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The sky was fading to smoky sapphire as Elaith left the Melshimber mansion. He had no fear of discovery; a tu
He quickly made his way south to one of the most lavish and secure of his Waterdeep properties, a gated estate in the Castle Ward, not far from Piergeiron's Palace. Therein was his greatest treasure of all: his daughter Azariah, his sole hope for the Craulnober clan's restored strength and reputation.
She was being raised on Evermeet as a ward of the royal court, but the recent attack on the island kingdom had left her shaken and grieving. Queen Amlaruil had urged Elaith to take his daughter for the winter to give her some time and distance.
Elaith found the child at her studies, sitting demurely at her tutor's side, an open book on her lap. Azariah was pretty child, tall for her age and as leggy as a young colt. She resembled her sun elf mother, a mistress whom Elaith had enjoyed and forgotten. But Azariah was his legal heir, and heir also to the Craulnober moonblade.
The sentient sword had rejected him once, choosing dormancy over an unworthy wielder. By the grace of the gods and the consent of his Craulnober ancestors, the moonblade had been awakened, but Elaith had no illusions about its destiny. It would never be his, nor should it be.
Nor did he expect Azariah to wield it. Never, not once in the long and brutal history of the moonblades, had a gold elf successfully claimed a sword. But a living moonblade brought honor the Craulnober house, and it would be an attractive dowry. In time, Azariah would wed a moon elf of high family, and if her children bred true, the most worthy among them would inherit the sword
"Here it is!" the child said triumphantly, stabbing the page with one slender finger. "The law was written by Evermeet's Council of Elders, during the second year of Lady Mylaerla Durothil's rule as High Councilor."
Elaith's eyebrows rose. This was a pastime more befitting a magistrar than a girl of eleven winters.
"An interesting choice, Delaritha," he said dryly, addressing the elven bard he'd employed to continue his daughter's harp studies. "I look forward to hearing that law set to music."
Two pairs of feminine eyes flashed to his face, holding identical wary expressions.
"Lady Azariah wishes to know more of her family moonblade," the bard explained.
"It is hers to hold in trust for her children. What more is there to know?"
The child rose to her feet, her face pale but determined. "When I come of age, I will claim the moonblade."
Elaith stared at her, too stu
"It is the law. It is my right," she whispered.
A strange and unwelcome insight struck him: little Azariah was not just his daughter, but her own person, with dreams and plans of her own. But so soon? Surely he could expect her to remain a malleable child for another decade or two?
"Have you learned nothing of the laws of nature?" he demanded. "Elves are not half this and half that. You are your mother's daughter, a gold elf. No gold elf has ever drawn a moonblade and lived."
"What of the Starym blade?" the child persisted.
Elaith sent the bard a look that should have slain her on the spot. "Have you been teaching her this nonsense, or is there someone else who should set her affairs in order before nightfall?"
The girl stepped between her father and her tutor-an oddly protective gesture for one so tiny-and dipped into a respectful curtsey. "The fault is mine. During the sea voyage I wished to learn more of the mainland. Another passenger lent me several chapbooks, most of them travel books written by a human named-"
"Volo," Elaith concluded flatly. "A wandering rogue who tells the truth only occasionally, and usually by accident. It's well that you remember that."
"I will," Azariah promised. "But is it not true that a half-elf inherited a blade? And she only fifteen winters at the time?"
The girl's small, pointed chin lifted proudly, and Elaith read in her face the words to come.
"Before you say anything about the worth of a half-breed compared to an elf of noble blood," he said softly, "you should know the moonfighter's mother was Amnestria of Evermeet, who was dear to me beyond measure. Her daughter, though half-elven, is a princess of the blood, and I will hear no word spoken against her."
"Yes, my lord," the girl said dutifully.
"Then let us have no more of this foolishness," he said sternly. "The matter is finished."
The color drained from Azariah's face. She stood her ground, though, and placed one hand on the elven lore book as if to gain strength from its ancient laws.
"With respect, my lord," she whispered, "the moonblade is mine to claim, and none can deny me."
"She's right, you know," a
Elaith whirled, angry that someone had managed to slip up behind him. Tincheron leaned against the door post, a smirk sitting oddly on his reptilian face.
The half-dragon was his oldest friend and distant kin, but Elaith was in no mind to told inconvenient truths. "Haven't I troubles enough, without you adding to them?" he snapped.
The humor faded from Tincheron's face. "Azariah's ambition troubles you? But I thought…"
"Did you?" Elaith inquired acidly.
The half-dragon reached into the hall and dragged Olte
Understanding flooded Elaith, and his eyes widened in sudden appreciation of this new and wondrous possibility.
"Lady Azariah, may I present to you one Olte
To his credit, Olte
By the time Fleetswake rolled around and the worst of the winter snows had past, Olte
This, Elaith had not foreseen.
"Testing?" he demanded. "How, exactly, do you propose to do that?"
"The sword must be drawn. If its magic ca
The elf's eyebrows rose. "Yes, it's rather difficult to miss the lesson presented by a blackened, smoking corpse. But let us return to this notion of testing. Have you given any thought to what will happen if the magic can be altered?"
It was Olte
"Of course," Elaith said impatiently, "but obviously Azariah ca
The Lanta
The soft whisper of metal on wood drew Elaith's attention to the worktable where the Craulnober blade rested, carefully sheathed. What he saw there froze him for one heart-stopping moment.
Azariah had crept into the room, and she was slowly turning the metal scabbard so that she might take the hilt. The girl had heard them talking, and in her child's mind, one solution seemed clear: if her moonblade was ready to be drawn, it was ready for her.