather Shaddon's. When Warian was regularly attending family council meetings five years earlier, Shaddon never missed a meeting. Warian wondered what could be so important that Shaddon would allow Xaemar to have the final word over Datharathi Minerals. Shaddon was a right bastard despite being his grandfather, and would rather be damned than give Xaemar or any other family member carte blanche over the family business, even if Xaemar was a prodigy of business leadership. Also at the table sat a pair of third cousins that Warian didn't know well, Barden and Corlaen. They seemed fascinated by Xaemar's droning. His uncle was elucidating something about distribution, levies, port fees-Warian tuned him out again. Two of the empty seats had belonged to Warian's parents. Warian tried to push the memory aside. He'd always wondered about the accident that had taken them. Something never seemed right. When Xaemar finally wound down, his eyes alighted on Warian and widened slightly, as if seeing his nephew for the first time, even though Warian felt as if he had just sat through an eternity of Xaemar's talk. "Young Warian!" Xaemar exclaimed. "Reports of your return were accurate, and timely! Don't worry, I've put time in the agenda for you. Please tell us why you've deigned to return.

Zel said you had something to ask of the council." Xaemar gave a patently false smile. His uncle couldn't care less if Warian was ever seen again, and in fact, may have preferred it that way. Warian decided to dispense with pleasantries. Getting quickly to the point was a Datharathi trait his family would appreciate. "I returned because the crystal arm Shaddon gave me has begun to… malfunction in a peculiar fashion." "That's awful!" exclaimed Aunt Sevaera. She looked critically at his arm. "Slow and ugly as ever, but it looks functional." "Thanks, Aunt. Yes, I know my artificial limb's inelegant lines don't match the latest Datharathi fashion." Warian nodded toward his cousin Barden's svelte, lifelike crystal arm that matched with almost perfect fidelity the arm Barden had been born with. Warian's own fake arm was angular and faceted in comparison. Xaemar brightened.

"That's right-our plangent line has been enormously successful in Vaelan. We can charge outrageous rates. Shaddon says we're ready to begin offering plangent upgrades outside Vaelan-beyond the Durpar region, even, if the price is right." "How great for you," said Warian. "Now-about my prosthesis…" Xaemar inclined his head but began to tap impatiently on the marble table. Warian knew that his time was ru

"Well, well, well," muttered Xaemar. "Can it be your prototype arm has discovered something of the elan that resonates in our own plangent suite of prostheses? Shaddon said that…" Again, the pause. The hairs on Warian's nape prickled when he realized everyone in the room paused as if to ponder the same thing-everyone but him and Zel. He shot Zel a puzzled look. Uncle Zeltaebar looked a little worried.

Breaking out of his thoughts, Xaemar continued speaking as if there had been no pause. "All experimental crystal implants were to be destroyed and replaced with crystal from the newest veins, as Shaddon instructed. He said crystal mined from the older veins was compromised and prone to malfunction. It could be your arm is teetering on the edge of complete malfunction." Xaemar delivered this dismal news in a ma

You'll have to travel to the site to see him directly." "Oh, come on!" protested Warian. He hated "the site"- the peculiar mine where one of the family's many mining tu

Maybe in a few days, after I've had time to see what I've missed in Vaelan in the last five years. And I want to help locate Eined!" His family stared at him, quiet and considering. Then Aunt Sevaera said,

"If you want our help on this, Nephew, you'll abide by the schedules we set." Warian frowned, then asked, purely for informational purposes, "When's the next skyship leaving?" "Tonight!" Xaemar rubbed his hands together. Disquietingly, so did Sevaera, Barden, and Corlaen. What the…? "However, before we make preparations for Warian's trip, we can't forget Zel is due to give a report." Xaemar turned slightly in his chair to fix Zeltaebar with a glare from his single, violet-tinged crystal eye. Xaemar asked, "Where is Eined?"