Hōz’b’nahzioh receive me. Take these visions and have this knowing.

  Hōz’b’nahzioh woke with a start. Allistar strode evenly along beneath him. The elf had nodded out for a time.

  He thought he had just heard a woman’s voice. Was it a dream?

  Not a woman, he corrected himself . She was definitely elven. He had no idea how he knew this.

  Clearly he had been dreaming. Equally obvious to the ancient being, it was no mundane dream.

  He had received elstora b’niaht, as his race and some other elven species called it. The humans might say foresight, prophecy, or something along those lines but elstora b’niaht meant more than simply a psychic foretelling or clairvoyance of the future; it involved the deliberate transmission of information and always carried the connotation of urgency or great importance.

  “Damn it.” The blue elf cursed; a habit he frequently indulged. “I’m in no mood for epic questing or otherwise involving myself in the will of some deity or ancestor!” he called out to the heavens.

  “Leave me to my work and find someone else!”

  High above the sky, on the surface of the moon, in the city with no name and within the observatory of the moon elves, a group of regal Lunam Tkari couldn’t help but laugh at the blue elf’s outburst.

  “Oh my,” laughed the Premier Lady in their midst. “He’ll be a handful!”

  Now wide awake and agitated the blue elf squeezed his knees into the massive animal below, which in turn picked up its speed. He realized the absurdity of the act, he couldn’t outrun a telepathic message.

  Still he hoped to make a point with the gesture.

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  You have made your point. The female elf said into his mind. There are other elves we can call upon, though they may be less qualified than you.

  “Spare me the flattery.” H ō z insisted.

  I will leave you for now, but this isn’t goodbye; I need you.

  H ō z rolled his eyes.

  You should also know an ambush has been set in your honor at the ruins on the higher ground ahead; dark elves and their hobgoblin lackeys.

  “Thank you for that information.” the blue elf said grudgingly.

  “As if we would have approached those ruins without having a look first, am I right Allistar?”

  The horse gave a lip trill in response.

  As the paloderm nap began to wear off and the blue elf became more cognizant of the moment he suddenly looked up. With a scowl he asked:

  “Are you calling me from the moon? You are a moon elf aren’t you? I was warned you would meddle.”

  I am a moon elf. My name is Shiyeknihel.

  “Shiyeknihel,” the blue elf repeated. “I once knew a child by that name from the city of Eos.”

  Yes. We have met. You were a hero among our people and all the Al Kari. You had just returned with the Tapestry of Molivindine.

  “I recall. Your father had helped to con me into that whole affair,” H ō z grumbled.

  “I am not the idealistic fool I once was, moon elf,” he insisted. “I have work of my own to attend to.”

  You have the great sadness within you, the emptiness of the ages. I am sorry, but I still need you.

  H ō z said nothing.

  There are treatments, ways to heal the A’siergaditks…

  “NO!” the blue elf’s voice thundered. “I will not forget; the least I can do is remember those who have come and gone like a whisper through this empty place.”

  After a pause the lady on the moon spoke once more.

  I am sorry for your suffering Hōz’b’nahzioh. Truly, I am. For now I leave you be, but this is not farewell. I need you.

  Hōz grunted in reply.

  His thoughts shifted to the ruins ahead, and he began to consider potential divinations for reconnoitering the location.

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