The king tilted his head as if thinking and then said, “Your pledge of honor and secrecy involving Elvin Silver is noble and appropriate. And yet, a master needs an apprentice. The Dwarves saw that as did the humans, is that not true?”

  “Yes, my king. The humans gave me an apprentice for gem cutting and also an apprentice for forging. The dwarves gave me an apprentice for forging, as well.”

  “And yet while forging is important in Elven Silvercraft, the jewelry work is especially important and takes a mind open to both paths.”

  He paused as if in thought and then called out to Rothilion’s granddaughter. “Keenor, gentle niece. Please stand.”

  She stood, hands wringing a cloth napkin which she had not put down. “Yes, my King?” She answered.

  “We have heard from your grandfather that you have been deciding between sage craft, much like my own father’s work, and Elven Silvercraft, much like your own father’s work. You have until Summer Start, but have you perhaps decided which you might prefer?”

  She looked at an elf beside her that I assumed was her father, who gave her no expression or sign of encouragement at all, and then she flashed a look at her grandfather. Rothilion smiled but gave her no help either. Then she looked at me, and her eyes grew wide.

  “Yes, my king!” She said loudly. “I have decided to work with Elven Silvercraft!”

  The King stroked his beardless chin. “Well, well. What a coincidence. We have a trusted elfkin who needs an apprentice in that very area.” He looked at me with a grin. “What say you, master patron?”

  Four apprentices. And all young women. My life was never going to be my own.

  I looked to the man I took to be her father. He met my stare but gave me no sign whatsoever. I could not tell if he was fond of the idea or not. But I did get the feeling he was not fond of me.

  I looked next to Rothilion, who sat smiling, and tilted his head. It was going to be my call.

  I glanced near the king at Yandril, who nodded his head “yes” ever so slightly.

  I turned back to Keenor, who was waiting with a growing sense of panic. I slowly walked closer to her and said gently, “It would mean leaving your home and entering a human city faced with great dangers. It would not be easy, and my work might take me away from you for days on end. You will have three friendly apprentices to work with, two humans and a dwarf, and a shoppe filled with wonders as large as this hall. But it will not be easy. I will honor your choice.”

  She looked deep in my eyes and said, “I choose to go with you, if you will have me, master patron.”

  I nodded to her and spoke to her father in ancient Elven. “I will protect her as my own daughter, and teach her our Elven culture as well as human and dwarven ways. She will master jewelry, gemcraft, some enchantment, and Elven Silvercraft before she returns home. In payment for my commitment, I only ask for your blessing for her and a summoning leaf, which she will keep with her always and return home if things turn dire or if she decides to end the apprenticeship at any time and for any reason. She will do so with no shame or dishonor to her or her family.”

  His eyes toward me softened. “She is stubborn, much like her father. She is very bright, like her mother and grandfather. And I hope for her to grow to be as kind as her master. She has our blessing.” His wife grasped his arm with tears in her eyes, but she was also happy for her daughter.

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  I turned to the king, recalling how Rothilion had introduced her to me in his home. “My King, I accept Keenor Eliyen Venstina as my apprentice. I will confer with our Elven Silver masters and acquire suitable texts to support her. With your permission, while much of your generous work will be collected over the next twenty-four hours, I will submit myself to the guild of Silvercraft Masters for both testing and learning in whatever dose and measure they desire to do honor for our tradition and as Keenor’s master.”

  The King laughed. “You are brave. Our Silvercrafters are the finest in the realm, and they do not tolerate imperfection.”

  “I will undoubtedly disappoint, but they will have all of me in the effort.”

  “Then it is so.” The King commanded.

  He raised his glass once more. “This we do in honor of our pledge of debt to Rhea and for the needs of the innocents in Keelwell.”

  “Toast!” The hall resounded.

  The AL whispered into my ear. Enchanter Gwydion receives an Elven apprentice, Keenor Eliyen Venstina. Additions and notes have been added to your Book of Quests that remain unread.

  The King drank but remained standing. He said, “And finally, to our Elfkin, while we have no similar custom where I would call you brother, I can and I do now adopt you into my Lodge and call you nephew. Welcome, Gwydion Istari Arbrestrom of the Lodge Arbestrom!”

  And the hall was filled with cheering. I looked around and saw mostly smiling faces, raising their glasses in toast to me. But there was still a fair share of frowns and a few who refused to raise their glasses to me at all.

