The Dream Spheres

The day was fine, and the shops were crowded with people eager to enjoy the last warm days. Before the moon waned and waxed twice, many of the revelers would quit the city in search of softer climes. They poured into the streets for one last, hectic bustle of commerce and festivity.

So many people milled about the streets that passage by carriage was impossible. Danilo settled with the halfling driver and led the way through the crowd toward an elegant, dark-timbered building.

A tilted hourglass decorated a carved and painted sign, and markings proclaimed it to be The Curious Past, using not one language but three: the trade language known as Common, beautifully rendered Elvish script, and the squat, emphatic figures of the dwarven runes. Behind the small-paned windows, each of which was etched with the same hourglass design, was a pleasing jumble of trinkets and treasures.

Arilyn liked Bronwyn at first glance. The Harper was of average height for a woman, nearly a head shorter than Arilyn. She wore neither the weapons nor the ma

"A pleasure," Bronwyn said with genuine warmth. "Dan has spoken of you."

"And of you, a scholar and adventurer," she repeated, seeing the truth of both.

The woman laughed. "Fine words! That's a sure sign that he wants something from me."

"Guilty," Danilo said with a grin. He quickly described the situation.

"I know of Elaith Craulnober," Bronwyn murmured. She turned a dry smile upon her friend. "Either you have a very high opinion of me or a very low one."

"Dealing with Elaith often requires the best of both philosophies," he admitted.

"Well, that's why you're here," Bronwyn said matter-of-factly. "As it turns out, I do have a legitimate errand to attend—or more accurately, an illegitimate one."

She went to a case and removed from it a waterfall of glittering, pale green stones, artfully woven into a necklace. "The stones are peridot, considered only semiprecious in the north but highly prized in Mulhorand and the lands of the Old Empires as gems fit for royalty. Lovely, aren't they?"

Arilyn shrugged. Jewelry was nice enough, but irrelevant.

"Good eye," Bronwyn congratulated her, misunderstanding her lack of enthusiasm. "There are exactly two genuine peridots in this lot. The rest are crystal. The gem merchant who hired me wants more of the same. If Elaith is nosing about among the crystal merchants, I'll have a reason to follow—or at least bump elbows."

"Splendid," Danilo agreed happily as he rose to leave.

"You've just got here," the merchant scolded him. "Perhaps Arilyn would like to see some of the elven pieces first?"

Danilo pantomimed a pained expression and reached pointedly for his coin bag. "Didn't I tell you she was good at her business?" he asked Arilyn.

"These are not for sale," Bronwyn said with brisk good humor as she led the way to a long, glass-covered box. "I recovered these for the elves of the Pantheon Temple. To be honest, I'm hoping you can shed some light on them. I like to know the history of the pieces I collect. These appear to be personal possessions, but there is apparently some sort of sacred significance to them."

Arilyn's heart pounded as she studied the objects in the case. There was a small flute grown from green crystal, an emerald pendant, a leather bracer dyed green and tooled with beautiful, mystic designs. There was a small, stylized sculpture of Ha

"The color is significant, isn't it?" Bronwyn went on.

"Yes." Arilyn cleared her throat. "These are Midsummer gifts, given at festival time. They are personal, as you say. They are also sacred, but not in any ma

"How fascinating! What can you tell me about this festival?"

"Nothing." Arilyn softened the refusal with a faint smile. "I am sorry, but there is no way to explain it. Some elven rites are not allowed to be revealed to humans, and even if they were, they would not be fully experienced or understood."

Bronwyn took no offense. She glanced over at Danilo, who was happily leafing through some old tomes at the far side of the shop. "Humans use the Weave," she said, naming the mystic force that shaped all magic, "but elves are part of it. They are also one with the land, and the sea, and the patterns of the sun and stars. This much I know, even though I could never experience it as you would. I have heard that the times of solstice and equinox are sacred to the elves. I know that such times were celebrated with fertility rituals by many ancient human cultures. I did not mean to offend you by implying that elven festivals were the same and nothing more."

"You understand more than I thought," Arilyn responded. To her surprise, it was not only easy to speak of this, but comforting. "No offense was taken. Yes, these are times of revelry among the elves. Many marriages are made, friendships celebrated in intimate ways, but this is part of a larger, mystic co

"And only elves are accepted," the woman repeated. She smiled faintly. "To a limited degree, I understand. Perhaps Dan has told you of my life. I spent most of it searching for my family, my past. This meant everything to me. I found my father and lost him all in the space of a few hours, but I came away from that experience feeling like a whole person for the first time in my life. I can't imagine what it would mean to a half-elf to be invited to take part in such a festival."

Arilyn met the woman's warm, sympathetic gaze. She took from the pocket of her breeches a small stone knife, sharp as steel and carved with a feather pattern. This she handed to Bronwyn. "Add this to the Temple's store. It is as precious as anything there."

The woman hesitated, demonstrating for the first time that her understanding was more human than elven. "You are sure you want to part with this?"

"Midsummer gifts are also part of the whole. The wheel turns, and they are often given anew with the coming of another summer."

Bronwyn nodded her thanks. Arilyn handed her the stone knife, a gift from Foxfire, the elf who had offered her the first true acceptance she had ever received from her mother's people—and who had changed her life. Without Foxfire, she would not have come to terms with her own divided nature or learned that though her soul was elven, her heart belonged to a human man.

A heavy thud drew her attention. She glanced over at Danilo. He stooped quickly to pick up the tome he had dropped, but not before Arilyn saw his gaze dart from the knife in her hand to the green treasures in Bronwyn's case. Not before stu

Bronwyn glanced from Danilo back to Arilyn, and her brown eyes widened with chagrin. "He didn't know."

"No."

In truth, Arilyn had never seen need to speak of that Midsummer night. The initial joy of her reunion with Dan had swept aside all other considerations. Shortly after, she had been called back to the forests to aid the embattled elves. There had been little in her life since then to bring to mind the sacred revels of Midsummer.

Now she tried to see the matter as Danilo might. Few humans could understand the true nature of elven festivals. They would see her participation as a shallow indulgence. Danilo, though, knew more of the elves than did most men, and he valued highly what he knew.