  The King drained his cup and, in a merry voice, called out, “Keeper of Lineages, come forth and add our nephew, the newest and youngest member of our Lodge!”

  An old elf, much older looking than even Yandril, shuffled out with a large and ancient tome floating behind him. He arrived a little out of breath before the King and began turning through the pages. When he found the point he was looking for, he peered at me intently, as if peering into my very soul, and began writing in my name and titles along with a brief history of what transpired here today to earn this singular honor.

  The celebration continued with the only difference being that my new apprentice joined our table and sat between me and her grandfather. I was unsure how long an Elven celebration would last, but I seemed to recall that, given their unnaturally long lives, several days were not unheard of, and I needed to get back to Keelwell soon.

  I began to get antsy and wanted to check on Bella. I also needed to report back to the Duke or at least Isaac, and to see about getting the productions started on our supplies.

  At some point, there was a stirring, and the Keeper of Lineages was trying to catch the King’s attention. But the King was in a merry mood and instead of a private discussion, he called out, “Keeper, have you tallied the book?”

  All in the room became quiet.

  He cleared his throat. “I have, my king. There have been many blessed births in the past couple of decades, far more than is typical. Unfortunately, we have also seen far more deaths due to the war in the west and north with the goblins.”

  “Yes, and where does our newest nephew sit in our august Lodge?” He asked with a wide smile.

  The Keeper looked around as if he wished he were somewhere else.

  Yandril called to him, “Out with it, Petros, where does our little grand nephew stand?”

  The Keeper of Lineages cleared his throat again and called out, “Gwydion Istari Arbrestrom, once elfkin-”

  The King interrupted. “We don’t need the whole text; we have been over that already.”

  The room was filled with laughter, this time far more cheerful.

  “Your nephew, he is, he is seven hundred seventy-seventh in line for the throne, my king.”

  The rustling of cloth, clinking of glasses, and gentle clatter of silverware ceased abruptly.

  The King lowered his glass. “What did you say, Keeper?” He asked slowly.

  “I checked the figures three times. Your nephew is seven hundred seventy-seventh in line for the throne. He is Seneschal of the Arbrestrom Lodge.”

  Rothilion sat still and unmoving. Fherrin had her hands over her mouth and stared at me wide-eyed.

  The King turned to his father. “What have you done, father?”

  But his father looked as shocked as the King, even more so in fact. He met his son’s eyes, “The foretelling.”

  They stared at each other for a long moment. The King stood and announced. “The time to complete the tasks assigned is twenty-four hours from now, the end of the feast. Please depart and see to your work.” And without making eye contact with either of us, the King commanded, “Father, Seneschal, please join me in Chambers. Now.”

  Rothilion urged me to get up and escorted me to Yandril.

  The king’s father looked into my eyes and said, “Lad, you don’t do anything the easy way. I am so sorry I dragged you into all this.”

  “I’ve heard that before.” I said and then asked, “What does all this mean?”

  “Come with me, the King will explain.” And Yandril led me deeper into the Lodge and to where the King was waiting for us.

  And he did not look happy when he departed.

  We were both escorted down a long hall decorated with paintings and a wide range of artwork, but I had little attention for it. I had no idea what just happened, but given the deference the elf guards paid me, which was on par with Yandril, the former king, I was sure I had stumbled into real trouble.

  Yandril opened a door before the guard could announce us and walked in. I followed, and the guards closed the door behind us.

  The king was seated by a glowing fire in a stone hearth. It was the first open flame I had seen in the great Lodge.

  “You always did tend to pout by an open flame when things went poorly.” The king pronounced as he sat down.

  “I did not appreciate such comments two thousand years ago at your knees, and my opinion of them has dwindled considerably over time.”

  Yandril motioned to me to pull a chair over next to them.

  I followed suit and sat down.

  The King looked at me and said, “I actually opened up to you and invited you into my home. Why would you do this to me?”

  Yandil made a tsking sound. “Ailuin, the lad is terrified. He has no idea what all this means, and it is not his fault.”

  The king looked up at his father, but Yandril replied. “And you know better than to ask. It was not me, and I am all but certain it was not Rhea either in some millennia-long conspiracy to get back at you.”

  The King’s shoulders sagged. “Then why? How? Who?” He said.

  I was seeing a very different side to this powerful and controlled king. He was as shaken by this as I was, maybe more, since he seemed to know what it meant.

  “Could one of you please explain what happened out there?”